Chà Chà Novel

“You forced my hand. In that case, I have nothing left to hold back for. Remember this! You were the one who pursued me first. Whatever happens from now on, don’t even think about getting rid of me!”

After a night of reckless indulgence, dawn fell across their sleeping faces. Everything seemed unchanged.

When Lin Huaiqing woke the next morning, he called Yu Wenle, but no one answered.

It was not until that afternoon, when he called again, that someone finally picked up—and it was Gu Chengyun.

“Hello! Yu Wenle, are you all right?”

“It’s me. He’s still asleep. Did you need something?”

“D-Dr. Gu. Nothing really. Just ask him to call me when he wakes up.”

“Mm…”

Only after hanging up did Lin Huaiqing let out a sigh of relief.

For some reason, he felt that Gu Chengyun had developed a slight grievance against him after what happened yesterday.

But Yu Wenle had been the one who insisted on dragging him to that place! What did it have to do with him? He had even paid a price for it himself!

“You don’t have anything to do this afternoon, do you?” Qin Fan suddenly asked.

“No. What are you planning?”

“Come home with me.”

Qin Fan said it casually, but it put Lin Huaiqing on edge.

“You don’t mean the Qin family’s ancestral home, do you…?”

“Of course. But don’t worry. My parents are abroad on a trip around the world. It’ll just be my brother and Shen Jingyi, the woman you met last time. She’s his current girlfriend.”

Lin Huaiqing had thought Qin Fan intended to introduce him to his parents. Apparently, he had been overthinking it.

But even without meeting the parents, going to see Qin Fan’s brother would still be outrageously awkward.

Whenever he remembered the two times Qin Feng had hit him, Lin Huaiqing seethed with hatred. Even if he went, he could hardly put on a pleasant face for him.

“What, is your brother itching to hit me again?” he asked irritably.

Qin Fan was amused by his indignant expression and explained patiently:

“Relax. Everything between you and my brother was a misunderstanding. This time, I guarantee he won’t lay a hand on you. We’re just having a meal and strengthening your relationship.”

Lin Huaiqing nearly choked on that last sentence.

Strengthening their relationship? He and Qin Feng were two tigers who could never share the same mountain. What relationship was there to strengthen?

Then again, visiting the Qin family home would give him a chance to thoroughly annoy Qin Feng, who would not be allowed to hit him. Put that way, it did sound rather satisfying.

“You’re the one asking me to go. I’m not insisting on coming. Can you guarantee my safety?”

The time Qin Feng had beaten him into a concussion remained painfully vivid. Ultimately, that assault had left him with a psychological shadow.

Still, he was the sort who grew more determined with every battle. Having offended him, Qin Feng had better be prepared for retaliation!

Qin Fan reassured him repeatedly.

“Don’t worry. If my brother really attacks you, I certainly won’t go easy on him. Besides, if you don’t deliberately provoke him, why would he go around hitting everyone he sees…?”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!”

That morning, Lin Huaiqing went back to his family home. After everything that had happened, the Lin family had fallen straight from the ranks of the wealthy into those of the capital’s declining households.

A starving camel might still be bigger than a horse, but if the company remained closed, the Lin family would be nothing more than a once-prominent family that had fallen into ruin.

That was why Old Master Lin had summoned Lin Huaiqing this time: to help him rebuild the Lin business empire.

After the previous incident was exposed, Lin Lan had packed up and taken Xue Cheng’an away to establish a separate household.

Old Master Lin was getting on in years and had not necessarily intended to drive his daughter out. Lin Lan herself had insisted on leaving, and no one had been able to stop her.

Now, the only person Old Master Lin truly trusted was Lin Huaiqing. Pushing his grandfather’s wheelchair, he took him into the study.

“My boy, find a ladder and bring down the thickest book on the top shelf.”

Although puzzled, Lin Huaiqing did as he was told.

Only when he held the book did he discover how absurdly light it was. It seemed hollow inside.

“Open it.”

Lin Huaiqing lifted the cover. It was actually a box disguised as a book, containing an exquisitely carved piece of antique jade.

It rested cool and smooth in his hand, cold to the touch. He could hardly make out any cracks with the naked eye. It certainly appeared to be an antique.

“Grandpa, this is…?”

“An heirloom passed down in our family since your great-great-grandfather’s generation. There’s only this one piece. You could call it a national-treasure-level collectible! Sell it and use the money to revive the Lin Group.”

“What?! Something this valuable—you should keep it, Grandpa. We can sell the house to rebuild the company!”

No sooner had Lin Huaiqing finished speaking than a walking stick tapped him on the head.

“Silly boy! If we sell the house, where will I live? Besides, even selling it wouldn’t raise enough money!”

Rubbing his head with tears in his eyes, Lin Huaiqing said dejectedly:

“The problem is that I’m afraid I won’t do a good job. If I sell the heirloom and the company still goes under, I’ll have let the family down even more.”

But the old man showed no intention of taking back the jade. He simply told him to go ahead boldly.

“Didn’t you work at your father’s company for a while? Once you’ve earned the money back, you can redeem the jade.”

In truth, which elder in the Lin family did not know that he had a mild intellectual disability?

Any sensible person would hesitate to let him take over a business.

Yet although Old Master Lin was elderly, his mind remained sharp. There were still many business matters on which Lin Zhen sought his advice. For a man that perceptive to entrust the family heirloom to him meant that, from the beginning, he had never treated Lin Huaiqing as a fool.

On the contrary, he had placed absolute trust in him.

Holding the jade, Lin Huaiqing stepped outside, a clear tear slipping from the corner of his eye.

Now that the heirloom had been entrusted to him, he would not disappoint his grandfather or his father. He would restore the Lin Group to its former strength.

Back at Qin Fan’s villa, Lin Huaiqing put the heirloom in his little cabinet. He would visit the market another day to check its value before selling it.

That afternoon, Qin Fan drove him to the Qin family’s ancestral home.

Despite all his mental preparation, Lin Huaiqing still felt an overwhelming sense of pressure the moment he got out of the car.

The Qin family home was practically an enormous castle. After passing through the gates, they had driven a considerable distance before reaching the entrance where they could get out and walk inside.

Everyone they encountered along the way was a member of the household staff, and every one of them bowed and greeted Qin Fan.

Compared with the Qins, the Lins hardly even qualified as nouveau riche. Now, they were not even on the level of ordinary people.

He truly could not understand where the original owner had found the courage to oppose the Qin family.

“We’re here. Sit down and have some tea. My brother and Miss Shen will be here shortly.”

“Mm…”

“Why have you been so quiet since we came in? Are you feeling unwell?”

Qin Fan stroked the top of his head as he asked with concern.

Lin Huaiqing shook his head and clutched his chest.

“I’m suffering inside. From envy.”