Chapter 5: The Inside Story (1/2)

Heaven’s honest truth!

When Lin Tian saw the beautiful girl standing before him with hands on her hips questioning him, he actually felt a chill down his spine!

He was just thinking about the Li family, and now a Li family member appears?

And it’s the Li family princess who his original self allegedly forced himself on at age fifteen?!

Even with Lin Tian’s composure, he was stunned for a good while before responding, then asked somewhat dazedly: “Weren’t you studying abroad?”

Li Shiqing’s eyebrows shot up as she retorted sharply: “Does being abroad mean I can’t come back? Besides, I heard you had a car accident, so I came back specially to see if you were dead!”

Lin Tian felt awkward.

He wasn’t the original Lin Tian, and this part of memory was missing – he couldn’t remember the circumstances of forcing himself on this girl at age fifteen.

But deep down, he was someone who believed in taking responsibility after being with someone.

Regardless of whether he had actually been with the girl before him, his current identity was the Young Master of the Lin family – this was a responsibility he couldn’t shirk.

“Well, um, about what happened back then… I’m sorry!” After thinking it over, Lin Tian apologized stiffly.

What could he do? He’d inherited quite a mess after his reincarnation.

However, his apology made Li Shiqing freeze, then eye him suspiciously, her gaze peculiar.

Lin Tian felt uncomfortable under her stare. The mighty Sword Heaven Supreme Lord who had shocked the cultivation world was now acting like a child who’d done something wrong in front of a mortal girl. If the cultivation world knew about this, their jaws would probably drop to the floor!

After staring at Lin Tian for a long while, Li Shiqing tentatively asked: “You don’t remember what happened back then?”

“Huh?” Lin Tian was stunned.

Then he nodded: “Side effects from the car accident. I lost some memories.”

Li Shiqing’s eyes rolled, a hint of craftiness flashing in them, then she said imperiously: “So you’re trying to take advantage of me and then pretend nothing happened? No way! I heard you got engaged to another woman two years ago? I’ve come back to steal you away! Now the whole capital knows you’ve had your way with me, and I can’t marry anyone else. Tell me, how are you going to handle this!”

How to handle this?

Lin Tian felt a pain in his gut.

This had absolutely nothing to do with him!

But who would believe him if he said that?

Actually, Li Shiqing had different thoughts. About what happened back then, only she and Lin Tian knew the truth.

The story about him stripping her clothes off was just a rumor.

What really happened was that she was being bullied by a school thug. The thug, backed by some gangsters outside school and not knowing Li Shiqing’s identity, tried to take advantage of her.

The thug had bribed Li Shiqing’s then-best friend to lure her to the multimedia classroom. Just when Li Shiqing was feeling helpless and desperate, Lin Tian showed up.

Not only did he fight off the thug despite both getting hurt, he even gave Li Shiqing his own clothes to wear.

But when they came out, people saw them and misunderstood. The misunderstanding grew bigger and bigger. Lin Tian never tried to explain, and Li Shiqing, traumatized by the incident, didn’t immediately clarify things.

When she later wanted to clarify, it was too late. What surprised her more was that when the rumors got out of control, Lin Tian actually admitted to forcing himself on her!

Though the Li family wasn’t as powerful as the Lin and Yang families in the capital, they were still an elite family. How could they tolerate such an insult?

The incident caused an uproar throughout the city, even bringing back Lin family’s old master from the army, who forced Lin Tian to kneel and apologize at the Li family home.

Li Shiqing clearly remembered that when her grandfather, parents, and other relatives were present, that young man kneeling in the center of the hall stopped her with his eyes when she wanted to come out and explain!

Being born into such a family, unless one was born disabled, growing up in such an environment meant having decent emotional intelligence. Li Shiqing immediately understood Lin Tian’s intention.

If Li Shiqing came forward to clarify, it would mean that she, the young miss of the prestigious Li family, had been dragged to the multimedia classroom and almost violated by a thug from a family with some minor background!

For upper-class families where face meant everything, such news would taint Li Shiqing’s entire life!

Whether the violation succeeded wasn’t the key – the key was the vast difference in their social status!

It was like in ancient times, if a princess was taken advantage of by a street beggar!

The beggar would certainly die a horrible death, but the royal family would also lose tremendous face!

How could a princess show her face after being violated by a beggar?

But if a princess was taken advantage of by a feudal lord, especially one stronger than the royal family, it would be different. It wouldn’t be called violation – it would be called admiration.

The strong prey on the weak.

This is an eternal truth.

True for the lower classes, and equally true for high society.

Lin Tian took all the responsibility on himself. The upper class knew the Li family couldn’t fight both the Lin and Yang families, so the Li family became victims – helpless victims.

Meanwhile, Lin Tian was thrust into the spotlight because of this incident, and was severely punished by the Lin family’s old master afterward, ending up in the hospital for twenty days!

Li Shiqing’s reputation was preserved, but at the cost of this young man who took the blame!

Who could guarantee that those noble young ladies could resist when faced with the Lin family’s young master’s advances?