Rebirth in the 90s: Her Counterattack and Redemption

Chapter 984: Chapter 577: The Intention

Upon hearing Lin Jinguang’s speculation, Zhu Xiaoxue furrowed her brows and looked at him seriously: ”Is that the impression you have of me? Or are you saying you think I’m here at Old Sichuan Restaurant just to deceive you?”

Lin Jinguang’s expression was complex: ”I... I’m not sure.”

”You’re not sure? Heh...” Zhu Xiaoxue chuckled lightly a few times, then turned to Luo Ye, ”Miss Luo, it was my cousin Zhu Jiangyu who asked for your help, right?”

”Yes.” Luo Ye spread her hands, ”Mr. Lin, to be honest, I am also one of the shareholders of Liangyou. Now, do you think Zhu Jiangyu went to Old Sichuan Restaurant with an agenda?”

”No!” Lin Jinguang firmly shook his head, ”Little Zhu wouldn’t do such a thing, I trust him.”

Zhu Xiaoxue looked at him, disappointed: ”So you trust my cousin, but not me?”

”I’m sorry, your conversation just now is easy to misunderstand; I was just panicking and said such things, actually...” Lin Jinguang hesitated, then continued, ”Actually, when I calm down and think it over, I feel I must have misunderstood. With Liangyou’s power, there’s no need to be so scheming to target Old Sichuan Restaurant.”

”With Liangyou’s strength, they wouldn’t consider annexing Old Sichuan; that would only damage their image.” Qu Yue raised an eyebrow, ”Mr. Lin, am I stating the facts?”

Lin Jinguang smiled bitterly: ”That’s right, I was careless just now, but I really can’t figure out why you would treat Old Sichuan this way, I haven’t offended you, right?”

”Our purpose in doing this is to help you.” Luo Ye looked at him seriously, ”Lin, you’re well aware of Old Sichuan’s problems, aren’t you?”

Lin Jinguang nodded: ”Yes, of course I am aware, and I’m improving it.”

”The result of your improvements is that your sister-in-law suddenly had a heart attack, and everything has returned to square one.” Zhu Xiaoxue sneered, ”Don’t mind me being blunt, but this is the reality.”

Lin Jinguang furrowed his brows: ”I can be without money, but I absolutely cannot be heartless. My elder brother helped me, and for this life, I can’t ignore his family.”

”Mr. Lin, I’m here waiting just to make this matter clear to you. Strictly speaking, how Old Sichuan develops and plans is your business, and we shouldn’t intervene too much.

But Zhu Jiangyu is my good friend. Since he asked, I must be mindful. After weighing the situation, Qu Yue and I decided to use this method to attract Mr. Lin over.

According to our original intention, we wanted to create an illusion that Old Sichuan was acquired by Liangyou, so that Mr. Lin’s sister-in-law’s family would not make things difficult for Mr. Lin again, and Mr. Lin could fully compensate them through other means. We didn’t visit Mr. Lin to discuss it beforehand for the sake of making it more genuine.

Doing this yields no benefit for Liangyou and even bears the blame of using the large against the small. In other words, apart from Mr. Lin, all of us would face criticism from those who don’t know the truth.

The speculation outside should be the same as Mr. Lin’s previous thought, that Liangyou used Zhu Jiangyu to pave the way, and then installed Zhu Xiaoxue to finally succeed in bringing Old Sichuan into their fold.

Knowing it’s a losing proposition, and with no personal ties to you, why would we do this? The reason is simple: During Zhu Jiangyu’s toughest times, you helped him, and he, not only being our good friend but also the son of a hero.

As Mr. Lin said, money isn’t necessary, but emotions cannot be absent. Zhu Jiangyu cherishes his past relationship with you, and we cherish our past relationship with Zhu Jiangyu. Also, Sister Xiao Xue wasn’t aware of this matter beforehand; Zhu Jiangyu merely asked her, ’In case you have to take the fall for Mr. Lin, would you be willing?’ Sister Xiao Xue’s answer was, ’No problem.’

I think the reason Sister Xiao Xue immediately guessed we were helping you is that she connected the conversation with Zhu Jiangyu and deduced it, isn’t that right?” Luo Ye looked inquiringly at Zhu Xiaoxue at this point.

Zhu Xiaoxue nodded: ”Yes, that’s exactly it.”

Luo Ye turned her gaze to Lin Jinguang: ”Mr. Lin, this is how the situation began and progressed; ultimately, how to proceed, you should decide for yourself.”

”Thank you!” Lin Jinguang seriously bowed to Luo Ye and Qu Yue, then turned to Zhu Xiaoxue: ”I’m sorry, for my rashness just now, I sincerely apologize.”

”What’s the use of sorry? It’s your most instinctive reaction, which means you don’t trust me. Forget it, I won’t stay at Old Sichuan anymore, Qilin won’t be going back...” Zhu Xiaoxue turned her gaze to Luo Ye and Qu Yue, ”Bosses, can you take me in? Considering Liangyou’s scale, being a supervisor would satisfy me.”

”Sure, we’d love to have you at Liangyou; being a supervisor isn’t enough, at least a branch manager.” Luo Ye patted her head, ”By the way, the manpower over at Island City is a bit tight. Sister Xiao Xue, would you consider going back there? It’s close to home, and you can also take care of your parents, a win-win situation, right?”

