Lin You: ...
Lin You looked at the smiling face in front of him, clenched his fist, and then relaxed it.
"Qiong Ge, please lend me the money due to our sibling bond. I promise I will repay you with interest, and we're family, I won't deceive you."
Lin Qiong sighed. "Why can't you understand?"
Lin You was surprised.
Could it be that what Fu Xingyun said downstairs was a lie?
"Are you really short of money?"
Lin Qiong glanced at the diamond ring on his hand. "I just really don't want to lend any to you."
Lin You...
Although Fu Xingyun had given him a gold card, he had never looked at the balance inside. He knew there was a substantial amount of money in the card, perhaps more money than he had ever seen in his lifetime.
But every time he spent money, it was for household expenses. In other words, it was their shared property as a couple. He had no right to lend it to someone else.
Lin You gritted his teeth but remembered Chen Han's words about not offending people. He suppressed his anger and walked away.
Chen Han approached him, asking, "How did it go? What did Lin Qiong say?"
Lin You's face turned gloomy. "What else could he say? He refused to lend it!"
Chen Han furrowed her brows instantly. "Did you offend him?"
Lin You recalled his submissive tone just now and his face turned green. "Did I offend him? I fucking apologized to him, and he still won't agree."
Chen Han's brows furrowed tighter.
After Lin Huafeng and Fu Xingyun finished their pleasantries, Lin Huafeng pulled Chen Han over to a secluded room.
"Lin Qiong won't budge!"
Lin Huafeng was surprised. "What do you mean won't budge? He won't contribute to the company?"
Chen Han whispered, "I had Xiao You go up to test him just now, asking for a loan. But Lin Qiong, that guy, won't lend a penny."
Lin Huafeng exclaimed, "Really?!"
Chen Han nodded, "What should we do? If Lin Qiong continues to be uncooperative, we won't be able to secure the funding."
Lin Huafeng nervously touched his shiny bald head and said, "I'll think of a solution. I'll talk to that kid later."
When Lin Qiong came downstairs, he saw Fu Xingyun sitting alone in the living room, with a fruit tray and some beverages in front of him.
"Why are you alone?" Lin Qiong raised an eyebrow and asked.
"They are preparing lunch."
Lin Qiong nodded and picked up a can of cola, taking a few sips.
"Hand over your hand," Lin Qiong suddenly spoke.
Fu Xingyun glanced at him and asked, "What's the matter?"
Lin Qiong blinked and said, "Just extend your hand."
Fu Xingyun hesitated for a moment, then extended his hand. Lin Qiong pushed the empty pull-tab ring of the soda can onto his little finger. "Hahaha, isn't it beautiful?"
Fu Xingyun, who wasn't wearing any rings, had ten empty fingers, except when he went out for work and wore the wedding ring. His lips slightly curved up as if being teased by Lin Qiong was something incredibly enjoyable. Fu Xingyun fought to suppress the smile appearing on his face.
Fu Xingyun glanced at Lin Qiong's smiling face and then at the pull-tab ring on his little finger. He coldly uttered two words, "Childish."
Lin Qiong corrected him, "This is romantic." What does this old man know?
After lunch, Lin Huafeng approached Lin Qiong. "Qiong, come here. Dad has something to discuss with you," Lin Huafeng said.
Lin Qiong walked over, but he could tell from the expression on his father's face that it wasn't going to be good news. "What is it?"
Fu Xingyun watched as Lin Qiong walked away, his eyes deep and inscrutable.
Lin Huafeng led him to the study. As soon as they entered, Lin Huafeng spoke with a serious tone, "Qiong, in the blink of an eye, you have grown up so much. It feels like just yesterday you were a little kid. But now, you're married and the head of your family. You can make decisions on your own, and Dad is proud of you."
Lin Huafeng rubbed his hands together. "You also know that our family business has been struggling in recent years, but Dad has raised and nurtured you to become an adult. So today, Dad wants to talk to you about..."
Before Lin Huafeng could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Lin Qiong, "So, are you here to talk to me about money or about feelings?"
Lin Huafeng realized that Lin Qiong had likely sensed his intention and said, "Both."
Lin Qiong hesitated and said, "That might not be possible."
Lin Huafeng: ?
Lin Qiong said, "After all, talking about money hurts relationships."
"... "
Lin Huafeng pressed on, "Then let's talk about money."
He then went straight to the point, "Before you got married, Aunt Chen should have told you to persuade Fu Xingyun to invest in our family. It's been quite sometime now, and the money should... of course, be loaned. Once the business picks up, we'll pay you back."
Lin Qiong responded decisively, "I won't give you the money."
Lin Huafeng furrowed his brow, "Why? The company has been struggling for more than just a year or two. Before you got married, you promised to help. But now? After all these years of our family supporting you, you're unwilling to contribute financially."
"No, it's not that I'm unwilling, it's that I can't," Lin Qiong said with profound seriousness, "I used to think that having money was happiness, but it wasn't until after I got married that I realized having money is a kind of evil. Money is the root of all evil. Once you have money, you'll be surrounded by a bunch of fake people who are only after your money, and some will even deceive you with sweet words to make you lose your way."
