Lin Yuhuan: "?"
Somehow, he felt he now had the same standing as Lin Shengyan.
Lin Shengyan, however, was completely oblivious. He was still eating fruit by the sofa, then quickly rushed over again. Please, he did not want to be compared to a seafood platter again.
Lin Tingyue said, "It's great."
[It's just that her secretary is about to steal Big Brother's home base. So worrying.]
Everyone turned to look at Lin Yuhuan in unison.
[Big Brother finally feels the stirrings of romance, so why did it have to be with a mole?]
Everyone looked at Lin Yuhuan again. The plum blossoms bloomed a second time.
[Huh? Why does the atmosphere feel strange?]
Bai Yaxin stroked Lin Tingyue's head. "As long as it's going well. Let's eat first."
After dinner, Lin Rusong called Lin Yuhuan into his study. Only after learning that Lin Yuhuan had already collected evidence that the woman was a mole and planned to dismiss her tomorrow was he satisfied.
Lin Rusong and Lin Yuhuan went downstairs together, only discovering a visiting friend when they reached the living room.
He was not actually a particularly close friend, merely someone Lin Rusong had done business with. However, Lin Rusong had heard that something had happened recently, breaking the man's funding chain and leaving him short of working capital. Perhaps he had come to borrow money.
Seeing Lin Rusong arrive, the man did not beat around the bush. After barely a couple of pleasantries, he said directly, "Mr. Lin, I really have run into some difficulties. If I hadn't reached the end of my rope, I wouldn't have troubled you. Rest assured, I'll repay every cent with interest."
Since he had put it that way, Lin Rusong asked, "How much do you need?"
Seeing a real possibility, Cheng Kuang said, "Ten million."
[How much? How much did you say???]
[This isn't a lion opening its jaws wide anymore. It's an elephant opening its jaws wide.]
Ten million truly was not much for a family like the Lin Family. Seeing Lin Tingyue so worked up, Lin Rusong wondered whether she had run out of pocket money again.
Should he give her a little more? Both daughters had already graduated. Once they started working, there would be plenty of things to spend money on.
"All right, then."
Cheng Kuang breathed a sigh of relief, but an unexpected turn arose.
[Dad, if you lend him that money, you'll lose every last cent.]
Lin Rusong paused. How so?
[The reason this Cheng Kuang guy's funding chain broke is that he's been having nude video chats online!]
Nude video chats?
Cheng Kuang belonged to Lin Rusong's generation and was already in his forties or fifties. He actually got that wild online?
Lin Shengyan perked up and took the initiative to hand Lin Tingyue some popcorn. Lin Tingyue ate with relish and continued spilling the dirt in her thoughts.
[And the person doing ** with him was someone his wife paid to hire. They seemed like a gentle, seductive beauty, but were actually a foot-picking dude in disguise.]
The Lin Family collectively sucked in a breath of cold air. That picture was truly too beautiful for them to dare imagine.
Still, they had already seen in the previous gossip that a man could disguise himself like that. They had thought that was the ceiling, but it turned out there were mountains beyond mountains, and people beyond people.
[Why did his wife hire someone to scam him through nude video chats? Because not only did he cheat, he brazenly brought his mistress home and slept in his wife's bed. His wife discovered it the next day when she saw hair on it that wasn't hers... How can someone be so disgusting? Not only cheating, but being this arrogant about it!!!]
He imagined himself in that position. His own hair was one thing, but someone else's hair...
Lin Shengyan crushed the popcorn tub. He would explode on the spot.
Cheng Kuang looked at Lin Shengyan in puzzlement. "What's this?"
Bai Yaxin hurriedly said, "Lin Shengyan, eat properly!"
Most importantly, he must not interfere with Lin Tingyue spilling more juicy gossip.
Lin Shengyan: "..."
Fortunately, this little interlude did not dampen Lin Tingyue's enthusiasm for the gossip.
[His wife wanted a divorce, but didn't want Cheng Kuang to get off without any punishment, so she planned to take all his money and leave him with nothing. The money seemed to be going to the nude video chat account, but it was actually all ending up in his wife's hands.]
[Unfortunately, he discovered it just as his wife was about to draw in the net. Originally, he planned to swallow his pride with his wife and get the money back from her first. Women, right? Just say a few sweet nothings and they'll have a change of heart. Who knew his wife had a heart of stone? Now she's kicked him aside, taken his money, and gone traveling around the world.]
The method had been somewhat roundabout, but at least she had achieved her goal.
[After learning he had no money, all Cheng Kuang's affair partners left him. Forget lending him money, they weren't willing to spare Cheng Kuang even a minute. At the end of his rope, Cheng Kuang buried his head in thought in his empty house for three days and nights, finally coming up with a way to make money-]
Lin Rusong wondered, was it borrowing money?
Then running off with the borrowed money?
[He's going to scam people through nude video chats too!]
Lin Rusong: "..."
He was still too young, after all.
Chapter 26
[But if he's going to scam people through nude video chats, why is he here borrowing money? Is he planning to use it as startup capital?]
