Chapter 86 The Cooperation Meeting Ends

It was past ten at night. "Long Weihe told you to go home and get some sleep. Hurry up!" Lin Yao urged Qian Duoduo, who was sitting on the floor watching a movie on the projector. Friday nights were usually free. In the afternoon, she'd been at the company reviewing Qinglang's work for the week. All her homework was finished by Wednesday, so she called Long Weihe and Qian Duoduo over for dinner as usual. After dinner, Long Weihe helped her clean up and then went home. Qian Duoduo stayed to play a little longer. Lately, Long Weihe had been strictly controlling his TV time, and since there was nothing to watch at home, he'd taken the opportunity to stay with Lin Yao, insisting he wanted to watch an animated film, "The Lion King." Since there was no TV here, she was used to watching movies on a projector. Unable to resist, she projected the movie he wanted to watch, an animated version, which delighted him immensely. He loved watching on the floor. It was cold, and the floor was chilly. Lin Yao spread a milky white puff blanket under him and covered him with another. She also cut up some fruit and filled a plate with chocolate chips and cookies, taking good care of him. He was reluctant to leave and insisted on finishing the movie before going home. Long Weihe sent him several messages to urge him. There was a knock on the door, and she thought it was Long Weihe rushing to pick him up. "What's the rush? Let him finish..." When she opened the door and saw someone, she was stunned. Lin Yuxun stood straight at the door. "Sorry to bother you," he explained, staring into her eyes. "I'm doing some work nearby. It's still early, so I thought I'd come sit for a while and chat with you. Is that okay?" "It's not early, aren't you going to rest?" She didn't move, her hand still holding the door. "Nothing special, I... just wanted to sit for a while, then I'll leave and talk about finding someone." He was determined to stay with her for a while, even to talk to her. She smelled the alcohol on him and the familiar drunkenness in his eyes, and she became worried. He had just dropped Chen Yi and Lin Yushan off when his mind took over and he hailed a taxi and ran over. He hadn't even put on a coat since leaving home. The temperature outside was about 8 or 9 degrees Celsius, so he wore a thin white long-sleeved shirt. Lin Yao felt his voice was tense and a little shaky, and he couldn't tell if it was from the cold or the alcohol. He listened to the TV inside and it sounded like someone was making a noise. Qian Duoduo, delighted, threw his toys to the floor. "You... is there someone in there?" His mind was buzzing, his face flushed, and he tried to test it. "Yeah." She leaned slightly to the side. The person inside, upon hearing someone talking, threw off the blanket wrapped around him, scrambled to their feet, and ran to the entrance to ask, "Who's that, little sister?" Lin Yuxun heard the voice and relaxed, tilting his head to greet him, "Hi." "Brother!" he shouted, grinning and crossing his arms, quite...

It was a little after ten o'clock at night.

"Long Weihe told you to go home and sleep, go back quickly!"

Lin Yao urged Qian Duoduo, who was sitting on the floor watching a movie on the projection screen.

She was often free on Friday nights, and in the afternoon she would review Qinglang's work for the week, and all her homework would be completed before Wednesday. As usual, she called Long Weihe and Qian Duoduo to come over for dinner.

After dinner, Long Weihe helped her clean up and went home. Qian Duoduo stayed to play for a while. Recently, Long Weihe had strictly controlled his TV watching. There was no TV at home. When he saw Long Weihe leaving, he took the opportunity to stay with Lin Yao, saying that he wanted to watch cartoons, such as "The Lion King".

There was no TV here, so she was used to watching movies on a projector. Unable to bear with him, she projected the animated version of what he wanted to watch, and he was very happy.

He liked to sit on the floor and watch. It was cold, and the floor was chilly. Lin Yao spread a creamy white puff blanket under him, covered him with another, cut up some fruit, and placed chocolate chips and cookies on a plate, taking good care of him. He was reluctant to leave and insisted on finishing the movie before going home. Long Weihe sent him several messages to urge him to leave.

There was a knock on the door, and she thought it was Long Weihe coming to pick him up in a hurry.

"Why the rush? Let him finish reading..."

When she opened the door and saw someone, she was stunned.

Lin Yuxun stood straight at the door.

"I'm sorry to bother you," he explained, staring into her eyes. "I'm doing some errands nearby. It's still early, so I thought I'd come sit down for a while and chat with you. Is that convenient?"

"It's not early, don't you want to rest?" She didn't move, her hand still holding the door.

"Nothing special, I... just want to sit for a while, then I'll leave and talk about finding someone."

He was determined to stay with her for a while, even to talk to her.

She smelled alcohol on him and saw a familiar drunken look in his eyes, which made her worried.

He had just sent Chen Yi and Lin Yushan to the car when his mind suddenly started to work. He stopped a taxi and ran over. He had just left home without a coat. The temperature outside was about eight or nine degrees Celsius, so he only wore a thin white long-sleeved shirt.

