In the end, Shao Zhenbang still didn’t discuss the inheritance distribution with Lin Yushu.
Perhaps he already considers him as a part of his future family and finds it inconvenient to talk to him personally about matters related to their interests.
Returning from the second floor to the first floor, Lin Yushu had just stepped out of the elevator when Shao Guangjie grabbed his wrist and led her to the restroom, far away from the crowd.
The first-floor restroom did not have a shower function. The cramped space only had a toilet and a sink, and after squeezing in two big men, the heavy wooden door almost couldn’t be closed.
Lin Yushu had to retreat to the corner between the wall and the sink, and only then did Shao Guangjie successfully close the door and lock it.
“I just asked Auntie about it, and my grandfather actually wants you to be his grandson-in-law?”
Lin Yushu was still thinking about how to hide his conversation with Shao Zhenbang when he realized that Shao Guangjie was well-informed and had already found out about it.
He stepped out of the corner and spoke casually, “The old master just said it casually.”
“You know that’s not true.” Shao Guangjie approached assertively, pressing Lin Yushu against the sink, breaking the relaxed atmosphere he had deliberately created.
“Mr. Shao,” Lin Yushu slightly frowned and leaned back, using one hand to support himself on the sink to maintain balance, “you don’t have to be nervous, I haven’t agreed.”
“Did you refuse then?” Shao Guangjie took another small step forward, placing his hands on either side of Lin Yushu, imprisoning him within the space in front of his chest.
—Thank you, Old master. I will discuss it with my family and consider it seriously when I go back.
This was Lin Yushu’s reply to Shao Zhenbang.
However, Shao Zhenbang wasn’t easily fooled. He said, “I don’t have much time left, and I want to see the wedding of you two before I go. Make your decision quickly and reply to me by next Monday.”
“Not much time,” “before I go,” “wedding”… Lin Yushu found it hard to believe this wasn’t emotional manipulation.
Today was Saturday, which meant he only had two days to make a decision.
No, to be precise, he only had two days to think about how to reject the proposition reasonably.
Seeing that Lin Yushu didn’t answer, Shao Guangjie suddenly smiled and said, “You probably don’t like women, do you?”
Shao Guangjie had always restrained himself when it came to Lin Yushu’s sexual orientation, but this was the first time he made such a clear judgement.
Considering the sensitivity of the topic, Lin Yushu naturally wouldn’t reveal his stance. He furrowed his eyebrows and threw the question back, “Mr. Shao, what do you mean by that?”
“Did I say something wrong?” Shao Guangjie leaned close to Lin Yushu’s ear and whispered, “Do you know that there’s a saying ‘birds of a feather flock together’?”
Lin Yushu clenched his teeth, trying hard to suppress the urge to push Shao Guangjie away with his knee.
This person clearly swings both ways. What’s with this “birds of a feather” nonsense?
It seemed that merely throwing the question back wasn’t enough. Lin Yushu leaned back a bit, creating some distance between himself and Shao Guangjie. He changed the topic and said, “If you’re worried about me competing for the family fortune, you can rest assured. I have no interest in the Shao family’s wealth.”
Due to the excessive backward lean and the need to suppress his emotions, Lin Yushu gripped the edge of the sink tightly, his fingertips turning white with the effort.
“Well, that’s not good to say, Manager Lin.” Shao Guangjie took a step back and looked at Lin Yushu, saying, “Even though your own family background is good, you insisted on working at Yong Xing. I suddenly don’t understand why.”
The way he said it made it seem like Lin Yushu was a scheming man, working at Yong Xing just to marry into a wealthy family.
“Mr. Shao,” Lin Yushu’s voice became stern, showing signs of anger, “I can tell you clearly that you and I will not become competitors for inheritance. There’s no need for you to test me in this way.”
Although Lin Yushu’s tone wasn’t pleasant, his words hit the mark. Shao Guangjie was the one who had been rude first, and that’s why Lin Yushu reacted this way.
At the same time, his response also indicated to Shao Guangjie: You’ve crossed my bottom line, so it’s best to stop.
“So, will you refuse this marriage proposal?” Shao Guangjie’s words carried a hint of inducement. It was evident that he had staged this whole situation just to hear Lin Yushu’s definitive answer.
