7 PM on February 28, 2001.
On the Charles River in Boston, inside a red-brick building hidden deep in an old-money neighborhood, in a private club room without a sign, charcoal burns quietly in a black stone fireplace, making a soft crackling sound.
Outside the window, the river shimmered in the night, while in the distance, the Boston skyline appeared calm and austere in the cold winter wind.
On the rectangular mahogany dining table, the exquisite Western appetizers and main courses were almost finished. The air was filled with the aroma of aged wooden furniture, the scent of burning wood, and the rich fragrance of Bordeaux red wine in the glasses.
Beth Finneran gently put down her knife and fork and carefully wiped her mouth with a napkin.
Today, instead of wearing the sharp, intimidating dark business suit she wore in court and law firm, she changed into a dark green long dress, which made her skin appear even paler.
Her dark brown, almost black, curly hair fell loosely over her shoulders and neck. Her profile was sharp and well-defined, with clean and crisp lines between her cheekbones and jawline, giving her an air of aloofness that kept strangers at bay. Most captivating were her deep-set, turquoise eyes, with deep-set sockets and a subtle droop at the corners, like emeralds shrouded in mist, always shrouded in a professional coolness.
The warm yellow light slanted across her face, softening the sharpness of her bone structure and adding a touch of gentleness.
"Starting tomorrow, I'll have the firm's most senior partner personally oversee the subsequent court proceedings and city council approvals for that Brighton land." Beth raised her eyes, her gaze falling on the excessively young billionaire across from her. "Mr. Lin Qi, after all this fuss, this land is finally yours. I heard Jim Davis at New Balance has been so angry these past few days that he's smashed several teacups in his office."
Lin Qi picked up his wine glass and gently swirled the red wine inside, leaving a beautiful trail of deep red liquid on the glass.
"Business is like war. Jim is a formidable competitor, but he's used to manipulating everyone with old-school Boston rules," Lin Qi said calmly, taking a sip of his drink. "And I simply did what he was unwilling or disdained to do... lend a hand to small business owners, so that everyone benefits."
Beth looked at him, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes. She picked up her glass, but didn't drink it immediately. Instead, she leaned back slightly in her leather chair.
" Lin Qi, there's something I've always been curious about," Beth's voice was exceptionally clear in the quiet booth, "How old are you this year? Not even forty, right? You're like a veteran who's been navigating the business world for decades. You not only know how to run a successful NBA team, but you've even got those stubborn Ireland old men in Brighton completely under your thumb."
Beth looked him straight in the eye, her voice probing, "How did you become like this? Were you always like this?"
There was a moment of silence in the private room. The flames in the fireplace flickered, casting long shadows of the two people on the wall.
Lin Qi put down his wine glass, his gaze seemingly passing through the glass and landing on the distant past.
"My parents were first-generation immigrants from China to the United States." Lin Qi leaned back in his chair, his tone as calm as if he were telling someone else's story. "They ran a small Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. To support my education, my father would go to the wholesale market to buy vegetables at four in the morning every day, and my mother would stand in front of the stove for more than ten hours at a time, her hands covered with burns from splattered oil and white spots from years of washing dishes in water."
"Back then, the people in Chinatown weren't as gentle, courteous, frugal, and modest as depicted in the movies. If you couldn't pay protection money, local thugs would come and smash plates in your shop. If you couldn't pay taxes and rent, the landlord would stand at the door with a cold face and issue an ultimatum."
Lin Qi paused, then looked up at Beth: "I've seen him haggle with suppliers for half an hour over a difference of a few dozen dollars. I've also seen my mother sitting under the lamp Late Night, calculator in hand, meticulously calculating every penny of the day's earnings. They scrimped and saved for a long time before they could buy that shop and the apartment upstairs together."
"In the 1980s, the Boston city government launched a so-called 'city beautification and old city renovation' project. A document came down saying that the old Chinatown area was to be demolished to build high-end office buildings for Wall Street elites. The compensation offered by the developers wasn't even enough for us to buy a garage in the suburbs."
Beth's breath hitched slightly. As a lawyer who dealt with real estate developers and law firms year-round, she knew all too well how cruel such "legal extortion" could be, orchestrated by the government and capital.
"My parents panicked and scraped together all their savings to hire a lawyer who claimed to have connections at the city hall." Lin Qi chuckled self-deprecatingly. "And what happened? That lawyer took our advance payment and went off to have coffee with the developer. On the day of the trial, the judge didn't even give us two minutes to defend ourselves; the verdict seemed to have been prepared in advance."
"I still remember that lawyer's face very clearly. He put on this air of being an expert and told us, 'You're Goliath, but unfortunately you're not David. The United States. federal judicial system can certainly give you justice... provided you have ten million dollars.' He seemed quite pleased with himself after saying that, probably thinking he spoke with exceptional skill."
"I still remember what that night was like. The restaurant was empty of tables, chairs, and kitchenware; only four walls remained, deserted and desolate. My dad sat on an old stool in the corner, not saying a word, smoking all night long. A thin layer of ash accumulated at his feet, the embers flickering as he endured until dawn. My mom leaned against a pillar beside her, tears streaming down her face, repeatedly muttering the same sentence: 'We're in a completely unfamiliar place; it's all fate.'"
Lin Qi raised his head, his dark eyes showing no anger, only a calmness honed by experience.
"From that day on, I swore to myself: I will never again let myself, or anyone I care about, become a fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others."
