Chapter 35 Recycling Summary [The fake young master slanders the master...]
The Lin family's living room has a six-meter-high ceiling, and a giant crystal chandelier illuminates every inch of the space.
The Italian imported cloud gray marble floor is as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the valuable abstract paintings on the walls on both sides.
A massive Hermès orange leather sofa occupies the center of the living room, while glass ornaments by renowned artists adorn the coffee table. The entire space exudes the ultimate luxury built on wealth.
However, at this moment, this luxurious space seemed to be frozen by an invisible ice. The air was terribly stagnant, so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.
"Kneel down!" Lin Yuan's roar echoed throughout the living room.
Lin Ke knelt upright on the cold, hard marble floor, her head bowed, her shoulders trembling slightly from suppressed sobs. Large tears fell onto the floor, leaving dark stains.
He still didn't understand why, even though he clearly had the upper hand after Lucy's appearance, Lin Yuan and Jiang Heyun suddenly changed their attitudes and reprimanded him, and Lin Yuan even became unusually furious and wanted to hit him!
Lin Ke has caused a lot of trouble over the years, but Lin Yuan has never been this angry before.
Lin Yuan's angry rebuke just now left him completely bewildered. Lin Ke subconsciously started to play the victim and cry pitifully: "Dad, I don't know what you're talking about. What do you mean by helping outsiders against you? How could I do that!"
Several maids stood hesitantly in the outer corridor, becoming even more hesitant to step inside after hearing the commotion: "What's going on? Hasn't the master always spoiled the young master?"
"Yes, I also find it strange. It seems that the young master has done something wrong this time. The master and madam were very angry just now. The master even chased after the young master with that jade porcelain bottle!"
"Oh my god, this is amazing! It's a pity I was helping out in the kitchen just now. I wish I had come and taken a look!"
"Haha, this is truly gratifying! He's been making things difficult for us servants all day long, spoiled rotten by the master. Now he's finally getting his comeuppance!" The middle-aged maid had a gossipy smile on her face, while the young man sharing the news with her also looked on with amusement.
The reason is simple: Lin Ke is usually very harsh on his servants. Even though it was clearly his own fault for not taking a bath in time after the bathwater was prepared, he punished the maid who prepared the bathwater by giving him cold water, hoping to freeze him to death, and even deducted the maid's wages.
On many occasions before, Lin Ke would carelessly leave his jewelry lying around, waking up all the servants who had already gone to bed at two or three in the morning to help him look for it. If they were even a little slow, he would yell at them and make sarcastic remarks, and he would even threaten to fire those who were not proactive in helping him find his things.
The servants at the Lin residence had long suffered under Lin Ke's influence and were hoping someone would teach her a lesson and make her behave like a normal human being.
Lin Yuan was panting heavily from the chase with Lin Ke, and couldn't speak for a moment, but Jiang Heyun spoke first.
The middle-aged woman's expression was one of deep weariness and disappointment. Her gaze towards Lin Ke was sorrowful yet resolute: "Tell me the truth now, and I won't cancel your card. But if we follow the leads we have and find that the leak of confidential information is related to you, then you won't be able to step out of your room for the next six months! And the Lin family will not give you a single penny after that!"
This matter involves the company's core business and is a crucial step in Lin Yuan's business strategy that will determine whether he can expand his business empire. Jiang Heyun and Lin Yuan no longer care about their mother-son or father-son relationship. The anger and pain of being betrayed and stabbed by their closest child have already filled their emotions.
The leak of confidential information caused the Lin family business to suffer losses amounting to nine figures, forcing Lin Yuan and Jiang Heyun to work overtime to improve their products in order to cope with the public opinion crisis.
Lin Ke had seen how hard they had worked during this period due to the leak of classified information.
Even under these circumstances, Lin Ke, knowing full well who the culprit was who stole the secrets, chose to protect this sinner who caused the Lin family so much loss for the sake of childish framing and his own selfish desires!
Jiang Heyun felt that even if Lin Ke still had some feelings for the Lin family and some heartache for her parents, she wouldn't do something so absurd!
A normal person would immediately tell Lucy's son if they found out he stole something, instead of covering for him in exchange for a meaningless bribe!
