V1: Chapter 25: She was Her Only Family.

Liang Lin followed Liang Di to Liang Di's study.

The walls of the study were adorned with classical paintings and exquisite decorations, creating a rich artistic atmosphere. The floor was covered with a thick velvet carpet, soft and fluffy underfoot, like walking on clouds.

Liang Di opened a drawer in front of her desk and took out a scroll. Liang Lin peeked at it and found the scroll to be brand new, not some ancient item.

"You should understand," she said, "although on the surface, Donald says he's temporarily managing the family affairs, in reality, this is a trial. Donald is choosing the heir for the Langwendi family."

Liang Lin nodded.

As for why Donald had asked Liang Lin to stay, Liang Di didn't understand either, but she was glad her grandfather hadn't kicked her out; otherwise, she'd lose some of her fun.

Opening the scroll, rows upon rows of densely packed characters appeared inside.

"These are the shops we're going to manage."

Besides the shop she'd already converted into a commoner's tailor shop, and the newly opened nail dyeing shop, the rest were all other shops that were losing money significantly.

Donald's test for her was quite substantial; most of the shops given to Edwin were profitable, or only slightly unprofitable.

But this suited Liang Di's tastes perfectly; the more unprofitable the shops, the better she could showcase her abilities.

"Edwin can't compare to you," Liang Lin suddenly said. "He's a bit of a fool, and Miranda seems to like being all clever but no skill."

"But you've forgotten one thing: Miranda has Queen Doris backing her up. Have you forgotten who gave you your potion?"

Liang Di reopened the drawer and took out a small pink crystal bottle.

"You don't think Gael gave you this just to pretend to be a gentleman and worry about you, do you?"

Right!

Liang Lin suddenly realized.

"There's no such thing as a coincidence in this world," she overlooked this point.

Damn it, she was used as a tool to kill someone else.

"If you had really killed me that day, Auston would have unhesitatingly pushed you out as a shield, saying you were jealous of your sister and had murderous intent. You would still have been locked up in the Imperial Prison."

Liang Di put the medicine bottle back in the drawer.

"So, you should thank me for poisoning your enemy into a cripple and protecting you from going to prison."

"Are you sure you don't want to call me 'Master' and thank me?"

The first half of the sentence touched Liang Lin a little, until the last sentence appeared, and Liang Lin's expression instantly changed from (O_O) to (O_o)

Huh?

"Cough cough cough, are you never going to stop? Are you a pervert? Obsessed with this kind of thing."

Liang Lin was so angry that she coughed repeatedly.

"Let's get down to business. Donald asked me to assist you. If you don't cooperate, I have nothing more to say. Anyway, I have no inheritance rights whatsoever, so I'm happy to have some peace and quiet. You can do your own thing."

Good grief, she's completely given up.

Just as the two girls were bickering, Liang Lin's attention was drawn to a small booklet under a pink medicine bottle in the drawer.

This book... it looks so familiar.

Liang Lin's bickering gradually subsided. She bent down slightly, her eyes fixed on the booklet. Then, as if she had seen a rare treasure, she grabbed a corner of the booklet and pulled it out.

"Hey, you...?"

Before Liang Di could react, Liang Lin had snatched the booklet away, clutching it tightly in her hand.

The booklet had several large, gold-embossed words: "Fairy Tale (Part Two)."

If her older sister, Hilary, always held that fairy tale book like a precious jewel, then Liang Lin held it as if it were a priceless jade. The cover of this fairy tale book was almost identical to the one her sister always carried, except the little girl on the cover had been replaced by a little boy.

“What are you doing with my book?” Liang Di reached out, trying to snatch the fairy tale book back.

Liang Lin, however, took a step back, clutching the book tightly to her chest.

“No, that’s my book. There’s a limit to how much you can argue with me.” Liang Di assumed the other woman was just getting angry during the argument.

Liang Lin didn’t answer; her mind was filled with thoughts of her sister, Hilary.

After he was dead in battle and was reborn into Liang Lin’s body, she had inquired about her sister, Hilary, only to find her missing or possibly dead. But she firmly believed her sister wasn’t dead; her sister had escaped.

In other words, she didn’t want her only remaining family member in the world to die.

How heartbroken her sister would be if she knew her beloved brother was dead, and in such a gruesome way.

Just thinking about it made Liang Lin's eyes sting with tears.

For months, she had desperately wanted to find out anything about her sister. She wanted to find Hilary and tell her that she wasn't dead, but simply living in a different body.

Unfortunately, after all these months, she still hadn't found anything.

There were many fairy tale books, but the one Hilary held was unique in the world. It was a gift from her missing lover, a book she had written herself. Her sister held the first volume, while her lover held the second one.

Liang Lin eagerly opened the fairy tale book.

A slip of paper slipped from the book, swirled a few times in the air, and landed on the ground. Liang Lin immediately knelt down and picked it up.

Upon seeing the handwriting on the paper, Liang Lin's eyes instantly welled up with tears.

It read: "Fu, you're so selfish. You only love me when you're in a good mood and have plenty of time. When you encounter any setbacks, or feel that leaving me would be better, I'm the first person you abandon, the first person you push away."

That was her sister's handwriting.

It's her sister! It's her sister!

"This book…where did you get this book, Liang Di!"

Liang Lin blushed with excitement.

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry; her expression was comical, her lips clearly upturned, yet tears welled in her eyes—a look of wanting to cry but also laughing.

She held the book in one hand and grasped Liang Di's small hand held to her chest with the other.

Liang Di blinked a few times.

Liang Lin's change was too fast, too fast for her to react. She was the one whose book was snatched, so why was Liang Lin the one crying?

"This...is this any of your business?" Liang Di asked, puzzled, but still answered the question.

"A friend has temporarily entrusted this to me. I'll need to take give it back later, so please don't damage it."

However, as she said this, her eyes darted around, and her expression seemed off.

A friend?

"Is your friend a girl?" Liang Lin asked eagerly.

"Yes."

"Then does she have long, bright red hair, likes to wear it in a high ponytail, is she very pretty, and very tall, almost as tall as a man?"

"How...how did you know?"

Great!

Liang Lin's eyes practically sparkled. She leaned closer and asked, "When is your friend coming to pick up the book?"