Soul Returns to Hong Kong: From Tailor Shop to Richest Woman

November is over, and December in Shenzhen is finally a bit cooler.

Lin Ying has been mostly working at the R&D center lately. The display solution for the second-generation product has already taken initial shape, and improvements on the materials side are also underway. Liu Yang, Chen Jian, and Sun Miaoshu are each in charge of their own area, and their cooperation is becoming increasingly smooth.

One afternoon in early December, Lin Ying was reviewing test data in the lab when the phone on her desk rang. She answered, "Mommy, what's up?"

"Ah Ying! Did you know that Su Zhe is getting married?" Lin Lanying's voice came from behind.

"Married?" Lin Ying was taken aback. "To whom?"

"There's a girl from Chaozhou, surnamed Xu, named Xu Huilin."

Hsu Hui-lin? Not Zhang Min-yi? Su Zhe's girlfriend at the Cambridge gathering was named Zhang Min-yi, I think.

"Has the wedding date been set yet?"

"It's settled! December 26th. Come back quickly, Su Zhe will definitely want to invite you."

Sure enough, Su Zhe called that same evening.

"Ah Ying! I'm getting married! You have to come!" Su Zhe said excitedly on the phone.

Lin Ying: "Congratulations, Zhe-ge! Okay, I'll definitely be there on the 26th."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Ying arranged her work and returned to Hong Kong in mid-December.

At the Kadoorie Hill villa, Lin Lanying had just arranged to meet Chen Meishan for tea and a chat; Lin Ying arrived home, put down her luggage, changed into some home clothes, and went downstairs, where the two women were already sitting on the sofa in the living room, eating sunflower seeds.

"Ah Ying's back!" Chen Meishan stood up, looking her up and down. "Ah Ying is getting more and more beautiful. Have you been eating well lately?"

"Yes, Auntie, please sit down." Lin Ying sat down next to her.

Lin Lanying poured Lin Ying a cup of hot tea: "Your Aunt Chen has a lot to say to you today."

Upon hearing this, Chen Meishan immediately retorted, "More than just a bellyful! I've been accumulating a bellyful of anger for the past two years!"

"That jerk Su Zhe!" Chen Meishan slapped the sofa armrest. "He's had eight or nine girlfriends since graduating from university! And those are the ones I know about! What about the ones I don't know about?"

Lin Ying was shocked. In her memory, Su Zhe was an honest and studious top student...: "Six or seven?"

"That's right!" Chen Meishan got angrier as she spoke. "The first one was his college classmate, we dated for half a year and then broke up; the second one was a girl from his company's business partner, we dated for three months; the third one was introduced by some friend, I didn't even get to meet her before she disappeared."

"There's another one who's a model, another who owns a dessert shop, and another who works as a director at a TV station... I've completely lost track of the order!"

Lin Lanying listened with great interest, nodding as she ate sunflower seeds.

Lin Ying asked curiously, "I remember someone named Zhang Minyi, what was her ranking?"

Chen Meishan rolled her eyes: "I can't even remember if it was the sixth or seventh; anyway, the one I'm getting married to now, Xu Huilin, is the newest; they got engaged after dating for less than four months."

Lin Ying found it unbelievable: "Four months?"

"Four months!" Chen Meishan repeated. "I told his dad at the time, isn't this too fast? His dad said let him do as he pleases, there's no way to stop him anyway."

Lin Ying asked, "Has your aunt met this Xu Huilin?"

"I've met him. He's from Chaozhou. He's good-looking, and his family runs a seafood business. He speaks softly and is very polite." Chen Meishan sighed as she said this. "But how can I trust his judgment now? Every time he brought someone back before, he said this time it was for real... But what happened? None of them lasted more than six months."

Lin Lanying asked curiously, "Sister Shan, what about Su Zhi? Is Su Zhi like this too?"

Chen Meishan got even angrier when Su Zhi was mentioned: "Don't even mention it! Su Zhi has dated four or five women already! I just don't understand, which did these two brothers take after? Their father wasn't this promiscuous when he was young!"

Seeing her expression, Lin Ying found it both amusing and helpless: "Auntie, do you think they... have gone astray in their film and television work?"

"That's exactly what I think!" Chen Meishan slapped the sofa. "Don't you think it's a problem with the industry? Being in that industry every day, surrounded by all sorts of pretty girls, it's making you lose focus!"

Lin Ying shook her head: "Auntie, this has little to do with the industry; haven't their businesses been struggling these past two years?"

