After I Woke Up to Find I Had a Wife - Chapter 40

Lin You sat at the head of the conference room, listening to arguments coming from every direction. The anger in the meeting room grew heavier and heavier.

Lin You remained completely unmoved, sitting properly at the head with her gaze half-lowered. The presidents who were speaking would glance at her from time to time, while also thinking about whether they had said anything wrong.

Between her well-defined fingers was a Shaw Bern pen, black-gold like a night sky. The black body of the pen was restrained, high-end, and atmospheric, paired with golden embellishments in an elegant classical Western style, held between her long, fair fingers.

Until the meeting ended, Lin You did not speak at all, as if she had merely come to go through the motions. But the more she acted like this, the more some people’s hearts began beating like drums.

This was like going to the execution ground. Before the blade fell, everyone would panic uneasily, struggling and crying for help. But once everything was settled, one would feel that stretching out one’s head was a cut, and shrinking back was also a cut. It was nothing much.

But what people feared most was precisely the blade that had not yet fallen.

Seated to Lin You’s left was an elderly man with glasses, graying hair, and excellent maintenance. He had been leisurely closing his eyes the whole time, both hands resting on his English-style cane.

It was as if he had come here just to listen to a play. Until the meeting ended, he never opened his eyes. Lin You was the first to leave. The meeting room gradually emptied, leaving only two or three people in the end.

“Dad, shall we go?” A middle-aged man wearing the same style of glasses, dressed in a suit with a smiling face, asked. But deep calculation showed in his narrowed eyes.

“Let’s go. Young people nowadays can really hold their composure. You’re far inferior.” The old man’s tone did not sound like praise, only thick wariness.

“Dad is right. Then I’ll send you back to your office first?” The middle-aged man bent down and looked respectfully at his father.

“No need. Go back. I still have other matters.” This old man, who was used to luxury and particular about appearances, leaned on his cane and walked away leisurely.

The man, who had still been considered respectful, fell two steps behind and watched the old man leave by himself. He stood in the office, looked at his secretary, thought for a long time, and finally said, “Let’s go.”

“That display of authority and stabilizing of people’s hearts was truly skillful.” Su Qingfeng had also listened in on the regular meeting, but it had not yet been time for her to report on her duties, so no one provoked her.

“Hmph. They’re nothing but demons and monsters. I won’t be bullied by those fellows.” Lin You proudly lifted her head. She had always believed in using overwhelming force to defeat ten thousand tricks.

Moreover, the Lin Group had originally been in the original body’s hands. Now that she possessed many of the original body’s memories, handling these matters was even more smooth and effortless.

Lin You had not thought at all that even if one possessed another person’s memories, she was still not that person. Yet when she used business methods and aura, it was completely smooth and natural, without the slightest awkwardness.

And outsiders did not feel she had changed much either. It was as if everything was that natural, as if everyone had been expecting it.

“Ha… You’re taking all your Lin family elders down in one pot. Hahahaha…” Hearing Lin You’s words, Su Qingfeng laughed loudly with joy.

No one knew what was wrong with these two generations of the Lin family. When it came to Old Master Lin, Lin You’s grandfather, that entire generation loved fighting over power and profit, from top to bottom.

The struggle among wealthy aristocratic families was no small matter. Back then, the head of the Lin family raised his children as if raising gu. As an Alpha, aside from his legal wife, who was Lin You’s great-grandmother, everyone outside also knew that he liked concubines and kept four or five households. Once there were many children, they became less precious.

At that time, when the Lin family fought, people could lose their lives. The noble families’ elegance and grace were only on the surface. The filth and ugliness were hidden underneath.

The final winner back then was naturally the late Old Master Lin. Afterward, Lin Zhi took over.

Perhaps because the previous generation’s struggle for power had carried too much ugliness, Lin Zhi’s brothers and sisters had not the slightest interest in inheriting the group.

They each developed their own careers, while conveniently receiving dividends from the group without having to worry or exhaust themselves. How nice.

