Qin Sheng finally won in the game with Lin Changting, who used to be dominant but then lost all his dignity and position in the family. He was the root of all the losses the Lin Family had suffered. More importantly, Lin Changting’s aggressiveness and ambition faded away.
He was not a man of flesh and blood anymore, but a walking dead to be buried in the graveyard. Had no more driving force in his career and became indifferent to everything. Lin Changting gave the authority of the Lin Family to Lin Changhe, and would retire from all the family’s business.
Why?
Lin Changting had always been arrogant and overconfident, and nobody was going to shake his position a bit in the Lin Family. He believed that what he had done was absolutely good for the family, pushing it forward, only to find failures one after another. The Lin Family had lost its past honor and was hit with such big trouble. He knew that he had to take that responsibility and reflect on everything, let alone that he almost broke up his relationship with his own daughter. People would laugh at him for doing such silly things.
He was not a good leader of the family, and not a good father either. Lin Changting felt exhausted and would rather let go.
Lin Changhe felt quite relieved when he got a satisfactory answer. He was afraid that his elder brother would become a cornered beast, swooping and biting fiercely before death, which would hurt everybody. Though his brother was fighting against Qin Sheng for the benefit of the Lin Family, if he lost, their family would hate his brother. This was the law of life. His elder brother would make the right choice once he understood it.
“Elder brother, I think Qin Sheng won’t upset you too much.” Lin Changhe comforted him in a soft tone, wishing to release the burden on his brother’s shoulders more or less.
Lin Changting sighed. “I don’t give a sh*t anymore. Anyway, I lost, that is the end of the story. I won’t say anything.”
“But, elder brother, I hope you still take the leadership of the family. The Lin Family needs you to lead the way. I’m afraid I can’t do it without you,” Lin Changhe said with worry. Most of the resources were in his elder brother’s hands and they were not easy to be passed from one to another.
Lin Changting had gotten old in the span of two days, with wrinkles and grey hair showing. He rose, looking exhausted, and offered a forced smile. “Changhe, I believe in you. You’ve done a lot for the Lin Family over the past decades. You’re really smart, even smarter than me. The Lin Family might have gone down without your help. Sometimes I was too stubborn to take your advice, and I made a lot of mistakes. I’m ashamed and regretful. So today, I give the leadership to you and I trust you. You can make our family great again. I’m old, too old, and have no energy to mind that business. The only thing I’m asking of you now is to cultivate Lin Ze, making him a capable person. He’s good in his nature, but sometimes a bit wayward since I spoiled him for so long. I just hope that even when I die one day, someone could care for him and push him onto the right track, instead of me.”
Lin Changting’s speech was too much like a last testament, which scared Lin Changhe. He was worried that his elder brother might commit suicide.
“Elder brother, don’t say that. The past will finally be the past. If you really cannot bear giving in to him, our Lin Family can continue to fight to the last second.” Lin Changhe was rattled.
Lin Changting shook his head and forced a smile. “Changhe, I know what you’re worried about, but I won’t do it. I’ve been too occupied with work and didn’t enjoy my life. This might be a good opportunity for me to retire and relax. And the conflict between Qin Sheng and I will not just disappear in the air, so it’ll be better to let you take my place. Just as Lin Ze said, maybe we’ll need Qin Sheng’s help one day.”
“Alas, elder brother, since you’ve made the decision, I’ll just accept it. But you don’t have to worry about a thing, I’ll try my best to save our family and make it great again,” Lin Changhe said firmly.
Lin Changting waved his hand, allowing his brother to go. “Mmm, I believe in you. Fine, just go notify Qin Shang of our decision. I’ll be waiting for him tomorrow morning at home.”
Lin Changhe nodded and left.
After Lin Changhe went totally out of his sight, Lin Changting seemed to shake off all his pressure and felt quite relaxed, though still with a little sense of disappointment. Maybe giving in was the best choice.
Lin Ze was in the living room on the second floor, waiting for their decision. Seeing Lin Changhe come out, he immediately rose and went over to his uncle. “So, what is it? What’s my father’s decision, Second Uncle?”
Lin Changhe sighed. “He said yes.”
“What? He said yes? Really? Good, I said my father was not that stubborn. He knew what to do now.” Lin Ze was really happy, even happier than the day he held his wedding. If the Lin Family went down, he’d have to face countless unknown challenges and difficulties in life.
Lin Changhe eyed Lin Ze and shook his head, feeling upset. Lin Ze was too simple and stupid to take the responsibility of leading the Lin Family in the future, which was exactly the biggest risk of the family.
Qin Sheng had been waiting for the news from the Lin Family; his deadline was 8 o’clock in the evening. If they went past the time, he would take it as a refusal.
