Chapter 39 Lin Lang, do you think I am a tourist attraction?
Shi Chan is so proactive.
But the housekeeper's execution was even more impressive. He immediately began preparing everything needed for Christmas Eve, going to Principal Liang's house to chop down trees, having the gardener trim the cypress trees, and borrowing a chef and ingredients from the Wen family...
He also made a request to Shican, saying that Tiancheng really couldn't find any Christmas decorations, and hoped that the young master could buy some outside and bring them back.
Outside of Sky City, Christmas decorations were readily available. Four teenagers scrambled through the supermarket, filling a shopping cart and filling three oversized plastic bags as they checked out.
They returned to Tiancheng at five in the afternoon.
Shican's family is busy.
There are two uninvited guests at home——
Gong Yongyuan and Meng Qi sat in the courtyard, drinking coconut water and playing Go.
Shi Chan asked, "What are you two doing here?"
"I heard some people are going to celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day."
Gong Yongyuan made a mistake and said jokingly,
"We've been in Tiancheng for so many years, and we've never seen anyone celebrating Christmas. So, we have to come and watch, right?"
Shi Can didn't say anything else. He took a black piece from Meng Qi's chess box and placed it on the board. After making this move, he turned around and walked away with a brisk pace, not even looking back.
Gong Yongyuan looked at the chessboard.
He was silent for two seconds, then overturned the chessboard and said angrily:
"Oh my god! Shi Chan—!"
Shi Can's move just now completely killed Gong Yongyuan's white pieces.
"What kind of chess?"
Ye Yangjia knocked on the table and said,
"Come and help quickly."
Everyone in Shichan's family was busy and couldn't spare any time, so hanging up the Christmas decorations had to be left to the boys.
Lin Zhuyue and Shi Can decorate the Christmas tree together.
Lin Zhuyue reached out and touched the cypress tree:
"It's Maki..."
Shi Chan moved the ladder over and said:
"I considered buying a fake tree at the supermarket, but the car space is limited and it really can't fit. A fake tree is more environmentally friendly, right?"
"certainly."
Lin Zhuyue climbed up the ladder holding the decorative ribbons.
"But my family isn't very environmentally friendly. When we celebrated the holidays in the UK, we always went to buy a real tree. It wasn't cheap, at least over a hundred pounds. If it was this tree, it would probably cost closer to three hundred pounds."
She took the ribbon and hung the upper part. When it reached the position that was difficult for her hands to reach, Shican would take over the ribbon and hang the middle and lower parts.
After hanging the ribbons, they added various decorations: stars, Christmas stockings, snowflakes... Before long, the tree was beautifully decorated. Lin Zhuyue placed the most eye-catching star on the top of the tree like a hat, and the tree was completely decorated.
After finishing the decoration work, Lin Zhuyue went out to play.
She sat between Wen Miyan and Ye Yangjia, looking at the well-decorated courtyard, then looking at the restaurant through the glass door where people were constantly coming and going. The gloom in her heart had long since disappeared.
Lin Zhuyue had an apologetic smile on his face:
"It seems like a big move..."
Ye Yangjia handed a freshly opened box of Ferrero chocolate to the two girls next to him and said:
"It's okay. Shican always makes a big fuss like this. Every year when he celebrates his birthday, the ceremony is even grander than it is now."
"His family dotes on him very much."
Wen Miyan took the chocolate and said,
"As his parents would say, they're looking forward to the birth of this child like they're looking forward to a holiday. Alas, I always feel like children born out of free love are more favored."
"ah?"
Lin Zhuyue was stunned for a moment and asked,
"Don't your parents have a free love relationship?"
Ye Yangjia seemed to have heard an incredible joke. He curled his lips and said:
"There's no such thing as free love in a family of metaphysics. When they're about the same age, their family will carefully select a suitable partner. The two sides will get to know each other, and as long as there aren't any major problems, the marriage will be settled."
Wen Miyan nodded:
"That's how our parents got married, and that's how we'll get married."
Wen Miyan's tone was neither happy nor sad, she had long accepted such a future.
Lin Zhuyue thought of his home.
Ms. Lin Lang and Uncle Bao Jiayou were married through an arranged marriage, but their relationship was quite good, and my sister was very favored. However, in a few years, my sister would probably be engaged to a man of the opposite sex of equal family background, carefully selected by the family.
However, engagement does not mean misfortune. Lin Lang and Bao Jiayou both love their sister very much. When choosing a marriage partner for her, they will not only consider family background but also character.