A chill ran through Lin Rusong. No matter what, his ten million could not become startup capital for that.
Lin Rusong cleared his throat. "Mr. Cheng, the thing is, I've run into a little difficulty myself. I'm afraid ten million..."
Cheng Kuang expressed his understanding. If Lin Rusong really lent him ten million, he would find it unbelievable. After all, the Lin Family ran such a big business, and neither father nor son looked like a sucker.
Cheng Kuang said considerately, "A few million would be fine too. As long as I get through this crisis, Mr. Lin, I'll be eternally grateful."
Without Lin Tingyue's inner voice, Lin Rusong might really have been fooled by Cheng Kuang's acting.
People said that to tell whether someone was lying, you had to look into their eyes, but Cheng Kuang's eyes were sincere and his gaze resolute, as though he truly intended to rise again from the ashes.
[Oh, he's here to borrow money because someone told him that as long as he pays a membership fee, he can join a nude video chat organization and easily scam people out of millions. But that's not the important part. Most importantly, people in the organization are already in contact with his affair partners and his wife.]
Huh?
The Lin Family stared blankly. A reversal?
[Well, damn. You're enduring humiliation and bearing this burden, planning to
take revenge,
are you?]
[You people keep scamming each other, but sooner or later all that money will end up in the real scammers' pockets. Sigh, hurry up and download an anti-fraud app.]
Lin Tingyue really had never seen anyone so stupid, rushing headlong to get scammed.
Seeing Lin Rusong still hesitating, Cheng Kuang feared things might change and struck while the iron was hot. "Mr. Lin, surely you won't stand by and watch me die?"
[Well, well, well, you even know how to use moral blackmail?]
An anti-fraud app?
Lin Rusong's eyes lit up, and Lin Shengyan immediately played along. "Uncle Cheng, I heard lots of phones have viruses these days. Dad's worried that after he gives you the money, malware will wipe it all out."
Lin Shengyan was different from Lin Yuhuan.
Lin Yuhuan had sharp features and an icy air, radiating the authority of someone at the top. When he spoke to people, he made them feel pressured.
Lin Shengyan, however, had softer features. He resembled Bai Yaxin more. Though he never acted seriously, his tone of voice and that extremely deceptive face made people unconsciously follow his train of thought.
Cheng Kuang was led astray by Lin Shengyan and asked nervously, "Is there really software that powerful?"
Cheng Kuang had had nude video chats with people. Surely he needed other software for that? His phone might already be infected. Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, Lin Shengyan said sincerely, "Yes, so you should download a phone manager and an anti-fraud app, Uncle Cheng. Just in case."
Cheng Kuang nodded repeatedly. "You're right."
He had gone to so much trouble to get that money. He could not let it mysteriously disappear just like that.
Nothing happened after the phone manager finished downloading. Lin Shengyan even helped clear the junk from Cheng Kuang's phone with it. But as soon as the anti-fraud app finished installing, Cheng Kuang's phone sounded an alarm.
The wee-woo, wee-woo sound made everyone present jump with fright.
[Oh my god, how many scam organizations has this Uncle Cheng joined?]
[This is definitely the busiest this anti-fraud app has ever been.]
[Second Brother's pretty smart, though.]
Lin Shengyan curled his lips. His intelligence was inborn!
Feeling pleased with himself, he continued talking to Cheng Kuang. "Oh dear, Uncle Cheng, your phone seems to be locked."
Only now did Cheng Kuang realize something was wrong. Cold sweat broke out on his back, and he tried to run, only to be held down by Lin Shengyan. Smiling, Lin Shengyan said, "Uncle Cheng, don't worry. You're just a law-abiding citizen whose funding chain broke. The police will definitely help you when they get here."
[Hahahahaha, Second Brother is so savage. Won't Uncle Cheng be full of holes by the time the police come?]
What actually happened was that the police arrived and took Cheng Kuang away. They also specifically warned the Lin Family members who had interacted with him not to trust certain links online. Finally, they watched the women finish answering the questions before leaving.
[Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd have police watching me answer
questions.]
[Scared me to death. But the police really are responsible.]
Lin Rusong and Bai Yaxin thought so too. Bai Yaxin gave Lin Rusong a look, and with his arm around his wife's shoulders, he said, "Oh my, I've saved ten million out of nowhere."
[Dad's acting is so exaggerated. Besides, wasn't that your money to begin with?]
Lin Rusong nearly choked, but stubbornly finished his performance. "The month's nearly over. It's time to hand out everyone's pocket money. How about two million each?"
[Yes, this was my money to begin with.]
Lin Rusong: "..."
Lin Shengyan even gave a derisive snort. "Money-grubber."
Lin Tingyue heard him. Turning to look at Lin Shengyan, she obediently held out her hand. "Second Brother isn't a money-grubber, so why don't you give me your pocket money?"
It was only two million, and Lin Shengyan was not unwilling to part with it. But because it was Lin Tingyue, he said with a beaming smile, "Not a chance."