Chapter 028: All Good Relatives

“Brother Xiong? Are you kidding? Someone of his status could shake all of Haizhou with a single stomp. I’ve only met him a few times, we’re not close—he’s just way above my level. But I do know that big brother of his, and he’s no ordinary guy either. He’s Brother Fire Ox, one of Xiong’s top enforcers! Eh, forget it, you wouldn’t know him anyway. But as long as he’s looking out for you at school, you’ll be fine.” Lin Kai puffed himself up as he spoke.

Brother Fire Ox? Lin Le froze for a moment, as if recalling who that was.

Yes, the very same man whose head he once split open with a bottle.

“Impressive, Lin Kai. You even know people from the Tianxiong Gang,” Second Uncle praised.

“It’s just that Brother Fire Ox thinks highly of me and is willing to treat me as a brother,” Lin Kai replied, feigning modesty.

“Then you’d better look after Lin Le. Otherwise, Zhao Hu will never let him off the hook,” Lin Xueling, the eldest among the cousins, spoke up with a sense of responsibility.

“Well, I’m willing to help, but I’m afraid our young master here might not appreciate it…” Lin Kai said, glancing at Lin Le, clearly waiting for him to ask for help.

Lin Xueling caught on quickly and urged, “Lin Le, since Lin Kai is willing to help, say something, will you?”

Lin Kai waited with a wide grin for Lin Le to speak.

But Lin Le only smiled faintly and said, “You don’t need to trouble yourselves about my affairs. I can handle it.”

“Lin Le, must you always be so stubborn!” Lin Xueling grew angry, increasingly frustrated with her cousin for being so unreasonable—clearly out of his depth, yet still putting on a brave face.

“Well, that’s how young masters are—always willful!” Lin Kai chimed in gleefully.

“Young master? Lin Le, the Lin family has already gone bankrupt! Can’t you face reality?” Lin Xueling couldn’t help but lecture him.

“I’ve already said, we’re painfully aware of the bankruptcy—no need for your constant reminders!” Lin Le’s voice rose.

“You… If you get beaten to death, you’ll have only yourself to blame!” Lin Xueling snapped.

“Xueling, mind your words!” Second Uncle chided out of courtesy.

“It’s fine, kids will bicker as they always do. Come, have some fruit.” Lin Tenghui brought over a platter of washed fruit, smiling.

“Big brother, your rent here must be expensive, right?” Second Aunt asked, glancing around the room.

“It’s all right. This place is cleaner than our old home inside the Fourth Ring, and the commute is convenient.”

“Clean? Convenient? Brother, if you ask me, you really should be saving money instead of wasting it on a nice place just for cleanliness and convenience!” Second Aunt sounded like she was giving a lesson.

“That’s right, a place like this can’t be cheap. I think the houses in the South Ring district are just fine!” Third Aunt chimed in.

“Well…” Lin Tenghui didn’t quite know how to respond to their well-meaning advice.

“If you two think the houses in the South Ring slums are so great, why don’t you go live there yourselves?”

“Isn’t cleanliness and convenience supposed to be unimportant? Then why do you both live in the villa district in the West City? Why not outside the Fourth Ring?” Lin Le couldn’t stand it any longer and retorted directly.

“You—listen to this child! We’re just thinking about what’s best for you! Your family’s fallen on hard times—shouldn’t you be saving money? Stop acting like a young master!” Second Aunt, ever domineering, raised her voice.

“Exactly! And you never ask your father how he’s managed to get by these past three years. If we hadn’t lent him money, could he have opened his breakfast shop? Never mind renting in the city center—you couldn’t even afford the South Fourth Ring slums!” Third Aunt added.

“Oh, you really dare to say that? I’d like to ask: since the Lin family went bankrupt, how much have you actually lent my dad? Five million? Three million? One million?” Lin Le hadn’t wanted to argue, but he couldn’t stand their hypocrisy.

His words left the two aunts at a loss. Over the past three years, the two families combined hadn’t lent even half a million, an amount less than their annual salaries back when they were at the Lin Group.

“Big brother, you ought to discipline Lin Le. Three years in the army and he still doesn’t know how to respect his elders!” Third Uncle spoke up.

“Well…” In the old days, Lin Tenghui might have smacked Lin Le for such insolence, but now, he completely understood his son.

“Respect? You want to lecture me about respect? Your son calls me by name every time he opens his mouth. I remember, when the Lin Group was around, he wouldn’t have dared! And with so many elders present, the moment he walked in he put his feet up on our dining table—why don’t you ask him about respect?” Lin Le’s words were forceful and decisive.

