Chapter 19: Why Are You So Foolish?

The next day, Hong Yu woke up at eight o’clock and began preparing breakfast. However, after he finished and laid everything out on the table, he realized Lin Shuyu hadn’t come out yet.

Thinking she might have overslept, Hong Yu went to her room and knocked for a while.

There was no response. After a moment’s hesitation, he quietly opened the door and stepped inside.

“Where did she go? She’s not in her room.”

Normally, according to Lin Shuyu’s habits, she would have been up and dressed by now, had her breakfast, and headed off to work.

“Mom, where’s Shuyu? She wouldn’t have left for work without eating, would she?” Hong Yu asked as Chen Lan stepped out of her room.

Chen Lan replied irritably, “Stop looking for her. Shuyu had something to do today and left early this morning.”

Hong Yu glanced outside, frowning. “The weather’s bad today, and it’s raining. Where could she have gone so early?”

It was no secret to Hong Yu that Chen Lan had a bad temper. He figured perhaps something urgent had come up at Lin Shuyu’s company and didn’t dwell on it.

Yet as the entire morning passed without Lin Shuyu returning for lunch, Hong Yu began to worry and called her.

Her phone rang, but no one answered.

Gazing at the rain pouring down outside, Hong Yu quietly entered Lin Shuyu’s room, found some receipts, and called her company using the number listed.

“She hasn’t come in? She hasn’t been to work all morning?”

Panic rising, Hong Yu paced back and forth in Lin Shuyu’s boudoir, ultimately calling Chen Dayong.

At that moment, Chen Dayong was in the middle of a business negotiation, his phone on vibrate. He hadn’t intended to pick up, but after his phone buzzed continuously for over ten minutes, he finally excused himself and stepped out of the conference room.

Seeing the caller ID, he answered in alarm.

“Hello, Mr. Hong? I was busy just now and didn’t see your call…”

Hong Yu snapped, “It’s been over ten minutes! If there had been an emergency, someone could have died by now!”

“I’m truly sorry, really sorry,” Chen Dayong apologized hastily—anyone witnessing this would be utterly stunned.

“So… what’s so urgent, Mr. Hong?”

Hong Yu got straight to the point: “My wife is missing. She left early this morning and hasn’t returned. She’s not answering her phone. Help me find her.”

“I’m giving you only three hours. If you don’t find her, I’ll have to go straight to Old Master Da.”

“You know what that means, don’t you?”

Chen Dayong hurriedly replied, “I understand, I understand. Don’t worry, Mr. Hong. I’ll do my utmost.”

“It’s not a matter of effort, it’s a must! I’ll wait for your news,” Hong Yu said before hanging up.

Listening to the dial tone, Chen Dayong’s brow furrowed.

He understood all too well what Hong Yu meant. Old Master Da had tasked him with looking after Hong Yu in Fengzhou, and now, only a few days in, something had happened. If he couldn’t resolve this, Old Master Da would definitely be displeased.

He was well aware of the chain of consequences that could follow and thought of the career he’d built over more than a decade. Without delay, he summoned his trusted aide.

“Xiaofei, I have to find Hong Yu’s wife immediately—the Lin family’s daughter, Lin Shuyu.”

His aide looked perplexed. “Fengzhou’s not that big, but it’s not that small either. Finding a living person right away isn’t easy.”

Chen Dayong knew that, but he was shrewd. Recalling the events of the previous evening, the Lin family was his first target.

He quickly picked up his phone. There was a Lin family relative who’d always been eager to curry favor with him—he’d gotten information from that side before.

“Hongda, do you know where Lin Shuyu is right now?”

Lin Hongda responded, puzzled, “Shuyu? She was kicked out of the family—I haven’t seen her… Oh, wait! I heard today that the old man persuaded her. She should be kneeling at the Zhang family’s doorstep right now.”

Chen Dayong was appalled. “Damn it, is everyone in your Lin family an idiot? How could you do something like this? Are you even a family? Is there any backbone left among you?”

Lin Hongda explained, “Brother Yong, we had no choice! Because of Shuyu and Hong Yu, all our shops, the food processing plant, and our office buildings were shut down last night.”

“The Zhang family came down hard on us, and since it started with Shuyu, she has to take the main responsibility.”

Chen Dayong cursed, “A family as big as yours, and you make a woman bear it all alone—what a fucking joke!”

Lin Hongda was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked in a conspiratorial whisper, “Brother Yong, why are you so concerned about Shuyu? Could it be… have you taken a fancy to her?”

“If that’s the case, you should’ve told me sooner! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you two get together.”

Lin Hongda was clearly scheming—if Lin Shuyu could latch onto Chen Dayong, the Lin family’s predicament would be resolved at once.

Chen Dayong was so angry he nearly coughed up blood. “To hell with you! What kind of nonsense is that? Lin Shuyu is your junior, and you have the nerve to talk like this?”

Lin Hongda shrugged it off. “Brother Yong, that’s not fair. With your status, Shuyu probably isn’t worthy of you. And you know her useless husband—if I, as an elder, look out for her, it’s for her own good.”

“Go to hell!” Chen Dayong was so furious he could barely speak. After a while, he spat, “If you want to die, don’t drag me along. If you dare spread such rumors, I’ll be the first to kill you!”

“Brother Yong, I wouldn’t dare! My lips are sealed, I swear,” Lin Hongda apologized repeatedly, though he thought Chen Dayong was only afraid of his own fierce wife.

After hanging up, Chen Dayong immediately reported back to Hong Yu.

When Hong Yu heard, he nearly smashed his phone in rage.

The Lin family!

What kind of family is this?

Making a defenseless woman go alone to the Zhang family’s home to apologize—did they really think he didn’t know what was going on in their heads?

Shuyu, how could you be so foolish!

The rain was coming down in sheets, yet Hong Yu didn’t even bother with an umbrella. He jumped on his electric scooter and sped toward the Zhang family’s neighborhood.

“Sigh—”

After being berated by Hong Yu twice, Chen Dayong couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

Xiaofei, his aide, asked anxiously, “Brother Yong, with Hong Yu in this situation, shouldn’t we send someone to help?”

Chen Dayong shook his head. “Didn’t we learn enough yesterday? If he doesn’t ask for help, why should I interfere? I’m not about to do a good deed only to be blamed for it again.”

Several cars were parked near the Zhang family’s place. Suddenly, one car door opened and Lin Shuqing stepped out.

She held an umbrella, her gaze disdainful as she looked toward the Zhang family’s gates.

At that moment, Lin Shuyu was kneeling outside, alone, without an umbrella, her head bowed, her whole body drenched.

“Lin Shuyu, if you’re here to apologize, then do it properly. What’s the point of hanging your head like that?”

“Let me tell you, my father’s still not been released. If anything happens to him, you and that useless husband of yours will be the first I sacrifice!”

“Lift your head! You should be grateful it’s raining. Otherwise, I’d make you cry until you died!”

Lin Shuqing had been there since morning, keeping watch over Lin Shuyu. Now, seeing her cousin barely holding on, she stepped out of the car and began berating her.

After a while, seeing Lin Shuyu remain silent, Lin Shuqing’s eyes shifted, and she spoke in a softer tone: “Why do this to yourself? You really don’t need to apologize in this way.”

“Aren’t you cold? Why not listen to me for once and go to Zhang Hao’s room to change your clothes and warm up?”