“You’re talking nonsense! Zhi Hua is still young. How can he have children without being married!” Although Lin’s parents privately pressured Lin Zhi Hua in various ways, they firmly denied it in front of others.
“In Zhi Hua’s situation, what difference does it make whether he’s married or not?” Second Granduncle suddenly said, his eyes full of doubt.
They not only suspected Lin Zhi Hua was impotent but also suspected he couldn’t have children.
Panic flashed through Lin’s mother’s eyes, but she quickly steadied her breathing to calm the shock in her heart and argued: “Zhi Hua is not that old, why the rush? Besides, with today’s medical conditions, what is there to fear?”
Lin’s mother desperately ignored the fear rising in her heart. The higher one’s family status, the more emphasis was placed on lineage and bloodline. If Lin Zhi Hua truly couldn’t have descendants in this lifetime…
Old Master Lin closed his eyes slightly as if he had already made up his mind about Lin Zhi Hua’s situation: “I won’t talk about these things. Release your second uncle. If you’re not satisfied, you can keep him out of the company forever, but Zhi Tang must enter the company now. Lin Corporation is ultimately an ancestral brand—it cannot be broken!”
This time Lin’s mother remained silent. Old Master Lin’s former authority remained.
“Lin Chang Ping, you speak.” Old Master Lin banged his cane on the ground and looked at Lin’s father.
“This…” Lin’s father opened his mouth, but stammered, not knowing what to say.
“Hehe.” Lin Zhi Hua, who had been resting his hands behind his back, lounging lazily against the sofa watching them, laughed.
Those two syllables broke the suffocating atmosphere, carrying a nonchalant mockery.
“You unfilial son! What are you laughing at!” Old Master Lin widened his eyes, filled with anger.
Lin Zhi Hua stood up. At this moment, several bodyguards in black suits and Chen Yan were led in by Chen Auntie.
“Lin Zhi Hua, what do you mean by this?!” Second Master Lin retreated two steps in fear.
Lin Zhi Hua looked at them coldly: “Drive them out.”
“You, you, you, you—” Old Master Lin extended his hand, trembling with anger.
“Take the old master to where he belongs, and urge for the sentencing of my second uncle. Make sure to… uphold justice according to the law.” As the last four words fell, Zhang Jia Yu almost fell to the ground while holding the child.
“Father! You can’t let Chang Ji be sentenced!” Zhang Jia Yu burst into tears while holding the child, looking at the old master with red eyes.
“I will! I will—” Old Master Lin patted his chest, his face red, eyes wide, pointing at Lin Zhi Hua trying to say something.
Lin Zhi Hua remained expressionless: “Keep the old master under close watch. Don’t let him run out again.”
“Yes—” Chen Yan respectfully bowed his head.
Lin Zhi Hua’s gaze swept across the roomful of other relatives. They had also been invited by the old master to show force.
People instinctively retreated when Lin Zhi Hua’s gaze swept over them, lowering their heads guiltily.
“Drive all these people out and thoroughly clean up the economic dealings left by the former chairman.” He swept his gaze over them again and coldly spoke, “Cut them all off.”
“Zhi Hua!!” The group panicked immediately.
This meant not only completely excluding them from Lin Corporation but also never allowing them to take advantage again!
This was cutting off the financial lifeline of these “relatives” who had been fattened by Old Master Lin and Lin’s father!
“Zhi Hua, I didn’t come to plead for Lin Chang Ji. He deserves it! He doesn’t deserve forgiveness!”
“Yes, Lin Chang Ji deserves his punishment!”
“Life imprisonment is too lenient for him—he should be sentenced to death!”
“Zhi Hua, your grandfather is confused in his old age. We didn’t speak just now because we didn’t want to upset him!”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
…
These people had remained silent earlier just to observe the situation. They were merely relatives, not as reckless as Old Master Lin, and besides, Lin Zhi Hua’s methods…
Indeed, Old Master Lin and Lin Zhi Hua were not on the same level when it came to tactics.
