Li Jin had eagerly brought Lin Nuo along to demand accountability, never expecting to return in utter defeat. Not only did they miss out on lunch, but they had also received a bellyful of frustration.
The late-summer heat was still at its peak. The blazing sun hung high in the sky, baking the earth. Yet, the two of them were dripping wet, radiating a palpable chill.
Starving and freezing, Lin Nuo looked at Li Jin and asked softly, “Hubby, what do we do now?”
Li Jin was already fuming over Fang Jinshi. Hearing him speak, he instantly redirected his anger toward him. “What do we do? You’re asking me what to do? When you offered to kneel to Fang Jinshi, you seemed to have plenty of ideas—dragging me down to lose face right along with you!”
Dazed by the series of unexpected events, Li Jin had initially forgotten about this. But seeing Lin Nuo look at him with that pitiful, innocent expression only reminded him of his recent humiliation, causing him to vent his temper on him.
Reprimanded, Lin Nuo didn’t dare talk back. He merely shrunk his shoulders, looking as pitiful as a drenched chick in the rain.
Li Jin had always adored his fragility and helpless demeanor, but seeing this display now only fueled his irritation.
“What? Am I wrong?” Li Jin snapped. “And now you’re acting aggrieved!”
Lin Nuo was terrified of angering him. He deeply cherished this hard-won love and treated Li Jin with a reverence that bordered on worship.
He immediately muttered, “No, no. You’re right. I didn’t think things through and made you lose face, Hubby.”
He admitted his mistake, his voice even carrying a hint of a sob, completely panicked.
Seeing his panic and distress, the anger in Li Jin’s heart dissipated.
Pulling Lin Nuo into his arms, he cooed, “Xiao Nuo, I know you just wanted to share my burdens. But you can trust me a bit more and leave everything to me. Externally, our two voices only need to be one. Are you willing to let me speak for you?”
Lin Nuo looked up, his eyes as red as a rabbit’s, nodding as obediently as one too. “We are one. I’ll listen to whatever you say.”
He was terrified of Li Jin’s volatile moods. As long as he could keep his husband happy, he was willing to lose himself.
Hearing this, Li Jin’s mood naturally lifted.
He kissed the crown of Lin Nuo’s head, then pulled out the fountain pen from his breast pocket. After inspecting it carefully to ensure it hadn’t sustained water damage, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“My precious Xiao Nuo must be starving. Let’s go grab lunch first. In a bit, I’ll help you get our payback!”
Li Jin took him back to the Western restaurant, intending to have lunch before going to see Gu Tuo.
However, as they reached the entrance, they were stopped by a waiter. “Apologies, gentlemen. I’m afraid our establishment does not serve guests who are improperly dressed.”
Lin Nuo froze, and Li Jin’s expression turned incredibly unsightly.
They had just been blasted with water at Fang Jinshi’s place. Their hair was still wet, and their clothes bore damp patches. Because of their earlier jostling and embracing, their garments were completely rumpled, making them look truly unpresentable.
But being barred from entry by a mere waiter for such a reason enraged Li Jin.
He had already been pushed around by Gu Tuo and Fang Jinshi in succession. With his fury surging, he vented it all onto the waiter. “You think you’re qualified to stop me? Get your manager out here!”
The waiter felt incredibly embarrassed. However, since the other party was a customer, he couldn’t afford to offend them further and could only meekly apologize.
Emboldened, Li Jin was continuing his tirade when a customer who had just settled their bill strolled out, looking at him with a half-smile. “This is a Western restaurant, not a bustling marketplace. Why are we allowing an ill-mannered person to shout and scream here?”
Li Jin recognized the newcomer. It was a small world indeed—it was Zhang Yanzhi, the project manager from Shengting and his old rival.
To be seen in such a disheveled and pathetic state by Zhang Yanzhi made Li Jin feel utterly humiliated.
Just as he was about to say something, Zhang Yanzhi turned to the waiter. “What are you standing there for? Hurry up and call security.”
The waiter happened to be a bit green. Hearing Zhang Yanzhi’s words, he obediently went to call security.
Seeing this, Zhang Yanzhi beamed even wider. “Still not leaving? Are you waiting for security to escort you out?”
Li Jin was choking with rage, but he couldn’t actually cause a scene that involved security. If his uncle found out, he would surely be disciplined.
He glared venomously at Zhang Yanzhi, let out a harsh huff, and turned on his heel to leave.
Ultimately, the two of them settled for a meal at a humble ramen shop.
Ever since Li Jin became successful and began frequenting high-end hotels, he had never stepped foot into such a crude little establishment.
As the steaming bowls of ramen were served, the rising mist blurred Lin Nuo’s features.
Li Jin’s chaotic mood suddenly grew tranquil. He stared blankly at Lin Nuo’s face, as if peering through time and space to see a younger Fang Jinshi.
