“Sir! Sir! Wonderful news!!!”
The butler came tumbling into the main hall, his face flushed with excitement.
“What is it? Have you no sense of decorum?” Lin Fusheng scolded with a frown.
The butler gasped for breath, his voice trembling. “President Xu… Xu Changlong just sent word!
The original one-hundred-million contract has been increased to one billion!
And he specifically named our Eldest Young Master of the Lin Family as his partner!”
“What?! One billion?!”
Lin Fusheng sprang to his feet from the sofa, and the teacup slipped from Yang Yuxia’s hand and hit the floor.
“One billion!!!”
The guests in the room erupted!
The entire annual revenue of the Lin Group only amounted to a few hundred million.
A one-billion deal would keep the Lin Group going for three years!
Lin Fusheng’s lips trembled with excitement. “Good! Wonderful! A-Che really is the lucky star of the Lin Family!”
With a urine bag hanging from him, Lin Che limped over to Lin Yan and said mockingly,
“Oh, Brother Yan! Did you hear?
One billion!
They specifically named me as their partner!”
Lin Che patted Lin Yan on the shoulder, his smile brimming with smugness.
“Looks like that fine marriage you had when you married into the Tang Family is out of reach now, even if you wanted it!”
“You had your chance, but you blew it!”
Lin Fusheng snorted as well. “If you had even half of A-Che’s ability, would you have had to spend five years in prison?”
Yang Yuxia rolled her eyes. “The wealthy are lining up to work with our A-Che. And you?
You’re a good-for-nothing, not even worth a single hair on A-Che’s head!”
Lin Yan leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, not saying a word.
Just then, a commotion arose outside the door.
Several men in black suits entered carrying a number of large redwood chests.
The man leading them asked respectfully, “May I ask who the Family Patriarch of the Lin Family is?
We are from the Su Family of Jiangbei. On the orders of the Eldest Miss of the Su Family, we’ve brought congratulatory gifts for the Lin residence.”
“The Su Family?!”
Lin Fusheng nearly lost his balance!
The Su Family of Jiangbei! A true business empire among the great families!
The Su Family was more than a hundred times stronger than the Lin Group!
When the redwood chests were opened, the room glittered with gold. Inside was a complete set of jadeite ornaments valued at over a hundred million, along with all kinds of precious medicinal herbs!
A representative of the Su Family smiled and said, “The Eldest Miss of the Su Family asked me to pass along a message: A dragon has emerged from the Lin Family. These humble gifts are but a small token of our regard.”
“A dragon has emerged from the Lin Family!!!”
Lin Fusheng grinned from ear to ear. “The Eldest Miss of the Su Family is too kind! Far too kind!”
Yang Yuxia trembled with excitement. “Could the Eldest Miss of the Su Family have taken a liking to our A-Che?”
Lin Che pretended to be modest as he straightened his collar, then secretly glanced at Lin Yan, utterly smug.
“The Su Family and Changlong Group are both here. The Lin Family is about to soar!”
“Exactly! They’re all here for Young Master Lin!”
The guests showered Lin Che with flattery, practically hailing him as the chosen one.
After basking in the praise, Lin Che suddenly turned to face Lin Yan, his expression darkening.
“Lin Yan, you just got out of prison, and you’ve already let down Mom and Dad’s sincere intentions by rejecting such a good marriage!”
“Kneel down and apologize to them right now!”
Lin Fusheng chimed in sternly. “That’s right! If you don’t kneel and apologize today, get out of the Lin Family!”
Yang Yuxia planted her hands on her hips. “Kneel! You ungrateful, heartless wretch!”
The guests in the room joined in:
“Get down on your knees! At least Young Master Lin is willing to feed you!”
“Exactly! You’re just a convict. What are you acting so high and mighty for?”
Lin Yan remained motionless, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. He looked at them as if they were a bunch of buffoons.
“Hm? You won’t kneel?” Lin Che sneered. “Then get ready to be kicked out of the Lin Family!”
As soon as he finished speaking, heavy footsteps sounded at the entrance.
“Sir! President Xu… Xu Changlong is here in person!!!”
The butler was nearly shouting himself hoarse.
Lin Fusheng’s legs nearly gave out beneath him.
Xu Changlong! He had come in person!
He was the true uncrowned king of the entire Jiangbei underworld!
Lin Fusheng hurriedly straightened his clothes and rushed to greet him with Yang Yuxia and Lin Che.
“President Xu! I’ve heard so much about you! Your personal visit to my humble home is a great honor!” Lin Fusheng bowed and scraped.
“May I ask if you’ve come in person to hand the contract to our A-Che?” Yang Yuxia asked expectantly.
Lin Che puffed out his chest, forcing himself to ignore the discomfort of his urine bag, and said with confidence,
“Hello, President Xu! I’m Lin Che, the Young Master of the Lin Family! The Lin Family’s most outstanding heir!”
The guests joined in as well:
“That’s right! Young Master Che is the Lin Family’s finest young master!”
“With Young Master Che at the helm, the Lin Family has a bright future!”
Xu Changlong glanced at Lin Che.
Smack!!!
A deafening slap sent Lin Che spinning around twice on the spot!
His urine bag flew off, splashing the two guests beside him with the bloody urine inside!
“Who the hell do you think you are?!”
Xu Changlong grabbed Lin Che by the collar, murder in his eyes.
“You Fake Young Master have the nerve to come out here and act tough!”
“There’s only one Eldest Young Master of the Lin Family: Lin Yan!”
“I’ll work with Lin Yan alone!”
