Ruining His Reputation

The two of them walked hand in hand into the night garden.

The servants of the night garden stared intently at the couple, their hearts swelling with warmth at the sight of their affection.

After all, these two were unbearably sweet—the staff had long been shipping Miss Su and Young Master Lin as a couple.

Now, they were just waiting for them to get married and have children.

"Why haven’t Su Hua and Young Master Lin gotten married yet? Who knows what they’re thinking—it’s been so long already."

"They must be waiting for the right moment. Don’t worry, with how inseparable they are, there’s no way they’ll break up. Marriage is inevitable."

"True. I think Miss Su might have some reservations. Otherwise, given her personality, she’d have dragged Young Master Lin to the civil registry ages ago."

"Exactly. She loves him so much—she’s probably the person in this world who wants to marry him the most. We just have to wait patiently for their wedding."

The servants chatted excitedly among themselves.

Butler Wang overheard their conversation and sighed inwardly.

He, too, wished Miss Su and Young Master Lin would marry and have children soon. He was bored.

If only he had a little miss or young master to look after, life would be more interesting.

At the Lin residence, ever since the family reunion banquet ended, Lin Li had been in a particularly gloomy state.

He often holed up alone in bars, drinking himself into a stupor.

"Lin Xuan."

Lin Li sat on the floor, clutching a liquor bottle.

Gritting his teeth, his eyes burned with hatred. "Listen here—just because I’m down now doesn’t mean I’ll stay down. I, Lin Li, will rise again. Just you wait!"

Once he regained power, he’d make sure Lin Xuan suffered a thousand times worse than he had.

Lin Xuan would pay!

The thought made his face twist with frustration.

But right now, Lin Xuan had the backing of Tianmu Group, the Jiang family, and Su Hua. Even if Lin Li wanted to bring him down, it would take a long, long time.

He couldn’t swallow his anger. He needed a way to crush Lin Xuan quickly.

Hiring underground organizations from Black Emperor to deal with Lin Xuan was out of the question. First, he was broke. Second, those gangs were unreliable—every time he paid them to target Lin Xuan, he escaped unscathed, and they just took his money.

If he wanted revenge, he’d have to do it himself.

Lin Li soon hatched a plan.

"Hahahaha!" He staggered to his feet, swaying with drunken laughter. "Lin Xuan, you’d better pray you don’t fall into my hands."

He’d make sure Lin Xuan suffered the worst humiliation, ruined beyond repair—even Su Hua would despise him.

"Hahahaha!"

The mere thought of his scheme succeeding sent him into another fit of laughter.

A bartender delivering drinks froze at the sight, fear creeping into his heart.

This guy… was he insane?

Better get out fast.

Mentally unstable people could attack others without legal consequences.

The bartender set down the drinks and hurried away.

"Lin Xuan, you’re finished." Lin Li smirked triumphantly.

If he remembered correctly, Wang Dahe’s birthday banquet was in five days.

Wang Dahe would invite plenty of people to celebrate at the hotel.

And since Lin Xuan was his good friend, he’d definitely show up.

That would be Lin Li’s chance.

Heh.

Lin Xuan, your downfall is coming.

Lin Li took another swig from the bottle, then suddenly let go.

Crash!

The bottle shattered on the floor, liquor splashing everywhere.

"No."

Stumbling into the restroom, he splashed cold water on his face, sobering up slightly.

His reflection in the mirror glared back with determination.

He couldn’t give up now.

He had to pull himself together.

So what if he’d lost the Jiang family’s support?

He still had his talent. He could build his own empire.

If Lin Xuan could create Tianmu Group, he could build something even greater.

But to start a business, he needed capital.

The Lin family still had money—he just had to convince them to hand it over.

For now, his priority was to keep buttering up Jiang Shuqin.

Straightening his clothes, Lin Li rushed home.

On the way, he was pulled over for drunk driving.

His license was confiscated, and he was thrown in jail.

Only after the Lin family pulled strings and paid a hefty bribe was he released.

The moment he returned, Lin Li dropped to his knees before his family.

"Dad, Mom, Eldest Sister, Second Sister, Third Sister… I’m sorry for worrying you."

"I… I only wanted to use the Jiang family’s influence to revive Starlight Group. But I failed. It’s been eating at me."

"Instead of helping, I’ve caused so much trouble. I couldn’t take it, so I drank too much… I wasn’t thinking straight when I got behind the wheel…"

His voice dripped with remorse.

Lin Qingwan watched him coldly, finding his performance unbearably fake, and turned away.

Jiang Shuqin quickly stepped forward to help him up.

"Li’er, Mom knows you meant well. I’m not angry."

Her words were gentle, but the resentment lingered.

His intentions might have been good, but she still wasn’t his top priority…

"Thank you, Mom."

Lin Li wiped his tears and declared solemnly, "Dad, Mom, don’t worry. I’ll graduate soon, and once I do, I’ll work hard to restore our family’s wealth and status."

He had to start his own business.

A regular job wouldn’t cut it—if he wanted to surpass Lin Xuan and reclaim their lavish lifestyle, entrepreneurship was the only way.

For now, he needed to plan carefully… and then extract the necessary funds from his family.

Lin Qingyan was a celebrity. Lin Qingwan ran a cosmetics company.

Jiang Shuqin and Lin Chang had decades of business experience—they must have hefty savings.

Combined, their assets probably exceeded a billion.

That would be more than enough to launch his company.

"Good, good. Mom believes in you." Jiang Shuqin smiled warmly.

"Mom, I’m a mess right now. Let me go clean up."

"Of course."

Once Lin Li left, Jiang Shuqin turned to her daughters.

"Wan’er, Yan’er, Xiu’er—you’re older, so take good care of your brother."

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