The Distressed Hui Lin
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The drama-like experience that night made Yang Chen lose courage to look at Lin Ruoxi in the face the next morning during breakfast.
It wasn’t because Yang Chen was shy. He just felt that he was acting rather childish, not to mention that his plan failed! How embarrassing.
Lin Ruoxi on the other hand, acted like nothing happened. She minded her own business as she slowly chewed her food, which was the only good thing about an iceberg, whose emotions were always unclear. No one could tell that something went wrong.
Hui Lin was most gloomy and nervous. Sitting in between them, she couldn’t look left nor right.
Yang Chen had touched her body last night and kissed her on her ear, which caused her body to heat up for the entire night. Her heart had been uneasy, which rendered her unable to fall asleep.
She had stayed by Abbess Yun Miao’s side since young. She even planned to become a nun for the rest of her life. However, her plans went out the window when she was forced to live in this house by her grandmother, and asked to get close to Yang Chen to accomplish her marriage…
Originally, Hui Lin didn’t have any intentions to get between Yang Chen and Lin Ruoxi, since they had interacted rather well. However, due to recent events, she found it increasingly difficult to practice her self control.
At the end of the day, she had received an education which emphasized mainly on the traditional mindset of things. Her body had never been touched, not even by a man’s finger, but she got kissed, hugged, and felt up last night. It was impossible for her to just dismiss it.
But, that man is my brother-in-law…
Distressed, Hui Lin lost the appetite to eat breakfast. She merely had a few mouthfuls of porridge before putting her bowl and chopsticks down.
Wang Ma saw what she did and asked, “Hui Lin, are you not feeling well? Why are you eating so little?”
Hui Lin quickly shook her head. “No, Wang Ma, it’s just that I’m not very hungry. I’m alright.”
“Oh…” Wang Ma nodded, unconvinced. She knew that most young people have things they are troubled about one way or another, so she didn’t follow up with more questions.
As Hui Lin squirmed uncomfortably on her chair, the doorbell rang.
“I’ll go open the door!”
Hui Lin found an escape route. She immediately ran towards the door before opening it for the visitor.
Yang Chen looked at Lin Ruoxi, only to find her ice-cold gaze at his direction.
Yang Chen scratched his nose. He felt that it was best to avoid looking at her for now. He wanted to wait for a week at least for her to slightly defrost.
“Who is it at the door so early in the morning?” Wang Ma asked.
Yang Chen shrugged. “Someone might be here again to visit for the new year.”
Hui Lin slowly opened the door. The smile on her face instantly vanished upon seeing the people outside while her eyes revealed astonishment.
There stood two old people outside the door. More accurately, there was an old man and an elderly lady who appeared to be his maid.
The old man wore a red, thick Chinese suit and pants made with coarse cloth in addition to a pair of black and white handmade cloth shoes. Numerous age spots and kind wrinkles could be seen on his face. He seemed to have a slight stumped posture, or it may just be his below average height which caused him to look skinny and small.
The old woman behind him was wearing a cotton-made, grey clothing from the olden times of the Republic of China. She looked friendly as well. Her hair had fully whitened, but she looked surprisingly energetic.
The old man looked at Hui Lin as if she was his granddaughter. He smiled which caused more wrinkles to appear on his face. Looking at Hui Lin from head to toe, he said, “You must be the from the Lin clan. You’re all grown up already.”
Hui Lin took a double take to make sure that she recognised this man correctly. Quickly, she took three steps back and bowed down strictly and excitedly. She bowed down twice, forming a right angle around her waist.
“Cha—chairman! Nice to meet you!”
Hui Lin’s strange actions attracted the attention of the three people inside. Why did this kid suddenly bow down? Who are the visitors?
The old man waved his hand. Humbly, he said, “I have given up that post for awhile now, your actions are not necessary. I came here quite early in the morning, I hope I haven’t disrupted your breakfast now, have I?”
“We’re actually still eating… Oh, no, no, no! We—we’re not disturbed!” Hui Lin almost told the truth, which made her so nervous that she didn’t know what to say.
