Zhou Chenyang felt a wave of relief wash over him. He had thought Lin Xiuyan had changed, but it turned out she was just jealous.
As expected, her entire heart was still devoted to him, utterly bewitched by his charm.
Her behavior satisfied a certain vanity in him, and since he had ulterior motives, he was willing to lower himself to coax her: "What nonsense are you thinking?"
"I gave your cousin that hairpin because you two are close. I was hoping she could put in a good word for me in front of you, to bring our relationship even closer."
Lin Xiuyan watched him speak the most unreliable words with the most earnest expression, feeling a surge of disgust in her heart.
In her past life, she must have been truly blinded by foolishness to believe such nonsense from him!
A shy, coquettish smile spread across her face: "No matter how close I am with my cousin, it can't compare to how close I am with you. After all, we're the ones who will spend a lifetime together."
Zhou Chenyang was pleased with her reaction, though inwardly he felt nothing but contempt.
He intended to agree with a few words to brush the matter aside, but unexpectedly, she planted her hands on her hips and declared: "You gave my cousin a hairpin to strengthen our bond, but I'm still very angry!"
"I want ten hairpins, each better than the one you gave my cousin. Go buy them for me right now, or this isn't over!"
Zhou Chenyang: "…"
In the past, if she had made such a demand, he wouldn't have even bothered to acknowledge it.
But today, he had spoken first and needed to keep her from returning to the Lin residence, so he could only force himself to agree patiently: "Alright, I'll go buy them for you in a bit."
Yet Lin Xiuyan remained relentless: "I want them now. Go buy them for me immediately!"
Zhou Chenyang looked at her with growing displeasure, seeing her face full of willful arrogance. She really was pushing her luck!
He decided not to indulge her: "I don't have time right now!"
Lin Xiuyan let out a "hmph," stamped her foot, and turned to leave.
Seeing her posture, Zhou Chenyang knew she was heading home and had no choice but to grab her arm: "Alright, alright, don't be angry. I'll take you to buy them!"
He had no intention of actually buying her anything; his plan was simply to stall.
After all, her temper usually flared up quickly and faded just as fast. In a little while, if he brought up something else, she'd probably forget all about it.
But today, Lin Xiuyan played the role of the spoiled young lady to perfection: "You could pick out one hairpin for my cousin, but you can't pick out ten for me?"
"I won't go pick them out. I want you to pick them for me. I'll wait right here!"
Zhou Chenyang's patience was nearly worn thin by her antics, and he shot her a cold glare.
Her eyes reddened as she said: "You don't want to pick hairpins for me. Does that mean you don't care about me at all? Do you like my cousin?"
Suppressing his temper, Zhou Chenyang replied: "What nonsense are you spouting? I'll go buy them for you right now!"
He turned and started to leave, but Lin Xiuyan called out loudly: "The hairpin you gave my cousin was from Treasure Pavilion. I want hairpins from Treasure Pavilion too!"
"If you don't come back with them within half an hour, I… I… I won't marry you!"
Zhou Chenyang's face darkened. At Treasure Pavilion, even the cheapest hairpin cost over a hundred taels of silver. And she wanted ten of them? How shameless!
But then he thought of the mountains of gold, silver, and jewels piled up in the Lin residence, and he thought of his own future prospects. He swallowed his anger, mounted his horse, and rode off to buy the hairpins for her.
Watching his actions, Lin Xiuyan narrowed her eyes slightly.
In her past life, whenever Zhou Chenyang's face fell, she would rush to console him, exhausting herself daily to please him. Yet he had never given her a single thing.
He would occasionally speak to her with a gentle expression, and she would be overjoyed for half the day.
Today, she had caused such a commotion, yet he went to buy a hairpin to placate her.
Indeed, men are all despicable!
As soon as Zhou Chenyang left, Lin Xiuyan entered the teahouse by the roadside. The guards he left behind tried to follow her.
She glared at him and said, "Following me so eagerly—could it be that you have designs on me?"
The guard’s expression darkened. Thinking she couldn’t cause much trouble inside the teahouse, he decided not to follow her further.
Upon entering the teahouse, Lin Xiuyan immediately requested a private room near the back door. She instructed the attendant not to disturb her, closed the door, opened the window, and jumped down from the upper floor.
She managed to do all of this without alerting anyone. Everyone assumed she was still inside the teahouse, drinking tea.
She sprinted down a lane from the street behind the shop, seized a horse from the roadside, and said, "I’m buying this horse. Go to the Lin residence to collect the money."
Ignoring the horse owner’s stunned expression, she mounted the horse and galloped swiftly toward the Lin residence.
Her heart was filled with urgency. She feared that if she returned too late, she wouldn’t be able to stop her father from investing in Xinzhitang.
The reason she had sent Zhou Chenyang and the guards away was to prevent them from interfering.
Lin Xiuyan soon arrived at the Lin residence. The gatekeeper was momentarily stunned upon seeing her but then shouted loudly, "The young mistress is back!"
He moved to take the horse’s reins, but she gave him a cold glance, her almond-shaped eyes frosty. The gatekeeper awkwardly withdrew his hand.
Lin Xiuyan knew now was not the time to deal with this treacherous gatekeeper. With a cold laugh, she rode the horse swiftly inside.
After she had gone some distance, the gatekeeper spat and cursed, "Let’s see how much longer you can act so arrogantly!"
In the main courtyard, Lin Yunzhi was discussing the investment in Xinzhitang with someone.
Jiang Xinrou, with her sharp ears, heard the gatekeeper’s shout. Her hands instinctively clenched into fists—that wretch Lin Xiuyan was still alive!
Seeing that Lin Yunzhi hadn’t reacted, she realized he hadn’t heard the gatekeeper’s shout. Hurriedly, she advised, "Uncle, the Lin family’s business is no longer as prosperous as before."
"Cousin acts recklessly and finds it difficult to focus on business. You must pave the way for her early."
"Xinzhitang has its own land and water transport routes, which can expand and stabilize the Lin family’s business."
"Investing in Xinzhitang now is absolutely the best opportunity. It will bring countless benefits and no drawbacks to the Lin family."
Lin Yunzhi hesitated slightly. The Xinzhitang manager beside him added, "This business has always been a sure profit, never a loss."
"If it weren’t for the need for funds to open new routes this time, we wouldn’t be seeking investors."
"If you miss this opportunity, Master Lin, you may never get such a good chance again."
Lin Yunzhi looked at the contract and said, "A hundred thousand taels of silver for only twenty percent of Xinzhitang’s shares—isn’t that too little?"
He had long wanted to establish a transport route but had been hindered by various factors.
Xinzhitang’s approach had piqued his interest. If not for the small share they offered, he would have signed the contract long ago.
Jiang Xinrou pretended to empathize with Lin Yunzhi’s situation: "Uncle, you may not know this, but Xinzhitang is the City Lord’s business."
"Cousin is set to marry the City Lord next month, so we’ll be one family."
"By investing in Xinzhitang, you’ll be adding to Cousin’s dowry. In the future, she’ll have more confidence when facing the City Lord."
"We are all family, the percentage of shares held is not important."
Lin Yunzhi recalled how devoted Lin Xiuyan was to Zhou Chenyang and sighed softly.
Indeed, the Lin family did not lack these hundred thousand taels of silver. As long as Zhou Chenyang treated Lin Xiuyan well, the money could be given to him for free.
He picked up his brush and signed the contract…