New task

Lin Ting's uncle, Lin Guoze, is the biological younger brother of Lin Guoqing. In his youth, Lin Guoze defied his father's plan to force him into a business marriage with a stranger, and despite his family's objections, he married Gu Huachun, a woman from an ordinary family. Since their marriage, Lin Guoze was expelled from the home by Lin Ting's still-living grandfather, and from then on, he and his wife settled abroad.

In her past life, Lin Guoze had returned to A City around the same time because Gu Huachun planned to introduce the women's clothing brand she had personally designed in Huaguo. Thus, Lin Ting's uncle and her three cousins returned to Huaguo about half a year ago, though they have had very little contact with the Lin family. Lin Guoze only appears on important occasions; so it is not surprising that he and his wife will attend this family gathering.

Lin Ting recalled that at a family gathering in her previous life, Lin Nian deliberately tampered with her skirt, causing her to be publicly humiliated.

At that time, her aunt—who was a fashion designer—stepped in to help her, or else she would have been completely at a loss on the spot.

When Aunt Gu Huachun took her to the lounge to change her skirt, she even made a special effort to ask if Lin Ting had been bullied.

Back then, Lin Ting still had hope for her relatives, so she never revealed to Gu Huachun what Lin Nian had done.

Looking back now, she thought her past self truly deserved it—she had sent herself straight to hell.

Although Gu Huachun had some suspicions that someone had tampered with the skirt, Lin Ting had insisted that she was living well within the Lin family, so Gu Huachun didn't press the issue further.

In this lifetime, Lin Ting would no longer be at the mercy of others; she was determined to prepare a counterattack before anything happened.

Just as Lin Ting was lost in thought, there was a sudden knock on her door.

"'Sister, are you asleep?'" came Lin Nian's voice from outside.

Although Lin Ting had previously decided to keep her distance from Lin Nian, now she had changed her mind—she wanted to see what tricks Lin Nian might still have up her sleeve.

Unhurriedly, Lin Ting walked to the door; when she opened it, she saw Lin Nian, putting on all the airs of a caring younger sister.

Had she not been reincarnated, she might have once again been deceived by Lin Nian's façade and poured out her heart—only to be betrayed in the end.

"What's the matter?" Lin Ting asked coolly.

As if oblivious to Lin Ting's cold tone, Lin Nian continued on her own, "Sister, tomorrow I'll accompany you to the mall to buy a dress for the day after tomorrow." 

"Since you just arrived in A City and are unfamiliar with the place, I could offer you some advice along the way."

Before Lin Nian could continue, Lin Ting immediately interrupted, "No need." 

Lin Nian hadn't expected Lin Ting to actually refuse her, and all the words she had prepared suddenly failed her.

Seeing Lin Nian dumbfounded, Lin Ting leaned against the door frame and slowly said, "And also, don't call me 'sister' from now on."

Hearing this, Lin Nian intended to resume her well-practiced act, her eyes welling up with tears as she put on the image of a pitiful yet stubborn little innocent.

Before Lin Nian could even start her performance, Lin Ting continued, "I suppose you do know that you were born before me, right?" 

"And aren't you now presented to the public as the Lin family's eldest daughter?" 

"Calling me 'sister' in front of others is your way of implying that I am the true lady of the Lin family?" Lin Ting said, a sneer curling at the corner of her mouth.

Knowing that Lin Nian cared most about her status as the Lin family's eldest daughter, Lin Ting deliberately brought up the point to embarrass her.

Sure enough, Lin Nian's face changed; after glancing around to make sure no one else was listening, she moved closer to Lin Ting and, in a voice audible only to the two of them, whispered, "Don't delude yourself into thinking you can replace me; a sparrow will never turn into a phoenix." 

Lin Ting looked coldly at Lin Nian's flustered appearance, thinking that she no longer even had time to put on a performance in front of her.

Believing her words had intimidated Lin Ting, Lin Nian swaggered as she turned and walked away.

Watching Lin Nian's retreating back, Lin Ting couldn't help but snicker; she had assumed Lin Nian was very confident about her standing in the Lin family, but it turned out that just a few words had exposed her true colors.

[Host, host, another task is here!]

The sound of a chirping voice suddenly echoed in Lin Ting's ears, startling her.

[Task: Learn to walk in high heels 

 Time Limit: Two days 

 Task Reward: Manga legs]

"Manga legs—this comes at just the right time," Lin Ting exclaimed joyfully as she caught sight of the task reward. 

Lin Ting's legs were naturally bow-legged, and she usually dared only to wear long pants—let alone short skirts or shorts. With these manga legs, she was sure to dazzle everyone at the family gathering two days later. 

"It looks like I must head to the mall tomorrow," she thought to herself.

Fortunately, Lin Ting didn't have to worry about not being able to afford it; although Lin Guoqing favored Lin Nian, Lin Ting still received her own pocket money.

Every month, Lin Guoqing gave the three siblings 30,000 yuan in pocket money, though he would secretly deposit extra funds into Lin Zhou and Lin Nian's accounts.

This was something she had inadvertently discovered in her past life—back when she was already disillusioned with her family and spent her days in sorrow.

Lost in thought, Lin Ting's eyes slowly closed as she drifted into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, taking advantage of the empty house, Lin Ting went out—she didn't want to waste time in front of her family.

She had booked a taxi in advance using an app; although the Lin family had a driver, neither Lin Guoqing nor Huang Mei had ever thought to assign one to her.

In her past life, she always took taxis or buses to school, and in those two years, no one ever noticed.

Lin Ting took a taxi to the largest shopping mall in A City—a place filled with well-known domestic and international brands, and whose interior décor could be described as resplendent.

