Chapter 037

Lin Ran walked out of the office and left the campus directly, wanting to avoid any chance of running into Liu Ruxue.

Not long after, Xu Kai called.

"Mr. Lin, Lin Tianba has agreed to hand over the dividends. His condition is that we drop the lawsuit, and then he’ll pay."

Lin Ran replied, "We won’t drop the lawsuit. Only when the money is in our hands will we consider it."

Lin Ran knew full well that Lin Tianba wouldn’t be able to come up with the money unless his funds were unfrozen. He wanted to make him sweat.

If Lin Tianba had a plan, good for him. If not, tough luck.

After all, his escape routes had already been sealed.

At Suran Group, Lin Tianba, dragging his sickly body, returned to face the wrath of the shareholders, who were all condemning his actions.

By now, the shareholders had learned why the company’s funds had been frozen.

They never expected the father and son of the Lin family to escalate things to this point.

As shareholders, they didn’t care about family drama or who was right or wrong.

What they cared about was profit and power.

Now that Lin Tianba’s mistakes had caused such significant losses, the shareholders couldn’t sit still.

They held a joint meeting, intending to remove Lin Tianba from his position as chairman, but it ultimately failed.

There was no way around it—Lin Tianba held too large a share, and he still had some supporters, which led to the meeting ending in discord.

In the end, they could only issue an ultimatum: Lin Tianba had one day to resolve the issue, or they would go to war with him, even if it meant sacrificing their shares.

Lin Tianba sat alone in the conference room, his expression dark, smoking one cigarette after another.

There was no choice—he had to find a way to scrape together the money for Lin Ran. Otherwise, the company wouldn’t survive much longer. This could very well be the spark that ignited a full-blown crisis.

With a *ding*, Lin Tianba weakly picked up his phone.

Most of the messages he received these days were from shareholders blaming him. However, when Lin Tianba saw the sender’s name this time, his pupils dilated slightly.

He immediately tried to call, but the call was rejected with a notification: *[The other party is not your friend yet.]*

Lin Tianba was so angry he almost threw his phone. After a moment, he opened the file that had been sent to him and listened to a recording.

"...It was your father who seduced me... You can’t do this, I’m Mrs. Lin. I can’t be left without money..."

Lin Tianba’s face turned as dark as storm clouds, and it took him a long time to regain his composure.

After some thought, he contacted Liu Yuemei and Lin Jian, and they held a family meeting.

"That rebellious son is determined to humiliate me. There’s no other way—we have to come up with the money."

Liu Yuemei immediately looked unwilling.

"How? Our family doesn’t have 300 million to spare."

Lin Tianba rubbed his forehead.

"Then we’ll sell our assets—houses, cars, and all those jewelry pieces you have. Sell everything at once. Once this storm passes, we’ll buy back what we’ve lost."

Though Liu Yuemei was a thousand times unwilling, it was no use. She knew how serious the situation was.

Seeing her reluctance, Lin Tianba spoke slowly.

"Did you go see that rebellious son Lin Ran today?"

Liu Yuemei froze, then thought of something and began to tremble slightly.

"Husband, I just wanted to help you and the company."

Lin Tianba chuckled. "You helped quite well. Next time, don’t."

Before Liu Yuemei could say more, Lin Tianba continued.

"She sent me the recording of your conversation."

Liu Yuemei felt a chill run through her body but quickly regained her composure.

"Husband, it’s not what you think. I was just angry and said things I didn’t mean. I love you."

Lin Tianba nodded. "I know. I’m not angry because I love you too. We’re a loving family."

Liu Yuemei looked moved, holding Lin Tianba’s hand with one hand and Lin Jian’s with the other.

"That’s right, we’re a family—a loving family."

Lin Jian looked at his father and then at his mother, nodding obediently.

"Yes, we’re a loving family."

Lin Tianba took a deep breath. He admitted that he had been furious when he first heard the recording, but upon reflection, it wasn’t such a big deal.

If Liu Yuemei didn’t love him, why would she have borne his child and been his mistress for thirteen years?

Could it really be just for his money? That didn’t make sense.

Lin Tianba felt a pang of sorrow and guilt for his momentary doubt.

So he chose to forgive Liu Yuemei, to forgive his wife.

"Once we get through this crisis, I’ll take you all on a trip to Africa."

Both nodded in agreement.

To raise cash quickly, Lin Tianba sold all his properties at a low price, keeping only the villa he currently lived in.

He also sold Lin Jian’s cars, his own cars, and all the stocks and funds he held, but it still wasn’t enough.

The shareholders, smelling blood in the water, swooped in to buy Lin Tianba’s assets at rock-bottom prices.

Due to the freeze, they only signed purchase agreements, but Lin Tianba didn’t dare renege on the deals later.

By evening, they were still short of the 300 million, missing a full 100 million.

Liu Yuemei pursed her lips but said nothing.

She had a backup plan.

Over the years, she had secretly saved a considerable amount of money—50 million, to be exact—stored in a card held by Lin Jian.

The cash the Lin family could raise before selling assets was also around that amount.

Just as they were at their wits’ end, an unexpected person showed up.

Brother Dao, the top underground figure in the capital, whose wealth was built on activities that were practically written into the criminal code.

Lin Tianba was puzzled but didn’t dare offend him. After all, he had heard of Brother Dao’s reputation.

Liu Yuemei and Lin Jian didn’t know Brother Dao, but seeing Lin Tianba’s respectful attitude, they also greeted him politely.

Brother Dao said, "Mr. Lin, I won’t beat around the bush. I hear you’re in need of money. I’m here to provide it."

Lin Tianba was stunned, then his face lit up with hope.

He knew Brother Dao’s main business was lending money. Given his recent asset sales, it was no secret that he was in trouble.

So Brother Dao was here to lend him money. All he had to do was pay some interest.

As long as the company’s funds were unfrozen and operations resumed, even a high interest rate wouldn’t be a problem.

Thinking this, Lin Tianba’s face brightened, and even Liu Yuemei and Lin Jian looked excited.

Lin Tianba said, "I see. Brother Dao, you’re truly a lifesaver. I do need a significant amount of money. I wonder if you can help."

Brother Dao asked, "How much?"

Lin Tianba held up one finger. Brother Dao was momentarily surprised, thinking to himself how accurate Lin Ran’s prediction had been.

"100 million? Easy. We can sign the agreement right now."

Lin Tianba was taken aback. He hadn’t expected a man from the underworld to have such resources.

"Thank you, Brother Dao. I’ll repay you as soon as possible."