What Should I Do if My Best Friend Is a Green Tea? [Transmigrated Into a Book] Chapter 52

The night was ink-dark, the city's clamor gradually fading into silence.

Father Lin returned ho after a long day at work, his body heavy with exhaustion. As he removed his coat, his mind still churned with the day’s corporate affairs. Before he could even settle onto the sofa, Lin Sibo rushed in like a whirlwind, his face brimming with anticipation. "Dad, I’ve already spent the million yuan you gave last ti. Can you transfer another million? I want to buy a car!"

Father Lin’s brow furrowed. "You’re still so young—what do you need a car for?"

Lin Sibo pouted, displeased. "It’s just a million. It’s not like we can’t afford it. You even sent Lin Ranran to so variety show—she must’ve spent way more than !"

"That’s completely different," Father Lin said sternly. "That advertisent was already part of the company’s marketing plan. Ranran just took the opportunity to join the show and boost her popularity. She manages her social dia accounts and occasionally promotes our products—it’s a win-win!" He shot Lin Sibo a reproachful look. "Ranran actually took the initiative to help the company. She’s far more sensible than you!"

Madam Lin descended the stairs and, upon entering the living room, imdiately heard Father Lin scolding Lin Sibo. "Sibo is still young—he’s only eighteen. What does he understand?" Lin Sibo nodded vigorously in agreent.

Father Lin sighed deeply. None of his children gave him peace of mind. Lin Ranran used to be a ss too, with an unshakable tacky aura, but lately, she’d improved. Father Lin wasn’t one to favor sons over daughters. He knew Lin Sibo had been spoiled rotten by Madam Lin all these years and lacked any sense of responsibility.

If things continued like this… perhaps handing the company to Lin Ranran wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

After washing up, Father Lin changed into his pajamas and settled into bed, intending to review the company’s financial reports before sleep.

Suddenly, his phone rang—it was his assistant.

What could be so urgent at this hour?

He answered the call, only to hear his assistant’s panicked voice. "Chairman Lin! It’s terrible! Since the U.S. stock market opened today, our company’s shares have been plumting nonstop. Our market value has shrunk drastically—we’re already down 5% compared to yesterday!"

Father Lin’s pupils trembled. In just a few hours, billions had evaporated into thin air?

"The stock is still dropping! It—it’s down another 1%!"

Father Lin didn’t even bother changing. He threw on his coat and rushed to the company, ignoring Madam Lin’s bewildered questions. The entire ride over, the stock continued its free fall.

His expression darkened with every passing minute. Though the drive from the Lin residence to the office took only half an hour, it felt like an eternity of tornt. By the ti he arrived, his assistant t him with a horrified expression. "Chairman, it’s already—already dropped 1..."

Father Lin’s vision blurred. Blood rushed to his head, and he nearly collapsed, saved only by his assistant’s quick reflexes.

Under normal market conditions, their stock wouldn’t have nosedived so drastically. Soone was targeting them—soone had to be!

"Who?!" Father Lin roared, his eyes blazing. "Who’s behind this?!"

The assistant stamred, "From our investigation, the most likely culprit is… the Zhou Corporation."

Father Lin’s face drained of color.

Deep into the night, Zhou Yanci’s team was still hard at work.

The Zhou Corporation Building lood like a silent giant in the night. Most floors had long fallen into slumber, but the 88th floor remained brightly lit.

Assistant Sun watched the elite team at work, the glow of their monitors casting sharp shadows on their focused faces. The more concentrated they were, the more soone else would suffer.

Silently, Assistant Sun lit a taphorical candle for the Lin family.

Having worked under Zhou Yanci for years, he knew the man’s temperant well. Outwardly, Zhou Yanci was the picture of refinent and grace, but beneath that veneer lurked a devil. Cross him, and he would ruin you without hesitation.

Upon graduating, Zhou Yanci had imdiately joined Zhou’s Father as an assistant. Within a year, he’d mastered the Zhou Corporation’s operations and swiftly ascended to CEO. Back then, many had doubted him—especially the old guard who’d helped Zhou’s Father build the empire. They’d dismissed him as too young, too inexperienced. The Chen family had been the worst of them.

They’d leeched off the Zhou Corporation, using its profits to fuel their own ventures.

Zhou Yanci had dismantled the Chen empire in three days, even sending Young Master Chen—now crippled—to prison. Old Master Chen, a man a decade older than Zhou’s Father, had waited outside the Zhou residence all night, his hair turning white from stress, his eyes bloodshot, begging for rcy.

