Chapter Ninety-Five: Knowing the Bigger Picture

Lin Yuxin frowned and thought for a moment before shaking her head. “I don’t understand what you mean. Could it be that someone among the new executives has a personal grudge against me? Are you acting on orders?”

Zhao Ruiya said coolly, “No personal grudge, but it’s true that some people have opinions about you. To tell you the truth, this Monday I went to the Hongcheng Group and reported to the leaders of the General Management Department on Linfeng Trading’s operations this year, especially the recent cooperation plan with Hongcheng Group. The leaders spoke highly of the cooperation proposals submitted by the relevant departments, and the directors of those departments will most likely all be retained. As for some of your irregular practices, President Lin, they were quite displeased.”

A flash of anger crossed Lin Yuxin’s clear eyes. With her quick mind, a little thought was enough to see through Zhao Ruiya’s scheme. In order to secure cooperation with Hongcheng Group, Linfeng Trading had spent a full half month preparing from top to bottom. Lin Yuxin knew exactly which parts of the proposal were brilliant, which were flawed, and which were mere gray-area compromises, as well as the parts that were outright noncompliant.

When Zhao Ruiya made her report, she must have claimed all the creditable parts for herself and the several department directors under her supervision, while pinning the gray areas and noncompliant practices on Lin Yuxin.

Coincidentally, Lin Yuxin had been on sick leave for two days, giving Zhao Ruiya the chance to preside over affairs as acting executive vice president. During that time, she managed to win over Tao Yan, Lin Yuxin’s assistant, and also draw in and persuade the directors of the relevant departments.

So that was it. No wonder Zhao Ruiya said it would be enough if one person took the blame, and that those who were kept on could live comfortably. In plain terms, she wanted Lin Yuxin to bear all the blame alone.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll expose your lies? After all, I’m still the current president. Regardless of whether I stay or leave, Hongcheng Group will definitely want to talk to me, and it may even be a higher-level leader who comes in person.”

To Lin Yuxin’s words, which sounded like both a threat and a test, Zhao Ruiya seemed to have anticipated everything. She said with certainty, “You won’t do that. Directors Lu and the others have sided with me; they’re only choosing the tree that offers the better shelter. For their future and their livelihoods. And then there’s Finance Director Ma, Vice Director Zhang from Planning, Vice Director Shao from Business, including Vice Director Cao. They’ve all been reasonably loyal to you. Would you really want to deprive them of the chance to stay on as well?”

Lin Yuxin’s beautiful pupils contracted abruptly. Zhao Ruiya smiled apologetically. “President Lin, I have a suggestion. In any case, we all followed you for a while. If you truly care about everyone’s future, then during the meeting later, please take the initiative to resign in public.”

Even with Lin Yuxin’s restraint, she could not help slamming the table and saying angrily, “Zhao Ruiya, don’t go too far.”

Zhao Ruiya did not avoid Lin Yuxin’s gaze. She spread her hands in feigned innocence. “I know this will put you in a very awkward position, but I still have to remind you: you are the president. In ordinary times, everyone unconditionally carried out your decisions, myself included. Now that your departure is already set in stone, do you really want everyone else to lose their jobs because of you? Think it over carefully.”

With that, she straightened the documents in her hands and rose to leave. Just before reaching the door, she suddenly stopped, looked back, and said, “One more thing. If I can’t stay on, I’m afraid your father will lose his job too. President Lin of the Lin family says you are a person who understands the bigger picture.”

At the end of her words, she pulled the door open and went out.

Lin Yuxin sat there in a daze, as though turned to stone. Zhao Ruiya’s threat had been direct and forceful, and the information she had revealed before leaving hit Lin Yuxin even harder.

Only today did she learn that the deputy she had trusted was, all along, her uncle’s man.

No wonder. On the very day the more than one million payment to Linfeng Trading arrived, her uncle called to say that the Lin family’s cash flow was tight and asked to borrow money. And this time, in order to cooperate with Hongcheng Group, she had separately applied for loans from two finance companies; at precisely this critical moment, her uncle had overstepped his bounds and, acting in the name of the president, exercised the board’s authority and mortgaged Linfeng Trading to the bank.

In a very short time, Lin Yuxin understood many things. A bitter smile surfaced at the corners of her mouth. Understand the bigger picture—her uncle had truly seen through her.

It was precisely because she “understood the bigger picture” that for the past two years the Linfeng Trading she had poured her heart and soul into had, in truth, been working for the Lin family. It was because she “understood the bigger picture” that the Lin family had repeatedly succeeded in plotting against her, while she swallowed her anger in silence. It was because she “understood the bigger picture” that, after the Lin family had openly seized her shares in Linfeng Trading and her resignation had become almost inevitable, she was still expected to shoulder this black pot as well.