”It’s worth considering. I had thought about going back to Island City before, but I felt a bit reluctant to go to an ordinary hotel, and worried I’d be turned away from Liangyou.” Zhu Xiaoxue sighed, ”Had I known Miss Luo was Xiao Yu’s friend, I should have asked Xiao Yu for help.”

Luo Ye smiled: ”Sister Xiao Xue, don’t be so formal, just call me Luo Ye. If that feels too distant, call me Luoluo.”

”Ye’er’s relatives all call her Ye’er, her friends and classmates call her Luoluo.” Qu Yue explained proudly, implying that he now belongs to the relatives’ category. Embarrassing!

”Hey, hey, hey, you can’t do this, we finally got a talented person, how can you just let her be poached?” Lin Jinguang panicked, grabbing Zhu Xiaoxue’s arm, ”I won’t doubt you again, I’m really sorry, I was out of my mind just now, please don’t be angry, okay?”

Zhu Xiaoxue pulled her arm back forcefully, looking at Lin Jinguang with an indifferent expression: ”Mr. Lin, I still stand by what I said, your initial reaction reflects your true feelings, and that’s not something an apology can fix.”

”What do you want me to do to forgive me?” Lin Jinguang asked anxiously.

Luo Ye and Qu Yue exchanged a look and started laughing. Given Lin Jinguang and Zhu Xiaoxue’s current behavior, they seemed like a couple having a lovers’ spat.

”Mr. Lin, please note that Luoluo and President Qu are laughing at you.” As she said this, Zhu Xiaoxue’s eyes showed a hint of amusement.

”Let them laugh, I made the first mistake, it’s only right to be laughed at.” Lin Jinguang said as he looked at Luo Ye and Qu Yue, ”I’m really touched by your kindness, and I understand why you would approach it this way.

Apart from what was discussed earlier, there’s one crucial point you allowed me to save face, which is my character; I often get lost in family matters. Actually, this is a big taboo in business, I know.

I can’t let you take the fall for me, but I don’t want to completely break ties with my sister-in-law’s family. So my plan is to proactively ask Liangyou to acquire Old Sichuan Restaurant, with the condition that it remains under my management, and staffing decisions follow Liangyou’s orders, how’s that?”

”Are you willing to?” Luo Ye looked at him earnestly, ”You know, originally we just wanted to create a façade, we didn’t plan to actually acquire Old Sichuan Restaurant.”

”I’m willing, Old Sichuan Restaurant in my hands means just a few more branches in Sha City, but if it’s under Liangyou, it can really grow big and strong. Honestly...” Lin Jinguang sighed, ”I worry that if it continues, Old Sichuan Restaurant will perish under my management.

You must know, the way my sister-in-law’s family and I interact has been set for years, how easy is it to change overnight? If Old Sichuan Restaurant stays with me, the entanglement will be incessant, and I, for this lifetime, might just grow old alone.”

”Turns out I guessed right, I always felt your sister-in-law’s attitude towards you was abnormal.” Zhu Xiaoxue shook her head, ”I have to say, your business acumen is good, but in personal relationships, it’s a mess.”

”Before my brother died, he always advised me, and after he passed, of course, I couldn’t ignore them - the mother and daughter. Actually, I didn’t realize initially it would cause such trouble, until once my sister-in-law vaguely expressed her intentions, I was shocked.

Last year, I met a girl I got along very well with, we were doing quite well, then suddenly she broke up with me. When I asked why, she just cried.

At my age, naturally, I don’t cling on. I thought she found someone she liked, so I agreed to break up decisively. Later, I ran into her by chance, only then did I find out my sister-in-law had threatened her.

It’s been so long, I can’t pursue it anymore, and pursuing it would be akin to tearing the window paper - that’s the truly scary part. So, I kept it to myself and didn’t tell anyone, including my parents.

Since then, I gave up on finding a partner. Knowing my sister-in-law’s personality, she wouldn’t let me have my way. Rather than hurting another girl, I might as well be alone. Xiao Xue, that’s why I didn’t dare to promise you, because of my sister-in-law... sigh!” Lin Jinguang sighed and stopped talking.

”This matter doesn’t depend on your sister-in-law, it depends on your attitude.” Zhu Xiaoxue looked at him seriously, ”Her daring actions, they’re all due to your indulgence, you must admit that.”

”Yes, so I decided to transfer Old Sichuan Restaurant, otherwise, my sister-in-law won’t let me go, given her personality...” Lin Jinguang shook his head, ”Xiao Xue, you don’t understand her...”

Zhu Xiaoxue interrupted him: ”I certainly don’t understand her, but I know one principle, the irrational fear the unreasonable, and the unreasonable fear those who have nothing to lose.”

”Xiao Xue...” Lin Jinguang didn’t know how to continue.

Qu Yue looked at Lin Jinguang: ”Mr. Lin, if Old Sichuan Restaurant is acquired by us, what do you plan to do with the money?”

”1/3 will go to my sister-in-law and niece, 1/3 to my parents for their pension, and the remaining 1/3, I plan to...” Lin Jinguang looked at Zhu Xiaoxue, ”I plan to use it to support my family.”

Zhu Xiaoxue turned her head away, ignoring him. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to visit Qidian () and vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)