Setting a Trap, Boss Lin Save Me Su Su's Guilt +1+1+1...

Inside the office.

Lin Tianxiong stared intently at Chen Youliang, not missing a single movement the other man made.

Truth be told, the shock, and even the hint of panic on Chen Youliang's face right now was completely genuine. The moment he heard the news that something might have happened to Ye Cheng, there was no trace of schadenfreude.

Of course, he had no reason to feel happy. If Ye Cheng was really gone, Chen Youliang knew full well that the people outside would never let him walk away unscathed.

Not to mention anyone else, Lin Tianxiong standing right in front of him alone was more than enough to make him disappear for good.

Chen Youliang had dug up information and files on Lin Tianxiong before, and his resume was absolutely terrifying. It was at this moment that he finally understood why Lin Baizhi acted so drastically.

Turns out... the root of the problem was Lin Tianxiong.

Lin Tianxiong was a total extreme madman. He could be so ruthless even to his own family members, let alone an outsider like him.

Even though their relationship seemed pretty decent for now, with the man calling him "Dean Chen" every other minute, Chen Youliang knew very well that it was all just a facade. A ruthless man like Lin Tianxiong could flip his face in the blink of an eye, and he wouldn't feel the slightest bit of guilt about it.

Having lived for so long, Chen Youliang was well aware that rich people were no fools, especially someone of Lin Tianxiong's status.

They had both the shrewd mind and the deep city, and both traits were top-tier among the elite.

The only reason he was being so amiable talking to him was largely out of consideration for Lin Baizhi. Otherwise... what was he even worth?

He would never have gotten the chance to meet Lin Tianxiong face to face in his entire life.

"Boss Lin, you can't kid around with a matter like this!" Chen Youliang was panicking, cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

His wrinkled hands were trembling nonstop, as if he had Parkinson's, and his panic had completely manifested right then and there.

If there was anyone in the world at this very second who least wanted Ye Cheng dead, it had to be Chen Youliang... Let's just say they shared a linked health bar, but a one-sided one at that. If he kicked the bucket, Ye Cheng would be totally fine, but if Ye Cheng died, he was done for. Lin Baizhi was a complete lunatic, and she would never reason with anyone.

Just from the things she had said a moment ago, Chen Youliang's heart had already sunk half way. He didn't think Lin Baizhi was joking at all.

Lin Baizhi's killing intent was not only pure, but also extremely intense, completely unhidden, and it was directed straight at wiping him out.

What's more, Chen Youliang even felt that Ye Cheng's killing intent towards him was never as heavy and pure as Lin Baizhi's...

"Do I look like I'm joking with you?" There wasn't a hint of a smile on Lin Tianxiong's face, his expression so cold it was terrifying. Chen Youliang's pupils constricted sharply.

It was as if he was meeting this man for the very first time today. The amiable Boss Lin he had known before was all a lie, and this cold, ruthless Lin Tianxiong was the real deal!

What could have made a man who had kept up that disguise for so many years finally tear it all off? Was it all because Ye Cheng had gone missing?

Gulping, Chen Youliang swallowed hard, seeming to want to say something to defend himself, but Lin Tianxiong raised a hand to cut him off. He put the cigarette he had been holding back into his mouth, and wispy smoke curled up...

The embers of the cigarette glowed as it burned.

"Dean Chen, all these years, I've turned a blind eye to everything, all because I'm grateful that you took my daughter in, no matter what your original purpose was for adopting and taking care of her."

"But on this matter, I, Lin Tianxiong, owe you a favor. According to my original plan, misfortunes never reach one's family, so I wasn't going to step in on the matter between you and Xiao Cheng. But if my daughter decides to get involved, that's a different story — I'll just turn a blind eye."

"When your family members get dragged into this, I'll step in to say a few words to persuade them, and that'll make up for this favor..."

Hearing Lin Tianxiong's rambling words, Chen Youliang was shaking like a sieve, with beads of cold sweat rolling down his forehead. It wasn't just fear — it was utter despair that filled his heart.

Chen Youliang knew Lin Tianxiong was aware of a lot of things, but he never imagined Lin Tianxiong knew every single detail so thoroughly.

Not only did he have the full picture, he'd even speculated and predicted the final outcome of the whole situation. From the tone of Lin Tianxiong's voice right now, it was obvious that even if Chen Youliang had any thoughts of fighting back, they would be crushed immediately before he could even act.

In the face of absolute power, all tricks are futile. Haven't you ever heard the saying that one force can shatter ten thousand methods?

