Xu Qingqing had a total of three uncles, and the one contacting her now was Lin Donghan's father.
Xu Qingqing knew exactly what he was scheming—nothing more than trying to seize the opportunity to mediate and reconcile. Considering the usual conduct of the Lin family, her uncle would probably also take the chance to lecture her about how she had kicked Lin Donghan out of the Xu family's birthday banquet not long ago.
She could even imagine the exact words he would use, something like, "Your mother was a Lin, and you are also part of our Lin family. When something like this happens, honor and disgrace are shared," and so on and so forth—all that nonsense.
Xu Qingqing had no patience for listening to such things.
So without hesitation, she declined her uncle's invitation, using the excuse that she was going on a trip during the holiday and had no time to attend the family dinner at the Lin residence.
Under normal circumstances, she would have been quite willing to attend such a gathering. But at this critical juncture, with the Lin family inviting her over for a meal, Xu Qingqing saw right through it—this was a banquet set with ulterior motives.
So without another word, she simply declined and left it at that.
Xu Qingqing's refusal was delivered very smoothly, which seemed to anger the uncle on the other end of the line.
Hearing Xu Qingqing's refusal, he thought of how his son had been thrown out of the Xu house, utterly humiliated. In his anger, he forgot his mother's prior warnings.
He couldn't help but say, "Qingqing, you're all grown up now, but for your own good, your uncle still has to say a few words to you."
"Qingqing, we, the Lin family, believe we have never wronged you. Yet at the banquet, you showed us no face at all."
His tone was harsh and stern. "Qingqing, do you have any idea what a mess the family is in right now because of you?" He launched into the typical lecturing spiel of a middle-aged man, his words almost exactly as Xu Qingqing had predicted moments before.
Xu Qingqing held the phone away from her ear, fiddling with her fingers, and occasionally responding with an "Mhm," "Oh," "You're so right, Uncle," or "You're simply brilliant."
Although Xu Qingqing could be quite a handful, she never made a scene or acted disrespectfully towards elders regardless of the situation. So even though her uncle's words grated on her nerves, she restrained herself from showing her displeasure outright. After all, now wasn't the right time to burn bridges.
Of course, a scoundrel like Xu Changshan was an exception. He didn't count as an elder. The fact that Xu Qingqing didn't get into a physical fight with him every time they met was already a testament to the good upbringing of the Xu family.
A few dozen seconds later, Xu Qingqing finished applying her lipstick, checked her reflection in the mirror, and turned back, quite satisfied.
She picked up the phone she had placed nearby. Without caring that the other party was in the middle of his passionate speech, she casually brushed him off: "Uncle, I'm in the parking garage, the signal is bad. Gotta go, bye."
Then she hung up the phone. With a clatter, the phone slipped from her fair fingertips and fell onto her lap.
No wonder the Lin family had been declining in recent years. With an uncle who had such poor judgment, who knew how many people he must have offended in the business world.
It was Lin Donghan who had offended her. Now they wanted to mediate, but instead of making Lin Donghan make amends, they kept criticizing her. What was the point?
Even her grandmother, at a time like this, knew she should try to placate her, saying some soft words and playing dumb. Her uncle hadn't even inherited a tenth of his mother's emotional intelligence. Probably because he had taken over the company and started wielding power in recent years, he had become increasingly stubborn and self-important.
Or perhaps it wasn't that her uncle lacked judgment, but that he simply didn't take her seriously. That would explain why he could do something as foolish as secretly associating with Bai Youlan while still trying to maintain his relationship with her and the Xu family.
Deep down, her uncle and the others probably still saw her as that teenage girl who had lost her mother, someone they could control as they pleased.
After receiving the call, Xu Qingqing had guessed her uncle's intentions, confirming that this was indeed a trap, not an attempt by the Lin family to apologize.
Xu Qingqing understood her grandmother. Because of what happened to Lin Jiangxue, her grandmother harbored a deep hatred for Bai Yaxiu, who had destroyed her daughter's marriage.
Her grandmother could turn a blind eye and tolerate her grandson fooling around with Bai Yaxiu's daughter, but she would absolutely never allow Lin Donghan to marry her.
