Chapter 52 also lets you get a glimpse into your older brother's love life...
The moment the system voice sounded, the air in the living room seemed to freeze.
The chirping of insects in the shadows of the trees outside the French windows only served to accentuate the stillness of the vast mansion.
Lin Suxing's hand, which was about to pick up the milk glass, froze in mid-air, her fingertips unconsciously tightening.
Lin Siyi was adjusting her cufflinks when she suddenly stopped.
He held that pose for a full two seconds before casually continuing his work, but he fastened the same cufflink three times.
Jiang Heyun's reaction was more obvious.
She hurriedly pretended to straighten her clothes, looking down to examine the wrinkles on her loungewear, her earrings swaying slightly with her overly deliberate movements.
She even subtly adjusted her posture, turning her face towards the window, leaving Lin Suxing with only a profile that feigned composure.
Each of the three was preoccupied with their own thoughts, yet they all tacitly maintained a facade of calm. Only the tension in their movements betrayed the true emotions they were desperately trying to conceal.
The system continued: "[There are two main reasons for the Lin family's bankruptcy. The first, as you know, is the lack of planning in the business model changes implemented by Lin Yuan after taking over the family's assets.]"
His measures included: drastically reducing product material and manufacturing standards, using popular celebrities instead of supermodels for advertising, placing ads on cheap short video platforms, and attempting to rapidly expand stores through a franchise model in order to cash out quickly through an IPO. This resulted in a significant loss of core customers, severe damage to brand value, and a collapse in reputation.
Hearing the system say this, Lin Siyi's solemn expression revealed a deep and undisguised grief.
This was exactly what Grandpa and he had been worried about, and all that Lin Yuan had done... actually led to the Lin family's bankruptcy.
Even with their best efforts to salvage the situation, they couldn't prevent the Lin family's empire from collapsing.
[To date, the Lin family has lost more than half of its major clients, consistent with the client attrition rate that led to the Lin family's bankruptcy in the original story. This means that if the Lin family continues on this trend, its bankruptcy will occur at the same time as in the original story.]
Upon hearing this, Lin Suxing couldn't help but ask the system, "But now, my eldest brother has taken over the family business. He's dealing with things every day, trying his best to make up for the problems caused by previous wrong decisions. This is different from the original plot. Our family might not necessarily go bankrupt, right?"
Lin Suxing's spontaneous use of "our family" brought a touch of comfort and warmth to Lin Siyi's heart, which was filled with pain, self-blame, and other negative emotions.
He glanced at Lin Suxing with a hidden look in his eyes, and seeing the anxiety that the young man could not hide beneath his feigned calm, he thought to himself: He had not been a bad brother after all. With his efforts, Suxing had finally come to regard this place as his home.
The system explained: "Lin Siyi intervened too late. His personal power is limited. If it were merely a decision-making error by Lin Yuan, then with his tireless efforts, there might still be a chance for a turnaround. But the problem is that there's another reason for the Lin family's bankruptcy: external competitors are using this opportunity to push for your bankruptcy, so they can acquire the Lin family's valuable assets at a low price."
Lin Siyi and Jiang Heyun frowned more and more deeply as they began to think about who their competitors were and who were most likely to take advantage of the Lin family's current downfall to kick them while they were down.
The core of the Lin family's success and its decades-long legacy lies in Lin Heritage, the brand founded by Mr. Lin, a top-tier haute couture brand originating from the East and rooted in Europe.
Its design essence lies in blending the blank space aesthetic of Eastern ink painting and the delicate craftsmanship of silk embroidery with Western three-dimensional tailoring and modern aesthetics. The brand not only undertakes private bespoke clothing for top clients, but is also world-renowned for its limited-edition handbags and oriental-style high jewelry featuring jade and emeralds as the main elements. It is a true synonym for "niche luxury" with an extremely stable and loyal customer base.
The fusion of Eastern embroidery with Western tailoring and fabrics, paired with jewelry featuring Eastern influences, is unique in the global fashion world.
