Standing Next To You-Chapter 331: Suspicions

A car stopped at the gate of the main branch of the Lin mansion.

The main branch occupied the largest area of the Lin estate. It was surrounded by a vast, well-groomed garden with a man-made lake inside. Koi fish swam gracefully, adding beauty to the place.

A tall man with broad shoulders, a square jaw, and thick brows walked toward the main building. His bearing was handsome and distinguished. Everyone in high society in country C would recognize this young man. He was the strongest contender among the successors of the Lin family, Lin Zhe.

The workers in the main residence held high positions and were the most experienced in the mansion. Seeing Lin Zhe, they greeted him politely.

The head butler was notified of his arrival and accompanied the young man to the study.

Behind the door, Head Master Lin was having his morning tea while reading reports from his staff.

The head butler left the room, closing the door respectfully behind him.

Lin Zhe bowed and greeted the old man at the table. After inquiring about his health, he went directly to the matter at hand.

"Grandfather, I have finished my task successfully. But the second branch disrupted my work and hindered the progress. Because of them, I wasted a lot of time and money. I would like to ask for your permission to investigate this matter and have the second branch give me an explanation."

Lin Zhe’s purpose was not exactly the deals that Lin Fei had stolen but to find flaws in the second branch while investigating their connections to the fourth branch.

He had arrived in the country a few days ago and had reviewed the reports from his subordinates.

Lin Fei’s father had bribed the previous supporters of the fourth branch to jump ship, similar to what Lin Zhe had done.

However, the first branch still gained many more supporters than the second branch. Aside from this, there was nothing. Looking at it this way, it didn’t seem like the second branch had the upper hand.

There was no concrete evidence that the second branch was behind the fourth branch.

But if it wasn’t the second branch, who else could it be?

Lin Zhe did not believe that the fourth branch suddenly grew a pair of wings to go against them. Someone was orchestrating from the shadows, and it was likely the second branch.

Old Master Lin finally put down what he was holding and sighed at the sight of his oldest grandson. He couldn’t help but scold him, "You came so early in the morning for this? Aren’t you going to explain why you did not come home immediately? You and Lin Fei are no different."

Lin Zhe paused. It didn’t really sound good to be compared with Lin Fei.

"Grandfather, I have a good reason. You have said before that you want the family to stop playing tricks and to compete fairly. My side has been following your instructions. But the second branch went against your words and hindered my business plans. They initiated this fight. I can’t just stand aside as they disobey your words and create a mess within the family."

Old Master Lin harrumphed, "Don’t make me a fool. I know what you have been doing."

Lin Zhe stayed silent. He knew his grandfather had eyes and ears everywhere and that he wouldn’t be able to avoid his watchful gaze.

But this was already in his expectation.

He hadn’t done anything yet that might incur his grandfather’s wrath. He was still fighting ’fairly.’

As Lin Zhe expected, Old Master Lin wasn’t really angry. He just found this little dispute annoying.

"I’ll make sure the second branch gives you an explanation." Old Master Lin then called his head butler to summon Lin Fei.

A few minutes later, a reply came. Lin Fei wasn’t in the mansion. It was Lin Fei’s father who came in his stead.

Old Master Lin’s face darkened. "We have a family dinner today. Everyone should have returned to the mansion by now. Tell your son to come back quickly!"

Ever since Old Master Lin established ’family dinner’ to create bonds, there was an unspoken rule that every member should be available that day.

So every time family dinner came around, the members of the Lin family would stop whatever they were doing and come home. Unless they were given important task by Old Master Lin.

That’s why when Old Master Lin summoned Lin Fei, he expected him to arrive within a few minutes.

Lin Fei’s father, Lin Fang, also had a dark face. He did not know where his son had gone on such an important day. This was the first time his son had disobeyed such rule, so he couldn’t give an explanation to Old Master Lin.

Lin Zhe’s brows moved slightly. He knew Lin Fei well. On family dinner day, Lin Fei was one of the people who returned early and wandered around to annoy someone.