Xu Qingqing had made her stance perfectly clear at the birthday banquet. Her grandmother could not possibly ignore it. Yet, after returning to the Lin residence, her grandmother had fallen silent, never contacting her, not even offering an explanation.
It seemed there were only two possibilities: either her grandmother had suddenly had a change of heart, decided to play the saint, forgive Bai Yaxiu who was responsible for her daughter's death, and bless the union of Lin Donghan and Bai Youlan, or her grandmother was powerless to deal with Lin Donghan.
The former would probably only happen if the world were ending. The latter was even stranger.
Xu Qingqing's grandmother was currently the matriarch of the Lin family, with numerous children and grandchildren under her. If she were determined to be firm, how could she be powerless against Lin Donghan? Unless someone with more authority than her was supporting him.
And now, with her uncle making this call, it was highly likely that even her grandmother had been persuaded. So much so that the entire Lin family now tacitly accepted that Lin Donghan was involved with Bai Youlan and might even develop a deeper relationship.
Xu Qingqing had been very happy after learning her exam results and was just about to go out on a date. But after the phone call and connecting the dots, the smile had now vanished from her lips.
She felt utterly drained.
She knew her grandmother and the others might not choose her side when making their choice, but she hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.
For how long had she tolerated Lin Donghan for the sake of these Lin family relatives? Yet they had almost without hesitation taken the other side.
Her grandmother was slightly better; she had held out for over a month, at least putting up some resistance for her, or for her deceased mother's sake, for a period of time.
Xu Qingqing gave a wry smile. For the Lin family to completely switch sides, it was either related to Bai Youlan's "system," or it was related to the Xu family.
But right now, Xu Qingqing wasn't in the mood to speculate. Regardless of the reason, the result was the same: she had been betrayed.
On the other end, Uncle Lin, whose call had been cut off, frowned with great dissatisfaction. In the past, although his niece was spoiled and willful, she would never directly hang up on him or sound so dismissive.
Thinking of how his son had been treated at the Xu house and Xu Qingqing's sudden cold-shouldering attitude, Uncle Lin felt something was very wrong.
Holding his phone, he walked into the inner room where his mother was waiting. As soon as he entered, she asked urgently, "Did you say what I told you to? Did Qingqing agree?"
Uncle Lin frowned, somewhat irritated. "She's busy. Said she isn't coming."
Grandmother Lin sighed heavily. "I knew I should have called myself."
She had thought it over and felt too embarrassed to make the call herself, afraid her granddaughter would ask how she planned to handle the Bai Youlan situation. That's why she had asked her third son to handle it, never expecting he would be so useless.
Uncle Lin headed towards the stairs, casually brushing her off. "I'm going upstairs to see Dad now."
In the study, Old Master Lin was chatting with Lin Donghan.
Smoke curled slowly from the incense burner on the tea table, and the aroma of tea filled the air. In the center lay an exquisite blue-and-white porcelain plate, on which rested only a single black pill the size of a soybean.
Uncle Lin walked in without glancing sideways. Seeing the pill, he said, "So this is the thing that girl talked about?"
"Dad, are you still studying this? Last time I thought it was just an accident. It might not have anything to do with what she brought. It could have just been a coincidence."
Old Master Lin, seated at the head of the room, frowned and said coolly, "Be quiet."
Uncle Lin immediately fell silent and quietly went to sit beside his son.
Old Master Lin remained deeply troubled, asking, "Has Xu Qingqing agreed to come?"
Uncle Lin shook his head, his voice lowering, "She refused. I think her attitude seems off; she might know something."
Old Master Lin said gravely, "They all say Xu Qingqing has a spoiled temper, but in reality, she's quite shrewd when it comes to important matters."
However, he just offered this casual remark without dwelling on it, as there were more pressing matters than his granddaughter.
He turned to his son and asked, "Never mind about Xu Qingqing for now. The project with the Xu family is already on track; they wouldn't dare pull out their investment at this point. Has the lab's second analysis report come out?"
