Volume One: First Scroll
Sparring Match
It’s a very precious thing, so I don’t want others to touch it.
After they came in, Song Yuhang also came out of the kitchen. She took Lin Yan’s hand, subconsciously shielding her, and called out, “Sister-in-law.”
Ji Jingxing nodded, her expression impassive. In contrast, Xiao Wei let go of her mother’s hand and threw herself enthusiastically into Yuhang’s arms.
Song Yuhang ruffled her hair and played with her for a moment. “Be good, Xiao Wei, go watch some TV. We can eat soon.”
Once Xiao Wei ran off, she turned back to her girlfriend and squeezed her hand.
“Why don’t you go rest in my room for a bit? I’ll call you when dinner is ready.”
Lin Yan glanced at Ji Jingxing, who was sitting on the sofa playing with Xiao Wei, her expression still a little resentful.
As if no one else was there, Song Yuhang put an arm around her shoulder and gently guided her toward the room, her tone soft and soothing.
“Alright, for my and my mom’s sake, didn’t we agree before we came? No getting angry today.”
Lin Yan huffed. “Why would I get angry? If I get angry when she hasn’t done anything, wouldn’t I just be making a scene for no reason?”
Song Yuhang smiled and pinched her nose. “Our Yanyan is the most magnanimous.”
Sitting on the sofa peeling an orange for Xiao Wei, Ji Jingxing’s peripheral vision took in their entire interaction. Bitterness welled up in her heart, but she forced a calm facade.
She watched as Song Yuhang saw the other woman into the room. It was a good ten minutes before she came out, and when she did, a button on her shirt had been pulled loose, and there was a bright red lipstick mark on her neck. This was Lin Yan’s silent declaration of sovereignty.
Ji Jingxing’s fingernails dug into the orange, squeezing out juice.
Meanwhile, Song Yuhang herself wore a look of utter satisfaction, her eyes soft with affection. One didn’t need to guess what they had been up to in there.
But the moment their gazes met, Song Yuhang reverted to her usual cool composure. She pulled a tissue from the table and began wiping off the lipstick mark without any attempt to hide it.
This was to give Lin Yan confidence, and also to hint to Ji Jingxing not to cause any trouble today.
Her heart aching with bitterness, Ji Jingxing offered her the peeled orange. “Yuhang, have an orange.”
Song Yuhang waved her hand in refusal. “No thanks, I’m going to help Mom with dinner. Give it to Xiao Wei.”
Ji Jingxing stood up as well. “I’ll go too.”
Yuhang turned back to look at her. “You’re a guest. There’s no reason for a guest to do chores.”
“But—” Ji Jingxing started to object, but was cut off.
“Sister-in-law, please just sit and relax. The kitchen is small, it really can’t fit three people. If you’re hungry, have some snacks to tide you over.”
Her tone was neither overly warm nor distant; both her words and her expression were maintained at a perfectly calibrated level.
But the word “guest” created a chasm between them as wide as the heavens.
“Yuhang, must it be this way?” Ji Jingxing’s face filled with misery.
The sound of stir-frying came from the kitchen. Song Yuhang rolled up her sleeves, her expression perfectly composed.
“Sister-in-law, it was I who crossed the line and was impolite in the past, and I apologize to you for that. But today is the last day of the lunar new year. After today, let’s turn the page. Let’s not make Mom sad on a day for family reunion. Lin Yan may have a thousand flaws, but she is my girlfriend…”
She lowered her voice so the person in the room couldn’t hear.
“I’ve already bought the diamond ring. I appreciate your good intentions, but the person who will walk with me through the rest of my life is her. She knew you would be here today, yet she still came home with me. She’s not a person who haggles over every last penny1, she’s just a bit stubborn. Even when she’s wrong, she’s unwilling to admit it. Please don’t take it to heart.”
“I’m not asking you two to get along peacefully. Just for today, in front of the child, in front of Mom, let’s each take a step back and let it go.”
