Chapter 39

You should stroke a cat's fur in the direction of its fur.

The afternoon sun was not gentle.

With unstoppable momentum, it insisted on squeezing into the air-conditioned living room, casting irregular shadows on the white walls.

The shadow is imbued with life by time, appearing ever-changing as the sun sets in the west.

The relaxed atmosphere inside a room with its doors and windows tightly closed exists only superficially.

Lin Jin lazily lay on her side on the sofa, closing her eyes for a nap. One hand rested on her fair and slender legs, and she tapped out a rhythmic beat to the instrumental music playing from the stereo.

She wore a long robe with a camellia pattern, the loose neckline revealing her delicate bone structure, and a strand of chestnut-brown curly hair cascaded down naturally, as if adorning that corner of beautiful spring scenery.

The two people standing in front of the coffee table had a different feeling. An indescribable low pressure made them look at each other and communicate only with their eyes, afraid that they would suddenly speak and disturb the current fragile peace.

Secretary Zhou had a document that needed the boss's signature tucked under her arm. Due to the urgency of the work, she hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking, "President Lin, this document needs your review and signature."

"Bring it here." Lin Jin weakly beckoned with her finger, and then gave no further instructions.

Secretary Zhou half-squatted down to hand over the document, and thoughtfully removed the cap from the pen, then busied herself pointing out some important details for her to pay attention to.

Lin Jin slowly sat up straight, took the thick stack of documents, and silently reviewed the contents.

No one can attain true and lasting freedom, and Lin Jin, who is worth over 100 million, is no exception.

Being busy with work is the norm for her. There are never enough documents to review and never enough meetings to finish. Just like making money, it's an endless cycle.

Zhou Ran stood back beside Sheng He, finished delivering the documents, and her tense state was slightly better than before.

She clasped her hands in front of her, quietly observing her boss's every move, and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Although the boss isn't the type to work day and night, he's quite discerning about the priorities of official business. However, his recent actions have become increasingly unpredictable.

Just like today, it's extremely rare for people to be called to your home to report on their work. Unless they have a cold or are sick, it almost never happens.

Thinking of this, Zhou Ran's mind naturally conjured up Cheng Sangluo's face.

She chuckled to herself, wondering if her hard-hearted boss had fallen in love.

There was another long silence in the living room.

Even a steady person like Sheng He couldn't stand the atmosphere. He reached out and loosened his tie knot to catch his breath.

"How's things going with Zhongyao Technology lately?" Lin Jin suddenly asked, not referring to the contents of the document.

The rarely mentioned words sent a slight shiver down their spines, as if the tech company were some unspeakable secret.

Lin Jin buried his head in writing his name in cursive script on the document, then picked up the signature stamp from the coffee table and affixed it.

After leaving her red mark, she stared at the signature on her fingertip, lost in thought. Suddenly, a deep smile appeared on her lips, as if she had thought of something amusing.

When the document was handed to Zhou Ran, her gaze sharpened again, as if she was dissatisfied with the secretary's slow response.

Zhou Ran, clutching the documents in her arms, hurriedly replied, "Engineer Jin sent an email this morning, inviting you to Zhongyao Technology to inspect the progress of the R&D project. When are you available so I can reply and let you know."

“No rush. Tell him that the project will continue as planned. I won’t be going for the time being. Also…” Lin Jin replied to Secretary Zhou, then turned to Sheng He, “These are special times. Arrange for more people to ensure the safety of relevant personnel. I don’t want to hear news of anyone getting into trouble at this critical juncture. This project is too special. It is imperative to do a good job in confidentiality and security.”

"Don't worry, boss, I will make careful arrangements." Sheng He assured him in a deep voice, then asked, "Since you've been staying at Linxi Terrace recently, do you need me to arrange for some people to guard this place? After all, you said that these are special times."

"No need." Lin Jin waved his hand, his smile ambiguous. "You have to be like an unsuspecting prey. Only those who are eager to pounce will reveal their weaknesses."

Sheng He frowned, and regardless of his boss's reaction, he insisted on refuting, "I have never agreed with your plan. Sacrificing oneself as bait is too unpredictable and too dangerous!"

Lin Jin looked at his fluctuating emotions, smiled, picked up the red wine on the coffee table, took a sip, and after quenching his thirst, said firmly, "Never doubt me."

Her tone didn't reveal any anger, but when her eyes fell on Sheng He's face, her gaze was as cold as if it were covered in ice.

Realizing his lapse in composure, Sheng He quickly adopted a submissive attitude, saying, "I'm sorry, I was too abrupt."

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Zhou Ran changed the subject: "President Lin, is there anything else I need to specifically tell you?"

Lin Jin held the cup and thought for a moment before making arrangements: "I won't be going to the company often during this period. Important meetings will be arranged online. Except for major projects, the rest will be handled by Vice President Mu. You can go first. I'll talk to Sheng He alone."

"Understood." Zhou Ran received the order and quickly left the living room.

Sheng He waited quietly for a while, and only after hearing the door close did he ask, "Boss, is there anything else important to tell me?"

"Go to my bedroom and clean up what's on the floor." Lin Jin sipped her red wine, her expression turning extremely displeased as she mentioned the things in the bedroom.

Sheng He didn't dare ask any more questions and hurried to the bedroom to tidy up.