"It has. Same as before. The lab says they can't identify the components. The test results claim it's just the most common health supplement."
Old Master Lin had likely anticipated this outcome, yet he still asked with a sliver of hope.
Uncle Lin suggested, "Should we send it to another lab for another analysis?"
Old Master Lin shook his head and sighed, "No need. The result would probably be the same, and it would just waste this last pill."
When he had learned that his grandson was involved with Bai Yaxiu's daughter and had even schemed against Xu Qingqing because of it, jeopardizing the cooperation between the Xu and Lin families, Old Master Lin had nearly considered disowning his grandson to force him to apologize.
Although Lin Donghan was once his chosen successor, Old Master Lin, shrewd with age, knew perfectly well what was more important: one grandson, or the collaboration between the two powerful families.
However, just as he was about to administer the family discipline to Lin Donghan, Bai Youlan arrived. A mere girl, yet she faced him without flinching and negotiated terms.
In the study that day, what she presented was this very item, claiming it could prolong life and restore youth.
Old Master Lin had scoffed and thrown the pills away on the spot. He expected Bai Youlan, a girl in her twenties, to be shamed, panicked, or even run off crying. But she did none of those things.
Bai Youlan simply looked at him, the man who controlled the Lin Group, with a gaze that seemed to regard him as a fool, then left without another word.
Perhaps it was the sting of her contemptuous look. Being a cunning old fox, Old Master Lin thought it over for a long time and, almost as if possessed, picked up one of the pills scattered on the table and fed it to his grandson, who was beaten half to death.
That very night, Lin Donghan's injuries had mostly healed.
Later, he himself took one and found that his long-standing chronic headaches, which had plagued him for years, had also vanished.
As one ages, bodily functions decline, leading to various ailments. Old Master Lin was no exception. Yet after taking that pill, he felt an unprecedented comfort and lightness in his body recently, and even sprouted a few black hairs just yesterday.
Bai Youlan had brought four pills. He and his grandson consumed two, sent one to the lab for testing, and now only this last one remained.
What a pity. Had he known the tests would reveal nothing, he would have saved that pill.
Old Master Lin was already in his seventies. No matter how powerful or wealthy a person is, at his age, what one desires most is to live long, free from illness and disaster.
Since Bai Youlan delivered this item, apart from his informed grandson and eldest son, he had told no one else. To the outside world, he only announced that he would not interfere with his grandson's normal social interactions.
He needed to think carefully about how to proceed with his plans. Judging by that girl Bai Youlan's demeanor, she likely had a good supply of such treasures. He wondered what kind of trump card she was holding and where it came from.
The Xu family was immensely wealthy with deep, ancient roots; they might indeed possess such age-old prescriptions passed down through generations. However, such a treasure certainly wouldn't fall into the hands of Xu Changshan. If Chairman Xu and his wife had such a boon, it was impossible that Xu Qingqing wouldn't have it, while Bai Youlan, an outsider with a different surname, got it first.
Could it be something from the Bai family? But the investigation reports indicated that Bai Youlan's biological father was just an ordinary truck driver, and they hadn't seen each other for over a decade.
Could it be a family heirloom from the Bai ancestors? Old Master Lin thought he would have to send people to investigate further.
Seeing Old Master Lin's grim expression, seemingly deep in thought, Uncle Lin tentatively asked, "Dad, that girl Bai Youlan... she isn't playing us for fools, is she?" He wasn't entirely comfortable with his son being entangled with Bai Yaxiu's daughter either.
Although his sister had passed away many years ago, thinking about it still pricked his conscience. After all, he had been quite close to Lin Jiangxue when she was little.
Old Master Lin couldn't be bothered to deal with his son's question. Instead, Lin Donghan glanced at his father and explained, "Don't speak of Youlan that way, Dad. She wouldn't harm anyone."
When he was beaten half to death, the love of his life descended from heaven, willingly came to the Lin family that despised her, held a secret discussion with his grandfather, and even offered this miraculous medicine akin to an elixir.
If Lin Donghan's love for Bai Youlan was eighty points before, now it was ninety-nine, and this affection was now free from any calculations of profit or gain.
