eryone, calm down. Don't mess up our formation." The leader of the group whispered a reminder but did not dare to act recklessly. With their current disadvantageous situation, they could not afford an...Chapter 28: I Come from the Twenty-First Century

After a brief familiarization with her surroundings, Qi Lin was most satisfied with the little stream in the backyard. Although there were several clusters of dried rose canes and a few bare willow trees beside it, it made her feel at ease.

Nearby stood a large white stone covered with moss, which she found acceptable enough to remove by hand. Tired from her efforts, Qi Lin sat down on the white stone, gasping for breath as she looked up at the completely dark sky, realizing that it was time.

"Miss Hongxue."

Indeed, Huansha's voice came from behind. Qi Lin got up and brushed off some dirt before turning around to ask, "What is it"

"Dinner has been prepared, Miss, and Miss Buzhao has arrived." When mentioning Buzhao, Huansha tried to find any signs of surprise on Qi Lin's face but couldn't see anything even as she walked closer under the dim lantern light.

Qi Lin smiled slightly. As expected, she had come. She casually said, "Let’s go."

Entering the main house, Lüzhu was standing by and immediately came forward to greet Qi Lin upon her arrival.

"My humble abode is rather simple; please forgive me for any inconvenience." Quickly sitting down at the head of the table, she smiled warmly at Buzhao who looked displeased. Walking slowly during the wait must have made Buzhao impatient. She then sternly said to Lüzhu, "Since Miss Buzhao has arrived, why didn’t you tell me sooner This caused her to wait for a long time."

Qi Lin was impressed with herself for remembering Empress Zhen Huan's ways.

Huansha and Lüzhu knelt to apologize. Qi Lin said, "Fortunately, Miss Buzhao is broad-minded and doesn’t take it personally; you should quickly thank her."

"Thank you, Miss Buzhao." Although confused by the situation, they followed through with their instructions.

Qi Lin smiled slightly. This caused Buzhao's expression to worsen even more than before.

"Alright, you can leave for now." Qi Lin’s anger nearly boiled over but she kept it in check; there were more important matters at hand.

Lüzhu looked up at Qi Lin who nodded silently, giving her a signal to stay.

Finally, only Qi Lin and Buzhao remained inside the room. The golden candle flickered softly, making sizzling sounds.

"I won’t beat around the bush; I'll just come straight to the point."

Hearing this, Qi Lin paused in her tea drinking, noticing it didn't smell as good as before and lost interest. She put down the teacup and changed from a formal sitting position to cross-legged. Extending her left hand with a smile, she said, "Hello, I come from the twenty-first century."

She disdainfully looked at Qi Lin's stained hands, but still reluctantly extended her hand to shake his. She quickly withdrew her hand and said, "Since we both come from the 21st century, it should be easier for us to communicate. Do you know about the Lu Group I’m the sales director there."

The Lu Group Wasn't that company a competitor of Feiyu Construction where she worked and also one of the renowned property companies in China She was able to become a sales director because she had used a risky strategy when competing for a case with the Lu Group. She heard that there was a very capable director at the Lu Group, but she couldn’t remember his name. So they were actually competitors back then too.

Seeing no sign of surprise on Qi Lin’s face, she originally believed that mentioning her connection to the Lu Group would shock and impress her. After all, the influence of the Lu Group in China was quite significant.

"So, nice to meet you. I’m Qi Lin, the sales director at Feiyu Construction."

Ding

She smiled as she looked at Bu Yao’s furious face and slowly shifted her gaze to the crack in the table where her pale hand had been placed moments earlier. She clicked her tongue— the quality of the table was really poor, but it must have hurt.

"Miss, is everything okay"

A slightly worried voice came from outside the door. Qi Lin looked at Bu Yao and softly said, "It’s fine."

“Humph, your dog is quite obedient.” Suppressing her anger, she gritted her teeth and said, “You stole my case, causing me to lose face. Now I see you again, karma sure does come back around.”

"First, Green Bamboo is my maid, a person. Second, in the workplace, everyone relies on their own abilities; don’t blame others for that. Lastly, this is my private residence. In our world, damaging someone else’s property is against the law."

