Chapter 105
I'll call out to you slowly.
"Wife, I've arrived!" Cheng Sang called Lin Jin as soon as she landed.
Lin Jin's voice sounded weak and listless on the other end of the line, prompting the dog to soothe her: "Don't be sad, okay! I'll give you an update on my schedule. I'm going straight to the Criminal Investigation Center to see Captain Ji later. After we finish talking business, I'll go home. Can I stay at Linxi Terrace? The villas in the mountains are too big; your voices echo, and it's really uncomfortable to live there."
“Sure, it’s all your home. You can stay wherever you want,” Lin Jin replied softly, then changed the subject to other arrangements: “When I get back, let’s go see the new house together.”
Cheng Sangluo wrinkled her nose and exclaimed in disdain, "Hey! Do you think you don't have enough properties, or do you have too much money and nowhere to spend it?"
“Didn’t you want to live in a smaller house? I also think a big house is inconvenient. When I want to see you, I have to ‘travel through mountains and rivers.’ Choosing a good location in a good neighborhood is also a kind of investment.” Lin Jin’s words were reasonable and well-founded, which shut down the puppy’s refusal.
"Okay, okay, we'll arrange it when you get back. Could we video chat after you're done tonight? I want to see you properly~"
Lin Jin could picture the puppy's adorable appearance, and she coaxed, "When we video chat, what kind of clothes would you like to see me wearing? Thin silk, or lace?"
Hearing his wife's subtle and overt seduction, Cheng Sangluo looked around nervously before quickly covering his mouth and whispering, "I think it looks best not to wear anything. You're not going to make me hold back my desire again, are you?"
"Since you've been so good, I'll reward you nicely tonight. Go ahead and get busy, I have a meeting to attend to." Lin Jin kept the little dog in suspense for a while, then hung up the phone when she was in the middle of her enthusiastic conversation.
Cheng Sangluo was now unhappy and pleaded anxiously, "Oh, oh, can we chat for a few more minutes? I want to hear your voice."
"Be a good boy~" Lin Jin insisted on wooing the puppy, her sweet, alluring voice saccharine as she pampered him: "Tonight, I'll slowly call out to you~"
Upon hearing the explicit words of love, Cheng Sangluo's face instantly flushed red, and even her ears began to burn.
She quickly bit her lower lip, struggling to suppress the laughter that was about to burst out. Once she had calmed down, she whispered reproachfully, "Hey... can't you be serious for once..."
"Who started acting inappropriately in the first place?" Lin Jin asked with a laugh, preparing to hang up the phone: "Alright, you clingy brat, go play by yourself."
"Wife, I miss you, I miss you so much!" Cheng Sangluo raised his voice to confess his love before she hung up the phone, attracting the attention of those around them.
Lin Jin was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone, then let out a long, unbearable sigh: "It would have been better if you hadn't said anything, but now that you've mentioned it, I feel so bad. What am I going to do?"
"Hmm... Hmph... Hmph..." the puppy whimpered, "So annoying, so annoying..."
"Stop crying and whining. You look all tall and fierce, but you're just a dog." Lin Jin laughed at the dog and ordered, "Hurry up and say you love me."
Cheng Sangluo scratched her head shyly. It was embarrassing to say such things aloud, and after a long while, she stammered, "Um...I...um...I love you..."
Lin Jin, with a dissatisfied tone, greedily said, "No, be serious."
The puppy wagged its tail: "Honey, I love you~"
Say it a few more times.
Cheng Sangluo had little luggage, just a black backpack slung over one shoulder, and head down as she walked toward the airport exit.
Her tail was held high as she babbled, "I love you, I love you, I love Lin Jin forever!"
"You've gone bad, started talking glib." Lin Jin teased, but her heart was already sweet as a puppy's. "Don't you want me to finish my work and get back to Zhouhai as soon as possible? You're delaying my return time!"
