At this moment, Jiang Huaiyuan and Zhao Yunshu were chatting in their study, also discussing Lin Chengdong.

Zhao Yunshu, arms crossed, coldly watched Jiang Huaiyuan and said, “My Director Jiang, don’t even think about cleaning up Lin Chengdong’s mess again. He’s just robbing Peter to pay Paul now. If you help him, our entire family will be torn down.”

Jiang Huaiyuan sighed helplessly, “I’m not that foolish.”

No sooner had he spoken than he heard Sister Juan and Xiao Gao’s voices from downstairs.

“Sir, Madam, Mr. Lin is here!”

“Mr. Lin… please wait! Don’t be in such a hurry!”

Lin Chengdong was practically on fire, so how could he not be in a hurry?

He took the stairs two steps at a time, found Jiang Huaiyuan’s study, and pushed the door open without even knocking. He saw Jiang Huaiyuan sitting behind the desk, with Zhao Yunshu beside him.

Lin Chengdong hesitated for a moment. With Zhao Yunshu there, he might not be able to persuade Jiang Huaiyuan. So, with tears streaming down his face, he slid to his knees, “Brother Jiang! Please save me!”

Jiang Huaiyuan had guessed Lin Chengdong would come for help, but he never expected him to kneel. He was momentarily stunned.

Zhao Yunshu coldly nudged him with her elbow, and Jiang Huaiyuan snapped out of it, helping Lin Chengdong up.

He saw Lin Chengdong sobbing uncontrollably, seemingly unable to breathe from grief.

“Sister-in-law… can you let me speak a few words with Brother Jiang alone?”

But Zhao Yunshu remained rooted to the spot, her expression cold, as if she had already anticipated Lin Chengdong’s move.

Of course, she had also promised Jiang Ruotang that she would stay by Jiang Huaiyuan’s side and not allow Lin Chengdong to approach him alone.

After all, even if Jiang Huaiyuan understood what kind of person Lin Chengdong was, Jiang Huaiyuan’s nature was too kind, he wasn’t good at refusing, and might be taken advantage of by Lin Chengdong.

“Go ahead, even if I step out, your Brother Jiang will still tell me everything truthfully.”

Lin Chengdong didn’t expect Zhao Yunshu to be so firm. He could only force out tears, wailing and begging Jiang Huaiyuan to take over the project for him, claiming that he never expected his involvement in Bai Yue’s contract manipulation to cause such a huge mess, that the tax issue was unrelated to the project, and that they couldn’t let the hard work of other investors go to waste, and so on.

Each “Brother Jiang” was tantamount to emotionally blackmailing Jiang Huaiyuan. Jiang Huaiyuan’s heart truly softened. He began to consider whether this project was within his capabilities, or if he should invest money to fill Lin Chengdong’s hole. Once Lin Chengdong’s tax investigation was over, and the fines were paid, if Lin Chengdong was willing to turn over a new leaf, he could start anew.

“Huaiyuan, we just don’t have the capacity for this project,” Zhao Yunshu interjected.

Lin Chengdong paused, then looked up at Zhao Yunshu, “Sister-in-law, what do you mean? Are you still blaming me for not making you deputy financial director?”

Zhao Yunshu lowered her eyes and sighed, “I’m not interested in being a deputy director. I said we don’t have the capacity because it’s true. Mr. Lin, Huaiyuan and I don’t have liquid funds on hand. The bulk of it is tied up in the land at Chengtan, and we still can’t recover the funds.”

“Then… sell your shares in Aoxiang Technology? Plenty of people would be scrambling to buy those shares!”

Jiang Huaiyuan knew Lin Chengdong was anxious, but Aoxiang Technology’s shares paid generous dividends and could be enjoyed for several years. In the future, they would be left to Jiang Ruotang and Zhao Changfeng, serving as a form of security. Lin Chengdong’s tone seemed to imply that it was only natural for Jiang Huaiyuan to lose everything to pay for his mistakes?

If Ruotang knew this, he’d surely jump up and pinch his ears.

Zhao Yunshu spoke first: “Aoxiang Technology’s shares are pledged and temporarily cannot be traded.”

