Chapter 56: Probe

  Since Guangyuan Zi and Yu Pei disappeared, Lin San's life has become dull and flavorless. Every day, except for going to and from work, is spent accompanying Gu Jialan to eat, go shopping, and watch movies.

  It's said that there is no wall that doesn't leak air, and Lin San and Gu Jialan's romance gradually spread throughout the company, until even Gu Changfeng found out.

  30th floor.

  Chairman's Office.

  Gu Changfeng sat in a chair, looking gloomily at Lin San opposite him: "Lin San, I heard you're dating Jialan?"

  Lin San was stunned, then nodded: "Yes..."

  Gu Changfeng furrowed his brow: "Lin San, I'd like to offer you some advice: keep a distance from Jialan in the future."

  "Former chairman, I'm sincere towards Jialan..." Lin San hastily said.

  Gu Changfeng waved his hand, interrupting Lin San's words: "Do you know how much Jialan's monthly allowance is?"

  Lin San slightly shook his head.

  "2 million, Jialan's monthly allowance is 2 million, your annual salary is only tens of thousands, you can't even afford to support Jialan."

  Lin San slightly curled up the corner of his mouth: "Yes, I'm currently unable, but I will definitely work hard to make money in the future."

  Gu Changfeng smiled: "Lin San, it's not that I look down on you, but the current society is too cruel. People like you who have no background and no connections will never be able to make a lot of money." As he spoke, Gu Changfeng took out a check from his drawer and placed it on the table: "This is 1 million yuan, take it."

  Lin San glanced at the check and asked in confusion: "Director Gu, I don't quite understand what you mean."

  Gu Changfeng took out a cigarette, lit it and took a light puff: "Take this money and stay away from Jialan from now on, it's best not to have any more dealings."

  Lin San smiled: "Sorry, I won't leave Miss Gu."

  Gu Changfeng furrowed his brow and gave Lin San a cold glance: "You think the money is too little? Alright, name your price then. Is 5 million enough?"

  "50 million, what a huge sum of money. I would not be able to earn 50 million even if I worked for the Ding Sheng Group my whole life." Lin San said calmly: "Unfortunately, I won't take it."

  "Lin San, what exactly do you want?"

  "I just want to be with Jialan, nothing else matters." Lin San said quietly, looking at Gu Changfeng, word by word.

  "One hundred million." A number jumped out of Gu Changfeng's mouth.

  Lin San's mouth corners slightly curled up, without a word.

  "20 million." Gu Changfeng's eyes narrowed.

  Lin San remained unmoved.

  "One hundred million!" Gu Changfeng gritted his teeth and instantly raised the price several times.

  This time Lin San's expression changed slightly, and his eyes looking at Gu Changfeng also became strange.

  Gu Changfeng leaned back in his chair, with a burning cigarette pinched between his fingertips, quietly staring at Lin San, waiting for Lin San's final response. Gu Changfeng was very confident that one hundred million yuan was a huge temptation for ordinary people, and it was irresistible. But what Lin San said next thoroughly enraged Gu Changfeng.

  Lin San slowly exhaled: "Chairman Gu, even if you gave me a mountain of gold, I wouldn't leave Jialan."

  "Bang!" Gu Changfeng slammed his hand on the table, his face ashen: "Lin San, you'd better not refuse a toast or you'll be punished with a penalty drink."

  Lin San's expression was very calm, standing still without a word. In fact, Lin San had nothing to say anymore, he had already made his point clear earlier. No matter what conditions Gu Changfeng offered, Lin San would not agree to leave Gu Jialan behind. It wasn't that Lin San was too proud and disliked money, but rather that Lin San liked Gu Jialan even more.

  The office suddenly became quiet.

  Gu Changfeng and Lin San stared at each other, their eyes fiercely colliding in mid-air. One was a high-ranking business magnate, the other a poor young man from a humble background who didn't know his place, and they began to engage in a silent struggle right there in the office.

  Half an hour has passed.

  Gu Changfeng and Lin San were both motionless, like two stone statues.

  "Clap, clap, clap." Gu Changfeng's expression suddenly relaxed, and he applauded with his hands, his eyes filled with admiration.

  Lin San was stunned by Gu Changfeng's sudden applause and stared blankly at him, unsure of what to say.

  At this time, the door of the inner bedroom was suddenly opened (Gu Changfeng's office is divided into two rooms inside and outside, the outside is used for work, and the inside is used for rest), Gu Jialan in a white dress slowly walked out.

  "Jialan?" Lin San exclaimed in surprise, he never expected that Gu Jialan would also be in the office, which meant that his entire conversation with Gu Changfeng had been overheard by Gu Jialan.

  Gujalan smiled at this time, looking at Lin San's eyes full of affection.

  "Jialan, you have a good eye for people. This Lin San is indeed sincere towards you." Gu Changfeng said with a smile from the side.

  "I've said it before, Lin San is not that kind of greedy and vain person, you didn't believe me, had to try one more time." Gu Changfeng glanced at him with dissatisfaction.

  "Hehe... If I hadn't tried it out, how would I have known Lin San's true intentions towards you?" Gu Changfeng didn't get angry at all due to Gu Jialan's complaints.

  "Wait a minute, what's going on here?" Lin San asked in puzzlement.

  "Let Jialan tell you instead."

  Lin San turned his head and stared at Gu Jialan in surprise.

  Gujalan walked up to Lin San, smiled and said: "Lin San, sorry, just now I and dad collaborated on an act...". Then Gujalang went on to tell the truth one by one.

