Suddenly the door opened, and an elderly man with white hair walked in, surrounded by a group of young people.
"It's Xu Hai!"
"The old man is quite pitiful. At his age, he still has to work hard for his children and grandchildren."
Once upon a time, the Xu family was no less powerful than the Zhou family. However, Xu Hai was superstitious and believed that having many children brought good fortune. He had five sons, and the sons fought constantly for the family property, which led to the decline of the Xu family.
Xu Hai brought his nine grandsons to the Zhou family banquet because they were all getting on in years. He hoped they could meet some business partners at the banquet, or even form a connection with a wealthy heiress. Since his sons were unreliable, he placed his hopes on his grandchildren.
Lin An thought to himself that the old man would have been better off not making any trouble. The infighting among the sons only reduced the Xu family's assets, but the efforts of the grandchildren directly led to the Xu family being heavily indebted. Six of the nine grandsons became live-in sons-in-law, including his third sister's husband, Xu Mo.
Zhou Shengren had received help from Xu Hai in business when he was young. He was a grateful person, so he went to greet Xu Hai with a limp and crutches: "Brother Xu, it's been a long time."
The two exchanged pleasantries while holding hands. Lin An tactfully stepped aside, took a drink from the waiter, and leisurely began to drink.
Lei Dong seized the opportunity and walked over: "Young man, hello. I wonder if I would have the honor of getting to know you. My name is Lei Dong."
"Mr. Lei, hello. I've long admired your name. It's an honor to meet you." Lin An was very humble. Mr. Lei's strength lay not in his wealth, but in his extensive network of connections that spanned the entire country.
Old Lei handed over a business card: "I usually shop at the antique shop owned by President Zhou. You can come and take a look when you have time. I can tell you have a good eye, so we can exchange ideas."
Lin An accepted the business card and replied with a smile, "Thank you for your appreciation, Elder Lei. I will definitely pay you a visit another day."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Old Lei was pulled away to have his treasure appraised. A familiar voice came from under the window; it was Xu Mo making a phone call.
"I have read the proposal, and I still approve of your plan."
"So urgent? I'll try to transfer the investment funds within the next couple of days..."
Lin An recalled that in his previous life, Xu Mo had invested in a chain restaurant project, but was cheated by his partner and lost everything. Xu's father was extremely disappointed in him and sent him to the Lin family as a live-in son-in-law. After that, he became a long-term worker in the Lin family company who did not need to be paid a salary.
Lin Xia was only willing to marry him because she was pregnant with another man's child and wanted him to take over. In her previous life, this secret remained undiscovered until Lin An's spirit dissipated.
Xu Mo hung up the phone and walked towards the lobby, where Lin An stopped him:
"Hello."
Xu Mo asked with a smile, "Are you calling me?"
"Excuse me, but I have some knowledge of physiognomy and just wanted to remind you that it's best not to invest in real businesses recently," Lin An said, making up a reason.
Xu Mo felt that the boy in front of him was acting strangely, so he lifted his leg to leave and replied perfunctorily, "Okay, thanks for reminding me."
"Pay special attention to partners with facial scars, as they may lose everything."
Upon hearing this, Xu Mo was startled and stopped in his tracks: "How did you know?"
His partner does have a small scar on his left cheek, but he has been doing business in Southeast Asia and no one in Shanghai would recognize him.
Lin An regretted his loose tongue and made up a story: "It's nothing, I just know a little about face reading and divination."
Xu Mo pondered the credibility of these words. He was a proper college graduate and couldn't be easily fooled. Besides, he had investigated the project himself and thought it should be fine. He even hoped to use it to help his father turn his life around.
"Xu Mo, you're here too." It was Lin Haoran's voice.
Lin An recalled that at this point in his previous life, Xu Mo had already begun pursuing Lin Xia, and in order to please his beloved, he often fawned over Lin Haoran.
"Hello, Uncle Lin," Xu Mo greeted him with a smile.
Xu Mo was relieved to see that Lin Haoran was followed by Lin Wan and Lin Rou. His Lin Xia was so beautiful, it was safer for her not to attend this kind of banquet.
"How's your business lately? Any progress?" Perhaps because Xu Mo had acted too humbly, Lin Haoran's tone was arrogant.
"I'm currently preparing for a hotel project, and it could open in three months if all goes well."
