Chapter 30 (1/2): Donate

“Bring a pot of black tea.”

Song Xun looked toward his assistant.

The assistant hurriedly stepped out, not daring to make a sound.

Donation

Lu Lin cast a cold, sideways glance at him.

“My daughter doesn’t need outsiders to worry about her.”

The entire room fell into silence.

Everyone looked around awkwardly, unsure what to say.

If it weren’t for necessity, they really wouldn’t dare to dine at the same table as these two.

“Just eat your own food! Don’t know where you get so much to say from. I stopped drinking milk back in middle school. Have you even seen my diet plan?”

Bai Xia frowned slightly.

She was truly fed up.

If she didn’t like the male supporting lead, she could have just ignored him, but instead, they kept picking fights and making snide remarks.

Was she a child?

Did she think acting like this would make the female lead turn back?

The male supporting lead had a good temper, always backing down.

What was there to be so generous about?

He should just say it outright.

The person he liked was right in front of him.

He didn’t hold his ground and instead blamed others for stealing his love.

Everything needed to be addressed straightforwardly—it was his own problem.

All day long, it was just sarcastic remarks.

He had driven the female lead away before with his snide comments, yet he still hadn’t learned his lesson.

“Xia Xia is my daughter too. What do you mean by ‘outsider’?”

Song Xun’s eyes blazed.

Lu Lin sneered, “You just can’t have children of your own, can you?”

Don’t talk about anything like ‘for his daughter’s sake.’

Such lofty words only fool Ruan Wen.

The entire room fell deathly silent.

Everyone wished they hadn’t come today.

Lu Lin’s words were as sharp as ever…

“Are you with the Women’s Federation? Why do you care if someone else has children or not? Is your possessiveness over other people’s kids really that strong?”

Bai Xia looked ready to stuff a crab leg in his mouth.

Lu Lin said nothing.

He picked up the glass of wine in front of him, took a sip, and then casually used a hammer to crack open her crab leg.

At that moment, the manager entered with milk and black tea.

Sensing the tense atmosphere, he quietly put down the drinks and left.

The organizer, Zhou Huayi, quickly raised his glass.

“Thank you all for making time for me today. I’m truly grateful. I won’t say more—here’s to you all.”

Seeing this, the others immediately lifted their glasses as well.

“Of course we couldn’t miss an event hosted by President Zhou. Just don’t forget us if there’s a good project in the future.”

After a drink, fearing Lu Lin might flip the table halfway through, Zhou Huayi moved on to business.

“I recently acquired some new technology and want to venture into intelligent robotics, but there are still many immature aspects. I wonder if anyone has ideas or wants to collaborate?”

Upon hearing this, everyone laughed, knowing he was just making small talk.

There was no way he’d partner up with others. In artificial intelligence, Lu Lin was the leader, having founded Shengmin Technology more than a decade ago—a true visionary.

“You should talk to President Lu; he has the talent pool.”

Someone chuckled.

Everyone looked toward Lu Lin, who expressionlessly cracked his crab leg, slowly pulling out the meat before handing the plate to his daughter.

He then took a towel to wipe his hands.

“I don’t have the final say at Shengmin,” Lu Lin said flatly.

Others awkwardly smiled. Saying that made no sense.

Everyone knew Shengmin’s biggest shareholder was Bai Ruanwen, but the actual manager was Lu Lin.

The initial talent pool came from the Lu family.

If he didn’t call the shots, who did?

They instinctively looked at Song Xun.

The two families were strange—obviously at odds, yet still able to co-manage a business.

Bai Ruanwen was a legend—she could keep two men spinning, willing to raise her daughter and co-run a company.

“That’s my fault. I should have invited Mrs. Bai today. Next time, President Song will have to help set things up,” Zhou Huayi said, looking toward Song Xun.

Song Xun smiled faintly.

“My wife’s health hasn’t been good lately; she might step down as chairwoman. If you have ideas, it’s just as good to talk to my daughter.”

Upon hearing this, all eyes turned to the young girl beside Lu Lin.