There are very few competitors on the market that can rival them. If there are any rivals who want to take advantage of the situation, Lin Siyi believes that it is more likely that fashion giants with multiple brands want to take this opportunity to acquire Lin Heritage, thereby enriching their brand connotation and improving their diversified product matrix.
After a moment's thought, Lin Siyi came up with several of the most likely competitor companies.
Toteme is a new company founded in Paris, France around 2015.
Leveraging its connections in both the fashion and finance sectors, the founder quickly attracted the attention of a leading venture capital firm on Wall Street that focuses on "consumption upgrade + new technology".
Subsequently, in order to accelerate its expansion in the Asian market, especially the huge potential of Chinese consumers, a top Chinese e-commerce giant also made a strategic investment in it.
In recent years, to support its global expansion and acquisition strategy, European private equity funds and even internationally renowned art auction houses have invested through special channels, attracted by the potential for artistic appreciation of its products.
Companies like this, whose foothold in Europe is still not secure, are eager to acquire the Lin family's brand in order to expand their customer base in Europe and enhance their influence.
Using such underhanded and despicable means to buy brands at low prices does indeed seem like something that Wall Street people would do.
Compared to Toteme, Moda Perfetta has a much longer history, having been founded in Milan, Italy, around the beginning of the 19th century.
Its founder was a member of a long-established Italian leather manufacturing family, which laid a solid foundation for the brand's craftsmanship and supply chain.
In the 21st century, in order to cope with global competition, the brand introduced a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund as a major shareholder. This not only brought in substantial funds but also opened up channels for it in the Middle Eastern luxury goods market.
Subsequently, top Wall Street investment banks and Li's strategic investment institutions invested in the company. The former specializes in capital operations and mergers and acquisitions, while the latter optimized its raw material procurement and distribution network in the Asia-Pacific region. Rumors also suggest that the actual controller behind this Wall Street investment bank is closely connected to the Li family.
The Li family effectively controls Moda Perfetta's direction by holding a controlling stake in this Italian industrial family's company and joining forces with other investors.
Thinking of this, Lin Siyi couldn't help but look at Lin Suxing, who was also frowning and deep in thought, and the words Li Xinian had said before the banquet that evening came to mind.
He didn't believe that Li Xinian was the kind of person who said one thing in public and another in private, and was secretly plotting how to squeeze money out of the Lin family.
The system's explanation continues: [Moda Perfetta, the Italian fashion group controlled by the Li family and a European luxury goods giant, had long harbored a strategic intention to acquire Lin Heritage to supplement its haute couture product line. They astutely detected the Lin family's decline due to internal decision-making chaos. Instead of choosing normal business negotiations, they employed covert financial means, such as cutting off supply chain credit, secretly shorting Lin family's listed company stock, and poaching core design and management teams, to accelerate the Lin family's cash flow crisis, aiming to acquire the company at the lowest possible cost after its bankruptcy.]
Lin Suxing & Lin Siyi: !?
Lin Suxing's face turned pale, and her fingers unconsciously dug into her palm: "...Moda Perfetta, is it managed by Nian Nian?"
The system responded quickly: [Yes, since Li Xinian took over Moda Perfetta six years ago, he has rapidly adjusted the company's strategy and begun a large-scale acquisition spree in the luxury goods sector. Through strategic integration, several luxury brands that were on the verge of bankruptcy have been revived, and the underperforming Moda Perfetta has gradually grown stronger. To date, it has made 36 acquisitions and holds shares in 71 other companies.]
It even added a friendly reminder to Lin Suxing: "As the undisputed new godfather of the luxury goods empire, all you have to do is casually mention him, and endorsements from high-end brands will rain down on you like free confetti from a float. Host, why don't you give it a try? Beating up movie stars and kicking supermodels won't be a dream come true!"
“He might give it to me, but I can’t just shamelessly ask for it.” Lin Suxing was speechless. “So, was it Niannian’s idea to cause the Lin family to go bankrupt?”
Because the system had correctly predicted subsequent events many times, even if Lin Siyi didn't want to believe it at the moment, she had to label Li Xinian as a suspect.