Lin Chengdong looked at Jiang Huaiyuan, who nodded and said, “It’s true.”

“Do you still remember ‘Drunken Immortal Pavilion’? That project was rejected by you at the time, but my husband and I liked it very much, so we bought it, intending to produce it under the name of our small company. So we borrowed tens of millions, which have already been invested in this project. If we were to stop this project, the rented venues, the hired teams, everything would incur losses. And there are so many actors and staff… how would we explain?”

Lin Chengdong swayed backward.

He hadn’t expected the boomerang to come back and hit him squarely.

“Big brother… are you really unable to help me?”

Jiang Huaiyuan looked at Zhao Yunshu. Although Zhao Yunshu knew very well that Lin Chengdong’s visit was like a weasel paying respects to a chicken—with no good intentions—and that helping him would probably be a case of “the farmer and the snake,” she didn’t want Jiang Huaiyuan to be too distressed. So she said, “Mr. Lin, my husband and I can lend you seven or eight million. We truly can’t do anything more.”

“Sister-in-law… sister-in-law… seven or eight million is truly useless for my project. Do you know anyone else? Oh, Mr. Zheng, he’s the biggest shareholder of Little Sweet Fruit, right? I heard you’re very familiar with Zheng Huasheng! Is he willing to take on this project?”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yunshu became furious. Was he trying to take advantage of Little Sweet Fruit too? Ruotang was Little Sweet Fruit’s largest shareholder. What kind of mother would push her son into a fire pit? Lin Chengdong shouldn’t even dream of touching a single penny of Ruotang’s money!

“The CEO of Little Sweet Fruit is Gao Cheng, after all. How could he be so easily fooled?”

If you knew who was behind Senior Brother Zheng, would you still say such things?

Who knew that once Lin Chengdong lost his shamelessness, he’d be like sticky candy, impossible to shake off. He actually kowtowed repeatedly in front of Zhao Yunshu.

“Big brother! Sister-in-law! Save me! Little Sweet Fruit has ample funds; saving my project would be effortless! Please, I beg you!”

“This…” Jiang Huaiyuan watched Lin Chengdong kowtow with loud thuds, truly startled.

Zhao Yunshu knew Jiang Huaiyuan would be in great torment, because his nature was to cherish old affections.

Alright, if that’s the case, she, Zhao Yunshu, would put an end to Lin Chengdong’s hopes.

“I’ll make a call to Old Zheng and see if he can convince Gao Cheng.”

Hearing this, hope rekindled in Lin Chengdong’s eyes.

“Senior Brother, it’s Yunshu. Sorry to bother you at this hour. What are you doing?” Zhao Yunshu’s voice was light, as if she was simply calling Zheng Huasheng for a chat.

“I’m feeding my Ah Qing. It’s been very picky lately, and its fur isn’t as shiny as before. Sigh, what do you need me for? No need for pleasantries between us.”

Zhao Yunshu laughed, “Senior Brother, it’s like this, you’ve heard of our company’s project, ‘Capital’s Spooky Night,’ right? Many preparatory tasks have been completed, and it’s imperative to proceed. But Mr. Lin has to withdraw due to his dispute with Bai Yue. I was wondering if you, Old Zheng, would be interested in stepping in?”

After speaking, Zhao Yunshu glanced at Lin Chengdong, meaning she had said what needed to be said, and whether the other party accepted was not up to her.

“Oh, you mean that project that first had script infringement issues, and then the producer faced tax and economic problems?”

“Sigh…” Zhao Yunshu sighed awkwardly, “The script can be changed, and the producer’s tax issues are unrelated to the project, right?”

“I can invest in many reliable projects, like your and Director Jiang’s ‘Drunken Immortal Pavilion,’ but why would I spend money on a project with such high risks, so many problems, and no visible return on investment? Even if I agree, my company has shareholders, and then there’s Dai Ming. He’s a top lawyer for economic cases; do you think he’d agree?”

Hearing this, Lin Chengdong immediately mouthed “Little Sweet Fruit.”

Zhao Yunshu then asked, “What about Little Sweet Fruit? Little Sweet Fruit should also have plans to invest in film and television projects, they can’t just do animation forever, right?”

