"Miss Chen, shall I show you something interesting?"
"What is it?"
"Watching a livestream."
Lin Ran and Luo Yao went to change clothes, while Uncle Fu had the servants turn on the projector so he and Chen Qingtian could watch Lin Jian's livestream.
Just because Lin Ran wasn’t watching didn’t mean others weren’t.
Uncle Fu had developed a strange addiction to following Lin Jian’s downfall. He couldn’t wait to see just how miserably the Lin family would end up.
As the livestream began, Chen Qingtian was immediately greeted by Lin Jian’s disgustingly smug face.
"Ugh, this guy’s face is downright revolting!"
To be fair, Lin Jian wasn’t actually bad-looking—he had a boy-next-door charm, while Lin Ran was more of a bright, cheerful type.
In terms of looks, Lin Ran completely outshone Lin Jian, but that didn’t mean Lin Jian was ugly. In fact, he had even been a contender for school heartthrob back in the day."Hello, everyone! It’s Lin Jian here—so glad to see you all again!"
The moment he spoke, the chat exploded with: ["Glad my ass!"].
Lin Jian might not be ugly, but his personality was vile. Just thinking about the things he’d done made people want to vomit.
In fact, a new phrase had gone viral online:
When insulting someone particularly repulsive, people would say, "You’re so Lin Jian."
It had become a full-blown meme.
By now, the term "Lin Jian" didn’t just mean disgusting—it covered everything from being a scumbag, an idiot, a trashy man, to even incestuous tendencies.
Chen Qingtian turned to Uncle Fu. "Can I gift him money and then file for a minor refund?"
Uncle Fu paused. "You could. Need me to handle it?"
Chen Qingtian shook her head. "Nah, if the refund fails, I’d just be throwing money at a dog. I’d rather spend it on buying razor blades to mail to him."
"Would you like Lin Jian’s address?"
Chen Qingtian blinked in surprise. "You have his address?"
"Of course. Young Master Lin arranged it," Uncle Fu said matter-of-factly.
Chen Qingtian rolled her eyes, thinking to herself, "My cousin really knows how to play the game."
Her hatred for Lin Jian ran deeper than most—after all, he had bullied her cousin.
What neither Uncle Fu nor Chen Qingtian expected was that Lin Jian had started selling products again—and this time, he sold even more than before.
On screen, Lin Jian frowned as he promoted his goods.
"Family, the initial stock is sold out."
[2025 My Readers Are All Rich]: Then restock! I didn’t get any—you’re so Lin Jian.
Lin Jian: "Here’s the thing, family—I’ve slashed the prices, but quantities are limited. Still, just for you, I’ll pull some strings and release another batch!"
[No Hiatus During Holidays]: Just sell the stuff, I’ll buy it. Stop calling us ‘family’—who the hell are you calling family? You’re so damn Lin Jian.
Lin Jian: ???
What did "so Lin Jian" even mean?
Weren’t these all supposed to be haters? Why did it feel like they actually liked him?
Encouraged, Lin Jian doubled down on his efforts.
Soon, his products sold out again.
But despite the numbers, he wasn’t happy—because he still had to worry about returns.
This livestream was a gamble.
No one wanted to partner with him, and the only one who did had set an unusual condition.
Normally, deals were based on sales, followers, or performance—but this partner bet on the return rate.
Still, Lin Jian wasn’t entirely without confidence.
A smug grin twisted his lips.
[The Path to a Woman’s Heart]: Holy crap, his mouth just twitched. Someone tear him apart before he turns into the Dragon King.
[Beauty’s Desire]: Wait, why’s he smiling? What’s so funny about being such a Lin Jian?
Lin Jian’s smirk vanished, replaced by a pitiful expression.
"Family, my dear father has always been the person I respect and love most. But look at what’s become of him… My brother hates us, and I don’t blame him—after all, he’s not as weak as I am…"
He launched into a sob story, and this time, Lin Tianba played along perfectly.
Meanwhile, as the Lin family milked their tragedy, Luo Yao emerged by the pool in a bikini, where Lin Ran had been waiting.
Seeing her like this for the first time was beyond words.
Lin Ran’s mind buzzed, and he had to mentally recite calming mantras to suppress the overwhelming desire threatening to burst out.
"Ran, let’s play."
Lin Ran gulped. He didn’t understand why, after his rebirth, he had zero resistance to Luo Yao.
It hadn’t been like this in his past life.
Not that he disliked it—but it was so frequent he feared he might run dry.
"Yao, swimming’s fine, but there’s one problem—I’m not great in water. What do I do?"
Lin Ran was terrible at swimming—barely able to stay afloat, let alone actually swim. He’d always avoided water.
"Don’t worry, I’ll teach you."
For some reason, Lin Ran noticed a strange glint in Luo Yao’s eyes—something almost… excited?
"O-okay."
It was winter, and the outdoors were freezing, but the heated pool wasn’t just warm—the entire pool area was temperature-controlled.
As Lin Ran stepped in, Luo Yao slipped into the water like a mermaid, darting toward him in one smooth motion.
"Wife, you’re amazing at everything. Unlike me—useless."
"I trained since childhood. Had to learn everything, or I’d die."
Lin Ran’s heart ached. Luo Yao’s past had been far harsher than his.
The internet called him the "most tragic young master," but compared to Luo Yao, his suffering was nothing.
How big was the gap?
The whole nation knew Lin Ran’s past.
No one could even begin to fathom Luo Yao’s.
Hers was the kind of story that couldn’t be shown in movies—that was the difference.
"Yao, I’ll spend my whole life healing my little demon."
Luo Yao stuck out her tongue playfully, her adorable expression melting Lin Ran completely.
"What if, in the end, I’m still a demon?"
It felt strange to her. In the past, whenever Lin Ran called her "demon," his voice dripped with hatred, chilling her to the bone.
Now, he still called her "demon," but it sounded sweet.
Titles didn’t matter—what mattered was who said them, and how.