With so much happening at home, Lin Shen obviously couldn’t focus on his studies anymore. After explaining the situation to the school, he officially applied for a leave of absence.
Once the school understood the full story, considering the unique nature of his major and his family situation, they approved his request, citing ‘major family emergency and entrepreneurial needs.’
Just like Lu Chengxuan had said, the priority now was to stabilize the shareholders and investors of the headquarters.
When Lin Shen actually started getting involved in the company’s affairs, he was a bit surprised.
Since Xie Ying’s death, Lin Pengcheng had been too eager to expand quickly, but it hadn’t brought the returns he expected. Funds had gotten tight, and the upward momentum of Linhong had stalled.
Lin Shen had expected the headquarters to be in total chaos.
But things weren’t nearly as bad as he imagined. The branch offices, for the most part, ran themselves while supporting their own teams, with management hired externally. Although they followed Lin Pengcheng’s directives on major matters, each branch operated differently. Everyone had their own ideas and methods; nothing was fully centralized.
Linhong Commercial Headquarters, however, was directly under Lin Pengcheng’s personal management.
All the shareholders here had been the original partners who started the business with Xie Ying and Lin Pengcheng. The top executives were all highly capable professionals, with no relatives relying on connections to get in.
Even though the backbone of the company had collapsed, and the headquarters was filled with unease, the operational ecosystem didn’t fall apart. As long as everyone did their job, the company could still function normally.
Naturally, with Lin Shen’s age and experience, many people weren’t happy seeing him leap straight to chairman.
But when he sat in that office chair, he didn’t just have a paternity test in hand—he also held Lin Pengcheng’s final will. More importantly, he controlled the largest share of the company.
So for the people at headquarters, there were only two options:
Either swallow their pride, leave behind years of experience and status, and quietly step aside.
Or confront him.
On the day of Lin Pengcheng’s funeral, Lin Shen didn’t leave a single relative untouched—everyone saw it with their own eyes. He didn’t spare anyone with the Lin surname, let alone the others.
Even if people had doubts about his abilities, there was nothing they could do. They had no choice but to follow his lead… for now.
Better to let Linhong Commercial limp along under this aimless rich second-generation kid for a while than collapse instantly, right?
Rumors that the Lu Group might buy out the headquarters circulated quietly, but the departments that usually picked up such news—the project team and finance—hadn’t heard a word.
Lin Shen paid them no mind. He held back-to-back meetings every day, issuing orders to every department, officially kicking off the bidding project for the Old Town area on Huanghe Road.
The sheer scale of the project instantly had everyone running ragged.
While the entire company scrambled, they couldn’t help feeling like they were dreaming. Anyone in this business knew that the public bidding in the Old Town on Huanghe Road wasn’t just a simple project—it was about creating a new central business district in the heart of Ningchang City. Whoever won would basically sit on a gold mine.
When Lin Pengcheng was alive, he had thought about this project too and had even started preparing the bid documents.
It was a normal idea.
Even if everyone quietly assumed that the project would almost certainly end up in the hands of the Lu Group, it was still worth taking a shot. Even losing the bid was better than just handing it over without a fight.
But Lin Shen—a college student who hadn’t even finished school yet, a brand-new company boss—approached the project with an all-or-nothing determination. He threw every bit of money and energy into it, going all in.
Such near-blind confidence was genuinely frightening to everyone else.
And then, as fate would have it, Lu Chengxuan appeared in the meeting room that day.
This presence lingered in the minds of everyone at Linhong headquarters and within the Lin family, subtly sending a complicated signal that no one could fully read.
Some couldn’t help but wonder: Was Lin Shen so confident because he’d gotten reliable information from Lu Chengxuan, knowing he could snatch the project from the Lu family’s hands?
But if that were true, the shocking part wouldn’t be Lin Shen—it would be Lu Chengxuan.
No sane person would ever do something like that.
As for Lin Shen himself, he revealed nothing outwardly. No matter how much speculation it stirred, people could only keep their doubts in their minds, watching to see what kind of storm he would stir up in the end.
