Standing Next To You-Chapter 340: Trouble at the Third Branch

YY Street was always lively, especially at night. Several high-end clubs were lined up together, inviting an influx of people coming in and out. Most affluent people in the capital had memberships in these clubs.

Spring Club was one of the most exclusive, with strict requirements for entry. Only those with high status and wealth could receive the privilege of being a member. With its reputation, security was high, and the privacy of each member was tightly guarded.

In one of the VVIP rooms, Lin Zhe had shed his usual temperament and was leaning lazily on the couch. His glasses were on the table, and his typically neat hair was a bit messy. Unlike his perfect and flawless public image, he was smoking without a care.

Despite taking a break, he was still reading reports from his spy.

Because of the incident at the family dinner, Lin Zhe had investigated further and found a few connections between the third branch and the fourth branch.

However, it was so minimal that it did not pose a significant threat. If there was anything concerning, it was that the illegitimate daughter of the third branch was getting closer to people in the fourth branch.

But Lin Zhe did not see Bei Sangyun as a threat at all. That illegitimate daughter was powerless in his eyes. He concluded that her actions were all under Lin Ginxian’s orders.

With this close contact, he suspected that there might be a possibility that the third branch indeed had some relation to the previous incident with the fourth branch.

He called his trusted subordinate and instructed them to proceed with the plan. But instead of targeting the second branch as initially agreed, they would target the third branch instead.

His subordinate was stunned for a moment. "What about the second branch? Are we leaving them alone?"

The change came so suddenly that the subordinate wasn’t sure if his boss was making a decision out of impulsiveness.

However, unlike the subordinate’s worry, Lin Zhe had been thinking about it for some time.

"With the cooperation of the fifth branch, the chances of getting rid of the third branch will be successful. But if we target the second branch, the fight might drag on. We will waste a lot of time and money. Even if we win in the end, we will still suffer some losses. The other branches might take advantage of that and work together to attack us," Lin Zhe replied.

For the first branch, the second branch was the hardest rival among the Lin family branches. They had resources and influence almost equal to the first branch. So fighting them would surely incur losses on both sides.

Since the first and fifth branches were working together, there was a possibility that the other branches might collaborate as well. They might become the oriole behind the cicada.

Especially with the possibility of the third and fourth branches working together. Even though there was a small chance they were cooperating, Lin Zhe couldn’t take the risk.

So he changed his initial plan and decided to get rid of the third branch instead. Besides...

The door opened, and a staff member escorted a woman inside.

Lin Zhe glanced at the woman who had just arrived and smiled mysteriously. "Don’t worry about the second branch. I already have plans for them."

After the call ended, the woman sat across from him without decorum.

"This is my first time entering Spring Club’s VVIP room. I wonder why the great first young master of the Lin family invited me here? I am just a lowly illegitimate daughter. I couldn’t have anything that would possibly interest you."

Lin Zhe leaned back on the couch. He grabbed a small package from his pocket and tossed it on the table. He did not dally and went straight to the point.

"Since you came here, you must have agreed to my proposal. Use this. Once you succeed after the first try, I’ll add another zero to the initial amount we proposed to you. On the second dosage, I’ll add another zero."

The woman took the package and was stunned upon seeing the contents. She gasped incredulously, "... Do you really want to ruin him this much? Tsk. The life of the wealthy is truly cruel."

"You are an illegitimate daughter. You should know about this."

The woman laughed and put the package in her purse. "Of course. Money is more important to me than some useless affection."

Although she and that young master had hit it off, she was still more moved by the money.

*****

Over the next two days, Lin Ginxian investigated the information Bei Sangyun had handed to him.

All his investigations came to a dead end, but the remaining crumbs pointed to the possibility of the first and fifth branches cooperating in secret. The two branches were meticulous. It was hard for Lin Ginxian to find any proof of their cooperation.

But it was enough to make him panic.

He reread the written report Butler Xin had given him many times. But because the information was incomplete, Lin Ginxian couldn’t formulate a proper counter-attack. How could he make preparations when he did not know how and where they would strike?

Time wouldn’t wait for him. At any moment, the two branches might begin their plan.

Lin Ginxian slammed the table as he spoke to his personal butler,

"Why haven’t you found anything yet? That brat and that bastard managed to find this information before us. And they even have the plan of the two branches in their hands. Are you saying you are less capable than them?"

His personal butler felt wronged. "Master, we have used most of our manpower for this. If we make huge movements at once, the two branches might realize we have found out their plan. They might start their attack sooner than planned."

Lin Ginxian gritted his teeth. His butler was right. But time was running out; how could he remain silent when he knew his doom was about to come?

His personal butler glanced at him cautiously, "...What if we asked the Young Miss for the rest of the reports?"

Lin Ginxian glared at him. "Then you ask her!"

The butler remained silent and complained inside. As if it were easy to get information from the third Young Miss.

After their fallout, the third Young Miss had become more unruly. The father and daughter lived in the same house, yet they deliberately avoided each other. The third Young Miss had never visited her father even once since then and did whatever she wanted.

With the mask fallen, there was no need to pretend anymore.

Lin Ginxian didn’t have the time or strength to pay them any heed, nor did he have any intention to beg them for information.

However, he couldn’t endure it in the end.

The next day, he received news that a huge part of his investors and clients had suddenly pulled out of the billion-dollar project he was working on.

This project was the task that the Head Master had assigned to him as a reward for Bei Sangyun maintaining her top ranking at school. Lin Ginxian believed that once this big project succeeded, his status in the family would rise favorably.

This project had been keeping Lin Ginxian busy for the past months and it had been going smoothly. He had never had any disagreements with the investors or his clients. So why were they suddenly receiving such news?

Lin Ginxian felt a bad premonition. He asked to meet them, but they rejected his appointment.

Lin Ginxian was stumped. He was the third master of the Lin family! How dare they reject him!

But this also made him uneasy. For them not to even give him face, they surely had some source of confidence to do that. Someone was definitely manipulating them from behind.

This must be an attack by the first and fifth branches!

Lin Ginxian did not ask these clients and investors any more questions and investigated further. The result of the investigation revealed that the first and fifth branches had absorbed these people into their various projects. They had offered them a much more tempting deal, even paying the breach of contract fees they had with the third branch.

Lin Ginxian was furious!

These people must have thought he was an easy prey

His butler was also anxious for him. The sudden pullout of his clients and investors would cause their big project to halt, resulting in a huge loss.

"Master, I heard the complete report is in the hands of Butler Xin. I asked him a while ago, but he said he was instructed by the Third Young Miss that if we want the report, you should ask for it yourself..."

Lin Ginxian swiped everything off the table in his anger. Several loud clangs and the sound of glass breaking echoed in the room.

Some of the glass shards even scraped the butler’s hand, and blood flowed out. But he did not move and let his master vent.

After a while, Lin Ginxian plopped into his seat, huffing in anger. There was a long moment of stifled silence.

Lin Ginxian remembered what that ungrateful brat had said.

He finally understood why she said that.

She was mocking him. She knew a time would come when he would have to lower himself to ask her butler.

Lin Ginxian closed his eyes. A huge part of him wanted to use violence. Kidnap that butler and imprison that despicable brat. He would use any means necessary to get the information from them.

After a long while, Lin Ginxian opened his eyes. He made his decision. "Where’s that butler?"