Shi Chan opened the glass door leading to the courtyard from the inside of the restaurant and said:
"Young ladies, Master Ye, dinner is ready."
Lin Zhuyue, Wen Miyan, and Ye Yangjia entered the restaurant through the glass door, queued in the restroom to wash their hands, and then returned to the restaurant. Gong Yongyuan and Meng Qi hadn't left, seemingly intent on enjoying the excitement to the end, and were currently sitting at the table.
The table was filled with main dishes such as salt-baked prawns, braised beef in soy sauce, steamed yellow croaker, and some stir-fried vegetables. In the middle of the table was a large roast chicken.
Shi Chan knew it was funny to use roast chicken instead of turkey. But even if the Wen Miyan family had a comprehensive range of ingredients, it would be impossible to prepare a turkey without preparing for Christmas Eve.
The chef had a good sense of timing. He had opened a bottle of Bulgari red wine in advance and poured it into a decanter, so it was just ready to drink. He stood by the table, holding the decanter, and poured wine into six high-heeled glasses one by one.
Lin Zhuyue raised his glass: "Cheers!"
“Cheers!”
The six cups clinked together.
After clinking their glasses, the six people took a sip of wine, picked up their cutlery and started eating.
Although it is a Western holiday, they still used chopsticks and spoons, which seems to ruin the atmosphere. However, as long as it is useful, why bother with so much fuss?
Teenagers of this age are very restless. When their elders are not at the same table, they can't eat very well. No one knows who started it, but this Christmas Eve dinner turned into a drinking contest.
We had only opened one bottle of red wine at home, which was not enough.
Shi Can dug out two bottles of liquor from different places of origin, and also took out Moutai, Wuliangye, beer and champagne. He even found Coke and Sprite, mixing several kinds of liquor and drinks together.
As he was drinking, Meng Qi fell onto the table with a bang.
Wen Miyan went to the bathroom energetically, but didn't return after 20 minutes. The family's nanny went to check and found her lying at the bathroom door, fast asleep.
After a few minutes, Ye Yangjia and Gong Yongyuan couldn't hold on any longer. One of them ran to vomit, and the other started acting crazy while drinking.
Lin Zhuyue put down the cup. She drank a little too much beer and soda, and burped while covering her mouth.
Shi Can calmly picked up the yellow croaker and said, "You can drink quite well."
Lin Zhuyue looked at Shi Can in disbelief:
"Why aren't you drunk yet?"
"Actually, I'm a little drunk. I feel my face is hot."
Shi Can picked up the bowl and took a mouthful of rice, then said,
"Don't drink any more. If you drink any more, you won't get drunk, but your stomach will definitely rebel."
Lin Zhuyue also agreed to a truce, poured himself a bowl of sauerkraut and oxtail soup, and began to eat seriously.
After dinner, Shi Can asked the driver and the housekeeper to take the four drunk people home. He asked the driver to drive slowly and not let them vomit in the car at home.
Shi Can sent Lin Zhuyue back to the dormitory.
He couldn't drive after drinking, so he could only walk to see Lin Zhuyue off. Under the night lights of Tiancheng, the two of them walked towards the second dormitory building as if taking a stroll.
Lin Zhuyue put her hands in her pockets. Shi Can stuffed two hand warmers into her pockets. Lin Zhuyue held them tightly in her hands, and her palms felt warm.
Shi Can took out his cell phone and handed it to Lin Zhuyue:
"A gift from my mother."
Lin Zhuyue took the phone. On it was a photo Shican had saved, a golden-white Napoleon cat. It was small, with beautiful straight bangs. It looked adorable as it licked its mouth contentedly, seemingly having just finished eating.
"It's been less than two months."
Shi Can said to Lin Zhuyue,
"It will not be sent to the Heavenly City until it is half a year old."
Lin Zhuyue felt as if her heart had been stabbed. She became involuntarily excited and asked in surprise:
"Is it a sister or a brother? What's their name?"
"It's my younger sister. Her name is Xiaoyu. You can change it if you don't like it."
Shi Can warned,
"What name do you want to change? Tell the cattery now. The cat is still young and will be more likely to accept a new name."
Lin Zhuyue likes it very much.
What could she have against the name Xiaoyu?
She would accept such a cute kitten even if it was named Huangfu Tieniu.
Lin Zhuyue was surprised but also a little worried:
"I'm so worried that I can't take good care of it."
Shican gave a perfect solution:
"You can keep it at my house, and then it will be my cat."
Lin Zhuyue: "..."
