BTMDY Chapter 103

“Where’s Lin Shen?”

 

“He said five o’clock… it’s already half an hour past.”

 

“What’s the meaning of leaving us hanging here? Isn’t this rude?”

 

“Alright, alright, we’re not waiting anymore.”

 

In the VIP room of a high-end hotel, the well-known elders of the Lin family were all neatly seated at a table.

 

After Lin Pengcheng passed away, the Lin family, which had never been very united to begin with, suddenly became leaderless. No one could bind these people together or make them move as one.

 

On the surface, it looked like everyone was holding Lin Erbai and Wu Yingxia in high regard, but deep down, no one really respected them.

 

They were just keeping up appearances, pretending everything was harmonious.

 

To put it bluntly, after Lin Pengcheng’s death, all the power went to Lin Shen. Lin Shen, in turn, chose to sell all of Linhong’s shares except for the ones in the main company. Everyone got a slice of the pie, big or small.

 

The era when Lin Pengcheng ruled alone, with a hand that could cover the sky, was over.

 

Most of the Lin family’s wealth was still with Lin Shen, but the portions distributed to others, though smaller than his, were more than enough. With no one breathing down their necks, everyone could go out and feel like a big boss.

 

Anyone with shares could hold their head high and stand tall.

 

When one person rises, everyone around benefits.

 

People rise, and everyone else thrives too.

 

Once you have power in your hands, your mindset can easily change. For the Lin family, most of whom weren’t very educated, being flattered and treated nicely could make them feel tipsy with pride without even realizing it.

 

By now, whether leaving the main company was the right decision or not seemed to matter very little.

 

Today’s gathering was set up by Lin Shen, who had pulled everyone together. On the surface, it sounded noble: since Lin Pengcheng passed, the relatives hadn’t properly gathered. Being from the same branch of the family, relationships shouldn’t drift apart, so he invited everyone for a meal.

 

With words laid out like that, no matter how much anyone disliked him, they would have to show a polite face. So almost all the prominent Lin family members had shown up.

 

But the host, Lin Shen, was thirty minutes late.

 

After living the good life for so long, the Lin family members present couldn’t tolerate this. Soon, complaints started bubbling in the VIP room, growing louder and louder, turning quickly into a sense that Lin Shen had no respect, no bottom line, and was deliberately treating them like monkeys.

 

Lin Erbai’s expression grew increasingly unhappy. He was the first to take action and stand up, ready to leave. Just as he did, Lin Wangye stepped forward, smiling, and offered to pour wine.

 

“Calm down! Please, sit, have a seat!”

 

After calming Lin Erbai, Lin Wangye turned to everyone else, his face full of sincerity.

 

“Old Lin really had something come up at the last minute. He didn’t mean to be late. He’ll be here soon, so don’t worry, family!”

 

After all, in China, they say you shouldn’t hit someone with a smiling face.

 

From the very beginning, Lin Wangye had been waiting in the VIP room, greeting everyone one by one with a warm smile, his tone flawless the entire time.

 

So even though everyone there knew he was just a little sidekick in cahoots with Lin Shen, no one could openly show disrespect.

 

Lin Erbai, fuming with anger, finally had no choice but to sit back down.

 

After calming him, Lin Wangye grabbed his phone and dashed out, putting on the act of urgently calling Lin Shen. In reality, he just ran to the next room and stood in front of Lin Shen, who was completely absorbed in his mobile game.

 

“Stop playing already! Even that old man with white hair is fussing about leaving!”

 

“Ah, let them wait a little longer,” Lin Shen replied lazily.

 

“They’ll leave if you keep letting them wait!”

 

“Relax. Not a single one of them will actually leave,” Lin Shen said, leaning back in his chair, completely unbothered, his mind still on the game. He added casually, “They’ve left me hanging plenty of times before. Karma’s sweet, so I’m just enjoying it today.”

 

“Fine,” Lin Wangye said, utterly resigned, turning to add, “I’ll go over first. You finish this round and come right away.”

 

“Got it, got it. I know what I’m doing,” Lin Shen replied.

 

God knows if he actually knew what he was doing. Lin Wangye let it go and jogged back to the neighboring VIP room, only to find an argument in full swing.