Bu Yao was even more infuriated. She glared at Qi Lin as if she wanted to burn a hole through him with her gaze. However, seeing him leisurely eating snacks, she picked up one and threw it hard onto his face before grabbing the collar of his robe and gritted her teeth, “Do you know how much I lost in reputation because of you How many people ridiculed me”

He calmly wiped off the leftover food from his face and looked at Bu Yao. With a slight smile, he raised his teacup to pour it over her enraged face.

"Ah, are you crazy" Not expecting Qi Lin to do this, she fell backward. Her hair was wet with water and stuck tightly to her forehead, making her look disheveled. She pointed at Qi Lin almost shouting, "You’re the one who’s gone mad!"

“Who looks like a lunatic now” He wiped his hands carefully with a handkerchief and looked coldly at Bu Yao. “I’ve said it before: in the workplace, everyone relies on their own abilities; don’t blame anyone.”

Standing up to face her, Qi Lin’s long shadow fell over her body. Reaching out his left hand, Bu Yao thought he was going to hit her and instinctively covered her face. Qi Lin helplessly shook his head, squatted down, and patted her hair to smooth it out.

"Here, I say, isn’t now the time to talk about this Moreover, even if we do settle accounts, it won't be useful." She calmed herself, withdrew her hand, and quietly looked at Bu Yao. "Look at me, the winner, am I not still trapped here with no freedom of my own Therefore, is there really any point in settling old scores"

Although she was very unwilling to admit it, Qi Lin’s words were logical, leaving her without a counterargument. All she could do was glare at him.

Qi Lin extended his hand again with a professional smile and said, "Miss Bu Yao, can we put the past behind us then

"Humph, that's just luck on your part." Placing her hand in Qi Lin's and using her strength to slowly stand up, she said, "If it weren't for the damned cat, the damned broken car, and the damned rainy weather, I wouldn’t be at this damned place."

Huh Hearing Bu Yao say that, Qi Lin was stunned and loosened her grip.

"Thud."

"Ouch." Not expecting Qi Lin to suddenly let go, Bu Yao lost balance and fell to the ground again. She painfully rubbed her buttocks and angrily asked, "What are you doing"

But when she saw Qi Lin's completely blackened face and the rage in her eyes, her heart sank. When she tried to speak again, her words were jumbled up, "You… what are you doing"

What did she mean by that The scene from before her reincarnation replayed like a filmstrip in her mind—the rainy night, the speeding car, and the white cat with its eyes rolling out. She hadn’t forgotten any of it; she had even cursed the damned driver.

"Let me tell you then." Slowly squatting down, her lips curled into an attractive curve, but her eyes were icy cold, making others feel shivers. Gripping Bu Yao’s chin, she said, "The night I reincarnated was also in rainy weather. In Shanghai's A suburb, I waited for the bus and got hit by a speeding car while crossing the road; I also saw that terrifying cat."

What! Bu Yao couldn’t believe her ears as she widened her eyes, opened her mouth to speak but shook her head dumbly in disbelief. How could this be possible.

"Impossible. This is too much of a coincidence."

Yes, it’s impossible. But that damned thing happened to her! Qi Lin clenched her teeth and grabbed Bu Yao's collar, shaking her fiercely as she shouted, "You said you wanted me here Well, I am the cause of this situation, so who do you want to hold accountable"

She thought she had let go of her past but realized now that she hadn't truly done so; she merely chose to forget. However, a part of her resentment was well-hidden. Bu Yao's presence was the fuse that ignited it.

This is how Qi Lin was; when she unleashed her emotions, there would be no restraint. Just like when the chubby team leader tried to molest her, and she beat him up in his office. She thought she'd get fired but instead, he got sacked, allowing her to take over his position.

So now she had lost control and was harshly questioning Bu Yao.

Bu Yao also exploded; wasn’t she equally wronged Upon waking up, facing so many perverts. And she couldn't even remember anything! More importantly, she was always being stepped on by others, even that damned wooden-headed person ignored her—damn it!

