LNTSWJLY Chapter 8

Translator: dapotaturs
Release Date: 04/14/2024
Edited Date: 06/21/2025
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Yu Zhi noticed that Yin Xu had been intentionally keeping his distance from him recently.

For instance, their conversations now had at least a one-meter gap, Yin Xu’s demeanor had become more respectful and less casual, and he seemed to prioritize Yu Zhi in everything, yet there was no unnecessary closeness beyond essential daily activities.

While this behavior was normal, what wasn’t normal was why it was happening now.

Reflecting on his actions, Yu Zhi couldn’t pinpoint anything out of line.

Shaking his head, he set aside this matter and listened to the assistant’s report on the plan of action against the Lin family.

“We’ve acquired 24.5% of Lin Industries’ shares, just 2.3% less than the 26.8% Lin Youde holds. We’ve become the second-largest shareholder of Lin Industries. Sir, do you want absolute control or just to surpass Lin Youde’s share?”

Dealing with Lin Industries was almost effortless for Yu Zhi. Even if Lin Youde resisted, he could only wait day by day for the inevitable complete takeover.

Yu Zhi tapped the table. “Check Lin Industries’ financial status. If there are any issues, make sure Lin Youde fills in the gaps. He can buy the shares he can afford, and if he can’t, pressure him to sell.”

Private company finances rarely escaped scrutiny, especially for family-run businesses like Lin Industries. Yu Zhi was essentially forcing Lin Youde to either sell shares or face legal consequences, confident that Lin Youde knew what he should do.

Receiving this news, Lin Youde, who was at home, was furious, gritting his teeth and cursing, “Yu Zhi!”

At this moment, his hair was messy, devoid of any semblance of styling, his eyes bloodshot, and dark circles under his eyes made him look extremely disheveled and exhausted. His clothes were also wrinkled as if he hadn’t changed them for days.

He never imagined that Yu Zhi would go to such lengths for that little bastard. What he had thought was a money tree had now become a harbinger of doom!

He was unwilling, filled with anger and resentment, wishing he could take a knife and fight Yin Xu to the death right now.

But deep down, he knew he was a coward. He didn’t dare to die, even with his enemies.

“Honey, how’s it going? Any breakthroughs?” A middle-aged beauty asked with a worried expression.

Compared to Lin Youde’s miserable appearance, she looked much better. She didn’t have dark circles under her eyes, and her clothes were clean and tidy. However, she still looked a bit tired, albeit not as obvious under her makeup.

“That Yu Zhi is a bastard!” Lin Youde stood up angrily, slamming his phone to the ground with force, smashing it to pieces.

He breathed heavily, and the middle-aged beauty carefully patted his chest and back to calm him down.

“What should we do? Are we going to lose Lin Industries?” she asked anxiously.

“He’s dreaming! Lin Industries is mine! Even if it goes bankrupt in my hands, I will never give it to him!” Lin Youde said firmly.

The beautiful woman hesitated, then cautiously said, “But honey, we still need to eat. If we keep fighting to the end, what are we going to do as a family?”

Lin Youde despairingly ran his hand through his hair. “How should I know?!”

His wife was scolded and began to cry softly, without any defense. Lin Youde felt soft and pained seeing her tears, about to comfort her when the door was opened from outside.

At that moment, two young men returned home and saw that something was amiss. The beautiful woman was crying, and they rushed forward with concern, asking, “Dad, Mom, what’s wrong? Mom, why are you crying? Did Dad make you cry?”

Lin Youde, who had just been about to console someone, was suddenly filled with anger. “What do you mean, I made her cry? Is that how you see me? You don’t care about what happens at home, you just go out every day, what’s the use of having you two as sons?!”

His outburst startled the three present. The two young men stood frozen in place, while the beautiful woman, fearing Lin Youde’s anger, quickly explained, “Ah-Heng, Xiao Nuan, Dad didn’t make Mom cry. Mom was just a bit worried, that’s why she cried. Quickly apologize to Dad.”