Lin Zhi Hua was only in his twenties, but perhaps due to various unpleasant experiences in the past, his methods were not at all like those of a twenty-something-year-old—they were extremely sophisticated.
He returned and allowed the old master and others to attack him, then seized the opportunity to cleanly deal with the Lin family relatives he had always wanted to kick out of Lin Corporation.
Outsiders couldn’t criticize, after all, these Lin family members had come to his home to pressure him first!
“See them out!” Facing these people before him, Lin Zhi Hua only uttered two words.
“Yes!”
Soon, besides the servants, only the Lin couple and Lin Zhi Hua remained in the house.
Lin’s father and mother exchanged glances, their eyes reflecting considerable timidity.
“Well… Zhi Hua… isn’t that too harsh? They’ve all been with the company for so many years…” Lin’s father tentatively said.
Lin Zhi Hua lifted his eyelids to look at him, then slowly opened his mouth: “There are two kinds of old-timers: one is meritorious, the other is… parasites. My Lin Corporation does not feed parasites.”
After speaking, he stood up, intending to go upstairs to rest.
“Zhi Hua!” Lin’s mother suddenly called out to him.
“Hmm?” Lin Zhi Hua looked back.
“Well… is there any chance… I might hold a grandson or granddaughter in this lifetime?”
Lin’s mother asked cautiously. The words of those people earlier had made her doubtful.
If Lin Zhi Hua was merely impotent, why had he never thought of proving otherwise in all these years, despite the pressure and coercion from his grandfather?
Just one child…
Everything would be resolved. Lin Chang Ji wouldn’t have second thoughts, and Old Master Lin wouldn’t give up on his eldest grandson, whom he had trained as his successor for many years.
Lin Zhi Hua suddenly turned to look at her, his sharp gaze making Lin’s mother somewhat… afraid.
He closed his eyes slightly: “My child can only be with my lover, the person who accompanies me through life.”
Lin Zhi Hua knew that many people in their circle didn’t care about this, with plenty having legitimate children, illegitimate children, and all sorts.
Even Lin’s father had an illegitimate child in his early years, but the child died prematurely.
As a result, Lin’s father, at his age, despite being idle and wealthy, didn’t dare to mess around. His thoughts were entirely on Lin Zhi Hua and continuing the Lin family line.
Lin Zhi Hua would never be like that. Even if it meant never having children, he wouldn’t desperately try to produce a child.
What could it prove?
Besides proving he had the instincts of an animal, it proved nothing.
There were plenty of people who mocked and looked down on him behind his back. His achievements at his age were enough to make those people grab onto his “issues” and laugh heartily within to balance their jealousy.
But when facing him, regardless of their inner thoughts, they would bow and scrape. Even if they expressed dissatisfaction, they wouldn’t dare.
Status wasn’t created by maintaining face in others’ eyes; it was built by one’s achievements!
After Lin Zhi Hua said this to Lin’s mother, he turned his feet in another direction: “I’ll stay at the apartment tonight.”
“Ah—” Lin’s mother called out, but Lin Zhi Hua had already left.
Lin’s father and mother looked at each other in bewilderment.
In the car.
Lin Zhi Hua sat quietly, silently looking out the window, expressionless, yet the low atmospheric pressure around him was terrifying.
Chen Yan lowered his head, not daring to speak.
When the boss was in a bad mood, no one should try to comfort him. Just act like air, otherwise…
Although he was Lin Zhi Hua’s first secretary, he didn’t dare to face the firing line at this moment.
“Buzz—” The phone vibrated once.
Lin Zhi Hua’s brows immediately knitted together. Chen Yan and the driver held their breath, almost wishing they could truly become air, mentally praying for whoever sent the message.
[Jiao Jiao: Are you done being busy?]