Some people believed that luxury brands could only be found on the first floor, which spoke volumes about the kind of spending here—something ordinary people could never imagine in a lifetime.

Thus, it had become the favorite shopping destination for the wives and young ladies of A City's elite, for whom exorbitant prices were just a part of everyday expenses.

Using the mall map, Lin Ting located the clothing store she intended to visit this time—HUA.

This brand, founded by Gu Huachun, had only recently opened in the mall and was positioned as affordable luxury.

In her past life, Lin Ting had been very fond of Gu Huachun's design style, but she had been too insecure to dare wear these beautiful dresses.

As soon as she entered the store, a sales assistant warmly greeted her and introduced the new arrivals one by one. "Miss, your skin is so fair and smooth; you'd look stunning in this dress," the assistant said while holding up a dress for her to see. 

It was a well-tailored, stylish black velvet dress, its asymmetrical hem adding an extra touch of refined elegance. 

Lin Ting immediately fell in love with the dress, and just as she was about to ask the assistant to proceed with the purchase, a female voice suddenly rang in her ear.

"I didn't expect it to really be you," said Huang Lingling, disdainfully giving Lin Ting a scornful once-over.

When Lin Ting saw Lin Nian standing next to Huang Lingling, she was utterly speechless; it seemed Lin Nian was always around. 

"Sister, this is our cousin, Huang Lingling," Lin Nian said with feigned affection. 

Lin Ting glanced at them indifferently and replied, "So you're cousin, but I'm not in the mood to catch up with you here," as she signaled the assistant to continue with the checkout.

However, Huang Lingling snatched the dress from the assistant's hand and said contemptuously,

"You think you deserve to wear this dress? Look at you—so unsophisticated." 

Lin Ting laughed coldly, "I'm buying this dress today anyway; what can you do to me?" 

Stoking the flames on the side, Lin Nian added, "Sister, this dress doesn't suit you—why don't you let cousin help you choose?" 

"Cousin graduated from a design academy abroad," she chimed in. 

Raising an eyebrow, Lin Ting slowly retorted, "You expect me to let her help me choose based on that diploma she got from some fly-by-night college?"

Enraged and humiliated, Huang Lingling was about to rush forward and confront Lin Ting when the store manager approached. 

The manager looked coldly at the disruptive Huang Lingling and said, "Miss, please do not continue causing a scene in our store, or we will take appropriate action." 

Already fuming, Huang Lingling was about to argue with the manager when Lin Nian grabbed her. 

"Cousin, it won't do if this gets to our uncle," Lin Nian whispered in Huang Lingling's ear. 

Although Lin Nian intended to make Lin Ting look bad, she knew that Lin Guoqing was extremely concerned with appearances; if he found out that she was causing a scene with her cousin in public, he would surely reprimand her. 

Hearing Lin Nian mention her own father, Huang Lingling's anger instantly dissipated. After giving Lin Ting a glare, she grabbed Lin Nian and turned to leave.

Inexplicably having been glared at, Lin Ting simply shrugged and courteously waved as they departed.

Once she was sure that Lin Nian and Huang Lingling were far away, Lin Ting instructed the assistant to bring another dress of the same size for checkout. 

She knew all too well that Lin Nian would later tamper with her dress—though it wouldn't be the same as in her past life when Lin Nian had prepared a dress for her, it was better to be safe than sorry. 

The two dresses cost her a total of 10,000 yuan, and the thought of spending such a large sum made her wince.

But then she reminded herself that the money was provided by the Lin family, so it didn't hurt as much.

After leaving the store, Lin Ting strolled around the mall to select a suitable pair of high heels. 

In the end, she bought a classic pair of 5-centimeter black pointed-toe shoes—a height that a beginner could manage. 

Once she had purchased the dress and the high heels, Lin Ting left the mall contentedly.

By the time Lin Ting returned to the Lin family villa, it was already 2 PM. She instructed the servant to have lunch brought to her room and then went back inside. 

Once in her room, Lin Ting eagerly unpacked the new high heels; on her first attempt, after putting them on, she wobbled uncontrollably and had to practice slowly while holding onto the wall.

Just as Lin Ting was beginning to get used to walking in high heels, a servant knocked on the door carrying her lunch. 

She quickly took off her high heels and went to the door to fetch her meal; upon opening it, she saw Huang Mei standing behind the servant. 

Noticing that Lin Ting was looking at her, Huang Mei promptly said, "Hey, where did you go this morning?" 

"I originally intended to have breakfast with you, but the servant said you had left early,"

Lin Ting replied after silently listening to Huang Mei's words. 

Then she added, "I went to the mall this morning to buy a dress to wear tomorrow." 

"Is the money your father gave you enough? If not, I'll transfer you more," Huang Mei said, already reaching for her phone to send Lin Ting some money before she could react. 

"No, no—I still have money on my card," Lin Nian quickly interjected, stopping Huang Mei, "I need to have lunch first; do you need anything else?" 

Huang Mei, noticing the unfamiliar tone in Lin Ting's voice, paused for a moment before saying,

"It's fine, it's fine—just eat; I won't disturb you any further." 

After that, Huang Mei went downstairs with the servant.

After closing the door, Lin Ting thought about the momentarily stunned expression on Huang Mei's face, and her already dark eyes grew even deeper. 

Huang Mei did feel guilty toward Lin Ting, but that guilt was never nearly as important in front of her husband.

In her heart, Lin Ting's grievances were always placed at the bottom of the list in this family—so the injustice inflicted upon Lin Ting was always overlooked.