Lin Heng’s eyes flickered as he grabbed the reluctant Lin Nuan and said to Lin Youde, “Dad, sorry, we spoke out of turn.”

Lin Youde snorted coldly before letting it go.

Seeing their parents’ demeanor, Lin Heng couldn’t help but worry and speculate, “Mom, Dad, what happened at home?”

Unable to hide it any longer, Mother Lin sadly explained the situation. Lin Heng and Lin Nuan, despite their recent scolding, immediately widened their eyes in disbelief and asked, “Dad, Mom, what you said couldn’t be true, right?”

Seeing Lin Youde remain silent, Lin Heng’s heart sank, and his expression became serious.

“Dad, have you thought of any solutions? Can we borrow money from other uncles or the bank?” he asked.

Lin Youde replied impatiently, “Do you think of something I haven’t? If there was a solution, it would have been solved long ago!”

Lin Nuan grabbed Lin Heng and stood in front of him, speaking gently, “Dad, don’t scold big brother. He’s also trying to find a solution. How about this, I still have some pocket money saved up. It’s not much, but Dad needs it more.”

Looking at his youngest son showing concern and trying to help, Lin Youde’s anger dissipated somewhat. He waved his hand weakly. “Forget it, your money won’t be enough.”

He stood up and went upstairs to his study.

Lin Nuan glanced around and walked over to comfort her crying mother. “Mom, don’t worry. No matter what, our family will face it together.”

Mother Lin hugged her and cried, “How could this happen… How could it end up like this…”

Having been a wealthy woman for decades, the idea of becoming an ordinary person overnight, unable to buy bags worth hundreds of thousands or spend thousands on daily spa treatments, was something she couldn’t accept.

After comforting her mother and helping her upstairs to bed, Lin Nuan returned to his room.

As soon as he entered, before turning on the lights, someone tightly embraced him from behind. He didn’t resist, instead following the force to turn around and hug the other person back.

The tall figure of the man pressed down on him, their breath mingling between their lips. Lin Nuan had to endure it, and before they knew it, the two of them had rolled from the doorway to the sofa.

It wasn’t until Lin Nuan, panting, patted Lin Heng’s back that they both stopped just in time.

“I did so much during the day, I’m tired,” Lin Nuan said, pouting.

“Hey, do you think the company is really in trouble? Why would Yu Zhi suddenly want to go after us?” Lin Heng thought of a possibility, furrowing his brow. “Dad seemed to previously sent that kid to the Yu family.”

Lin Nuan was shocked. “Are you saying Yin Xu had someone come after us? How could he be so heartless? Even though I’m not his real brother, you and Dad are his blood relatives. How could he be so indifferent?”

“No, I need to find an opportunity to talk to him. Dad’s hair has been turning white lately. Does he still have any affection left in his heart?”

Yu Zhi had never seen the main character in this world, and he didn’t think it was necessary. After all, his target wasn’t them, and there was no rule in his department against influencing the main character’s storyline.

Dealing with the two people at home was already headache-inducing enough for him; he had no interest in dealing with others.

“Dad, you’re back!” Xiao Pang dropped the remote control and dashed towards Yu Zhi, his face beaming with a greasy smile.

Yu Zhi furrowed his brow, not allowing him to get close, and asked suspiciously, “So enthusiastic, what trouble did you get into now?”

Xiao Pang’s chubby face froze for a moment, “How could you think that way about your obedient and adorable son? Aren’t I your little darling?”

Yu Zhi coldly replied, “No.”

Xiao Pang: “…”

He glanced at the cold and heartless figure of the older man, his chest heaving with suppressed anger.

He ran back to his room and secretly called his deskmate. “The method you suggested doesn’t work. I think he’s just going through a midlife crisis. He never looks favorably at me no matter what I do!”