Having said her piece, Song Yuhang called Xiao Wei over and flicked her on the forehead. “Go see the present your Auntie bought you. It’s by the door.”
Xiao Wei let out a cheer and rushed over. Song Yuhang, on the other hand, pushed open the kitchen door and went straight in, giving Ji Jingxing no further chance to speak.
“Wow! A Hello Kitty crystal hair clip!” Xiao Wei opened the gift box and was instantly stunned. All sorts of hair clips and flower accessories were neatly embedded in black foam, sparkling transparently under the light. They were gorgeous.
“And a kids’ camera! It’s so pretty, Mommy!” Xiao Wei cheered as she pulled out a pink camera. There was also a full suitcase of watercolor pens from a fairytale princess series.
And a huge Barbie doll and a carousel music box.
This was clearly not Song Yuhang’s handiwork. Her usual gifts consisted of things like Transformers, toy guns, or Lego, making Ji Jingxing want to complain and even wonder if Yuhang was raising Xiao Wei as a boy.
Only Lin Yan would have such a delicate and charming girlish touch. She had even considered that Xiao Wei practiced calligraphy and gifted her an expensive set of the Four Treasures of the Study2, custom-sized for a child’s use. She also gave her the latest model of an English-language reader, something Ji Jingxing had long wanted to buy for Xiao Wei but couldn’t bring herself to splurge on.
This generous gift could not be called anything but precious. For a moment, a complex mix of feelings churned within Ji Jingxing. She looked toward the bedroom door; it was still shut tight, showing no sign of opening.
Inside the room, Lin Yan took out a small portable mirror to touch up her makeup. She applied her lipstick, dabbed away the excess with her pinky finger, and pressed her lips together. Her phone buzzed.
She picked it up. It was a message from Lin Ge:
Are you coming home for dinner today?
Lin Yan screwed the cap back on her lipstick. Just as she typed a line in response, a knock came at the door. She went to open it.
Xiao Wei held out a handful of candies to her. “Auntie Lin, thank you. But Mommy said the presents are too much, Xiao Wei can’t accept them.”
Ji Jingxing sat on the sofa, her eyes fixed on the television, but her ears were secretly perked up.
Lin Yan took a White Rabbit creamy candy3 from the little girl’s palm and accepted it. “It’s alright, Xiao Wei. Those gifts are from your Auntie to you, which means they belong to you. No one else has the right to decide what to do with them.”
Ji Jingxing gritted her teeth in frustration.
Lin Yan stood up straight, her voice just loud enough for those in the living room to hear.
“No matter what, the child is innocent. The gifts were given with only the child in mind. Certain people should stop being so full of themselves.”
Ji Jingxing’s expression changed. Just as she was about to speak, Mother Song came out of the kitchen with a dish.
“Everyone must be hungry. Wash your hands, it’s time for dinner.”
At the square Eight Immortals table4, Mother Song sat at the head. Xiao Wei insisted on sitting by herself, and Ji Jingxing also sat alone. Song Yuhang took off her apron and sat down next to Lin Yan.
An irrepressible smile bloomed on Lin Yan’s lips, a hint of smug triumph in her eyes.
Under the table, Song Yuhang squeezed her hand. “Try our family’s New Year’s Eve dinner. See if you like it.”
“Okay~ Auntie’s cooking has always been delicious,” Lin Yan replied, drawing out her words in a sweet and well-behaved tone.
Whatever displeasure Mother Song might have felt instantly vanished, and she beamed from ear to ear.
“Good, good, hurry and eat.”
During the meal, they chatted and laughed. Song Yuhang frequently used the serving chopsticks to put food into her and her mother’s bowls, as well as Xiao Wei’s. Not once did she place anything in Ji Jingxing’s bowl.
Since it was Lin Yan’s first time having New Year’s Eve dinner with them, Mother Song was naturally warmer toward her, constantly adding food to her plate until her bowl was piled high like a small mountain.
Lin Yan didn’t refuse, eating mouthful after mouthful and even commenting knowledgeably on the flavors of various ingredients.