Chen Meishan sighed, "Don't even mention it! Zhecheng Pictures did alright for the first two years, but the projects they took on after that lost money. Su Zhe is currently in debt for several million yuan and has borrowed money from his father twice; Su Zhi is in a similar situation, his agency business didn't take off, and he's supporting a bunch of signed artists, none of whom have become famous."

Lin Ying picked up her teacup and took a sip: "I knew it; all you do is eat and be bored, flirting with this person and that person all day long, spending all your energy on those things between men and women, how can you have the energy to make money?"

Chen Meishan nodded repeatedly: "Yes! That's what I told his dad too! But they wouldn't listen."

Chen Meishan frankly stated, "Su Zhe had it too easy growing up. He was a top student in school, and his father and I hardly ever had to manage him. He always got first place in everything and we didn't have to worry about anything. But as a result, things went wrong when he grew up. He thought he could do anything and wouldn't listen to anyone."

Lin Lanying also sighed, "This child was quiet and modest back then, I never expected..."

Chen Meishan smiled bitterly: "People change; there were rules to keep us in school, but once we enter society, no one cares, so we just let loose."

Lin Ying comforted her, "Auntie, don't be too anxious; children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Su Zhe is getting married now, maybe he'll settle down after starting a family."

Chen Meishan sneered, "Him? Settle down? That's exactly what I'm afraid of. He'll still be the same after marriage, and it'll be even more ugly when things get out of hand! The woman is from Chaozhou, where family traditions and values ​​are very strong! If something really happens, where will both families put their faces?"

Lin Ying didn't respond to that, nor did she say much.

Chen Meishan suddenly whispered, "Aying, your aunt has something serious to tell you."

"you say."

"If Su Zhe and Su Cheng come to you to discuss investment or borrow money in the future, don't give them a single penny."

Lin Ying looked at her with some surprise.

Chen Meishan said earnestly, "I'm his biological mother, I see everything clearly; in his current state, giving him money is like throwing money down the drain. If you invest it today, who knows where it will disappear to tomorrow? The same goes for Su Zhi, so please don't be soft-hearted."

Lin Ying nodded: "Don't worry, Auntie, my money has a purpose and I won't invest it recklessly."

Chen Meishan breathed a sigh of relief, picked up her teacup and took a sip: "Sigh, Su Wei is still the most reliable."

Lin Lanying asked curiously, "What is Su Wei doing now?"

"Su Wei is a doctor now!" Chen Meishan's expression brightened considerably when Su Wei was mentioned. "He's an ophthalmologist at Queen Mary Hospital; he's incredibly busy every day, but he never gives me any trouble."

Lin Ying also remembered that Su Wei was the youngest of Su Zhiming's three sons, the quietest, and the most reserved; the boy who was writing his exam paper in the corner at the gathering back then was now a doctor.

"Su Wei was well-behaved even when he was a child," Lin Ying said.

"Yes! He's my true confidant," Chen Meishan sighed. "Those two, Zhe-ge and Zhi-ge, they're both so good at making me angry. Ah Ying, do you know what I regret most right now?"

"What?"

"I regret not disciplining Su Zhe as strictly as your mother taught you back then." Chen Meishan looked at Lin Lanying. "Lanying, your daughter is so promising! Look at Aying, she has a successful career and a stable relationship. She never lets you worry about these messy things."

Lin Lanying was a little embarrassed by the praise, and said, "It's not that she doesn't want me to worry, it's that she doesn't give me the chance to worry at all."

Chen Meishan added, "But then again, Su Zhe's wedding this time will probably be quite a big affair. His father has connections in Central, and the bride's side has many relatives from Chaozhou. Just come, the gift is up to you. Given your relationship with Su Zhe, your presence is enough to make a good impression."

Lin Ying replied, "I'll definitely be there on the 26th."

After chatting for a while, Chen Meishan had to go back to continue worrying about Su Zhe's wedding.

Lin Ying stood at the door watching Chen Meishan's car drive away before going back inside. While Lin Lanying was tidying up the teacups, she muttered, "Even Su Zhe, that academic star, isn't all that great. What's the use of being good at studying if he fails the course on being a good person?"

Lin Ying replied, "Mommy, being good at studying and being a good person are two completely different things."

Lin Lanying paused for a moment, then continued tidying up the cups.

Back in her room, Lin Ying sat by the window looking at the night view of Kadoorie Hill; Zhecheng Pictures had lost money, and Su Zhi's brokerage business hadn't taken off either.

The two men who were full of confidence at the dinner table back then, saying they would do things on their own, have started to decline in just a few years.