Sometimes, no matter how hard you work, you just can't reach the goal you've set. At times like that, taking a slight detour to find an alternative path might be a whole lot easier?

Living off your partner's wealth is still a way to get by!

Capital has stepped into the picture!

What was originally a petty back-and-forth between a wild genius and the evil, cold-hearted old man from the orphanage instantly turned into several colossal forces ganging up to crush and beat down that skinny old man.

The scale of the situation blew up to unimaginable proportions. Looking back now, there's no trace of that evil, cold-hearted old man from the orphanage left at all.

All that's left is a mean-spirited skinny old man, the kind who could be ground into dust at any moment.

Lin Tianxiong had a lot of things to weigh — Ye Cheng's feelings, the favor he still owed Chen Youliang, and using his own daughter as a whetstone to sharpen the young man... all these were calculations he'd made.

This setup was supposed to lead to the most profit-maximizing outcome, but it also gave rise to an unexpected consequence... Ye Cheng got into an accident and went on the run. His disappearance blew the other several colossal forces out into the open, and they swept in with overwhelming power to flatten everything in their path.

The plan?

Nah, plans can never keep up with the twists and turns of reality!

Lin Tianxiong never expected the situation to turn out like this. He was a bit troubled, but also really curious — what on earth did Ye Cheng do to wrap those two young ladies around his finger so completely?

Lin Tianxiong turned his head to look downstairs, and through the window, he could see three people tussling with each other down below, and his own daughter was right there in the thick of it.

Lin Tianxiong: "..."

Sigh...

Xiao Cheng, you can't blame me for this. I really don't have the ability to hold the other two back.

Lin Tianxiong smiled bitterly to himself. He never thought that the tacit understanding and plan he'd built up with the kid over all these years would blow up in his face in such a ridiculous way today.

There's a popular saying online right now that a cliff-style breakup is the most unacceptable and devastating kind — everything's fine the day before, even an hour before, and then out of nowhere, the relationship's over. No one could take that lying down, right?

To put it in the words of those web novels... what, are you raising them like poisonous gu worms?

What are you up to? Building up their favorability to max level and then vanishing off the face of the earth? Alright you little rascal, you'd better hope you don't get caught, or you're gonna be in for a world of pain.

Lin Tianxiong shook his head as he thought about this, so distracted that he didn't notice the cigarette in his hand had burned all the way down. It wasn't until the hot ash burned his fingers that he snapped back to his senses.

He dropped the cigarette butt on the ground, stamped it out, and still frowned. Because... he saw that his daughter was losing the tussle? Wait no, they've started fighting for real now.

Lin Tianxiong: "......"

After getting a clear look at the two people brawling, Lin Tianxiong finally let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, it's the daughter of the Shen family. If it were Miss Su's daughter, that girl would have suffered terribly.

The health bars of both sides ticked down: -1, -1, -1...

Sister Lin's health bar also kept dropping: -1, -1, -1...

Lin Tianxiong: "......"

Silently, he averted his gaze. The scene was too brutal to watch. Those young people really have great stamina, no wonder they say youth is prime. They had just finished one fight not long ago, and now they're going at it again.

"Thud!"

Without any warning, Chen Youliang, who had been trembling nonstop this whole time, dropped to his knees right in front of Lin Tianxiong and began kowtowing loudly, tears streaming down his face.

"Mr. Lin, please save me!"

The worst outcome Chen Youliang had ever imagined was being stripped of his position as dean, or getting locked up in prison to live off the state's meals. After all, what he'd done was pretty egregious: he'd taken money from both sides, siphoning off the funds donated by wealthy benefactors, and embezzling the money Lin Tianxiong had invested too.

Oh right, he'd also stolen public funds from the government, scamming a huge sum of subsidies that he'd stuffed all into his own pockets.

The Chen family was just like a swarm of leeches. None of them were innocent bystanders. Even if some didn't take part directly, every single one of them had indirectly benefited from the ill-gotten gains, so don't try to pull that "I had no idea" nonsense.

That line might work on a three-year-old.

Wait, why three-year-old?

Because if you try that on a five-year-old, you'll be facing off against the top ace player from the senior kindergarten class, Tang Xiaobao!

That little guy would never buy that garbage line. Otherwise, all the meals he's eaten over the years would have gone to waste... does he really look that gullible?

He's already five years old, for heaven's sake!

The worst fate Chen Youliang had ever envisioned was spending the rest of his life behind bars. He never expected that Ye Cheng had been plotting something far more drastic, something that would erase him from the world for good.