Upon hearing the words "classified information leaked," Lin Ke froze on the spot, her sobbing ceasing.
"...Mom, what?" His mouth opened involuntarily, and he uttered a short question in shock and confusion.
How could this be? Jiang Heyun and Lin Yuan... how could they have discovered that he was protecting Lucy's son??
The threat Jiang Heyun used to force him to confess was more severe than any threat he had ever encountered before, based on Lin Ke's understanding of Jiang Heyun...
Jiang Heyun is serious; she must have some solid evidence!
Otherwise, given how much Jiang Heyun doted on him, she wouldn't have spoken like that!
Lin Suxing was completely bewildered and whispered to the system, "Wait, what's going on? Did they already know that Lin Ke was protecting Lucy's son, and finally couldn't hold back until now??"
"It's very possible. Maybe they've been waiting for Lin Ke to confess, but instead of confessing, Lin Ke used the privileges she gained by protecting Lucy to try and frame you with a series of schemes." The system laughed loudly as it watched Lin Ke being scolded by Jiang Heyun and Lin Yuan. "Hehehe, it's so satisfying to see Lin Ke being scolded like this."
"Do you think we're stupid! We discovered your secret with Lucy a long time ago. Instead of reflecting on it and telling us, you even used her son to frame Su Xing for you!" Lin Yuan gasped for breath and finally caught his breath, then immediately burst into a tirade of curses.
"This is utterly absurd! Your mother still had hope for you. She thought you weren't that kind of child, and that you would always prioritize family matters. But she never imagined that you would protect someone who stole secrets in order to frame Su Xing! Our Lin family has no child like you!"
Lin Suxing listened from the side, sweating profusely. He felt like he was an outsider, as if these were not matters of his own family. He was so embarrassed that he wanted to run away.
But the system kept whispering to him, "Host, keep watching. Don't you like seeing these scenes where the wicked are punished by the wicked? I certainly do."
He felt like there was something he and the system had forgotten, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Hearing Lin Yuan's detailed account of his crimes, Lin Ke's lingering hope vanished completely.
It's all over.
The mother and father definitely knew everything, and they had evidence.
However, he missed the opportunity to confess to his parents and seek their forgiveness. Given Lin Yuan's doting on him, if he had just confessed and apologized, perhaps... his parents wouldn't have been so angry.
Tears streamed down Lin Ke's face, landing on the floor in front of him. He spoke slowly and hoarsely, "...I'll tell you everything."
Soon, Lin Ke confessed how she protected Lucy's son and how she got Lucy to frame Lin Suxing.
Lin Yuan stood before him, listening to his account, his chest heaving with rage. His usually dignified face was now flushed red with fury, and the veins on his forehead were bulging.
Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer and pointed at Lin Ke, his shouts like thunder, exploding in the empty living room and making the crystal chandelier seem to tremble slightly:
"Useless trash! How could I have a son like you! The Lin family's reputation and the legacy of our ancestors will all be ruined by you, you good-for-nothing!"
Lin Ke trembled as she was scolded; all her explanations and grievances seemed pale and powerless in the face of undeniable errors.
Under his father's furious pressure, he almost instinctively crawled forward two steps on his knees, stretched out his trembling arms, and tightly hugged Lin Yuan's leg, as if grasping at the last straw.
He looked up, his face streaked with tears, his voice broken and pleading desperately, "Dad... I know I was wrong, I really know I was wrong! Please... give me another chance, just one more time... I promise I'll change, I promise I'll make it up to you... I was truly bewitched, Dad. Mom and you both know how I've treated the family..."
Lin Ke certainly didn't want to confess voluntarily.
He confessed because he knew his parents could find out what he had done!
The reason he was able to accomplish these things so easily before was because his parents trusted him. But now that they have become suspicious, it will only take a few minutes to trace it back to him.
Lin Ke trembled all over, tears streaming down her face, while cold sweat had already soaked her forehead and back.
He knew that he was favored and spoiled by his parents, which is why he dared to act so recklessly and lawlessly.
But after being discovered to have betrayed the Lin family, he had no idea how Lin Yuan and Jiang Heyun would treat him in the future.
