Chapter 126
Back then, Li Siyi taught him a lesson he would never forget.
“Yangqiu, the most important rule in the Li family code is this: ‘Strength comes from desirelessness.’ This means that when you give in to desire, you reveal a weakness. The strongest and most resilient person is the one without desire!”
“I’m not saying you can’t have desires. No one is a saint—everyone has them. But the stronger the desire, the easier it is to destroy you. I want you to be ambitious and aspire to protect your family and serve your country. That is the highest form of desire.”
After that incident, his cousin was exiled to the most remote region for “training,” under a ten-year ban from returning to the main Li family household.
Li Yangqiu’s punishment was to write the phrase “Strength comes from desirelessness” one hundred thousand times with a brush.
That’s four hundred thousand characters in total!
Moreover, Li Siyi would meticulously check each character. If he detected even the slightest hint of carelessness, the character would have to be rewritten and an additional hundred copies would be required.
During that time, Li Siyi suffered alongside his son. In his own words, “If a child is not taught, it is the father’s fault.” So he endured the punishment with Li Yangqiu.
By the time the hundred thousand repetitions were finished, Li Yangqiu felt utterly exhausted.
However, the rule of avoiding all base desires had already been deeply engraved in Li Yangqiu’s heart as a family precept.
…
After being scolded by his elder sister, Li Yangqiu immediately became obedient.
When he looked at Bai Bing’er, Zhao Mengmeng, and the others, he no longer had any improper thoughts. He simply thought these women were beautiful and dazzling.
…
As for the matter concerning Li Yunqiu and Li Yangqiu, it did not stir up the slightest ripple.
After Bai Bing’er flashed a radiant smile, she didn’t move to approach Lin Tian.
She knew that their relationship was not something that could be rushed.
She was a woman who believed in “planning before action.” Whatever she did, she always had a plan. Even though Lin Tian’s appearance had stirred violent waves in her heart—so much so that her entire outlook on life and values seemed to shatter—
This only served to deepen Bai Bing’er’s fascination with Lin Tian.
The more interested she was in him, the more cautious she became!
It was just like with Jiang Yifeng—since she had no interest in him, the moment she decided he was boring, she tore off the mask of civility and drew a clear line at the Zhao family’s ancestral banquet.
She was a woman who dared to love and hate.
In Lin Tian’s room, she asked that question: “Lin Tian, is holding on to the truth the right thing to do?”
Lin Tian replied, “Of course! Just because falsehoods exist doesn’t mean they’re right!”
From that moment on, Bai Bing’er’s outlook on life, her values, and her entire worldview were reconstructed.
Originally, in her lonely heart, she was the only one stubbornly clinging to the truth.
But now, Lin Tian had taken a place in her heart.
From that day forward, no matter what happened, the mark he left on her heart could never be severed or erased.
He had become her anchor as she drifted alone in the vast river of “falsehood.” With him there, she would never make a mistake again.
With such complex and profound feelings for Lin Tian, Bai Bing’er wouldn’t act on impulse.
From Lin Tian’s inner voice, she had deduced many things and gained a vague understanding of the situation. Born with an innate ability to see through hearts, this woman possessed a sharpness of mind that no one could rival.
Even when she discovered Lin Tian’s presence and felt an overwhelming surge of joy—an almost uncontrollable urge to rush over and stand by his side—Bai Bing’er restrained herself.
Instead, she gave Lin Tian a sweet smile, her eyes brimming with reliance and undisguised delight.
Though she didn’t move, the smile on her face and her breathtaking beauty still left Lin Tian momentarily dazed.
…
Lin Tian remained silent for a long time before finally finding a quiet corner where he stood and calmly observed the situation unfolding.
At the same time, he couldn’t help but feel a trace of melancholy.
[Damn it! Every single one of them is a temptress. Why do I feel like I’m not really rejecting their closeness anymore, whether it’s Shang Chan, Zhao Mengmeng, Bai Bing’er, or Xuan Yuan Qingya?]
[This kind of thinking could be dangerous.]
Lin Tian examined his heart and realized that he had begun to lower his guard against these women without noticing.
After all, any one of these heroines would have been capable of dominating the entire entertainment industry in his previous life.
In a certain sense, they had all reached the pinnacle of perfection, whether it was their looks, personalities, temperaments, or family backgrounds.
They were the kind of flawless women who could only exist in a clichéd romance novel.
Even if Lin Tian were a transmigrator, he would still be a normal man.
After all, this was the real world. In the real world, even if he had the self-control of a saint, he wouldn’t be able to hold out forever if women of such perfection kept throwing themselves at him.
Since ancient times, beauty has swayed men’s hearts.
Heroes have fallen at the gates of beauty—let alone Lin Tian, who wasn’t a hero!
Without realizing it, he had become entangled with Shang Chan, Zhao Mengmeng, Bai Bing’er, and Xuan Yuan Qingya in countless ways—threads that could neither be cut nor unraveled.
Like Shang Chan’s drunken antics at his home.
Or Zhao Mengmeng clumsily arranging sashimi for him at Beibingxian.
Like Bai Bing’er, who was drenched to the bone by icy rain in the guest room yet still smiled so purely and cleanly.
And then there was Xuan Yuan Qingya in his room, gently offering that soft, lingering…