Shang Xinglu thought about this and couldn’t help but smile.

She felt like she understood Lin Heng a little more, and the more she thought about it, the happier she became. She giggled out loud.

Lin Heng, on the other hand, was a bit confused.

…Just now, they had clearly been discussing a serious topic.

He couldn’t help but ask, “What’s so funny?”

Shang Xinglu grinned and said, “I really like the way it feels when you teach me things.”

Lin Heng wanted to say, This doesn’t really count as teaching, does it?

Shang Xinglu tilted her head and asked, “Don’t you think it feels like a master-disciple relationship in a xianxia drama?”

Lin Heng had a bad feeling about this and simply didn’t answer.

Shang Xinglu scrunched her nose and suddenly blurted out, “…Thinking about it that way, if we were together, wouldn’t it be an outrageous, immoral relationship?”

Lin Heng: “…”

Shang Xinglu: “…Kind of exciting, huh?”

Lin Heng: “…………”

Heh.

Then, Lin Heng suddenly picked Shang Xinglu up in a princess carry. She was lifted into the air, let out a startled scream, and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

Lin Heng leaned close to her ear and said in a deep voice, “Then I’ll show you what ‘exciting’ really means.”

Shang Xinglu froze.

“Oh, and while I’m at it, I’ll settle some scores with you,” Lin Heng added as he carried her toward the bedroom, flipping open the little mental notebook where he kept track of grudges.

Shang Xinglu: “…TTATT”

Lulu just wanted spicy boiled fish more than she wanted Lin Heng! Lulu feels wronged!

Some time later, Shang Xinglu cried out, “This isn’t called ‘exciting’—this is daylight indecency!!!”

And then… nothing else needed to be said.

By the time they got up for dinner, it was already past 8 PM.

After eating, Lin Heng went to read, while Shang Xinglu followed the train of thought Lin Heng had suggested earlier and sorted things out carefully.

Dr. Zhang was currently ill, and treating his illness was the top priority.

Of course, if it was some incurable disease that no one in the world had a solution for, or just a common illness that most hospitals could treat, then there wasn’t much she could do to win his favor.

Then there was the laboratory issue.

Other companies had previously tried to establish a personal research lab for Dr. Zhang, but he was already teaching and conducting experiments at C University and seemed quite fulfilled, so he hadn’t accepted any offers.

Next was his family situation…

It was actually quite simple.

His wife had passed away, and he had a daughter.

In China, he only had relatives from his wife’s side, and they weren’t very close.

At that moment, Marilyn walked into the study, carrying tea.

Shang Xinglu had been lost in thought, staring toward the door.

As she kept thinking, her gaze landed on Marilyn’s face.

Wavy hair, deep double eyelids…

To be honest, the more Shang Xinglu looked at Marilyn, the more she resembled the little girl in the pendant photo…

Then, all of a sudden, Shang Xinglu shot up from her chair and grabbed Marilyn’s hand.

“Sweetie! If I remember correctly, your real name is…”

“Ma Linlin,” Marilyn said.

Shang Xinglu: “…Not Zhang?”

Marilyn replied, “Actually, my surname isn’t Ma either. I grew up in the United States, and the couple who adopted me had the surname Ma. After they passed away in an accident, the Lin family sponsored me.”

As far as Shang Xinglu knew, Dr. Zhang’s daughter had followed him back to China.

That made sense. If she thought about it, the little girl in the photo should be middle-aged by now, while Marilyn was only in her twenties.

Shang Xinglu realized she was overthinking things.

But she still had someone look into Dr. Zhang.

A day later, she received the results—results that surprised her.

After Dr. Zhang and his wife brought their daughter back to China, the daughter struggled to adjust and transferred back to a university in the U.S. However, during a camping trip with friends, she mysteriously disappeared from the campsite.

At the time, Dr. Zhang flew back and forth between the two countries searching for her, losing so much weight he looked like a different person. But in the end, he never found her. His wife fell ill from grief and was sick for a long time.

What shocked Shang Xinglu even more was that in the last photos of Dr. Zhang’s daughter before she disappeared, she looked 70% similar to Marilyn…

Dr. Zhang’s daughter went missing in Massachusetts. Two years later, baby Marilyn was taken in by a welfare agency in Massachusetts.

Shang Xinglu: “…=口=”

She seemed to have unintentionally uncovered a shocking secret.

At that moment, Marilyn placed a cup of freshly brewed tea in front of her, made exactly to her taste.

Shang Xinglu quickly picked her jaw up off the table.

She thought for a moment. Then she thought some more. Finally, she asked, “Sweetie, you said the Lin family sponsored you, so does that mean…”

Marilyn said, “Miss Shang, I was adopted by a Chinese couple, but they died in a car accident when I was in high school. The Lin family funded my education, so after high school, I attended a formal butler training school.”

Shang Xinglu: “…=口=”

This is getting crazier and crazier.

She hesitated for a moment before asking, “Do you want to know about your biological family?”

Marilyn responded calmly, “Knowing or not knowing… it doesn’t really matter to me. Even though I was adopted, I didn’t go through much hardship. My life was fairly ordinary, and I’m doing well now.”

Shang Xinglu wasn’t someone who pried into other people’s personal lives.

When she spoke with others, she usually got straight to the point and rarely asked about their family, relationship status, or career background.

Marilyn had been taking care of her for a long time and understood Shang Xinglu’s personality.

For Miss Shang to keep asking questions like this, she must have found something out.

And since she specifically asked whether Marilyn wanted to meet her biological family, she must have already discovered their identity.

These thoughts flashed through Marilyn’s mind in less than a second.

She asked, “Miss Shang… have you found out who my biological family is?”

Shang Xinglu was momentarily stunned but quickly responded with an “Mm,” then hurriedly waved her hand.