Before long, he tidied up the banknotes scattered on the floor and walked back to the living room with an expression on his face that was both trying to laugh and not daring to laugh. In short, it was a complicated situation.

After all, he could see the words written on the brown paper envelope clearly.

Lin Jin propped her head up with one hand, and in the blink of an eye, she had already drunk more than half a bottle of red wine.

She stared at Sheng He's expression and scoffed, "Is it funny?"

"I wouldn't dare." Sheng He placed the money on the coffee table and pressed, "You kept me here for more than just finding money, didn't you?"

"Sigh..." Lin Jinshu let out a long sigh, her shrewd expression instantly turning into helplessness. "I really can't figure out what's going on in that bastard's head."

"It seems Miss Cheng has upset you again."

Lin Jin slammed down her cup and said defiantly, "Am I only worth a thousand yuan?"

"Uh...this..." Sheng He stammered, inwardly groaning: What does this have to do with me?!

But then I thought about it again, and the boss probably had no other choice but to vent his emotions on Cheng Sangluo.

He hesitated for a moment, then sighed softly, "Even you can't do anything about her, so I'm afraid I, a fool, can't think of any good solution either."

"That's not necessarily true." Lin Jin pursed his lips and explained, "You're a mercenary, and you're somewhat similar to her. Don't let your usual submissive attitude fool you; I know you're incredibly arrogant at heart. If you were me, what could you do with her?"

Sheng He smiled faintly, suddenly feeling that this kind of boss had a human touch. After all, the business world is like a battlefield, and she only cares about interests and not feelings when she plans every step of the way.

Miss Cheng is the most unpredictable piece in the whole game, capable of making this profit-driven and shrewd businessman feel melancholy, and also making this businessman more human.

“If I were you…” Sheng He pondered carefully, suddenly revealing a relaxed expression that he rarely showed to others.

He hatched a plan, a bright smile spreading across his face: "If I were you, I'd go along with her. The principle is simple: you stroke a cat's fur in the direction it's being stroked..."

"Oh? That's an interesting point." Lin Jin knew she hadn't asked the wrong person, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "Tell me more, and if it comes in handy... your prize money will double..."

*

The Lin Group Building is also located in the Zhouhai Financial CBD, just a few office buildings away from Lin Jin's Senyao Group.

The two groups do not have much overlap in their businesses.

The Lin family started out in transportation, initially focusing on land transport, and later expanding to shipping.

During the decades of national infrastructure boom, the Lin family bought many mines and made real money. After rapidly accumulating capital, they began to venture into real estate development.

Today, the Lin family's business encompasses raw material mining, production, transportation, land acquisition, and development.

This complete process allows them to firmly grasp the profit-making opportunities at almost every stage.

The Lin family has an exceptionally keen eye for identifying trends and opportunities, and they have almost always benefited from these trends, making each transformation quite successful.

Of course, the Lin family, which has been enjoying smooth sailing, is now facing the issue of generational change.

Throughout the years Lin Zhen has been running his family business, he has wanted to keep decision-making power firmly in the hands of his own family, so he insisted on not going public despite opposition.

Lin Sheng was more ambitious than his father, and he had only one goal: to make the Lin Group go public.

Lin Jin's establishment of Senyao Capital seems to have the same purpose as Lin Sheng's, but it's not just about waiting for the Lin family to go public.

In the parking garage of the Lin's Building.

Cheng Sangluo was dressed in all black, and even wore a black baseball cap, as if she was preparing for a particularly important operation. Obviously, this simple outfit was suitable for nighttime operations and also for concealment.

At this moment, she was hiding near a white BMW, carefully looking through the documents that Wei Yun had given her.

She read through the background of the Lin Group again and again, and kept pondering the relationship between the Lin Group and Senyao.

However, she was not good at understanding complex business competition relationships, and looking at the dense content, she couldn't find any problems.

She had a terrible headache and could only wearily rub her temples to relieve the discomfort.

While waiting for someone to arrive, she flipped through the documents again, pondering why there was so little information about Lin Jin's founding of Senyao, giving the impression that the story abruptly ended.

Cheng Sangluo stared at Lin Jin's name in the documents, somewhat lost in thought, and muttered, "To be able to build such a large business at such a young age, he's quite capable."

Before the man could react, he was unconsciously exaggerating the extraordinary methods of the crazy woman.

"Come to my house tonight, I'll make you feel amazing."

The offensive conversation suddenly entered her ears. Cheng Sangluo quickly put away her documents and turned her back to the wall.

She peeked out and glanced at Xu Songheng, who was opening the door of the BMW.

That bastard was spouting lewd things to some woman, his face contorted with a disgusting grin that made anyone who looked at him feel nauseous.

Cheng Sangluo felt disgusted and subconsciously picked at her ear, cursing the shameless filth in her heart.

She made a special trip here today to confirm Xu Songheng's car and his approximate itinerary for tonight.

Once you figure out what this person does after get off work, tracking them will become easier and easier in the future.

From just one sentence of conversation, Cheng Sangluo knew that this filthy man would be partying every night at home.

She suddenly had a good idea, so she hopped on the rented electric scooter and prepared to follow them closely.

Let's go to that bastard's house tonight and be an uninvited guest.

[Author's Note]

This is a transitional chapter in the main storyline; it's recommended to read it together with the next chapter.