"I'm not saving Gu Shiyun, I'm saving Cheng Mingze," Xue Jiao said, waving at an approaching taxi.
"Gu Xue Jiao! You ungrateful child!"
Xue Jiao paused briefly before turning her head. "You never cared about me before, so don't expect any familial affection from me now."
When Li Sitong divorced, she gave up certain benefits to secure custody of Xue Jiao.
Yet Gu Jingxu readily agreed to relinquish her for just a little gain.
Moreover, he already had another little princess in his heart. In the past, he allowed Wu Wanjun to lead her astray. From now on, she owed him no daughterly affection.
"Jingxu! Don't be angry, don't be angry. Xue Jiao is still young—she just trusts her current father too much," Wu Wanjun said soothingly while patting Gu Jingxu's chest, all while subtly fueling his anger.
As expected, Gu Jingxu erupted in fury. "Gu Xue Jiao! If you walk away today, never call me 'Dad' again! Don't expect a single cent from me!"
Xue Jiao didn't stop walking.
"Ungrateful child! That ungrateful child!" Gu Jingxu continued fuming as Wu Wanjun and Gu Shiyun comforted him while stoking his anger further.
Not far away, the window of a black Rolls-Royce Phantom rolled up, and the car slowly drove off.
"Boss, are we returning to the Beijing headquarters?"
"Yes, let's go back," Lin Zhihua nodded.
After a moment, he rested his chin on his fingers and asked, "Is Gu Jingxu negotiating for that project in the southern district?"
Chen Yan quickly recalled the information he had recently reviewed about the Gu and Cheng families, then nodded. "Yes, Gu Jingxu's company is trying to secure the contract for the southern industrial zone."
Lin Zhihua lowered his hand from his chin, shifting into a more relaxed posture. "The southern district project isn't bad. The Lin Group will take it."
Chen Yan was momentarily stunned before replying respectfully, "...Understood."
The Lin Group's C City branch could handle the southern district project, but it was akin to... a household with multiple renowned chefs suddenly visiting an obscure little diner to order a mediocre bowl of noodles.
Edible, but unnecessary.
——
Gu Jingxu had been deeply wounded by his "unfilial daughter" the day before, and it took much comforting from his beloved wife and treasured daughter before he finally calmed down.
On his way to the office, he kept muttering about his unfilial child—how Gu Xue Jiao was nowhere near as obedient and sensible as Shiyun!
But the moment he arrived at the company, his secretary delivered shocking news—
"What did you say?! The Lin Group snatched the southern district project?!"
"Yes..." The secretary trembled nervously.
"Impossible! Why would the Lin Group bother with such an insignificant project?!" Gu Jingxu's face twisted in disbelief—he almost wondered if he had misheard!
"It's true... Fucheng Enterprises from the southern district called personally to confirm..." The secretary shivered in fear.
Gu Jingxu raised a slightly trembling hand.
They had invested so much effort into the southern district project, and today was supposed to be the contract signing. Now, all their work had gone to waste?!
"The Lin Group... Why would the Lin Group suddenly compete with us for this deal...?"
Gu Jingxu slumped into his chair. If it were any other company, he could have been furious or even sought revenge. But this was the Lin Group!
What could he possibly do?!
"Find out what the Lin Group is up to!"
"Yes!"
After the secretary left, Gu Jingxu collapsed into his office chair, utterly defeated.
At noon, Wu Wanjun called.
"Hello, Jingxu? You signed the contract this morning, right? How about we celebrate with lunch? Shiyun and I are waiting at Xikexuan—"
"Get lost—"Gu Jingxu angrily smashed his phone!
A casual move by the Lin Corporation was enough to deal a devastating blow to his company!
How could he possibly be in the mood for celebrations now?!
This Wu Wanjun!
——
Xue Jiao was unaware of all this. After Cheng Shuo and the others returned, they prepared a large feast to celebrate Xue Jiao and Cheng Mingze completing their exams smoothly.