As for Old Master Lin, his health had already not been very good, and he had died early.

But most of his brothers were still alive and remained enthusiastic about seizing power.

The smarter ones had long since jumped out to develop themselves. Only some narrow-minded people could see only the small piece of land in Lin Zhi and Lin You’s hands.

In the past, these fellows had also liked disgusting the original body in private. When the original body was in a good mood, she would tease them for fun. When she was unhappy, she would directly chop off the long hands and feet they stretched out.

Lin You did not plan to cherish old ties the way the original body had, always leaving behind one final bottom line. She had no feelings for this group of people with the same surname. In the original plot, it was also this group of people who had bullied Fu Xinran in private.

It would be strange if Lin You let them go. She was just waiting to throw this group of people out together, roots, mud, and all.

Lin You completed the work that had accumulated over the past few days one by one, then made arrangements below. With the system assisting from the side, she truly did not panic at all.

“Auntie, do you have nothing to do?” Lin You could not stand watching someone sit beside her and play games while she was busy working. Too much.

“I do. Can’t you see I’m playing a game?” Su Qingfeng said without even lifting her head.

“The Xie family has a banquet in a few days. Since Auntie has nothing to do, you can attend in my place. I’ll just go back and spend more time with Ranran.” Lin You signaled for Sun Yue to toss the invitation they had received to Su Qingfeng.

Su Qingfeng’s hands, which had been controlling the game, paused. She lifted her head and rolled her eyes at her dear niece.

But she did not refuse either. Seeing that Su Qingfeng had no free hand to take the black-gold invitation, Sun Yue directly placed it on the low table in front of Su Qingfeng.

Su Qingfeng’s fingers continued operating her game character without stopping, but her eyes fell on the black-gold invitation. Old families were particular about appearances. Their invitations would be sealed with gold lacquer.

The pattern on the gold lacquer was a family’s emblem. The Xie family had always been known as an old aristocratic family. Their family crest used wisteria vines as its theme, symbolizing endless vitality and continuity.

Xie Yun’an was the current head of the Xie family. She had married into an alliance with the Jin family, marrying the Jin family’s youngest son, Jin Hua. The first time Lin You heard this name, she unconsciously thought of Jinhua ham from the old civilization of China. It was quite tasty.

Although it was called a marriage alliance, Jin Hua’s function was actually equivalent to marrying into the Xie family. Jin Hua failed at academics and failed at martial pursuits. He was a Beta who only liked eating and waiting for death, and he always liked fooling around outside. Sister Xie did not care about him either.

One invitation sent Su Qingfeng away, and Lin You’s side finally quieted down.

“President Lin, the meal is ready.” The chef who had finished cooking stood with both hands crossed in front and informed her.

“All right. You should go rest too.” Lin You put down the pen in her hand and let the person rest first.

After the chef left, Lin You went to the dining room. On the table were three dishes and one soup. Steaming rice had also been scooped out. The vegetable soup in the soup bowl was light and clear, already placed at a suitable temperature.

“What a corrupt life.” Lin You took a satisfied sip of soup and sighed. She wondered if Ranran had gone home yet. Thinking of this, Lin You picked up her phone and called Fu Xinran.

The ringtone rang for twenty or thirty seconds before the call was answered.

“Hello.” A cool voice sounded from the phone.

Hearing that voice, Lin You’s brows and eyes unconsciously relaxed, and her eyes were filled with sparkling light. “Ranran, have you eaten?”

“Mm-hm. I ate. What about you?” Fu Xinran lay on the comfortable sofa at home, her expression lazy. Chunsheng was helping her massage her scalp to improve blood circulation. After riding in the car today, she felt a little uncomfortable.

“I’m eating now. The meeting delayed me a little today. Once I finish my work, I’ll come back to keep you company, okay?” Lin You asked Fu Xinran as if coaxing a child.