[Jiao Jiao: I didn’t dare message you during the day! Ahhh! Lin Ge! Zhi Hua! Thank you!!! Because of your reminder, I carefully reviewed the competition questions today and indeed avoided many traps!]
[Jiao Jiao: Oh my goodness, what kind of deity are you!]
Lin Zhi Hua: “Pfft—”
The driver’s hand trembled, causing the car to shake slightly. Lin Zhi Hua showed no reaction, just looking at his phone.
Chen Yan’s coffin-like face also revealed shock, his eyes filled with terror.
Lin Zhi Hua paid no attention to them, his fingers typing:
[Deity?]
The other side quickly replied:
[Jiao Jiao: Yes! The deity himself!]
[Jiao Jiao: Hmm? Are you in a bad mood?]
Lin Zhi Hua raised an eyebrow:
[Hmm?]
The phone was quiet for quite a while, so long that Lin Zhi Hua became a bit irritated. Finally, the other side replied:
[Jiao Jiao: Umm… I can sense it a little…]
[Jiao Jiao: Well… I don’t know why you’re in a bad mood, but you can confide in me. When I feel bad, I like to confide in you! Although I can’t advise like you do, I can at least be a trash can!]
[Jiao Jiao: trashcan.jpg]
It was a rotating trash can, a black, round trash can, very cute, jumping on the screen, with several bills flashing and diving into it.
Lin Zhi Hua’s brows relaxed, the corners of his eyes lifting slightly. The surrounding low atmospheric pressure instantly vanished without a trace.
He slowly typed a few words:
[You are not a trash can.]
You are redemption.
Lin Zhi Hua pressed the phone against his chin, looking up at the window.
Heaven had treated him well.
——
Sunday.
Yin Fang had been sitting in the office all night, not even eating breakfast, staring blankly in one direction.
“Teacher Yin! How long have you been here?” The Chinese teacher casually asked while munching on a bun and drinking soy milk.
Yin Fang always arrived earliest, so the Chinese teacher was just asking absent-mindedly.
“I didn’t go home…”
“Puff—” Teacher Yuan nearly choked to death on her soy milk.
“Cough, cough, cough—” She struggled to catch her breath. “Teacher Yin, I know you’re dedicated, but you don’t need to stay all night!”
At this time, Class 2’s homeroom teacher and the physics teacher also came in, still eating breakfast.
“We have to compile scores all day today. How will you work if you don’t go home?”
“Yeah, I’m exhausted. Students say they’re afraid of exams, but we’re even more afraid! They go home to rest after exams, but we can’t rest. We still have to grade papers and compile scores on weekends.”
“Sigh, what can we do? We’re teachers—destined to owe them!”
As teachers gradually entered the office, they all complained while eating breakfast.
Sometimes about how hard teachers worked, sometimes about how students didn’t appreciate teachers, and there was the balding physics teacher complaining about his hair loss.
Yin Fang, who had been silent and dazed all along, suddenly said: “I compiled all the experimental class scores last night.”
There was a moment of silence in the office, then—
“What?!” The teachers were stunned, all suddenly turning to look at Yin Fang, as if not believing their ears.
Yin Fang lifted her stiff neck after staying up all night and looked at them: “After compiling the English scores yesterday, I was surprised, so I went ahead and compiled the math scores, then the comprehensive science and Chinese scores.”
The teachers in the office opened their mouths in an “O” shape, staring at her foolishly.
Class 2’s homeroom teacher turned his head and asked:
“What compelled you to compile the math scores while you were compiling English?”
Yin Fang swallowed: “I saw that Gu Xue Jiao and Chu Sheng tied for first in English, so I compiled math next. Gu Xue Jiao was one point lower than Chu Sheng, but one point higher in Chinese, so I compiled the comprehensive science scores. She… scored 0.5 points higher than Chu Sheng. Adding up Chu Sheng’s scores, he tied with Gu Xue Jiao for first place.”