Lin Wangye had his own classes, but when he didn’t, he went to the company to help Lin Shen with errands, staying late into the night with him. By summer vacation, he was living at the company, working side by side with him every day.
The company shareholders soon realized that Lin Shen wasn’t the spoiled playboy they had assumed.
Although he was inexperienced and not as efficient as Lin Pengcheng, his decisions—big or small—never went wrong.
Even some of the mundane, half-hearted marketing plans that Lin Pengcheng might have just glanced at and approved were ruthlessly dissected by Lin Shen. He would pinpoint the problems with surgical precision and send them back to be redone without a hint of mercy.
Linhong’s difficulties were rooted in changes to the broader environment.
Online shopping was booming, trade center profits were declining, and profit margins were shrinking—but it wasn’t a loss yet.
Otherwise, the Lin family wouldn’t have been in such a rush to escape.
With proper management, even if online shopping eventually became the mainstream, the company could still make money.
After inheriting a massive fortune and controlling shares, Lin Shen already had wealth beyond ordinary imagination. No one could touch him; he could have easily settled into a life of comfort, lying back and spending freely every day.
But instead, he threw himself into solving Linhong’s problems.
And it wasn’t just a passing effort—he lived and breathed the company, compressing his rest time more than anyone else.
The shareholders, led by Elder Zheng, were quickly stabilized.
The more difficult challenge was the investors. These people had put money into Linhong, but unlike the shareholders, they weren’t deeply tied to the company. When the main support fell, their first thought was to cut their losses and run.
Lin Shen was running around like his head was on fire, calling investors every day to check in, invite them to meals, coax and even beg for a little patience.
These were real capital players; whether they pulled out or stayed could hinge on a single thought.
No matter how proud a person usually was, when it came to a matter like this, they had no choice but to sit at the table, smile, and drink.
Lin Shen knew that as long as he could secure the Old Town project on Huanghe Road, the investors wouldn’t run. If anything, they might even increase their investment. So from the very start, his goal wasn’t to lock them in—it was to ask for a chance, to buy time until the bidding results came in, and then let them decide whether to stay or go.
People’s hearts are made of flesh, after all.
Considering Lin Shen was young, orphaned, and carrying such a heavy burden, the investors were willing to give him this opportunity over clinking glasses and exchanged toasts.
Lin Shen didn’t trust anyone else, so he only brought Lin Wangye along when dealing with social obligations.
No one at the company knew that he hadn’t truly secured the investors’ commitment. At best, he had just applied for a temporary reprieve.
From their perspective, all the investors Lin Shen met with had stayed. Some even brought in two new investors.
The employees felt like they were dreaming—half of them were ready to pop champagne, huddle together, and sing ‘miracles happen.’
Except for Lin Wangye, no one knew that Lin Shen drank himself dizzy at these dinners, running to the bathroom and almost vomiting bile, only to wash his face and go back to toast the investors as if nothing happened.
Lin Wangye felt particularly uneasy, gloomy every day, finally understanding how his father had ruined his health in the previous life.
But there was no other way. Resources were always in the hands of a few, and these social obligations were one of the few ways to access them. Lin Wangye had no choice but to run around with Lin Shen, building connections and pulling in investors—even if most of the time he couldn’t contribute much, he did his best to handle whatever he could in terms of the drinking.
To improve their financial standing, Lin Shen had to secure more investment.
He reached out to Sheng Tian, recommended by Lu Chengxuan, but the person in charge said they were abroad and could only meet in a week. Lin Shen didn’t have high hopes; he didn’t know anything about them, so he was just trying.
He put a lot of effort into contacting a tobacco company.
Everyone knew the tobacco industry was loaded with money, and getting in with the right people could at least fatten the wallet a bit.
As evening approached, Lin Shen finished his tasks and was about to leave early to meet the tobacco company’s boss. The second he stood up from his chair, his legs went weak, and a cold sweat broke out all over his body.
Before he could react, everything went black, and he collapsed.
He woke up again in the office’s adjacent lounge.
