"You're talking nonsense! Zhihua is still young, what's the rush for him to have children?" Mother Lin and Father Lin, though privately urging Lin Zhihua constantly, stubbornly denied it in public.
"What difference does marriage make in Zhihua's situation?" Second Grandfather suddenly interjected, his eyes filled with skepticism.
Clearly, they not only suspected Lin Zhihua was impotent but also doubted his ability to father children.
A flicker of panic flashed in Mother Lin's eyes, but she quickly steadied her breathing to suppress the shock, retorting, "Zhihua is still young, why the hurry? Besides, with today's medical advancements, what is there to fear?"
Mother Lin desperately ignored the rising fear in her heart. The higher a family's status, the more they valued lineage and bloodline. If Lin Zhihua truly couldn’t have descendants in this lifetime...
Master Lin slightly closed his eyes, as if already certain about Lin Zhihua's condition. "I won’t dwell on this. Get your second uncle out. If you’re dissatisfied, keep him out of the company forever. But Zhitang must join the company now. The Lin Group is, after all, a family legacy—it cannot be broken!"
This time, Mother Lin fell silent. Master Lin’s authority from the past still held weight.
"Lin Changping, you speak." Master Lin struck his cane against the floor and turned to Father Lin.
"This..." Father Lin opened his mouth but hesitated, unsure what to say.
"Heh." Lin Zhihua, who had been lounging lazily on the sofa with his hands behind his head, watching them, suddenly laughed.
Those two syllables shattered the suffocating tension in the air, laced with careless mockery.
"What are you laughing at, you unfilial brat?!" Master Lin’s eyes widened, burning with fury.
Lin Zhihua stood up just as several black-suited bodyguards and Chen Yan were ushered in by Aunt Chen.
"Lin Zhihua, what is the meaning of this?!" Second Grandfather Lin stumbled back in fright.
Lin Zhihua regarded them coldly. "Throw them out."
"You—you—you—!" Master Lin’s hand trembled with rage as he pointed.
"Take the old master back to where he belongs. And expedite the sentencing for my second uncle—ensure it’s... impartial." As the last four words landed, Zhang Jiayu, holding her child, nearly collapsed to the floor.
"Dad! You can’t let Changji be sentenced!" Zhang Jiayu burst into tears, her eyes red as she pleaded with Master Lin.
"I want—I want—!" Master Lin clutched his chest, his face flushed crimson, glaring at Lin Zhihua as if to say something.
Lin Zhihua remained expressionless. "Keep a close eye on the old master. Don’t let him escape again."
"Yes—" Chen Yan bowed respectfully.
Lin Zhihua’s gaze swept over the other relatives in the room—clearly, they had been summoned by Master Lin to bolster his authority.
Those under his scrutiny instinctively stepped back, lowering their heads guiltily.
"Throw all of them out. Conduct a thorough audit of the financial dealings left by the former chairman." His icy voice cut through the room once more. "Sever all ties."
"Zhihua!!" The group panicked instantly.
This meant not only cutting them off from the Lin Group entirely but also stripping them of any benefits they had been leeching!
He was sealing the fate of these "relatives" whom Master Lin and Father Lin had fattened over the years!
"Zhihua, I wasn’t here to plead for Lin Changji’s leniency! He deserves it! He doesn’t deserve forgiveness!"
"That’s right! Lin Changji got what was coming to him!"
"Life imprisonment is too lenient—he should be sentenced to death!"
"Zhihua, your grandfather’s gone senile! We stayed quiet earlier to avoid upsetting him!"
"Exactly! Exactly!"
...The group had remained silent earlier to assess the situation. They were merely relatives, not as unrestrained as Master Lin, and Lin Zhihua's methods...
Indeed, Master Lin and Lin Zhihua employed entirely different tactics.
Lin Zhihua was only in his twenties, but due to past unpleasant experiences, his methods were far from those of a typical young man—they were exceptionally shrewd.
Upon his return, he had allowed Master Lin and the others to make their move first, then seized the opportunity to thoroughly clean out the Lin relatives who had long wanted to expel him from the Lin Corporation.
Outsiders couldn’t even criticize him, since it was these Lin relatives who had come to his home to pressure him in the first place!
"See them out!" Facing the group before him, Lin Zhihua uttered only two words.
"Yes!"
Soon, apart from the servants, only the Lin couple and Lin Zhihua remained in the house.
Father Lin and Mother Lin exchanged glances, their eyes filled with unease.
"Um... Zhihua... wasn’t that a bit too harsh? They’ve all been with the company for so many years..." Father Lin ventured cautiously.
Lin Zhihua lifted his eyelids to glance at him, then slowly replied, "There are two kinds of old-timers: one is the meritorious, the other... parasites. My Lin Corporation doesn’t feed parasites."
With that, he stood up to head upstairs and rest.
"Zhihua!" Mother Lin suddenly called out to him.
"Hmm?" Lin Zhihua turned back.
"Um... is there any chance in my lifetime... to hold a little grandson or granddaughter?"
Mother Lin asked tentatively. Clearly, the words of the group earlier had planted doubts in her.
If Lin Zhihua was merely impotent, why had he never tried to prove himself under Master Lin’s pressure and coercion all these years?
Just one child...
Everything would be resolved. Lin Changji wouldn’t dare to harbor disloyal thoughts, and Master Lin wouldn’t abandon the eldest grandson he had groomed as his successor for so many years.
Lin Zhihua abruptly turned to face her, his sharp gaze making Mother Lin... afraid.
He closed his eyes briefly. "My child can only be born to the person I love, the one who will spend their life with me."