Song Yuhang tugged at her clothes and whispered, “If you can’t eat it all, don’t force yourself.”
She didn’t want Lin Yan to feel unwell again when they got home tonight.
“It’s fine, I can handle it,” Lin Yan said. Then, whether it was from a chili that went down the wrong way or from eating too quickly, she turned her head and coughed lightly.
Song Yuhang patted her on the back.
Ji Jingxing also put down her chopsticks, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “Mom, your kindness is being treated as ill-intent5. She’s used to mountain delicacies and seafood, how could she possibly eat our simple fare6?”
Lin Yan turned her head back, the corners of her eyes slightly red from coughing. She picked up her glass of water and took a large gulp, her hand gripping the glass tightly.
Under the table, Song Yuhang clutched her hand.
Mother Song looked at Ji Jingxing, then at Lin Yan. Unsure of what she had said or done wrong, the old woman looked rather awkward and helpless.
After a few short breaths, Lin Yan calmed down, though she vented her frustration by fiercely twisting the flesh on the back of Song Yuhang’s hand.
Song Yuhang winced in pain.
Lin Yan slowly and deliberately finished the food Mother Song had just placed in her bowl, then dabbed her lips with a napkin.
“The ingredients are the same; it’s just the cooking methods that are different. To insist on distinguishing between high and low, I really don’t know what kind of problem that is.”
Now, even Mother Song could see that the two of them did not get along.
Ji Jingxing’s face changed, her chopsticks clenched tight in her hand.
But Lin Yan had already turned back to Mother Song with a smile. “Auntie, it’s truly delicious. My mother passed away early, so it’s been many years since I’ve had New Year’s Eve dinner with family. Thank you.”
As she spoke, the redness from her coughing fit still lingered in the corners of her eyes, and her dark pupils seemed to be coated with a sheen of water.
Her smile was both sincere and soft.
Mother Song’s heart instantly soured with sympathy. “Ah, good, then, eat up, eat up.”
As she spoke, she moved all the spicy dishes closer to her side.
Song Yuhang patted her own mother’s back and served her a bowl of soup.
“You eat too, Mom. After dinner, try on the new clothes Yanyan bought for you. If they don’t fit, we can exchange them.”
The topic was successfully shifted.
“Don’t be so troublesome. Didn’t I say not to buy things when you come for dinner? If you do this again, you won’t be welcome anymore.”
Song Yuhang laughed and served a bowl of soup to Xiao Wei, placing it within her reach, then did the same for Lin Yan.
“It’s not my call, you’ll have to get Lin Yan’s approval. Besides, what’s wrong with having one more person to dote on you? You never like the clothes I buy anyway. I think I’ll just have Yanyan go shopping with you next time.”
Lin Yan took a sip of soup. “Mmm, okay. Isn’t there a new mall opening downtown after the New Year? I can go with Auntie. Anyway, whenever you come shopping with me, you never have anything useful to say. You just keep saying ‘it looks good, it looks good,’ like a broken record.”
The tense atmosphere quietly eased.
Mother Song smiled and placed a piece of white cut chicken7 into her bowl. “Just like her father.”
The whole table burst into laughter, even Xiao Wei giggled along. Song Yuhang then ladled the last bowl of soup and handed it to Ji Jingxing.
“It must be hard for Sister-in-law to raise a child alone. Mom woke up early today to buy fresh pig trotters from the market. She then added kidney beans and stewed it all afternoon. It’s the most nourishing and good for the skin.”
Ji Jingxing seemed completely taken aback that there was a portion for her, and she froze for a moment.
Seeing she didn’t take it, Song Yuhang reached out and placed it on the table for her before sitting back down to chat and laugh with Lin Yan.
Lin Yan secretly rolled her eyes. And just like that, the matter was over.
The meal was a heart-pounding affair, turbulent with undercurrents. By the time it was over, the back of Song Yuhang’s shirt was damp with sweat. She had been terrified the two would start fighting at the dinner table, but in the end, it was just a few minor squabbles. All in all, they had managed to get through it peacefully.
She quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Ji Jingxing no longer had any reason to ask Song Yuhang to take her home, because Yuhang was not just her younger sister, but also someone else’s girlfriend.
Mother Song walked them to the door and stroked Xiao Wei’s head. “Be a good girl, Xiao Wei. Go inside and play with your Auntie for a bit. Grandma needs to talk to Mommy.”
Ji Jingxing stood there with her bag on her back, holding her child’s hand. “Mom, forget it. If you have something to say, just say it.”
Mother Song glanced inside. Song Yuhang was clearing the leftovers from the table, and Lin Yan was helping her, holding the trash can.
She lowered her voice and looked at her daughter-in-law. “You and Yanyan… what’s going on? Is there some kind of bad blood between you?”
The question stunned Ji Jingxing.
So Song Yuhang and Lin Yan had never spoken ill of her in front of Mother Song?
She forced a smile. “No-nothing. If there’s nothing else, we’ll be going. It’s getting late.”
Mother Song saw the two people busy in the living room weren’t looking their way. She pulled a red envelope from her sleeve and stuffed it into Ji Jingxing’s hand.
“Take it, take it.”
Ji Jingxing tried to refuse, pushing it back into her hand. “Mom, this—”
The old woman’s face hardened. She pushed her straight out the door and forcefully stuffed it into her pocket. Only then did her tone soften as she took her hand, her silver-haired head trembling slightly.
“Take it, Jingxing. Use this money to buy snacks for Xiao Wei. I’m old, I don’t have any big wishes. I just want to see our family in harmony, to see you and Yuhang both happy, and to see Xiao Wei grow up safe and sound. Then I’ll be content.”
Ji Jingxing’s eyes grew hot. “Mom—”
Mother Song waved her hand. “Go on, take the child and head back early. Don’t forget to come over for Jiaozi8 tomorrow.”
When Mother Song went back inside, Song Yuhang was helping a deathly pale Lin Yan out of the bathroom.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
“It’s nothing, Auntie.” Lin Yan weakly lifted her eyes. Her forehead was beaded with a cold sweat, and her palm-sized face was as white as paper. She forced herself to stand up and head for the door.
“Then I’ll be heading back too.”
Song Yuhang helped her sit down again. “Back to where? How can you go back like this? Sit for a while, I’ll get you a glass of water.”
With that, she ran into the kitchen, and Mother Song followed her in.
“What’s going on? Wasn’t she just fine a moment ago?”
As Song Yuhang poured the water, she grumbled under her breath.
“I couldn’t very well say it at the dinner table. She has a weak stomach and gets indigestion if she eats too much. And that bottle of medicinal wine of yours has been steeping for at least ten years, right? I don’t even dare to drink it, and you kept pouring it for her. Well, great. Now it doesn’t matter if it was mountain delicacies or simple fare, she’s thrown it all up.”
Shaking her head, she walked out and held the glass to Lin Yan’s lips, carefully helping her drink.
“That wine is strong. If you can’t drink it, then don’t. Mom doesn’t usually have anyone to drink with, so of course she’d latch onto you.”
Sipping the warm water, Lin Yan felt much better. “I can get it myself, myself. As long as Auntie is happy.”
Listening from the kitchen, Mother Song’s heart filled with a mixture of sourness and sorrow, and her eyes grew hot.
This child is too considerate. It’s impossible not to feel for her.
“Here, Yanyan, take a digestive tablet. In the future, you have to tell Auntie what you can and can’t eat. Also, I just changed the sheets and duvet cover in Yuhang’s room yesterday. Don’t go back today. It’s so far, just sleep here.”
“Thank you, Auntie.” Lin Yan heard the first half of the sentence and popped the tablet into her mouth. The second half almost made her choke on it, and her face turned red.
“That’s… not really appropriate, is it?”
Mother Song went back into the kitchen, took out some honey and dried tangerine peel9, and made her a hangover-soothing soup. After it was ready, she came out, turned on the TV to the Spring Festival Gala10, and said, “What’s not appropriate about it? You’ll be family sooner or later anyway. It’s more lively for me if you two are here. If you leave, wouldn’t Yuhang have to leave with you?”
