Chapter 4: Moral Blackmail
After lunch, Lin Xi, wanting to avoid Qin Yu, went straight back to her room to rest. She expected she'd “happen” to see him again that evening, but to her surprise, from that afternoon until the morning of the third day, she didn’t run into Qin Yu at all.
In Lin City, her grandparents were both traditional Chinese medicine doctors, and after retiring, they opened a small clinic of their own.
After accompanying her grandparents to the clinic, Lin Xi planned to wander around the neighborhood. While she was waiting for the bus, a call came in.
It was an unfamiliar number from Beijing.
She hesitated for a while before finally answering.
She didn’t speak, quietly waiting for the caller to begin.
As soon as the call connected, a somewhat familiar male voice came through—not Qin Yu.
“Is this Lin Xi?”
“And you are...?”
“It’s me, darling, Cheng Si. Come on, you can’t even recognize my voice now?”
Lin Xi let out a delighted gasp, her tone bright with happiness. “Fourth Brother!”
Cheng Si spoke with a strong Beijing accent, the authentic local dialect.
“It took me forever to get your number. You’re back in the country and didn’t say a word?”
“I just haven’t had the chance yet.” This excuse, she’d used many times before.
Compared to Qin Yu, Lin Xi had always been fonder of the more outgoing Cheng Si when she was young; he was such an interesting person.
“Perfect timing, I’m in Lin City too. Are you at your grandmother’s place? I’ll come find you.”
“Right now?”
“Of course. It’s been so long, you have to spare some time for a meal with me, right?”
—
As soon as they met, Cheng Si threw an arm around her shoulder, ruffled her hair, and complained, “You really are heartless. I wasn’t even in Beijing back then, knew nothing about it.”
“Cutting ties with them is one thing, but why drag me into it? All these years, you never contacted me once. You really don’t care about your Fourth Brother, huh?”
“After all I’ve done for you—don’t you remember who took the blame whenever you made trouble as a kid?”
“…”
Cheng Si steered her across the street to a tea restaurant. After they sat down, he reached out and touched her ear, finally asking about the real issue, “Are you really healed? No lingering effects?”
Lin Xi shook her head. “I recovered when I first started college.”
Speaking of university, Cheng Si seized the opportunity, “Right, what did you major in again?”
“Electrical engineering.”
“Such a coincidence!” Cheng Si feigned surprise.
Lin Xi twitched her lips. “Coincidence?”
She remembered Cheng Si didn’t study that in university.
“I started a tech company, but I can’t find employees. My little company is on the verge of collapse.”
“Hard to believe you can’t hire anyone in Beijing,” Lin Xi replied skeptically.
Cheng Si raised his hands, gesturing exaggeratedly in front of her. “What I lack is a high-end technical talent like you—rare and precious!”
Lin Xi: “…”
He chuckled, switching to sentimental persuasion, “So, my dear overseas PhD, for old times’ sake, how about joining your brother’s company? I’ll give you shares.”
“But I already have a job abroad.”
“But you haven’t started yet, right? It’s no big deal. Come to me, I’ll double your salary—or name your price, whatever you want, I won’t bat an eye, I’ll sign the contract right away.”
After all, it wasn’t him who’d be paying in the end.
“It’s not about the money.” Lin Xi took a breath, unsure how to refuse him.
Cheng Si had always been like this, from childhood to now. He could talk circles around anyone, and few could win against him.
“Staying in Beijing is better, isn’t it? Do you really want to live abroad forever?”
He launched into a moral appeal. “Besides, now that you’ve accomplished so much, it’s your duty to come home and contribute to your country.”
Under his relentless persuasion, Lin Xi was no match for him and promised to think it over.
“Don’t.” Cheng Si made a gesture to stop her. “I don’t trust you anymore. You say you’ll think about it, but you might buy a ticket and leave tonight.”
“If you leave, my fledgling business will die before it has a chance to shine. You know my family thinks I’m just fooling around—if I don’t show some results soon, they’ll pack me off for a matchmaking marriage.”
“Can you bear to see your brother step into the grave of marriage so young? With someone I don’t even like?”
He kept up the act, clutching his chest in melodramatic sorrow, nearly crying on the spot.
Lin Xi laughed at his antics and finally relented, “Okay, okay, I’ll give you an answer before tonight, all right?”
“Why wait till tonight? Be decisive—right now.”
“Right now?!” Lin Xi’s eyes widened. “But…”
“It’s urgent. Among all the people around me, my old man thinks you’re the only reliable one. If I bring you in, he’ll be reassured. You don’t know since you’ve just returned, but lately his health hasn’t been good… Come on, just think of it as me owing you a favor—save your brother’s life first, we’ll talk later.”
“We’re siblings, aren’t we? Blood is thicker than water!”
“….” Lin Xi rubbed her forehead, helpless. The two of them were at best childhood friends who grew up together in the same compound—where did this talk of blood ties come from?
But Cheng Si had a point; she couldn’t stay abroad forever.
Her original plan was to work overseas for a couple of years before considering returning, but coming back to work now…might not be so bad.
Their relationship was also a factor—it was hard to refuse such sincere enthusiasm.
After thinking it through, she nodded. “Alright, in a few days when I go back to Beijing, I’ll come to your company and discuss the details.”
“My good sister!” He pulled out a contract as if performing a magic trick. “Sign first, then everything else is easy.”
“?”
In the end, Lin Xi was coerced into signing a “slave contract.”
After dropping her off, Cheng Si pulled out the contract and examined it carefully from beginning to end. Once he confirmed everything was in order, he immediately called Qin Yu.
“Third Brother, mission accomplished. She’s on board.”
“Thanks.”
“Oh come on, we’re family. Besides, everyone’s been worried about her staying overseas so long.”
Just yesterday, Cheng Si had been out of town, summoned back by Qin Yu.
When he heard Lin Xi had returned to the country, he barely had time to be happy before Qin Yu told him she was planning to leave again.
They discussed and finally came up with this rather underhanded scheme to keep her.
As for the company, Cheng Si was just the nominal boss; the real mastermind behind the scenes was always Qin Yu. It was Qin Yu who had sought him out in the first place.
Thinking back, Cheng Si realized the company was founded the same year Lin Xi graduated from undergrad!
Damn, what was this? Waiting for her all along? Laying bait for the big catch?
Having just helped him pull off a major coup, Cheng Si was emboldened enough to tease, “Third Brother, you really played the long game here.”
He’d always wondered why Qin Yu insisted on keeping this little company afloat—turns out, he was waiting for this moment.
Tsk, who would have guessed that the big shot Qin Yu from Beijing would one day play the lovesick fool?