Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I went to the Qin Family home to see Qin Huaiguang.

The middle-aged man, like an old fox, had eyes glinting with shrewdness and calculation: “Lin Wei, the cooperation is over, and you still come to your uncle, seeking to collude with a tiger for its skin? Don’t you find that ridiculous?”

“Uncle Qin, is Qin Yue doing well?”

“He is, no need for your concern. He’ll only get better and better.”

“Is that so? At this point, if I say I can still take his life, would you like to try me?”

Qin Huaiguang stared at me without moving. “How could you take his life? I won’t give you the chance to hurt him. You’ll never see him again.”

“I don’t need to see him. I’ll start with you. I’ll tell everyone that you, Qin Huaiguang, slept with me. Do you think Qin Yue wouldn’t go crazy when he hears that? You know your son. He’s been obsessive since childhood, with a strong possessiveness over things he likes. It’s hard to guarantee nothing will happen, right?”

I smiled as I looked at him. “Even if nothing happens, the father-son bond will be ruined. Don’t try to explain. You’ve been to Yunli Nunnery; I left a backup plan. Do you think I approached your son for any reason other than to deal with you, Uncle Qin?”

“When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes back. Don’t push me to extremes. I’m capable of anything.”

Qin Huaiguang’s face darkened. He watched me for a long time, then sneered. “What do you want?”

“I want the Lin Family’s building materials factory. I want it brought back from the dead.”

When the negotiation ended, I stood up to leave. Qin Huaiguang mocked me from behind: “Was everything with Qin Yue just a ploy from start to finish? That boy of mine gave his true heart.”

I paused in my steps but didn’t turn back. “Haven’t you heard? Once you reach the shore, the first sword cuts down the one you love.”

I went to the hospital to see my father.

He lay in the hospital bed, wearing an oxygen mask, quiet and still, only his eyes moving.

I smiled faintly, sat down, picked up an apple, and peeled it while talking to him.

“Dad, is your Buddha still there?”

“It really is sickening. My youngest uncle was honest; he truly couldn’t match you. He lost fair and square, and jumping off the building was his own choice. But you can’t just bully people.”

“You led our whole Lin Family in feeding on others’ misery-it was too ugly. You drained my maternal grandfather’s family dry, and now at the end, you turn to Buddhism, only to keep leading the family to bully me.”

“I gave you chances. You forced my hand. We, father and daughter, ended up like this, and the fault is entirely yours.”

“Do you know why you lost? Because of the Seven Killings structure, an extremely fierce baleful influence. If you can master it, harness that baleful energy for your own gain, you can turn misfortune into fortune and achieve great success.”

“My Buddha told me this, so my Buddha is real, and yours is fake.”

I sat at the bedside, peeling the apple, and watched his heart monitor fluctuate. He wanted to speak; he struggled to reach out his hand. I set the apple down and gripped his hand back, with great strength.

“Don’t worry, Dad. I will protect the Lin Family. The building materials factory is mine now. Focus on recovering. If things truly don’t work out, I’ll place your memorial tablet alongside my maternal grandfather’s family’s. You once said that no one is born unfortunate; all suffering has its reasons. Things that aren’t yours to claim shouldn’t be forced.”

“Go and explain it to them.”

I am a filial child.

I returned to the building materials company. It was in shambles.

No one was in the building. I called one by one: the heads of finance, planning, marketing, the factory manager, and the project managers.

Eventually, everyone rushed over. They pushed open the conference room door and saw me sitting in a chair with my back to them.

Those willing to come had come. Those who shouldn’t come were all stopped downstairs.

I braced myself on the conference table and slowly stood up. I looked at my cousins, and my younger sister Lin Zhi.

They sat among the crowd in the conference room, looking at me.

I curled my lip and smiled lazily: “The older generation has lost their senses, running Lin Corporation into this state. From now on, I call the shots here. Is that clear?”

“What gives you the right to call the shots! You’ve already become a nun! Father’s not here, and the Lin Family has plenty of people who can take charge-what makes it your turn?”

My sister Lin Zhi, as stupid as ever.

I crooked a finger at her. She frowned and stepped forward.

As soon as she stood steady, I slapped her across the face.

Amitabha, with great force. She almost fell to the ground.

What gives me the right?

Because the Lin Family is already finished, and I am the only one who can save it now.

Lin Zhi held her face and started to get up, but before she was steady, I slapped her again.

I sneered at her: “I am the eldest daughter of the Lin Family. Your mother was a mistress, and you’re the child of a mistress. Neither of you is qualified to speak to me.”

No one sided with her. My cousins sat silently, everyone was quiet.

I reached out and ripped off the pearl necklace from Lin Zhi’s neck.

The pearls clattered to the ground, like the Lin Family’s dignity.

“This thing, you’re not qualified to wear, either.”

From now on, I will become the one who controls the game.

The Lin Family’s building will rise again.

Inside the building, I gazed out the floor-to-ceiling window, also looking at the distant sky that wasn’t so blue.

