[Wasn't Mu Yi a little too good at putting up with this?]
[With that kind of perseverance, what couldn't he succeed at?]
The elevator doors opened again. This time, an elderly woman with a head of frosty hair who was still hale and hearty emerged with an elegantly dressed woman.
The elegantly dressed woman recognized Bai Yaxin, nodded to her, and headed toward the operating room.
[Sigh, Mu Yi's mother actually knew about this long ago, but she'd been swallowing her anger all along.]
[She had no choice. Mu Jun had far too many women on the side, and who knew how many children? Mu Yi's mother was worried that she and Mu Yi would end up with nothing.]
Hearing that his mother knew about this, Mu Yi raised his head in surprise.
Her son startled her. Guan Chenli stroked Mu Yi's head and asked, "Are you worn out?"
Beside them, Mu Haoguang said, "He certainly is. Xiao Yi nearly fainted outside the operating room just now."
"That tired? Xiao Yi, since we're all here now, go sit over there for a while. Your dad and I will keep an eye on things here."
Ever since Wang Minsi had been admitted to the hospital to await delivery, Mu Yi had been working nonstop. He didn't trust the caregiver, so he personally handled all the shopping and took care of Wang Minsi. Guan Chenli had long been aching for him.
Mu Yi said inscrutably, "He certainly should keep an eye on things here."
"Xiao Yi..."
Was it her imagination? She kept feeling that Mu Yi was acting strange today.
Where no one could see, Guan Chenli shot Mu Jun a vicious glare. If it weren't for him, if it weren't for him...
If Mu Yi found out what he had done, Guan Chenli wasn't sure whether Mu Yi would go mad on the spot.
The operating room doors finally opened. A nurse came out holding the baby and said, "It's a baby boy, weighing seven and a half jin. Who's the father? Come hold your baby."
Perhaps those words had provoked Mu Yi. He turned a dark gaze on Mu Jun, who was trying to make himself inconspicuous. "Dad, tell me, am I the father, or are you?"
[Oh, my granny in heaven, how could anyone be this brave?]
Then Mu Yi knocked Mu Jun down with a punch.
Old Master Lin watched the scene in bewilderment. Everything had been fine, so why had they started fighting?
Old Master Lin said angrily, "A son beating his father-is there any justice left in this world???"
[A father stealing his son's wife-is there any justice left in this world???]
Chapter 23
Mu Yi was still beating Mu Jun. Unaware of the truth, Mu Haoguang stepped forward to pull Mu Yi away and said anxiously, "Xiao Yi, what's gotten into you? Why are you hitting your dad?"
Mu Yi said through gritted teeth, "He's not my dad. If he really were my dad, how could he have designs on his own daughter-in-law?"
Mu Haoguang said blankly, "Huh?"
Guan Chenli was the first to react. "Xiao Yi, what nonsense are you talking?"
Mu Yi looked at Guan Chenli. "Mom, you know perfectly well whether I'm talking nonsense."
With that, Mu Yi strode away. Mu Haoguang, who had finally recovered his wits, trembled with rage. Pointing at Mu Jun on the floor, he said, "You, how... how dare you!"
*[Actually, Mu Haoguang bore some responsibility for Mu Jun turning out this way. He knew perfectly well that his son's
relationships with women were a mess, yet he kept one eye open and the other shut. As long as no children came of it, he couldn't be bothered to interfere.]*
[It was precisely because of Mu Haoguang's tacit approval that Mu Jun became more and more brazen, ultimately bringing about this tragedy of family morality.]
Old Master Lin watched a son beat his father in utter confusion, then was dragged into the elevator in utter confusion.
He said unhappily, "Why are we leaving now?"
He hadn't even figured out what was going on yet. They hadn't left when they should have, and now that his interest was in full swing, they were leaving.
These unfilial sons, daughters, and grandchildren!!!
Lin Xiawan said succinctly, "Grandpa, your card-playing friend's granddaughter-in-law gave him a son."
Old Master Lin: "?"
What was that?
He was old, not stupid. Why couldn't he keep up with young people's thinking at all anymore?
[Sister Xiawan, as expected of you. You could read so much information from a single sentence.]
Lin Tingyue thought Lin Xiawan had deduced it from Mu Yi's rhetorical question. Never imagining that she herself had already become a sieve, Lin Tingyue was still marveling.
[Sister Xiawan really has the gossip-devouring sacred physique.]
Lin Xiawan looked at Lin Tingyue and smiled faintly.
Only after getting into the car did Old Master Lin, whose head was practically smoking, finally untangle those chaotic relationships. Sitting in Lin Ruqiao's car, he asked dazedly, "Then can I still play cards with Old Mu?"
Sitting beside him and fastening his seat belt for him, Lin Ruzhi's mouth twitched violently. "Dad, you'd better not."
Heaven only knew what other juicy scandals Old Master Lin's card-playing friends had. This one had gotten involved with his daughter-in-law, with his own father's tacit approval in the mix. It was simply too horrifying.
Lin Ruzhi was even worried that Old Master Lin, who was an old stick-in-the-mud to begin with, would end up being corrupted.
