Chapter 34

Chapter 34

*

Upon hearing this, Jin Mo shot up from the recliner, her heart plummeting.

Dan Jingchuan on the phone was telling Yin Jihong the same thing—the Jin family, for some unknown reason, had suddenly gone to the police station to file a report, claiming their daughter was missing. Even though Dan Jingchuan and his people knew the inside story and wanted to help suppress it, they couldn't stop the girl's own parents from showing up at the station to file a missing person report, nor could they keep playing dumb about Jin Yuan's whereabouts.

"They're already at the ICU doors raising hell, and you're just now calling me? You might as well hand me your badge—I'd get intel faster than you."

Even with shit hitting the fan, Yin Jihong still had it in him to roast Dan Jingchuan. "Quit living like some horny emperor—your brain's turned to mush from all that chasing tail."

Dan Jingchuan on the other end of the line: "..."

After hanging up, his face went flat, but not a hint of panic showed. He said to Jin Mo, "Come on, let's go see what kind of circus these bastards are putting on."

Yin Jihong knew damn well that Dean Wu wouldn't dare spill a word even if you gave him a hundred balls. The Jin family showing up meant they'd probably figured it out themselves.

The Jin family had made it to the top of the restaurant industry, so they weren't stupid. When Yan Qinxuan had come looking for them yesterday, they'd already smelled something fishy. After she left, they'd tried contacting Jin Yuan themselves, and when they couldn't reach her, they knew something was up.

After all, the Jin family knew that Jin Yuan was as close as sisters with Jin Mo and Yan Qinxuan. If even they didn't know where she was, their daughter was probably in deep shit.

As the elevator descended slowly, Yin Jihong glanced at Jin Mo beside him, her brow slightly furrowed. "Don't worry, with me here, they can't stir up shit. If they've got the nerve to trash this place, I'll have Dan Jingchuan toss the whole damn family in the clink."

The moment they stepped out of the elevator, the Jin family's shrill racket hit their ears.

Jin Mo looked over and saw Jin Yuan's parents, older brother, sister-in-law, and that good-for-nothing younger brother—all of them had shown up, looking like they were out for blood. If she hadn't known they'd never all shown up together like this before, anyone would've thought they gave a damn about Jin Yuan.

"Where's your director?! Tell him to get out here! And Jin Mo and Yan Qinxuan too! Something this big goes down and they don't even tell us? We're Jin Yuan's own flesh and blood! If something really happened to her, can those two even answer for it? Can your hospital bear that?!"

Jin Yuan's father, Jin Yang, stood in the middle of the hallway, hands on his hips, screaming his head off, his jowls jiggling with every yell.

Jin Yuan's delinquent younger brother, Jin Nan, had just turned eighteen this year. His hair was spiked up, his face loaded with a row of earrings and lip piercings, and he was decked out in ripped, chain-covered clothes, all slouchy and cocky. He suddenly spun around and slammed a vicious kick into the vending machine in the hallway.

*BANG—*

A loud crash rang out. The vending machine caved in with a big dent, and several canned drinks rolled out, clattering to the floor.

"If anything happens to my sister, I'll kill every last one of you!"

"Kid, you're a real badass, huh." Yin Jihong strolled toward them at that moment, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Why don't you take a swing at me first and see if you can put me down?"

The Jin family's gazes swept over to them in unison.

Jin Nan was about to blow up, but the second he locked eyes with Yin Jihong, he instinctively flinched back, then puffed out his chest and yelled, trying to save face. "What I do to them is none of your business!"

"How does it have nothing to do with me?"

Yin Jihong towered over him by a full head. Standing in front of him, his natural dominance and menace radiated off him. "The sister your family couldn't give two shits about is Momo's most cherished, treasured best friend, who she treats with total sincerity. Your sister's life was also dragged back from the brink of death by the doctors here. And the person backing all of them is me. So tell me, does it have anything to do with me?"

Jin Nan, who usually swaggered around S City like he owned the place, suddenly couldn't even squeak in front of him.

Seeing this, Jin Yang stepped forward and yanked Jin Nan behind him, meeting Yin Jihong's gaze with the most fake, groveling flattery: "Oh, if it isn't the Young Master of the Yin family! What wind blew you over here? Why would my daughter's little matter need your personal attention?"

"I'm a good Samaritan, how could I not get involved?" He let out a deliberate sigh. "After all, Mr. Jin, you're always strutting around with your two big sons, and I figured your family only had those two brats. That girl Jin Yuan was born unlucky—her parents might as well be dead for all they do for her. Only her two best friends worry about her day and night, so of course I've got to pitch in."

The second he finished, the Jin family's faces all went green.

With that one speech, Yin Jihong first compared the two grown men to brats, then basically buried Jin Yang and his wife six feet under. Not a single swear word, yet it cut deeper than any insult.

Jin Mo listened from the side, feeling hugely satisfied, almost wanting to clap for him. At the same time, she silently thought that if the Jin family's blood pressure couldn't take it, they might end up in the ICU themselves to keep Jin Yuan company.