The old man laughed. “Don’t be nervous. I’m not a human-eating, old monster.”
How am I supposed to stay calm? Since young, I could only remember having met this man thrice, all three times behind my grandma’s back. But there’s no way that i would have forgotten his look.
He’s one of the few people, who are descendants of the founding fathers of China, who were the reason China became so developed!
Leaving other things aside, although Hui Lin hadn’t gone back to Beijing frequently since she stayed at Emei Mountain, solely based on the occasional description of Abbess Yun Miao, Hui Lin knew how powerful this old man was.
Within the Central Bureau today, except the chairman himself, almost everyone had some form of relationship or connection to this man, let alone the other ministerial officers. It wasn’t too far a stretch to say that one in three ministers was willing to call the old man ‘Master’.
Although the Lin clan was a well-established clan in Beijing, when compared to the clan built by this old man, it could only be considered a second-class one.
When this old man was still in power, even without the aid of the internet, social media and the television, he was still widely recognised and admired by many, many people!
Unfortunately, he was from a different generation after all. When this old man abdicated as the chairman, very few young people remembered him. At most, the ones who did could, only vaguely recalled the shape of his face.
Since Hui Lin wasn’t born and bred from the outside world, and instead was an inexperienced, naive little kid, she naturally got frightened and nervous upon seeing the true, behind-the-scene leader of the country.
“I’m older than your grandpa by quite a number of years, but we’re still considered as the same generation. If you can’t think of what to refer me as, just call me Grandpa Yang,” Yang Gongming said with a smile when he noticed Hui Lin’s confused look.
Softly, Hui Lin answered, “Yes, Grandpa Yang.”
Hui Lin was initially nervous about Yang Gongming’s sudden arrival. The more she thought about it, she assumed that he wanted to fight for his grandson Yang Lie. As a result, she looked at Yang Chen beside the dining table as she felt worried.
Unexpectedly, Yang Gongming smilingly walked towards Yang Chen. Politely, he said, “Pay me no mind. Enjoy your breakfast. I was just impatient to come over, not to mention the elderly people usually wake up early anyway, so as a result, I came here quite early. We can chat after you finish eating.”
Yang Chen had a sensitive hearing. He heard Hui Lin call him ‘chairman’. When he thought about it more carefully, the person whom the granddaughter of the Lin clan had to pay such respect to could only be the largest head of the Central Committee.
This position was not unlike the president in the United States. Although he wasn’t as prominent as the prime minister, he had always been the person setting the overall plans of the country.
However, Yang Chen didn’t recognize this old man although he frequently watched the news. He then concluded that the old man should be a retired committee head.
Why wouldn’t Yang Chen know who the old man was, especially when he was referred to as ‘Grandpa Yang’?
Yang Chen smiled bitterly as he looked at the smiley, thick-skinned old man who was minding his own business admiring the decor of the villa. There was nowhere Yang Chen could hide.
Yang Chen felt that it was already quite surprising that his father was the commander of a military region. However, his grandfather was actually someone who used to lead the country.
I hadn’t seen or heard a peep from my family in the twenty over years I have lived. Now that I’ve returned to the country for one year, why are there so many VIPs related to me appearing out of nowhere?
Lin Ruoxi watched Yang Gongming with curious eyes for a while. Soon, she managed to recognize who the old man was, let alone Wang Ma who was much older than her.
Wang Ma who lacked bravery didn’t dare to continue eating. After looking around for abit, she used the excuse of boiling hot water in the kitchen to slip away.
Lin Ruoxi pondered for a while. She was aware of Yang Gongming’s origin. In addition to Yang Lie’s incident a few days ago and Yang Chen’s reaction, Lin Ruoxi had a feeling that this VIP had a significant relation with Yang Chen.
However, the more she thought about it, the more she found it ridiculous!
They’re both surnamed Yang. Is it possible that… such a man is a member of the strongest clan in China?!
You must be kidding me. Wouldn’t that make him a prince of some sort?
Lin Ruoxi secretly gazed upon Yang Chen. He’s not much different than when he was still selling mutton skewers.