 

After watching for a moment, he realized it was Wu Yingxia arguing with Second Aunt Lin.

 

The issue was about Linhong’s membership cards, which were originally usable at all branches of the shopping mall and mainly used to accumulate points for discounts. After the last official split, this system had been reformed: membership cards now had to be tied to a specific branch, and points could only be accumulated and redeemed there.

 

This was written into the contract, so while there were some operational effects, they weren’t huge—just a kind of perks system.

 

Before the split, the membership database was shared across all branches and the main store.

 

After the split, members were assigned to the branch where they signed up, each branch managing its own database, under a gentleman’s agreement not to interfere with each other.

 

The argument started because, when Wu Yingxia’s branch ran a promotion, somehow her team accidentally—or perhaps intentionally—sent the promotion to members of Second Aunt Lin’s branch as well.

 

Second Aunt Lin was naturally furious, thinking Wu Yingxia was deliberately poaching her customers.

 

They had argued over the phone that day, with Wu Yingxia claiming it was just a staff mistake. But seeing each other today, Second Aunt Lin still couldn’t swallow her anger, muttered some harsh words, and the fight escalated.

 

When middle-aged women argue, their voices inevitably get louder and louder.

 

No one in the circle tried to intervene—maybe they were afraid, maybe they didn’t want to—and just sat back to watch the show. Only Hu Haoyang held onto Wu Yingxia, trying to calm her.

 

If his own family wouldn’t step in, Lin Wangye certainly wasn’t going to.

 

Lin Wangye had watched, wide-eyed, as these people pressured and bullied Lin Shen after Lin Pengcheng passed away. He hadn’t liked any of them, and seeing the room descend into chaos now made him secretly laugh—so much that he didn’t even bother hiding it, just heartlessly enjoying the show.

 

It wasn’t until he caught a glimpse of Hu Haoyang out of the corner of his eye that he realized someone was staring right at him. The expression wasn’t friendly—the shifting, unpredictable look sent chills down his spine.

 

Lin Wangye felt an uneasy twinge in his chest, knowing he was clearly disliked, and quickly averted his gaze.

 

Just as Wu Yingxia and Second Aunt Lin were in a full-blown fight, almost ready to tear each other’s hair out, Lin Shen finally made his long-delayed entrance.

 

He pushed open the VIP room door and strolled in casually, a file tucked under his elbow. Noticing the ongoing argument, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly—a subtle, almost unreadable expression.

 

Instantly, the room fell completely silent. Even the shouting Wu Yingxia and Second Aunt Lin quieted down.

 

The reason was simple: the file Lin Shen carried.

 

The cover was bold and glaring, written in plain black-on-white letters, and he sauntered around the room before finally taking the head seat.

 

“Long time no see, family. I’m late, so I’ll start by punishing myself with a drink.”

 

Without acknowledging anyone else, Lin Shen picked up a wine glass from the table, tilted his head back, and drained it. He then slammed the glass down hard, the collision with the table producing a sharp, commanding crack that reverberated through the room.

 

Next, he pulled the file from under his arm, unclipped the side, and gave Lin Wangye a subtle nod.

 

Lin Wangye immediately sprang into action, hustling to the table to start spinning the lazy Susan.

 

Before he could even take the head seat, and before any food arrived, the round glass tray in the center was empty. Slowly spinning it, Lin Wangye watched as Lin Shen methodically placed one copy of the documents on it after another.

 

When the circle was perfectly filled, Lin Wangye stopped the rotation.

 

Under the glittering, luxurious crystal ceiling lights, the documents marked ‘Winning Bid Notice’ glared brightly, stabbing at everyone’s eyes.

 

“I, though unworthy, have secured the Huanghe Road commercial street project.”

 

The words landed, and the room fell into absolute silence. Every face looked terrible, especially Wu Yingxia, whose pale expression made her look as if she’d been gasping for breath for days.

 

She wasn’t highly educated and didn’t fully understand the significance.

 

But Hu Haoyang had been constantly reminding her over the past few days just how critical this project was. In all of Ningchang, only the Lu family had the qualifications to secure it. No matter what, Lin Shen shouldn’t have been able to get it.

