Chapter 17
The boardroom on the top floor of the Lin Group headquarters was suffocatingly tense. The massive oval mahogany table was lined with the company’s primary shareholders and board directors-older, conservative men who valued stability and corporate reputation above all else.
At the head of the table sat Master Lin, his expression unreadable, though his tightly clenched fists betrayed his inner fury. Lin Heng stood near the projector screen, monitoring the rapidly spreading online smear campaign.
The heavy double doors of the boardroom swung open, drawing every eye in the room.
Lin Mian walked in. He didn’t look like a panicked, exposed socialite. He was dressed in a sharp, pristine charcoal-grey double-breasted suit, his hair neatly styled away from his face, revealing his high cheekbones and calm, piercing gaze.
Walking a half-step behind him, projecting a quiet but utterly terrifying aura of absolute authority, was Lu Chen. A murmur broke out among the directors.
“Young Master Lin, this is a private internal board emergency meeting,” one of the senior directors, Mr. Gao, spoke up, his tone laced with condescension. “And why is CEO Lu here? The Lu Corporation has no stakes in our internal marketing scandals.”
“CEO Lu is here as my personal advisor,” Lin Mian replied smoothly, taking his seat at the table with an effortless grace that took the directors by surprise. Lu Chen did not sit; he stood directly behind Lin Mian’s chair, crossing his arms, his icy glare effectively silencing any immediate protests from the older men.
Lin Mian leaned forward, clasping his hands on the table. “I understand you all called this meeting because of the photos circulating on the business forums.”
Mr. Gao slammed a folder onto the table. “Those photos show you dead drunk, throwing a glass at a bartender, and screaming at patrons! The media is calling the Lin Group’s sudden corporate victory a fraudulent publicity stunt orchestrated by a reckless, unstable heir. Our stock dropped by 2.4% within the last two hours! You are a liability to this company, Lin Mian!”
Master Lin’s jaw tightened, about to defend his son, but Lin Mian raised a hand, subtly signaling his father to hold back.
“You are entirely right, Director Gao,” Lin Mian said, his voice crystal clear and entirely unbothered.
The room went dead silent. Lin Heng blinked in shock. Even Lu Chen glanced down at the top of Lin Mian’s head, a flicker of dark amusement and intense curiosity dancing in his eyes.
“What did you say?” Mr. Gao stammered.
“I said, you are right. Those photos are real. That was me six months ago,” Lin Mian stated, looking directly into the eyes of every director at the table. “I was a spoiled, reckless, short-tempered brat who wasted my family’s wealth and gave no thought to the hard work that built this empire. I will not deny my past, nor will I apologize for it anymore. Because the man you see standing in those photos is dead.”
Lin Mian stood up, pulling a sleek tablet from his briefcase and tapping the screen. The main projector flickered, replacing the scandalous club photos with a massive, real-time data analytical chart.
“While whoever orchestrated this smear campaign was busy digging through my past garbage, I spent the last three hours preparing our counter-strategy,” Lin Mian announced, his voice vibrating with absolute command. “The accounts that published those photos were traced to dummy IPs hosted in Hong Kong. This is a deliberate, malicious attempt by an outside entity to manipulate the Lin Group’s stock prices so they can launch a hostile takeover while we are vulnerable.
The directors leaned in, their corporate greed and survival instincts instantly overriding their moral outrage.
“Look at the screen,” Lin Mian directed, pointing to the surging line graphs. “I have already instructed our public relations department to issue a formal, live video statement from me in exactly one hour. I will not hide. I will publicly acknowledge my past mistakes, apologize to the public, and announce the launch of the *Lin Foundation for Youth Rehabilitation*-a multi-million-yuan charity project funded entirely out of my own personal trust fund, not the company’s capital.”
Lin Mian’s eyes flashed with a dangerous, brilliant light. “Furthermore, we will air the full, unedited security footage of the government bidding room from yesterday, showing the exact moment I exposed Guangshi Real Estate’s espionage. When the public sees a formerly spoiled heir taking absolute accountability, actively changing his life, and brilliantly protecting his family’s legacy from foreign corporate predators… what do you think will happen to our public image?”
Lin Heng let out a breathless, triumphant laugh. “The narrative shifts from a scandal into an inspirational, patriotic corporate redemption story. Our stock won’t just recover; it will skyrocket.”
The directors stared at Lin Mian as if they were looking at a seasoned corporate wolf masquerading in a young man’s body. Mr. Gao sat back in his chair, completely speechless, his arguments thoroughly dismantled.
Master Lin finally let out a booming laugh, slamming his hand proudly on the table. “Motion carried! Xiao Mian, execute the plan immediately!”
As the directors scrambled to coordinate with the PR department, Lin Mian felt a large, warm hand rest against the small of his back. He looked up to find Lu Chen leaning down, his dark eyes burning with an pride so intense it was intoxicating.
“You were magnificent, Xiao Mian,” Lu Chen whispered, his deep voice vibrating against Lin Mian’s ear, his thumb subtly caressing his waist through the fabric of his suit. “I almost couldn’t control myself from dragging you out of this room and devouring you right then and there.”
Lin Mian’s cheeks flushed a light pink, but his confident smile didn’t fade. “Hold that thought, giant wolf. We still have one more rat to exterminate.”
Two hours later, inside the presidential suite of the ultra-luxury *Starlight Hotel* overlooking the Bund, the atmosphere was chaotic.
*CRASH!*
An exquisite crystal ash tray shattered against the wall, missing an assistant’s head by mere inches. Shao Ting stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, his silver-grey suit jacket discarded, his tie loosened. His face, usually a mask of icy elegance, was distorted with pure rage.
On the massive television screen across the room, Lin Mian’s live broadcast was airing. The young man looked incredibly handsome, sincere, and sharp as he addressed the media, capturing the hearts of millions of netizens. The Lin Group’s stock values were already surging past their record high for the quarter.
“Director Shao…” the assistant stammered, trembling as he held a tablet. “The… the regulatory board in Hong Kong has just frozen our secondary maritime account. CEO Lu Chen has personally signed a cross-border corporate injunction against us. We are losing forty million dollars every three hours our ships remain docked.”
Shao Ting gripped the edge of the marble desk, his knuckles turning white. He stared at Lin Mian’s face on the television screen. *How?* How did a pathetic, easily manipulated boy turn into a master strategist capable of predicting his every move? Lin Mian was supposed to be his plaything, the weak link he could use to bleed the Lin family dry.
“Lin Mian… Lu Chen…” Shao Ting hissed, a terrifying, psychotic glint flashing in his snake-like eyes. He pulled a burner phone from his pocket and dialed a secure number.
The call connected on the first ring.
“Director Shao,” a rough, low voice answered from the other end.
“The corporate route is compromised,” Shao Ting snarled into the receiver, his voice dropping into a lethal, dark whisper.
“Activate the backup plan. Lu Chen’s estate is a fortress, but Lin Mian has to leave the building for his live press conference at the Shanghai Media Center in thirty minutes. I don’t care about the Lin Group’s stocks anymore. I want the boy. Break his legs, drug him, and bring him to the private docks at the southern wharf. If I can’t have his mind, I will break his body until he can never walk away from my cage.”
To be continue