Jin Yuan's mom was the first to jump up, pointing at him and screeching, "Yin Jihong! Don't you push it! What do you mean by 'parents might as well be dead'?!"

"Oh, Mrs. Jin, so you're still alive after all." Yin Jihong gave her a faint glance. "My bad. In Jin Yuan's four years of college, I never saw you show up once, so I figured both her parents had kicked the bucket long ago."

He said "my bad," but there wasn't a hint of apology in his voice.

Jin Yang was red with rage, his whole body puffing up like a tomato. But he was scared of Yin Jihong and the Yin family behind him, so no matter how pissed he was, he had to choke it down. He switched tactics and started fishing around: "Young Master, we're real grateful you're willing to help our daughter so much. But for you to care this much about her—there's gotta be another reason besides just being kind-hearted, right?"

Reading between the lines was easy. Though they didn't know the full story yet, Jin Yuan ending up like this was almost certainly over a broken heart. A guy showing up at a time like this, in their eyes, was ninety-nine percent likely to be the bastard who drove Jin Yuan to try to kill herself.

"Our family only has this one daughter. We never brought her out in public because we didn't want her getting too tangled up in things. Who would've thought she'd still fall into it and nearly lose her life? If word gets out, as a young woman, how's she supposed to show her face in society anymore?"

Jin Yuan's mom followed up: "Exactly! She's not even married yet! If this gets out, what decent family would still take her?!"

Jin Mo was completely disgusted by this family. She finally spoke up coldly: "Yuan Yuan is in this state, and you're still spouting garbage, still thinking about how to keep using her as a marriage bargaining chip. You're completely inhuman—you don't deserve to be called parents!"

She was usually so mild-mannered that for her to say something like this, she was genuinely furious.

The Jin family had been cold to Jin Yuan for years, and now with her life on the line, they were still scheming at full blast. It was a stark reminder of just how vile people could be.

Jin Yang glared at her: "Who the hell do you think you are to butt in here, you little girl? Think you're hot shit just because you've got your daddy backing you?"

"I don't lean on my dad out in the world, and I'm no little girl." Jin Mo looked at Jin Yang calmly. "You trash-talk women at every turn, so why don't your Jin family restaurants just stop serving female customers? Stop relying on women to make you money."

In the Jin family's eyes, Jin Mo was a gentle, refined young lady who'd never go toe-to-toe with anyone in public. For her to be this ruthless and sharp-tongued today, it had to be the influence of that Young Master standing next to her.

Before Jin Yang could fire back, Yin Jihong had already chimed in lazily from the side: "Turning away female customers alone won't cut it—you'll have to turn away the men too. It's the New Year anyway, so why not have Jin Family Restaurants shut down for two months to give your hardworking staff a break? What do you think, Mr. Jin?"

"Oh, and that little rant you just gave trashing women was truly spectacular. I'll have someone write you a killer exposé and put it on the trending list for you. Consider it a buy-one-get-one-free deal—no need to thank me."

The Beijing circle was small, and Jin Yang had definitely heard about Yin Jihong taking down those two factories just a couple days ago. He'd been privately thinking those two must've had their brains bashed in by a door to dare mess with him, never imagining he'd end up in the line of fire himself today.

He'd failed at extortion, and he sure as hell didn't want to lose the Jin family's bright financial future over a mere Jin Yuan.

"Young Master, you're joking, we were just—"

"You were just trying to fish for info so I'd foot the bill for Jin Yuan's whole future. You think I'm some sucker you can walk all over?"

Yin Jihong didn't even give Jin Yang a chance to grovel, cutting him off with an ice-cold expression. "I won't be that sucker, first because I already have a girl I'm crazy about, and second because I'm not such a coward that I'd let the woman I love end up in the ICU and not have the balls to own up to it."

Hearing that, Jin Mo instinctively looked up at him.

He'd just said he already had a girl he was crazy about.

She distinctly remembered that just a few days ago, when they'd touched on this topic, he'd said he'd never dated anyone and had no one he liked. Why had his tune suddenly changed?

Was it just to shut the Jin family up?

Jin Yuan's older brother, Jin Yu, stepped forward then and said to Yin Jihong, "Mr. Yin, don't get us wrong. We're not trying to make you pay for Jin Yuan's situation. But with Jin Yuan like this, as her family, we naturally want an explanation and the truth."

Yin Jihong ruthlessly called out their real intentions: "What you want is a sucker to foot the bill, and to see if you can sell her off for a good price, right?"

"I'd advise you to drop that idea right now. As long as Momo and I are here, you're not getting a single drop of blood money off Jin Yuan."

"Dean Wu, open the doors and let the dogs out." Yin Jihong turned and tilted his head toward Dean Wu beside him. "You let this many dogs in one day—might as well turn your hospital into a pet clinic."

Dean Wu: "..."

After verbally demolishing the whole group and throwing Dean Wu under the bus in the process, he completely ignored the Jin family's faces and turned to leave with Jin Mo.