 

Before, the whole family had been arguing about splitting up partly because they doubted Lin Shen’s ability and worried about being dragged down.

 

Now, after the split was successfully finalized, Lin Shen quietly took a massive slice of the pie.

 

Everyone in the room—including Wu Yingxia—felt the sting of watching Lin Shen profit while they gained nothing. The thought that they wouldn’t get even a fraction of these benefits made them feel like their hearts were being carved out.

 

The room remained silent, broken only by the sound of pages being flipped.

 

Even though the official stamp on the last copy was just in black and white, it made everyone’s eyes feel like they were bleeding.

 

When a winning bid notice is issued, the announcement is simultaneously posted on the bidding website.

 

Among the Lin family, only Lin Shen and Hu Haoyang understood the process. A few hours ago, Hu Haoyang had already seen the notice online. He’d been thinking about it ever since and still couldn’t figure out how Lin Shen had pulled it off.

 

Could Lu Chengxuan really have just given up?

 

Impossible. Such a huge, juicy project—how could Lin Shen have the audacity to snatch it?

 

Even if Lu Chengxuan didn’t want it, would anyone else in the Lu family just hand it over?

 

No matter how hard he tried, Hu Haoyang couldn’t believe it, couldn’t make sense of it.

 

The atmosphere in the VIP room was even gloomier and heavier than at Lin Pengcheng’s funeral. Lin Shen lounged lazily in his chair, watching it all unfold. After letting them stew for a long moment, he finally snapped his fingers.

 

“Waiter, bring the dishes.”

 

That single snap sounded like a signal before a battle, waking everyone in the room. Lin Erbai reacted first. Using his status as the eldest family elder, he stood up and slammed the table hard, sending a clatter of dishes and cutlery echoing across the table.

 

“You little brat! You’re scheming against your own family!”

 

At that reminder, the Lin family immediately recalled how Lin Shen had tricked everyone into the conference room to sign papers on the day of Lin Pengcheng’s funeral. Anger erupted. Voices rose, everyone attacking Lin Shen at once.

 

“Wow, you’re scheming against your own family right after your dad passed!”

 

“Pengcheng was such a decent man… how did he raise a traitor like you?”

 

“No wonder you were so eager to kick the family out back then!”

 

“Lin Shen, have you no shame?!”

 

…

 

Lin Shen closed his eyes and listened for a while. After some time, he stood up and grabbed the wine bottle in front of him, tossing it to the center of the table. He didn’t throw it hard, but the bottle shattered on impact. Red wine spilled like a small stream over the glass lazy Susan.

 

As the room quieted, Lin Shen gestured for Lin Wangye to stand where he was.

 

“Play the VCR.”

 

At his words, everyone instinctively turned their heads. Lin Wangye reacted quickly, raising the tablet he had prepared in advance and turning the volume all the way up.

 

On the tablet played the surveillance footage from the conference room on the day of Lin Pengcheng’s funeral.

 

Because the screen was small, not everyone could clearly see the images.

 

But everyone could hear Lin Shen’s voice coming from the video.

 

*

 

“I know that recently, many of you have been discussing Linhong’s future development, and most of you think I won’t be able to manage the entire enterprise effectively. Today, let’s be completely honest. As you’ve all seen, I hold the vast majority of shares in Linhong’s headquarters. Some people in the headquarters, for various reasons, still have to stay on the same boat with me.

 

However, many of Linhong’s subsidiaries can split from the headquarters under certain conditions. I believe over these past days, everyone has thought this through. Today, we’ll settle accounts. The lawyers are here, and if anyone wants to leave, I won’t stop you. We’ll sign everything face-to-face. From now on, the path is yours—go as you please.”

 

*

 

The video wasn’t long. As soon as Lin Shen’s words finished, it ended.

 

The room fell completely silent. No one spoke, no one insulted, no one questioned him.

 

The waiter came in, cleared the mess on the table, and began serving the dishes. Lin Shen scanned the room, observing everyone carefully. His tone was calm, neither heavy nor light.