"Garlic bird, garlic bird, making money is more important for my wife." The puppy chimed in a funny tune, playfully saying, "Bye-bye, see you tonight, sneezes~"
"Don't lick it." Lin Jin joked, and managed to hang up the phone before the dog could grumble.
Cheng Sangluo pitifully held the phone that had been hung up, jumped up and down a few times, and muttered, "What is this? All you know how to do is bully me!"
*
Meanwhile, on the other side...
Since Lin Zhen's death, the Lin family ancestral home, which was already sparsely populated, has become even more deserted.
Now, only Ruan Jinxian remains as the mistress of this huge mansion. Although there is a group of servants to take care of her daily life, there is not a single person she can talk to.
However, she enjoys her current life, since she no longer has to serve that old fox who's hanging on by a thread and won't leave.
Ruan Jinxian often invited her close female friends to enjoy afternoon tea and play mahjong in her mansion, living a leisurely and comfortable life.
When these upper-class ladies get together, they inevitably engage in vanity and comparison. Their conversations range from newly acquired estates to expensive jewelry won at auctions, and in the end, they always steer the conversation toward their children's marriages.
Today is no exception.
The entertainment room in the Lin residence is decorated in a grand style. It used to be Lin Zhen's special place to entertain his business guests, but now it has become a place for wealthy ladies to spend their time.
The woman sitting opposite Ruan Jinxian skillfully played cards, exuding the air of a wealthy lady, and joked, "Mrs. Ruan, your Asheng is not young anymore. You should hurry up and find a good daughter-in-law to continue the Lin family line. You'll be happy to have a grandson... Eight of Bamboo."
"Pong." Ruan Jingxian drew a beautiful hand of pure suit of bamboo tiles. When she ponged, she glanced at the other party and said calmly, "The old man has only been gone for a short time. It's unlucky for a funeral to clash with a wedding. We have to wait until this year before we can find a good match for him. He's busy with the group's listing lately and doesn't have time to listen to my gossip... Nine of Bamboo."
Although she seemed in no hurry about her son's marriage, some things she said repeatedly became seeds planted in her heart, which unintentionally took root, sprouted, and grew wildly.
The woman sitting to Ruan Jinxian's right was a relatively young-looking woman. She probably felt that such a topic was inappropriate, especially given the empty and lifeless atmosphere of the mansion, so she quickly changed the subject: "Sister Ruan, your Asheng is making a big fuss about going public this time. Everyone around is watching closely. We sisters are very envious. Don't forget our sisterly bond when the time comes."
She gave Ruan Jinxian a knowing smile, casually dismantled her own hand, and fed her a five of bamboo. Her expression of not knowing the truth but not saying it was incredibly flattering.
"Five of Bamboo, I want to go for the kong." Ruan Jinxian pushed down the three fives of bamboo in her hand. How could she not know what the other party wanted? She smiled slyly: "The first hand after the opening will definitely hit the limit up. Buy as many as you have, and you're guaranteed to make a profit. In the future, any good news will definitely come your way. Sigh... I'm just afraid that Lin Jin will interfere. She's been quiet lately."
"With Mrs. Ruan's words, of course we are at ease. The Lin Group is now firmly in Asheng's hands, so Lin Jin can't stir up any trouble." Ruan Jinxian's upstream partner spoke up. Seeing that the other two sisters were feeding her cards, they naturally lined up to curry favor as well.
After drawing the tiles, she didn't even need to think, and immediately played the one that Ruan Jinxian wanted, smiling obsequiously: "Here's a seven of bamboo for you, as a wish for Lin's successful listing and good luck."
“Oh dear… I won…” Ruan Jinxian smiled meaningfully and pushed over the beautiful suit of tiles in her hand. “That sounds nice. I like it.”
The noblewoman who had given the winning tile leaned closer to the table, pretending to praise her even though she was deliberately letting the opponent win: "Madam Ruan played such a good hand, there was no stopping her."
Although it wasn't dinner time yet, Ruan Jinxian wanted to invite the ladies to dine together, and coincidentally, Lin Sheng, who was returning from the company, ran into them.
