Pretty and charming, dressed in the 90s, she's good at everything from making money to causing

Lin Ting slept for nearly eleven hours, even missing the Duan family's unwavering breakfast time.

Duan Jun specifically instructed the aunt not to wake Lin Ting, but to let her stay at home to recover, and not to let her go out even if the sky were to fall.

Lin was unaware of all this. When she woke up, she felt sore all over, and her throat hurt terribly.

"Cough cough..."

There was water by the bed, and a note.

Lin Ting picked up the note while drinking water.

"Listen, you get some rest and take your medicine on time. I'm going to discuss investment matters with Duan Jun. I'll have lunch with you when I get back. Jiang Zong"

Medicine was also prepared next to the note.

Lin Ting smiled slightly, took the medicine, and turned to find her boss.

Absolutely inexplicable, her mobile phone disappeared.

She used to keep her old mobile phone on her bedside table, but now it's nowhere to be found.

Lin Ting sat blankly for a while, then got up with her aching body, washed up, and pushed open the door.

The snow outside was so heavy that Lin Ting wondered if she had returned to Northeast China.

"Cough cough..."

She tightened her scarf and walked along the covered walkway towards the front yard.

"Miss Lin? Oh my, what brings you out here?" The nanny was startled when she saw Lin Ting and quickly pulled her into a room.

The aunt was carrying an insulated food container; she was going to check if Lin Ting had woken up and bring her food.

"Quick, warm yourself up for a bit, I'll go get you a warm coat." The aunt was busy with her own things, avoiding eye contact with Lin Ting.

Seeing how busy she was, Lin felt that something was off.

“Auntie, I’m fine,” Lin Ting said, tugging at her sleeve. “I need to talk to Monk, so I have to go to the front yard.”

The aunt's eyes flickered slightly, and she chuckled dryly, saying, "Monk, he went out with Young Master Jiang early this morning. Miss Lin, don't worry about these things. Xiao Wu specifically told you to take good care of yourself before he left."

Lin Ting raised an eyebrow slightly.

Not right.

It's not right.

Putting aside whether Jiang Zong would take Mengke away because she was safe at the Duan family's house, Mengke himself would never leave knowing that he was all alone.

But Lin Ting couldn't press her aunt for answers. She smiled and said, "I'm really fine now, almost completely recovered. I have to go to a meeting at the tutoring school, it's urgent. It's okay if Monk isn't here, I'll drive myself."

You can't go out!

The auntie got anxious and, disregarding everything else, grabbed Lin Ting's shoulder and forced her to sit down.

Lin Tingwei looked up at her and smiled, saying, "Auntie, don't worry, I already know what happened. It's nothing serious, I know what I'm doing."

The aunt's eyes widened: "You...how did you know?"

Her gaze gradually changed; it wasn't nervousness, but rather...

distressed?

Lin Ting looked at it carefully for a while and made sure she wasn't mistaken.

The aunt patted Lin Ting's head tenderly, her voice softening: "Miss Lin, my Xiao Wu and Young Master Jiang have already gone to handle this matter. You're still sick, so don't go out and get upset or stressed. No matter what, your health is the most important thing."

Lin Ting: "..."

She roughly knew where her older brother had gone.

But what exactly happened?

Seeing her aunt's expression, Lin Ting's unease reached its peak.

"Auntie, I really didn't..."

"Go if you want."

Just as Lin Ting was trying to persuade her aunt, Grandma Duan stepped into the small house.

Grandma Duan looked at Lin Ting and said in a gentle and calm tone, "It is ultimately your own hurdle. You have to get over it yourself. Otherwise, it's no use if you can't get over it in your heart after it's over."

As she spoke, she handed a stack of newspapers to Lin Ting: "Take a look for yourself, these are from Beijing."

With a look of horror in her eyes, the aunt blurted out, "Madam! Miss Lin can't see this!"

The aunt realized that Lin Ting had been bluffing her—she had been to the west wing just half an hour earlier, and Lin Ting was asleep at the time. How could she have known about this?

Grandma Duan did not withdraw her hand; she looked at Lin Ting, as if waiting for her decision.

"Thank you grandma."

Lin Ting took the newspaper and flipped through it a couple of times before realizing that it wasn't just one newspaper, but rather a dozen or so publications from different newspapers.

The very top article, with her photo prominently featured on the front page.

The Strongest Female Entrepreneur? The Canary in the Mist of the Jiang Family!

Lin Ting: "..."

Scrolling down further, the headlines became increasingly explicit and daring, with even terms like "erotic history" and "one woman, two husbands" prominently displayed in the most eye-catching headlines.

"Pfft-"

She couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Grandma Duan kept her eyes on Lin Ting, waiting for her reaction.

She considered many possibilities, but the one she couldn't think of was laughing so hard she almost choked.

Grandma Duan smiled too.

The aunt took a cup of hot milk from the food box and brought it over, patting Lin Ting's back to soothe her: "Miss Lin, don't be angry. They're just some random tabloids. Not many people will read or believe them."

"Thank you, Auntie." Lin Ting took the milk cup, her voice slightly hoarse from the sore throat. "I'm really fine, I'm not angry, really."

She wasn't lying.

Even if the newspaper reported that there was a loose thread on her clothes, that the school windows hadn't been cleaned, or that a single coal briquette from the mine couldn't burn for three days and three nights, she might still politely get angry.

But this matter...

What is there for her to be angry about?

Is spreading sexually explicit rumors about women what men consider a sure-fire way to kill?

Ah.

None of those things are as lethal as trying to snatch the last candied hawthorn from her.

Lin Ting laughed so hard she coughed.

She wasn't in a hurry anymore. She first took Grandma Duan back to her room to rest, then leisurely finished her breakfast before taking Monk out the door without being stopped.

Looking at Lin Ting's expression, Monk hesitated for ten minutes before finally managing to say, "Don't be angry."

A dry, uninspired word of comfort.

But Monk really did his best.

Lin Ting laughed: "Why would I be angry? Hurry up and drive, I need to use my cell phone to call my mom and let her know I'm safe."

Before leaving, Grandma Duan said that such articles could be found in tabloids in almost every place, and in her home city of Shenyang, they would definitely be the most numerous.

Lin Ting didn't even dare to imagine what her parents would feel when they saw the newspaper in the morning.

She estimated that this matter couldn't be resolved by copying the Analects twenty times.

Monk let out a soft "hey," then slowly pressed the accelerator again, increasing the car's speed.

Lin Ting's mobile phone was taken away by Jiang Zong.

But no one called her.

It seems that everyone who cares about Lin Ting made the same decision: to pretend they know nothing, fearing that their concern would become a second blade to hurt her.

Jiang Zong's own mobile phone, however, became a hotline, ringing non-stop all morning.

His answer was concise: "She doesn't know. I'll handle it. Don't tell her."

In principle, he did not want to deceive Lin Ting.

But this matter was not within the bounds of principle.

Jiang Zong hung up another phone call and was just about to take a sip of water when he heard the door open.

Lin Ting was wrapped in a thick scarf and wore a soft red woolen hat.

She pulled off her scarf, revealing her pretty face, and smiled at Jiang Zong: "Did you miss me?"

Jiang Zong: "..."

miss you.

But I really don't want her to come.