 

“First, the path was yours to choose. The contracts were signed by yourselves. If at this point you still think there’s a problem, feel free to sue me. When disaster strikes, I won’t stop anyone from leaving. No matter how you end up, don’t come back to me. I’ve given what I should—I don’t owe any of you anything. And don’t talk to me about family. I’ve never considered you as treating me like a person.”

 

He paused deliberately for effect.

 

No one in the room reacted. Only he was standing.

 

After straightening his sleeves and the hem of his clothes, Lin Shen quietly looked down at everyone. His eyes showed no emotion. After a brief moment, he continued:

 

“My dad was willing to support you—that’s his business. I don’t have the patience to serve you. This is the farewell meal I’m treating you to. Goodbye.”

 

Saying that, Lin Shen turned and left without looking back.

 

The waiter continued serving the dishes. Lin Wangye packed up and followed Lin Shen out. At the door, he stopped, turned back, and gave a standard salute.

 

“The orders are already paid for! Goodbye, family!”

 

*

 

At the same time, in the Lu family villa…

 

With three light knocks on the door, Lu Chengxuan pushed open the study door and immediately saw Lu Chenghan sitting on the sofa with his eyes closed.

 

The computer screen in front of him was still on the bidding website.

 

Lu Chengxuan approached, expressionless, and said, “Dad, you called for me?”

 

Lu Chenghan held the prayer beads in his hands. His voice was slower than his fingers moving over the beads as he asked in a deep tone, “Did you do this on purpose?”

 

He didn’t open his eyes, and his face showed no expression.

 

Lu Chengxuan couldn’t read his thoughts, and honestly, he didn’t much care. He spoke directly: “I had no part in this bidding process at all.”

 

Lu Chenghan suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze was sharp, like an eagle’s claw, seeming capable of piercing through the very essence of anything. His eyes locked onto Lu Chengxuan: “You had no part in that bid document?”

 

“No.”

 

No one knew the nature of his own son better than Lu Chenghan.

 

He could see at once that Lu Chengxuan wasn’t lying about this matter. Yet, his eyes narrowed dangerously, and his tone grew cold.

 

“Lu Chengxuan, you don’t fully understand what you’re doing.”

 

Meeting his father’s gaze head-on, Lu Chengxuan’s eyes were firm, unflinching. He answered decisively: “I understand perfectly.”

 

“You had your mother help hide the accounts at Nais Bank, and you really thought I wouldn’t notice. I warned you not to act behind my back. Lin Wangye and Lin Shen are close—fine, I’ll consider that just friendship on his part. But you… do you think I can’t see what you’re doing? Or do you think the Lu family can’t manage without you?”

 

At this, Lu Chenghan’s voice deepened, the warning more pointed.

 

“This family has plenty of people with the Lu name. What I can give you, I can give to someone else.”

 

The threat was clear, veiled but unmistakable.

 

Given Lu Chengxuan’s intelligence, Lu Chenghan assumed he would understand completely and not misjudge priorities.

 

And yet, Lu Chengxuan didn’t hesitate. He chose his side without flinching, saying calmly:

 

“That is your freedom.”

 

Lu Chenghan didn’t seem to expect such a straightforward answer. For a brief moment, he barely recognized his own son.

 

Years of near-inhuman emotional control had taught him that even in extreme rage, he wouldn’t break down like ordinary people. Instead, he applied pressure methodically through punishment.

 

“Do you understand how costly the word ‘freedom’ is for you? I’ll give you one chance—answer me now: is this your last mistake?”

 

In all his life, Lu Chengxuan had never openly defied his father.

 

Yet this time, facing the offered step-down, he didn’t hesitate. He refused flatly:

 

“I have made no mistake.”

 

Instinctively, Lu Chenghan pressed his hand on the beads harder, producing a crisp, wooden friction sound, and said coldly:

 

“You better know exactly what you’re giving up.”

 

The study was silent. Lu Chengxuan stood motionless, expressionless, as if he hadn’t even heard the warning.

 

After a long moment, he responded with a single, calm “Hm” and turned to leave the study.

 

*

 

Meanwhile, the rest of the Lu family: This outrageous wealth… it’s finally our turn!!

 

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