That single act of ruthless deterrence had silenced all opposition. No one dared challenge Zhou Yanci again. Over the years, the only person who’d ever managed to extract any leniency from him was ng Yingrong.

But ng Yingrong’s success wasn’t just due to their blood ties. It was because Zhou Yanci didn’t value his own life.

ng Yingrong had once called him cold-hearted, indifferent to everyone.

But Zhou Yanci was even more indifferent toward himself.

He seed unconcerned with how long he lived, as if resigned to whatever fate dictated. Even if death were imminent, he’d rely hand his will to Assistant Sun and await the end in calm silence. When he’d once retorted to ng Yingrong that he’d gone three days without sleep to save the ng family, it hadn’t been an exaggeration.

But what he hadn’t ntioned was that during his early days of purging the Zhou Corporation, working for days without rest had been routine.

He didn’t care about living.

And in this world, there was nothing he truly cared about.

Before long, Father Lin arrived at the Zhou Corporation.

For soone of his status, obtaining Zhou Yanci’s work number wasn’t difficult. But despite his repeated calls, Zhou Yanci hadn’t answered. Now, standing before rows of computers and the massive LED screen displaying real-ti stock market data, Father Lin knew their suspicions were correct.

"CEO Zhou," Father Lin, a man of considerable age, bowed obsequiously to the man not yet thirty. "I don’t know how the Lin Corporation has offended you. We’re just a small company—please, show us rcy and let us go!"

Zhou Yanci pocketed his phone and glanced at Father Lin with icy detachnt.

"Have you considered asking your daughter what she’s done?"

Father Lin was even more confused.

Lin Ranran was currently filming a variety show in H Country. What connection could she possibly have with Zhou Yanci? And how had she provoked him?

Assistant Sun, sensing Father Lin’s bewildernt, handed him the recently uncovered docunts detailing Lin Ranran’s intended sar campaign against Yan Xi.

Father Lin scanned the contents, his fingers trembling with each page. Every line was laced with slander against Yan Xi. He knew Lin Ranran disliked Yan Xi, but what did that have to do with the Zhou Corporation?

Then it hit him—the one who’d lent Yan Xi ten million yuan was none other than the Zhou Corporation! Yan Xi was close friends with Zhou Qingyu. Zhou Yanci was avenging his sister’s best friend!

The rumors about Zhou Yanci and Zhou Qingyu being at odds were nothing but lies. Their relationship was clearly solid!

With shaking hands, Father Lin returned the docunts to Assistant Sun. The stock market hadn’t closed yet, and Lin Corporation’s shares continued to plumt. Every passing second erased untold millions from their value.

Father Lin felt a sharp pain in his heart and quickly dialed Lin Ranran's phone number. In the villa, Lin Ranran stared blankly at her phone.

Why was the account blocked? She had failed to expose the truth about the real and fake daughters before, and now she had failed again. What was going on?

The phone rang, and the caller ID showed "Father".

As soon as she answered the call, a barrage of scolding ca from the other end. "What have you done! I told you to focus on the variety show. Why did you do sothing unnecessary? Yan Xi is no longer part of our Lin family. Why do you keep bothering her?!" Lin Ranran was stunned by the scolding.

How did her father know about her plan to secretly post and expose the matter? As far as Lin Ranran knew, it was the decision of the company's publicity departnt to place the advertisent. Her father was busy with work and didn't even know that Yan Xi was also on that variety show. How could he know about all this?

The phone showed a video call. Lin Ranran saw that her father was sweating profusely, his clothes were in a ss, and he was holding the phone anxiously, shoving it in front of a man. "Quickly apologize to Mr. Zhou and say you're wrong! Admit your mistake!" Lin Ranran was even more confused and had no idea what was going on. But she always did what her father told her to do.

"Sorry! I won't do it again!"

The man on the phone was extrely handso, no less attractive than many male gods in the entertainnt industry. And Lin Ranran had seen this face in financial magazines. It was Zhou Yanci.

The elder brother of Zhou Qingyu.

Lin Ranran realized sothing and felt a chill run down her spine.

Zhou Yanci's fingers gently tapped on the table, making Father Lin extrely nervous. After a while, he stopped and fixed his gaze on Father Lin's phone. His light - colored eyes glanced at the trembling girl on the screen.