Lin Yao felt that his voice was tense and a little shaky, and he didn't know if it was because of the cold or too much alcohol.

He listened to the sound of the TV inside and it seemed like someone was making some noise.

Qian Duoduo was so happy that he threw the toy in his hand to the floor.

"You... is there someone inside?"

His head was buzzing, his face and eyes were red, and he was trying.

"Yeah." She leaned slightly to the side.

When the person inside heard someone talking, he lifted the blanket wrapped around him, climbed up, ran to the entrance and asked, "Who is this young lady?"

When Lin Yuxun heard the sound, he relaxed his whole body and tilted his head to greet him, "Hi."

"Brother!" he shouted, grinning and crossing his arms, looking quite happy.

She stepped aside, realizing that Qian Duoduo was there and there was someone to chat with, so she didn't need to chat, so she relaxed and said, "Come in."

"Are you playing here?" he asked the enthusiastic people when he came in. "Is your mother not here?"

"I was watching a movie and my mom came home."

"Can I watch it together?"

"Can."

He sat down on the floor next to Qian Duoduo, who generously shared his snacks and blanket. He immediately felt warm.

The screen showed the scene where the young lion king transformed into the adult lion king. Qian Duoduo giggled and kept talking, saying that it was disgusting that they ate insects and that he liked the pigs the most...

He responded by looking at Lin Yao.

She was wearing a loose apricot-colored cashmere sweater with light floral patterns, and her hair was held back by a headband, making her face look even more beautiful and pure. She was busy washing cups and pouring water at the dining table.

"Have you been drinking?"

She got a glass of honey water and handed it to him.

"Thank you." He took it and held the cup in his palms.

She turned to go to the room, then turned back and gave him the clothes he had put on her before, "Aren't you cold?"

"It's not cold now."

He took it and didn't put it on. The clothes had a pleasant fragrance.

She felt uncomfortable sitting down to watch a movie with the two of them, so she tried to find something to do and asked him again, "Are you hungry?"

He didn't want her to leave again, "I'm not hungry."

He just drank at night and didn't eat much, so he was actually hungry.

She didn't move, looked at the screen for a while, and finally moved behind them and sat on the sofa to watch with them.

The honey water in his palm was warm. He felt much better after taking a few sips. The child around him was not so annoying anymore. He even liked him a little.

Considering the projection effect, Lin Yao only left a row of downlights near the sofa. The living room was dark, and the music on the projection screen was cheerful. The picture and light and shadow switched, and he felt dazed. This small space was like his "source of energy", and he had a sense of escape and rescue.

He turned around to look at her. She met his eyes and looked away instantly.

On the screen, adult male and female lions met for the first time and started fighting.

Qian Duoduo looked nervous and said that in a fight between a female lion and a male lion, the male lion would definitely be stronger because the male lion is stronger. Lin Yuxun refuted that, saying that it was not necessarily the case, saying that they were fighting now because they did not recognize each other, did not understand each other, would be on guard, and would fight back. Once they recognized each other, the male lion would definitely lose.

Qian Duoduo asked why.

"Because the male lion loves the female lion, they love each other."

Qian Duoduo asked again if they would not fight if they fell in love.

He said it’s not necessarily the case, but a male lion will definitely not hit a female lion. If a female lion gets angry, she may be very fierce.

Lin Yao glared at him behind his back. Long Weihe had never mentioned anything about love to Qian Duoduo. He had drunk too much and was talking without restraint.

The doorbell rang again, and this time it was Long Weihe.

It was almost eleven o'clock, and when Lin Yao didn't send the man home and didn't reply to the message, she rushed downstairs to pick him up.

Lin Yao was nervous, "Duoduo, your mother is here. I'm going to turn off the movie. It's getting late. You all should go back."

She reminded him to go together, in the middle of the night, so that Long Weihe wouldn't mistakenly think they were together.

"I have an urgent call to make. Can I borrow your balcony?" He wanted to find a place to hide. It was unclear whether he wanted to avoid people or go home.

She ignored him and took Qian Duoduo away. Qian Duoduo looked unhappy and grumbled, saying that Long Weihe was annoying and that they would have to watch it again next Friday.

Less than two minutes after I handed the person over to Long Weihe, she sent a message.

"Be careful."

Qian Duoduo must have told her that he was at Lin Yao's house. She hadn't seen him at first, and she assumed they were hiding something, so she felt something was seriously wrong.

"There's nothing unsafe. He came to talk about finding someone. Leave immediately."

"I don't mean that safe."

"What do you mean? I don't understand."

"I mean, do you have experience? Safety measures, pay attention."

Lin Yao reacted, and her phone screen was slammed so hard that it left a mark. "You're crazy!"

He came in from the balcony.

The movie was still playing, and she couldn't turn it off or not. If she turned it off, the two of them would be together late at night, the silence even more awkward. If she turned it off, the screen showed two lions tumbling and embracing, their eyes glued to each other with love, and the background music...

"I'm drunk. Can I take a break here and finish watching the movie before leaving?" He just stood there.

