"Father." Lin Yitian's voice was low, hiding his inner nervousness.
When he found Song Jia missing earlier, he had truly lost his mind. He even dared to ask help from his father, which he would have never dared to do in a million years, even if he was on the brink of death.
Lin Yitian clenched his fists. However, he didn't regret it.
"Yitian." Lin Shaofeng's tone over the phone was neutral. Although he and Lin Shenglan frequently talked over the phone, it was the first time he had ever called his second son. "I heard you used the company and asked your brother for help to find a girl that ran away?"
Lin Yitian quickly said, "No Father, it wasn't just any girl. It was Jia...she's my fiancée. And she didn't run away, it was just a misunderstanding. I also found her, we're at the hospital right now."
Lin Shaofeng listened quietly to Lin Yitian. "This girl...the one your mother invited to dinner before?"
Lin Yitian proudly smiled. As expected of Jia, even his father remembered her clearly. "Yes, Father. Jia's very clever and beautiful, I actually..."
"So, for a missing girl, you used the company and interrupted your brother's work to find her?"
Lin Shaofeng's voice was cold. Lin Yitian finally noticed that his father was a bit angry.
He hurriedly said, "It wasn't Jia's fault, it was mine. Father, Jia was actually blackmailed by her twin sister, and it's so dangerous outside, I was just worried that something bad might happen to Jia."
Lin Shaofeng let out a long sigh over the phone. Lin Yitian bit his lip and dug his nails into his palm, trying to calm himself down.
"Yitian, you really are still a child."
On the other side of the phone, Lin Shaofeng looked over the documents on top of his desk. These were the documents Lin Shenglan had given to him, detailing Lin Yitian's contributions to the company. Over his past few visits, Lin Shenglan was beginning to notice Song Jia's power over Lin Yitian. Originally he didn't think much of it, as he knew his younger brother's aversion to human contact.
But Lin Shenglan began to notice a suspicious point. Lin Yitian was clearly abnormal, easily angered, and had trouble communicating with people. Even his father and mother had long given up on him, what more for a normal girl of a normal family. How could a young girl have infinite patience and love for his younger brother, not even hesitating to marry him and have a husband with mental problems?
Lin Shenglan concluded that all of her affection must be fake. It was probably the act of a white lotus trying to get some shares of the Lin company from seducing his naive younger brother. He normally wouldn't have done this, but he honestly summarized a small part of everything Lin Yitian had done for the company and sent it to his father.
It was so that Lin Shaofeng could give value to Lin Yitian, and stop his marriage to a girl of a common family, who could probably drag down the company in the future.
Lin Shaofeng made his voice become gentle and said, "Yitian, the society we live in is cruel and realistic. Don't lose your head over a woman. Listen to me, ah. When I was young, I was also immature and childish, just like you. I was even involved in relationship with someone from a poor background, nearly losing my bright future because of her."
Lin Shaofeng laughed. "I didn't have high grades and hung out with a bunch of scum. Just yesterday, I found out that one of them became a janitor in one of our company branches. His wife was the girl I dated and had been pregnant with two kids. Because they were poor, they could only place their hopes on their oldest son and he was the only one that they could send to study at school. Right now, they could barely scrape enough money to have three meals a day."
Lin Yitian was quiet. Lin Shaofeng smiled and said, "Yitian, you're young and emotional. Both your mother and I sheltered you from the world, so this was our fault. But it's not too late. I'm planning on sending you to stay beside Shenglan, learning from him on what you need to do for the company. Don't always stay at home and make trouble. As for that girl..."
Lin Shaofeng shook his head. "Your mother should have known better than to match you with some girl from a common family. Look at you right now, your head had become muddled. Let me talk to your mother and arrange a proper marriage from you. That way, you won't be wronged."
"Father." Lin Yitian's voice had the same tone. But his eyes were dark and cold as he looked at his fists that he had scraped against the wall. Blood slowly dripped from his hands. "It was my great fortune to meet Jia."
Lin Shaofeng was incredulous. "You're still sticking with her? Yitian, the world is all about the survival of the fittest. Your mother and I prospered because we were both from good families. I also worked hard to make our company become what it is right now. If all you know is to relax and hang out with the wrong people, your brother will have a hard time managing the company. Without the company, what will you do?"
Lin Shaofeng took a deep breath and said earnestly, "I will retire soon. You should work hard now, while the company is still flourishing. Even though I gave you a job at the company, it's not a charity case. As soon as you become useless, I'll have to fire you. And then, what will you do? You know that a person with your condition will have a hard time in this world. That's why, you need to work twice as hard than normal people."
Lin Yitian leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. When he opened them, his expression was calm and indifferent.
Finally, he said, "I know, father. I won't let you down. But I won't be separated from Jia. Whatever I will become in the future, Jia will be beside me."
As soon as he hung up the phone, Lin Yitian's expression distorted and he threw his phone against the opposite wall. The screen cracked and broke into a thousand pieces, while the battery flew out and hit the floor with an unsatisfying thump on the floor.
Lin Yitian breathed hard, his eyes red with suppressed anger.