Chapter Ninety-Four: Betrayal

When Lin Yuxin handed over thirty-five percent of the shares to the Lin family, the Lin family, in order to protect Lin Huihuang and Lin Meimei, in turn transferred the entire Linfeng Trading Company to the Hongcheng Group. At that point, although Lin Yuxin still held the title of president, she had in truth lost all decision-making power. The coming restructuring of Linfeng Trading Company’s management, and the company’s future direction, would now wait upon Hongcheng Group’s instructions.

Having narrowly escaped death, Lin Yuxin also took two days off to rest. Counting Sunday, during those three days she hardly left her room except for meals; sleep took up less than a third of the time, and the rest she poured entirely into the game.

Hong Chen had stayed in the game faithfully with her for three straight days, even spending more time online than she did. The two of them had killed one hundred and seven bosses together, enough to forge a bond like comrades who had passed through life and death. By rights, this should have counted as some sort of closeness between them, yet Lin Yuxin could not feel the least bit happy. Not only was she seething with anger, she had been infuriated to the point of stomachache more times than she could count.

First, she no longer doubted the claim that Hong Chen had quit his job; this man had truly returned to being a professional gamer.

Second, in those three days, Hong Chen still had not sent her a single message or made one call. From her perspective, compared with the grand cause of gaming, she, his wife, counted for almost nothing in his heart.

Third, as she grew more familiar with the game, she gradually understood that Hong Chen’s willingness to tolerate a newbie teammate like her, whose play remained as rough and unformed as ever, was nothing more than the same sort of arrangement as marrying her for two years, eating her food, living in her home, and being supported by her. In those three days alone, she had spent nearly three thousand yuan in the game, not counting the one thousand yuan she had paid just to buy the account, and one third of that had gone into Hong Chen’s pocket.

Lastly, she had come to deeply realize that Hong Chen’s boast that one could make several hundred or even a thousand yuan a day playing games was pure A-Q style self-deception. Yes, from boss drops alone, if one’s luck were not too terrible, a player could indeed exchange loot for two or three hundred yuan a day. But that was far from enough to satisfy the demand for equipment upgrades, and a player’s hunger for top-tier gear was like an addiction.

She had discovered that Hong Chen’s account was equipped with a full set of boss gear, worth well over ten thousand yuan, but the problem was simple: so long as one kept playing this game, that value would never truly be realized. When half a year or a year later the game fell out of favor and you prepared to move on to another title, those peak-quality items would already be worth less than a tenth of what they once were.

No ambition, coasting through life, waiting to eat and die, and fooling himself while he was at it—Hong Chen was still the same Hong Chen. The only change, perhaps, was that his temper had grown worse than before, his tone harder, and his pride stronger. Maybe the set of gear in the game, theoretically worth nearly a hundred thousand yuan, was the source of his confidence...

Yet even Lin Yuxin herself could not make sense of it. Clearly she had no interest in the game, clearly her resentment and disappointment toward Hong Chen deepened with every passing second, and yet she still could not bring herself to log out and shut the computer down. And so, in a form of self-torture, she spent three days inside the game.

Wednesday.

Lin Yuxin returned to normal life. At nine in the morning, dressed in business attire, she arrived at Linfeng Trading Company. According to the notice, at ten o’clock the leaders from the Hongcheng Group would come for a meeting.

For the ordinary employees of Linfeng Trading Company, the change in major shareholder would not affect them much; there was even a good chance their income would rise somewhat. But for the company’s middle and upper management, it was a turning point of destiny. When the throne changes hands, so do the ministers. Opportunity and uncertainty alike are present.

After walking through the familiar corridors and entering the familiar office hall, seeing those familiar faces, Lin Yuxin did not deliberately greet anyone. She went straight to the president’s office at the far end.

“President Lin.” Tao Yan, the secretary at the door, saw her and stiffened. She stood up and called out.

Lin Yuxin gave her a faint smile and a nod, just as she was about to push open the office door when Tao Yan stopped her. Seeing that Tao Yan looked somewhat unnatural, as though she wanted to speak but hesitated, Lin Yuxin frowned and asked, “What is it?”

Tao Yan stammered, “P-President Lin, when work ended yesterday, Vice President Zhao had someone clear out your office. Your things were moved to the small office next to the finance room. She said that this office is being kept for the new president.”

Lin Yuxin’s expression turned icy at once. Tao Yan lowered her head, not daring to meet her eyes.

“Why didn’t you call me yesterday to tell me?”

“Vice, Vice President Zhao said you were on sick leave and shouldn’t be disturbed.” Tao Yan nearly buried her head in her chest, and after a long while managed to squeeze out a clumsy excuse.