Song Yuhang sat between them, put an arm around her mother’s shoulder, and winked.
“Mom, this time you’re really my birth mom.”
Two elbows jabbed into her abdomen simultaneously.
Lin Yan gritted her teeth. “Song. Yu. Hang.”
Mother Song said, “Even a birth mom needs you to go wash the dishes!”
Song Yuhang let out a dramatic wail and fell back onto the sofa.
The Lin Residence.
“Cough, cough, cough… I’m not eating anymore.” The old man coughed violently. In the vast dining room of the villa, he sat all alone.
The room was cold and deserted. The exquisite and lavish dishes on the table had barely been touched.
A woman gently patted his back and used a handkerchief to wipe away the drool trickling from the corner of his mouth.
“Alright, alright, we won’t eat anymore. I’ll help the Old Master back to rest.”
With that, she and the butler helped the man into a wheelchair and settled him in.
Lin Youyuan looked up at her, his voice hoarse. “Don’t trouble yourself. Old Lin can take me up. You should go rest too.”
The woman’s eyes darted around. She wanted to say more, but the butler, who had always been Lin Youyuan’s confidant, was already wheeling him away.
The woman could only stomp her foot in frustration where she stood.
A servant came to ask, “Madam, are these dishes still needed?”
“Needed for what? Throw them out to the dogs!” The woman twisted the handkerchief, her face momentarily so ferocious that the servant took several steps back, not daring to look up at her again.
“Yes, Madam.”
The quiet corridor was carpeted with an intricate pattern, and the wheelchair moved silently across it.
Lin Youyuan coughed twice more. His face was haggard, his eyes sunken. He wore loose-fitting pajamas, and the exposed skin was slack and covered with age spots.
He was aging at a visible and rapid rate.
The butler couldn’t bear it. “Old Master…”
Lin Youyuan raised a hand to stop him. “Did Ge’er11 come over today?”
Butler Lin shook his head. “No, the Young Master’s mother is also very ill, so he didn’t come. However, he sent someone with a congratulatory gift, saying he will come tomorrow morning to offer New Year’s greetings.”
A faint smile touched Lin Youyuan’s lips. “Oh? What is it?”
“It’s an antique snuff bottle12. He said it’s a relic from a Qing Dynasty emperor, and that he spent over half a year searching for it for you.”
“This child, he’s so thoughtful.” Lin Youyuan leaned back in his wheelchair and sighed deeply. The moment he finished speaking, he was wracked by another coughing fit.
“Old Master…” The butler raised a hand, about to pat his back.
Lin Youyuan stopped his movement. “Do you think this woman, Jin Xia13, can be trusted?”
“This servant wouldn’t dare to speculate about the Madam,” the old butler said, lowering his head.
Lin Youyuan covered his mouth with a handkerchief, and a heh-heh-heh sound came from his throat. It was impossible to tell whether he was coughing or laughing.
He didn’t say, and Lin Youyuan didn’t ask again.
“Has the Young Miss returned?”
Butler Lin resumed pushing him forward, shaking his head.
Lin Youyuan closed his eyes, allowing himself to be pushed into the bedroom.
“It’s good she didn’t come back. Good she didn’t.”
The massive villa returned to its silence. From the distant woods, the faint sound of a few dogs barking could be heard.
Jin Xia slipped out the main gate and turned into the adjacent building.
“Didn’t I tell you not to come over?” Lin Ge opened the study door and glanced around. The corridor was pitch black; no one was there.
He yanked her inside.
Jin Xia nestled coquettishly into his arms, her fingertips teasing his chest.
“That old bastard gave me a hard time again.”
She was full of grievances, but Lin Ge shoved her away.
“Go back. This is not a place you should be.”
“But…” Jin Xia stomped her foot in frustration. “When is he finally going to die? Tending to him every day, looking at his rough, sagging skin, I even have to bathe him… I feel like throwing up.”