Zheng Huasheng sighed, “Junior Sister, everyone in the industry knows that when Gao Cheng left Qilin Video, he also considered going to Yunfeng Video. He apparently asked Mr. Lin to help with an introduction at that time, but Mr. Lin didn’t even meet him. That was only three months ago, so Gao Cheng must remember it clearly, right?”

“Senior Brother, is there no other way?”

“There’s no other way. As your senior brother, I also want to remind you and Director Jiang that Lin Chengdong deludes himself into thinking his collaborations with those few investors are known only to heaven and themselves, but according to my information, the economic crime investigators may have started their investigation when they established this project.”

Zheng Huasheng’s last sentence was the most devastating, almost completely crushing Lin Chengdong.

So he had been targeted from the very beginning of the project’s establishment? Then even if he settled everything, the economic crime investigators probably had already gathered all the evidence!

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Yunshu looked at Lin Chengdong and said, “My husband and I are truly helpless. But… why can’t you learn from Bai Yue?”

“Learn from Bai Yue…” Lin Chengdong stood there stunned.

“Face death to find life,” Zhao Yunshu said, looking into Lin Chengdong’s eyes.

Lin Chengdong swayed as he stood up, then slowly walked downstairs as if his soul had been sucked out.

Zhao Yunshu gave Xiao Gao a meaningful look, signaling him to escort Lin Chengdong back, just in case anything happened on the way.

But Lin Chengdong was still struggling desperately. His driver had gone back to his wife’s family home, and now that Xiao Gao was there, he shamelessly treated Xiao Gao as his personal driver, directing him to drive to Mu Xianqing’s house.

Xiao Gao felt terrible, but seeing Lin Chengdong’s frantic state, he could only comply.

Unfortunately, when Lin Chengdong arrived downstairs at Mu Xianqing’s house, their car couldn’t even enter the ornate iron gate. Lin Chengdong dialed Mu Xianqing’s number, and the response was “The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.” This was tantamount to telling Lin Chengdong that he had been blocked by Mu Xianqing.

Lin Chengdong dialed several more times from his seat, but still received the same response.

Xiao Gao sighed, thinking, who would dare associate with you at this point? Being blocked is already the most polite dismissal.

Meanwhile, Mu Xianqing was actually by the window of his study on the third floor, leaning against the wall, holding a cup of… FAIRY brand milk tea, which Jiang Ruotang had ordered for him as takeout.

When he received it, Mu Xianqing found it both amusing and perplexing, wondering why Jiang Ruotang would treat him to such a childish drink.

But when Lin Chengdong came to his doorstep, begging like a dog, Mu Xianqing understood. Jiang Ruotang’s message was: If you want me to continue being your little ancestor, don’t get involved in Lin Chengdong’s affairs.

Mu Xianqing leisurely took a sip. Hmm, the pearls in this are quite chewy.

It seemed that his little ancestor’s investment foresight was always on point, even investing in milk tea that tasted good.

After an hour of making a fuss outside Mu Xianqing’s door, Xiao Gao was almost asleep on the steering wheel when Lin Chengdong finally decided to go somewhere else: the Chen family’s home.

Chen Dan had already briefed his parents and sister earlier that day.

“If Lin Chengdong comes, whether it’s to borrow money or to give money, our Chen family will not open the door!”

His sister asked worriedly, “Are you really going to be that ruthless? Lin Chengdong is quite resourceful. What if he makes a comeback and retaliates against our family?”

Chen Dan replied, “He won’t make a comeback. And I’m doing very well at Little Sweet Fruit now. You’re all happy with me pursuing a career, right?”

Chairman Chen and Mrs. Chen nodded in unison.

“The chairman of Little Sweet Fruit, the older brother who’s helping me earn money now, was once tricked by Lin Chengdong. If you’re kind to Lin Chengdong, how will I be able to face anyone at Little Sweet Fruit in the future?”

His sister immediately said, “Then your relationship with your older brother is more important.”

“Your older brother isn’t that guy Qi Yanzhe, is he?”

“Hey! Aze is now ranked second!”

His sister told the butler, “If Lin Chengdong dares to come in, we’ll unleash the dogs!”

Chen Dan was speechless, “Where do we even have dogs at home…”