“Do as you like.” Fu Xinran acted proud. Chunsheng’s massage technique was excellent, and she found the acupuncture points accurately too. Because Fu Xinran had felt uncomfortable, she had not eaten much lunch, but she preferred Lin You massaging her.

Lin You did not hear it through the phone. She only chatted with Fu Xinran for a few sentences before Fu Xinran urged her to go eat.

Lin You could only sweetly hang up the phone, the smile on her face impossible to stop. It was so nice to have someone care about her. Lin You sat on the chair and smiled foolishly for a while.

Only now did she feel somewhat hungry. Thinking of Fu Xinran made her happy, and the smile on her face was almost turning into that of a lovestruck fool.

A person who had never dated before, when meeting someone she placed in her heart for the first time, would have her heart stirred no matter what that person did. Just thinking of her made the heart feel as sweet as eating flower nectar.

“President Lin, news came from the tax bureau. Someone said they wanted to make the Lin family bleed a little.” Sun Yue frowned tightly as she hurriedly walked into the dining room. Standing beside Lin You, she had a bad feeling.

Who exactly could persuade the government to make a move? Could someone have colluded with people outside?

Lin You put down her chopsticks. She knew that someone in the tax bureau wanted to make things difficult for the Lin family, but to even let word out—was this person stupid? Lin You lowered her eyes. But did Lin Sizheng, this cousin-uncle of hers separated by several branches, have that kind of ability?

Or was it the old man behind that cousin-uncle?

“Host, someone tampered with your car. Do you want to take a look?” While Lin You was thinking, the system suddenly spoke.

“Is there video?” Lin You was also curious. This kind of common TV drama plot had actually fallen on her.

Lin You had Sun Yue leave, indicating that she wanted to eat first. The system projected a blue screen outward. On the screen, a woman dressed as a cleaner wore a mask and hat, covering herself tightly so her face could not be seen clearly.

Taking advantage of no one being around, she quietly crouched down and loosened the screws on all four tires of Lin You’s car. Was she afraid Lin You would not notice?

Lin You frowned. Her car was the newest Rolls-Royce model, low-key and luxurious on the outside, but the actual configuration was top of the line. Something like loose screws would trigger an automatic warning as soon as the car started.

“This is a provocation.” Lin You’s gaze was deep and cold. She had seen many things like this before. Before she retired from service in her previous life, she had handled too many matters and had seen all kinds of assassination methods.

A childish trick like this—she had seen plenty. The person behind it did not dare do too much and could only use this method to disgust others.

Lin You’s lips curved in a cold smile. She took out her phone. “Uncle Li, go start the car.” Lin You said nothing else, only told Uncle Li to start the car.

You like provoking people, don’t you? Then I’ll flip the entire board over for you.

What could be more horrifying than using tricks one moment and having them exposed the next?

As for whether this would be publicized and unsettle people’s hearts, Lin You was not worried. Uncle Li was also an old member of the Lin family. He knew how to handle such matters.

After thinking for a while, Lin You had the system send this video to her private email. Then, still feeling uneasy, she called Aunt Gui and asked her to privately check the vehicles and every corner at home carefully.

“Family Head, rest assured.” Aunt Gui put away her usual gentleness, her expression solemn and proper. She no longer called Lin You by her nickname.

At this moment, Lin You was the Family Head—the Family Head she struggled for, not the Family Head who needed protection.

Lin You felt a little more reassured, but after thinking carefully, she felt it still was not enough.

“System, open the shop for me. I’ll see if there’s anything good.”

Lin You decided to buy some self-defense items. She had to make absolutely sure nothing went wrong. The system opened the shop, and on the crude page, it had truly changed according to Lin You’s needs.

Most of the unserious goods from last time had decreased greatly, with only a few scattered items remaining. Only a seductive, sexy lingerie set hung brightly in the first row of products.

Lin You truly looked at it with indescribable feelings. She really had not expected the system to be this kind of system.

The system felt Lin You’s gaze and almost exploded its tail. It was a proper, serious system and did not accept slander.