The thought that her parents might side with Lin Suxing in the future left Lin Ke feeling completely blank, almost unable to think straight.
He couldn't understand why his parents had discovered his perfectly concealed act!
As soon as Lucy heard the master and mistress mention her, she immediately knelt down with Lin Ke, crying and pleading, "Madam, please forgive us this time, for the sake of how many years I've served you!"
"You've been with me for so many years, yet you did something like this. How can I forgive you!" Jiang Heyun's eyes reddened as she looked at Lucy.
“It’s too late. We’ve been busy dealing with the leak of confidential information for so many days. Your father was so exhausted that he had to call the doctor to check on him a couple of days ago! Your apology is so half-hearted…” With each disappointment building up, Jiang Heyun’s gaze grew colder and colder. “I will cancel all your credit cards today. You will be grounded for a month.”
"Mom!" Lin Ke cried out. He had finally managed to get some good gigs from friends and relatives, all for this month. He couldn't afford to be grounded. "I know I was wrong, please don't ground me... I beg you... I have very important gigs. If I don't stay in the public eye, I'll be completely ruined!!!"
"Shut up!" Lin Yuan roared, his voice cracking at the end. "You dare talk back? You're grounded for two months! Don't go anywhere else in your room!!"
“Su Xing,” Jiang Heyun stepped forward and took Lin Su Xing’s hand, her face showing a rare tenderness and heartache, “Your mother and father misunderstood you in this matter, and this situation will not happen again.”
Lin Ke stared at Jiang Heyun in disbelief, hardly able to believe what she had just heard.
However, what made Lin Ke even more devastated was yet to come. Jiang Heyun patted Lin Suxing's head affectionately and said, "Good child, you've suffered a lot these past few days. When the children in our family come of age, we always specially order five haute couture outfits and a sports car as a coming-of-age gift. Come to my room tomorrow, and we'll see which style you like."
"My haute couture isn't even finished yet!" Lin Ke couldn't help but roar, her whole body trembling as if she were being sieved. "Why should I make it for him! You promised me you wouldn't give him these things!!"
"Shut up! You have no right to interrupt when your parents are speaking! From today onwards, you stay in your room and are not allowed to step out without my permission!" Lin Ke trembled violently when her father's stern words fell like a final judgment.
He was already kneeling on the ground, head tilted back, looking at the furious Lin Yuan with tearful, pleading eyes. The order to confine him to his quarters felt like the last bone pulling out of his body, and extinguishing the last glimmer of light in his eyes.
The color drained from his face in an instant, visible to the naked eye, turning him deathly pale.
In those wide-open eyes, the pupils first contracted sharply due to extreme fear and despair, and then, as if unable to withstand the internal pressure, they rolled upwards abruptly, with the whites of the eyes instantly taking up most of the eye sockets.
A short, strange, choked sob escaped his throat, and all strength left his body. The arms that had been tightly clutching his father's legs suddenly loosened, and he collapsed limply like a lump of mud!
With a dull thud, his forehead slammed heavily onto the cold, hard, cloud-gray marble floor, and his body went limp, motionless.
"Something terrible has happened! Young Master Lin Ke has fainted!!"
*
The study was brightly lit, and outside the window was the dazzling lights and bustling traffic of the city's CBD, offering an unobstructed view of the bay area's nightscape.
“I told them not to make a move yet, and to wait until the live stream is over before starting.” Wang Shunduo’s voice was deep, with an inexplicable hint of wicked humor.
"Okay, you'll stay here and rest tonight?"
Li Xinian was slumped in the leather chair, wearing a dark gray silk robe.
Wang Shunduo paused for a moment: "I'm still considering whether or not to pick Huaiwen up after his live broadcast."
"He went to a fan meeting with Lin Suxing, and they'll probably have a late-night snack together afterward," Li Xinian casually pointed out, and couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of Wang Shunduo getting so worked up over such a small matter.
At this moment, the two were not handling official business, but each had an ultra-thin tablet computer in front of them, with the live stream of the PRODUCE producer's fan meeting playing clearly on the screen.
In the video, Lin Suxing is wearing the show's uniform pink training outfit and sitting in a bright recording hall, interacting with fans with several mentors and trainees.