The next day, Wen Miyan came to school. She covered her head and lay listlessly on the table. It was obvious that the headache from the hangover had not yet gone away.
Gong Yongyuan entered the classroom just as the bell rang.
Ye Yangjia and Meng Qi took leave directly and didn't come until the afternoon.
"Are you a wine jug?"
Meng Qi asked Lin Zhuyue resentfully,
"How come you can drink so much?"
Lin Zhuyue gave an apologetic smile:
"...Actually, I'm a little drunk too. I washed my hair with shower gel and my feet with shampoo last night. While the dehumidifier in my dorm was working, I kept cursing at my upstairs neighbor for doing construction work in the middle of the night."
Shican wrote this mission report overnight and submitted it early in the morning. So on the afternoon of December 25th, the mission evaluation was released.
Wen Miyan and Ye Yangjia were a little afraid to look.
Wen Miyan covered the screen of her mobile phone with her hand. After a long while, her fingers finally opened a gap. She looked at her personal evaluation of "A" and breathed a sigh of relief.
Ye Yangjia also felt relieved:
"I also got an A. I finally accumulated enough points for practical tests this semester."
On December 31, Lin Zhuyue dragged his suitcase, refused to be accompanied, and set out on the road back to Yuancheng alone with an informed consent letter.
She arrived home in the afternoon.
As soon as Lin Zhuyue entered the house, her sister Bowie rushed over to her.
Unlike her grandparents, Bowie loved her half-sister very much. In order to see Lin Zhuyue during the New Year's Day holiday, she gave up going to Japan to celebrate the New Year.
"Mom is in the study. My dad is on a business trip and should be back tomorrow. He said he would bring gifts for us both."
Bowie took the suitcase and asked,
"Can I just put it in your room?"
Bowie dragged his suitcase and got into the elevator with Lin Zhuyue.
Lin Zhuyue's mother, stepfather, and sister lived in a single-family villa in the suburbs of Yuancheng. The villa was quite private, and it took at least half an hour to drive from the gate of the community. Lin Zhuyue was brought in by security.
Bowie said as the elevator ascended:
"By the way, sister, please don't feed the fish in the yard."
Lin Zhuyue didn't understand why she couldn't feed the fish:
"Huh? Why? Do you have an alligator at home?"
"That's not the case."
Bowie said,
"Well...it's...a little weird. I don't know how to put it, but just don't go."
Lin Zhuyue and Bowie's rooms are both on the fourth floor.
After putting away their luggage, Bowie took Lin Zhuyue to her room. Inside her room was a fenced-in enclosure, where a small white Samoyed lay. Upon seeing Bowie, the Samoyed wagged its tail happily and clung to the fence with its front paws, displaying a warm and affectionate attitude.
Lin Zhuyue asked, "Didn't Mom forbid us to have pets?"
Bowie took out some snacks and handed them to the puppy, saying with a smile:
"Yes, but I really wanted the puppy so much that I mustered up the courage to do it first without asking for permission later. Luckily, after I brought the puppy home, my mother didn't say anything. She just forbade the puppy from going to the third floor or entering the dining room."
Bowie was a slightly headstrong and persistent little girl. She was determined to accomplish what she set her mind to. If she wanted a puppy, she would have one. If her mother disagreed, she would take the puppy to her grandparents' house. If her grandparents also refused, she would leave with the puppy and move into another house.
Bowie invited:
"Sister, shall we go walk the dog together later?"
"Yeah, okay, but I need to find my mom first."
Lin Zhuyue took out the file bag from the suitcase,
"I have something to tell her..."
She walked down the stairs to the third floor, found the study, knocked on the door gently, then pushed it open and walked in.
Lin Lang was checking the information submitted by her subordinates. She had to read all the relevant information before she could have a video conference tonight.
Lin Lang is a powerful woman with assets worth hundreds of billions of yuan, but this is not her limit. Although Lin Lang is not the only child in the Lin family, with her younger sister choosing to study medicine, most of the Lin family's business and assets will be handed over to her.
"Sleeping in?"
When Lin Lang saw Lin Zhuyue, he casually asked,
"Why did you come back in the afternoon?"
Lin Zhuyue dragged a chair over and sat down opposite Lin Lang. Summoning his courage, he said:
“Because I came back from Zhejiang.”
Lin Lang didn't think there was anything strange about Lin Zhuyue at this time. He looked at the information while talking to Lin Zhuyue:
"The school organized a trip? A trip during the senior year?"