She could refuse to bear that blame, but it would not change the reality of her resignation. It would also drag down the subordinates she had personally promoted, costing them their chance to remain. And her father would lose the idle post he held at the Lin Group as well.

Suddenly, Lin Yuxin felt deeply wronged. She wanted desperately to find someone to confide in, and a name immediately surfaced in her mind: Hong Chen.

Back when Hong Chen had been collectively forced by the Lin family to take the blame for his second uncle and cousin, his situation had been so much like hers now that she could not help feeling a shared sense of fate.

She took out her phone, opened the chat app, and tapped Hong Chen’s avatar. She quickly typed nearly a hundred words, then deleted them all. She typed several dozen more, and deleted those too. In the end, she entered only four words: I lost my job.

After sending it, Lin Yuxin shook her head for no apparent reason. At this hour, Hong Chen should still be asleep. Professional gamers were basically night owls, and before they separated, Hong Chen would stay in bed past ten in the morning eight days out of ten.

What Lin Yuxin had not expected was that Hong Chen replied almost instantly: Are you messing with me?

She froze for a moment, then hesitated for quite a while before typing: Can you come pick me up before noon? There are a lot of things in the office I need to take back, and I can’t carry them alone.

This time, Hong Chen did not reply with a message. Instead, he called directly. The moment the call connected, he said, “Did you resign on your own, or...”

Lin Yuxin said, “Because of what happened with Yufei, Hongcheng Group held Lin Huihuang, Lin Meimei, and the Lin family accountable. To protect the two of them, the family handed Linfeng Trading over to Hongcheng Group. With the major shareholder changed, the management naturally has to be adjusted. Hongcheng Group will send a new president. If I don’t resign, what else can I do?”

Hong Chen was silent for a moment before saying, “That call Yufei made to me last time should have been from the Lin family, right? She had the speaker on then, so you must have heard everything I said on the phone. But I guess in the end you still handed over that thirty-five percent stake to the Lin family for free, and you don’t plan to pursue it anymore, do you?”

Lin Yuxin gave a bitter smile and for a moment did not know how to explain. Hong Chen found the answer in her silence. He let out a strange, light laugh, and within it was a hint of mockery. “You must have your reasons, just like last Saturday’s blind date. Forget it. Let me tell you something definite that my boss said in person: Hongcheng Group will not send a new president to Linfeng Trading, so you don’t need to worry about losing your job... All right, my boss needs me for something. I’ll hang up now.”

Lin Yuxin stared at the phone screen showing that the call had ended. Her heart surged and ebbed, her expression extraordinarily complicated.

On the other end, Hong Chen, still driving, ended the call and let out a long breath. For some reason, he felt a little irritable. He abruptly slammed his foot down on the accelerator, and the GTR let out a thunderous roar. In the blink of an eye, it had overtaken three or four cars ahead.

Ten minutes later, the GTR pulled into the open-air parking lot of the convention center. As Hong Chen got out of the car, he saw Qi Gang walking briskly toward him.

“Not late, am I?” Hong Chen said with a smile. He took out a pack of cigarettes, tossed one to Qi Gang, and lit one for himself as well. Today was the first round of the Sage of Medicine competition in Qing City.

Qi Gang called him Young Master Chen, then said, “More people signed up than expected this time. Zhongbao Hall sent five people, and Qing City First Hospital has four participants as well. My grandfather is the team leader. Even Jiang Pharmaceutical Workshop, which we originally heard would not participate, has now sent two people.”

Hong Chen responded indifferently with an “Oh.” Qi Gang continued, “There are three preliminary rounds here in Qing City. Today is the first, to select the top ten. Next week is the second, to select the top three. The week after that is the third, to determine the champion, who will represent Qing City in the provincial semifinals. Right now, the most favored are Zhongbao Hall, Jiang Pharmaceutical Workshop, and Herbal Fragrance Pavilion...”

He suddenly realized Hong Chen was looking at him with a faint smile, and his face warmed. He quickly amended himself. “The only one representing Health Hall is you, Young Master Chen, and since you don’t want to reveal your identity, there was no publicity beforehand...”

Hong Chen interrupted irritably, “What are you thinking about? Why would I care about these empty things? I’m too lazy to hear all those details. This is just a formality. Once I finish this cigarette, I’m going in. The sooner it’s over, the sooner I can get to real business.” As he spoke, he reached over with the lighter and lit Qi Gang’s cigarette for him.

Qi Gang gave a dry laugh, a bead of cold sweat sliding down his forehead. For Hong Chen, the medical grand competition that made more than a dozen Qing City families take it so seriously was, in his words, nothing more than a formality and a side business. This... this was a little too arrogant, wasn’t it?