Chapter 4: How Do I Save You? The You in the Wind Is the Best Moment…

[Final Task—Save the Family Business]

What kind of enterprise could possibly require a college student like him to save it?

……

Lin Yu sent a message to his father and drove to the hotel where his dad was staying.

According to the assistant, not only had he skipped work, but he’d also been frequenting a private club, lingering there endlessly.

He had a waiter lead him forward, guiding him into the club hidden within the hotel. Passing through a crowd of people, he stopped in front of a private room.

The door was tightly shut, its soundproofing excellent. Lin Yu leaned his head lightly against the door, listening carefully—yet there was no sound at all, as if the room were empty, concealed in the corner of the hotel.

It wasn’t even noon yet, but apparently, his father had rushed to this club as soon as he woke up in the morning.

With a slight push of his hand, Lin Yu opened the door.

The heavy door muffled sound almost too well, making the act of opening it feel oppressive. Inside, the scene was worlds apart from the outside.

So noisy.

So many people.

His father was sprawled drunkenly across the couch in the private room, utterly disheveled despite it being morning, limp as a ragdoll in the arms of a beautiful woman.

This woman stood out starkly from the others around her. Dressed in a simple black-and-white professional suit, her long hair cascading to her shoulders, she exuded elegance and maturity. Her form-fitting pencil skirt was worn properly, making her seem less like someone in the industry and more like his father’s secretary.

At that moment, everyone in the room looked up at him, their gazes filled with confusion, alarm, and even traces of fear.

—Except for the woman holding Lin Yicheng.

She seemed utterly indifferent to everything, merely cradling his head and gently stroking it.

A girl in a pink dress with twin ponytails trembled as she pointed at Lin Yu, stammering, “Y-you… you…?”

Only then did his father speak up. “Xiao Yu, what are you doing here?”

“It’s early in the morning—shouldn’t you be in class?”

Lin Yu narrowed his eyes. “No class today.”

“Dad, why are you in such a hurry first thing in the morning?” Lin Yu’s voice was cold, his gaze sharp with a chilling intensity honed by years of discipline.

Lin Yu kept his eyes locked on the woman, searching for any clues.

Something was very wrong—everything felt off.

The father he remembered had always been deeply devoted to his family, never the slovenly, useless man he saw today.

Lin Yicheng adjusted his posture, stretching lazily with a “Ha,” and casually rotated his wrist.

Waving a hand, he said, “Hey, kid, you’ve barely been an adult for five minutes, and you’re already trying to tell your old man what to do?”

“I recall there’s a pretty important brand meeting today?” Lin Yu’s gaze was like a blade.

Lin Yicheng sat up straight, pulling his hand out of the woman’s embrace. “What do you know?!”

“I’ve had this on my mind for ages!”

He swept a triumphant glance over the room, taking in the varied expressions of the people inside, and declared:

“Back in the day, your old man led the Lin Group to crush competitors in the province by 50 points and tripled the company’s performance—you were still a baby then! What do you know?”

“I’ve got all this under control!” Lin Yicheng’s voice brimmed with smugness.

Lin Yu stared at his father for a moment before speaking slowly, “So this is why the company’s performance has been declining year after year?”

Disappointed, Lin Yu waved weakly at the people in the private room, “You have one hour left. Do what you will.”

He left as swiftly as he had arrived, like a gust of wind sweeping through the room, vanishing in an instant.

Lin Yicheng sat up straight in anger, glaring at Lin Yu’s retreating figure. “You brat!”

……

Hands in his pockets, Lin Yu walked with his eyes lowered, his expression indifferent as if nothing concerned him.

Then he spotted a familiar figure.

His footsteps halted abruptly, the sound of pristine sneakers on the tiled floor cutting off sharply, like a retreat from the edge of a cliff.

The person seemed to carry the morning dew with him, standing meticulously in yesterday’s clothes—likely unchanged due to busyness—while murmuring something to someone nearby.

Noticing Lin Yu, the man curved his lips into a natural smile. “Mr. Lin, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”

His eyes seemed to glow as he looked at Lin Yu, his hair still carrying the fresh scent of mountain grass from the morning.  

“Mr. Lin, what brings you here?”

Lin Yu waved dismissively, his gaze unfocused. “Nothing.” His eyelids drooped as if lost in solitary contemplation.

Zhang Modu?  

An insignificant person—why had they crossed paths twice in one day?  

Lin Yu lifted his head, his hawk-like gaze locking onto the man before him, scrutinizing him from head to toe.  

Then the other man moved—  

Lin Yu narrowed his eyes.  

Zhang Modu strode out from behind the service counter, heading straight for Lin Yu. “I’ve been a bit too busy lately.”  

“Would you care to sit for a while, Mr. Lin? This hotel is under our company’s management.”  

He gestured to the manager beside him. “Arrange our top-tier VIP treatment for Mr. Lin.”  

Under your company’s management?  

Lin Yu frowned slightly before quickly smoothing his expression back to its usual detachment. “So it’s under Mr. Zhang’s ownership.”  

“If you don’t mind, just call me Modu.” Zhang Modu’s smile was perfectly measured, a golden veneer of politeness resting on his face.  

Lin Yu curved his lips in acknowledgment. “Could I trouble you to look into something for me?”  

He raised a finger to his lips, his inquiry shrouded in mystery. “And please, Modu, keep this between us.”  

Zhang Modu nodded eagerly.  