You can handle people who follow the rules, but you're helpless against those who don't play by any rules. Right now, three different groups of people have shown up, and none of them seem the least bit interested in talking things out reasonably. If anything happens to Ye Cheng, he's definitely a dead man. He'll get beaten half to death before he even kicks the bucket.

They'll probably break all his limbs, tie him up hand and foot, and toss him straight into the sea...

"Mr. Lin, for the sake of our years of friendship, please show me a way out!" Chen Youliang kowtowed so hard his head was throbbing, his voice cracking with desperate sobs. Standing before him, Lin Tianxiong wore a completely calm expression, not moved in the slightest.

He was so cold that it was almost terrifying.

Having climbed all the way to his current status, he would never be indecisive or soft-hearted for no reason. To be frank, he couldn't care less about what happened to Chen Youliang.

But Chen Youliang still had his uses for now. If he pushed him into a corner and the man decided to just give up entirely, that would be a huge hassle. He still needed to pry some clues about Ye Cheng's possible whereabouts out of him.

Lin Tianxiong always believed that Ye Cheng must have left some backup plans hidden in the orphanage, stuff no ordinary person would ever notice.

At this point, Chen Youliang is incredibly useful. Within the orphanage, Chen Youliang's words carry the most weight, of course, that's only when Ye Cheng isn't around.

If Ye Cheng were in the orphanage right now, you'd get to witness quite a spectacular scene: the skinny old man and the wild genius elbowing each other left and right, fighting tooth and nail for full control over that little "treasure trove".

Chen Youliang rules through intimidation and oppression, starving anyone who dares to disobey him to make them submit to the pressure of survival...

Ye Cheng, on the other hand, is a spiritual leader. A lot of the kids there would rather go hungry than betray him, because Ye Cheng never lies to them...

Seeing Chen Youliang react this way, a faint smirk tugged at the corner of Lin Tianxiong's deep eyes. The plan... had succeeded.

All the words he and Chen Youliang had exchanged here just now were not pointless chatter — every single one had a purpose. He had deliberately pushed Chen Youliang into a state of utter fear, making him see Lin Tianxiong as his only lifeline.

Only now did he step forward to offer help, along with the bargaining chip for their deal: he would guarantee Chen Youliang's life. To stay alive, Chen Youliang would definitely go all out to cooperate.

At this critical juncture, faced with so many massive, formidable forces closing in, Chen Youliang had no mind to play tricks or scheme any longer. The only path left for him was to surrender fully.

Chen Youliang did not trust anyone else. He knew rich people were the most untrustworthy bunch, who could turn their backs on you in the blink of an eye and even get rid of you once you had outlived your usefulness. But when it came to Lin Tianxiong...

He was willing to take that gamble.

Because apart from Lin Tianxiong, he had no other options left at all.

"Of course there is a way out. I can't promise you everything, but I can guarantee you will stay alive. The only condition is that you, Dean Chen, cooperate fully. Once we get what we want here, we will leave naturally. And the score between you and Xiao Cheng will still be settled by the two of you yourselves..."

Lin Tianxiong spoke in a calm, steady tone.

Chen Youliang was so overwhelmed with gratitude that he looked as if he had grabbed onto the last straw to save his life. "Thank you, thank you so much for your great kindness, Boss Lin..."

...

A few minutes later, a very strange scene unfolded at the orphanage.

An elderly man was walking up to every single person one by one, holding a chicken leg and a five-yuan bill, asking questions of those oddly shaped, differently abled people who had grown up in the orphanage.

Su Su frowned. It was not the old man's strange behavior that bothered her, but the sight of all these people with congenital disabilities and unusual appearances who had been raised in this orphanage.

That guy... Ye Cheng grew up in a place like this?

She had known Ye Cheng did not have a good upbringing, but she had never imagined it could be this bad. Even as a grown adult, she felt a little startled the first time she laid eyes on this scene, but Ye Cheng had lived here all by himself ever since he was a little kid?

If he was raised in such an extreme environment, then it seemed perfectly understandable why Ye Cheng had developed such excessive scheming tendencies, and tried to climb the social ladder by latching onto powerful and wealthy people, becoming a so-called "phoenix man".

At this moment, Su Su even started to see things from Ye Cheng's perspective, and began to understand him. She understood all those rumors and bad things people had said about him behind his back that she had heard before.

The environment has a huge impact on a person. Growing up in a place like this, Ye Cheng was already doing remarkably well to not have ended up psychologically warped.

And yet, she had said all those harsh things to him before...

For no reason she could name, a heavy sense of guilt and unspeakable remorse welled up in Su Su's heart. She should never have spoken to him that way before.

Ugh...

Su Su's guilt level rose, again and again, and again.