Nothing is over yet.

When Zhang Zhiyuan came to see me, we sat in the office, not speaking for a long time.

He should have known. It was all too late.

But he still said, “I’m sorry, Weiwei.”

I smiled. “I should thank you. I almost forgot what my mother said, and you made me remember again.”

Don’t trust anyone. The human heart is too cruel and vicious. Trust no one but yourself.

Zhang Zhiyuan wept. He said, “I won’t explain. I can only say that I really tried, but I couldn’t.”

When you’re weak, you have no choice.

I tried taking sleeping pills, suicide.

I didn’t die, so I just lived in a daze.

My beloved had become a nun. Anyone would do.

Lin Zhi it would be then. After all, a Lin family daughter would always benefit the Zhang family.

So be it, accept fate.

See, this is humanity.

The masses of living beings.

Then let him be punished, forever lost in the secular world.

…

In the year I turned thirty, the Lin family’s building materials business was back on track.

My hair had grown out, and I kept it in a neat chin-length bob.

I wore a white blazer, my pants always crisp and wrinkle-free.

My lipstick was a bold vintage red; I liked coffee, and occasionally drank wine.

Everyone addressed me with respect as President Lin.

I discussed contracts at clubs, negotiated projects over drinks, talked freely and laughed heartily.

They all said, President Lin is a strong woman, President Lin’s word is law; when President Lin’s face turned stern, her eyes dark, the whole building would go silent.

Of course they went silent-my three male cousins, holding general manager positions, were as obedient as dogs under me.

My father passed away last year.

According to our agreement, I set up a rebirth tablet for him, placing it alongside those of my maternal grandfather’s family.

On holidays, I would visit my paternal aunts.

They wouldn’t let me in.

So I had my driver and assistant toss the finest honey, tea, and health supplements over the courtyard wall.

After throwing them, I gave a faint smile, flicked the ash from my cigarette, closed the window, and told the driver to go.

On the Ghost Festival, I went to Daoqing Temple to offer incense.

At Yunli Nunnery, I met Venerable Huiming.

They had packed their belongings, carrying alms bowls, and organized a pilgrimage.

Starting from the temple, they walked over five hundred kilometers, a long trek on foot.

Ascetics, realizing their faith through the endurance of suffering.

They were fortifying their true minds, cultivating themselves.

And I had become a shrewd, worldly merchant.

The Abbess handed me a string of prayer beads, patted my hand, and said, “Jingyin, the Buddha has no fixed form; it takes the form of all living beings’ hearts.”

The Buddha originally has no form; he manifests in the form of all beings.

In the year of my thirtieth birthday, I received a special gift.

A brand-new, still sealed, yet somewhat aged-looking Ah Shuai comic book.

That night, a cool breeze blew as I stood on the balcony, gazing at the city nightscape.

The wind tousled my hair, and I recalled the child from my youth with his bowl-cut hair and exceptionally pretty features.

He turned back to smile at me, a goody-goody expression on his face, but a sly gleam hidden in his eyes.

“Sister Weiwei, next vacation I’ll buy a new Ah Shuai comic, and we can read it together. You have to wait for me, don’t play with the other kids.”

Later, that child grew up, with a youthful heart that didn’t know how to express love.

He placed the girl’s once-favorite oat yogurt on the classroom desk.

Later he saw her, expressionless, even with disgust, throw that yogurt away.

Even later, he got into the same university as her.

In the dining hall, he saw her playing “The Blue Danube,” smiling at someone she liked.

Jealousy was sour and bitter.

He also did some absurd things, watching that girl come to detest him more and more.

And watched her link arms with her boyfriend, chatting and laughing, walking joyfully down the road.

What isn’t yours you can never force to be yours.

Until later, he fell into her trap once more.

He wanted to take her away, to flee toward freedom.

But in the end, everything was a lie.

A complete and utter lie.

To live is itself a pilgrimage; only by learning lessons and looking ahead can you go further.

This is the survival rule for adults, and everyone must obey.

Someone asked me, any regrets?

No, no regrets.

In life, you gain some and lose some. To get what you want, you must offer sincerity in exchange.

What I wanted, I have already gained.

Qin Yue, I saw him once later.

At a business cocktail party, a beautiful young newlywed stood by his side.

From across the crowd, he toasted me from afar, his eyebrows raised, a mocking smile on his lips, as if celebrating my success.

If he understood this pilgrimage of life, he should accept it-you pay your bets and accept your losses.

If he didn’t, I was no longer afraid.

I am President Lin of Lin Corporation, a renowned female entrepreneur.

Everyone knows that President Lin believes in Buddhism.

Charitable donations, supporting education, performing good deeds widely.

But everyone also knows that President Lin has a ruthless heart and skillful means.

As long as you understand give and take, you can handle things with ease and be tempered into steel.

Will I always win?

Yes, the Buddha is the form of all living beings; living beings save themselves.

(End)