With that, Xu Changlong flung Lin Che to the ground like a piece of trash.
The entire hall fell deathly silent.
Lin Fusheng, Yang Yuxia, and all the guests stood frozen in shock!
Everyone was dumbfounded.
The one-billion deal… wasn’t for Lin Che?
It was for… Lin Yan?!
Xu Changlong swept a cold glance across the room, snorted, and turned to leave with his men.
Before leaving, he tossed out a parting remark: “Lin Yan’s contract is for him to sign himself. You dogs of the Lin Family aren’t fit to speak to me.”
The front door closed.
Everyone was so shaken by what had just happened that they couldn’t speak for a long while.
After a long silence,
Lin Che clutched his swollen, piglike face and forced a smile.
“It… It’s fine! So what if Xu Changlong’s gone?”
“We still have the Su Family! The Su Family is way more powerful than Changlong Group!”
Lin Fusheng’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly echoed him. “That’s right! The Eldest Miss of the Su Family must have taken a liking to A-Che! If we can get in with the Su Family, the Lin Family will rise even higher!”
Yang Yuxia nodded repeatedly. “The Su Family has money to spare! They’re ten thousand times better than that Xu Changlong!”
Sure enough, a steward from the Su Family stepped forward and said,
“Sorry to interrupt.
May I ask where the Eldest Young Master of the Lin Family’s room is?
We still have some gifts to deliver to the Eldest Young Master’s room.”
Lin Che hurried to his feet and greeted him with a smile.
“You can give them to me! Just take them straight to my room.”
The Su Family steward looked him up and down. “Are you Lin Yan, the Eldest Young Master of the Lin Family?”
“I’m the Eldest Young Master of the Lin Family.” Lin Che thumped his chest and said smugly, “But my name isn’t Lin Yan. It’s Lin Che! You’ve got the wrong person.”
The Su Family steward’s face instantly darkened.
He raised a hand to stop his men, who were about to carry the chests inside, and said coldly,
“I’m sorry. The Eldest Miss of the Su Family’s exact words were that the gifts were only for Young Master Lin, Lin Yan.
Anyone else who asks for them gets nothing!”
The hall fell quiet again; it was so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Lin Che’s smile froze on his face.
Lin Fusheng’s mouth hung open in an O.
The handkerchief clenched in Yang Yuxia’s hand was nearly twisted to shreds.
The Su Family had brought gifts for Lin Yan too?
They had just mocked Lin Yan for being a convict and a good-for-nothing, and told him to kneel and apologize!
And yet he was the one who had truly found powerful supporters!
Lin Yan walked over from beside the wall and calmly accepted the gift list from the Su Family steward.
“Please thank the Eldest Miss of the Su Family for me.”
“Of course, Young Master Lin. We’ll take our leave.”
The Su Family representatives bowed respectfully and left.
Lin Yan slipped the gift list into his pocket. Too lazy to look at the stunned, regretful faces of these fair-weather people, he clasped his hands behind his back and strode out of the Lin Family residence.
Behind him came Lin Che’s hysterical roar, Yang Yuxia’s wailing, and Lin Fusheng’s furious bellow…
Lin Yan ignored it all, a cold smile on his lips.
They wanted him to kneel?
Maybe in his next life!!!
……
……
Not long after leaving the Lin Family Villa compound, Lin Yan’s expression suddenly changed!
The blood throughout his body began to boil violently once more!
It was ten times more intense than the last time on Blackstone Island!
“Hiss… It’s happening again!”
The veins on Lin Yan’s forehead bulged, and his skin quickly turned red. The Nine Yang Dragons in his meridians thrashed wildly, as if they would tear his body apart from within!
“Damn it… It hasn’t even been a day since the last episode… They’re happening more and more often…”
Lin Yan’s eyes quickly reddened and filled with blood as his consciousness began to blur.
If he couldn’t find the most yin energy to neutralize the rampaging Pure Yang True Qi inside him in the shortest time possible, his body would explode!
Just as he was about to lose consciousness, a faint chill drifted over from the east.
“Pure Yin Qi!!!”
Lin Yan shuddered.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Lin Yan bit down until his mouth filled with blood, then sprinted after the trace of energy!
He ran wildly down the street. Each time a Yang Dragon crashed through his meridians, his vision blurred a little more, but the Pure Yin Qi grew clearer and clearer, like the only beacon in the darkness, drawing him onward.
After running for who knew how long, Lin Yan suddenly stopped.
Before him stood a magnificent, luxurious hotel.
That Pure Yin Qi… was coming from inside the hotel!
And it was incredibly dense!
His body flushed red, his eyes bloodshot, and every vein on his forehead bulging, Lin Yan stood at the hotel entrance, panting heavily like a beast on the verge of going berserk.
Passersby hurriedly gave him a wide berth, while the doorman took several steps back, startled by his appearance.
Just then…
“Mister! Please! Please marry my mommy!”
A young girl’s heartrending cry came from the steps at the hotel entrance.
Lin Yan looked toward the voice.
A little girl of about four or five, her hair tied in two crooked pigtails, had tears and snot all over her small face. She was kneeling on the ground, desperately clutching the trouser leg of a middle-aged man passing by and pleading with all her might.
“Mister! Please! Marry my mommy! I’m begging you!!!”
The man looked disgusted, wrenched his leg free, and walked away quickly, muttering curses.
The little girl fell face-first onto the ground, sobbing so hard that her whole body trembled. Then she got back up and stumbled over to the next man passing by.
“Mister… please… will you marry my mommy? I’m begging you…”