Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Lin Tingyue didn’t return home until evening, looking completely crushed.

Bai Yaxin sat down beside her and asked with concern, "Tingyue, how did it go today? Did you find any potential investments?"

Lin Tingyue shook her head, her mood sinking even lower.

"No potential investments, just a whole bunch of people I should *definitely* *not* invest in."

Bai Yaxin: "..."

She comforted Lin Tingyue, "That’s showbiz for you. Your eldest brother will be back soon—do you want to ask him for advice?"

"Right! If Second Brother is unreliable, there’s still Eldest Brother!"

Lin Tingyue nodded vigorously. Bai Yaxin messed up her hair but wondered to herself why Lin Chengyan was considered unreliable.

That night, Lin Chengyan received a loving maternal interrogation.

Lin Chengyan: "?"

He didn’t even do anything, so why was he still getting scolded?

Still, this trip wasn’t a total bust for Lin Tingyue. At least that pink... heh, was *real* nice to look at.

Lin Xiawan happened to see Lin Tingyue chuckling to herself and walked over, messing up her hair. "What’s so funny?"

Lin Tingyue immediately composed herself, waving her hands. "No comment, no comment."

"Of course, it’s the rock-hard abs, killer pecs, and that pink *."

Lin Xiawan was confused at first, then it hit her—Lin Tingyue’s *dirty* thoughts got censored when transmitted to others.

If it’s censored, what kind of *filthy* things is Lin Tingyue even thinking about?!

Lin Xiawan thought for a moment, then asked, dead serious, "Do you still remember Cheng Xuan?"

"Of course."

After all, Cheng Xuan’s over-the-top macho voice had left quite an impact. Lin Tingyue had never seen such a... uh, messy harem situation before.

But why was Lin Xiawan suddenly bringing up that scumbag? Unless...

Lin Tingyue grabbed Lin Xiawan’s arm and shook it vigorously.

"Lin Xiawan, get a grip! Will shaking your head like this shake the dumb out?"

Lin Tingyue glanced at Lin Xiawan’s head and flinched.

"No way I’m shaking *her* head."

"Maybe handstands would work?"

Lin Xiawan: "..."

Lin Xiawan sighed hard and said, "Cheng Xuan might *actually* go to jail."

"So playing the field’s illegal now?"

"Cheng Xuan was not only involved with multiple people but also engaged in fraud with a huge sum of money, which is what landed him in prison."

Lin Xiawan originally wanted to use Cheng Xuan's downfall to show Lin Tingyue how unreliable men could be, but instead, Lin Tingyue shook her with even more enthusiasm, her face flushing with exertion.

"Sis, that's a man doing time! Sis, you can't just take any random guy, sis!!!"

"Sis, did you spend money on him? Spending money on men curses you for life, sis!!!"

Lin Xiawan felt like she was going deaf. She grabbed Lin Tingyue's shoulders and looked into her eyes seriously, saying, "Don't you dare start dating too young."

"Early romance? What's that? Is it edible?"

Lin Tingyue looked at Lin Xiawan's stern expression and suddenly understood.

"Lin Xiawan is using this to warn me?"

"Overthinking it. I'm too busy being patriotic, my heart beats for China—regular guys don't stand a chance, except..."

Lin Xiawan grabbed Tingyue's head and shook it.

Lin Tingyue: ...

Huh, what was she just thinking about?

Oh well, she couldn't remember. Lin Tingyue suggested, "Wanna watch some TV?"

Lin Rusong and Bai Yaxin came in right then. Hearing this, Lin Rusong made a face. "Watch TV?"

"What's wrong, Dad? Don’t you want to watch TV?"

Lin Rusong shook his head.

He wanted to watch TV quietly, not while listening to Lin Tingyue's commentary—especially since some of the folks she'd likely gossip about could be faces Lin Rusong recognized.

He'd never be able to look at them the same way again!

Lin Xiawan grabbed the remote and said expressionlessly, "How about cartoons? I know there's a new animated movie out recently—it's actually decent."

Cartoons... at least there wouldn't be any drama, right?

Lin Rusong and Bai Yaxin shot Lin Xiawan grateful looks.

Lin Tingyue had no objections. She was fine with anything—TV was just background while she scrolled her phone. But cartoons?

"Makka Pakka..."

"Young heroes..."

"Eyes wide like..."

For Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong, it was like auditory torture.

But for Lin Xiawan, who had heard "Little Girl Picking Mushrooms" dozens of times, this was a welcome change—at least it wasn’t the same song over and over.

Just as Lin Tingyue was on her twentieth nonsense song, Lin Yuhuan walked in.

The moment Lin Yuhuan walked in, he froze momentarily. No matter how much time passed, Lin Tingyue's mental chatter would always throw him.

Lin Yuhuan walked over to the sofa and sat down. Seeing everyone was present, Zhang Ma brought out the sweet soup.

Bai Yaxin asked Lin Yuhuan, "Why are you back so late today?"

Lin Yuhuan replied, "There was a sudden issue with one of the company's investment projects."

Hearing the word "investment," Lin Tingyue perked up and asked, "What kind of issue?"

"Last year, the company invested in a TV drama. It started filming recently, but the male lead was exposed today as a disgraced celebrity and had to be dropped."

