The revolving door of the Zhou Group's headquarters building drew a silver arc in the morning mist, and Lin Aotian's customized leather shoes had just stepped onto the marble floor when an icy touch climbed up his spine along the heels. His afterglow glimpsed the receptionist's fingertips trembling slightly as she pressed down on the intercom, the knot in her throat rolling against the collar of her straight shirt -- a subtle reaction that he had already expected. The mirror in the elevator room reflected his straight figure, the cuffs of the dragon embroidery in the cold light with a metallic luster, hidden in the dark lines of the Suzhou embroidery craftsmen with gold thread embroidery of the cloud and thunder pattern, each stitch is telling the Lin family hundred years of heritage.
Twenty-eighth floor conference room, sandalwood and leather mixed with the smell came. Zhou Jianbang was wiping his glasses against the floor-to-ceiling window, the lenses refracting fine specks of light in the morning light. On the twelve walnut chairs, the eyes of Hengyuan's board members swept over Lin Aotian like a searchlight, until they saw the hidden family crest on his chest and sat up straight in unison. Some subconsciously straightened their ties, others lightly knocked on the desktop, these subtle movements exposed their uneasiness in the silence.
"Young Lin made a splash at the auction last night, so he's early today." When Zhou Jianbang turned around, his gaze behind the lenses landed as precisely as a scalpel on the leather file box in Lin Aotian's hand, the brass locking clasp on the corner of the box glowing coldly and hard in the light.
"To talk about cooperation with Uncle Zhou, naturally, I have to show my sincerity." Lin Ao Tian pushed the file box to the center of the table when he took his seat, the sound of the combination lock "click" opening was extraordinarily clear in the quiet conference room, just like the sound of a war drum. His slender fingers crossed the surface of the box, under the dark red velvet lining, a stack of documents and hard disk hidden, "But before looking at the cooperation program, I would like to invite you to enjoy a video first."
The moment assistant Chen Mo connects the tablet to the projector, Lin Ao Tian notices the Finance Director's throat knots rolling violently. The image showed Zhou Mingxuan drunkenly walking into a private club with his arm around a young model, signing the contract with the date being the night before the auction. Red wine stains haloed across the contract, creating harsh spots." Zhou's Trust Fund Document No. 47 stipulates that three directors are required to co-sign for the utilization of the reserve fund." Lin Ao Tian's fingertip scratched across the screen, zooming in on the blurry line of signatures, "And the eight million dollars that Zhou Shao utilized last night only had his own signature."
The conference room resounded with rising and falling huffing sounds. The marketing director's pen slipped from his fingers and rolled in a long trajectory on the carpet. Zhou Jianbang's knuckles pinched white, fine beads of sweat seeping out between his fingers, he didn't expect that this young man would actually be able to call up the private club's surveillance within twelve hours--that dead zone protected by a military-grade firewall that even Zhou's security system had failed to breach.
"Of course, I'm not here to raise hell today." Lin Ao Tian suddenly laughed softly, pulling out two hot stamped documents from the file box, and the planning map of the West Coast project unfolded on the projector. Next to the blue coastline, the eye-catching "5 billion" capital injection figure was marked, "For the West Coast project, Huading is willing to inject 5 billion, but needs 60% of the controlling interest. In exchange," he pushed over another document, the words 'Bank Data Erasure Agreement' on the cover flashed with a cold light, "I will make Zhou's trust fund's record of violations completely disappear from the banking system."
The marketing director slapped his hands and the mahogany desktop made a dull thud, "Young Lin is asking for a lion's share of the money!" But when he locked eyes with Lin Ao Tian, the coldness that churned in those bottomless eyes resembled the sharpness that had routed Zhou Mingxuan at last night's auction. Lin Ao Tian just flicked his wristwatch, and the tourbillon device on the dial refracted a fine light, as if calculating everyone's reaction time.
Zhou Jianbang stared at the family crest on the document, his memory suddenly returning to thirty years ago. Under the moonlight of the old mansion, the old master of the Lin Clan held the hand of a young child and solemnly wrote the word "Ao Tian" on the family tree. At the moment, this young man had quadrupled the market value of Huading in three months, just as ruthlessly as when the old master had built a business empire from nothing.
"Good, I agree." Zhou Jianbang suddenly spoke up, interrupting the argument that was about to erupt, "But I have a condition, Huading must retain the Zhou Group's brand and operate independently." His voice carried the determination of a broken boat, but when Lin Ao Tian reached out to shake his hand, he felt the abnormal warmth in the other party's palm -- this temperature formed a weird contrast with his icy cold eyes.
Lin Ao Tian released his hand, an emerald cufflinks slipped on the document, cutting surface refracted a ghostly green light: "By the way, Zhou young credit card bill shows that he recently lost twelve million in Macao -- I suggest that he be sent to the United Kingdom to Cambridge to read an MBA, so as not to cause trouble in the country." These words fell lightly, but like a heavy hammer in the hearts of the crowd.
When leaving the Zhou Mansion, Chen Mo handed over a tablet with an encrypted message bouncing on the screen, "News came from the old mansion, second uncle Lin Zhenguo arrived an hour early with representatives from the Southeast Asian consortium." Lin Ao Tian looked at his own reflection on the glass curtain wall, the dragon tie clip refracted a cold light in the sunlight. The vermillion lacquer gates of the Suzhou garden opened slowly in his memory, when he was sixteen years old, the rainstorm was torrential, he knelt in front of the ancestral hall, the rain mixed with tears slipped into his collar, listening to his second uncle's chiding, "A commoner's son is not worthy of wearing the family crest."