Fortunately, Lin You continued moving her gaze downward. There was a rapid-fire pistol with five bullets. Once the bullets were used up, it would disappear and could not be kept long-term. Time limit: three months.

This item was rare, but it was so expensive. Such a time-limited pistol actually cost one thousand points. Too damn expensive.

Lin You continued looking downward. There were also other items such as knives and swords, as well as medicinal treatments. They were all ridiculously expensive, with starting prices of five hundred points.

She currently only had a little over three thousand points, so she really could not buy many things. And this was only what she had saved up from frantically completing missions over the past few days.

“You people really are scammy enough.”

“These are life-saving items. How could they not be expensive? Don’t randomly wrong us.” The system snapped at Lin You in a sarcastic tone, avenging its reputation.

“That’s true. For life-saving items, no matter how expensive, it’s acceptable.” Lin You nodded in agreement and continued scrolling. She saw a special-effect version of a round transparent shield.

Ultimate Protective Shield, Medium Level — 5,000 points: Can be used three times. As long as it is not a missile bombardment, it can save your life. If it is, please pray for yourself.

“Is your shop always this honest?” Lin You laughed when she saw the sentence inside the parentheses.

The system did not answer, only happily wagged its tail. It seemed to hear the sound of points flying toward it.

“I only have 3,300 points right now. Can you sell on credit?” After calculating, Lin You decided to take a loan. She wanted to give Ranran the best guarantee. At the same time, she also believed that those people did not have the ability to use missiles domestically.

“Yes. If you repay within thirty-one days, there is no interest. After thirty-one days, daily interest will be calculated at 0.5%. Do you accept?” The system immediately pulled out the loan rules and threw them to Lin You.

“What can I do if I don’t accept?” Lin You was still confident she could pay it off within a month.

“Host, how much are you borrowing?” The moment the system sensed Lin You was borrowing points, it immediately dog-leggedly leaned closer. If Lin You spent five thousand points, according to the handling fee, it could receive two hundred and fifty points. It was so happy it spun in circles.

“Lend me two thousand points.” Lin You disdainfully waved away the dog-legged system. The system immediately allocated the original amount that could be borrowed.

This initial point balance existed as a precaution. Only after the host signed the contract could the points be moved. The system was restricted by the rules and could not move them privately.

Lin You bought the Ultimate Protective Shield and had the system place it on Fu Xinran. When danger arrived, it would trigger automatically.

“Please also help me keep a closer eye on Ranran. Without her, it will be hard for you to earn points.” Lin You sincerely asked it, while clearly and simply explaining the pros and cons.

The system happily wagged its tail while checking its own points. “Don’t worry. I’ll help you keep watch over Fu Xinran at all times.” The system patted its tail and guaranteed. Even if Lin You did not say it, it would watch Fu Xinran at all times.

With this Ultimate Protective Shield, Lin You barely felt a little more at ease.

The phone on the table vibrated. Lin You picked it up and answered.

“Family Head, someone tampered with our car. The garage surveillance was disabled for five minutes.” Uncle Li’s voice came through the phone.

“Mm. Did you personally go to the monitoring room to check?”

“Yes, Family Head.”

“All right. Leave the car there and have the security personnel drive it back.” Lin You wanted to know whether the company security staff were involved in this matter.

If they were, the security around her would also have to be replaced. The system could only detect things that would harm her or things closely related to her. But if something had not happened yet, it could not monitor it either. Ultimately, there were limitations.

Now that the system had already taken over the company’s network surveillance, she would know immediately if anything happened at the company.

Uncle Li understood Lin You’s meaning. He hung up the phone and returned to the security office with the same cheerful smile.

“Xiao Wang, my old problem is acting up. Today, please help me drive the car home. Around three in the afternoon, the car needs maintenance. Sorry to trouble you.” Uncle Li cheerfully asked the security department director, Wang Tingshan.

“No problem. I’ll have someone drive the car back right away. It won’t delay the maintenance.” Wang Tingshan answered without even thinking. He picked up the landline and called the person on shift, telling them to come drive the car.