  Gu Changfeng found out that Gu Jialan had a crush on Lin San, and was worried that Lin San was only getting close to Gu Jialan because of the wealth and power of the Gu family. Gu Jialan, of course, defended Lin San strongly, but in the end, the father-daughter duo ended up quarreling with each other.

  Gu Changfeng, a seasoned veteran of the business world, quickly came up with a plan: to intimidate and entice Lin San, testing his true feelings for Gu Jialan.

  Gujalan thought for a moment and agreed.

  So, Gu Jialan called Lin San into his office and began to tempt him with money.

  Fortunately, Lin San was sincere with Gu Jialan, otherwise he would have been deceived by Gu Changfeng.

  Lin San couldn't help but sigh: "Jialan, I didn't expect you to not believe me."

  "Lin San, sorry, I didn't mean to, don't be angry." Gu Jialan hastily explained.

  Lin San shook his head and didn't say a word. Whoever was being schemed against wouldn't be in a good mood.

  At this time, Gu Changfeng stood up from his chair, walked around the office desk, and came to Lin San's side, smiling: "Lin San, all of this was my idea. If you're going to blame someone, blame me. Jialan initially opposed me doing things this way."

  "Lin San, don't be angry anymore, okay?" Gu Jialan stretched out her hand to hold Lin San's arm, apologizing non-stop like a little girl.

  Seeing Gu Jia Lan's guilty expression, Lin San's heart softened slightly, and he sighed: "This time, let it go, but I don't want to see this happen again."

  "It will never happen again!" Gu Jialan hastily nodded in guarantee. To Lin San, Gu Jialan really liked him a lot.

  Seeing Gu Jialan's gentle and soft appearance in front of Lin San, Gu Changfeng couldn't help but sigh: This Lin San is really good at it, he can actually make the extremely proud Gu Jialan so obedient and submissive, it's truly admirable.

  "Lin San, I'm inviting you out for dinner tonight." Gu Changfeng extended the invitation.

  Lin San naturally nodded in agreement, Gu Changfeng was Lin San's future father-in-law after all, and he had to maintain a good relationship.

  That evening, at the Pearl Hotel, Gu Changfeng set up a very sumptuous dinner.

  At the wine table, Lin San frequently toasted Gu Changfeng with wine and spoke countless flattering words.

  Gu Changfeng was also a good drinker, and he opened his heart to Lin San for a hearty drink. Before long, the two of them had finished off an entire bottle of Maotai.

  Gu Jialan sat on one side, constantly advising the two to drink less, but unfortunately, neither Gu Changfeng nor Lin San took Gu Jialan's advice seriously and continued to drink heavily as usual.

  Seeing that it was impossible to persuade the two of them, Gu Jiaran also stopped wasting her breath and started eating on her own.

  At the time when Lin San was 70-80% drunk, he asked a question that had been puzzling him: "Director Gu, I'm really curious, why did you agree to let Jialan be with me, a poor and powerless young man?"

  Gu Changfeng smiled: "Firstly, I'm not a conservative person, and I don't attach much importance to door-to-door comparison. After all, I've also risen from a poor man to my current status step by step. Secondly, I want Jialan to be happy, and since she has recognized you as her man, I won't interfere. Lastly, you're a talented person, and I admire you!"

  "Cheers to you, former chairman!" After hearing Gu Changfeng's words, Lin San couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration for him. He hadn't expected Gu Changfeng to be such an open-minded person.

  Gu Changfeng didn't rush to pick up his wine glass, but instead smiled and looked at Lin San: "Until now, you still call me Chairman Gu?"

  "Huh?" Lin San was taken aback for a moment, then came to his senses, holding up his wine cup with both hands and saying sincerely: "Uncle Gu."

  "Haha... great, I love this title!" Gu Changfeng laughed and picked up his wine cup to clink with Lin San. He tilted his head back and poured the wine into his mouth.

  Lin San also immediately drank up the wine.

  A single "Uncle Gu" seemed to have brought Gu Changfeng and Lin San closer together, and their conversation also became much more casual.

  Watching Lin San and Gu Changfeng chatting intimately, Gu Jialan smiled happily.

  When Gu Changfeng was young and poor, he had a girlfriend (Wu Mengjiao mentioned earlier). At that time, Wu Mengjiao's family strongly opposed their relationship because they looked down on Gu Changfeng for being poor and untalented. Later, Gu Changfeng couldn't withstand the pressure and chose to break up with Wu Mengjiao... This incident had a great impact on Gu Changfeng and can be said to be a lingering regret in his heart for a long time.

  It's because of Gu Changfeng's personal experience that he isn't very opposed to Lin San and Gu Jialan interacting, at most Gu Changfeng is worried that Lin San is approaching Gu Jialan for her wealth and status. However, after a test, the possibility of Lin San being materialistic was ruled out, so Gu Changfeng wouldn't stop Lin San from interacting with Gu Jialan anymore. In Gu Changfeng's mind, Gu Jialan's happiness has always been the priority, as long as Gu Jialan likes it, Gu Changfeng won't oppose it.

  Besides, Lin San's performance at Ding Sheng Group over the past few months has also been very impressive to Gu Changfeng, who thinks that Lin San is a talent worth cultivating. As for Lin San having no money and no background, Gu Changfeng doesn't mind too much because he has all these things, and as long as Lin San is willing, Gu Changfeng can make him a billionaire overnight.