“It’s not that I know; I just guessed. I’m not sure, but you do look like her.”

She held up a photo of Dr. Zhang’s daughter before she went missing.

Marilyn took the photo and examined it carefully. She softly said, “We do look alike.”

Then she added, “But there are plenty of people in this world who resemble each other.”

Shang Xinglu hummed in acknowledgment and said no more.

Even though she was quite sure of her guess, after speaking with Marilyn, she realized that Marilyn had no intention of reconnecting with her biological family.

So, she chose not to bring it up.

Thinking about it carefully, it made sense.

No matter the reason, Marilyn had never spent a day with her biological family. Her adoptive parents treated her well, and she had no regrets in life. So why bother meeting them?

From Dr. Zhang’s perspective, however, his daughter had suddenly disappeared, likely abducted. He carried her photo with him at all times, unable to let go.

At this moment, if Marilyn’s identity were confirmed… No, even without confirmation, just her resemblance to Dr. Zhang’s daughter would be enough to move him deeply.

But…

Shang Xinglu scratched her head.

Regardless of what kind of person Dr. Zhang was, she cared more about Marilyn’s wishes.

If Marilyn didn’t want to meet him, then she wouldn’t force it.

Even if that meant Bichen wouldn’t get the patent.

Without this patent, the company wouldn’t collapse anyway.

Besides, it’s not like she was desperate for money…

So, Shang Xinglu dropped the topic.

She took a sip of her black tea. “What kind of tea is this? It smells better than usual.”

Marilyn smiled gently and began explaining the tea to Shang Xinglu in detail.

After she finished, she picked up the tea tray to leave. Then, as if casually mentioning it, she turned her head and said, “Miss Shang, if you know anyone from my biological family, I’m willing to meet them.”

Shang Xinglu’s eyes widened in shock as she looked at Marilyn.

Marilyn was still the same—calm, gentle, and courteous. That was the difference a professional butler school made. Tuition there was more expensive than at some private universities.

Shang Xinglu asked, “Are you sure?”

Marilyn replied, “I can meet them, or I can choose not to. But if it would help you, Miss Shang, then I’m willing to do it. For me, it’s just a small effort.”

For Marilyn to have worked as Shang Xinglu’s assistant for so long—handling almost everything for her—she had to be perceptive.

She knew that Miss Shang could have asked, could have persuaded her, could have tempted her with benefits. But she didn’t.

So…

This isn’t for anyone else. It’s for you.

I am loyal to you.

Shang Xinglu suddenly threw herself at Marilyn, nuzzling against her.

“My dear, you’re the best in the world!”

Lin Heng happened to pass by the doorway: “……”

…Something about this felt off.

The next day, Marilyn followed Shang Xinglu to C City to visit Dr. Zhang.

There was no DNA test, yet as soon as Marilyn entered the hospital room with Shang Xinglu, Dr. Zhang stared at her in a daze—then burst into tears.

Like his wife, who had also fallen ill from grief over their missing daughter, Dr. Zhang explained that his research had originally been for his daughter.

She had been prone to allergies whenever the seasons changed, but by the time his research succeeded, it was already too late. His beloved daughter would never be able to use it.

This research had become an obsession in his heart.

Selling it was like selling away his memories of her.

Now, as this girl—so similar to his daughter—stood before him, it seemed that he could finally let go, if only for a moment.

No one brought up DNA testing. Dr. Zhang simply asked, “Young lady, when you have time, can you visit me?”

Marilyn smiled. “Of course, no problem.”

A few weeks later, Dr. Zhang passed away. Before he died, he transferred the patent to Bichen and donated all the money to the research lab at C University, hoping to contribute to future scientific advancements.

Bichen also donated a portion of the funds and promised that a part of the product’s future profits would continue supporting Dr. Zhang’s research lab.

Shang Xinglu got the patent but didn’t feel particularly happy.

Losing a great scientist was never something to celebrate.

After returning from the funeral, she felt a bit down.

Dr. Zhang had actually reminded her of her old mentor—the one whose wife made amazing boiled dishes.

That mentor had no children, so he treated his students as his own.

Dr. Zhang’s death triggered an emotional response in Shang Xinglu, making her reminisce about her mentor and her student days.

In a daze, she took a shower, curled up in bed, and fell asleep.

In her dreams, memories of the past flashed before her eyes like a film reel.

Her life as the “Shang Xinglu” in the scientific world quickly came to an end.

But then, the reel didn’t stop.

It continued.

She had become… a baby.

Eat, sleep, repeat.

She was eating so much that she almost felt stupid. Finally, she reached preschool age.

Then, she became a “child prodigy.”

Well, for about two days. Then she learned to keep a low profile, making sure not to scare her parents or get whisked away to a research facility.

When she was six years old, Shang Xingyu was born.

Even though he was a little boy, he was clingy, drooling as he crawled up to her and called her “big sister” in a baby voice.

Thus began her life—parents who didn’t really mind her, while she had to take care of her younger brother.

…So exhausting.

Since she was reborn with past-life knowledge, school was boring. The kids around her were too young for any “childhood romance” nonsense, so she entertained herself by studying whatever interested her.

She often got scolded by teachers, yet still managed to score first place in every test.

…Almost drove other parents crazy with jealousy.

Little Shang Xingyu said, “First place? Isn’t that normal?”

Then, at his first exam, he experienced the true meaning of socialism.

Time flew by until high school.

On the first day of sophomore year, a group of upperclassmen blocked Shang Xinglu after the entrance ceremony. Judging by their uniforms, they were juniors.

One of them, a rather decent-looking boy, was pushed forward and stammered, “Uh… freshman, what’s your name?”

Shang Xinglu licked her lollipop, completely unfazed.

“I’m Li Cuihua. Just transferred from the countryside.”

The group: “……”