The staggering amount of information in Ye Jin's complaints hit Lin Xiwen like a bomb, making her sway involuntarily. The butler beside her hurried to steady her.
"Oh dear, you were just saying you were fine. How could you possibly be all right after everything that's happened lately? I think something is very wrong. I'll contact the family doctor right away to examine you."
I'm actually just shocked!
Lin Xiwen very much wanted to deny it, but she knew she had no way to explain, so she could only let the butler contact the doctor for her.
She did not want to believe Ye Jin's inner thoughts this time.
Xu You and she could be considered childhood sweethearts. Though no romantic feelings had developed between them, they were as close as brother and sister.
Could Ye Jin have gotten it wrong? Or did the events in the novel necessarily have to happen?
Yet scenes from her younger days involuntarily surfaced in her mind.
In her memories, Xu You and Gu Jingxian had not been close. They had barely even exchanged a few words.
Yet Xu You seemed to turn up wherever she and Gu Jingxian appeared together. She had always thought he was watching over her, but now it seemed he had actually been using her to see Gu Jingxian, or even to tip Gu Jingxian off.
Details she had always overlooked surfaced one after another, leaving Lin Xiwen increasingly alarmed.
There really did seem to be something very wrong with Xu You!
Seeing Lin Xiwen so distracted, Xu You secretly rejoiced. It looked as though the Su Group must be in very bad shape.
The worse things were for the Su Group, the more Lin Xiwen would rely on and trust him!
He stepped forward and comforted her in a deeply affectionate voice. "Xiwen, I'm back. With me here, you won't have to work so hard anymore."
Words that should have warmed her heart instead sounded somewhat strange to Lin Xiwen, and just then, Ye Jin's inner thoughts pinpointed what was wrong with them.
[Xu You really was a
best actor
-thinking about his white moonlight while pretending to be utterly devoted to my mother-in-law to lower her guard, trying to trick her into falling in love with him instead.]
[Luckily, my mother-in-law stood firm and wasn't interested in Xu You!]
Xu You was actually trying to seduce her!
Lin Xiwen felt sick inside. How could the older brother she had once trusted be like this?!
She dodged the hand Xu You extended to support her and said coldly, "Everyone has their own responsibilities. It's hardly a matter of working too hard."
Xu You felt that Lin Xiwen's attitude was somewhat chilly, but he merely assumed she was tired and continued gently, "Luckily, I happened to be in the country. If I'd still been overseas, the journey would have cost me quite a bit of time. It seems there really is some fate between us."
[Hah, could there really be such a coincidence in this world? In the original novel, Xu You only appeared three months later. My mother-in-law took charge early, so he showed up early too. Looks like this old bastard really was lying in wait for this.]
Although the plot had changed, Ye Jin needed only a little deduction to understand what had happened.
Lin Xiwen sneered inwardly too, while also feeling a measure of relief. Fortunately, Ye Jin had warned her, or she really might have fallen into Xu You's scheme.
When Xu You had called her last night and said he happened to be in the country and could come help her, she had been delighted and thought she was lucky. As it turned out, she had been thoroughly played.
Lin Xiwen looked at Xu You and said sarcastically, "What a coincidence. You came back just when I needed someone."
However highly Xu You thought of himself, he could not ignore the change in Lin Xiwen's attitude, and he hurried to explain.
"Isn't it just? In my three years as president of Group A's Asia division, I've held considerable power, but ultimately, I was still working for someone else. I'd built up enough connections anyway, so I thought I'd start my own business. Of course, since you need me, I'll naturally help you first."
[Xu You could actually still brag about himself at a time like this? Didn't you become president of the Asia division because you were the boss's son-in-law? Didn't you resign to start a business because your performance had dropped by half and even your father-in-law couldn't protect you anymore?]
At the same time, she grew a little anxious, afraid Lin Xiwen really would be taken in by Xu You.
[Aaaah, how am I supposed to warn my mother-in-law that this Xu You is no good? If he really gets his way, the Su Group will go bankrupt! My mother-in-law will kill herself out of guilt too, and after Su Chengjing finally manages to escape back, he'll find his family ruined and dead. If I were him, I'd go mad too.]
Lin Xiwen's heart jolted. She had still been hesitating over whether to play along with his scheme to lure the snake out of its hole while using Xu You's reputation to steady the shareholders, but now she changed her mind completely.
But if Xu You really was this incompetent, how could appointing him possibly keep the shareholders in check?
Still, she did not want to beat the grass and startle the snake yet, so she would have to turn Xu You down in a more roundabout way.
Seeing that Lin Xiwen still had not answered, Xu You grew even more puzzled, but he had no other option except to keep boasting about himself.
"Xiwen, don't worry. With my abilities, I wouldn't dare promise how much I could expand the Su Group, but preserving it won't be a problem."
[With your abilities, even making you a regional general manager would leave people worrying you'd run the branch into the ground! She'd be better off doing it herself! In the original novel, my mother-in-law was far better at managing the Su Group than you. If Xie Haoyu hadn't played dirty, the Su Group would never have gone bankrupt.]
[If you ask me, rather than finding someone else to manage it, my mother-in-law really would be better off taking it on herself. I remember she always ranked first back when she was in school too. People really shouldn't be too modest!]
Ye Jin very much wanted to interrupt and warn Lin Xiwen directly. However, considering her persona as someone with absolutely no connection to business, she could only force herself to hold back and think about finding a chance later to reveal information about Xu You to Lin Xiwen.
What she did not know, however, was that these inner thoughts had given Lin Xiwen one final shot of confidence.
So she was actually this capable? She herself had the ability to manage the Su Group well! Then why should she entrust it to someone else?
Moreover, Ye Jin's words had reminded her of a way to make Xu You withdraw on his own without beating the grass and startling the snake.
Lin Xiwen looked at Xu You, her eyes smiling. Her voice was no longer as cold as before, becoming warm and amiable instead.
"Mr. Xu, as you know, the Su Group is transitioning from the old leadership to the new, and we're very short-staffed. Our East China division needs someone in charge. Would you be willing to go there and help me, Mr. Xu?"