Chu Tianqing immediately photographed and scanned the document, sending it to Shen Xinglan.
A few minutes later, Shen Xinglan replied with three words—
【Ace in the Hole】
The moment Shen Xinglan's class ended, Chu Tianqing called her right away.
Shen Xinglan's voice was exceptionally calm: "We can set up a meeting with the three old geezers of the Lin family."
"How about Friday afternoon? I heard that on Friday mornings they only stop by the hospital for a quick look before leaving. Apparently, Friday afternoons and the entire weekend, they gather at the old mansion to play cards."
Chu Tianqing was both excited and nervous, flipping through the document again and again.
Shen Xinglan's tone was firm: "Better sooner than later. Let's go with Friday afternoon. I'll skip class this afternoon to come find you—we need to rework the negotiation plan. The focus has shifted."
Chu Tianqing: "Okay, I'll come pick you up."
Shen Xinglan: "I'll call a car. By the time you drive over, I'll already be there. Use that time to think through tomorrow's script—you're the lead speaker."
"Fine, let me know when you're close, and I'll open the front gate for you."
Knowing that Shen Xinglan would be with her from this afternoon all the way through Friday, Chu Tianqing's heart gradually settled.
After hanging up, she carefully stored away the original document.
This was no ordinary document.
It was a life-saving talisman for her and Shen Xinglan!
Back in the study, Chu Tianqing first drafted a message requesting a meeting.
She had the phone numbers and WeChat contacts of the three Lin uncles saved on her phone. Judging by the dates, they must have been added during the wedding—they had never spoken before.
After editing it, she sent it to Shen Xinglan for a quick review.
Shen Xinglan tweaked a few phrases and confirmed it was good.
Chu Tianqing sent it directly to the head of the three Lin uncles—Second Uncle Lin.
Lin Sinian's father's generation was the second generation of the Lin family, with six siblings in total.
Lin Sinian's father, Lin Zongyuan, was the eldest son and the former Chairman and CEO of the Lin Group.
After being "persuaded to step down" by his son, Lin Zongyuan had been living abroad for years, barely involving himself in family affairs.
Lin Zhichen's father was the fifth child, who had passed away young. The youngest sister also lived overseas permanently and did not participate in family management.
The second, third, and fourth brothers—the three of them—were currently the only other decision-makers in the Lin Group besides Lin Sinian.
Among the three brothers, the second eldest, Lin Zongqiang, was the leader.
Chu Tianqing soon received a WeChat reply from Lin Zongqiang—
【Agreed to meet.】
Before long, Shen Xinglan's ride-hailing car pulled up at the villa's front gate.
The two of them worked in sync to restructure their plan.
With this critical document in hand, the scattered clues and chat records Shen Xinglan had dug up earlier all clicked into place.
Following Shen Xinglan's framework, Chu Tianqing drafted lengthy "script" lines.
The two of them ran through three full simulations, filling in any gaps.
After confirming the final version, Chu Tianqing and Shen Xinglan collapsed onto the sofa in relief.
"Lanlan, we should be solid now, right?"
Chu Tianqing genuinely couldn't find any flaws anymore—she felt like her brain was about to overheat.
Shen Xinglan closed her eyes and massaged her brow: "Let's leave it here for today. Give your brain a rest. We still have time tomorrow morning—after you go to the hospital, I'll go over it once more."
"Actually, I just thought of something!" Chu Tianqing sat up.
She always loved pushing past her limits. The more her brain felt like it was burning out, the more new ideas uncontrollably burst out.
"What?" Shen Xinglan opened her eyes.
"Rich people are all super superstitious." Chu Tianqing recalled Lin Sinian's "rose absorbs illness" incident, and an idea quickly took shape in her mind.
She said, "What if we find a highly respected fortune-teller that the Lin family trusts in advance, and have him say that Lin Zhichen's birth chart carries a baleful star—that his current coma is because the family's fortune is being drained away. If they don't find someone with an extremely noble destiny to marry him as a 'Fate-Anchoring Spouse,' not only will Lin Zhichen never wake up, but the Lin family's wealth will scatter too…"
Chu Tianqing looked at Shen Xinglan: "Then we have your birth date and time 'calculated' to match. That could be a pretty good supporting move, right?"
Shen Xinglan nodded: "It's a perfect supporting move."
Chu Tianqing frowned and shook her head: "But the timing is too tight. We haven't been here long enough—we don't have the connections or the funds to pull this off."
She knew this was a wild idea born from brainstorming, and it would be very hard to execute.
At that moment, it was the usually steady and pragmatic Shen Xinglan who tapped her between the brows: "Unclench your brow."
Shen Xinglan pinched her cheek: "Never say give up until the very last moment. We're in a world inside a book—anything is possible."
Chu Tianqing's brow obediently relaxed, and her heart inexplicably settled.
For dinner, Shen Xinglan took the lead in the kitchen while Chu Tianqing helped as the sous-chef.
Shen Xinglan made a simple vegetable stir-fried noodles, paired with soft-boiled eggs and pan-fried luncheon meat, plus a seaweed and egg drop soup.
The two of them also got into the "superstitious" spirit of the wealthy.
The vegetable noodles were all about eating something "clean and pure," hoping for a perfect outcome tomorrow.
That night, after washing up, they were in bed before ten.
Chu Tianqing and Shen Xinglan's minds hadn't fully unwound, so they chatted idly under the covers, one topic drifting into the next.