This sounded way too familiar. Lin Tingyue said, "The male lead isn’t named Xie Junnian, is he?"

Rubbing his temples, Lin Yuhuan looked at Lin Tingyue and asked, "How did you know?"

Lin Tingyue chuckled. "I was there on the scene, big bro. You should’ve seen it—" she added, dramatically describing the whole Xie Junnian meltdown. She mentioned how Wu Shanshan and Zhu Miaoshuang later teamed up to post on Weibo, nailing Xie Junnian’s coffin shut.

Bai Yaxin frowned throughout the story but nodded afterward. "Good riddance to someone like that."

Lin Yuhuan agreed, "Yes, Mom."

Hearing that Lin Tingyue also wanted to invest, Lin Yuhuan instinctively asked, "Running low on spending money?"

Lin Tingyue quickly denied it. "No, no."

"Can’t have too much money."

True. Lin Tingyue and Lin Xiawan were about to graduate soon, so getting into investing early wasn’t a bad idea.

Lin Yuhuan asked what she’s interested in so he could point her in the right direction.

"Hmm… first rule: no showbiz."

Lin Tingyue looked at Lin Yuhuan expectantly and whispered, "Big bro, are there any low-risk, high-reward deals?"

Lin Yuhuan: "..."

Though he really didn’t want to say it…

"The entertainment industry."

"Aaargh! How loaded are those entertainment people anyway?!"

Lin Yuhuan tried to salvage the situation. "If you’re serious about investing, I can arrange for full vetting."

"Isn’t that too much work, big bro?"

"Bro, you’re the GOAT. Don’t bail on me!"

"...No problem."

Lin Yuhuan then turned to Lin Xiawan. "What about you, Xiawan?"

Lin Xiawan was debating whether to compete for top sibling status. After all, in Lin Tingyue’s mind, aside from their mother, she was the closest to her.

Facing Lin Yuhuan’s gaze, Lin Xiawan said, "I’m good, thanks bro."

Lin Yuhuan: "..."

He still wasn’t great at handling his sisters!

The group stayed in the living room until almost nine o’clock. As they were about to head back to their rooms, Bai Yaxin suddenly remembered something. "Aunt Wen just sent me a wedding invite today. Her eldest son is getting married in three days… You all…"

Bai Yaxin glanced at them and finally asked, "Who will come with me?"

"Her eldest son?"

"Who knows if there’s drama—we’ll only find out if we go."

Me! I’ll go!" Lin Tingyue eagerly volunteered.

Lin Xiawan coughed lightly and said with restraint, "Mom, count me in too."

Since everyone else was in, Lin Rusong added, "I'll go as well."

With practically the whole family going, Lin Yuhuan thought he might as well join, but after checking his schedule, he shook his head helplessly. "I’ve got a big meeting that day."

"No worries, bro. If there’s tea, I’ll spill it to you," Bai Yaxin replied.

After a moment's thought, Lin Yuhuan added, "But I’ll keep my phone on—hit me up anytime."

Lin Tingyue didn’t think twice about it, brushing it off as a coincidence. With a bright smile, she agreed, "Okay."

...

On the day of the wedding, the Lin family showed up dressed to the nines, except for Lin Chengyan and Lin Yuhuan, who couldn’t make it.

Wen Jie and Bai Yaxin went way back as classmates, and they’d stayed on friendly but not super-close terms. When Wen Jie saw so many members of the Lin family attending, she looked shocked.

She greeted Bai Yaxin, and they made small talk—asking about each other's well-being and offering congratulations.

Wen Jie's second son approached and whispered a reminder, "Mom, the emcee needs you up front."

Wen Jie nodded. "Go ahead and sit—I’ll catch up later."

After Wen Jie left, Lin Tingyue rubbed her eyes and quietly asked Lin Xiawan beside her, "Wait, was that guy a carbon copy of the groom?"

Lin Xiawan, still new to the family, was clueless about rich-people drama. She speculated, "Maybe they're twins?"

Bai Yaxin, overhearing their conversation, explained, "Wen Jie did give birth to twins back then."

Twins? Hmm…

Lin Tingyue smelled drama.

And if today was the elder brother's wedding, why’s the other twin rocking groom vibes?

Bai Yaxin and the others found their seats marked with name cards. At fancy weddings like these, aside from the ceremony, it was also an opportunity for networking and collaboration.

Hence the name tags—easy peasy.

The second Lin Tingyue sat, the wedding march kicked off. The lights dimmed, leaving only a spotlight on the central stage of the hotel, now transformed into a sea of flowers—straight out of a fairy tale.

The emcee boomed, "Please welcome the bride!"

The bride appeared, arm in arm with her parents. The light illuminated her face—glowing with happiness.

And across the stage stood the groom, eagerly awaiting his bride.

Everyone was swept up in the atmosphere, except for Lin Tingyue, who furrowed her brows as she stared at the groom and bride on stage.

"Holy crap, how messy is this?"

Where did that voice come from? Everyone’s ears perked up.

"The older brother by day, the younger one by night. Right now, it looks like the eldest is getting married, but in reality, the bride’s being shared by both of them."

"Did either of you even ask the bride what she wants?"