“I will figure something out,” Lin Yushu said.
“You should have said that earlier.” Shao Guangjie visibly relaxed and took a step back again. “I don’t want Manager Lin to become my cousin-in-law.”
In fact, apart from the inheritance distribution, Shao Guangjie had another major reason for not wanting Lin Yushu to marry into the Shao family.
Because Lin Yushu would become the son-in-law of Shao Hexu, aligning himself with the Shao family’s camp, which naturally wouldn’t sit well with the people on Shao Hedong’s side.
“Now, can we go out?” Lin Yushu asked.
“However,” Shao Guangjie suddenly changed the direction of the conversation. Maybe since the previous conversation was already explicit, he saw an opportunity. He moved closer and asked, “If not as a cousin-in-law, would you consider being mine?”
As he said this, he shifted his right hand, which was propped on the sink, and moved it inward, gently hooking his thumb with Lin Yushu’s pinky, lightly rubbing against it.
Lin Yushu felt an electric shock and quickly withdrew his hand, warning, “Mr. Shao!”
At this point, in order to save Shao Guangjie from embarrassment, Lin Yushu offered him an escape route. “You don’t need to test me like this. I have no such intentions. I just want to focus on my work.”
Actually, this exit was somewhat forced. Shao Guangjie was talking about personal matters, but Lin Yushu forcefully shifted the conversation to work and even provided Shao Guangjie with a righteous reason—testing.
Whether or not to be a lover was clearly an invitation, unrelated to testing. Even Lin Yushu felt that his words lacked logic.
But he said it anyway, to save Shao Guangjie’s face. And Shao Guangjie naturally tacitly followed the exit path: “That’s good.”
As Lin Yushu watched Shao Guangjie calmly leave, he suddenly realized that perhaps Shao Guangjie had never anticipated an awkward situation when he extended the invitation. Shao Guangjie knew that Lin Yushu was a level-headed person who would actively find a way to avoid awkwardness.
In other words, he knew that Lin Yushu had a strong sense of being a working-class individual.
Thinking about this, Lin Yushu became even more furious.
After running several laps with Wowo in the nearby green area that evening, Lin Yushu was exhausted and finally ran out of energy to be angry.
He took a shower at home, sat on the couch, watched TV, and groomed Wowo’s fur. The news headlines were cycling on the television. Wowo sprawled on the couch, front paws comfortably resting on its chest, and its hind legs spread wide open, exposing a part that would need pixelation if it were uploaded to a video website.
“You’re just as shameless as your dad,” Lin Yushu combed Wowo’s fur while making the elderly Wowo feel so comfortable that even its double chin was visible.
At that moment, a familiar name drifted in with the news. Lin Yushu paused his grooming and looked at the TV screen. It was Yu Xiuzheng who had won the Best Actor award in a heavyweight domestic film, becoming the youngest ever recipient of that award.
“I think it’s better if you don’t come back,” Lin Yushu muttered to himself. “You might be dragged into a marriage alliance as well.”
Just as he finished speaking, his phone suddenly rang—it was a video call from Song Qiming.
With so much happening today, if Lin Yushu didn’t know that Song Qiming would call every day, he would have already called him.
“Have you eaten?” Song Qiming was still in daytime over there, and the background behind him had been introduced to Lin Yushu a few days ago—it was his studio in Germany.
“I have. Are you busy?” Lin Yushu asked.
“Not too busy. Is Wowo being good?”
“It was well-behaved today.” Lin Yushu turned the phone around to let Song Qiming have a look at Wowo lying belly-down on the couch. “No mischief today.”
“You spoil it too much.” Song Qiming smiled helplessly. “From now on, it won’t want to get off the couch.”
“Then we’ll buy another couch for it.” Lin Yushu lay down, resting his head on Wowo’s shoulder area, rubbing its ears while talking to Song Qiming. “Today, I attended a family banquet at your place.”
“Family banquet?” Song Qiming sounded somewhat surprised. “Why did you go?”
“Your grandfather wants me to marry your cousin.”
The air instantly grew quiet. When Song Qiming spoke again, his voice was noticeably devoid of warmth. “Which one?”