"If you want to apologize, shouldn't you do it in person?"

Lin Ranran didn't understand what this ant, but Father Lin felt his whole body go stiff. Zhou Yanci raised his hand to look at his Patek Philippe watch. "There are still four hours until the market closes. I'm going to take a nap. Assistant Sun, you guys continue." "Yes!"

"Everyone who works overti today will get a bonus."

"Great!"

Zhou Yanci's office was also on the 88th floor. There was a sofa in it, and he would often take a short rest here when he was tired.

The office floor was brightly lit. Zhou Yanci put on a Minions eye - mask, and everything in front of him turned dark. He actually went to sleep.

The big eyes of the Minions on the eye - mask looked very funny, but Father Lin found them terrifying.

Father Lin quickly grabbed the phone. "Lin Ranran, you get back here right now! Imdiately!"

Lin Ranran was shocked. "Dad, it's so late. It's already twelve o'clock!" "Buy the nearest flight and co back now! If I don't see you within three hours, you're no longer my daughter!"

Lin Ranran could tell that her father was serious when he said this. He gritted his teeth, and the veins on his forehead bulged. Lin Ranran had never seen her father so angry. But no matter what, it was just too absurd to go back to China at this ti.

Assistant Li of Father Lin sent a text ssage to Lin Ranran, booking her the nearest flight back to China, which was leaving in half an hour.

Lin Ranran said, "Assistant Li, it's too urgent. It's only half an hour. I don't even have ti to pack!"

"My dear!," the assistant almost cried. "The market value of the Lin Corporation has evaporated by billions. If you don't co back, the Lin Corporation will go bankrupt!" Lin Ranran finally realized the seriousness of the situation.

She had finally returned to the Lin family and enjoyed the life of a wealthy young lady. She never wanted to go back to the lonely days of the past.

Without bothering to pack or change her clothes, Lin Ranran grabbed her passport, ID card, and phone and rushed out of the room in a hurry.

Before leaving, Lin Ranran ran into Ye Luoyi, who was up for a midnight snack.

Ye Luoyi asked, "Ranran? Where are you going so late?" Lin Ranran replied, "I... I'm going back to China!"

Ye Luoyi looked blank. "Now? Back to China?"

On this sumr night, the air was filled with heat.

Even though it was still thirty degrees outside, Lin Ranran felt a chill in her heart. She had returned in tears. She didn't even have ti to change her shoes. After arriving at Hai City Airport, Assistant Li ca to pick her up specially and dragged her along at a run. Lin Ranran's slippers flew off, and she stepped on sothing with her bare feet, which caused a cut and made her foot ache terribly.

But Assistant Li didn't even give her ti to put on shoes, let alone bandage her wound. "Miss Lin! Hurry up! If you're any slower, the Lin Corporation is really dood!" When they arrived at the Zhou Corporation, Lin Ranran was in tears. Assistant Li felt a bit sorry for the cut on her foot and temporarily borrowed the driver's shoes for her to wear. Lin Ranran wore the ill - fitting sports shoes and trembled as she ca in front of Zhou Yanci. Zhou Yanci was still asleep, and Father Lin didn't know if he should wake him up. A few minutes later, Zhou Yanci slowly woke up and looked at the ti. Lin Ranran had taken the nearest flight, and after a nearly two - hour journey, she arrived at the Zhou Corporation before three o'clock.

Zhou Yanci's gaze fell on Lin Ranran. His expression was calm, and it was hard to tell whether he was happy or angry.

Father Lin quickly pushed Lin Ranran to apologize to Zhou Yanci. "Mr. Zhou! It's all my daughter's fault! She just can't stand to see Yan Xi doing well! I'll make her apologize to you right now!" Father Lin had heard about how Zhou Yanci had dealt with the Chen family back then. Since Zhou Yanci had treated a forr friend of his father so harshly, Father Lin didn't dare to expect Zhou Yanci to be lenient with them.

"Sorry..." Lin Ranran said through her tears. "I know I was wrong! I won't make things difficult for Yan Xi again, and I won't look for trouble with her anymore!"

Zhou Yanci looked at Lin Ranran calmly.

After a long while, he finally spoke. "Before, the online rumor about Yan Xi bullying her classmates was also your doing, right?"

Just because the Starlight Public Relations Departnt couldn't find out about this didn't an Zhou Yanci couldn't. When investigating the mastermind behind this post, Assistant Sun had also dug out the previous incident.