Xu Mo looked nervous, answering cautiously as if being questioned by an examiner, afraid of displeasing Lin's father. He genuinely wanted to marry Lin Xia.
Lin Haoran smiled with satisfaction: "Young man, do a good job. Only if you do a good job can I entrust my daughter to you."
"That's right, she's my sister, destined to marry into a wealthy family and enjoy a life of luxury. Your current assets aren't enough. If you really like Lin Xia, then work hard to make money."
Lin Rou's incessant chatter made Lin An physically uncomfortable. Looking at Xu Mo's submissive attitude, she sighed that there was no hope for a simp and turned to leave.
"Lin An, are you avoiding us?"
"yes."
"How can you be like this? We don't look down on you, yet you dare to avoid us. Don't think that just because President Zhou gives you some face, you're some kind of VIP."
Lin Rou was in a bad mood. She thought she could charm a bunch of men today, but no one even tried to chat her up. Zhou Chen was avoiding her, so she decided to vent all her resentment on Lin An.
"I've told you many times, don't bother me. If you keep verbally attacking me like this, I'll tear your mouth apart."
Lin Rou could hardly breathe. After a moment, she finally came to her senses and screamed, "Lin An, what did you say? Say it again!"
She tried to pounce on Lin An, but her older sister Lin Wan stopped her, saying, "Enough, don't you know when to stop making a scene?"
"Big sister, what are you doing?"
"Shut up! Don't embarrass the Zhou family."
Lin Haoran observed the reactions of those around him: "Keep your voices down, don't you know what it means to keep family scandals private?"
Lin An ignored the family and walked towards the poolside, with Lin Wan following behind.
"Lin An, let's have a good talk."
"What's there to talk about?"
"Don't always have this attitude. We are family after all, and you are my brother."
"You only have one brother, named Lin Zhe, not Lin An. The agreement has been signed, and 200,000 yuan has been given. Please let us go, okay?" The Lin family's self-righteous attitude left Lin An feeling helpless.
Lin Wan was quite angry. That brat always had this rebellious attitude. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down: "After the banquet, let's go home together."
Lin An interrupted her: "Go home and let Lin Rou beat me? I'm not that cheap."
Lin Wan glared at Lin An and said in a deep voice, "Can you please stop making trouble?"
Lin An felt bewildered, his features contorted with irritation: "Who's messing with you? When will you ever stop? I just want to get away from you, why is that so hard?"
"What? Do I have to kneel down and beg you to come home? In your eyes, do I have to live without you, that I can't survive without the Lin family?"
"Lin An, I know you have grievances in your heart. Come home with us today, and we will let bygones be bygones."
Lin An laughed angrily: "Let bygones be bygones? You have the nerve to say that. Tell me, who gave you the audacity to pursue this against me?"
Lin Wan was speechless after being rebuked. Her lips trembled a few times before she finally spoke: "Lin An, can you please stop being so stubborn? We're all family. I advise you to be more magnanimous."
“You never treated me like family before, nor were you generous to me, but now you’re making demands of me. I advise you not to be so hypocritical.”
Looking back on the past, Lin Wan realized that, just as Lin An had said, the Lin family treated him and Lin Zhe differently. It was as if he had always been an outsider, while only Lin Zhe was a family member.
She was speechless for a moment before saying, "You're just being stubborn. We'll talk again when you've calmed down."
"No need, let's part amicably." Lin An had no more patience to argue with the Lin family.
Lin Wan assumed he was just being stubborn and would calm down eventually, unaware that he had already given up on her.
He greeted Zhou Ya, "Ms. Zhou, I'm sorry, I have to go home and finish my homework, so I'll be leaving now."
"Oh? I haven't even properly entertained you yet. Can't you stay a little longer?" Zhou Ya's eyes were bright and full of expectation.
She wanted to talk to Lin An more, but there were just too many guests, and she and her brother were too busy serving them to have a chance.
"No, see you next time." Lin An couldn't stand the Lin family's repeated harassment and just wanted to get away immediately.
"Alright then." Zhou Ya pursed her lips, her expression somewhat forlorn.
Seeing that Lin An was about to leave, Lin Rou was seething with anger and set her sights on Xu Mo: "If you really want to marry my sister, then help me teach that unfilial son a lesson. I will speak up for you in the Lin family."
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