Uncle Li sat in his office, not fussing over who would drive. He only said, “Still, find someone with steady driving skills. This car is precious. It’s the most comfortable car for the Family Head to ride in.”

“Don’t worry, Uncle Li. The one I’m calling is the steadiest driver in our security department.” Wang Tingshan called the person over, casually hung up the phone, and chatted with Uncle Li.

Wang Tingshan’s face was dark and swarthy. He was an honest person. He had been with the Lin family for five years, personally recruited by Lin You, and had also retired from the military.

Although he was a Beta, he had retired from an ace unit. It was just that his personality was upright and stubborn, too single-minded. His brain often could not turn corners, and no matter what, he could not rise any higher, so in the end, he could only retire.

“She’ll be here soon. Let’s go to the garage and wait for her.” Wang Tingshan pulled Uncle Li up and walked toward the garage. Uncle Li even told him to slow down and not rush.

The person who had just returned to the dormitory and changed clothes suddenly received a call from her superior, telling her to drive President Lin’s car. She felt more or less guilty.

When Uncle Li and Wang Tingshan arrived at the garage, a female Alpha wearing a baseball cap appeared from one end of the garage.

“Host, the person who tampered with your tires has appeared. Body shape similarity: 99%.” The system projected the video for Lin You to see.

This was getting interesting. Lin You had not expected that asking Uncle Li to casually test things would actually test the person out.

Lin You looked at the woman on the blue screen. Judging by her appearance, she seemed a little like an Alpha. Her looks were very ordinary, and she had short hair.

“Boss, you called me?” The female Alpha stood before Uncle Li and Wang Tingshan with a calm expression, asking Wang Tingshan what he wanted her to do.

“Zhang Yu, help Uncle Li drive the car back to President Lin’s home. Drive it outside the villa, and someone will take over from there.” Wang Tingshan handed the keys to the female Alpha named Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu accepted the keys without changing her expression and prepared to get in the car. Before getting in, her eyes unconsciously glanced at the rear tire. It lasted less than a second before she immediately looked away.

“Thank you, Xiao Zhang. Another day, Uncle Li will treat you to a meal. When people get old, old problems love acting up. Looks like it’s time for me to retire.” Uncle Li politely sighed.

“It’s still early. Come on, let’s go back to the office and sit.” Wang Tingshan also saw that something was wrong. He took out a piece of paper and wiped his nose, pretending to casually walk toward the trash can. His gaze swept over the car body once, and he also discovered the problem with the tire.

Wang Tingshan looked at the two people who still appeared normal. Uncle Li, this old fox, had discovered something and refused to say it. Was Old Wang the kind of person who ate from the inside while helping outsiders?

Sitting in the car, Zhang Yu’s eyes flashed. Not good. She had been discovered. She should not have been bluffed. She should not have accepted these keys. She should not have come back at all.

She had been specially recruited into the security department for her car-repair skills. Damn it!

Zhang Yu pretended to lower her head and study the car, but in reality, her eyes glanced left and right. Seeing that neither of them was looking at her, she immediately moved agilely over the passenger seat and opened the other door. Her body was as nimble as a leopard as she rushed straight outward.

At this point, how could Wang Tingshan not understand? He broke into a sprint and chased her.

Uncle Li stood in place and shook his head. Young people were too inexperienced. At the nearest exit from the garage, four bodyguards were crouching in wait. As soon as they saw someone rush toward the door, all of them swarmed forward.

The two sides immediately exchanged blows. This female Alpha called Zhang Yu had decent skills. Under the four bodyguards’ siege, she did not fall into a disadvantage.

Wang Tingshan, who arrived afterward, joined the fight. With five people attacking together, they took her down within a minute. Zhang Yu was dragged away.

Wang Tingshan’s face turned black. His already dark face looked even worse now. He truly had not expected such a capable person to be under his command. No wonder the Lin Family Head suspected him. He had not been wronged.