There is no such thing as inherent fairness in this world. Those in power will never bestow a shred of justice upon you just because you are in a sorry state. If you want to protect yourself, protect those around you, and gain a foothold in this cannibalistic world, the only way out is to climb to the top of the food chain... Either become one of the rule-makers, or... be more clear-headed and more ruthless than anyone else.
A long silence fell over the private room, the air itself heavy and stifling.
"And what happened to your parents...?" Beth asked softly.
"What do you think? Someone who's worked their whole life and ended up with nothing, what choices do they really have?" Lin Qi's tone was as calm as if he were recounting a story he'd heard, devoid of any emotional fluctuation. "Fortunately, an insurance payout helped me finish college, at least I didn't end up with student loans. That's how I got the chance to join the Celtics..."
Beth stared blankly at the man before her. She had always thought that Lin Qi's decisiveness and ruthlessness were business talents etched into his bones, the innate sharpness of a chosen one. Only now did she realize... beneath that glamorous exterior of a billionaire lay such heavy, bitter tears from the bottom. He must have endured many unspeakable hardships to get to where he is today.
"So..." Her throat tightened slightly as she stared intently into Lin Qi's eyes, "That land in Brighton, you were willing to help those construction contractors who were driven to the brink by New Balance and the bankruptcy court... because you could empathize with them, right?"
"It's because I've seen what my parents looked like back then," Lin Qi continued. "I know all too well the helplessness of small business owners caught in the crossfire of political and business collusion, that kind of desperate desperation with nowhere else to turn. I donated to Brighton affordable housing, to Sister Mary's school, and even fully bail out Patrick Finneren's debts and gave him construction contracts..."
Lin Qi looked directly into Beth's eyes. "This is certainly not charity; I also gained the benefits I wanted."
Beth's heart skipped a beat. She suddenly felt that this man was more dangerous than anyone she had ever met, yet also... more alluring.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulent emotions in her eyes, then picked up her wine glass and gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"Okay, Lin Qi. You win. After hearing your childhood story, I suddenly feel that my own years of studying law diligently in law school, my passion for justice and ideals, were utterly naive and laughable."
"No, Beth, you're amazing." Lin Qi looked at her, his tone becoming more sincere. "We're the same kind of people."
Upon hearing the phrase "we are the same kind of people," Beth paused slightly. She looked up and met Lin Qi's deep gaze, her heart skipping a beat for no apparent reason.
To conceal the strange emotions that suddenly welled up inside her, Beth raised an eyebrow with feigned ease. "Since we're the same kind of people, Mr. Lin Qi, you've specially invited me, your 'kindred spirit,' to this private club on the Charles River. Besides reminiscing about your tear-jerking childhood memories, there must be something else going on, right?"
Lin Qi smiled. He didn't speak, but slowly took out a small square box wrapped in dark blue velvet from the inside pocket of his coat, placed it on the table, and gently pushed it towards Beth along the wooden dining table.
Beth's gaze fell on the square box, her eyes flickering slightly. "What's this?"
"Open it and take a look," Lin Qi said.
Beth extended her slender fingers and gently lifted the lid of the velvet box.
Inside the box lay a 1920s antique silver business card holder, its surface adorned with exquisitely handcrafted floral engravings of delicate vine patterns, exuding a unique texture refined by the passage of time.
Beth's fingertips gently traced the cool, smooth silver surface, her voice slightly strained. "This is... something from that century-old antique shop on Charles Street? I glanced at it in the window last month when I passed by, but the owner said it was their prized possession and they wouldn't sell it easily."
"I had Margaret go there this afternoon; it took her a lot of effort to get it." Lin Qi looked at her. "The Roaring Twenties suit you quite well."
Beth chuckled, but her eyes inexplicably warmed. She closed the business card case and gripped it tightly in her hand.
" Lin Qi," Beth looked up, staring intently at him, "You're a really dangerous person."
"How so?" Lin Qi raised an eyebrow slightly.
"You bribed Brighton with hundreds of thousands in debt and tens of millions in construction contracts, and now you're trying to bribe me with an antique business card holder." Beth shook her head self-deprecatingly, a glint of light in her eyes. "If I didn't know you were the hottest figure in American sports right now, I would have really thought you were deliberately setting a trap to devour me whole."
Lin Qi leaned forward, casually placing his hands on the table, instantly closing the distance between them.
A subtle chemical reaction seemed to be silently brewing in the air, making even the crackling of the embers in the fireplace clearly audible.
What if I wanted to?
Beth's breath hitched slightly. She looked at Lin Qi, who was so close to her, her heart pounding wildly.
Just then, a faint knocking sound came from outside the private room.
That was Lin Qi's assistant Margaret, reminding him that it was almost time.
The knock on the door was like a bucket of cold water, instantly shattering the romantic atmosphere in the room. Beth took a deep breath, perfectly concealing her slight panic. She regained her calm and composed demeanor and carefully put the silver business card holder into her coat pocket.
She stood up, raised her chin at Lin Qi, and her eyes regained that captivating sharpness.
"It's getting late, Mr. Lin Qi, it's time to rest." Beth took the coat and draped it over her shoulders, a smile playing on her lips.
After saying that, she didn't linger any longer. She turned and walked out of the private room nimbly in her high heels.
The door to the private room closed, but the faint scent of her perfume seemed to linger in the air.
Lin Qi sat alone at the table, picked up his glass, and drank the rest of the red wine in one gulp.