[Mission failed, elimination; this is the fourth mission of the vicious supporting female character. Successfully completing it will earn four points. Collecting twenty-five points will grant a grand reward package.]
[According to statistics, three vicious supporting female character missions have been completed. The points for Mission One were one, the points for Mission Two were two, and so on. The points increase as the difficulty rises.]
[Your current total points are six, leaving you nineteen points short of the goal.]
They say things don’t happen more than three times, but this was already the fourth.
Lin Ting finally understood—this system intended for her to follow the original storyline.
After all, this was the path that “Lin Ting” had chosen herself, not some twisted amusement the system had randomly fabricated.
In other words, if she hadn’t acted like that, if she hadn’t been so crazy, these missions wouldn’t exist.
Lin Ting recalled the plot of the original novel.
In the original story, after learning that Duan Xinning and Xia Zimo were secretly together, she became envious and jealous.
Seeing that nothing could separate them, she grew more deranged, constantly scheming, even wishing for Duan Xinning’s death.
To get revenge on them, the vicious supporting female character “Lin Ting” went completely mad, throwing tantrums regardless of the occasion, behaving like a lunatic.
She even forcibly kissed Duan Xinning’s second brother, Duan Ling, in front of everyone.
At that time, “Lin Ting” displayed astonishing strength.
No one could pull her away.
She forcefully kissed Duan Ling for a full thirty breaths, so intensely that even the corners of their lips were torn, making it too shocking for the noblewomen to even glance at.
Thirty breaths, a whole thirty breaths!
Her lips were wounded, and Duan Ling’s weren’t much better—his thin lips bore bleeding bite marks.
Duan Ling was known as a refined and elegant noble gentleman.
With Duan Xinning stopping him, he naturally wouldn’t kill her on the spot, nor would he use brute force against her.
“Lin Ting” had counted on this.
That was why she shamelessly grabbed him and forcefully kissed him.
She wanted to disgust Duan Ling.
After kissing him, she even put on an expression of lingering satisfaction, shamelessly claiming that she wanted to marry him and be his wife.
“Lin Ting” knew she couldn’t marry Xia Zimo, so she didn’t care about her own reputation—she was determined to marry Duan Ling.
If she couldn’t be Xia Zimo’s wife and the heir’s consort, then she would be his sister-in-law instead.
She twistedly thought: Xia Zimo and Duan Xinning would never escape her grasp in this lifetime.
But who was Duan Ling?
If he didn’t want something, who could force him?
Things didn’t go as “Lin Ting” wished—he didn’t marry her.
“Lin Ting” became the biggest laughing stock of the capital, but she was still delighted.
As long as she could disgust them, that was enough.
If she couldn’t have it easy, then neither could they.
Although Lin Ting had already marveled at “Lin Ting’s” twisted thought process before, she couldn’t help but marvel again.
What kind of ridiculous logic was this?
It was a clear case of hurting herself a thousand times just to damage the enemy by eight hundred.
Too self-destructive.
The heavy rain poured down like broken strings of pearls, its sound filling the air.
Lin Ting still stood on West Street.
Her grip on the umbrella loosened, and the oiled-paper umbrella slipped from her palm, falling toward the ground—only to be caught by someone.
That person was Duan Ling.
He returned the umbrella to her without touching her.
Lin Ting couldn’t remember how she held onto the oiled-paper umbrella and made her way back to the Lin residence.
She only remembered that Duan Ling had politely declined her offer to escort him back to the Beizhen Fusi.
And all she could think about was the phrase: “Kiss Duan Ling.”
She hadn’t recovered from her daze.
By the time she came to her senses, she was already in her room, being undressed by Tao Zhu and bathed.
The bathwater was filled with floating petals and fragrant spices, the scent of osmanthus and orchids filling the entire room.
Tao Zhu carefully wrung out Lin Ting’s wet hair.
“Seventh Miss, where exactly did you go today? How did you end up drenched in rain? You didn’t even think to find shelter—were you in such a rush to come back?”
“Even if you dislike what Madam said, you shouldn’t mistreat your own body like this. If you don’t like any of the noblemen in the family records, you can simply choose another. Madam will surely respect your wishes.”
Lin Ting quietly listened to her nagging, flicking away a floating petal on the water.
Seeing her remain silent, Tao Zhu sighed.
“I know you don’t like hearing these words, but Madam only wants what’s best for you. Please don’t let this create distance between you and her.”
After saying this, Tao Zhu released Lin Ting’s hair and moved in front of her to observe her face.
The warm candlelight illuminated Lin Ting’s bare body.
Her porcelain-white skin had turned slightly pink from the heat of the bath.
Her slender neck was slightly bent, head resting against the edge of the wooden tub, long hair cascading down.
Without any rouge or embellishments, her features were strikingly aggressive.
Her naturally upturned eyes held a hint of brilliance—when she cast a sidelong glance at someone, it gave the illusion that she was stepping on them.
At the same time, she exuded the untamed energy of youth.
But for the past two years, she had never looked at anyone with such disdain.
Two years ago, Lin Ting would often unconsciously use that gaze on others, only remembering to restrain herself after Tao Zhu reminded her.