"Mom." Lin Sheng walked behind her, placed his hands on her shoulders and massaged them filially. He glanced at the battle on the table and joked, "You guys are on a killing spree again."
"That's right, your mother had a lucky streak today, winning big every time, either by drawing the winning tile herself or by winning the hand. She wiped out the three of us completely."
Following the sound, Lin Sheng turned to look at the several elegant ladies chatting and laughing, and politely nodded and greeted them.
He said he would have the housekeeper arrange dinner, but anyone with eyes could see that he had something to do, especially these wealthy women who were very good at reading people.
Before long, the three ladies politely declined Ruan Jinxian's invitation and left the Lin residence one after another.
The once bustling recreation room suddenly became deserted.
Lin Sheng casually pulled out a chair and sat down, leaning against the table as he watched his mother count the stack of red banknotes she had won.
Although the thick stack of hundred-yuan bills meant little to her, the enjoyment of playing mahjong was precisely this sense of accomplishment from the gains.
As Ruan Jinxian counted the money, she asked with a smile, "You haven't been home for several days. Why did you decide to come see me today? This house is big, but there aren't many people. When are you planning to bring me a daughter-in-law? I'm eager to hold my grandson."
“I knew you were with those ladies, and you were bound to talk about this kind of thing.” Lin Sheng picked up a piece of jade mahjong and played with it, then turned to business: “The police have been keeping a close eye on me lately, and the company is at a critical juncture in its IPO. I haven’t heard from Lin Jin recently, and I’m worried she might be up to something.”
Since losing Sheng He, Lin Sheng's secret messenger, he was no longer fully aware of Lin Jin's actions. The calmer things seemed, the more suspicious they became, and he couldn't help but have doubts. In addition, with Xu Songheng gone, many things were not as easy to manage as before.
"You never talk to me about work matters, but now that you're worried, you know to come to me, your mother, to complain?" Ruan Jinxian remained unhurried, showing no concern whatsoever despite the mention of the police.
She threw down the banknotes in her hand, leaned back in her chair, stared at her somewhat sullen son, and smiled: "I've taught you since you were little that when you encounter a threat, you should eliminate it completely. You knew that Lin Jin was a ticking time bomb, so why didn't you handle things more cleanly?"
If you had caught her at the cliff edge that night, and if your subordinate Xu Songheng had been efficient enough, would we be in this mess today? I don't want to say too much to accuse you, lest it damage the relationship between mother and son.
You need to understand one thing: everyone has weaknesses. Think about what Lin Jin's weaknesses are, and many problems will naturally become much easier to solve.
Ruan Jinxian always had a smiling face, spoke softly, and was generous, but all of this was a facade so convincing that people believed it.
She was able to stay by the side of an old fox like Lin Zhen and thrive for decades, which naturally meant she had an endless supply of tricks up her sleeve.
He was able to easily oust the first wife in the past, so it's no problem for him to use some tricks to trip up the first wife's daughter now.
Lin Sheng, enlightened by his mother's words, nodded in sudden realization, muttering, "Mother is right... Lin Jin does have a very real weakness right in front of us..."
“You know it wasn’t easy to take the Lin Group public. Clean up those messes quickly. Your enemies aren’t just Lin Jin, but also those envious people from the Lin family’s collateral branches. Don’t wait until after the IPO to give those with ulterior motives a handle to use against you.” Ruan Jinxian’s face turned cold as she took a sip of her hot tea and then instructed, “When you have time, I’ll arrange a few get-togethers with some of the sisters in our circle. How and when you resolve your personal issues isn’t up to you alone. Good news like this needs to be timed so that it can better benefit the Lin Group.”
"Understood." Lin Sheng was an ambitious man, but he always listened to his mother. Marriage was just a tool for him.
[Author's Note]
1. My pre-order novel, "The Sinful Lover," is available for collection.
2. The main storyline will become increasingly complex, and the power struggle between Lin Jin and Lin Sheng will begin.
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