"By the way, Mingze, although Gu Shiyun wasn't seriously hurt, she was implicated because of you. You don't need to feel overly guilty, but you should still express your gratitude where it's due," Cheng Shuo instructed Cheng Mingze.
Cheng Mingze instinctively glanced at Xue Jiao before nodding slowly.
Cheng Shuo nodded in satisfaction and raised his glass—
"Let's celebrate Jiao Jiao and Mingze completing their exams smoothly, and wish them excellent results!"
"Thank you, Dad."
"Thank you, Uncle Cheng."
After dinner, Xue Jiao returned to her room to continue studying.
She didn't dare underestimate others, especially Chu Sheng. She could only rely on extra effort combined with her "cheat-like" two-year advantage to create her own legend.
The entire senior year curriculum would be completed by the second semester of the sophomore year. The entire senior year was dedicated to exam preparation and revision.
Xue Jiao had already reviewed the curriculum again. She took out a set of mock college entrance exam papers for the science comprehensive section and began the test, timing herself strictly.
Two hours later, Xue Jiao finished the science comprehensive test and carefully checked her answers.
260——
Xue Jiao frowned deeply, having lost a full forty points.
Her brows knitted together as she stared dejectedly at the wrong answers, pulling out her error notebook to meticulously record them.
As expected, she still had a long way to go.
"Pfft—" A laugh sounded.
Xue Jiao started in surprise before turning around.
Cheng Mingze was leaning against the doorframe, looking at her with amusement, his hands in his pockets and a gentle smile on his refined face that radiated warmth.
Xue Jiao was momentarily dazed but quickly snapped out of it.
Truly the male lead...
As she thought this, Cheng Mingze walked in slowly and picked up the test paper.
"You looked so distressed, I thought it must be terrible. This test is quite difficult—scoring this well as a sophomore is already incredibly impressive."
Xue Jiao pouted, her brows still furrowed. "You don't understand—"
I've already studied the senior year curriculum and even taken the college entrance exam before, yet I only scored this much...
Cheng Mingze raised an eyebrow. "What don't I understand? If you can break through doors, what's there to fear?"
As he spoke, he rolled up the test paper and lightly tapped her head with it, his gesture extremely affectionate. "Stop worrying and focus on mastering the problems you got wrong!"
Xue Jiao froze, and Cheng Mingze's hand paused as well.
"I'll head back to my room now."
With that, he put down the test paper and left hastily.
Xue Jiao shivered and muttered three words: "Has he gone mad?"
Cheng Mingze... being... affectionate with her?
Xue Jiao felt that either Cheng Mingze had lost his mind, or she had!
——
The car drove from Lin Corporation's headquarters to the Lin family's old residence. Tan Qi respectfully opened the door.
Lin Zhihua continued giving instructions: "Reject all of the Xie family's demands outright. Let them stew for now. The collaboration with Yu Chuang must be negotiated carefully—schedule a meeting with Yu Jincheng tomorrow evening; I'll see him personally. Also, arrange for the market department managers to report tomorrow and push the planning department to submit their report by the day after tomorrow at the latest."
"Yes, sir!"
"Check my schedule for the next seven days and carve out half a day. I... need to meet with Liu Xu."
Chen Yan's voice faltered slightly: "...Understood."
Lin Zhihua nodded and stepped out of the car.The Lin family's estate was built with extreme extravagance. Father Lin had achieved virtually nothing since taking over the company, spending all the money on personal pleasures instead.
This estate was a family heirloom, and the Lin parents had invested heavily in its renovation and reconstruction.
If not for Lin Zhihua stepping in to take over the Lin Corporation in time, the family would have collapsed long ago.
Lin Zhihua had spent most of the past year in City C handling branch company affairs. Though the capital was now the headquarters, City C remained the stronghold, and the transition of focus to the capital was still ongoing.
While he was in City C, the Lin parents also mostly resided there, leaving the estate largely vacant.
