Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Ying An claimed he was young—though that much was obvious.

With a figure as exceptional as Ying An's, even when he grows older, he’ll still be a handsome, well-built uncle—leaving that Cen Fang guy in the dust.

Lin Tingyue glanced at Ying An’s chest muscles and quipped, "So young and successful—truly impressive!"

Ying An hadn’t actually said those words expecting such praise from Lin Tingyue, but for some reason, every word from her lips sounded like music to his ears.

Ying An smiled and said, "Miss Lin is also young and successful."

"Of course! All this wealth at my age—such a hardship," she quipped.

Ying An: "..."

Ying An asked, "What kind of cuisine does Miss Lin prefer?"

"Give me one dish from all Eight Great Cuisines!"

Lin Tingyue feigned politeness: "I’m not picky."

Ying An suppressed a smile. "Alright."

But when she sat down in the private room of a fusion restaurant and saw a table full of dishes fit for an emperor, Lin Tingyue still drooled uncontrollably.

Ying An asked considerately, "Miss Lin, does it suit your taste?"

Lin Tingyue nodded vigorously. "It’s absolute perfection."

"If only there were desserts..."

Lin Tingyue looked in surprise as the waiter wheeled in a cart piled high with all kinds of delicate little cakes.

Her eyes lit up like a kid’s on Christmas.

"I never expected Mr. Ying to be generous with both his body and his wallet!!!"

The tips of Ying An’s ears turned red again. Coincidentally, Lin Tingyue happened to glance over at that moment, and flustered, he averted his gaze. With his sleeves rolled up, his sculpted arms strained against the thin fabric, as if his shirt seemed ready to burst at the seams.

For a moment, Lin Tingyue was so distracted she short-circuited. Though she quickly snapped out of it, her cheeks still flushed.

"Pull yourself together, Lin Tingyue!"

But what lingered in her mind was Ying An’s... It was all because they had met through that pink...

"Is this dinner or am I devouring Mr. Ying with my eyes? Pull yourself together, Lin Tingyue!!!"

Compared to Lin Tingyue, Ying An was just as flustered.

He loosened two buttons on his shirt, blaming his sudden fever on the clothes.

After the meal, Ying An walked Lin Tingyue back to Lin Yuhuan’s office. She had boxed up leftovers for Lin Yuhuan since even they couldn’t finish that mountain of food.

True to form, Lin Yuhuan had skipped lunch again.

"No wonder all you tycoons have ulcers. What do you expect when you never eat properly?"

Lin Tingyue opened the plastic box and shoved chopsticks into Lin Yuhuan's hand. "Eat up, big brother!"

Lin Yuhuan: "..."

With her larger-than-life attitude, Lin Tingyue nearly convinced him that she’d hunted down all this food herself.

For the rest of the time, Lin Tingyue scrolled on her phone and binge-watched shows in Lin Yuhuan's office. When it was time to leave, she followed him home.

On the way back, Lin Tingyue said, "Big brother, I won’t come tomorrow."

Lin Yuhuan was surprised. "Why not? Isn’t it fun here?"

"Exactly because it’s too fun that I shouldn’t come!"

"I’m supposed to be seriously working—what am I doing goofing off in the office?!!"

Lin Yuhuan smirked and slid her a stack of documents. "These are the most suitable investment opportunities for you. Take a look."

Lin Tingyue blinked. "Investment projects?"

"Oh right, I’m here to invest, not to work."

"So I don’t have to work and can just slack off in the general manager’s office? This is amazing!"

Lin Yuhuan: "..."

Lin Tingyue put on an earnest tone. "Don’t worry, big brother, I’ll read them carefully."

"Ah, big brother really has it tough—being watched by spies, managing so many projects, and still worrying about a nobody like me."

Lin Yuhuan: "..."

He cleared his throat lightly, and Lin Tingyue, quick on the uptake, handed him a box of cough drops.

Lin Yuhuan didn’t bother wondering where the drops had come from in his car. He palmed them, and the driver ahead subtly eased off the gas.

Opening the box, the refreshing scent of mint wafted out. Lin Yuhuan, who usually avoided candy, popped one into his mouth. Instantly, the mint flooded through him, sharp and bracing.

He asked, "Tingyue, where did you get these?"

Lin Tingyue, twirling her hair, looked up. "Ying An gave them to me."

At the time, she had been ogling Ying An and coughed awkwardly—so he handed her the box.

Ying An was really considerate and polished, but most importantly, he was handsome and had a great figure.

Lin Tingyue blurted, "Second brother is so lucky to have hit the jackpot with such a good friend!"

Lin Yuhuan agreed.

Lin Chengyan was born a motor-mouth and never outgrew it. The only one who didn’t want to strangle him was Ying An, his roommate—Ying An volleyed back every one of his nonsense lines.

After learning that Lin Chengyan had a friend who always humored him, Lin Yuhuan felt a weight lift off his shoulders.

Because before Ying An, the one who had to humor Lin Chengyan’s every word was him.