Lin Yuxin let out a soft snort and turned toward the vice president’s office. Her mind was crystal clear: Tao Yan had betrayed her. She did not even need to guess why. With the change of ownership, the president’s seat would likely change hands, and the chance of her being sidelined, or even forced out, was very high.

When a tree falls, the monkeys scatter. The workplace had always been a marketplace of profit and power; it was only natural for people to think of their own interests and future. No one had any obligation to remain loyal to anyone forever.

Still, Lin Yuxin could not understand. Hongcheng Group had not yet announced any personnel changes for Linfeng Trading Company. Was it not a little too eager to reveal one’s true nature as a fair-weather friend at such a time?

At the vice president’s office, Zhao Ruiya’s secretary told Lin Yuxin that all executives at department-director level and above had already gathered in the conference room at eight-thirty for a meeting.

Lin Yuxin answered with a calm “Oh,” then turned and headed for the conference room. She knocked lightly twice. When someone inside responded, she opened the door and went in. One glance told her that Zhao Ruiya was seated in the main position that had once been hers, with the other vice president and four department heads seated on either side.

Her sudden appearance startled everyone. After that, they all rose to their feet, their expressions showing varying degrees of embarrassment.

Zhao Ruiya’s face darkened. She was deeply displeased. Lin Yuxin was already on the verge of losing power, yet her long-established authority still lingered; everyone was still afraid of her.

“President Lin, the leaders from Hongcheng Group are coming at ten today, so I called everyone together for a brief meeting in advance. Since you’ve been on sick leave these past two days, I thought it best not to disturb your recovery. How are you feeling? Better?”

A moment later, Zhao Ruiya’s expression returned to normal. She stood slowly and gave Lin Yuxin a smile of concern.

Lin Yuxin said expressionlessly, “It was just a cold. I’m fine now. You all carry on; I’ll listen in.”

With that, she walked on her own to the far end of the left side and sat down.

Everyone looked at one another. No one knew whether to sit or remain standing. In the end, two people sat down, while four remained where they were, looking to Zhao Ruiya for direction.

Zhao Ruiya had deliberately waited, wanting to observe everyone’s reaction. She was fairly satisfied with what she saw. Glancing at the Cartier fashion watch on her wrist, she said, “President Lin, what a coincidence. Our meeting has just ended, and the senior leadership will be here soon. Why don’t we let everyone go prepare on their own? If you want the contents of the meeting, I can relay them to you.”

A surge of anger rose in Lin Yuxin’s chest, only to be swiftly forced back down. She gave a slight nod and said, “All right.”

After the others left, only Zhao Ruiya and Lin Yuxin remained in the conference room. Their gazes met in silence for more than ten seconds before Lin Yuxin finally spoke. “Ruiya, I remember that when I took over Linfeng Trading Company, you were in charge of the Planning Department. You rose to the role of executive vice president because of your ability, and I won’t deny that. But do you not understand that a fine horse may be common, while a good trainer is not?”

Zhao Ruiya knew Lin Yuxin well. She was not the type to beat around the bush, so since the words had been this direct, there was no need for pretense. “Is President Lin saying that you showed me favor and I repaid you with ingratitude by betraying you?”

Lin Yuxin shook her head. “In any workplace, no matter the rank, it’s ultimately just a job and a bowl of rice. When making choices, it’s understandable to lean toward one’s own interests. But isn’t it a little too early for you to show your hand? And isn’t what you’ve done far too blatant?”

While she was away, Zhao Ruiya had moved her office, turned her secretary against her, and won over a whole group of the company’s executives. Was this meant to seize power in the opportunity, or to step on her in order to rise, or perhaps to curry favor with the new boss? Whatever the purpose, the methods were far too despicable.

A trace of mockery flashed at the corner of Zhao Ruiya’s mouth, though her tone remained mild. “President Lin, at this point I have no need to hide it from you. I heard that Hongcheng Group will inject capital into Linfeng Trading Company and provide it with resources. The company’s scale will expand to more than twice its current size, and accordingly the management team will undergo major changes. The positions of president and vice president will both be parachuted in by Hongcheng Group. The only one who will remain is me, this vice president. As for Vice President Cao, I have already persuaded him, and he will take over as director of the department he originally oversaw, continuing to stay with the company. President Lin, as the former president, you surely cannot remain by taking a demotion of two levels. Where to go from here—I think you understand in your heart far better than I do. If your inconvenience allows the rest of us to stay on more comfortably, then tell me, if you were in my place, what would you do?”