Chu Tianqing was already daydreaming about Shen Xinglan's wedding: "Even though it feels like playing house, I'm still so excited—I get to be your maid of honor!"
Shen Xinglan's voice was languid: "Didn't you say when we were kids that you wanted to be my wedding officiant?"
Back in the lower grades of elementary school, when Chu Tianqing attended an adult wedding with her family, she'd been captivated by the officiant's wit and charm, and became obsessed with playing wedding house with Shen Xinglan.
Shen Xinglan had to play both the bride and the groom.
Chu Tianqing played the officiant, directing Shen Xinglan to bow to heaven and earth with herself.
And wouldn't you know it—their childhood games seemed to have been prophetic.
If they succeeded, Shen Xinglan really would be holding a wedding for one.
Chu Tianqing's fluffy head leaned against Shen Xinglan's shoulder: "Then when we succeed, want me to officiate your wedding?"
Shen Xinglan bumped her head against hers: "The officiant's outfit is too ugly. You should be the maid of honor instead, standing with me."
Chu Tianqing rolled over and wrapped her arms around Shen Xinglan's: "Ugh, I'm so jealous you have a husband who just lies there with zero presence."
As long as Shen Xinglan got through this hurdle, she could unlock life's Easy Mode.
But she still had to keep matching wits with Lin Sinian—a textbook Hard Mode.
Shen Xinglan: "Lin Zhichen? I'm not going to let him have zero presence."
"Huh?" Chu Tianqing rarely heard a hint of… excitement? in Shen Xinglan's tone.
Shen Xinglan opened her eyes: "Did you forget I studied biopharmaceuticals? My new research topic is synaptic topological repair and mitochondrial energy pumps."
Chu Tianqing looked completely lost.
Whatever was said went in one ear and out the other.
Shen Xinglan laughed: "In simple terms, it's about rebuilding bridges for damaged 'circuits' in the brain and force-charging 'dead batteries'—it can help coma patients wake up."
Put that way, Chu Tianqing understood: "So it's a perfect match for your specialty!"
"Exactly. Why wouldn't I use such a perfect clinical trial subject right in front of me?" When it came to her field, Shen Xinglan was wide awake.
Talking about her future husband, her eyes gleamed like a starving wolf spotting a plump little lamb—she was practically ready to pounce and… take him away for experiments.
Chu Tianqing gave her an admiring look: "Badass."
So her best friend couldn't wait to marry a giant "lab rat."
Shen Xinglan: "I have confidence in my specialty. And besides, isn't he rich?"
Chu Tianqing: "Very rich. Lin Zhichen also has shares in the Chen Media Group from his mother's side—double wealthy family backing."
A hint of longing crept into Shen Xinglan's eyes: "I've wanted my own independent laboratory for a long time."
Friday morning, Chu Tianqing woke up early.
She got out of bed quietly, careful not to wake Shen Xinglan.
The temperature difference between morning and evening was growing, so she wrapped herself in a thick coat and took a stroll through the villa's garden and small vegetable patch.
She'd already given away flowers, plants, fruits, and vegetables from the garden to everyone she could—there was nothing fresh left.
Chu Tianqing had a bit of OCD: even if she was giving away free "wool" to Lin Sinian, she couldn't stand giving the same thing twice.
"I have a car now!" Chu Tianqing suddenly remembered she had wheels now—she could go anywhere without asking for favors.
The navigation showed it was only a fifteen-minute drive from the villa to the nearest vegetable market.
Chu Tianqing drove her little green Bentley straight to the market.
She couldn't bear to buy flowers from a florist for Lin Sinian—too expensive and too unoriginal.
Of course, mainly too expensive.
At the market, Chu Tianqing spotted a basket of pumpkin blossoms that looked like budding yellow lilies at first glance.
She splurged 5 yuan on a big bunch and even looked up the flower language of pumpkin blossoms.
But the pumpkin blossoms looked a bit plain—they needed some green.
So she spent 3 yuan at another stall on a bundle of lush, leafy pea shoots, fresh and dewy.
Passing by a tailor shop outside the market, she spent 2 yuan on a strip of ribbon, and arranged the leafy pea shoots with the yellow pumpkin blossoms into a charming little bouquet.
Spending a full 10 yuan was already the greatest sincerity Chu Tianqing could offer Lin Sinian.
Two hours later—
In the VIP ward of Renji Hospital.
Lin Sinian stared at the strange bouquet in his hand. Or rather… vegetables… and fell silent.
"Isn't there a fresh fragrance? Smell it—guess what the flower language is~"
Chu Tianqing sat by the bed, eyes curved in a smile, fanning the air with her hand, trying to "sell" her creative bouquet.
She'd looked up the flower language of pumpkin blossoms beforehand: joy, steadfast love.
Mm, very fitting for an old thing like Lin Sinian in his thirties—old men always fall for that kind of thing.
"Do pea shoots have a flower language too?" Lin Sinian asked expressionlessly.
Chu Tianqing didn't react at first: "Huh?"
Lin Sinian had an AI-like voice assistant open on his computer, and a gentle robotic voice sounded—
"The flower language of pea shoots is: only the tender ones are wanted, not the old ones—or once you're old, nobody wants you. Are you satisfied with my answer?"
Only the tender ones… not the old ones… once you're old, nobody wants you.
Chu Tianqing's vision went dark—she'd messed up badly.