“Shao Zhenrui,” Lin Yushu said. “The eldest daughter of Shao Hexu.”
Shao Hexu married relatively late, so Shao Zhenrui was younger than Song Qiming.
“What did you say?” Song Qiming’s tone was very calm, indicating that he knew Lin Yushu wouldn’t easily agree.
“I said I would consider it. Your grandfather asked for my answer on Monday.”
Song Qiming fell silent, his furrowed brow indicating deep thought.
“Don’t worry, I won’t compete for your family assets,” Lin Yushu assured him. “I’ll find a reason to refuse.”
Saying it was one thing, but finding a good reason was not easy.
Fortunately, there was still a little over a day’s time, which should be enough for Lin Yushu to think it through.
“What’s Shao Zhenrui’s stance on this?” Song Qiming suddenly asked. “If she has a willingness to marry you, it will be difficult for you to refuse. Grandfather is biased towards family members and will definitely make this happen.”
“She won’t,” Lin Yushu said. “Her focus is on her career, and she wouldn’t consider marrying me. She would probably approach your grandfather before me.”
“Okay.” Song Qiming visibly relaxed. “My grandfather really comes up with strange ideas. You’re doing well at Yong Xing, so why force you to marry into the Shao family?”
“Because I have greater value,” Lin Yushu said.
“Are you suggesting,” Song Qiming paused, pondering his words, “that what he wants… is the Swift Electric Car?”
“Yes.”
One couldn’t help but admire Shao Zhenbang.
He knew that new energy was the future and that Shao Guangjie didn’t have the ability to pioneer that path. So he thought of obtaining it through a marriage alliance.
And Lin Yushu naturally became the best candidate.
Job competence, being the CEO of a family business—none of that mattered. The only reason Shao Zhenbang would take an interest in Lin Yushu was because his family owned the Swift Electric Car.
It seemed that Lin Yushu had been mistaken before. He thought Shao Zhenbang no longer cared about the affairs of the conglomerate and was solely focused on his own bucket list.
But in reality, Shao Zhenbang had a long-term vision. Matters like his son and daughter-in-law getting a divorce couldn’t even enter his eyes.
Ask yourself, what could be more important than the future development of the conglomerate for the next ten years, or even decades, during the founder’s critical illness?
Shao Zhenbang was paving the way for Yong Xing’s future—by utilizing Lin Yushu.
“So I can’t agree, and I can’t possibly agree,” Lin Yushu said.
“Okay,” Song Qiming said. “Then we need to find a good reason.”
As he said that, he seemed to have thought of something and added, “When you mentioned earlier that I was afraid you’d compete for the family assets, I didn’t mean that.”
“Shao Guangjie has that intention,” Lin Yushu said, getting to the main point. “After I left your grandfather’s study today, he dragged me into the bathroom and wanted me to be his lover.”
“What?” Song Qiming’s face changed, his brow furrowing tightly, a furious tone in his voice. “Is he out of his mind?!”
Lin Yushu was slightly surprised. He thought the marriage alliance would greatly shock Song Qiming, but it turned out that Song Qiming calmly analyzed the situation, and it was Shao Guangjie’s actions that triggered this response.
“I refused,” Lin Yushu said. “For a moment, I even considered resigning, but it seemed too troublesome. Plus, I’m about to get a promotion and a raise, so I decided against it.”
Song Qiming remained silent, his face dark, and it was unclear what he was thinking.
Lin Yushu suddenly felt like laughing. He still remembered back in Singapore when Song Qiming confidently claimed that he was Shao Guangjie’s lover, and now Shao Guangjie actually had such intentions, and Song Qiming was the one criticizing him.
“Oh, by the way, let me tell you something,” Song Qiming spoke abruptly. “I’ve finished my work here, and I need to return to the country earlier.”
“Is that so?” Lin Yushu said. “When are you leaving? I’ll pick you up at the airport.”
“Right now,” Song Qiming replied.
“What?” Lin Yushu was taken aback.
“I’ll explain later,” Song Qiming said. “I’ll book my flight.”
As the video call abruptly ended, Lin Yushu had a vague sense that something was not right.
If his work was finished and he had to return to the country early… why leave now and only buy the plane ticket now?
_______________________________________
Because I decided just now.