Though only four years older, Lin Yuhuan already felt worlds apart from Lin Chengyan, whose thoughts bounced around like a pinball. He simply couldn’t keep up.

Bless Ying An.

Lin Yuhuan and Lin Tingyue were the last ones home.

As soon as they arrived, Bai Yaxin told Zhang Ma to get dinner ready. She took Lin Tingyue’s hand and asked eagerly, "Tingyue, how was your day at the company?"

Most importantly, did anyone give her a hard time?

At this thought, Bai Yaxin glanced back at Lin Yuhuan, who had just returned from washing his hands.

Lin Yuhuan: "?"

He couldn’t help feeling like he was now in the same boat as Lin Chengyan.

Lin Chengyan, however, was completely unaware, still eating fruit by the sofa before quickly rushing over—please, he didn’t want to be compared to a seafood platter again.

Lin Tingyue said, "It was great."

"Except that big brother is about to get played by his secretary. It's a real mess."

Everyone turned to look at Lin Yuhuan in unison.

"Big brother finally caught feelings, but of all people, it had to be a spy."

Everyone looked at Lin Yuhuan again—double take.

"Huh, why's it so tense in here?"

Bai Yaxin patted Lin Tingyue’s head and said, "Glad to hear it. Dinner's ready."

After dinner, Lin Rusong pulled Lin Yuhuan aside to his study. When he heard that Lin Yuhuan had already gathered evidence proving the other party was a spy and planned to dismiss them the next day, he was satisfied.

Lin Rusong and Lin Yuhuan went downstairs together and only noticed a visitor in the living room upon arrival.

He wasn’t exactly a close friend, just someone they'd done business with. However, Lin Rusong had heard that the other party recently faced some issues, causing money troubles—perhaps he was here to borrow money.

Seeing Lin Rusong, the visitor didn’t waste time. After a few words, he went straight to the point: "President Lin, I’m truly in a difficult situation today. I wouldn’t trouble you if I weren’t completely desperate. You have my word, I’ll repay you with interest."

With him being so upfront, Lin Rusong asked, "How much do you need?"

Seeing a real possibility, Cheng Kuang said, "Ten million."

"How much?! Say that again???"

"This isn’t just chutzpah—that's insanity."

Ten million was pocket change for the Lins. Lin Rusong wondered if Lin Tingyue’s reaction meant she was broke again.

Should he increase it? Both daughters had already graduated. Once they started working, they'd have plenty of bills to pay.

"Alright then."

Cheng Kuang breathed easier, but then came a bombshell.

"Dad, if you lend him the money, you'll never see that money again."

Lin Rusong paused. What was she talking about?

"This man, Cheng Kuang, got caught in nude video chats online!"

Nude video chats?

Cheng Kuang and Lin Rusong are of the same generation, already in their forties or fifties, yet he's getting up to such wild antics online?

Lin Chengyan got excited and actively handed popcorn to Lin Tingyue, who munched away happily while continuing her juicy gossip.

"And the person he was with was actually hired by his wife with money—seemingly a gentle, enchanting beauty, but in reality, a hairy dude in drag."

The Lin family all gasped in unison. The mental image was too gross to picture.

Still, they had already witnessed a man disguising himself like this in a previous scandal, thinking that was the peak. But apparently, there's always a bigger fish and a crazier story.

"Why did his wife hire someone to scam him through ? Because not only did he cheat, but he also had the nerve to bring his side piece home and slept with her in his wife’s bed. The next day, his wife noticed hair that wasn’t hers on the sheets... Who does something that nasty? Not just cheating, but so arrogantly blatant!!!"

Just imagining being in her shoes—if it were their own hair, fine, but someone else’s...

Lin Chengyan crushed the popcorn bucket. He’d have lost it right then.

Cheng Kuang gave Lin Chengyan a strange look. "What’s this about?"

Bai Yaxin quickly interjected, "Lin Chengyan, just eat your popcorn!"

Most importantly, don’t kill Lin Tingyue’s buzz.

Lin Chengyan: "..."

Fortunately, this little interruption didn’t stop Lin Tingyue from spilling the tea.

"His wife wanted a divorce but didn’t want Cheng Kuang to walk away unpunished, so she planned to clean him out and leave him with nothing. The money seemingly transferred to the account actually ended up in his wife’s hands."

"Unfortunately, she was caught just as she was about to close the trap. Originally, he planned to butter his wife up into giving the money back—after all, women just need a few sweet words to change their minds. But who knew his wife was ice-cold? She’s already dumped his sorry ass, taken his money, and is now traveling the world."

Though the method was convoluted, at least the goal was achieved.

"After learning he was broke, all of Cheng Kuang’s mistresses left him. Forget lending him money—they wouldn’t even spend a minute on him. Trapped and desperate, Cheng Kuang spent three days and nights in his empty house, racking his brains until he finally came up with a get-rich-quick scheme—"

Lin Rusong thought, could it be borrowing money?

And then skipping town with the cash?

"He’s going to catfish people too!"

Lin Rusong: "..."

Turns out he was still way too green.