Su Qiao froze. Did Lin Zixun mean what she thought he did? Because if so, then she had all the more reason to avoid him like the plague. After fighting with her father, her resources were already limited. She would have to be a complete fool to allow herself to become embroiled in a power struggle within the Lin Family.
Quickly, she ran through what she could recall of the prestigious Lin Family in her mind. In the past, she had been so much of a lovesick idiot that she had lapped up everything that Lin Zizhou told her without question. Therefore, she had always assumed that he was a favoured grandson that had a high chance of obtaining a large portion of the inheritance. She'd been proud of him for it too because it meant that his hard work, which he often used as an excuse to cancel their date plans, had paid off.
But now that she had regained a measure of objectivity, she could see the holes in his story.
Firstly, if he was all that precious to his grandfather, why did Lin Zixun have so much more say in the company? Was it really just because he was older like Lin Zizhou had complained about?
She'd have to be an idiot to not realise by now that the brothers had beef between them though.
"Oh?" she drawled, tone lazy as she leaned back against the tub. She had to be very cautious for now, since she had no idea what Lin Zixun wanted with her. It might be her bias against his brother colouring her perspective but her hunch told her that it wasn't anything good. "Did Lin Zong call me just to gloat? Did my rebelliousness accidentally benefit you? In which case, you're very welcome."
She wasn't being very friendly but it seemed like nothing she said could offend this irritating man.
"Thank you," he replied agreeably. "Intentional or otherwise, you have indeed assisted me."
Su Qiao hummed. She lifted an arm out of the tub to reach for her wine glass again, hoping to use liquor to soothe her frazzled nerves. She was confident that she had kept them concealed from Lin Zixun but only she knew the true extent of her nervousness. Until her issues with the Su Family were resolved, she didn't want to mess around with the Lin Family. She'd dared to throw Lin Zizhou's ring back in his face because she'd gambled that his reputation was more important to him than anything else and that he wouldn't cause a fuss about it.
But she didn't understand why his annoying older brother was here to muddy the waters. Worst still, she couldn't predict his next move and was powerless to stop him from making it.
"If all Lin Zong wanted was to thank me, I'd like to put down now—"
"Are you bathing, Ms Su?" Lin Zixun asked suddenly, pleasant like they were chatting about the latest fashion trends and he wasn't invading Su Qiao's privacy or anything.
The non-sequitur left her blindsided. Despite how aggressively she'd intended to portray herself this time around, she was still a socialite who was brought up with conservative manners. No wonder so many people accused this eccentric young master of being frivolous with women!
There were truly no good men in the Lin Family.
"I don't see why it's any of your business," she gritted out, now hyperaware of the faintest ripples of water, as though he would be able to hear even the quietest of noises and deduce even more embarrassing things about her.
"You're right, that was inappropriate of me, I apologise." He did sound sincere but she wasn't buying it. "I just didn't expect you to answer the call while enjoying a bath, I'd guessed earlier that you were—"
"If you finish that sentence," Su Qiao interrupted, unable to hold back her temper anymore. "I will never speak to you again, Lin Zong, I swear." Never mind that she wouldn't be able to figure out his nefarious plans in that case. Some things just weren't worth it.
"…I was just going to say I thought you were removing your makeup or something along those lines. I don't make a habit of guessing what ladies get up to in the washroom, Ms Su."
"…" Really? Could have fooled her. What even was the point of this conversation if not to infuriate her?
She sighed and downed the rest of the wine in her glass. "What do you want?" she said tiredly. She had so much on her plate, this was supposed to be a relaxing evening to help her unload some of it. Instead, she was starting to worry about her blood pressure and this body had barely hit the legal age for marriage.
"Well, apart from catching up with Ms Su? I wanted to ask for feedback on the hotel."
Su Qiao frowned, unable to process why the hotel she was in at the moment would be relevant to Lin Zixun of all people. As far as she knew, this business hotel wasn't anything particularly fancy. She didn't know whether the Lin Conglomerate was a hotelier but even if so, their branding had always been to deliver only the best of the best services to their clientele. A four-star establishment like this would fall far short.
Not to mention, Su Qiao recalled this hotel's standards dropping even further in the future. That didn't seem like something the Lin Conglomerate would condone.
