Chapter 146: The Country-Bumpkin Boss

To be precise, it was disdain for Su Yan’en.

That old man’s mind was full of scheming and profit—wealthy but stingy. In the business world, after all, transactions are built on trust.

Yet Su Yan’en never once thought of helping him. For instance, when Huang Hanxiong came to confront him today, the old man’s first thought was to shirk responsibility, which immediately extinguished his desire to invest in the Su family.

Stepping out of the villa, Lin Fan saw Su Yuanmo sitting in a rattan chair in the corridor, playing on her phone.

“Didn’t have a pleasant conversation with your grandfather?”

Though Lin Fan feigned ease, Su Yuanmo could still sense his gloomy mood.

“To be frank, your grandfather is too selfish; it seems all he thinks about is money... As for social graces or family politics, he simply doesn’t care.”

Lin Fan shrugged helplessly.

He had hoped the old man would apologize or make amends, but instead, the first thing out of his mouth was to ask for investment.

He truly disliked that way of communicating.

“My grandfather is old; it’s impossible for him to change. Please understand.”

Su Yuanmo put away her phone, ready to see him off.

“You should warn him more often. There’s a chance Su Qianlong and his son might make a move against your grandfather. I noticed Su Qianlong seems to have murderous intent.”

Lin Fan leaned close to whisper in her ear.

When Su Yan’en was giving a lecture to the Su family earlier, Lin Fan observed Su Qianlong’s favorability towards him rising from 60 to 70.

Going from dislike to murderous intent clearly meant he was eager to take action.

“How can you tell? That seems unlikely—he’s his own grandfather. Would he really commit such a heinous act, going against all familial bonds?”

Su Yuanmo disagreed.

No matter how selfish the old man was, he still distributed shares to every member of the Su family.

Su Qianlong didn’t need to work; even if he spent every day indulging in pleasure, he had more money than he could spend.

Could he really be willing to kill his own grandfather just so the three of them could control the Su family?

“He’d dare kill me, let alone your grandfather! Once your grandfather takes back his shares, Su Qianlong will be penniless. As the saying goes, cutting off someone’s financial lifeline is like killing their parents... Do you think luxury cars and mansions don’t cost money? Even if he does nothing, he still has to spend a lot monthly on maintenance, utilities, and so forth.”

Lin Fan shook his head in exasperation.

Had he known the old man would blunder so badly, he wouldn’t have come himself; he would have had Su Yuanmo pay the penalty cheque to Huang Hanxiong on his behalf.

***

Of course, he hadn’t expected all the Su family members to show up, nor that Su Qianlong would send three experts to duel him.

He increasingly suspected that Su Mingxuan was deliberately stirring up trouble, using Su Qianlong to eliminate him as a threat.

A few days later.

On Sunday afternoon, after training at Superstar Media, Miao Tiantian and the others parted ways, and Zhang Yichen called Lin Fan alone.

“Lin Fan, I have a class reunion tomorrow. Do you want to come with me?”

Zhang Yichen, being two years younger, affectionately called him “brother” in private.

In truth, it was a little ploy to win his favor because she also wanted to act in films.

Her acting was far superior to Miao Tiantian and Qiao Xinxin’s. Like Lin Mu, they were all students at the Drama Academy in Modu, barely passing muster in acting skills.

More importantly, Lin Fan had first offered an opportunity to Lin Mu, while for the three girls, he planned to invest in a web drama adapted from an online novel.

Web dramas didn’t demand much acting skill; viewers mostly cared about appearances, and they were a good way to hone acting.

But Zhang Yichen wanted to act in films, even if only in a small role.

However, Lin Fan had rejected this idea—first, the script wasn’t ready, so there was no guarantee she’d get screen time; second, when signing the letter of intent, he had stated he would not interfere with the film production, leaving the decision entirely to the renowned director Xu Ke.

“I’d better not go. I look too plain. If I come, your classmates might think I’m pretending to be rich.”

After his previous experiences, Lin Fan felt reluctant about social gatherings.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to show off, but he feared offending people.

Especially among the girls at the Drama Academy, their boyfriends were either second-generation rich or tycoons; not to mention those wealthy men who kept various campus beauties—each was either rich or noble.

In a city like Modu, full of hidden talents and rivalries, one misstep could cause offense.

“Why be afraid? You’re somewhat famous now. Besides, when I was bragging to them, I said my boss is a refined, talented, well-cultured handsome guy. If you don’t come, they’ll think I’m lying. Isn’t that right?”

Zhang Yichen coquetted over the phone and even praised him.

Lin Fan couldn’t resist such sweet tactics.

Though deep down he didn’t see himself as refined, talented, or cultured—these were just appearances. Sometimes, the talents he displayed before the three girls were merely temporary, bought with money like limited-use props.

After the date, he would be ordinary again.

“All right, all right... I’ll be there soon.”

***

The child who cries gets the milk; Zhang Yichen was the best at acting spoiled, and he really couldn’t resist such pleading.

That evening, Lin Fan took Zhang Yichen back to Modu.

When dropping her off at the dorm, Lin Fan bought her a new dress for tomorrow.

Back in the dorm, her three roommates immediately surrounded her.

“The doors are about to close. Why are you back at the dorm? Shouldn’t you be in that house your boss bought for you?”

“Didn’t you see her carrying all those bags? Of course, she’s back to show off!”

“Yichen, your boss treats you so well! Have you forgotten about us? Does he need more people? I think I could be a livestream host—I’ve got the figure, the talent...”

The three roommates showered Zhang Yichen with compliments and even asked if Lin Fan had a girlfriend.

To their surprise, Zhang Yichen said she didn’t know if Lin Fan had a girlfriend.

Instantly, the three goddesses were thrilled.

“He doesn’t have a girlfriend? Then you better grab him! It’d be best if he became your boyfriend—that way, you’d have a shot at stardom!”

“Yeah, he’s so doting, driving you back to Modu and buying you a new dress. It’s obvious he likes you!”

“Anyway... whether he has a girlfriend or several girlfriends doesn’t matter. Just get as much as you can. If it were me, I wouldn’t mind being supported by him!”

Hearing their somewhat questionable perspectives, Zhang Yichen was speechless.

“Don’t influence me badly! I’m a proper girl, different from you!”

She said earnestly.

In truth, she knew Lin Fan’s official girlfriend was Zhang Yi, but Zhang Yi’s behavior was hardly that of a committed partner, seemingly tolerating Lin Fan’s flirtations. So Zhang Yichen, Miao Tiantian, and Qiao Xinxin all felt Zhang Yi might not remain his official girlfriend.

Moreover, each of the three harbored their own little hopes, dreaming of becoming Lin Fan’s true girlfriend.

Therefore, in front of her roommates, she was embarrassed to admit that Lin Fan was popular with girls and instead said he had no girlfriend.

Consequently, the three strongly urged her to pursue Lin Fan herself.