Joint Performance

"Wan'er, Yan'er, Xiu'er, Mom doesn't have much money. This 15 million will have to be pooled together by you all for now."

"Alright," Lin Qingwan nodded and said, "I'll contribute 5 million."

Lin Qingyan, who had been active in the entertainment industry and was quite successful, had substantial savings. Without hesitation, she replied, "I'll also put in 5 million."

Lin Qingxiu bit her lip. "I work as a doctor, but after that medical mistake incident, I was fired. I don’t have much money left—I can only give 500,000."

Jiang Shuqin turned to Lin Chang and said coldly, "Lin Chang, Li'er has been with our family since he was little. He’s always been filial to you. You can’t possibly contribute nothing, can you?"

Lin Chang was reluctant to part with the millions, but he had no choice. Gritting his teeth, he said, "I’ll cover the remaining amount."

As Lin Qingwan watched everyone quickly pool the money together, her heart ached.

Back when they were children, Little Xuan had also been kidnapped. At that time, the kidnappers had only demanded 1 million.

But what had Mom said then?

She said it was Little Xuan’s own fault for being careless and getting caught by those criminals. He brought it upon himself.

There was no need to spend money to ransom him—his fate was his own to bear.

No one brought it up again, and life went on as usual, with everyone eating, drinking, and enjoying themselves.

Two days later, Little Xuan returned, his body covered in wounds.

Mom didn’t even take him to the hospital—just tossed him some ointment and had a servant apply it. That was all.

Little Xuan had only been fourteen at the time.

The way they treated him back then was why he was so determined to leave this family, cutting off all ties with them...

Now, it was Li'er who had been kidnapped, and the ransom demanded was 15 million—ten times what the kidnappers had asked for Lin Xuan.

Yet, they managed to gather the money in less than ten minutes.

That 1 million back then? For their family, it would have been just a few days’ worth of expenses.

Such a small sum, yet they couldn’t bring themselves to pay it...

The Lin family, carrying the money, marched in a grand procession toward the location Old Liu had specified.

They placed the bag of cash on the ground.

Jiang Shuqin called Old Liu again. "We’ve gathered the money. Can you release my son now?"

Old Liu replied, "I see you. Leave the money there and walk away. Once I have it, I’ll send you the coordinates of your son’s location."

"Fine."

Jiang Shuqin did as instructed, leaving the money behind.

Old Liu took the cash and drove off with his gang.

Staring at the stacks of red bills, he grinned. "Even though Lin Xuan took the lion’s share, 5 million is still a decent haul."

"Old Liu, should we send the location to the Lin family now?" one of his underlings asked.

"Go ahead," Old Liu nodded. "We’re people of our word."

The underling sent the coordinates to Jiang Shuqin.

Following the directions, Jiang Shuqin found Lin Li tied up, his hands and feet bound. Her heart shattered at the sight.

"Li'er!"

She rushed over, hugging him tightly as she sobbed. "Mom almost lost you..."

When she saw the kidnapper’s knife, she had been terrified—truly afraid that blade would slit her son’s throat, taking him from her forever.

"Li'er, thank goodness you’re safe. If anything had happened to you, how could I go on living?" Tears and sstreamed down her face.

Lin Qingwan stepped forward, placing a comforting hand on Jiang Shuqin’s shoulder. "Mom, Li'er is still tied up. Let’s untie him first."

"Right, right."

Jiang Shuqin quickly loosened the ropes around Lin Li and removed the gag from his mouth.

Lin Li looked down, guilt-ridden. "Dad, Mom, sisters... I’m sorry for worrying you all. Not only did the company go bankrupt, but now I’ve cost the family so much money."

"Li'er, money doesn’t matter. We can always earn it back. What’s important is that you’re safe," Jiang Shuqin reassured him.

Lin Li’s eyes glistened. "Mom... thank you for being so good to me."

"Silly child, what kind of talk is that?" Jiang Shuqin wiped his tears away tenderly. "We’re family. Of course we’d do anything for you."

"Li'er," Lin Qingwan frowned, "how did they capture you?"

Lin Li shook his head. "I’m not sure. I was meeting a friend at a villa. On my way back, a car suddenly blocked my path and forced me to stop. I didn’t realize they were kidnappers."

"I got out to confront them, but then—I was knocked unconscious and taken. Dad, Mom, sisters... I have a feeling they were after my money."

"This kidnapping was premeditated. I don’t know why they targeted me."

Standing nearby, Lin Chang suddenly clenched his teeth. "It’s Lin Xuan. It has to be him! He couldn’t stand that we still had some money left after the company’s bankruptcy, so he orchestrated this—using Li'er to force us to hand it over."

"Bit by bit, they're draining us dry, just to leave us destitute in the future!"

The more Lin Chang spoke, the more convinced he became of this possibility.

With Lin Xuan's vile temperament—someone who showed no familial affection whatsoever—what wouldn't he dare to do?

"You're right, it must be him!" Jiang Shuqin's eyes burned with fury. "Lin Xuan just can't stand to see our Lin family thrive!"

Listening to their conversation, Lin Qingwan felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness.

There wasn’t the slightest connection between Li'er's kidnapping and Little Xuan, nor was there any evidence pointing to him. Yet, her parents' first instinct was to blame him.

No wonder... no wonder Little Xuan refused to return to the Lin family.

What reason did he have to come back to a family like this?

"We have to call the police!" Lin Chang gritted his teeth. "Let Lin Xuan rot in prison for the rest of his life!"

"Dad—"

Lin Li quickly intervened. "Let's not involve the police. During my kidnapping, I overheard the kidnappers talking—they’re part of a powerful underground organization. If we report this and they uncover something, we might face retaliation."

"Dad, provoking a gang is something we can’t afford."

If the police found out that he had conspired with his kidnappers in this scheme, everything would be over.

Lin Chang frowned.

Li'er had a point—this wasn’t the right time to involve the authorities.

It seemed they had no choice but to swallow their bitterness in silence this time.

---

[Author's Note]

Sorry for the late update—I've been sick and struggling to write.

Coughing like crazy today, feeling awful.

Thanks to 15ww51 for the character shoutout.

Thanks to Feng Fuzi Lv, Little Panda 06, and other sweethearts for the gifts.

Uu.