Chapter 27: Stripped Down to Nothing!

Lin Xianxian stopped in her tracks.

[It’s happening, it’s really happening! Is that Lina? Great, I’m about to be put in my place!]

Shang Yang had just walked in when he heard this. Looking at Lin Xianxian’s excited profile, he felt both helpless and amused. She was actually happy about being humiliated?

Lin Xianxian was indeed happy. She was happy first because she was about to meet Lina, whose designs she had long admired. And second... the sooner this scene played out, the sooner she, this cannon-fodder character, could exit the stage and go enjoy some good food.

She had already mentally prepared to "flee in anger and humiliation" after being put in her place by the heroine. Let’s see, what kind of expression and what kind of back-profile would best convey the embarrassment of being humiliated by the female lead?

As she thought this, she turned around and saw Lina.

Lina’s gaze swept past Qin Xinxia, then landed on Lin Xianxian with an eager expression. She strode over, grabbed Lin Xianxian’s hand, and exclaimed, "LIN, it’s you, right?! I never imagined I’d run into you here in the Imperial Capital!"

In an instant, Lin Xianxian froze. Everyone present froze as well. Qin Xinxia, in particular, stared at the two of them in utter disbelief.

Earlier, when she saw Lina, Qin Xinxia had been overjoyed and ready to greet her. Having been so humiliated by Lin Xianxian just moments ago, she had intended to reveal her secret identity—something she had originally wanted to keep hidden—to put Lin Xianxian in her place. It would be the perfect way to show everyone she had real talent and to clear Shang Beiming’s name, proving he didn't just like her for her looks.

Gathering the courage to reveal her secret had already taken everything she had. She had originally planned to wait until she achieved more success before going public. It was only because she ran into Lina right when she was being humiliated that she had acted on impulse.

Never did she expect that Lina, who had always shown her great appreciation, would ignore her entirely and focus solely on Lin Xianxian. Not only that, but Lina seemed to know Lin Xianxian, and she was so excited that she had practically run toward her!

The others were just as bewildered. They didn't know what Qin Xinxia had intended to do; they were thinking, "Lin Xianxian knows the world-renowned designer Lina? She doesn't even study design, does she?"

"Why would she need to study it? As the young heiress of the Lin family, she’s naturally a VVIP customer of Lina’s brand. Perhaps her whole family is. It’s normal for her to know Lina."

"But our family is a VVIP of Lina’s brand too. Why does Lina only know Lin Xianxian?"

"Could it be related to her parents' status?"

"Probably her grandparents. They all studied abroad back in the day; they might have known each other. Maybe Lin Xianxian is even considered a junior to Lina."

As the crowd whispered, Qin Xinxia felt a sudden sense of relief. That must be it—Lina only knew her because of the Lin family’s background. She was glad she hadn’t revealed her secret identity yet, or it would have been incredibly awkward. After all, if Lin Xianxian was a junior acquaintance of the teacher she admired, she wouldn't be able to "humiliate" her at all; in fact, her own status might be lower than Lin Xianxian’s.

A sense of crisis washed over her. What if Lin Xianxian just said one word, and the teacher abandoned her? After all, the teacher rarely came to Long Country, and when she had invited Qin Xinxia to go abroad to work with her, Qin Xinxia had been unwilling. Although they had a teacher-student relationship, Lina mostly just offered advice online when she had time and introduced her to some people in the fashion circle.

Beyond the crisis, Qin Xinxia felt a sting of resentment. She had worked so hard to gain Lina’s appreciation, struggling to become her student, while Lin Xianxian—simply born with a better background—could destroy everything she had worked for with a single word.

While Qin Xinxia suffered, Lin Xianxian was completely stunned, screaming internally like a marmot:

[Ahhhhhh! Wait!! How does Lina know?! How does she know I’m LIN?! Not even 99% of our company’s employees know! Why does she know?!]

[I was supposed to survive until the finale, secretly making money with my secret identity. Maybe by then, I’d be a richer woman than the leads, and I could even keep a few boy toys or something, enjoying the world before heading back...]

[If she does this, my "vicious female supporting character" persona is ruined!! Everyone knows now... My god, what happened to the humiliation? Heroine, step up!! Why am I the one humiliating you now?!]

Lin Xianxian was having a mental breakdown. A few people nearby rubbed their ears, looking at Lin Xianxian with strange expressions, then curiously at Lina.

Lina had a booming voice, and with a few words, she had stripped away all of Lin Xianxian’s secrets.

"My dear LIN, I never expected to run into you here! We are truly fated!"

"I was wondering why you kept declining my invitations to meet whenever I told you I was in the Imperial Capital. I was quite hurt, but now I see..." Lina looked thrilled. "You were planning to give me a surprise! My dear, you succeeded, I’m truly surprised!"

Lina didn't even notice the awkward smile on Lin Xianxian’s face. She excitedly grabbed her friend beside her and said, "My dear, let me introduce you. This is LIN. Three years ago, when I first saw her design sketches, I was stunned. I’ve been keeping in touch with her by email ever since. I’m the only one who knew this mysterious LIN was from your Long Country..."

Lina’s friend was Ms. Shu, a socialite from the Hong Kong circle. She looked at Lin Xianxian in surprise. "Lin Xianxian... LIN... LIN XIAN. So that’s it!"

Ms. Shu’s eyes widened with realization and admiration. "To think there was such a clever trick in the name! Miss Lin, you must have been looking forward to someone figuring it out, right? Honestly, once you say the name, it’s obvious it’s you. None of us made the connection before..."

It wasn't hard to see why they hadn't made the connection. Everyone looked at Lin Xianxian with strange expressions. A "love-struck fool" who was only known for having decent grades, being pretty, and having a good family background...

Their only impression of Lin Xianxian was that she was wilful and spoiled by six capable adults in her family, chasing after Shang Beiming every day, only to inexplicably become the future wife of Shang Yang...

No matter how they looked at it, they had always thought Lin Xianxian was just a vapid, rich socialite whose future consisted of eating, drinking, playing, and sponging off her parents and husband.