Then, the Qin Family’s second step toward the Lin Family would begin. The Lin Family then would be crushed and ground down by the extra pressure.
When Qin Sheng and Lin Su got out of the movie theater, he received a call from Lin Changhe. He knew the result the moment he picked up. If the Lin Family rejected his offer, he would not receive a call whatsoever. Qin Sheng chatted a few words with Lin Changhe, smirking. Lin Su, who was by his side, frowned a little and peered at Qin Sheng.
Qin Sheng hung up the phone and said to Lin Su, “I’ll accompany you to go back to the Lin Family, get your luggage, say goodbye to your grandmother, and then we’ll go back to Shanghai.”
“Mmm.” Lin Su just nodded and asked about no details. She was sure that she would get a good result, which was enough for her.
Qin Sheng was a bit surprised. “Honey, why don’t you ask me what happened? About what I did to make them agree to our relationship and give in to me?”
Lin Su showed a small, soft smile. “A good result is enough for me. I don’t care about other things. I believe in you, you can handle everything properly.”
Qin Sheng touched Lin Su’s hair and smiled with a sense of disappointment. “Honey, you just ruined my feeling of achieving success.”
“I’ll try not to next time.” Lin Su giggled at Qin Sheng’s childishness.
Qin Sheng then erupted with laughter, satisfied. He finally handled the business with the Lin Family and had nothing to worry about then. He had finally taken revenge on the Lin Family. Then, who would be next? Qin Sheng was not in a hurry. He still had something more important to complete.
Qin Sheng slept very soundly that night, but Lin Su didn’t. She was thinking about three things. Firstly, she thought about all the ups and downs she had experienced with Qin Sheng; secondly, she didn’t know how to face those people of the Lin Family, for they were impossible to accept all of these things on their own will; and thirdly, the relationship between her and her father was likely to reach an impasse for the rest of her life.
She tossed and turned for a long time and finally was too tired to think more, falling asleep. It was not her fault, and it was impossible to make everybody in the family understand her. Moreover, she had no feelings for most people in the family.
Tomorrow was another day. What a spring day, with beautiful sunshine and soft wind with the smell of seawater.
Qin Sheng, Lin Su, and others drove three cars to the Lin Family’s house at Qiandong Lake. Though the Lin Family had given in, Chang Baji and Nan Gong were still careful due to the fear of any traps the Lins would make. Lin Songhao and his underlings were also dangerous, so caution should always be exercised. Chang Baji asked six bodyguards from the Qu Family for help, and adding to the two that had been with them, a total of eight bodyguards would protect Qin Sheng for this visit.
The Lin Family was prepared so Qin Sheng and his people’s cars just entered the yard without any obstacles. They stopped in front of the main building. Lin Ze was waiting there on behalf of the family to welcome Qin Sheng.
Qin Sheng saw Lin Ze’s flattering appearance from a distance. Thinking about his past arrogance and waywardness, Qin Sheng sighed. Power was definitely the best weapon. From ancient times to now, every single man was eager to gain power and use it to conquer the entire world.
Once their car stopped, Lin Ze went up to them and pulled open the door for Qin Sheng and Lin Su with great hospitality. Lin Ze saw Lin Su and said, “Oh, Susu, my dear younger sister! You’ve finally arrived. I’ve been waiting so long, or I should have gone to the Marriott Hotel to pick you up myself.”
Lin Ze, who had never treated Lin Su well, suddenly became a nice and gentle brother, which made Lin Su, however, feel uncomfortable. She nodded and smiled with a sense of embarrassment. She knew her brother’s character; he was always easily swayed, like a single blade of grass in the wind.
Lin Ze then turned to Qin Sheng, who got out of the car from the other side. He eyed Qin Sheng with a sense of fear, thinking of what Qin Sheng had done to the Lin Family, and carefully hid his hatred out of fear of being found out.
“My brother-in-law, you’ve come so early. Have you had breakfast? I asked the kitchen to prepare some for you. Let’s go.” Lin Ze tried his best to show his flattery.
Qin Sheng smirked. “Brother Lin, it’s very nice of you. We’re family, don’t treat us like guests.”
Qin Sheng’s politeness made Lin Ze feel even weirder and tenser. “Of course not. You deserve this.”
“Let’s go see Uncle Lin and the others first. I’ve been waiting so long for today.” Qin Sheng sneered, laced with implications.
Lin Ze understood that and didn’t dare to refuse. “Fine, fine, fine, let’s go see them. They’re all waiting for you.”
Someone who didn’t know the whole story might consider this as a nice and warm welcome meeting in a big family. However, in fact, the Lins were tense because they had no idea what Qin Sheng would do later, after all, most of them used to offend or insult Qin Sheng and Lin Su