Lin Ranran's body went stiff. She thought no one would ever know about this. "S - sorry..."

Lin Ranran stamred. Arguing with the man in front of her was useless. All she could say was these three words.

Father Lin felt dizzy.

Rumoring about bullying?

When did that happen?

He had absolutely no idea!

He was furious and raised his hand to slap Lin Ranran. "Look at what you've done!"

A red mark appeared on Lin Ranran's fair cheek, and there was even a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth. She covered her face and sobbed softly, not even daring to cry out loudly. Seeing that Zhou Yanci didn't say anything, Father Lin thought his punishnt wasn't enough and started scolding.

"Why are you so ignorant! I should have never brought you back ho in the first place!" "What have you done since you ca back? All you know is how to spend money!" "That's enough," Zhou Yanci interrupted Father Lin.

He looked at the ti. Another half an hour had passed. Zhou Yanci had promised Yan Xi that he would live a healthy life and not stay up late. Although he had slept for three hours just now, if he let Father Lin continue to make a scene, he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

"You didn't do anything wrong to ," Zhou Yanci said calmly. "The person you hurt is Yan Xi."

Father Lin imdiately pushed Lin Ranran. "I'll make her quit the variety show! I won't let her bully Yan Xi anymore!"

Bully?

Zhou Yanci smiled. In fact, he could tell that with Lin Ranran's feeble attempts, she could only play so petty tricks in the background and would never be able to bully Yan Xi. "Continue with the variety show," Zhou Yanci said. "When soone makes a mistake, they should apologize to the person involved, not to ."

Lin Ranran was incredulous. "You an, you want to go back to the variety show now?" Zhou Yanci shrugged indifferently. "As a guest, isn't it your duty to record the show? The live - broadcast starts at eight. You still have ti."

Lin Ranran felt a chill run through her body and started to tremble.

There was a ti when she thought Zhou Yanci was just a wealthy playboy who beca the CEO of Zhou Corporation because of his good family background.

Now she realized how wrong she was.

Zhou Yanci rubbed the bridge of his nose, as if thinking of sothing else. Apologizing now would probably affect the variety show. Zhou Yanci could sense that Yan Xi was having a great ti on this variety show with Zhou Qingyu.

"Apologize after the show is over," Zhou Yanci said. Lin Ranran replied hoarsely, "I... I understand."

Zhou Yanci then looked at the elite employees of the group behind him. "You can leave work. I'll give you all a two - day holiday with pay."

"Wow!"

"Thank you, Mr. Zhou!"

"Mr. Zhou is such a nice guy!"

Cheers of joy rang out from the crowd.

So employees thought Zhou Yanci was intimidating when he was angry, but since he wasn't angry with them, after working overti for a few hours, they not only got overti pay and bonuses but also a two - day paid holiday. Working at Zhou Corporation was really a blessing!

Zhou Yanci then looked at Father Lin, with a slightly cold smile in his eyes. "Mr. Lin, I hope my employees can have a good rest these two days and don't have to work overti anymore." Father Lin bowed and scraped. "Of course! Of course! I guarantee that Ranran will behave herself from now on and won't cause any more trouble!"

The news that the stock price of Lin Corporation had evaporated by more than half spread through the upper - class circles of Hai City overnight. Zhou Corporation deliberately blocked the news, so most people didn't know the reason or who was behind it. They just gossiped over tea, saying that the Lin family had offended so big shot this ti and suffered a huge loss.

As for those who knew the truth, they didn't dare to reveal a single word. Since the Lin family had been dealt such a heavy blow, it was obvious that Zhou Yanci was making an example of them. How could they dare to talk nonsense?

On the other side, at the Lu Family Villa in Han City.

Yan Xi had no idea what had happened overnight. Due to adjusting her biological clock after returning to China and being a bit picky about the bed, she woke up at 7:30. Zhou Qingyu was still asleep, so Yan Xi didn't wake her up. She went downstairs and told Piao Baoyuan to prepare breakfast.

In the living room, she heard the sound of a ga.

Yan Xi poked her head out and saw Lu Beiyu sitting on the sofa, playing a mobile ga. "Good morning!"

