Inside the Lin family villa, everyone surrounded Lin Xia, comforting her.
Lin Zhe was exceptionally attentive. He was still shaken after lying about misrepresenting the message last time, and had been behaving even more considerately at home lately.
Lin Zhe brought Lin Xia an ice pack: "Third sister, applying this will help you recover faster."
Zhang Wanru felt gratified looking at the obedient Lin Zhe. She truly regretted bringing Lin An back. Without him, she would still be the well-off lady with a harmonious family and a comfortable life that others envied. It was because of Lin An that everything was now teetering on the brink of collapse.
Zhang Wanru sighed and blurted out, "If only it were just Xiao Zhe."
Lin Zhe understood what his mother meant: "Mom, maybe my brother has his reasons. He might just be trying to get our attention, and he might be taking it out on my third sister because he was in a bad mood after losing the math competition."
When Lin Rou heard that Lin Zhe had failed his exam, she couldn't hide her joy and hurriedly asked, "He failed the exam?"
"It seems so. I heard it from Xiaoxi."
Lin Xi chimed in, "It must be. I heard from classmates that the principal personally took him to the exam, but someone saw him leave him behind and drive back early by himself. Moreover, Principal Chen looked extremely grim."
"Rumor has it that Lin An couldn't answer a single question, handed in a blank paper, and left early. Principal Chen is now regretting it terribly. He placed all his bets on Lin An, but he turned out to be such a loser, making the principal lose face with him."
Lin Zhe chimed in, "We're hearing it in our honors class too, that Principal Chen is almost in tears."
Lin Xi shrugged: "Looks like Lin An is going to fall from grace. His days at school won't be easy from now on."
The rumors at the school were not unfounded. When Principal Chen saw Lin An leave the exam room half an hour early, he was disheartened. After returning to school, he was alone in the car trying to calm himself down when a student who had skipped class saw him looking worried.
Hearing this, Lin Xia felt a sense of vengeful pleasure. Ignoring the embarrassment on her face, she chuckled.
"Haha, I knew he was a good-for-nothing. He'd show his true colors sooner or later, and he wouldn't have a good ending."
Lin Rou was overjoyed. Remembering her bet with Lin An, she smiled. Finally, she had a chance to turn the tables. This time, she won big. She was just waiting for Lin An to kneel down and apologize to her.
Just then, the door opened, and Lin Wan arrived home. Hearing their laughter, she was puzzled. Wasn't Lin Xia beaten up?
"What are you talking about? You seem to be having a lot of fun."
"Big sister, Lin An submitted a blank paper in the competition. Let's see how he tries to deny it this time, hahaha."
Lin Wan was suspicious. Could it be that Lin An really cheated on his previous grades? But she felt that Lin Rou's smile was too exaggerated and made her uncomfortable, so she said calmly:
"Let's wait until the results come out before we talk about anything else."
"Also, as you all know, I'm having lunch with Lin An tomorrow."
Lin Rou had already mentioned this matter when she got home, but they didn't treat the meal as a family feast. Instead, they found a private room and held a one-on-one criticism session.
Lin Xia, in particular, was looking forward to her family joining forces to vent her anger. She wanted to return the slap she had received and crush Lin An's dignity.
Seeing her family members' indifferent expressions and silence, Lin Wan continued, "I haven't booked a restaurant yet. I called several restaurants today to reserve private rooms, but they all said they were too popular and fully booked. Do you have any connections to book a decent restaurant? There are quite a few of us in the family, so a large private room would be best."
Lin Zhe stepped forward. He had been looking for opportunities to prove himself as a qualified successor, and blurted out, "Big sister, leave it to me. You know the Cloud Top Hotel, right? The owner's son is my classmate, and we have a very good relationship."
Lin Rou looked on with admiration: "Wow, our Xiao Zhe is so amazing. He's already building his business network while still in school. That's the Cloud Top Hotel, you know. Private rooms are super hard to get. Last year, I wanted to book one for my birthday, but I couldn't even book it two weeks in advance."