[I have absolutely no comment on this. Li Xinian is a marginal character in the original novel, not mentioned by the author during the Lin family's bankruptcy, and the truth behind the bankruptcy is only briefly touched upon. After all, this is a romance novel about a charming and popular man. It's already quite an achievement to have gathered all this information.]
Lin Suxing hadn't expected the system to tell him everything, but this matter concerned the Lin family and Niannian, making it hard for him not to overthink it.
Jiang Heyun listened to the gossip for a long time, and when she heard that the person who was opposing the Lin family was Li Xinian, she was immediately in a bad mood.
She had assumed that since Lin Suxing and Li Xinian were getting close, Li Xinian would definitely be an ally of the Lin family. But after listening to Lin Suxing and his system, it seemed that Li Xinian had no intention of considering their relationship at all and was preparing to take action against the Lin family!
"Siyi, it's so late already," Jiang Heyun finally remembered the purpose of her trip downstairs amidst her renewed dissatisfaction with Lin Suxing. "Do you even know where Xiao Ke went? Even if she went out to play, she should at least call back!"
Lin Siyi looked at Jiang Heyun, her expression somber, and did not immediately answer her mother's question: "..."
The system, as if reminded by Jiang Heyun's mention of Lin Ke, immediately said: [Oh, right, also, Lin Siyi, Jiang Heyun, and Lin Yuan met tragic ends, not because the Lin family went bankrupt. They originally had hope of making a comeback, but it was all because of Lin Ke that they either died or went insane. What a tragedy...]
Jiang Heyun was taken aback: ? ? ?
How could Lin Ke be involved? Lin Ke wasn't involved in the family business at all!
In Jiang Heyun's mind, Lin Ke was a kind, innocent, and carefree child who didn't seem like someone who could be associated with the Lin family's bankruptcy.
Jiang Heyun even worried that if the Lin family really went bankrupt, it would definitely affect Lin Ke's life of luxury, and she was concerned about whether the pampered Lin Ke could get used to it.
Speaking of Lin Ke, the system's tone became excited: [In the early stages of the Lin family's crisis, Lin's parents and Lin Siyi were all busy managing their business. Lin Ke felt neglected and resentful, leading him to steal core secrets from Jiang Heyun's study. In exchange for 50 million, he provided 'Moda Perfetta' with the exclusive list of fabric suppliers for 'Lin Heritage' haute couture workshops, core process manuals, and design sketches and customer data for the next three seasons. This allowed 'Moda Perfetta' to precisely target the Lin family's supply chain and launch similar, lower-priced product lines ahead of time, further squeezing the Lin family's already precarious market share.]
Lin Suxing was silent for a moment, feeling that he was hearing Chinese, but he couldn't understand it: "Dude, is this still Chinese? His parents and brother are busy dealing with business matters, running around, but it hasn't lowered his quality of life, and he still holds a grudge against them, just because he feels neglected??"
Can the protagonist of a novel really have such warped values?
Lin Siyi clenched her fists tightly, her disgust for Lin Ke reaching its peak.
He had made up his mind that even if his mother found out that Lin Ke was temporarily staying in the sanatorium and strongly demanded that he release Lin Ke, he would never listen to his mother.
Such ungrateful, selfish, stupid, antisocial personalities and ingrates should stay in those dark, shadowy places forever, instead of coming out to harm others.
Jiang Heyun shook her head, unable to believe that the child she had watched grow up would do such a thing.
She was still blinded by her past relationship, deceiving herself into believing that Lin Ke was only temporarily misled and not truly sincere.
But the system's next words dealt a fatal blow to her already strained nerves: "[At the moment when Lin Yuan jumped off the building and the Lin family was in its most chaotic state, Lin Ke secretly took away all the jewelry, cash, and other easily convertible assets he could plunder from the Lin family, disappearing completely. He severed all contact with everyone in the Lin family, leaving Jiang Heyun alone to face creditors and immense psychological trauma. Jiang Heyun also committed suicide in a mental hospital shortly afterward, her death gruesome.]"
After her parents died tragically due to bankruptcy, Lin Siyi ultimately succumbed to the blow, suffered a mental breakdown, and spent the rest of her life in a mental hospital, accompanied only by restraints and an electric shock chair.
