Chapter 117: Chapter 117

Luo Sihai couldn’t fathom why Lin Tian was going up against Su Lin, but knowing Lin Tian’s awareness of the crucial secret of the underground river and his knowledge of the setup, Luo Sihai believed Lin Tian was far from simple, definitely not just any twenty-year-old.

Similarly, Su Lin was equally outstanding. The same age as Lin Tian, he had managed to charm the mayor’s daughter into working as his manager, as well as the daughter of the police chief of Donghai City.

Either of these women could wield significant influence in Donghai. Su Lin had pulled both into his orbit.

Looking at his own rise to success, Su Lin was no less impressive than Lin Tian.

“Interesting, very interesting. So, Lin Tian, how do you plan to compete with Su Lin?”

Lin Tian, sensing the crucial moment in their conversation that could determine his ability to contend with Su Lin, spoke candidly: “Uncle Luo, I came today to ask you for the arcade on Tai’an Avenue. I’ve heard it’s been closed for a while. I want to take it over and open a supermarket.”

Luo Sihai immediately grasped Lin Tian’s plan upon hearing this. His arcade was directly opposite Su Lin’s supermarket, and having two supermarkets within 200 meters of each other would be quite the showdown.

“Is that all?” Luo Sihai asked, surprised.

Lin Tian chuckled, “Of course not. The main point is, I want a part of your resources, those suppliers. I’d like to go through you.”

Understanding Lin Tian’s intent, Luo Sihai saw that he was being asked to vouch for him. After all, why would suppliers trust an eighteen-year-old fresh graduate?

“Uncle, I don’t need you to take action yourself. I just need to wave your flag, and I can handle the rest.”

Luo Sihai admired Lin Tian more for this; it completely disassociated him from any potential trouble. If Lin Tian got into trouble later, Luo Sihai could simply deny any involvement.

“Alright, I agree. It’ll be interesting to see who wins between you and Su Lin. He has significant advantages in capital, talent, and management. As for me, there’s not much I can do to help. You can use the supermarket for free for a year. What you make of it is up to you.”

Lin Tian was delighted with this unexpected boon. The money he saved in rent could fund many other ventures.

…

Meanwhile, Su Lin brought Xia Shiyu to Donghai. Upon arriving at the apartment, Xia Shiyu was eager to check on the branch’s financial status, but Su Lin firmly refused.

“Xiaoyu, just stay here and don’t go anywhere. I’m going to take a shower.”

Xia Shiyu felt a bit helpless, initially thinking the situation in Donghai was urgent. Yet, upon arriving, Su Lin didn’t seem in any hurry, leisurely taking his time.

She suspected she might have been played by Su Lin again. But she wasn’t worried; when needed, Su Lin would surely call upon her.

“Xiaoyu, want to join me?”

Xia Shiyu’s heart raced at the suggestion: “I… I’d better not.” Despite their relationship having progressed, she had never spent a night with Su Lin, so the thought of living together made her nervous.

“Heh heh… then I’ll go first.”

As Su Lin walked towards the bathroom in his shorts, Xia Shiyu covered her face, thinking it unusual to shower during the day, though it was indeed hot. She glanced at the bathroom, then rolled up her sleeves to start cleaning the room.

After ten minutes, Su Lin came out of the bathroom to find the room completely transformed, thanks to Xia Shiyu. The bed sheets and covers had all been changed, and the room looked clean and tidy.  Xia Shiyu’s approach to tidiness was quite different from Lin Xiaowan’s.

While Lin Xiaowan would make the room messy with Su Lin and then clean it up together, finding this to be romantic and homely, Xia Shiyu behaved like a diligent wife, taking care of all the chores to ease Su Lin’s burdens. She found particular satisfaction in tidying up the messes Su Lin made.

“Uh… Xiaoyu, it’s been just about ten minutes, and it feels like I’ve time-traveled,” Su Lin commented, admiring the neatness of the room.

Xia Shiyu pouted, “Su Lin, you really need to stop throwing your clothes around carelessly. Otherwise, you’ll end up losing things.”

Su Lin laughed, “Don’t worry, Xiaoyu. That’s never going to happen to me. I have a great memory.”

“Still, you can’t just throw things around, especially some items… they should be thrown in the trash after use,” Xia Shiyu said, her cheeks reddening.

Su Lin was momentarily startled, then awkwardly remembered something, cursing Lin Xiaowan in his mind.

Yesterday, she was especially wild due to not wanting to part with him, leading to a rather chaotic night. This morning, he had to rush to send Lin Xiaowan back to Zhongjiang.

“Uh… I’m sure it won’t happen again now that you’re here,” Su Lin said with a light laugh.

“I… I can’t always be with you. There’s also Lin Xiaowan…”

“Heh, then you can just stay by my side with Lin Xiaowan.”

Xia Shiyu shook her head, biting her lip, “No, that’s not possible!”

“Okay, okay. Xiaoyu, why don’t you go take a shower? It’s so hot today, you must be sweating.”

“Yeah, I definitely need to shower. I’ve sweated a lot today; it’s really hot.”

And so, Xia Shiyu’s first day in Donghai ended up being quite uneventful in the apartment.

The next morning, Zhao Yanyan once again arrived at the apartment’s door. She had just found out from Lin Xiaowan that she had returned to Zhongjiang the day before.

Then, she ‘accidentally’ learned from Lin Tian that a supermarket was going to open right across from theirs.

With the two supermarkets less than two hundred meters apart, it was clear that a showdown was imminent, throwing Zhao Yanyan’s plans into disarray. She felt lost and uncertain about how to respond.

Even with her capabilities, Zhao Yanyan was just a high school graduate without any special advantages. Her first thought was to consult Su Lin.

After witnessing his capabilities, Zhao Yanyan, though not blindly trusting like Lin Xiaowan, still believed Su Lin could handle the situation. Hence, she showed up at the apartment early in the morning.

Standing at the door, she took a deep breath, “It’s just meeting the boss. Zhao Yanyan, show some spirit. Don’t look around, don’t think wildly, don’t act rashly.”

She found Su Lin’s allure too powerful; previously, the trio’s interactions hadn’t been an issue, but now the prospect of being alone with him made her nervous.

Eventually calming her racing heart, she knocked on the door.

Waking from her doze in Su Lin’s arms to the sound of knocking, Xia Shiyu was puzzled, “Who could it be this early?”

Without much thought, Su Lin said, “It’s Zhao Yanyan. She always knocks like that. Xiaoyu, go open the door.”

“Oh, okay.” Xia Shiyu slipped on a short-sleeved shirt and a skirt, got out of bed, and walked to the door to open it.

“Su…” Seeing Xia Shiyu, Zhao Yanyan was left speechless. “You, you, you…”

Xia Shiyu, somewhat confused, looked at Zhao Yanyan, “Zhao Manager?”

“I, I, I…”