Leaning in, Lin Yu whispered into his ear, his low voice resonating softly. “I’d like you to check someone’s records—how often he stays here…”  

……  

Zhang Modu soon led him to the hotel’s data archives, granting him computer access before politely excusing himself to attend to his own affairs.  

Lin Yu scrolled through Lin Yicheng’s records, his brow furrowing unconsciously.  

The files were dense and tangled, a chaotic web reflecting not just a life of extravagance but also the steady decline of a once-capable man.  

“Host, your father only started coming to this hotel two weeks ago? That recently?”  

001 blinked its large eyes, leaning closer to the screen.

Lin Yu continued flipping through the files, searching for additional information on all Zhang Group hotels on his computer. Zhang Modu had granted him high-level access, and since the Zhang Group was a leader in the hospitality and tourism industry, the database practically contained records of nearly every hotel across the country.  

Lin Yu repeatedly entered queries into the search bar but found nothing.  

The decline of the Lin Family Mining Group had been a slow but steady trend over the past two years. Though not immediately fatal, it hung over the Lin family like the Sword of Damocles—ominous and unsettling.  

“Something’s really off.”  

001 immediately chimed in, “Yeah, yeah. Even if your dad wasn’t staying at hotels and was just traveling for leisure, this still doesn’t add up.”  

“Could it be that he just doesn’t care if your family finds out?”  

Lin Yu shook his head.  

He tapped the desk lightly, lost in thought for a moment, then stood up and wiped the computer’s data clean to ensure no obvious traces were left before shutting it down.  

Turning toward the door, he sent Zhang Modu a quick thank-you message and returned to his car.  

One hand resting on the steering wheel, he issued commands to 001: “Help me message my dad’s secretary—I need his full itinerary for the past six months.” As he spoke, he slowly started the engine and drove toward campus.  

“Also, send a message to Li Yide. Ask him about their recent collaborations with the Lin Group—whether there have been any issues.”  

001 carried out Lin Yu’s orders efficiently.  

Lin Yu fell silent again, hands gripping the wheel as he stared at the red light ahead before adding:  

“Check who my cousin has been interacting with at the company lately.” From what Lin Yu remembered, his cousin appeared honest and obedient to elders on the surface, but in reality, he was ambitious. Though he studied art, his social circles in college extended far beyond just the arts.  

The rest of the Lin family didn’t seem suspicious.  

Lin Yu continued driving, his left hand absentmindedly tapping out a rhythm.  

“Oh, and send a message to Chen Shuhua—tell him we’re having lunch together.” This was, after all, the original owner’s habit.  

001 linked up with Lin Yu’s phone through its information processing system, swiftly executing his instructions.  

When Lin Yu pulled into the school parking lot, his arrival instantly drew the attention of nearby students.  

It wasn’t surprising—luxury cars paired with handsome faces always turned heads. The car Li Yide had bought was too flashy, too extravagant, giving Lin Yu an air of aloofness, an indescribable aristocratic aura.  

Lin Yu lazily locked the car, twirling the keys as he strolled toward the prearranged restaurant.  

The weather was scorching, the sun occasionally breaking through the shade of the campus’s tree-lined paths, unable to fully shield against the oppressive heat that seemed to envelop the entire school.  

A faint breeze swept through the air, rustling the willow branches, their swaying motions as graceful as a dancer’s steps—light and elegant.  

The restaurant overlooked the lake, where the distant water shimmered like the sea, reflecting the blinding sunlight onto the glass walls of the establishment.  

Peaceful and carefree.  

Chen Shuhua sat down sheepishly, rubbing his head. “Sorry, Lin Lin, I just got out of class…”  

Lin Yu speared a piece of beef with his fork and handed it to him.  

“Don’t worry, I just got here too. Thanks for taking notes for me.”

Chen Shuhua obediently took it and looked up at Lin Yu with confusion. “Lin Lin, during class, Young Master Li came over and asked me if you had arrived…”

“I casually brushed it off, saying you had something to attend to. He even mentioned going to the dorm to look for you… I turned him down for you.” Chen Shuhua poked at the steak in front of him hesitantly before raising his eyes to meet Lin Yu’s gaze.

Lin Yu: “Thanks for that.”

Hearing this, the hesitation on Chen Shuhua’s face vanished instantly. He beamed at Lin Yu. “That’s great! I was worried I might have messed up your plans.”

Lin Yu shook his head. He speared a freshly grilled piece of beef, its surface still glistening with oil, and leisurely brought it to his mouth. As if offhandedly, he added, “Just act like we don’t know each other. That’s all.”

Chen Shuhua nodded hesitantly.

A waiter quietly approached their table, offering them a warm and seemingly innocent smile.

He handed them a business card: “Hello, you two~ I’m a student working part-time here. Sharing a post about our restaurant gets you a 20% discount~”

Lin Yu glanced at the gilded signature on the card, sensing a faint but unsettling incongruity, then politely declined with a wave. “No, thanks.”

Chen Shuhua, however, blinked enthusiastically and eagerly accepted the card with both hands. “I’ll do it, Lin Lin! It’s not fair for you to pay every time. Let’s split the bill—20% off is a good deal.”

As he spoke, he scanned the QR code on the card, left a positive review, and even posted a recommendation on his social media, complete with appetizing photos of the restaurant’s dishes.

The waiter, a somewhat shy young boy, thanked them repeatedly, visibly thrilled, before happily carrying the tray away.

Lin Yu watched his retreating figure for a long moment before slowly turning back.

Probably just his imagination.

He speared another piece of beef.