Standing Next To You-Chapter 234: Work under Bei Sangyun

Lin Ruo arrived home late, disheveled, and exhausted. His steps were slow and distracted. Upon entering the living room, he found Li Mei waiting for him on the couch.

Li Mei stood up and moved to assist him. Catching a whiff of alcohol and cigarette smoke, she frowned.

"You’ve been drinking again? Who were you with this time?"

"I only took a sip." Lin Ruo distanced himself from his wife and headed toward the stairs.

"Dear, I heard Mr. Bang sided with Lin Zhe. The last of our people also followed Mr. Bang. The first branch will likely approach us soon. Don’t agree to support them. Our children might have a good relationship with Lin Zhe, but the first branch and Lin Baozi are not that merciful. Don’t forget what happened in the past."

Li Mei feared her husband might side with the first branch under pressure, so she reminded him of what the first branch capable of. The series of accidents that had befallen the Lin family’s children back then were mostly orchestrated by the first branch.

"They won’t allow anyone to grow stronger than them. They would rather commit a grave crime than let others overtake them. The first branch won’t allow the fourth branch to recover; they’ll use our branch to the bone."

Li Mei couldn’t entrust her family’s well-being to the selfish first branch.

Lin Ruo’s face contorted with displeasure, his mood souring at the mention of the first branch. "Then what do you want me to do? Should I go to the second branch instead? The second branch is no different than the first branch. The first branch is likely to win. If we side with the winner, we might avoid the worst fate."

Li Mei noticed something and looked at her husband with a frightened expression. "Dear... you... don’t tell me you already made an agreement with Lin Baozhi?!"

Lin Ruo gritted his teeth. "It’s not Lin Baozhi who came to me, but Lin Zhe’s personal butler. They are asking me to make a vow to them. They want to consume our whole branch."

"You can’t vow to them! They will exploit our branch until we are squeezed dry. You know how greedy and ruthless they are."

"I haven’t forgotten. I remember them attacking our son and manipulating us several times. I didn’t agree. But my answer doesn’t matter. The first branch is willing to crush us without leaving crumbs behind if they can’t have us. They won’t allow our branch to be absorbed by others." Lin Ruo’s face darkened. "They said they were going to give me time to consider. Hah. What hypocrites. They are not giving us any choice. The moment I disagree, our lives will be in danger."

Li Mei fell silent. The woman who had been strong and composed suddenly teared up. Was this the end of their branch? Would they really lose everything and become slaves under the first branch? Once they gave their vow, they would no longer be majestic members of the Lin family but losers who were the first to be evicted.

Li Mei could already imagine how her life and her children’s lives would turn upside down.

"Li Mei, how about we live abroad? Let’s take what we still have and start anew overseas." Lin Ruo suddenly had a thought.

Living in a place where no one knew them seemed like a reasonable idea. He still had a significant amount of money left in his accounts. They could liquidate their small shares and use the money to start another business in another country.

Since they had already lost the heir competition, there was no need for them to stay here and wait for the first and second branches to slaughter them.

Li Mei wiped away her tears and shook her head. "Do you think the first branch will let us leave peacefully? And how about our children? Lin Sunji doesn’t want to go abroad in this critical moment. It will ruin our children’s opportunities."

Lin Ruo fell silent. They had already argued about this before, and their disagreement hadn’t reached a consensus. There was no point in arguing again when neither of them had a solution to their problem.

They had run out of options. The couple was helpless.

At this moment, both Lin Ruo and Li Mei harbored wishful thinking that someone or something would come in and save their branch from this predicament.

...

The next morning, the fourth branch was still as gloomy as usual. They had breakfast under the despondent atmosphere. No one spoke at the dining table; everyone ate with something weighing on their minds.

When breakfast finished, Lin Sanju suddenly broke the gloomy silence.

"Father, Mother, I have something to say."

The two looked at Lin Sanju in surprise. It was the first time their usually lazy son took the initiative to speak to everyone.

