Chapter 79: Circumstances Outweigh One’s Will

The Lin family was in complete chaos, while Hong Yu sat in the Number One Heaven Room, savoring fine tea. Ever since his first visit to this exclusive suite, Hong Yu had taken a liking to it; whenever there was serious business, he preferred to hold meetings here. Of course, Chen Tiancheng, the owner of Tianlan Hotel, would never dare voice any objections. In fact, he was eager for Hong Yu to treat this suite as his personal base—if anything ever happened at Tianlan Hotel, surely Hong Yu would not stand by and watch.

That evening, Chen Dayong, Zhang Tian, Chen Tiancheng, and Xia Yurong had all arrived. Though everyone sat on the sofa with cups of tea that cost thousands of yuan, it was clear that none of them were in any mood to truly appreciate it. Hong Yu remained silent, and none dared to ask why they had been summoned so late, making the atmosphere tense and awkward.

Nearly ten minutes passed before Hong Yu finally spoke, “Miss Xia, could you report on Lin family’s activities at the banks today?”

He used the word “report”—did she even need prompting? Xia Yurong grumbled inwardly, yet maintained a respectful demeanor as she replied, “Mr. Hong, I have kept track of the Lin family’s actions today.”

“They split into several groups and visited banks all over our city and even in neighboring cities, but they weren’t able to secure a single cent in loans. Some members of the Lin family caused a scene, rolling on the floor and making a fuss, and were warned and expelled by the banks. Most didn’t even get to meet with senior bank officials and were simply turned away at the door.”

Listening carefully, Hong Yu frowned at how simply she summarized everything, then said, “Is that all? I know you have influence in Fengzhou, and you notified the local banks in advance. But can you wield the same power in neighboring cities? I doubt you have that kind of pull.”

Caught off guard by Hong Yu’s sharp questioning, Xia Yurong noticed the older men beside her struggling not to laugh. If it were any other time, she would have cursed them out without hesitation. Swallowing her anger, she replied softly, “As expected of you, Mr. Hong. You deduced it from just a few words.”

“It’s true the banks in neighboring cities wouldn’t do me any favors, but when it comes to the Hong family, they wouldn’t dare refuse.”

Hong Yu’s brows furrowed. “You revealed my identity? Haven’t I always emphasized how important it is to keep that under wraps?”

Seeing that he seemed angry, Xia Yurong quickly explained, “I’m not that foolish. I only hinted at certain things—I never mentioned you specifically. I just said the Lin family had crossed someone from the Hong family, and if they dared lend them money…”

“I understand, no need to explain further,” Hong Yu interrupted. “But you didn’t handle this well. In the future, if something like this happens again, you must inform me at once. Don’t act on your own!”

Hong Yu felt irritated; he hadn’t expected that dealing with such a minor family as the Lins would require invoking the Hong family’s name to intimidate others. Was it that Xia Yurong was truly lacking in ability, or did she simply prefer shortcuts over finding her own solutions?

In any case, in Hong Yu’s mind, Xia Yurong had lost considerable standing.

Chen Dayong and the others, seeing the displeasure on Hong Yu’s face, couldn’t help but smirk to themselves. At this table, there were no distinctions between men and women, only subordinates and colleagues; whoever couldn’t do the job would be replaced in an instant.

After a moment’s silence, Hong Yu turned to Chen Dayong, “Dayong, aside from the banks, how did your conversation go with that general manager from Happy Life Group?”

Chen Dayong replied quickly, “You mean Huang Jiajie, General Manager Huang. He’s easy to deal with. Ever since he received a call from Old Master Da, he’s been closely watching the Lin family’s contract. But he can’t take action yet—the contract was just signed, and it has a set term. He has to wait until the term expires before moving against the Lin family.”

“What’s the term?” Hong Yu asked.

“Because the Lin family needs to expand their factory, the first term is relatively generous—about a year, according to General Manager Huang. Otherwise, the Lin family wouldn’t have agreed to sign.”

“That’s too long,” Hong Yu said with a frown. “To wait a year for the Lin family? My time is precious; I don’t want to waste it on them.”

Zhang Tian stood up and said, “Mr. Hong, if you don’t want to wait, our companies can simply deal with the Lins directly. In Fengzhou, the Lin family isn’t much. In the old days I wouldn’t even let them shine my shoes…”

“And that includes my wife?” Hong Yu interrupted with a cold laugh.

“No, no!” Zhang Tian quickly waved his hands, terrified. “Please, Mr. Hong, don’t joke like that. I don’t have the nerves for it—I’d die.”

Hong Yu couldn’t be bothered to argue and went on, “The reason I don’t want you all to act openly is so my wife doesn’t get blamed. The Lin family already suspects I’m your pawn—if you step in now, it’ll only confirm it.”

Chen Dayong nodded in agreement. “Mr. Hong is right. But that means we have to wait. Even if Happy Life Group is a hundred times the size of the Lin family, once the contract is signed, we have no choice but to wait.”

After thinking for a moment, Hong Yu said, “All right, then. Have General Manager Huang put some pressure on the Lin family—scare them a bit and throw them into chaos. I don’t want them to have a single good day.”

The others exchanged glances.

For Hong Yu to go this far, the Lin family must have truly offended him deeply.

How could the Lins be so blind? With a true dragon in their midst, they treated him so poorly. Even if they were ignorant in the past, now that Hong Yu was showing some spirit, shouldn’t they at least reconsider their attitude? Even if they didn’t know the whole truth, didn’t the fact that he often mingled with these powerful men mean anything to them? The Lin family really was useless.

After talking a bit more, everyone went about their own business.

Chen Dayong immediately called Huang Jiajie. At that hour, Huang Jiajie was at home, watching the news and getting ready for bed, but he answered right away. After their conversation, Huang Jiajie promptly called Lin Jiahao.

Lin Jiahao was in the middle of a frantic family discussion about what to do next. Seeing a call from Huang Jiajie at such an hour, he knew things were bad.

The call was brief and to the point. Huang Jiajie didn’t say much—certainly not a warning—but Lin Jiahao understood. If there was a next time, Huang Jiajie’s tone would not be so polite.

The Lin family anxiously asked who had called. When they learned it was Huang Jiajie from Happy Life Group, calling at such a late hour, their hearts all sank. They knew now that things were truly dire.

At that moment, the worried Second Aunt glanced at Lin Shuqing and Fang Rui, noticing the two were sitting far apart. She quickly pulled Lin Shuqing over. “What are you doing sitting here? Go sit with Fang Rui!”

“Mom!” Lin Shuqing protested, “What do you want me to do? I spent all last night with him, apologizing—he kept me up half the night.”

Second Aunt replied impatiently, “If he’s still willing to spend time with you, it means he doesn’t care about the past. You must hold on to Fang Rui now. He earns tens of thousands a month—if the Lin family goes under, our whole family might have to rely on him.”

Lin Shuqing hesitated, anxious. “Mom, isn’t that a bit much? The Lin family still has some assets, right? We won’t have to live off that little money, will we?”

“You don’t understand. If the Lin family goes bankrupt, we wouldn’t dare use our money even if we had it,” her mother explained. “Enough nonsense. Go over there and say something nice to Fang Rui!”

Gritting her teeth, Lin Shuqing, realizing she had no choice, got up and went to sit beside Fang Rui.