Old Song gazed at Lin Chen.
There was no reason for Lin Chen to lie to him.
First, Lin Chen was destined to be a historical figure, and he would likely cherish his reputation, making him unlikely to resort to underhanded tactics.
Second, the Song Family's power genuinely benefited Lin Chen. With aligned interests, he had no motive to act against them.
"They've always gotten along so well," Old Song sighed softly. "I thought treating them well would prevent them from turning against each other, but I never expected this to happen."
"Lin, how do you think I should handle this?"
Lin Chen shook his head. "Old Song, this is the Song Family's internal affairs. I've merely presented the situation. Whether you verify it and how you proceed from here is entirely up to you."
"Mengyao and the others are waiting for me. I should go now."
Old Song nodded slightly. "Lin, please don't mention my dwindling lifespan to anyone."
"Understood."
Lin Chen opened the door and left.
Old Song picked up a photograph on his desk. "My dear, I'll be with you before long."
***
"Daddy, you smell funny," Lin Xiaoqian said, pinching her nose.
"Where do I smell funny?" Lin Chen sniffed himself. He didn't detect any odor.
Xu Mengyao, standing nearby, chuckled. "Honey, it's the alcohol on you. Xiaoqian says the same thing about my dad."
"Xiaoqian, want Mommy to hold you?"
Lin Xiaoqian released her pinched nose. "Mommy, you've been drinking too! Even though you both smell funny, I still love you!" she giggled.
"You little rascal," Lin Chen said, flicking Xiaoqian's nose. "How about I do a magic trick for you?"
"What kind of trick?" Xiaoqian asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"I'll make the alcohol smell disappear from me," Lin Chen said.
"Ooh, yes!" Xiaoqian's eyes lit up.
Lin Chen mentally commanded, *System, store all the alcohol in my stomach into the system space.*
This was a new function he'd recently discovered.
He hadn't used it to cheat while drinking earlier, though. He was far from drunk, and the bloating could easily be resolved with a trip to the bathroom.
It wasn't like he was competing with others in a drinking contest, and it would be unfair to use this function to cheat when they were genuinely drinking.
Since he had already finished drinking, using it now was fine.
"Understood, Host."
The System's voice echoed in his mind.
Soon, all the alcohol in Lin Chen's stomach was gone. The alcohol in his blood vessels and cells remained, but it wouldn't emit any odor.
Lin Chen reached into his pocket.
A box of gum from the System's space materialized in his hand.
The System had also absorbed the alcohol from his mouth, and with another piece of gum, the smell completely changed.
"Xixi, how is it?" Lin Chen asked with a smile.
Lin Xiaoqian sniffed and exclaimed in surprise, "Daddy, you're 'Fragrant Daddy' again! Mommy, come smell!"
Xu Mengyao looked at Lin Chen in astonishment.
*Could he have used his internal energy to refine the alcohol?* she wondered. *There are scenes like this on TV.*
"Mommy can't smell it," Lin Xiaoqian said.
"Mommy can only smell the alcohol on herself," Xu Mengyao replied.
The three of them walked out of the manor to find Song Qingquan waiting for them, his own car parked nearby.
"Young Master Lin, won't you stay the night at our place?" Song Qingquan asked.
Lin Chen shook his head. "My wife has work matters at her company. I squeezed this visit in between tasks. Just have someone take us to the high-speed rail station."
Song Qingquan looked surprised. "You're leaving so soon?"
"Yes."
"If you have time, come visit us."
Lin Chen smiled.
Song Qingquan's eyes lit up with delight. "Young Master Lin, I'll definitely make time! We'll visit you in the Demon Capital as soon as possible."
"Sounds good," Lin Chen nodded.
Soon, they got into the car and drove away.
Song Qingquan's face was beaming.
Finally, he'd have a chance to mooch off a meal occasionally. Of course, the real prize was the take-out.
An hour later, they arrived at the high-speed rail station.
Lin Xiaoqian had slept in the car and felt refreshed.
*Beep beep.*
Yang Qingyue answered the video call.
"Mengyao, is Lin Chen alright?"
"Your father is lying down and asleep. He'll be fine after a good night's rest," Yang Qingyue said.
Xu Mengyao held the phone up to Lin Chen, who smiled. "Mom, I'm perfectly fine. I only drank about ten bottles today—less than last time."
"I'll take good care of Mengyao and Xixi on the way," he added.
Xu Mengyao glanced at Lin Chen.
*Just* ten bottles.
The word "just" was used so well.
Yang Qingyue smiled. "That's good. I was worried that if you drank too much, I'd have to ask Mengyao to look after you, but it seems that won't be necessary."
"Grandma, I'm right here!" Lin Xiaoqian called out. "Didn't you see me?"
Yang Qingyue chuckled. "Xixi, you didn't call Grandma earlier, so she didn't see you. But now that you've called, of course she sees you!"
"Grandma, I'm almost three years old," Lin Xiaoqian said seriously. "I can take care of Mom and Dad."
Yang Qingyue laughed. "Even better! Our Xixi is a little grown-up now."
After chatting for a while, Xu Mengyao ended the video call.
The three of them entered the waiting room.
*Beep beep!*
Xu Mengyao's phone rang.
After answering, she said, "Honey, our trip to Yili might have to be postponed slightly."
"After today's events, I expect many companies will be approaching us for collaborations in the coming days."
"My dad and I will be swamped."
Lin Chen nodded. "A slight delay is fine. With this wave of acquisitions, Xu Group's valuation should grow significantly."
Xu Mengyao nodded.
"The group's market capitalization is currently over 70 billion. If this operation goes well, it could approach 100 billion."
"Our family's assets will reach around 50 billion."
Lin Chen grinned. "Wifey, if you work a little harder and push the family assets past 100 billion, I can live the good life of a kept man."
Xu Mengyao playfully retorted, "You don't need to."
Lin Xiaoqian piped up in her childish voice, "Mommy, I want to eat soft rice too! Hard rice is yucky."
Xu Mengyao burst into laughter.
Before long, Lin Chen and his group boarded the high-speed train. Once aboard, he began teaching Lin Xiaoqian how to fold paper airplanes.
He needed to improve his aircraft manufacturing skill as much as possible.
He knew that the aircraft China purchased from abroad had backdoors, though his knowledge was incomplete.
Once his aircraft manufacturing skill reached Grandmaster level, he should be able to uncover all of those backdoors.
Even if Xu Mengyao hadn't mentioned it, he had actually wanted to postpone their trip to Yili for a while.
When they had decided to go, the incident hadn't happened yet. The crash of Xu Guofeng's plane had served as a stark warning.
Xu Mengyao's plane was a private jet, making the odds of it having backdoors lower. Still, Lin Chen couldn't rule out the possibility.
Delaying the trip would allow him to improve his aircraft manufacturing skill further. Even if he didn't reach Grandmaster level by then, his abilities would still be stronger, and his chances of discovering problems would be higher.
"System, how many hours do I have in aircraft manufacturing skill right now?" Lin Chen asked mentally.
**System**: Host, you currently have 65 hours.
Lin Chen sighed inwardly.
*Still a long way to go.*
It took 100 hours to reach Grandmaster level.
*The road ahead is long and arduous!*
-----------------------
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