So a question turned into a fight between the two, Bu Yao grabbing Qi Lin's clothes and tugging them fiercely.

"Rrip"

The clothing tore apart. Seeing herself only covered by a simple bra made with her own hands, Qi Lin glared at Bu Yao and pulled her hair.

“Ouch.”

A sharp pain pricked her scalp. Bu Yao had never suffered such humiliation before; she immediately pounced on Qi Lin, scratching and biting fiercely, while Qi Lin didn't back down either, sinking her teeth into Bu Yao's left shoulder.

The two of them finally let go when their mouths were filled with the taste of blood, unable to bear the sharp pain any longer.

"Miss." Lü Zhu and Liuxi pushed open the door. When they saw Qi Lin pinned down on the ground by Bu Yao, her clothes disheveled, especially the sexy bloody marks at both corners of their mouths that made the two people look somewhat inappropriate, they looked at each other with heated faces before lowering their heads and closing the door discreetly.

"Wait." She wanted to stop them, but the door had already closed.

Qi Lin helplessly shut her eyes, calculating in her heart how to explain this situation. Suddenly, she felt light on her body; Qi Lin opened her eyes and saw that Bu Yao was sitting beside her, leaning against a pillar, breathing heavily. Qi Lin slowly got up as well, looked at the neat bloody tooth marks on her right shoulder, casually pulled her clothes down, leaned one hand on the table, and licked off the bloodstains on her lips.

"Let's forget about it," she said calmly, looking at Bu Yao who seemed slightly surprised. Qi Lin poured two cups of tea and passed one to Bu Yao before asking, "How does that sound"

The weird woman touched the wound on her shoulder, took the teacup from Qi Lin with a huff, raised her chin and said, "Humph, I guess it's my bad luck."

Qi Lin lifted her hand, gulped down all the tea in one go, then threw away the cup. She frowned slightly; this tea tasted very bitter, but she still swallowed it with a single mouthful. Looking at Bu Yao's slightly flushed face, she smiled faintly and said, "Let’s talk about business."

Uh Qi Lin changed the subject so quickly that she looked as if nothing had happened earlier. Wiping away the tea stains from her lips, she put down the cup and asked, "Do you know what I came here for"

"Apart from Peony, who else is there" She couldn't possibly expect Qi Lin to reminisce with her.

"I underestimated that Peony bitch." She hadn’t expected Peony would be so brazen in attacking her without any repercussions. "Who’s protecting her"

"Prince Longye, haven’t you heard of him" Yu Mu had told her about it; otherwise she wouldn’t have known.

Longye Bu Yao frowned slightly but then raised the corner of her mouth in a graceful manner. The candlelight reflected in her eyes cast confident shadows on her face.

"Although I hate working with you, since you managed to come up with an outdated plot from Return of the Pearl Princess to win the competition, for this one time, I’ll reluctantly collaborate with you." Qi Lin lowered her gaze and looked at Bu Yao disdainfully.

Qi Lin smiled upon hearing that. She straightened herself and said in a similar manner of contempt, "I was thinking the same thing. Someone who shamelessly claims Jay Chou's songs as their own work while acting so convincingly—right now I need such a partner."

"You... Humph! I won’t see you as my partner; at most, you’re just a pawn." She turned haughtily to the door and said, "Leave Prince Longye to me. Do you need any further instructions"

"Of course not," Qi Lin replied, turning her back on Bu Yao. Hearing the sound of the door opening and closing, she thought about what Bu Yao had just said— they weren’t partners... but an enemy's enemy was a friend, even if temporarily.

Suddenly feeling heavier, Qi Lin turned to see Lü Zhu quietly standing behind her with a cloak on. Satisfied by this, Qi Lin walked over to the table and picked up one of the undamaged pastries to eat while lifting another relatively intact plate towards Lü Zhu and said calmly, "Share it." waking you up. Do you want to take another rest" Qilin affectionately patted Qiao'er's head.Qiao'er stretched, wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes, and said, "No need. Why are you so late...