They had heard of her before.

It was certain she would inherit the Lu family business.

To think the Song family had similar plans—someone so young already had assets others could only dream of in a lifetime.

Reincarnation was truly an art; having two fathers wasn’t enough—you also needed a sharp-eyed mother.

The behavior of the Lu and Song families didn’t surprise them.

This girl had been trained by Lu Jinnian since childhood; she must have some abilities.

Otherwise, how could a young girl shoulder such responsibility?

Bai Xia lowered her head, eating crab meat.

She didn’t trust the male lead, so most of the company’s shares were under the female lead’s name.

From the outside, the female lead appeared as the main shareholder, but in reality, she had managed the company all these years.

The male lead did play a role, like providing an initial batch of talent.

Now that she was an adult, several companies could gradually come under her actual control.

“The younger generation truly surpasses the old. President Lu’s daughter clearly outshines us. We’re all getting old; in the future, there will surely be many areas where we need to learn from the young,” Zhou Huayi said earnestly.

Others agreed.

“Young people are smart these days. Our newly recruited tech talent at the company is truly impressive.”

Bai Xia lifted her teacup toward them.

“I’m still young and inexperienced. In the future, I’ll need the guidance of all you uncles and elders.”

“Not at all!” they all raised their glasses.

Bai Xia stood to clink glasses with everyone, then sat down and took a sip of tea.

“Regarding the project Uncle Zhou mentioned, I think there’s great potential. Shengmin indeed has a tech team in this area. As for detailed cooperation, that needs further discussion. It’s not a small matter.”

“Of course!”

Zhou Huayi smiled at the girl.

“I have a son studying abroad. You young people will definitely have lots to talk about.”

Everyone glanced at him, surprised at his eagerness.

If someone could marry into the Lu family, that would be an instant fortune.

Besides, this girl was beautiful.

“No need.”

Lu Lin said coldly.

Zhou Huayi wasn’t embarrassed.

He took another sip and quickly switched the topic.

Bai Xia was used to this, maybe influenced by Lu Qihui.

To the male lead, he might not be anything special, but he knew everything—just double standards.

But when it came to his daughter, he couldn’t tolerate a thing.

Dinner ended at eight.

After greeting Song Xun, Bai Xia and the male lead rode home together.

Back in her room, she took out a share sale agreement and knocked on the study door.

She no longer needed a guardian’s proxy and wanted to retrieve her company shares.

She would buy back the male lead’s investment at market price—he wouldn’t lose out.

Lu Lin was on the phone.

Seeing it was his daughter, he ended the call, glanced at the document, and frowned slightly.

“I’ll just transfer it to you. What’s the point of selling?”

“It’s not like that. Buying the shares is my business. I already said I won’t let you lose money. This isn’t just an empty promise,” Bai Xia said seriously.

She intended to repay the initial investment clearly, even if they were blood relatives.

Remembering how the little girl had once firmly persuaded him to invest, Lu Lin chuckled lightly.

Then he grabbed a pen from the desk. His daughter was indeed a genius.

Back then, he hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly.

Artificial intelligence had a huge future.

Now, other companies wanting to enter this field had to cooperate with them.

“You have this much money?”

He suddenly noticed the amount.

It was market price, but still not a small sum.

“Why can’t I have this much money?”

Bai Xia was speechless.

Was money only allowed for him?

She had run companies for years.

Without this kind of money, she’d have starved long ago.

Lu Lin said nothing, didn’t even have a lawyer look at the contract, and signed neatly before handing it back.

“By the way, this is for you.”

Bai Xia pulled out an invitation and handed it to him.

“Do you have anything extra lying around?”

Seeing the charity auction invitation, Lu Lin hesitated a moment, glanced at the bookshelf, and picked up an ornament to give her.

“It seems like an antique.”

Bai Xia smiled lightly.

“Thank you for your kindness.”

She turned and left with the item.

Lu Lin looked over the invitation and told Assistant Xu to clear his schedule for Friday.

Though he disliked these hypocritical charity events, it was different when organized by his daughter.