The two of them used to sit opposite each other just like this, burying their heads in their bowls and slurping ramen, feeling exceptionally satisfied.
Yet looking at it now, the oil was cheap and the noodles were soggy; it could no longer satisfy his palate.
Just like him and Fang Jinshi—they could never go back to how they used to be.
Perhaps because he was hungry and exhausted, Li Jin felt a wave of sentimentality. But no matter how beautiful the past was, if Fang Jinshi didn’t cherish it, neither would he.
Moreover, the person he was facing now was no longer the Fang Jinshi of the past who was wholeheartedly devoted to him, but a Fang Jinshi who wanted to become his uncle.
Pfft, what a delusional pipe dream!
Today, he was going to shatter his dream and let him know exactly what kind of ruthless man his uncle, Gu Tuo, truly was!
Gu Tuo had just taken a brief nap in his office and was about to resume his work when his assistant knocked on the door, announcing that Li Jin was back.
Gu Tuo knit his brows tightly, thoroughly annoyed. “I won’t see him.”
However, Li Jin’s request for a meeting was just a formality. Even if Gu Tuo refused to see him, he was going to force his way into the CEO’s office anyway.
The assistant tried to stop him but ultimately failed, and Li Jin burst into Gu Tuo’s office.
Gu Tuo had naturally heard the commotion outside. He looked up to see Li Jin striding toward him, his expression carrying a trace of unyielding determination.
Gu Tuo’s eyes darkened, and his voice turned deep and cold, radiating a dangerous aura. “Li Jin, this is the second time today.”
“Yes, it’s the second time,” Li Jin said. In truth, he was terrified. Having lived under his uncle’s strict discipline for several years, he had long been shadowed by Gu Tuo and knew full well how terrifying his methods of punishment were.
Nevertheless, he braced himself and said, “I came back this time for the exact same matter.”
Hearing this, Gu Tuo’s face darkened. “Then there is nothing more to discuss. Go straight to receiving your punishment.”
“I have no problem accepting punishment,” Li Jin gritted his teeth and agreed readily. But he had a condition: “As long as you listen to this recording first.”
With supreme confidence, Li Jin produced his fountain pen and unscrewed the cap, revealing its hidden mechanism.
As it turned out, it was a voice recorder.
Li Jin pressed a few buttons, and a clear recording began to play.
It was a pleasant male voice, but the words spoken were rather unpleasant. First, it demanded someone to kneel, then it ordered them to kowtow, and finally, it said with utter arrogance:
“I don’t give a damn about the two of you. The one I’m targeting is your uncle!”
It was Fang Jinshi’s voice.
Gu Tuo’s expression didn’t change, but the tips of his ears silently turned red.
He had thought that he was the only one who found the other party special.
As it turned out, the feeling was entirely mutual.
Li Jin cut the recording short. Looking up, he saw that Gu Tuo’s expression remained completely unchanged, making it impossible to read his mood.
He then pointed to the water stains still dampening his own clothes and pressed on, “Listen to that, Uncle, just look at it! With a temperament like his, how could he possibly be worthy of you? He even had the audacity to brag and call me his nephew. You treat him as a friend, but he’s just using your name as a shield to bully others! Uncle, please just listen to me this once. He truly has ulterior motives. You need to cut ties with him immediately!”
Gu Tuo detested hearing him criticize Fang Jinshi, and his brow had been furrowed the entire time. Hearing the words “cut ties” only fueled his irritation.
“Li Jin,” Gu Tuo said, his voice dropping, “are you trying to teach me how to manage my affairs?”
His tone wasn’t loud, but to Li Jin’s ears, it struck like a thunderclap, instantly silencing him.
Li Jin didn’t even dare to defend himself; he merely lowered his head in tense silence.
An undercurrent of palpable tension filled the quiet office.
Then, out of nowhere, Gu Tuo spoke again. “Though, you actually should start preparing yourself early.”
Being so disrespectful to an elder was certainly not how one was raised in the Gu family.
Prepare for what?
An ominous premonition surged in Li Jin’s heart, and he subconsciously held his breath.
He watched as Gu Tuo calmly delivered the blow: “You are likely about to have a new uncle very soon.”
That title of “nephew” might have been thrown around a bit prematurely, but it wasn’t uncalled for. Perhaps, Gu Tuo thought, it was time for him to be a little more proactive.
A new uncle?
Who? Fang Jinshi?
Clearly, the last time he had asked about a potential “aunt,” his uncle had dismissed it as a baseless rumor.
Connecting the dots backwards and forwards, the truth suddenly dawned on Li Jin. He felt as though he had been struck by a bolt of lightning out of the blue.
He had never imagined in his wildest dreams that after wasting so much breath and exhausting all his schemes, he would end up playing matchmaker for Fang Jinshi!