Lin Zhihua knew many in their circle didn’t care about this—plenty had legions of legitimate and illegitimate children.
Even Father Lin had once had an illegitimate child, though it had died young.
That was why, despite being idle and wealthy at his age, Father Lin hadn’t dared to act recklessly. His focus was entirely on Lin Zhihua and the continuation of the Lin family.
But Lin Zhihua would never be like that. Even if it meant never having a child, he wouldn’t rush to produce one just to prove a point.
What would it prove?
Nothing, except the basest animal instincts.
Plenty of people mocked and looked down on him behind his back. His achievements at his age were enough to make those people latch onto his "flaws" and inwardly ridicule him to balance their envy.
But in his presence, no matter what they truly thought, they would grovel outwardly. Even if they wanted to voice their dissatisfaction, they wouldn’t dare.
Status wasn’t about maintaining face in others’ eyes—it was built on one’s own accomplishments!
After saying this to Mother Lin, Lin Zhihua turned his feet in another direction. "I’ll stay at the apartment tonight."
"Ah—" Mother Lin called out, but Lin Zhihua was already out the door.
Father Lin and Mother Lin exchanged bewildered looks.
In the car.
Lin Zhihua sat quietly, gazing expressionlessly out the window, the oppressive atmosphere around him terrifyingly intense.
Chen Yan kept his head down, not daring to speak.
When the boss was in a bad mood, no one should offer comfort. Just pretend to be air—otherwise...Although he was Lin Zhihua's top secretary, he didn't dare to provoke him at this moment.
"Buzz—" The phone vibrated.
Lin Zhihua's brows instantly furrowed. Chen Yan and the driver held their breaths, wishing they could turn into air, while silently mourning for whoever sent that message.
[Jiao Jiao: Are you done with work?]
[Jiao Jiao: I didn’t dare message you during the day! Ahhh! Brother Lin! Zhihua! Thank you!!! Because of your reminder, I double-checked the competition questions today and avoided so many traps!]
[Jiao Jiao: Oh my god, you’re an absolute legend!]
Lin Zhihua: "Pfft—"
The driver’s hand jerked, causing the car to swerve slightly, but Lin Zhihua didn’t react, his eyes fixed on his phone.
Even Chen Yan’s usually stoic face showed shock, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Lin Zhihua ignored them, typing a reply—
[Legend?]
The response came quickly—
[Jiao Jiao: Yes! The one and only!]
[Jiao Jiao: Huh? Are you in a bad mood?]
Lin Zhihua raised an eyebrow—
[Hmm?]
The phone was silent for a while—long enough for Lin Zhihua to grow impatient—before a reply finally came through.
[Jiao Jiao: Well... I can kind of sense it...]
[Jiao Jiao: Um... I don’t know why you’re upset, but you can talk to me about it! When I’m feeling down, I always vent to you! I might not be able to give advice like you do, but I can at least be a trash can for you!]
[Jiao Jiao: trashcan.jpg]
It was a spinning trash can—round, black, and adorable—bouncing on the screen with little dollar bills flashing as they disappeared inside.
Lin Zhihua’s frown eased, the corners of his eyes lifting slightly. The oppressive atmosphere around him vanished instantly.
He slowly typed a reply—
[You’re not a trash can.]
You’re salvation.
Lin Zhihua rested his phone against his chin and gazed out the window.
Heaven had been kind to him.
——
Sunday.
Yin Fang had been sitting in the office all night, not even stopping to eat breakfast, her eyes fixed blankly in one direction.
"Teacher Yin! How long have you been here?" The Chinese teacher asked casually between bites of a steamed bun and sips of soy milk.
Yin Fang was always the earliest to arrive, so the question was asked absentmindedly.
"I didn’t go home..."
"Pfft—" The Chinese teacher, Ms. Yuan, nearly choked on her soy milk.
"Cough—cough—" She struggled to catch her breath. "Teacher Yin, I know you’re dedicated, but staying all night is a bit much, isn’t it?"
Just then, the homeroom teacher of Class 2 and the physics teacher walked in, still eating their breakfast.
"We have to tally the exam scores all day today. How are you going to work if you didn’t even go home?"
"Right, I’m exhausted. The students complain about exams, but we’re the ones who suffer more! They get to go home and rest after the test, but we still have to grade and compile results over the weekend."
"Sigh, such is the life of a teacher. We’re forever indebted to them!"
As more teachers trickled into the office, they chatted while eating breakfast—some complaining about the hardships of teaching, others about students’ lack of appreciation, and the physics teacher even lamented his receding hairline.
Yin Fang, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up. "I finished tallying all the experimental class’s scores last night."
The office fell silent for a moment, and then—"What?!" The teachers were stunned, all turning their heads sharply toward Yin Fang as if they couldn't believe their ears.
Yin Fang lifted her stiff neck from staying up all night and looked at them. "After tallying the English scores yesterday, I was a bit surprised, so I went ahead and tallied the math scores too. Then I went on to tally the science composite and Chinese scores."
The teachers in the office gaped at her, their mouths forming an "O."
The homeroom teacher of Class Two turned and asked—
"What made you tally the math scores after seeing the English results?"
Yin Fang swallowed hard. "I saw that Gu Xue Jiao tied with Chu Sheng for first place in English, so I tallied the math scores too. Gu Xue Jiao was one point behind Chu Sheng in math, but one point ahead in Chinese. So then I tallied the science composite scores, and she... was 0.5 points higher than Chu Sheng. When all the scores were combined, Chu Sheng and Gu Xue Jiao tied for first place."
OpenNovel