Chapter 42: Lin Fan's Plot

When Lin Fan finished speaking, Tang Rui’s face instantly flushed red. This scoundrel had clearly been staring at certain parts of her body all along.

“You—you—You still haven’t said, what will you do if you can’t pull it off?” Tang Rui was at a loss for words. Should she curse him out like a shrew in the street, or just go up and punch him? She admitted to herself she couldn’t do either, so she could only instinctively cover her chest and ask.

Even if she lost her first kiss, it wouldn’t be such a huge loss, would it? Thinking this, Lin Fan gave a wicked smile and said, “Don’t worry, Rui’er. If your husband here can’t do it, I’ll take full responsibility for all the losses from this order at Dongxing Group.”

The moment Lin Fan called himself her husband, Tang Rui spit out all the water she had just sipped, unable to bear it any longer. She stood up and cursed, “You’re utterly shameless, a complete scoundrel! There isn’t a single decent word that comes out of your mouth.”

“Yes, I admit, you’re absolutely right. Is that good enough for you?” Lin Fan thickened his skin and leaned closer to Tang Rui, speaking in an annoyingly playful tone.

“You, you…” Tang Rui was so angry she couldn’t speak. For someone as refined as her to try and spar with Lin Fan verbally was like Sun Wukong challenging the Buddha; no matter how many tricks Sun Wukong tried, he could never escape from the Buddha’s palm.

“I’ll step out for now,” Lin Fan, seeing that he’d achieved his goal, turned and walked out of Tang Rui’s office.

“You’re not trying to run away, are you?” Tang Rui called after him with a hint of provocation.

Indeed, if she didn’t at least say a few words, Lin Fan would probably think she was a pushover, someone easy to manipulate.

“Wife, just keep that first kiss safe for me. Wait for your husband to return,” Lin Fan said with a devilish grin. The moment Tang Rui heard him call her “wife” again, her expression changed, and she was about to explode in anger. Seeing things were about to get ugly, Lin Fan quickly slipped out the door, grinning.

“Wife, husband—hmpf! He’s getting more and more used to calling me that. How could Lin Jie have such a brother?” Tang Rui cursed silently after Lin Fan left. “Born of the same mother, how can siblings be so different?”

Lin Fan didn’t go far; he just headed next door, to the office where Tang Rui’s assistant worked. Approaching the assistant, he said, “Do you have the materials for that software? Let me take a look.”

“Yes, I do,” the assistant hurriedly handed over a stack of documents.

“Thanks,” Lin Fan said, then asked, “Is there a scanner in the office?”

“You want to scan these?” The assistant replied, “There’s no need for that. I have everything on my computer. You can pull it up directly.” She was already well aware from the meeting room that Lin Fan was Tang Rui’s current boyfriend, and might even become the future boss of Dongxing Group. She didn’t dare to be the slightest bit careless and had even switched to the more respectful form of address, though Lin Fan himself didn’t notice.

“Oh, in that case, could I borrow your computer? Thanks.” Lin Fan walked over to the assistant’s desk and sat down. “You go ahead with your work. I’ll look through this on my own. If I need anything, I’ll call you.”

The assistant agreed and left.

When it came to computers, Lin Fan only knew how to chat, send emails, and browse the kinds of websites men are “supposed” to visit. As for software development—he wouldn’t know the first thing.

But there were others who did. In Dragon Soul, there was a top-tier network expert, a genius with computers and intelligence gathering—Tan Zhiyong. His talents were as dazzling as his name suggested.

“Boss, you finally called! I thought you’d forgotten about me,” came Tan Zhiyong’s voice as soon as the call connected.

Tan Zhiyong was usually a rather serious person, only joking around on rare occasions. Lin Fan didn’t waste time. He asked briefly about Dragon Soul’s situation in Africa, then explained the current issue and sent over the materials. Of course, he’d never mention his little wager with Tang Rui. If those guys in Dragon Soul ever found out what Lin Fan was up to in China, not a single one of them would have anything decent to say.

A moment later, Tan Zhiyong called back, his voice full of disdain. “Are you trying to insult my intelligence? You dare bring me something this simple? Give me two hours—I’ll have it done for you.”

Lin Fan nearly spat blood. This was just too much. Dongxing Group was a renowned corporation, not just in the country but worldwide. They’d toiled for countless days and nights over this, and now, in Tan Zhiyong’s hands, it was reduced to a child’s game, an insult to his intelligence. A problem that had stumped Dongxing Group for so long, and Tan Zhiyong said he could solve it in two hours! No wonder people say comparisons are odious.

Still, the matter was essentially settled. Since Tan Zhiyong had spoken, Lin Fan trusted him completely. As Dragon Soul’s number two—its so-called “housekeeper”—Tan Zhiyong had managed the organization’s finances, intelligence, and personnel training for years, handling almost every matter large and small. Lin Fan’s role was only to lead, but his position was unshakable. Perhaps this was the age-old distinction between king and general.

Since Tan Zhiyong needed two hours, Lin Fan certainly wasn’t going to just sit and wait. He opened a few websites that most men would find interesting, and soon, the computer screen was filled with images that would excite any man. In Lin Fan’s view, though, men only watched these things to pass the time; if you had time to watch, you might as well get some real-life experience.

Perhaps because he’d been up late with Zhao Ying the night before, Lin Fan started to feel sleepy. He yawned and laid his head on the desk.

He hadn’t quite drifted off when the door opened. Lin Fan didn’t get up, just peeked to see who it was. When he saw Tang Rui, his eyes sparkled with mischief and he deliberately left those images up on the screen.

Tang Rui saw Lin Fan sleeping at the desk and walked over, saying, “Hmpf, here I thought you were working diligently, but you’re in here napping…” She rattled off a string of complaints, but Lin Fan simply pretended not to hear.

“Damn, can’t a guy take a nap? Does she have to go in so hard on me?” Lin Fan continued to feign sleep, grumbling to himself. “A minute ago when I was teasing her, she barely said a word. Now, the moment I slack off, she’s relentless. Women really are fickle!”

Suddenly, Tang Rui fell silent. Lin Fan didn’t need to look to know what she’d seen. He couldn’t help but feel a touch of pride. If he guessed right, Tang Rui rarely, if ever, looked at such things—perhaps this was her first time seeing such “sensual” images.

PS: If you’re enjoying this story, please add it to your collection or bookshelf. Your support means everything!