"Look, I have homework, I have to do it..." She thought about going to the study.

"Let's chat," he interrupted, stepping forward to stand in front of her.

She glanced at the screen. The music stopped, the ambiguous scene was over, and she simply sat down on the sofa. "Okay, let's talk about finding someone."

He also sat down on the sofa.

She tried to find a way to talk, "Long Wei and I thought about it later, and we have some different opinions on your approach to personnel allocation."

She'd been thinking about it over and over for the past few days, wanting to keep it to herself. While her role as consultant was effective, it concerned her own future, and she was afraid he'd misunderstand her.

"you say."

"We couldn't find replacements for Jiang Zhiping and Zhong Chengbing. We're sorry we can't offer you these two positions."

She decided to phrase it differently, rather than telling him directly, "You have to take over. You can't just deal with the other person and then find someone else to fill the role. Business operations aren't about power struggles; they need healthy and positive development. And if you, Lin Yuxun, don't take over, any changes will be wasted. No one can replace you at this stage. You must take responsibility. You, Lin Yuxun, are the only candidate."

Even drunk, he could hear the subtext of "unable to deliver." She hadn't even recommended a candidate to him before discussing delivery difficulties. This was simply not the attitude of a professional headhunter. She wasn't going to find him anymore.

Finally taking his eyes away from her face, he looked at the screen. "It's too early to say we can't deliver now. I don't need anyone right away. You have plenty of time to reserve. Later... we'll see how things go."

He also left some room for Lin Yushan.

Before getting in the car today, Lin Yushan told him that she needed a week to calmly consider the situation. He wasn't sure about her final state and thoughts yet. Perhaps she was willing to take the risk. Everything was a dynamic process.

"I'll ask Lin Yushan to handle the HR head replacement. I might be able to introduce you to her then."

He finally threw the man to her.

"Are you familiar with your chief auditor?" she asked.

"Not familiar, why?"

"Nothing, just asking. As the headcount changes, I can provide some support on the audit front if you need it. I have a very close candidate who's the head of internal audit at a pharmaceutical company, and I recommended him. I also have two MBA classmates who audit listed companies at the Big Four and are interested in switching to the client side."

Finding some key personnel at middle and senior levels to do the work is now a piece of cake for her.

She didn't mention Tongya's current Chief Auditor's job search. Li Xuan had asked her for help but it hadn't worked out, and she couldn't sell out Li Xuan's friend. If this person left on their own initiative, she could bring in a new person. But there were so many people looking for a job, and no one would easily move on until they found a new one.

"It's very necessary." He paused, "It's just that this person is difficult to touch. He has been with Lin Guanghui for many years. I have evidence of Jiang Zhiping's violations, but it's not evidence that can be put on the table. If we really confront them head-on, it will cause great damage to Tongya. If we go through the formal internal audit process, the problems of Jiang Zhiping and Zhong Chengbing will be revealed."

"Lin Guanghui is your father. Is it really that difficult to let Jiang Zhiping go?" Lin Yao was puzzled. In her opinion, between father and son, could it be so difficult to move a senior executive?

"If we were just letting people go, it would have been difficult before today, but after today... it won't be difficult," he said confidently. "But a snake can't leave with its fangs. It needs to be removed before it leaves."

It's not like he hadn't considered cutting the Gordian knot. If Lin Yushan went to Lin Guanghui now with evidence of Zhong Chengbing's betrayal, Zhong Chengbing would be gone immediately. Tomorrow, mother and son would join forces to force Lin Guanghui to abdicate, and Jiang Zhiping would definitely not be around until the day after tomorrow. But things weren't that simple. The trauma was too great, and a momentary satisfaction would lead to endless trouble. He had to prevent the two of them from jumping over the wall in desperation. He had to eliminate any possibility of a counterattack.

These topics about power and struggle ultimately destroyed the relaxed and pure atmosphere that belonged to the two of them that he longed for.

He suddenly felt annoyed and regretted asking her to do something. Those disgusting people and things, and conspiracies, should not appear in their topics.

When she mentioned these things to him, she didn't have any enthusiasm for work. She didn't want to make money from him, and she had no desire to make any money.

The movie was coming to an end. He finally said he was leaving.

She saw the clothes he had placed on the sofa, picked them up and handed them to him as he walked to the door, "It's cold outside, put them on."

He reached out and took it, looked into her eyes, and couldn't bear it anymore, so he threw the clothes to the floor, pulled her over, pressed her into his arms, held her head, and put it on his shoulders.

He avoided her eyes and lips, restrained himself, lowered his head and rubbed it against her neck and shoulder, the hand pressing on her head stroking her hair in a disordered rhythm, "I'm sorry... I really... I just want to hug you... I want to watch a good movie with you..."

Her eyes were red and her heart was beating fast. She pushed him with some strength, turned around and avoided looking at him, "Lin Yuxun, the movie will end, and the cooperation will end too."