“You—you—you…” Third Uncle was rendered speechless.

Second Uncle, always mild, only shook his head helplessly. “Ah, still the same as ever…”

There was a time when young master Lin would bang the table and quarrel with his elders just like this.

“Forget it, big brother. We were going to ask if you needed money and bring you some, but it seems that’s not necessary. If there’s nothing else, we’ll be leaving now!”

With that, Third Uncle led the group away in a huff.

“Wait!” Lin Le called out suddenly.

“From now on, we won’t borrow another cent from you. What we owe, you’ll have it today. But when the Lin Group rises again, I hope you’ll have the sense to know where you stand!”

“Rise again?” Third Uncle scoffed. “You must be delusional!”

Lin Kai and the others all found his words ridiculous.

Lin Xueling shook her head in exasperation, at a loss for words.

With that, Third Uncle and the rest walked out, sneering.

“I’ll see you out.”

After Lin Tenghui returned from seeing them off, Lin Le braced himself for a scolding, but to his surprise, his father only smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. “That’s my boy—well done!”

Lin Le could only smile wryly. The anger he’d bottled up vanished in an instant.

On Monday morning, Lin Le received a call from Gu Ya, saying the Dragon’s Breath Mountain villa had been cleaned and asking when he’d like to come by. They agreed that he’d visit after school that evening.

When he arrived in class, Lu Hongzhe greeted him mysteriously, “Le, you’d better be careful after school today. I heard Zhao Hu’s been bragging on social media that he’s coming for you tonight!”

“That guy really doesn’t know when to quit,” Lin Le sighed with a wry smile.

“No, seriously—this time Zhao Hu’s brought in some people from outside. I hear they’re big shots. You’d better be careful!” Lu Hongzhe said worriedly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful,” Lin Le reassured him.

The final class of the afternoon ended, and just as the teacher left, a figure appeared at the door.

Xu Xier had come especially to walk home with Lin Le.

Once again, the crowd looked on enviously, though most of them had heard that Zhao Hu was planning revenge on Lin Le and feared he was in real trouble.

Lin Le and Xu Xier had just come downstairs when their cousin Lin Xueling approached, her face dark.

“Lin Le, have you heard? It’s all over the school—Zhao Hu’s announced that he’s coming after you after school today!”

Though things had been unpleasant at Lin Le’s house the day before, Lin Xueling still cared about her cousin’s safety.

“Yes, I heard…” Lin Le replied, completely unfazed.

“Lin Le, that Zhao Hu’s still after you? Outrageous!” Xu Xier fumed, feeling guilty as well; she believed Zhao Hu’s vendetta against Lin Le was largely her fault.

“Don’t worry, Xier. He won’t dare touch me,” Lin Le said gently.

Seeing Lin Le’s calm confidence, Lin Xueling grew even more frustrated.

“He won’t dare? Lin Le, you’re overestimating yourself! Zhao Hu’s the most notorious delinquent in Haizhou No. 1 High. His mother’s the director of student affairs. What leverage do you have to make him afraid?”

“I have none,” Lin Le answered honestly.

“Then why do you think he won’t touch you? Just because you learned some moves in the army? Last time you beat him, it was luck. This time he’s bringing in outside help—do you think you’ll get off unscathed?” Lin Xueling felt she was worrying herself sick for her cousin.

As they spoke, Ma Zhifeng and Liu Qian walked over from behind.

“Xueling, didn’t we agree to hang out? What’s keeping you?” Ma Zhifeng asked, his eyes already settling on Lin Le with obvious hostility despite his neutral expression.

“Oh, it’s just that this… friend of mine offended Zhao Hu, who’s brought people to ambush him after school,” Lin Xueling explained frankly.

“Ah, I’ve heard something about that. So this is young master Lin?” Ma Zhifeng pretended not to know.

“Yes, this is Lin Le. By the way, Zhifeng, aren’t you on good terms with Zhao Hu? If you went and talked to him, would he let things go?”

“Well…”

“Yes, if you can help smooth things over, that would be great,” Xu Xier chimed in, feeling responsible for the trouble.

Ma Zhifeng’s gaze fell on Xu Xier, his eyes lighting up with greed.

Xu Xier—famed school beauty of Haizhou No. 1 High—was truly extraordinary, as ethereal as a fairy from the heavens. Compared to Lin Xueling, she was equally stunning: one exuded lively charm, the other a cool elegance; each had her own allure.

If only such a beauty could be his, he’d gladly trade ten years of his life.