Yan Xi greeted Lu Beiyu politely. "Playing gas as soon as you wake up?" Lu Beiyu was good at multitasking. While controlling his hero to push the tower with his hands, he didn't forget to reply to Yan Xi. "It's a ga live - broadcast. I'm making money!" Yan Xi knew that Lu Beiyu was an e - sports player and that he didn't bring much money when he went traveling. He would work part - ti to earn money on the way.

"I thought you played PC gas," Yan Xi said.

Lu Beiyu had very good - looking fingers, with distinct knuckles, thin and long. They must look extrely beautiful when typing on the keyboard.

Lu Beiyu replied, "I do play PC gas, but I was too lazy to bring my computer when I went out!" Yan Xi was sipping warm water and sat on the sofa next to Lu Beiyu. Yaozu, who was lying on the ground listlessly, imdiately raised his head and wagged his tail at Yan Xi. Yan Xi casually tore off a chew toy and fed it to him.

"Your fans are really forgiving," Yan Xi said to Lu Beiyu.

If it were a free live - broadcast, it wouldn't matter if he played other gas. But since he was making money from the live - broadcast, he wasn't playing his most proficient ga. Lu Beiyu was quite indignant. "No! I'm also good at other gas!" So Yan Xi took a look at Lu Beiyu's ga record. Just as her eyes swept over it, she heard the ga prompt, "You have been slain!" Yan Xi laughed.

Lu Beiyu was anxious. "This is an accident! I'm playing this ga for the first ti today! I'm not familiar with the skills yet. Let play a few more rounds, and I'll definitely carry the whole team!" The live - broadcast of the variety show hadn't started yet, but Lu Beiyu had his own live - broadcast, and his fans rushed to speak up for him.

[I can testify! Island has only given away five kills. It's nothing!]

[At most, his captain will scold him for this skill level in the team. That's all!]

[Hahaha, can you give Island so face? He's really playing for the first ti!]

To prove his strength, after being resurrected, Lu Beiyu concentrated fully, determined to show Yan Xi his skills as a professional player.

However, since it was only his first ga, he couldn't rember all the skills clearly. In no ti, Lu Beiyu had his head chopped off again.

He was using a borrowed account, and the opponents he was matched with were quite strong. It was a case of failing before even starting.

Lu Beiyu blushed.

He didn't hear Yan Xi's mockery, but instead heard her serious evaluation. "You used your ultimate skill too early. You didn't ti the cooldown properly."

Lu Beiyu was surprised. "You play this ga too?"

Yan Xi replied, "No, but there are statistics on it. You just need to do so calculations!"

[Here cos the academic bully's dominance!]

[Just having theory in playing gas is not enough!]

[Has Yan Xi forgotten what happened to her at the sailing festival last ti? Even I, who don't watch variety shows, have seen that clip. It made laugh so hard!]

[Theory may be late, but it will never be absent!]

Lu Beiyu had watched the previous episode of the variety show and also rembered what happened at the sailing festival. "Sister Yan Xi, all you have is theory on paper. It's different in practice." Yan Xi was indignant. "Theory is the foundation of practice!"

Lu Beiyu said, "But you don't know that people on the Internet call you 'theoretical king, practical bronze'. Can your theory be applied in practice?"

Yan Xi was still annoyed. How could she be looked down upon by a young kid? Lu Beiyu lost a round, and it was the waiting ti. Yan Xi simply took out her phone and downloaded the ga.

"Let's play together. I'll give it a try!"

Lu Beiyu sighed. He hated playing gas with beginners the most.

But he didn't want to turn down Yan Xi's face. "Okay. I'll give you the room number. Stay behind and don't run around, or I won't be able to save you." As soon as the BP (Ban/Pick) interface opened, Lu Beiyu found that Yan Xi was on the enemy's side. Lu Beiyu:???

He had no idea how Yan Xi managed to do that! Was it even possible to choose the enemy's side in this ga?

[Hahaha, Yan Xi is killing !]

[This ti, it's not Island leading her, but blowing her head off!]

[Be gentle, Island. Don't beat Yan Xi. Go and kill others instead!]

[I kind of feel sorry for the little sister. Gas aren't that easy!]

Lu Beiyu sighed. The bullet - screen comnts were right. He'd go and kill other people instead of bullying Yan Xi. After all, it was her first ti playing. He didn't want to make her lose confidence in the ga.

Ten minutes later -

Lu Beiyu looked at the big word "DEFEAT" on his phone, then glanced at the "VICTORY" and "MVP of the ga" on Yan Xi's phone next to him. Was there sothing wrong?