Chapter 48: Lin Mu's Plea

Su Mian felt that Lin Xiu was full of lies and simply not worthy of trust. Pointing at the pile of luxury brands and extravagant items, she said angrily, “Mom, you really disappoint me. Using Huo Beinian’s name to swindle money from me—aren’t you an adult? Can’t you control your obsession with status a little?”

Lin Xiu blushed with shame at the reprimand, thinking that as an elder, it was only right to spend a little money on her. She displeasedly gathered the items and took them back to her room. Su Mian, fuming, followed her and continued lecturing.

When Su Mian saw Lin Xiu’s wardrobe stuffed to the brim with luxury handbags, some still unopened, the last thread of her reason snapped. “Mom, what exactly are you trying to do?”

Lin Xiu was startled by Su Mian’s raised voice. “Why are you yelling? You scared me—you’re getting more and more rude!”

Seeing her unrepentant attitude, Su Mian stepped forward and swept all the items onto the floor, then asked, “Mom, what are you actually buying these for?”

The brands were numerous and varied, some quite niche and not even her usual style. Lin Xiu, overwhelmed by the questioning, said flatly, “I think you’re going crazy. Shut up quickly. I’m investing and doing business recently. These things are just for events to boost appearances.”

“Events to boost appearances” sounded better than it was—she wondered who had fed Lin Xiu such foolish ideas.

Su Mian took a deep breath to regain her remaining composure. “Alright, even if that’s true, then tell me this: what investment are you making, who are your shareholders, and where is the store?”

Her tone was like a detective interrogating a suspect, leaving Lin Xiu’s mind blank. While tidying the fallen items, she replied indifferently, “Just some wives from our social circle. Nowadays, the easiest money to make is from women and children.”

“I partnered with them to open a high-end women’s beauty and wellness club. If you don’t support it, fine, but to say such things—really, I can’t rely on you for anything. Fortunately, Uncle Zhang is here…”

At that, Lin Xiu quickly clammed up.

Su Mian helped her up and pressed, “What Uncle Zhang? The driver?”

Lin Xiu was irritated. “Su Mian, you’re getting more and more immature. This is my private matter; you don’t need to interfere.”

“Mom, you’re so confused. If you really had what it takes for business, you wouldn’t still need the Huo family’s support to get by. I think you should back out quickly before you lose both your husband and your money.”

It wasn’t that Su Mian looked down on Lin Xiu, but Lin Xiu was nothing more than a shallow beauty—sold out and still counting the money for the buyer.

Lin Xiu slammed the wardrobe shut in anger and sharply retorted, “You stubborn girl, why do you keep pushing? Do you even know how much I’ve already invested? If I pull out now, all that money will be wasted.”

Su Mian considered Lin Xiu hopeless and decided there was no need to waste more breath. She’d learn regret the hard way.

As Su Mian left the Huo residence, she saw Huo Beihan driving back. She waved to greet him, but he ignored her and sped past.

Su Mian found it strange. Since Father Qin’s birthday banquet, they hadn’t been in contact. What was wrong with him?

The next day, as soon as Su Mian sat at her desk and opened her computer, Lin Mu called her to the office.

“Director Lin, you called me?”

Lin Mu, sporting dark circles under his eyes and looking tired, yawned and asked, “Sister, can you tell me what you did to that killing machine, Huo Beihan? Do you know how much extra work we’ve gotten recently? It’s inhuman.”

Seeing Lin Mu so frustrated, Su Mian was puzzled and didn’t understand what he meant.

Lin Mu, seeing her confusion, realized she had never developed any special feelings for Huo Beihan. In the end, that big brother was just suffering from one-sided love.

“Tell me what happened after the birthday banquet. I’ll help you analyze it.”

Su Mian began recounting the basic events of the day.

Lin Mu, ever the gossip, said, “That doesn’t sound right. Huo Beihan wouldn’t be so petty as to get angry over trivial things, would he?”

If not that, then what else could it be?

Suddenly, Su Mian stood up. “Could it be…”

She hesitated, leaving Lin Mu anxious. “What is it? Is there more?”

Embarrassed, Su Mian told him everything about Qin Yunzheng’s confession from start to finish.

Lin Mu pounded the table excitedly, almost declaring that Huo Beihan was jealous, but quickly shifted topics. “It must be because of this. As the eldest brother, he probably doesn’t want to see you repeat past mistakes, so he’s so angry.”

“In that case, you don’t have to come to work for the next few days. Go find a way to make peace with him.”

Su Mian frowned, feeling that explanation sounded awkward. She and Huo Beihan weren’t even related by blood—he was just a nominal “big brother.” Though he helped her a lot at work, what right did he have to get angry over emotional matters?

“Director Lin, I think I’ll just focus on work. After all, Huo and I aren’t siblings. If he’s angry for other reasons, then I’d just be reading too much into it.”

Lin Mu suddenly felt utterly hopeless. Although Su Mian didn’t understand Huo Beihan’s subtle feelings, he did!

If Su Mian didn’t reconcile with Huo Beihan, Lin Mu would be forced to keep working overtime.

At this rate, not only he but the entire Ying Tai staff would break down.

He pulled Su Mian to the window. “Look, Su Mian, they’re already exhausted.”

“The whole company’s hope rests on you alone. If you ignore this, then all of us can just wait to collapse from overwork and end up in the hospital.”

Lin Mu knew clearly that no matter the cause, if Su Mian was willing to meet with Huo Beihan, there was hope.

Su Mian thought he was exaggerating. What did the company’s rush have to do with her as a junior assistant? And clients needing urgent project planning meant overtime was normal. Why was he using this to guilt-trip her?

Seeing Su Mian hesitate, Lin Mu quickly pulled out the project collaboration documents. “Here, look at what that bastard has done. If you don’t help, we might really be worked to death.”

She studied the documents carefully and glanced at her colleagues outside, already collapsed from fatigue.

The workload for this project was indeed overburdening and different from initial estimates. If this continued, everyone’s health would truly suffer.