Lin Ge snorted coldly and walked to his desk to tend to his own affairs.
“A centipede dies but never falls down14. It won’t be that fast.”
“But we’ve been giving him that drug for over half a year and there’s no visible effect—” Jin Xia whined, walking around to the front of his desk. She was about to sit on his lap when she spotted a crystal ball on the desk, and her eyes instantly lit up.
“Wow, this is so pretty!”
She snatched it up.
Before she could even sit down, the crystal ball was wrenched from her grasp, and she was grabbed by the neck and shoved against the wall.
Lin Ge’s eyes were bloodshot, his grip on her throat gradually tightening.
“Don’t. Touch. My. Things.”
Jin Xia’s eyes rolled back, her feet kicking wildly against the wall. She never would have imagined that the seemingly frail Lin Ge possessed such strength.
Looking at his face, he had clearly lost his usual gentleness. His gaze was fierce and icy, as if he were merely crushing an ant.
Jin Xia was terrified. As she began to lose her breath, tears welled up in her eyes, and she frantically beat at his wrist.
“Cough, cough… I’m sorry… I… I was wrong.”
For countless moments, Lin Ge wanted to kill her, to make her one of his specimens.
However, the thought that she was still useful came to mind.
The bloodshot veins in his eyes faded significantly.
Lin Ge let go. Jin Xia collapsed to the floor, trembling all over, looking at him with a mixture of shock and terror.
Lin Ge bent down and gently helped her up, even patting the dust off her skirt.
“Sorry, I scared you, didn’t I? It’s a very precious thing, so I don’t want others to touch it.”
The woman’s eyes were red-rimmed, and a circle of bruises remained on her neck. Lin Ge gently massaged it for her, easing the pain.
“I’m sorry, I was impulsive just now, Xiaxia. It won’t happen again. You have to believe me. I can definitely save you from this sea of suffering.”
Violent and vicious one moment, tender and loving the next—this change in demeanor, as fast as flipping a page, made Jin Xia’s scalp tingle.
It was as if she had never known this person at all. Looking at his face, an inexplicable chill rose within her.
Lin Ge continued to display his expertise, handing her a glass of water from the desk. “I’m sorry, Xiaxia. Have some water to calm down. Come, I was in a bad mood tonight. You work so hard taking care of Lin Youyuan, I should be more considerate.”
Jin Xia didn’t dare to stay any longer. She pushed his hand away and stood up on her own. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll go back now.”
With that, she fled the room as if escaping for her life.
Not long after she left, a figure dressed in black emerged from behind a bookshelf.
“You’re not going to kill her? Aren’t you afraid she’ll tell Lin Youyuan?”
Lin Ge snorted coldly, stroking the crystal ball as if caressing a woman’s softest spot.
“Lin Youyuan is no fool15. If she told him, she’d be even more dead.”
“Then aren’t you worried she’ll cut ties with you and stop helping you?”
Lin Ge sneered. Now that things had come to this, there was no need to pretend anymore.
“Once you’ve had that stuff, very few people don’t get addicted. Just wait and see. She’ll be back tomorrow looking for me.”
The person in black turned to leave but was called back.
“You did well this time. The money has been transferred to your account.”
A disdainful smile tugged at the person’s lips. “You know I’m not in it for the money.”
“I know. Don’t worry.” Lin Ge stood up and pressed a gold bar into his hand.
“I will help you, just as you have helped me.”
LP: Re-translated on June 24, 2025
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I’m going to have to disagree with you on this one TL. After the unprovoked things Ji Jingxing has done towards Lin Yan and Song Yuhang, I don’t think being on good terms would be realistic. Just treating each other neutrally for the sake of maintaining family peace is the best I would expect out of an average person irl. And when you include Lin Yan’s Bipolar Disorder, that’s already pushing it. I’ve seen how my sibling and family members with it act towards people they’ve received hostility from in the past. Even 13 years later, just their name alone is enough to induce outright hostility. I honestly believe this is the best case scenario