Jin Yang watched their figures disappear into the elevator, his plump face twisting, his bean-sized eyes gleaming with hatred and venom.

"Post two men around this hospital." Jin Yang turned, suppressing his fury as he spoke to his eldest son Jin Yu. "See who else comes to visit that shameless bastard besides Yin Jihong, Jin Mo, and Yan Qinxuan."

-

Back in the VIP ward, the charged, ambiguous tension from before they'd gone downstairs had completely evaporated.

Jin Mo had been distracted ever since they'd stepped into the elevator, and Yin Jihong called her name twice, and she still didn't react.

Assuming she was still upset over the Jin family's antics, he said gently, "Momo, don't waste another thought on them. No matter what nasty tricks they pull, I'll find a way to shut them down."

She snapped back to attention, nodding slightly, but her eyes betrayed a barely contained urge to speak.

Yin Jihong caught that flicker of emotion. "What's wrong? Is there something you want to ask me?"

The feelings churning in her chest swelled, and she realized that since acknowledging her feelings, it had become increasingly difficult to hide them from him. Words that used to be so easy to bury deep down now felt like they'd spill out at any second.

"...Nothing." She paused, trying to sound casual. "I was just thinking about what you told Jin Yang earlier—that you've had a girl you like for a while."

Yin Jihong dropped his gaze, studying her face, a lazy smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he drawled, "Mm, wanna know if I was bullshitting him?"

She bit her lip and said nothing.

"Fine." He said, looking magnanimous as hell. "But first, you tell me what I did to you in Xinjiang this morning, and then I'll tell you what you wanna know."

"Since we're trading secrets, it's only fair we go back and forth, right?"

...

Forget it. She never should've asked.

Jin Mo gritted her teeth, shoving down the chaos in her chest, and clumsily changed the subject: "So how's the A+ deal going these past couple days? Any progress?"

Yin Jihong looked like he'd been waiting for her to ask. His eyes lit up instantly, his whole face radiating barely contained confidence. "Historic progress. The partnership plan's locked in, and legal's just ironing out the final contract terms with them. This deal's eighty percent in the bag."

Jin Mo's heart lifted too, genuinely thrilled for him.

She knew better than anyone how much effort was packed behind that casual remark—how many days and nights he and Yin Corporation's senior team had poured into it. This was the biggest battle since Yin Jihong officially took over Yin Corporation, and she wanted nothing more than for him to crush it—to win big and make a name for himself.

"The last twenty percent is all about negotiating with the authorities." Yin Jihong paused. "Getting them to finally cave will take some work, but I don't think they'll be tougher than those wolves at A+."

He snapped his fingers, his eyes brimming with confidence. "Pry open one layer at a time, and eventually you can lift the whole damn earth."

Jin Mo watched him quietly, her heart warming.

This was the version of him she loved most—radiant, razor-sharp, like the whole world would willingly kneel at his feet.

Yin Jihong glanced at his watch, his expression sobering slightly. "Momo, I gotta go. I've got a tough fight tonight—need to pry open a stubborn piece of iron blocking the road ahead... You probably know him too. He's on Uncle Jin's line—Fu Zheng."

Jin Mo nodded. "Yes, I know him."

Fu Zheng was the eldest son of one of the big families in the Beijing circle. Young as he was, he ran a thunderous, ruthless operation, already climbing to the top tier of S-city's system. Jin Ping had mentioned him before, calling him a man of immeasurable potential and an extremely difficult person to deal with.

Because Fu Zheng was cold and merciless, with zero warmth in him, people would bend over backward to avoid him whenever they could.

She'd also heard Yin Jihong mention that his earlier talks with Fu Zheng had ended badly every single time.

But for the A+ project to land in S-city, there was no getting around Fu Zheng.

"I'm heading out." He reached the ward door, glancing back again and again as he reminded her, "You and Yan Qinxuan rest well here. I'll be back first thing tomorrow morning. Call me immediately if anything comes up, got it?"

Jin Mo responded softly, then reminded him in turn, "You need to remember to take your medicine and get to bed early. I'll send you reminders."

The Young Master, usually so wild and defiant, was now obedient as a lamb. "Okay."

"Momo."

His hand already on the doorknob, he stopped again and turned back to look at her deeply.

The room's light pooled in his eyes, deep as a midnight sea, carrying a thousand unspoken feelings, heavy with meaning.

"The day the A+ matter is completely settled."

He paused, his voice low, each word landing clearly in her ears:

"There's something very important I need to tell you."

——————————

Author's note:

Tsk! Finally going to say it! Little puppy! Finally!! Almost forty chapters in! And still so ceremonial?? Insisting on waiting until A+ lands? What if your wife gets snatched away by Shen the Second in the meantime?? (Sang Jie! Warning you! Don't cause trouble!)

Tomorrow! We welcome the highly anticipated bonus update! Nearly 7,000 words coming tomorrow!! Hurry and praise hardworking Sang!! And everyone, leave lots of comments!!!

Also, today we have an old friend Fu the Jerk making an appearance! Our love story series is truly the best!