She had maintained the demeanor of a well-mannered, educated noble lady, all for the sake of securing a prestigious marriage.
Tao Zhu examined Lin Ting carefully, sensing that she was unusually quiet tonight.
If this were before, Lin Ting would have argued with her after hearing such words.
Could it be that she had fallen ill from the rain?
Though the weather wasn’t cold, getting drenched might still cause a chill.
That wouldn’t be good.
Tao Zhu put down the towel she was using to wipe Lin Ting’s body and called out to the maids outside. “Didn’t I tell you to bring some ginger soup? Where is it?”
At her words, a maid hurriedly entered with a steaming bowl of ginger soup.
“It’s here.”
“You all take advantage of Seventh Miss’s kindness, knowing she won’t hold grudges. It’s one thing to be lazy on ordinary days, but how dare you be negligent when it concerns her health? Watch yourselves!”
Tao Zhu scolded them with the authority of a senior maid.
Hearing this, the maids immediately apologized.
Tao Zhu gave them a few more admonishments before saying, “Enough, go back to your duties.”
The maids carefully retreated.
Tao Zhu handed the ginger soup to Lin Ting, observing her expression.
“Seventh Miss, quickly drink this before the cold seeps into your body.”
Lin Ting silently took the bowl and drank.
This silence only made Tao Zhu more uneasy.
Lin Ting didn’t usually like it when she scolded the servants.
Tonight, she had reprimanded them in front of Lin Ting, yet Lin Ting hadn’t stopped her.
It wasn’t that Lin Ting was indifferent—she was likely still lost in thought.
Tao Zhu put the empty bowl aside, helped her dry off and get dressed, and then hesitated before cautiously asking, “Did something happen to you today?”
But before she could finish, Lin Ting suddenly lifted her head and stared at her lips for a long while.
It wasn’t the gaze of someone who had fallen ill from the rain—it was more like someone who had been possessed.
Tao Zhu’s heart grew increasingly anxious.
She instinctively pursed her lips.
“Seventh Miss? Please don’t scare me—why are you suddenly staring at me like that?”
Lin Ting tilted her head slightly, touching her chin in thought, and finally spoke: “Tao Zhu.”
Tao Zhu immediately responded, “This servant is here.”
Lin Ting lay down on the bed and asked, “If someone you really hate tried to kiss you, what would you do?”
“If someone I hate tried to take liberties with me… I’d tear that scoundrel’s mouth apart, crush his manhood, and send him straight to the authorities so he’d rot in prison instead of harming others,” Tao Zhu cursed fiercely.
But then, realizing something was off, she suddenly panicked, thinking that Lin Ting had experienced such an incident.
Her face turned pale as she stared at Lin Ting’s lips, which were still flushed from the bath.
“Seventh Miss…”
She wouldn’t have…?
Tao Zhu’s heart trembled.
Lin Ting knew what she was thinking.
“No. Don’t overthink it.”
In reality, she might just be the one acting like the scoundrel.
Holding hands and hugging someone could still be brushed off as accidental or unintentional.
But kissing someone for thirty whole breaths—an entire minute—was impossible to excuse.
There was no way to claim innocence.
Her intentions were clearly improper.
Duan Ling was an expert swimmer, so there was no scenario where he’d drown and require artificial respiration.
Lin Ting tried to picture herself forcefully kissing Duan Ling—it would probably turn into a bloodbath.
Even if she managed to do it, she likely wouldn’t survive past a second.
After all, she was now fully conscious of reality.
Unlike the original “Lin Ting,” she wasn’t willing to risk everything recklessly.
She rubbed her suddenly chilly neck.
Kissing Duan Ling was impossible—not in this lifetime.
Unless she had a death wish.
Hearing Lin Ting’s denial, Tao Zhu was slightly relieved.
“It’s late, Seventh Miss. Please rest.”
The pillows were soft and fragrant.
Lin Ting buried her head in them, took a deep breath, and pushed the task of kissing Duan Ling to the back of her mind.
No matter what happened, it wouldn’t change her priorities: eating well, drinking enough, and maintaining an early-to-bed, early-to-rise routine.
As for the mission… she’d treat it like a game.
The key was finding the best strategy to clear it.
What kind of grand reward package would she receive?
Lin Ting activated her “fall asleep instantly” ability again, drifting off while lying on her stomach like a little turtle.
In the end, Tao Zhu, worried she might suffocate that way, gently flipped her over.
Even though Lin Ting had decided to treat these missions as a game, she was still a bit frustrated.
So, she completely slacked off for the next few days—staying inside, eating, sleeping, and repeating the cycle.
She even gained a few pounds.
On the third morning, her mother, Madam Li, yanked her up by the ear.
“Aiya, Mother, that hurts!”
“Oh, it hurts, does it? Serves you right! You tricked me.”
Madam Li hadn’t achieved her goal a few days ago, so she wasn’t willing to give up.
She had been fixated on getting an answer and arrived at Tingling Courtyard before dawn.
She nearly shoved a small booklet into Lin Ting’s face, threatening and coaxing at the same time: “Lin Leyun, if you don’t pick someone from here today, you can forget about leaving this room!”