However, their expressions changed quickly as they feared Lin Sanju might say something inappropriate to their situation, like suggesting a luxurious trip or buying an expensive car.

Contrary to their expectations, Lin Sanju calmly asked them to gather in the living room, mentioning that he had invited a special visitor who might help them in their situation.

"A special visitor? How would that person help us?" Lin Ruo asked in surprise.

"Where did you find this person? On the internet?" Li Mei was full of suspicions.

Already facing difficult decisions, the last thing they needed was their unruly son bringing in someone to add to their troubles.

Lin Sanju ignored his parents’ doubts and continued, "I am telling the truth. If you are curious about how this person will help us, then come to the living room. I need everyone to be there." Lin Sanju glanced at the silent Lin Sunji. "Including you, Lin Sunji."

Lin Sunji bit her lip. She wanted to disagree and throw tantrums as she usually did against her brother, but this wasn’t the time to act spoiled. Right now, everyone needed hope—even if it was false hope- including her. She harrumphed in response.

Despite Li Mei and Lin Ruo being confused and suspicious about this person, they still delayed their appointment at that time and waited for Lin Sanju’s visitor.

When they saw the person they were waiting for come in through the door, their expressions were flabbergasted.

"It’s her?!" Lin Sunji stood up and shrieked.

Li Mei and Lin Ruo glanced at each other, not understanding why their son brought an enemy to their house.

Bei Sangyun kneaded her ears and gave a cold stare at Lin Sunji. "Do you really have to shout? Very unladylike."

Lin Sunji: !

Her face turned red with anger and shame. "This is my house. I can do whatever I want. You, on the other hand, barged into my house. You are the one who has no manners and decency!"

"Lin Sunji, shut up," Lin Sanju glared at his foolish sister. "I brought Bei Sangyun here. She came because I begged her." He turned to Lin Ruo and Li Mei. "Father, Mother, I know our branch and the third branch are always at odds with each other. But compared to being swallowed up by the first branch, cooperating with Bei Sangyun would be a better choice."

"How can it be a better choice? We should side with big brother Lin Zhe!" Lin Sunji interrupted again.

Li Mei stared at her son. She was very surprised that her son came to Bei Sangyun to ask for help. Why did Lin Sanju come to Bei Sangyun out of all people?

Unlike Lin Sunji, who got angry at seeing Bei Sangyun, Li Mei became very curious.

She berated Lin Sunji first and, for the first time, disagreed with her, "I know you look up to your brother Lin Zhe. But this is a different matter. Your big brother Lin Zhe will not show us mercy just because you two are blood-related. The first branch always looks after themselves first and is ruthless in character. Lin Zhe is Lin Baozhi’s only son. I am pretty sure the apple won’t fall far from the tree."

Lin Sunji was shocked. Did her mother not approve of big brother Lin Zhe?

Lin Sunji would never doubt her mother, so she was shocked that big brother Lin Zhe had another side to him that she wasn’t aware of.

Lin Ruo also stared at Lin Sanju. He disliked Bei Sangyun and hated the third branch, but he couldn’t deny being curious or having a little hope that they might get another option than being a slave under a ruthless master.

He made a decision. "Let’s hear what Lin Sanju was about to say."

Lin Sanju looked gratefully at his father and proceeded.

"I suggest that we vow to the third branch—specifically, to Bei Sangyun—"

"Absolutely not!" Lin Sunji strongly disagreed. "There’s no way our family will work under her!"

Lin Sanju ignored Lin Sunji’s outburst and continued, "Let me lay out our options. We can either be slaves under the first and second branches, with no hope of recovery and complete suppression, or work with Bei Sangyun and have the freedom to grow."

Li Mei narrowed her eyes and glanced at Bei Sangyun suspiciously. "How can you say that the third branch is different from the first and second branches? Lin Ginxian is petty and not any different than Lin Baozhi. He is just more cautious and cowardly when it comes to making big decisions. But he is greedy and not worth our trust."

"We are not going to work for Lin Ginxian or the third branch. We are vowing to Bei Sangyun." Lin Sanju once again clarified.