The moment Lin Shen opened his eyes and regained consciousness, the world spun violently, and a stabbing pain shot through his head. He gasped sharply, making a ‘hiss’ sound, and squeezed his eyes shut to steady himself.
A moment later, when he opened them again, Lin Wangye was there, worry etched across his face.
“What time is it?” Lin Shen asked hoarsely.
“Seven thirty-five.” Lin Wangye frowned and pushed him back down when he tried to sit up. “The doctor said you’ve been overworking. You can’t keep going like this—you’re at risk for heart and brain vessel problems if it continues.”
“I know.”
Still, Lin Shen tried to get up, anxious. “I have a meeting with an investor. If I don’t get there now, I’ll be late.”
Lin Wangye frowned deeply and pressed firmly on him. “You need to rest. You can’t go. Otherwise, you could faint again. Don’t play with your health—just call and reschedule.”
“Play with my health? You know how hard I worked to get them to agree to meet me. If I bail, there won’t be a next time.”
Lin Shen felt helpless and grabbed Lin Wangye’s hand, trying to push it away—but his body was completely powerless.
He couldn’t even sit up, let alone walk.
Worse, Lin Wangye suddenly started crying.
“No next time… then so be it…”
When Lin Wangye heard Lin Shen had fainted in the office, he was nearly terrified. Memories from his previous life hit him like a boomerang, cutting deep.
Seeing Lin Shen still trying to insist on going out, tears poured uncontrollably, and he gasped while scolding him, “Do you think you’re made of iron? If you keep going like this… how many years do you even have left? You don’t… don’t have to push yourself this hard… what’s wrong with resting a little…”
Lin Shen hated this scene most of all. Those tears, like a broken string of beads, flooded him, leaving him flustered. He lay back on the bed with a sigh and tried to reason, “This boss today is super rich. I heard he has a weird temper. I really can’t miss this meeting and offend him. I won’t drink at least, okay?”
“No!” Lin Wangye refused outright, wiping his tears with his sleeve. “I’ll go for you… explain the situation properly, apologize, and see if you can meet next time. If not, then let it go…”
Lin Shen had indeed not had a proper rest for a long time. He couldn’t get back into the right state to meet a client so quickly. Considering Lin Wangye held the title of vice president, he reluctantly agreed: “Fine, you go. They’re probably already there. I’ll call and explain first.”
“Then stay here and rest. Don’t go anywhere.”
With that, Lin Wangye tucked the blanket around him, turned the air conditioner up a few degrees, and hurried out of the lounge.
Lin Shen tested himself and realized he still had no strength. He had no choice but to lie back obediently, picked up the phone on the bedside table, and called to explain. When he sensed the other person’s tone grow cold as they hung up, he anxiously rubbed his temples and, after hesitating for a long moment, finally dialed Lu Chengxuan’s number.
Following Lin Shen’s address, Lin Wangye arrived at the target hotel, guided by the staff, and entered the VIP room.
The room was tastefully decorated, with a round table of moderate size. Two people were seated: a slightly overweight man in the main seat and a professional-looking woman beside him, likely a secretary or assistant.
When Lin Wangye entered, they were already eating. They only glanced briefly at him and then went back to their meal without another word.
The atmosphere in the room was noticeably cold.
Once the waiter left, Lin Wangye took a deep breath and stepped forward, bowing deeply with eyes full of apology. “Mr. Wang, Mr. Lin is feeling unwell and couldn’t make it. I’m very sorry for taking up your time.”
He placed the items he was carrying on the table and bowed again. “I truly apologize and hope you’ll understand.”
No matter how many excuses he had, missing the meeting was still a fact. In an apology, cleverness wouldn’t work; Lin Wangye could only show complete sincerity.
Mr. Wang glanced at the Moutai on the table. Seeing Lin Wangye still bent over and not rising, he said lightly, “I hear excuses like this all the time. Don’t try to fool me. Consider this a simple meal—don’t bring up business at all. And there won’t be a next time for a dinner with your company.”