“Then you’ll have to resort to my second suggestion. Buttering him up won’t work, so butter up your stepdad instead. After all, your stepdad can’t have children of his own, so he’ll likely rely on you in the future. And if your dad ever grows distant and cheats on him in the future, he’ll only be able to keep your dad by relying on you. You guys are natural allies in self-interest!”

Xiao Pang tilted his head, “Will that work? He’s not easy to approach. You don’t know, he even helped my dad hide snacks from me before.”

“Do you want him to help you fool your dad in the future?”

Xiao Pang’s eyes lit up. “I’m in!”

“Then do as I say.”

Xiao Pang was still quite convinced by his deskmate. After all, the other was a top student and smarter than him.

He had never seen his mother since he was young. He heard that she had taken the money from selling him and ran away. Considering this, he didn’t feel guilty about accepting someone else as his stepmother. After a moment of contemplation, he quietly slipped into Yin Xu’s room.

Yin Xu had grown accustomed to Xiao Pang occasionally running to him for trivial matters. Perhaps his impression of Yu Zhi had changed, leading to a newfound tolerance for Xiao Pang. Now, he didn’t find Xiao Pang as annoying as before.

“Anything?”

“Yes!” Xiao Pang pretended to whisper. “I agree with your thing. You won’t need to sneak around behind my back to sleep anymore, Little Dad. In return for my support, you gotta have my back from now on. I promise to stand by you and kick out anyone trying to seduce Dad!”

Yin Xu: “…”

His first reaction was surprisingly, “When did we sleep?”

Xiao Pang gave him a ‘Don’t try to fool me’ look. “I saw him enter your room that night with my own eyes. What else could you be doing besides sleeping? Having a chat under the blanket?”

Yin Xu: “…”

He wanted to explain, but felt like explaining to a grade-schooler was futile.

He also wanted to say there was no need to scheme against him. He wasn’t an important figure, just a temporary resident. Yet, he couldn’t shake off the thought that the man liked him. Something about that statement didn’t sit right.

Could it be… he was truly important enough to influence the man’s decisions?

The next day, Yu Zhi returned home. The plan to acquire Lin Industries was at a critical juncture. He wanted to remind Yin Xu to be cautious and even considered giving him a long leave to study at home.

But during the usual class time, he heard the boy make a request that was opposite to what he expected.

“You want to study by yourself at school from now on?” Yu Zhi raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Do you think you’ve learned enough and don’t need me anymore?”

Yin Xu lowered his head, his face turning red. “I feel guilty for taking up too much of your time and affecting your work and attention. So, I want to attend classes at school.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Zhi, who had been allowing him to distance himself recently, felt he had been too lenient.

He knocked on the table, sitting upright in his chair, and spoke seriously. “Yin Xu.”

Yin Xu subconsciously stood up, barely daring to breathe.

“I think we need to talk,” Yu Zhi’s tone lost its gentleness and became more serious.

“I know you’ve always thought I had ulterior motives for you, so you’ve been distancing yourself, but that’s not a reason to joke about your own life and future.”

Yin Xu bit his lip, feeling something was off about those words.

Is it always like this when an older man likes someone?

“If you genuinely believe that school teaching is better, I respect your decision, but ask yourself, why are you making this decision?” Yu Zhi had encountered many rebellious teenagers before, and Yin Xu, despite his appearance of being obedient, had his share of rebellion inside. The best approach with such individuals was not to forcefully suppress them but to engage in adult conversations and analysis, to persuade them from within.

Seeing Yin Xu bowing his head in reflection, Yu Zhi felt that he had probably left him speechless. So, he softened his tone and continued, “I have no right to interfere in your life, but I hope you won’t leave any regrets over a minor disagreement. Think it through carefully. If you insist, I won’t stop you.”

As Yin Xu watched the man’s departing figure, he took out his phone and browsed the internet for a while. Suddenly, a glimmer of understanding flashed in his eyes.

So, it could be like this…

Dad-like boyfriend.

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Author’s Note: 

Yu- ‘Actually-a-Dad’ -Zhi: ……