"I will never allow such a thing to happen." Lin Suxing said solemnly. "Since Lin Ke is so ruthless, I will not back down anymore. Even if he is released later, I will keep an eye on him and not give him a chance to make a move."
In the living room, Lin Suxing was still immersed in the shocking truth revealed by the system and his complex and unspeakable suspicions about Li Xinian, his face somewhat pale. Lin Siyi was about to say a few more words to comfort her younger brother when she was interrupted by her mother's sudden cold laughter.
The cruel truth revealed by the system was like the coldest ice water, pouring over Jiang Heyun from head to toe, instantly freezing and shattering all her anxiety, questions, and the last remaining untimely worries about her adopted son, turning them into dust.
She slumped onto the sofa, feeling as if all the strength had been drained from her body, her fingertips icy cold.
Images of Lin Ke acting cute and affectionate around her since childhood flashed uncontrollably through the woman's mind; she recalled the countless times she had favored and protected him because she felt sorry for his "pitiful background"; and even her thoughtless accusations against him when he clashed with Su Xing, whom he had just recognized...
Looking back now, every scene feels like the sharpest irony, piercing her heart.
It turns out that her twenty years of doting care did not produce gratitude, but rather a thoroughly selfish, cold-blooded venomous snake that was always ready to turn on its master!
He betrayed secrets, absconded with his family's money amidst the chaos, abandoned his struggling mother and brother, and fled abroad to live a carefree life...
These are all things that seem inhuman!
Jiang Heyun initially thought that Lin Ke was just spoiled by them and therefore too willful, but that she was still kind at heart, full of love for her family, and willing to sacrifice a lot for them.
But now it seems she was terribly wrong.
Lin Ke only loved himself; he never called out to "Mom," "Dad," or "Brother" affectionately as he did on ordinary days.
“Heh…heh heh…” Jiang Heyun let out a low, hoarse, almost broken laugh, a laugh filled with self-mockery, regret, and a chilling realization.
She slowly raised her head, the anxiety and anger in her eyes gone, replaced by a long-lost clarity and decisiveness befitting the mistress of the Lin family.
She looked at Lin Siyi, her voice returning to its usual tone, but with an undeniable coldness: "Siyi."
Lin Siyi was looking at her mother with worry, thinking she wouldn't be able to withstand the blow, when she heard the call and immediately replied, "Mother?"
"Where is Lin Ke now?" Jiang Heyun asked directly, her tone eerily calm.
After a moment's hesitation, Lin Siyi chose to be honest: "I sent him to that strictly managed private sanatorium in the suburbs."
If Jiang Heyun had heard this answer a few minutes ago, she would have been emotionally agitated and demanded the reason or even the release of the person.
But at this moment, she simply nodded expressionlessly, as if she had only heard the destination of an insignificant stranger.
She paused for a moment, as if making a final confirmation, then raised her eyes, her gaze sharp as she looked at her eldest son, and clearly gave the order:
“Keep an eye on him. While he gets through this critical juncture in the Lin family, before you've thoroughly cleaned up the company inside and out and regained your footing,” she paused, each word ringing with conviction, “don't release him for now. He should reflect on his mistakes while he's inside.”
This statement no longer stemmed from the reluctance and worry of mother and child, but was the most calm, even ruthless, decision made based on family interests and a precise assessment of potential dangers.
She finally understood that any leniency she showed towards Lin Ke would be cruel to the Lin family and to her own sons.
The adopted son she had doted on for twenty years had already severed all ties between them with his betrayal.
Lin Siyi saw the familiar shrewdness and decisiveness in her mother's eyes—the same shrewdness she had displayed when working for her grandfather—and her heart skipped a beat. She then nodded solemnly, "I understand, Mother. Don't worry."
Jiang Heyun stopped speaking, simply closing her eyes wearily and leaning back on the sofa. One hand unconsciously and tightly gripped Lin Suxing's hand beside her, as if trying to draw warmth and strength from this real blood connection to dispel the bone-deep chill brought on by the betrayal.
