I thought that if I just collapsed in this room, no one would know, and then I slowly closed my eyes, preparing to go to the underworld.

When I woke up, my body was becoming more and more awake, and I saw my third brother's face appear in front of me.

With an IV drip in my hand and a fever-reducing patch on my forehead, I looked at my third brother with a puzzled expression. I didn't say anything, and neither did he, but I could clearly see the worry in his eyes.

"Did the fever make you stupid?" Third Brother approached me and held up one finger, asking, "How many is this?"

I found it funny and wanted to tease him, so I told a lie.

After all these years, he naturally knew he was lying. Seeing that I was still in the mood to joke, he was relieved.

He cooked porridge, brought it in from outside, blew on it to cool it down, and fed it to me in small sips.

My third brother told me that the illness was treated by the Xie family's family doctor, and that's when the IV drip was started.

“Nizi, do you know that if I hadn’t found you in time, you would be in this room…” Third Brother didn’t finish his sentence, but I knew what he was going to say.

I don't think I'll ever do that again. Maybe it's because the porridge my third brother cooks is so delicious that I'm afraid I won't be able to eat it again. Or maybe it's because there are people in this world who care about me. This kind of care is precious enough, and I will cherish it.

He would tell me that I should decide my own life;

Beneath the boy's aloof exterior lies a delicate and gentle heart, making it impossible not to gradually fall for him.

The boy was like a summer breeze, blowing into the girl's heart.

She would feel happy when he shone brightly at the sports meet; she would find him cute when his voice changed; she would feel bad all day when she saw him being confessed to by other girls, but her mood would turn from gloomy to cheerful when he came to cheer her up;

At the age of junior high school, I couldn't figure out what kind of mentality that was. From what my peers described, it must be liking someone.

During a school trip to Lingshan, I discovered a narrow, winding path next to the main temple while we were resting halfway through the trip.

The forest stretched as far as the eye could see, the edges of the steps were covered with moss, and weeds grew rampant along the roadside, making it look particularly dangerous.

Perhaps out of curiosity, wanting to know where these steps lead, I embarked on this path.

I forgot how long I walked, but I knew that at the end there was only one monk who seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

Dressed in plain clothes, he looked every bit the hermit.

He led me to a room where there was only one Buddha statue, but in my eyes it seemed as if countless gods and Buddhas were standing in front of me.

I knelt before the prayer mat and told all the immortals and Buddhas about my shameful thoughts, only to receive a red string from the monk in return.

"Lock it to your ankle, and when it's unlocked, you'll have your wish."

After that, the immortal told me to go back the way I came. My third brother and Lu Yan were anxiously looking for me because I was missing.

They asked me what had happened. I touched the red string in my pocket, glanced at my third brother, and didn't dare tell him.

I have never worn the red string.

It wasn't until my third brother brought Bai Qianqian to me and introduced her identity that I understood.

That night, I put on this red string, as a warning, but also as a way to seal my heart.

My girlfriends often share explicit films and videos in their group chat. I've watched a few myself, and they stirred up fantasies in me, making my desire for that guy even stronger.

Closing one's heart may just be an excuse not to disturb.

Besides me, there are others who have ulterior motives towards Third Brother.

One is Su Tang, the second young lady of the Su family, and the other is Zhao Yujin, the eldest young lady of the Zhao family, who is now practically defunct.

After Bai Qianqian disappeared and Third Brother changed, I did something bold: I wanted to bring down that woman and seize control of the Lin family.

During my efforts to bring down my mother, my third brother secretly played a significant role, which made me realize he was still the same old third brother.

My father's logistics business has grown bigger and bigger, and has even gone international. He also keeps in touch with me often, and I know from him that he has married and had children, and has a happy and fulfilling family life.

My father once considered merging his logistics business with the Lin family to pave the way for me.

I refused, and he understood that I was overthinking things, so he didn't bring it up again.

Later, I heard that he had stepped into that world. The opportunity had come. I rubbed the red rope on my ankle and used the power of the Lin family to collect information about that world. I also got some basic cultivation techniques and weapons from the auction house through my father.

Later, when I officially took the position of president of Lin's Group, my father was worried about me, so he introduced Ye Yan to my side.

Although I felt it was unnecessary, I couldn't refuse a father's request.

...

(To clarify, some people might say the author is subtly hinting at the female lead's role. Sorry, I've always been explicit; I never do anything like that. The female lead's role is very obvious.)