"Lin Zong couldn't rely on a travel app?" she asked, folding her knees underneath her as she stretched up to reach for the bathrobe dangling on the hook above her. Now that he knew she was naked in a tub, she wasn't comfortable remaining in there for any longer, even though, logically, she knew that he couldn't see her.
"I wanted a review from someone trustworthy," Lin Zixun insisted. She heard more rustling of fabric on his end and wondered if he was settling back against the pillows. But what were the chances? It was a mere 10:30 p.m. Surely this infamous playboy would have a far more exciting evening planned than to lie in bed and talk what sounded like business with her.
Su Qiao cocked an eyebrow. She chucked her phone on the marble counter in front of the mirror and turned on the speaker before commencing her skincare routine. For a second, she debated recording the conversation to use as future leverage but regretfully, had nothing on hand to help her do so. Next time, perhaps. Something told her that this wouldn't be the last she heard from him.
"You think I'm trustworthy?"
Lin Zixun let out another one of those inscrutable laughs of his. "At the very least, you're brutally honest."
Su Qiao looked at her reflection. She was smiling but there was no mirth in it. "What's the purpose behind Lin Zong's question? Are you asking as a potential buyer, a potential guest, or just to beat around the bush because you haven't figured out how best to manipulate me into fulfilling some sort of hidden intention?"
Lin Zixun's dramatic sigh echoed through her bathroom. "I just called Ms Su trustworthy too, the least you could do is pretend to return the favour," he said mournfully.
Su Qiao rolled her eyes. "Thanks to your brother, I'll be terrified of ropes for the next ten years (1)."
"Ah, there's no helping that, although I must admit that I'm curious about what he did." She could imagine his ineffectual shrug. "But let's not talk about him. Ms Su, perhaps you could just answer the question? Pretend that I'm an annoying telemarketer if you must."
"I slam down the phone on annoying telemarketers, I'm just saying." But she considered the question seriously because it didn't seem like she was going to be able to shake him off otherwise. "The hotel is a bit run-down," she evaluated after brief consideration. "The service isn't poor but it isn't something to shout about either, merely adequate. If you're thinking of acquiring it, you would have to factor in hefty renovations. I can't think of a strong marketing point for it either as it's not located near any tourist locations. At best, it'll be a business hotel since its only feature is its promising location near the CBD. But there are already multiple competitors in the district, some of which have more luxurious architecture. All in all, the overall required would be substantial if you should choose to start this venture."
She'd chosen to reply from a business angle because she was certain that someone with Lin Zixun's wealth wouldn't be staying in this calibre of hotel should he come to B City.
But all Lin Zixun said to that was a quiet, discontented, "Even the suites aren't good enough…"
Su Qiao didn't know why he was so fixated on the state of her lodgings and didn't particularly care. "Is that thorough enough an evaluation? If Lin Zong wanted a full report, send me an external consultant contract and I would be more than happy to provide a detailed breakdown in exchange for an appropriate remuneration."
Lin Zixun sighed again, more softly this time. "As tempting as that might be, I think I'll avoid giving Ms Su a chance to bankrupt me. No, that would be all, thank you for helping me again."
Su Qiao lowered her cotton pad in and gazed at her phone in surprise. He was really done with all his nonsense?
"Then I'm putting down now?" she tried. Because no matter how rude she wanted to be, she wasn't dumb enough to slam down on the phone on CEO Lin.
"Yes, thank you for your time." Now that he'd seemed to have gotten what he called for—although frankly, Su Qiao was still bewildered because she had no idea what it was—Lin Zixun was more than amenable. "Have a good night, Ms Su."
"…you too."
The line clicked.
Su Qiao stared at the screen for so long that it locked on its own accord. Then, she reached for a face mask and tore open its packet.
If she'd walked into a trap, she couldn't tell. But whatever Lin Zixun's schemes were, since she didn't have a viable plan to counter them, there was no point in deliberating on them any longer. Tomorrow, she would have to deal with Bai Meixin, White Lotus extraordinaire. She didn't believe that anything was going to be more challenging than that.
Whatever Lin Zixun's schemes were, they could take the backseat for now.