Soft light shone on his face, making his already delicate features even more vivid. He was answering a question about "the most unforgettable thing during his trainee days" in front of the camera.
"The most unforgettable one..." Lin Suxing tilted her head slightly in thought, her light brown eyes curving up to reveal a slightly shy yet very sincere smile, which caused the barrage of comments to scroll rapidly, filled with words like "cute" and "Mommy loves you, baby".
"It was probably the first time I stood on a formal stage. The lights were shining down, and I couldn't see anything except my own heartbeat. It felt like it was about to jump out of my throat..."
Through the earphones, his voice reached Li Xinian's ears, carrying the clear tone unique to young people and a hint of barely perceptible tension.
Li Xinian's gray-blue eyes were focused on the screen, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the smooth edge of the tablet.
He watched as Lin Suxing, guided by the host, made the cute heart-shaped hand gesture that fans had requested in front of the camera. Her face was flushed with shyness, but her movements were serious and precise.
So cute.
"Thank you [Su Xing is my husband]... cough cough, for the rocket launcher~" Lin Su Xing saw the gift effect pop up on his face and began to thank them one by one, "This ID... is a little embarrassing to say out loud."
The screen was instantly flooded with comments like "Hahaha," "He's shy, he's really shy!" and "What an innocent 18-year-old boy."
The live stream enabled tipping, and the contestants would take turns verbally announcing the IDs of the top three contestants on the leaderboard and tipping them. Lin Suxing was quite well-behaved; as soon as he noticed the special effects of the tipped gift, he would immediately thank the recipient.
He leaned closer to the camera, carefully discerning the words on the screen, his long eyelashes casting small shadows under his eyes, his expression focused.
Looking at the young man on the screen whose ears turned red and whose smile was so pure it was unbelievable, Li Xinian felt a faint, subtle emotion that he himself did not even notice.
He saw people in the live chat commenting "Star Wife!" "Baby, look at me!", and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, but he quickly relaxed them again.
Noticing that Lin Suxing would express gratitude for the gifts, the man with the deep-set features tapped his finger lightly on the tablet and casually pressed the most expensive gift with a quantity of 100.
The live stream chat was flooded with comments, and the gift effects almost covered most of the screen.
Among the many fan IDs, an account named "Kieran" kept sending the most expensive virtual gifts, instantly climbing to the top of the donation list.
Lin Suxing had just finished singing a song and was slightly out of breath when he saw the unfamiliar name at the top of the charts. He subconsciously assumed it was another "rich woman" who supported him.
He leaned closer to the camera, his face still flushed and sweaty from the performance, his eyes crinkling with laughter, and gently thanked the microphone: "Thank you... Sister Kieran for the gift, it's too much trouble, I'm really grateful for your support."
To express his special gratitude, he suddenly brought his face close to the camera, gently pouted his lips, made a kissing motion, and let out a soft "mua" sound: "Sister Kieran, Xingxing really likes you~"
After finishing this meal, which he rarely did and which was a little intimate, Lin Suxing smiled shyly, his eyes clear and sincere.
On the other end of the screen, Li Xinian, who was sitting in a leather chair in his study, scrolling through gifts with a blank expression, suddenly froze.
He should be glad he brought his headphones.
Looking at the excessively beautiful face suddenly magnified on the screen, and the kissing gesture transmitted across the network, filled with moisture and laughter, the man, who was usually decisive and composed, had his mind go blank for a rare moment.
"elder sister"?
A flying kiss?
Li Xinian's usually sharp and calm gray-blue eyes clearly reflected the young man's somewhat shy yet seemingly sparkling smile on the screen.
His knuckles tightened slightly as he gripped the tablet, and a strange, unprecedented heat suddenly spread from behind his ears.
He subconsciously wanted to frown, to maintain his usual cold and stern expression, but his fingertips hovered over the screen, and the gesture of continuing to tip remained unfulfilled.
The man's expression was somewhat complicated as he stared at Lin Suxing on the screen, who was still earnestly thanking "Sister Kieran".
After a while, he raised his hand, his slightly cool fingertips touching his earlobe, which seemed a little hot, and then quickly lowered it as if he had been burned.
“…Silly boy.”