Silence fell in the living room again. The heaviness and coldness that had permeated the room due to Lin Ke's betrayal had not completely dissipated. Jiang Heyun held Lin Suxing's hand tightly, while Lin Siyi pondered the next reorganization plan with a solemn expression.
The system's voice immediately snapped all three of them back to attention: [Ding! Main quest complete. New main quest to be issued! Please complete the main quest: [Win the Golden Eagle Award for Best Newcomer Actor through your own abilities. Reward: 400 points!]
Lin Suxing sighed: "So far, I've only had one audition, the third round of the movie 'I Am Immortal,' and I haven't had any other filming commitments. If you want me to win the Golden Eagle Award for Best Newcomer, I'd have to take on a few TV series roles first, right?"
System notification: [The host needs to successfully participate in a well-produced, highly-rated, and critically acclaimed hit TV series. The character portrayed must be distinct, positive, and likable enough to leave a lasting impression on the public and judges, thus enabling successful completion of the mission.]
"I know!" Lin Suxing was exasperated. "Come on, come on, what other gossip do you have to tempt me? The yearly affair is over, I want to see what else you have to offer..."
Lin Siyi: ?
Lin Suxing & Jiang Heyun: ? ? ?
Many people in the industry know that Lin Siyi has taken it upon herself to revitalize her family since she was a teenager. After taking over family affairs as an adult, she became an absolute workaholic, spending her days either working or on her way to handle work. She can be considered a typical case of severing ties with love and relationships in the industry.
People who like him and actively pursue him are all politely rejected without hesitation, because he only wants to focus on his career right now, has no interest in love, and doesn't want to hold anyone back.
Jiang Heyun instantly forgot all about Lin Ke. She sat up abruptly, her eyes scanning her eldest son like searchlights, her face filled with undisguised shock and surprise.
Since coming of age, her son has devoted himself entirely to the family business, and he doesn't even have a single ambiguous relationship. She has worried about him a lot in private, and even wondered if her son had no interest in relationships at all.
Hearing the system's assertion at this moment, how could she not be excited!
Even Lin Siyi himself felt that he would probably grow old alone, spending his whole life guarding Lin Heritage.
But now the system is shamelessly claiming to know my future marriage prospects?
He dared not assert the truth of other matters, but he was very clear about his own emotional issues.
Lin Siyi laughed in exasperation, wanting to see what other tricks the system would come up with.
Lin Suxing asked, "Could you give me a little spoiler? Is this marriage something my brother likes, or something he has no choice but to accept?"
Lin Suxing didn't want to put her brother in a difficult position, rather than knowing who Lin Siyi would end up with.
The system patted Cyber's chest and said, "Host, don't worry, this marriage is something Lin Siyi herself wanted; it wasn't forced. Because..."
The other person is the girl Lin Siyi has been secretly thinking about. Oh right, but Lin Siyi doesn't know yet that the girl he thinks he loves is actually a boy...
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Author's Note: [Let me see] Please add my pre-order novel, "After a Straight Male Prodigy Transmigrated into a High School Cheerleader," to your collection. The synopsis is still being written; the initial synopsis is below ↓
Chi Yan transmigrated into a book. Before transmigrating, the system told him that he would become the protagonist in a novel about a powerful and arrogant protagonist, and would slap faces and make a comeback, gaining countless followers and a beautiful harem.
Upon landing, Chi Yan looked at her cheerleader uniform: ?
Long Aotian, but the start of the story is that of the captain of the MGM cheerleading team.
Chi Yanren couldn't stand it. While being the school's sweetheart, she used her overpowered protagonist buff to subdue the school's most popular figures as her underlings.
But what Chi Yan didn't know was that the eyes of the men he thought were his underlings were all burning with a dark possessiveness.
The school bully in the US high school, the sexy nerd, the antisocial personality who wanted to empty the entire class's magazine after being bullied, the rich young master from the family of a high-ranking member of parliament, and the million-follower influencer on Onlyfans are all vying for him and wanting to climb into his bed.
Chi Yan, who chose to share her affections equally, signifying "you are all important friends to me," is about to face countless days and nights of being sandwiched between you all...
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