Lin Huafeng looked at him blankly.
Lin Qiong puffed up his chest, "Money is evil and painful, so let me bear it all by myself."
Lin Huafeng said numbly, "Speak in plain language."
Lin Qiong softly uttered two words, "No loan."
"... "
Lin Huafeng took a deep breath, feeling frustrated. "Xiao Qiong, I'm not saying I won't repay you the money. Dad loves you the most in our family. When the opportunity for the marriage alliance with the Fu family arose, who did Dad give it to? Did I give it to your younger brother or sister? Dad always had you in mind, giving you the chance to step into the upper class and live a luxurious life."
Lin Qiong wasn't foolish. The so-called marriage alliance was essentially selling off their son, and now they were speaking so self-righteously.
"Has Dad ever missed your parent-teacher meetings? How many times has he missed one for your younger siblings? You never lacked food or clothing. Dad loves you the most. It hasn't been easy for him to raise you. It's about time you repaid me a little. I'm not asking for much, just this one time. We're going through a difficult time as a family, and you should lend a hand."
Lin Qiong responded, "Moral blackmail?"
Lin Huafeng's mouth twitched imperceptibly.
As long as there is no sense of morality, you can't blackmail me.
Lin Huafeng's anger surged within him. He couldn't restrain himself and asked, "Why is it so difficult for you to contribute some money?"
Lin Qiong remained calm and said, "I don't have money."
"Impossible, Fu Xingyun said you're the one in charge of the family affairs!"
Lin Qiong was surprised, "Did he really say that to you?"
Lin Huafeng nodded with a dark expression on his face.
Lin Qiong felt a sudden sense of relief and smiled contentedly.
Lin Huafeng, seeing that Lin Qiong seemed happy, quickly said, "Xiao Qiong, look..."
Lin Qiong chuckled and said, "Not lending."
'Bang!'
Lin Qiong and Fu Xingyun exchanged a glance outside the Lin family's gate. Clearly, they were being driven out. Lin Huafeng realized that he couldn't gain any benefits and kicked the two of them out of the house.
Lin Qiong didn't mind and pushed Fu Xingyun toward the exit. He glanced at the sky and noticed that it was getting cloudy. "Let's go, it looks like it's going to rain soon."
Fu Xingyun replied seriously, "The weather forecast says otherwise."
Lin Qiong smiled and said, "But the heavens say it will rain."
Fu Xingyun: ...
Lin Qiong continued pushing him forward, and the driver parked the car nearby.
Fu Xingyun looked at the road ahead and spoke, "What did you talk about with them?"
Lin Qiong thought for a moment and replied, "We didn't talk much, they just asked me for money."
Fu Xingyun glanced at him and asked, "Did you lend it to them?"
Lin Qiong looked at him as if he were an idiot and pointed to the top of his head, "If I had lent it, would we have been kicked out?"
Fu Xingyun smiled faintly, almost imperceptibly, and said, "You're right."
When they were three meters away from the car, the driver hurriedly got out of the car with a troubled expression and furrowed eyebrows. He saw Fu Xingyun return and approached him, saying, "Boss."
Fu Xingyun asked, "What's the matter?"
The driver tightly gripped his hands and said, "Boss, I just received news that my wife is about to give birth in the hospital. The expected due date was the day after tomorrow, but it happened earlier. I... I would like to ask..."
Lin Qiong looked at the man and said, "Go ahead."
The driver was taken aback. Lin Qiong continued, "Go ahead, it's a big event for your wife to give birth. Hurry up and go."
The driver glanced at Fu Xingyun, who didn't object. Lin Qiong waved his hand again, signaling the driver to leave. Watching the driver's departing figure, Lin Qiong couldn't help but utter two words, "That's good."
Having a family gives you a sense of belonging.
Then Lin Qiong looked at the car and then at Fu Xingyun. He didn't know how to get back to the house. Fu Xingyun looked at him and asked, "Do you have a driver's license?"
Lin Qiong rummaged through his pocket and indeed found his driver's license while looking for his identification earlier. In fact, he had also obtained a driver's license in his previous life, but he had only driven a few times.
"I do."
"You drive?," said Fu Xingyun.
Lin Qiong hesitated for a moment and said, "I can, but it might be a bit slow."
The man didn't pay much attention to his comment.
Lin Qiong was afraid of not knowing how to operate certain things on the road, so he had Fu Xingyun sit in the passenger seat to guide him if needed. He started the car and nervously drove onto the road. After five minutes, Fu Xingyun silently grabbed the handle. Lin Qiong felt nervous as well.
"Lin Qiong,"
he quickly glanced at the man, "What's wrong?"
Fu Xingyun said, "Do you see the sedan ahead?"
Lin Qiong nodded, "Yes, I see it."
The man's cold voice came from beside him, "Step on the gas, crash into it!"
Lin Qiong felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head, his scalp tingling. "That doesn't seem right," he said.
Fu Xingyun's voice was louder and more forceful than before, "Then hit the brakes!"
Lin Qiong: ...
The journey that should have taken half an hour ended up taking nearly an hour and a half to reach home. As expected, it started raining.
It was heavy, just like the day Lin Qiong asked his own father for money.