Old Master Lin still didn't know that his card-playing friends were about to undergo a great purge.
In Lin Rusong's car.
Bai Yaxin, Lin Tingyue, Lin Xiawan, and Lin Jiaxin were all in this car. As for Lin Shengyan, he had gone to Lin Yuhuan's car to save a seat for his eldest aunt.
"Big Brother, Ruqiao and Ruzhi messaged me. They said they want to replace all Dad's card-playing friends."
Recalling the mess in Mu Haoguang's family, Lin Rusong said, "Good idea."
[We could send Grandpa to a university for seniors.]
[He could play cards there too, and sing and dance.]
Lin Jiaxin's eyes lit up. This was good, very good. Why hadn't she thought along those lines before? She immediately discussed it with Lin Ruqiao and Lin Ruzhi.
Old Master Lin had never expected that merely wanting a great-grandchild and holding a family meeting in the hospital corridor along the way to shore up the dignity that had shattered last time would cost him his card-playing friends and get him sent to school???
That evening, Lin Jiasi called Lin Rusong. "Hahahahaha, Mom told me Dad feels like the sky has fallen. I reckon he won't be stirring up trouble for a while."
Bai Yaxin said, "That'll give Auntie a chance to do things she enjoys."
"Exactly! Hahaha, with such a brilliant idea, I knew at once Tingyue must have thought of it."
It was so wicked, but she liked it.
When she was in school, the old master had often criticized her. He had demanded that she rank among the best and be good at everything, all under the fine-sounding claim that it was for Lin Jiasi's own good.
Later, when Lin Jiasi went to work at the family company and asked the old master about things she didn't know, the first words out of his mouth were that all her years of schooling had gone to waste.
She had thought before about sending the old master to a university for seniors someday and throwing all those criticisms back at him. Now that wish was actually about to come true.
Hearing Lin Jiasi say this, Bai Yaxin, who had already lain down, suddenly sat up.
Lin Rusong asked, "What's wrong?"
Bai Yaxin said, "Tingyue's going to the company tomorrow too. If she doesn't do well, you're not allowed to criticize her."
Smiling, Lin Rusong put an arm around Bai Yaxin's shoulders. "Why would I criticize Tingyue? Besides, she's just going along with Yuhuan for fun tomorrow. It doesn't match her field of study, so why would I make demands of her?"
"You're right..."
"Aren't I?"
"I need to tell Yuhuan too."
Lin Rusong watched Bai Yaxin leave the room, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Lin Tingyue got up bright and early. Bai Yaxin had prepared a business suit for her the night before. Lin Tingyue changed into it, and when she reached the dining room, Bai Yaxin's eyes lit up.
Lin Tingyue walked shyly up to Bai Yaxin and asked, "Mom, does it not look right?"
"It does, it does. It couldn't look better."
After breakfast, Lin Tingyue got into Lin Yuhuan's car.
Lin Tingyue asked humbly, "Big Brother, what do I need to do today?"
"Tingyue, don't be nervous. You'll be my assistant today. I'll teach you."
"Okay, Big Brother."
[Assistant to the general manager?]
[This must be the highest position I'll ever get anywhere near in my life.]
[Hahahaha, this corporate slave finally gets her turn to rise up.]
Lin Yuhuan adjusted his glasses. Did Lin Tingyue... have this much inner drama?
When they reached the company, Lin Tingyue followed Lin Yuhuan and entered the general manager's private elevator with him.
[An elevator all to himself. If that were me, I'd faint from happiness.]
Lin Yuhuan glanced at Lin Tingyue, mainly to guard against her fainting.
No sooner had Lin Tingyue and Lin Yuhuan entered the elevator than someone reported it to Lin Yuhuan's secretary, Zhou Nannan.
"How strange. I haven't heard anything about President Lin changing secretaries." In the break room, Tong Yaqin, who always hung around Zhou Nannan, spoke in puzzlement.
Xing Yaping quickly checked Zhou Nannan's expression and hurriedly said, "What are you saying? How could Sister Nannan be replaced? Isn't that right, Sister Nannan?"
Zhou Nannan gave a thoroughly official answer. "No one can guess President Lin's thoughts. If he's dissatisfied with me and wants to replace me, that's entirely understandable."
Zhou Nannan calmly stirred the coffee in her hand, but inwardly, she had already begun to panic.
Why hadn't there been any warning at all?
Lin Yuhuan had just messaged her to prepare a cup of coffee and a glass of milk.
No. Zhou Nannan tightened her grip on her coffee cup. She absolutely could not be replaced.
With a ding, the elevator arrived.
From where Zhou Nannan stood, she could indeed see a young woman following behind Lin Yuhuan.
The young woman struck Zhou Nannan as very strange. She clearly looked only about twenty, yet the air about her was thoroughly seasoned, just like someone who had spent
years
fighting her way through the workplace.
This didn't bode well. She actually couldn't read her opponent.
No matter what, she couldn't possibly let someone quietly take her place. She had to fight for herself first.