Several strong old servant women surrounded the bed like an impenetrable wall, preventing Lin Ting from slipping away again.
Seeing her remain silent, Madam Li feigned heartbreak and pretended to cry.
“I worked so hard to select so many eligible young noblemen, all for whom? For you! You ungrateful child!”
Then she brought up the past.
“Back then, if it weren’t for you—if it weren’t for my desire to raise you by my side and let you grow up worry-free—I would’ve divorced your father. He actually had the audacity to secretly take in that woman, Shen, while I was pregnant with you!”
According to the laws of Great Yan, if a couple divorced, their children would automatically belong to the husband’s family.
Even when the children grew up, their future would still be decided by the father’s household, leaving the mother with no say.
That was why Madam Li had never truly considered divorce.
If she had left, Lin Ting’s father, Lord Lin, would eventually take a second wife.
What if that woman bullied her daughter?
And besides, why should the child she carried and suffered for ten months have to call another woman “mother”?
Madam Li would rather die than let that happen.
She was determined to hold onto her position and never allow Concubine Shen—who had birthed a son—to become the legitimate wife.
Lin Ting knew how much her mother, Madam Li, had sacrificed.
She lay on her lap and gently patted her back.
“Mother, I will take you away. Just wait a little longer, let me save up some more money first.”
Madam Li didn’t quite hear her and didn’t bother asking further.
Instead, she pressed, “Are you going to choose or not?”
After all that talk, the conversation still circled back to this issue.
She shoved the small booklet into Lin Ting’s hands.
Without even opening her eyes, Lin Ting lazily flipped through a few pages and pointed at a random name.
“Him.”
A marriage meeting wasn’t the same as getting married.
She could be flexible and go along with her mother for now.
Tao Zhu, blocked outside by the burly servant women, couldn’t see who Lin Ting had chosen.
She could only hear Madam Li’s hesitant voice.
“Him? Why don’t you look again? There are others…”
Her mother didn’t like this choice?
Then Lin Ting was even more determined not to change it.
She repeated firmly, “Him.”
From start to finish, she hadn’t even glanced at the picture of the man she had chosen.
She was too sleepy to bother.
Yawning a few times, she shoved the booklet back into her mother’s hands.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Madam Li had no idea that Lin Ting hadn’t even opened her eyes to look.
“Did you really look carefully? You’re sure about this choice?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“I’ve chosen. Are you satisfied now, Mother? Can I sleep a little longer?”
Lin Ting whined playfully, flopping back onto the bed and pulling the blanket over her head.
It was still early—dawn hadn’t even fully broken.
Madam Li hesitated, watching her daughter sleep so peacefully.
In the end, she said nothing more.
She closed the booklet, handed it to the old servant woman beside her, and reached over to tuck the blanket around Lin Ting.
Just then, someone from the household accounts office arrived, reporting that Lord Lin was trying to withdraw a large sum of money.
That old bastard—wasn’t he supposed to be at the government office for his duties?
Why was he secretly withdrawing such a large amount of money?
Was it to buy something for that woman, Concubine Shen?
Madam Li’s brows furrowed.
She didn’t want to disturb Lin Ting, so she quietly left.
Once Madam Li and the sturdy servant women were gone, Tao Zhu finally managed to get close to the bed.
Lin Ting, completely unaware, hugged the blanket and turned over in her sleep.
She was sleeping soundly.
Tao Zhu was bewildered.
She had no way of finding out which noble family Lin Ting had picked.
Judging from Madam Li’s tone, she seemed to have some concerns about the choice, but since Lin Ting liked it, she hadn’t objected.
Before they knew it, daylight had fully arrived.
After getting some extra rest, Lin Ting slowly woke up.
The south-facing window in the inner room was half-open, allowing a few butterflies to flutter in and land on the potted plants by the windowsill.
Stretching lazily, Lin Ting sat up, still wrapped in her blanket, watching them for a moment to shake off her drowsiness.
Sensing that she was awake, Tao Zhu led the maids in, carrying water and breakfast.
“Seventh Miss, you must be hungry. Madam specifically had them make your favorite meat buns.”
The mention of food made Lin Ting move quickly to wash her face and brush her teeth.
While a maid helped style her hair and insert hairpins, Tao Zhu walked over and gently touched her earlobe, fastening a pair of sapphire-glass crescent moon earrings.
“Seventh Miss, which family’s young master did you choose?”
Lin Ting absentmindedly played with the gold and silver jewelry in her box, looking puzzled.
“Which young master?”
Tao Zhu reminded her, “This morning, Madam had you choose someone for a marriage meeting. Didn’t you pick one? Who was it?”
She shrugged.
“I didn’t really look. I just picked randomly. It’s just a meeting anyway, not like I’m losing anything. It’s not like choosing someone means I have to marry them. We’ll deal with things as they come.”
“But… but you can’t just choose someone at random!”
Tao Zhu was utterly shocked.
Lin Ting, ever full of mischief, chuckled slyly.
“Why not? No matter who it is, I guarantee that on the day of the meeting, I’ll leave him with a ‘beautiful’ memory—one he’ll never forget for the rest of his life.”