The moss on the brick path of the old mansion shimmered in the twilight. Lin Ao Tian stood under the water dripping into a curtained veranda, listening to the sounds of argument coming from the main hall. As he pushed open the door, Second Uncle's words came to an abrupt end -- the gilt dragon badge on his chest was the same one his mother had left him back then. The wear marks on the edges of the badge bore witness to the hardships he had endured in the business world over the years.
"Ao Tian is here." The old master sat on the carved rosewood chair, his fingers caressing the cloud carvings on the armrests. The bottom of his cloudy eyes rippled, it was the first time in thirty years that he saw his younger self in his grandson. The Southeast Asian consortium representative's eyes balked between Lin Aotian and Second Uncle, keenly catching the smell of gunpowder in the air.
"I heard that you took a 60% controlling stake in the Zhou Group?" Second uncle Lin Zhenguo was the first to speak, the emerald buttons on the cuffs of his suit mirrored Lin Aotian's ring, but appeared dull in the sunlight. He deliberately slapped the folder heavily on the table, shaking off a few sandalwood shavings, "Young people still need to leave room for manoeuvre, lest you cut off the life of your peers."
"Second uncle is joking." Lin Ao Tian settled down below the main seat, deliberately revealing the dragon embroidery on his cuffs, the gold threads flashing in the twilight, "The financial loopholes of Zhou Group are enough for the SFC to investigate for three years. I'm taking 60%, but I'm just cleaning up Uncle Zhou's mess." He suddenly turned to the representative of the Southeast Asian consortium, the other party was quietly twirling his fountain pen, "Rather, I heard that your side's nickel mining project in Indonesia has recently been in talks with Uncle Two's Starlight Capital?"
The air conditioner in the conference room emitted a slight hum, but it couldn't cover the crunching sound of the pen tip snapping. The consortium representative's pupils contracted slightly, this news that was only finalized last night, the young man in front of him actually grasped the details within twelve hours. He suddenly realized that this meeting might have been an elaborate trap from the beginning.
"Ao Tian," The old master suddenly spoke, taking out a yellowed genealogy from a sandalwood box, a faint camphor odor wafting out from between the pages. His fingers brushed over the name "Lin's Xueli", his voice was tinged with vicissitudes, "It's time for you to know about your mother's life."
The atmosphere of the conference room suddenly froze. Lin Ao Tian looked at his mother's name on the genealogy - "Lin's Xue Li", underneath it was labeled "Only daughter of a shipbuilding family in the East China Sea". Memories suddenly became clear, his mother held his hand before dying, her body heat dissipating a little, but still insisted, "Ao Tian, when the dragon is trapped in the shallows, learn to protect yourself with your scales and armor." It turns out that those late night annotations in the ledger, those sage advice on business strategies, all originated from the wisdom of the East China Sea Lin Clan's hundred-year legacy.
Second Uncle's emerald buttons turned between his fingers, making a fine sound that broke the suffocating silence. He did not expect that the old master would reveal this secret at this moment -- back then, Lin Aotian's mother was actually the rightful heir of the East China Sea Lin Clan, while he, the collateral branch, had always coveted the inheritance of the main lineage. The emerald buttons glowed with a weird green light under the light, just like his twisted heart at this moment.
"The rules of the old mansion, the heir to the main lineage is required to wear the heirloom dragon emblem." The old master coughed twice, signaling Lin Ao Tian to come forward. The moment the brocade box was opened, a warm jade aura hit his face, inside lay a dragon pattern jade pendant of the same model as his ring, the very palm token of the East Sea Lin Clan. The dragon pattern on the jade pendant was lifelike, and the obsidian inlaid at the dragon's eyes seemed to gaze at the crowd as if it was a living thing.
"Thank you grandpa." Lin Ao Tian solemnly received the jade pendant, the dragon pattern pulsed with warm light in his palm, as if it was alive and entwined in his bloodline. He turned to the representative of the Southeast Asian consortium, his voice as steady as a bell: "Regarding the nickel mine project in Southeast Asia, Huading is willing to double the price and provide full legal escort - I believe the representative of the consortium will make a wise choice." As these words fell, the fountain pen in Uncle Er's hand "snapped" and broke, the ink haloing black swirls on the desktop.
When he left the old mansion, the moon was already up. Lin Aotian touched the jade pendant in his pocket and suddenly understood why his mother insisted on giving him the surname Lin -- she had never forgotten his origins, nor had she ever given up the inheritance of the main lineage. The cell phone vibrates, Chen Mo sends a message: Zhou Group's stock price has plummeted 20%, Zhou Mingxuan has been sent to London. There was also a photo attached to the message box, which showed Zhou Mingxuan dragging a suitcase and running in a state of distress at the airport, followed by two bodyguards in suits.
The nightingale's cries were heard in the distance, mixed with the sound of gurgling water in the garden. Lin Aotian looked up at the three gilt characters "Dragon Royal Hall" on the lintel and suddenly laughed softly -- Second Uncle thought that he could shake his position by relying on the Southeast Asian consortium, but he didn't know that from the moment he revealed the dragon emblem at the auction, this war about power and wealth had already entered his rhythm.
And the secrets of the East China Sea Lin Clan were just another magnificent picture that was about to unfold on his journey to the Dragon Emperor's business.