They can't even tell if the person giving the tip is male or female.
He murmured something in a low voice, hoarse but without much real anger in it; instead, it carried a tone of doting affection that even he himself was unaware of.
However, after a long live stream ended, the event moved on to the final offline fan interaction segment of the fan meeting.
"Why did the live stream end so quickly? Huai Wen only said a few words." At the other end of the study, Wang Shunduo complained somewhat dissatisfyingly.
Seeing that it was almost time, Wang Shunduo smiled and said, "Never mind, the show has only just begun."
He stopped looking in Li Xinian's direction and immediately dialed a number: "You can go there now. The more painted their faces are, the more reward I'll give you, understand?"
*
The night was as dark as ink, and the abandoned factory resembled a lurking beast, its broken windows like empty eye sockets.
Sun Xin followed Huang Zhuoyuan into the space filled with the smell of rust and mildew, unconsciously clutching the corner of the other's clothes.
"Brother Yuan, this place is scary..."
Huang Zhuoyuan forced a calm smile and slapped his hand away, but his voice was brimming with bravado: "What are you afraid of? Tonight, we're the ones who've come to cause trouble!"
Sun Xin looked around and finally stopped under the only dim light: "Why did they choose this place? Couldn't they have chosen somewhere else, like where we live?"
The light attracted countless mosquitoes that swarmed around the tube, and every now and then an insect would land near Sun Xin, making him feel nauseous.
Huang Zhuoyuan rolled his eyes, suppressing the urge to call Sun Xin an idiot: "This place is in a remote location, there's not a soul around. If we make Lin Suxing suffer a fate worse than death here, no one will hear us! The place we're staying isn't soundproof, we'll be discovered immediately! Besides, there are surveillance cameras over there, do you want me to get arrested?"
"Oh, no, no," Sun Xin quickly said with a fawning smile, "I'm just happy to be able to torture Lin Suxing myself. I'm really grateful to Brother Yuan for giving me this opportunity."
After plotting and discussing last night, Huang Zhuoyuan contacted the criminal gang again, asking them to find a young fan of Lin Suxing who pretended to have run away from home after the live broadcast, and then use moral blackmail to get Lin Suxing to agree to send the fan back, thus luring Lin Suxing to this abandoned factory.
Judging from the current time, the live stream has ended, and they shouldn't have to wait too long.
Huang Zhuoyuan suddenly laughed, his slightly effeminate voice sounding particularly eerie in this dark, empty, and desolate place.
Suddenly, a jumble of footsteps rang out from all directions.
Several burly, tattooed men walked in. Seeing that there was no one behind them, Sun Xin immediately asked, "Where's Lin Suxing? Didn't you catch him?"
While Sun Xin was asking questions, the gang members had already stepped forward, and before Sun Xin and Huang Zhuoyuan could react, they had already surrounded them!
"What are you doing?! Where is he? I won't give you any money until I catch him!" Huang Zhuoyuan thought he was the big spender and that these people wouldn't dare to do anything to him, but the moment he uttered those impolite words, he was twisted by the arm and pressed down onto the greasy cement floor!
Sun Xin screamed and tried to run away, but was pulled back by two bearded men who grabbed her hair: "Don't run, little beauty, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
The bald man in the lead slapped his cheek with a dagger: "I heard you wanted to disfigure Young Master Lin?"
He suddenly grabbed Sun Xin by the neck. "Why don't you choose one of you to experience what it's like to be disfigured? I'll count to three, and one of you will come out and test the sharpness of my knife on your face."
The bald man read out Wang Shunduo's lines, word by word: "Who should decide? You guys discuss it yourselves, and you'd better discuss it carefully!"
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Author's Note: This chapter begins to unfold the ending for Sun Xin and Huang Zhuoyuan. It is expected that the two will be written out of the story within the next two chapters.
The wives should be able to sense that Wang Shunduo is a bit cunning. He prefers to slowly torment his opponents, like a cat playing with a mouse, which is why he didn't immediately take Sun Xin offline.
He and Li Xinian have been closely monitoring Sun Xin and Huang Zhuoyuan's movements. I saw some comments from wives mentioning this before, so I'm clarifying it here~ [rainbow fart]
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