Lin Wangye pressed his lips together and nodded. “Understood. I’m sorry for causing any displeasure.”
Mr. Wang didn’t respond further, clearly unwilling to say more.
Seeing this, Lin Wangye abandoned any thought of arranging another meeting. He silently opened the Moutai he brought, poured it for Mr. Wang, and then pulled out a chair to sit, carefully eating without making a sound.
The meal was almost impossible to swallow.
The only small comfort was that Mr. Wang didn’t refuse the poured drinks. He acted naturally, eating as if nothing had happened, showing he wasn’t too angry—though it was almost certain that he wouldn’t work with Linhong again.
Lin Wangye didn’t dare speak at all. He stayed silent until the meal was nearly finished. Mr. Wang casually picked up a cigarette, holding it between his left fingers. Sitting to his left, Lin Wangye was suddenly hit by the smoke, covering his mouth and turning away to cough.
When he finally settled down again, he realized Mr. Wang was watching him.
“You’ve never smoked?” Mr. Wang raised an eyebrow lightly.
Startled by the sudden question, Lin Wangye quickly nodded. “Yes, my family doesn’t allow it.”
Hearing this, Mr. Wang laughed heartily, leaning slightly toward him in his chair and speaking with interest: “How old are you? Lin Shen told me he sent your company’s vice president.”
“I’m 22,” Lin Wangye said, suddenly nervous, worried he might be misunderstood. “But Mr. Wang, I just look young. I’m not a child.”
Mr. Wang found it even more amusing. “Not a child, and yet your family controls you this strictly? So big and still no smoking? And you only poured me the wine—don’t drink or smoke at all?”
Lin Wangye wasn’t against drinking—he just hadn’t dared today. But he really didn’t like the smell of smoke; he had never smoked in both his lives.
Seeing Mr. Wang willing to chat, Lin Wangye scrambled to find something to say, appearing embarrassed. “Honestly, I think my family is too strict. Even now, I don’t dare touch anything. Deep down, I still feel rebellious, always thinking about tattoos, smoking, and crazy hairstyles.”
Perhaps because he had been through the same stage, Mr. Wang laughed heartily after hearing this. He took a drag of his cigarette and nodded approvingly: “Too strict is no good. No man goes without smoking.”
Then Mr. Wang turned to the secretary beside him.
“Nowadays, young girls all like the smell of tobacco, don’t they?” he said casually.
The secretary smiled immediately and nodded in agreement.
Seeing that cheering him up might open the door for a future meeting, Lin Wangye’s mind raced. He bit his lip and took the plunge: “Mr. Wang, then… could you teach me how to smoke?”
Hearing this, Mr. Wang immediately assumed there was a girl involved. He placed the cigarette and lighter in front of Lin Wangye and said with delight, “Sure, give it a try.”
Lin Wangye picked up the pack and examined it carefully. As he pulled out a cigarette, he said, “New packaging? It looks different from what’s usually on the market.”
“Not new packaging,” Mr. Wang corrected him. “It’s a new product. Not even released yet.”
“Ah, I see.”
Lin Wangye nodded, said nothing more, and placed the cigarette in his mouth, lighting it with surprisingly skilled movements.
He took a tentative puff, then exhaled immediately, frowning in confusion. “It… doesn’t feel like anything. What’s the point?”
“Of course you don’t feel anything that way,” Mr. Wang said, laughing at his clueless expression. “If it doesn’t reach your lungs, there’s nothing to it. Do this: after drawing smoke into your mouth, inhale through your nose. That way, the smoke and alcohol will reach your lungs, and when you exhale, you’ll feel it.”
He demonstrated in front of Lin Wangye and then gestured for him to try.
Following the steps, Lin Wangye did everything smoothly—until he exhaled and the hot smoke burned his throat. He bent forward, coughing violently, smoke streaming from both nose and mouth, tears quickly filling his eyes.
His innocent, youthful look made it even more pitiful. His eyes instantly reddened, clear mucus ran from his nose, and he scrambled desperately for a tissue, his face full of helpless confusion.
If he had pretended earlier, it was no longer necessary—this was real.