Lin Zhe quickly said, "Mom, sister, I have always known that I am the future of the Lin family. I understand the responsibilities I have to bear. Since I started school, I have been kind to others and careful in making friends. Now, my relationship with the young masters from prominent families in the same grade is extraordinary. I think these friends of mine will definitely be able to play a role in the business world in the future."
Zhang Wanru was moved to tears by Lin Zhe's words, as if she saw hope for the future: "Xiao Zhe, from now on, Mom and my sisters will be counting on you."
"Don't worry, Mom, trust me." Lin Zhe's gaze was firm.
Turning around, Lin Zhe returned to his bedroom and called the front desk of the Cloud Top Hotel.
"Hello, are there any private rooms available for tomorrow noon? I would like to reserve one that can accommodate ten people."
The staff habitually replied, "Sorry, we are fully booked. Please make your reservation next time."
Lin Zhe quickly explained, "You must have spare private rooms, right? I'm a gold card member, and when I signed up for the card, your manager promised to give me priority booking for a private room once."
"Sir, we do have this benefit. Is the mobile phone number you provided when you signed up for the card the same one that calls the caller ID? Let me check your membership registration."
"Yes, that's the phone number."
"Okay, Mr. Lin, this shows that you do have a priority reservation right. I'll register you. Just come to the store before noon tomorrow."
Lin Zhe hung up the phone and quickly sent a victory emoji to his family group chat:
"The private room at Genting Hotel has been booked."
Lin Rou replied instantly: "Xiao Zhe is amazing!"
Mom and her sisters sent a series of thumbs-up emojis.
Lin Zhe smiled smugly. It seemed that spending 200,000 yuan to top up his card had been the right decision.
The mock exam is in a week, and Lin Zhe is determined to get his grades back to the top. He plans to use his old method to find accomplices to cheat, and also to prepare for cheating in the college entrance exam. He found two students who were short of money but had excellent grades. In order to convince them of his financial resources and make them his loyal followers, he spent a lot of money to treat them to dinner at the Cloud Top Hotel.
When they finished their meal and were paying the bill, the manager casually asked if they wanted to sign up for a membership. Lin Zhe didn't want to lose face in front of his underlings, so he gritted his teeth and topped up his account to get a gold card. He paid for the card using Zhang Wanru's supplementary credit card. Zhang Wanru had left the card with him in case of emergency, and she had no idea that he had spent such a large amount of money.
The next morning, Lin An woke up to find a message from an unknown number:
"Lin An, arrive at the Cloud Top Hotel at noon. We'll be waiting for you."
Lin An frowned and tossed his phone aside.
The snacks Lin Wan brought him yesterday were still on the table; he was about to throw them away before leaving.
Lin An walked to the table, wanting to see what kind of pastries Lin Wan had bought. She kept saying that they were his favorite pastries. His favorite pastry was the red date cake steamed by the old lady in the canteen of the orphanage. He remembered that the old lady said that the ones made by professional pastry shops were even better than hers, but Lin An had never eaten them since he came to Haishi.
Lin An opened the beautifully packaged box, revealing the chestnut cake inside, which was Lin Zhe's favorite pastry.
Lin An snorted coldly. He knew the Lin family wasn't that kind-hearted. Lin Wan was probably using this to deliberately provoke him. He not only didn't like chestnut cake, but he was also allergic to chestnuts.
Because Lin Zhe likes chestnut cake, his mother and several older sisters keep buying it for him and often ask him if he wants some, even though he has already answered countless times:
"I can't eat them, I'm allergic to chestnuts."
They still asked him with great enthusiasm, "Lin An, do you want some chestnut cake?"
His words probably never carried any weight in the Lin family's hearts.
Lin An threw the pastries into the trash can, not wanting to let the Lin family affect her mood any further.
Just then, his phone beeped. Lin An picked up his phone and saw another text message from an unknown number.
"Lin An, if you have the guts, then be on time for the banquet. I'm going to show your whole family what you're really like!" — Lin Xia
This idiot even included her own name; Lin An regretted letting her go.
Fine, as you wish. I'll let you off this time, but there won't be a second time.
Lin An texted Xu Mo: "Send me a copy of the short video the detective took."
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