A few minutes later, everyone took their seats, and the waiter brought a menu with pictures for Laka to choose from. Hang Wei and Xiao Mo were responsible for accompanying Laka, while Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu focused their attention on Lin Yu.
âThird Young Master Zhuang is the dream lover of all girls in the Capital and also the model child of many parents,â Lin Yu recalled, âEven when I was in elementary school, I heard my family talking about a prodigy from the Zhuang family. He could recite multiplication tables at the age of three, write essays at five, and understood simple financial statements at seven. He was a genius without equal in the world.â
Zhuang Liuâs ears turned red as he was praised, and he coughed lightly, saying, âThatâs an exaggeration. I wasnât looking at financial statements, but business distribution charts that my grandfather gave me.â
âIt doesnât make much difference. In my parentsâ eyes, you were a very impressive person,â Lin Yu said, âI was young and arrogant at the time, thinking I was the smartest, so I always wanted to meet you and compete with you to see who was really the most impressive. But members of the Zhuang family arenât so accessible, so it wasnât until you were in junior high that I got to meet you.â
âI remember you were quite short at the time because you skipped grades to attend junior high, so you were very young and quite small,â Lin Yu laughed a bit and continued, âI thought, how capable can such a little radish head be? But before I had the chance to compete with you, you skipped another grade and left. I was reallyâ¦â
Lin Yu couldnât finish his sentence, so Tan Rou helped him with the latter half, âYou mean to say you were really about to explode with frustration?â
âNo!â Lin Yu slapped his chest and said, âI was really in admiration. There really are such brilliant people in this world!â
Tan Rouâs lips curved slightly, âMmm, Zhuang Liu is indeed smart.â
Lin Yu said, âAfterward, I always paid attention to Zhuang Liuâs movements, to see if he had skipped another grade. However, he then went abroad, and so did I, followed by being caught and brought to work as a translator for Laka.â
Lin Yu summed up the subsequent events in a few sentences without going into details.
âActually, I had a purpose for bringing Laka back to the country this time.â Lin Yu finally addressed the part Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu wanted to hear, âI guess youâre also wondering about my purpose. Itâs not that I canât tell you, but I just feel thereâs no need to because the reason is quite boring.â
âYou may as well say it.â Tan Rou said, âI want to hear it no matter how boring it is, or else I wonât be at peace.â
Zhuang Liu chimed in, âIf you think the reason is really boring, just give us a brief explanation, or we might start suspecting youâre a corporate spy.â
Lin Yu chuckled, âA corporate spy? How could I possibly be a corporate spy? My dad said that although Iâm working abroad now, I shouldnât forget my motherland. No matter when, I should always put my motherland first.â
Tan Rou said, âYou can express your heartfelt feelings for the motherland later. For now, tell us your purpose.â
Lin Yu replied, âThe reason is very simple. The King of J country wants to collaborate with countries that have developed well in technology, but heâs wary of being swindled by them, so he asked me to return home to find a partner for him. He said our countryâs people are generous and trustworthy, and would never swindle him.â
Graciously accepting the King of J countryâs praises, Tan Rou said, âOh, so you approached our company?â
âNot exactly,â Lin Yu scratched his head, embarrassedly saying, âThe main reason is that the King offered so much money I didnât want others to take it, so I wanted to find a friend to take on the job. Initially, I wanted to find Zhuang Liu, but the tech companies he owns are quite impressive, yet not the most impressive, and I was afraid the King might not be satisfied.â
âLater I found out about the Zhuang familyâs union through marriage with the Tao family, and then I knew TR company belonged to Miss Rou. I thought, since you and Zhuang Liu are going to get married, whatâs yours is his, and whatâs his is yours. So, it made the most sense to give this business to you, making it the best choice.â Lin Yu finally explained the reason for seeking cooperation with TR.
After listening to Lin Yu, Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu fell silent for a long while. Indeed, the reason for cooperation was very simple: Lin Yu didnât want outsiders to make money, so he let the wife of an old classmate make the money instead.