He suddenly thought of something and asked the head butler, "Is my third cousin here?"

"Third Young Miss is currently out as well."

Old Master Lin heard this and his face turned even uglier. "These children are becoming unscrupulous."

"I will discipline him properly when he arrives," Lin Fang replied, ashamed.

Old Master Lin waved his hand, "...No need. Just make sure he is present at the family dinner later." He turned to the head butler, "How about Ginxian?"

"Third Master arrived half an hour ago. Should I summon him?"

"No need. I will meet them at dinner later. Let’s just discuss the matter after dinner," he told the last sentence to Lin Zhe.

Lin Zhe acquiesced.

Since Old Master Lin had said this, he had no choice but to comply. The person he was looking for was not here. But it was enough that his grandfather was angered by Lin Fei. With that, the conversation later would be in his favor.

Lin Zhe left the study.

At dinner, he would be able to see if the fourth branch had real ties with the second branch. It was better to see it with his own eyes.

****

On the top floor of the XX hotel, the young butler paced back and forth. He glanced at his phone, which had several missed calls from the Second Master and the head butler. Unable to contain his anxiousness any longer, he reminded the young man basking in the sunlight.

"Young Master, the Master has summoned you back. Let’s return, shall we?"

"When I return, I will be scolded. I don’t want to be nagged for hours," Lin Fei responded lazily.

The young butler was speechless. Of course, his young master would be scolded. He had not returned to the mansion and had even ignored their calls.

"Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to come in time," Lin Fei added. He glanced down at his own phone and tsked. "She is really cruel. I am doing this for her, and she didn’t even want to answer my calls? How ungrateful."

But there wasn’t a look of complaint on his face. He seemed to be enjoying this.

Lin Fei stretched. "Ahh. It is so good to be disobedient sometimes."

The young butler: "...."

If his young master continued to be disobedient, he might die of anxiety.

Suddenly, a pair of slender hands touched the butler’s neck.

The butler turned stiff. In his shock, he slapped the hand away.

A seductive laugh sounded in his ears.

A familiar woman appeared and walked out while massaging her slightly red hand.

"Geez, Lin Fei, your butler is really cute. He got scared with just a grope on the neck."

Lin Fei reached out his hand to the woman. "Did you bring it?"

The woman sat on his lap and handed him a file. "Here. I worked so hard to get this. Where’s my reward?"

Lin Fei kissed her and handed her an ATM card. She was his current fling, and their relationship was purely based on give and take.

While the woman played with Lin Fei’s hair, he read the file.

"River Village... I’ve heard of it somewhere..." Lin Fei muttered, and his eyes suddenly lit up. "Ah! This is where my little toy came from. So they are childhood friends..."

The woman on his lap glanced at the file. "I heard some rumors in the family that he was supposed to die young. It seems he has strong vitality since he is still alive and well."

"Ha. They just make up weird rumors to eliminate him. They are scared of him." Lin Fei had already investigated Fei Chuan’s background before and had found out about his dazzling childhood.

"I don’t think it’s just a rumor. My mother also told me that a monk really came and said those words. And he really became ill!"

Lin Fei just laughed at it. It was quite ridiculous that there were still people who believed in such nonsense.

Lin Fei continued to read. Fei Chuan’s record was very clean. Aside from that absurd story, his complicated family situation, being thrown to the countryside, and suddenly being picked up to live in the main branch, there was nothing noteworthy.

However, Lin Fei still believed this young man was not simple. Otherwise, his little toy wouldn’t be so invested.

He looked at Fei Chuan’s hobbies and routine. Fei Chuan was always alone. Even at the Fei mansion, he only had three people on his side.

"This is not enough. Dig deeper."

Lin Fei did not heed Bei Sangyun’s warning. Since he was doing her a favor, it would be okay to be disobedient sometimes.

As he said, not obeying the rules sometimes was quite fun.