Recently, for some unknown reason, the Lin parents had moved back in.
After Lin Zhihua left, Tan Qi turned to Chen Yan and gossiped, "Compared to Director Lin and his wife, our big boss is incredibly low-key and modest... This estate is really... lavish!"
Chen Yan shot him a cold glare.
Tan Qi was gazing at the estate with envy when he sensed the icy stare beside him and shrank slightly.
"You... finished your work?"
"N-no..." He was guilty.
Chen Yan continued to glare.
Tan Qi grinned sheepishly. "Heh heh heh..."
"Get in the car!"
"Yes, yes, yes." He climbed in cautiously.
——
As Lin Zhihua reached the main gate, Aunt Chen hurried out to greet him.
"Mr. Zhihua, Master Lin and the others are all inside..."
Lin Zhihua paused briefly, then nodded and continued inward.
"Good evening, sir!"
People greeted him along the way, but he strode forward without stopping. The moment he entered the hall, he saw it packed with people.
Most were elderly "elders," with only a few peers, all sitting quietly beside their family seniors.
The atmosphere was tense—the clamor he had heard before entering had been abruptly silenced.
Clearly, the subject of their "discussion" was Lin Zhihua himself.
"Zhihua, you're back!" The previously silent Lin couple stood up with forced smiles and approached him.
Lin Zhihua nodded. "Father, Mother."
"Come, sit! Sister Su, brew Zhihua his favorite tea!" Mother Lin kept chattering, giving one instruction after another, deliberately ignoring the others.
Father Lin stood awkwardly beside her, saying nothing.
The crowd on the sofa, clearly there to demand answers, stared at them intently, none speaking.
Master Lin, seated at the center, suddenly opened his eyes, gripping his cane.
"Lin Zhihua, where are your manners?" Master Lin slammed his cane on the floor with a deafening thud, startling everyone.
Lin Zhihua took a sip of tea and glanced at Father Lin. "You let them in?"
He was referring to Master Lin and the others.
"Lin Zhihua!" Master Lin roared in fury.
Lin Zhihua crossed his legs on the sofa, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
"You—"
Master Lin clutched his chest, and another elder quickly supported him before turning to Lin Zhihua. "Zhihua, listen to your second grandfather. Lin Changji is still your uncle. If he made a mistake, let him come and kowtow to apologize. There's no need to keep him in prison for life."
"Kowtow and apologize?" Lin Zhihua raised an eyebrow.
The elder nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes!"
"And what about the old master's crimes? The last attempted murder wasn't orchestrated by my uncle alone." Lin Zhihua uncrossed his legs and suddenly fixed them with a sharp gaze.Master Lin immediately took a guilty step back, then raised his head, putting on a righteous expression. "I didn't know he wanted to kill you! I'm not that stupid. I thought—"
Lin Zhihua sneered, "You thought he just wanted to injure me badly enough so you could rightfully take over the company?"
Master Lin's eyes widened. "Lin Zhihua! If you hadn't preferred outsiders managing the company over your own family, would I have done this?! Your cousin Zhitang returned after completing his studies abroad, yet you wouldn't even allow him into the company! You have no heirs—do you want the company to fall into outsiders' hands in the future?!"
Mother Lin exploded at this. She could tolerate some of Master Lin's criticisms, but not the remark about Lin Zhihua having no descendants!
"Father! That's nonsense! Zhihua just doesn't want to raise children. Otherwise, he could easily have a surrogate abroad—as many children as he wants! The Lin family won't fall into outsiders' hands!"
"Sister-in-law, can Zhihua really have children? If so, why hasn't he brought back even one child despite being questioned for so long?" An elegantly dressed woman suddenly spoke up. This was Zhang Jiayu, the wife of Lin Zhihua's second uncle.
In her arms, she held a one-year-old child—Lin Zhitang's son.
Perhaps aware of Lin Zhihua's situation, Lin Zhitang had fathered this child while still studying abroad, completely winning Master Lin's favor to their side.
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