Lin Zhuyue said, "I transferred to another school."
Lin Lang finally diverted her attention from the information and looked up at Lin Zhuyue who was sitting opposite her.
After not seeing her for a few months, Lin Lang felt that his daughter seemed to have changed.
Lin Zhuyue is no longer as frail as before. She wears larger clothes and her body seems to have a strength that she did not have before.
Lin Lang didn't think "transferring schools" was a simple matter.
If Lin Zhuyue transferred from Yuancheng No. 1 Middle School to Yuancheng Foreign Language School, Lin Lang would not care too much. She would just think that her daughter felt too much pressure and wanted to change her environment.
But transferring from Yuancheng No. 1 Middle School to Zhejiang... Did Lin Zhuyue think the college entrance examination was too easy?
Lin Lang closed the laptop screen.
Lin Zhuyue handed the file bag to Lin Lang.
Lin Lang took the file bag, opened it, and pulled out the paper documents. As she flipped through the documents, words like "Spiritual Master," "Spiritual Master's Mansion," and "Heavenly City" came into view. Lin Lang sensed that something was amiss and gradually frowned.
Lin Zhuyue tried to explain to her mother:
"That...it might sound strange, but it's all true. I...I might be a little special. I didn't hide it from you on purpose, because I haven't been given the consent to know."
Everything that Tiancheng allowed Lin Lang to know was written down in the files, including how Lin Zhuyue had received the invitation to enroll in the Spiritual Master Academy. Lin Lang only needed to patiently read through the files to understand Lin Zhuyue's peculiarity.
It took a long time for Lin Lang to read the file word by word.
Lin Lang turned the file back to the place he was interested in and read it again. As he read, he said:
"You really do resemble your father, not just in appearance."
Lin Lang rarely mentioned Lin Zhuyue's biological father, nor did she allow anyone else to mention him. To Lin Lang, that man was like an indelible stain in her life, and once someone touched on him, she would immediately become annoyed.
However, Lin Lang's attitude now is very calm.
Lin Zhuyue asked in surprise: "You knew he was a spiritual master?"
"have no idea."
Lin Lang's fingers stroked the handwriting on the file and said,
"But I could tell he was a very strange person. He could communicate with the crows in the trees, and sometimes he would stare at an empty place for a long time. I asked him what he was looking at, and he said he was looking at a pitiful kitten."
"I can also vaguely sense that his death is related to these things."
Lin Zhuyue nodded slightly.
Lin Lang put the file away and said:
"Zhuyue, I will arrange for you to go abroad. If you change your nationality, the Spiritual Master House won't be able to control you anymore."
Lin Zhuyue's fingers, which were pinching the hem of her clothes, were tense, and her knuckles turned white. She frowned and called out:
"Mother?"
Lin Lang shook his head and said:
"I've already lost him, I can't lose you again. This isn't even asking for my consent, this is killing me."
Lin Zhuyue didn't accompany Bowie to walk the dog. She lay on the bed in her room, staring blankly at the ceiling. She didn't even take a shower, and Lin Lang's words kept replaying in her mind.
To kill my mother...
Is she so important to my mother?
Lin Zhuyue's phone rang. She picked up the phone and found it was a group voice message.
She, Shi Can, Wen Mi Yan and Ye Yang Jia have a small group of four, but Shi Can's relationship with the others is very bad. Except when doing tasks, Wen Mi Yan and Ye Yang Jia are posting messages in a discussion group without Shi Can.
Wen Miyan asked: "How is it? Is everything going well?"
“It’s not going well.”
Lin Zhuyue's smile was somewhat bitter.
"I may not be able to return to Tiancheng."
Shi Can asked, "What's going on? We have to form a team for winter break practice, and we have to do tasks next semester too. What am I going to do without you?"
Ye Yangjia said:
"You don't know, but Old Fu and Director Liang are working on a temporary partnership plan this afternoon. This plan is specifically for you. Starting next semester, the whole class will take turns teaming up with you."
Shi Can: “…”
Shi Can's head was full of question marks:
"You guys treat me like a tourist attraction? One check-in per person?!"
Ye Yangjia said: "It could also be the game boss."
Each of the three people comforted Lin Zhuyue and told her not to worry for now and to wait until Lin Lang's emotions calmed down a little before having a good talk.
Lin Zhuyue was preoccupied and slept very late. When she woke up, Lin Lang had already finished breakfast and went to the company.
Lin Zhuyue asked, "Are you still working overtime on New Year's Day?"
"It seems like he's busy with a new project recently."