Mr. Wang found him amusing. Once he had recovered, he cheerfully asked if he would still rebel in the future.
Lin Wangye, of course, couldn’t back down.
He kept at it, coughing and gasping over and over. Every attempt left him miserable, but he refused to give up. Eventually, through sheer persistence, he actually learned how to do it.
The moment he exhaled properly, the sting of the smoke made his eyes water—but at the same time, he felt something entirely new.
He was fully awake, yet the slight numbness from the nicotine seemed to erase all his stress and worries. His nerves relaxed as if a weight had lifted—an intense sense of relief washing over him.
The next puff made him choke again, even wanting to gag. But at the same time, he couldn’t stop thinking about that fleeting sensation as the smoke burned past his throat.
Lin Wangye sat there holding the cigarette, staring for a long time at the ash slowly falling from the lit tip, the curling smoke drifting upward in the opposite direction, lost in thought.
In that moment, he suddenly began to understand why smoking could be so harsh yet still addictive.
The images of his father smoking in two different timelines overlapped in his memory—the way he held the cigarette, even the motion of lighting it, was shockingly similar.
He blinked rapidly, and his nose suddenly ached.
It wasn’t the smoke that had caused it.
Mr. Wang studied him for a moment, then moved the cigarette from his left hand to his right. He leaned back in his chair, lifted his glass, and drained it in one go.
“Looks like I shouldn’t have taught you without thinking. I’ll punish myself with a drink.”
Lin Wangye, a beat behind, quickly stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, poured himself a drink to match, and after drinking, quickly added, “It’s good tobacco. Thank you, Mr. Wang.”
Mr. Wang waved his hand, signaling it wasn’t necessary to say anything. Then he asked, “Lin Shen really is sick?”
“Yes,” Lin Wangye nodded eagerly and explained truthfully. “You’ve probably heard—his father passed away just over a month ago, and it was sudden. He’s had so many things to handle recently, barely any rest. Today, after finishing work and getting ready to come here, he suddenly fainted.”
Mr. Wang didn’t respond immediately. He smoked the rest of his cigarette, stubbed it out, and slowly stood.
“This meal was fine. Let him arrange a time with me himself.”
Lin Wangye’s heart leapt with joy. “Thank you so much, Mr. Wang. We really appreciate it.”
Entering the hotel, he had never imagined this would end on such a positive note. Overjoyed, he swiped the card to pay, beaming as he escorted Mr. Wang to the parking lot.
Before getting into the car, Mr. Wang took out the half pack of cigarettes.
“This new product is very strong—designed for experienced smokers, completely unsuitable for beginners. I originally intended it to discourage you, but I didn’t expect you to actually learn.”
He tapped the words ‘Smoking is harmful to health’ on the pack with his fingertip and handed it to Lin Wangye.
“Try this, and you’ll find the milder cigarettes on the market even easier to get addicted to. Keep it as a reminder for yourself.”
Lin Wangye took the pack, thinking that Mr. Wang really was as strange as his father had described.
The initial annoyance at being stood up was genuine.
And the sincere advice afterward was genuine too.
Lin Wangye thanked and apologized again, politely seeing him off and watching him drive away.
Back on the roadside waiting for a taxi, Lin Wangye stared at the pack for a long time, the doctor’s warnings replaying over and over in his mind.
Almost instinctively, he ran to a convenience store, bought a lighter, and lit a cigarette, sitting on the curb.
The tip of the cigarette glimmered faintly, and the pure white smoke slowly rose toward the stars. Lin Wangye looked up at the sky, lost in thought, wondering what exactly he had changed in starting over.
He couldn’t figure it out, even as the cigarette burned down to the end.
A taxi drove past. Lin Wangye stood up to hail it, when suddenly a car horn blared sharply beside him, making him jump.
Instinctively, he turned his head—and through the windshield, seeing Lu Chengxuan almost made him hear his own heartbeat ‘skip a beat,’ deafeningly loud.
His first reaction was to drop the cigarette and stomp it out with his foot.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