Bowie took a sip of the slightly hot soy milk and complained,
"She's working overtime not just on holidays, but also on weekends. I asked her to go clothes shopping with me, but she told me to talk to her personal secretary. Secretary Wang has been working so much overtime lately that her face is turning green. Even though I know my mom pays her overtime, I'm too embarrassed to ask her."
Lin Zhuyue sighed sincerely:
"Mom is so awesome."
"I'll be just as awesome!"
Bowie handed Lin Zhuyue a sandwich and said,
"When I grow up, I will protect my sister."
The red Maserati that Lin Lang was riding in had just driven out of the community.
A Ferrari was parked in the middle of the road.
The boy sat on the hood and slowly took off his sunglasses.
After Lin Lang's Maserati was forced to stop, he walked over and knocked on the window. After the driver's window was lowered, he showed his special license:
"Hello, Auntie. I know this is a very rude way to meet you, but we really should talk. My name is Shi Can. I'm an apprentice spiritualist affiliated with the Tiancheng Spiritual Master House and your daughter Lin Zhuyue's partner."
He had flown in from Zhejiang on a red-eye flight overnight, and the car he was driving was a borrowed one. Besides being a spiritualist, the Shi family also ran a business, and their business was quite large, comparable to Lin Lang's family. Finding a car to drive after arriving in Yuancheng was relatively easy for Young Master Shi.
Lin Lang looked at the car parked in the middle of the road and asked:
"Just talk like that?"
"Auntie, have you had breakfast?"
Shi Chan took out his cell phone and asked for permission.
"If you haven't, let's go have breakfast. If you have, let's go have coffee."
Half an hour later, the two of them appeared in a coffee shop near the Lin Group headquarters. Shi Can asked for a private room and ordered a latte, while Lin Lang ordered an iced Americano.
Lin Lang asked, "How long have you been partners?"
Shi Chan answered truthfully:
"From the time she transferred here until now, meeting a suitable partner is like searching for sand in the waves. So, Auntie, I can't easily accept her leaving." "Today, either I convince you, or you convince me."
Lin Lang took the iced American coffee handed to her by the waiter. She tore open the thumb-sized capsule box containing vegetable cream and added the cream inside to the coffee.
Lin Lang asked calmly:
"Do you know Ling Yan?"
The files that Lin Zhuyue brought back did not mention Ling Yan. Although the Spiritual Master Mansion gave permission to know, they were not willing to let her know much.
Shi Can nodded and said frankly:
"He and my father were partners when we were students."
"Ever since I met him, I've had a feeling that his situation has always been dangerous."
Lin Lang took a deep breath and said,
"At first I didn't care. I felt I wasn't afraid of danger and I could face anything with him. It wasn't until he died in the shipwreck that I realized I couldn't face danger with him even if I was prepared."
"I don't want my daughter to leave me in the same way. I'm just an ordinary person and can't face danger with her, so I can only choose to pull her away from the center of the storm."
She still remembered how desperate she felt when she heard the news of Ling Yan's death. She cried and collapsed, the pain tearing her heart apart, and she vomited until she was dizzy.
Then, she discovered she was unexpectedly pregnant.
Her father and mother insisted that she have an abortion.
No one knew what kind of courage motivated her, but she packed her bags and fled the country. She returned only when she could no longer have an abortion, and welcomed Lin Zhuyue amidst opposition.
She hoped that Lin Zhuyue would grow up healthy and safe. She was afraid that if Lin Zhuyue became involved with Ling Yan, she would be in danger, so she never looked for Ling Yan's family. She also did not allow Lin Zhuyue to know anything about her biological father. She hoped that Lin Zhuyue would regard Ling Yan as a taboo, never to get close to him, never to touch him.
However, Lin Zhuyue still became a spiritual master.
Why is this? Is blood relationship really so magical? Is it so difficult to sever?
"Her future won't be bad."
Lin Lang said to Shi Can,
"I plan to send her to study in the UK after she takes the college entrance exam. If there's nothing in particular she wants to study, she can study finance. After she finishes her graduate studies, I'll arrange for her to take over the family business."
"Although the reputation of having children out of wedlock is always criticized, it is not impossible to make up for it if you are strong enough. Then, I will find her a handsome guy like you, let her get married, have children, and live an ordinary life."
"She won't be ordinary."
Shi Can shook his head and said,
"Auntie, no matter how much you expect her, she will never be ordinary. The storm in her life will only be late, not absent. She will either walk into the storm herself or be swept into the storm."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
