Chapter 31: Changes Qin An Needs to Make
Long Qinxin quickly treated Lu Zhiyin’s wounds. She prepared a lavish lunch and, after sharing it with Lu Zhiyin, carried her back to the bedroom to take a nap together.
Feeling satisfied holding Lu Zhiyin, Long Qinxin quickly fell asleep. As for Lu Zhiyin… she didn’t plan on napping. She was nestled in Long Qinxin’s arms, looking at her phone screen, waiting for news from Qin An.
“…”
Staring blankly at her phone screen, about half an hour passed. With a crisp notification sound, a message from Qin An flashed across the top of Lu Zhiyin’s phone screen.
Lu Zhiyin preferred contacting Qin An via text message rather than adding her as a friend. This method of communication suited her perfectly.
Her communication with Qin An would leave no trace. After timely deletion of records, even if her phone were to be searched, no contacts other than Long Qinxin would be found.
“Are you there? This is Qin An.”
Opening the text message, Lu Zhiyin lowered her phone screen’s brightness to the minimum and turned on silent mode to ensure she wouldn’t wake Long Qinxin.
“I’m here.”
“Without saying that you can help me, where do you plan to start?”
Faced with Qin An’s direct question, Lu Zhiyin didn’t rush to answer. She calmed herself down to think about the matter in the best way possible.
“No rush. Your father is a judicial officer, correct? Would it be convenient to tell me if he accepts bribes?”
To understand how to compete with the so-called adopted son, Lu Zhiyin first needed to know more about Qin An’s father’s daily work.
“…Yes, he not only accepts bribes, but he also personally runs many industries that are clearly illegal.”
Qin An revealed what she knew without reservation, not thinking that Lu Zhiyin knowing these matters would have any impact. High-ranking officials in the city almost all had some involvement in illicit businesses. As long as no substantial evidence was found, major problems wouldn’t arise.
Looking at the message from Qin An, Lu Zhiyin closed her eyes and began to ponder what kind of heir Qin An’s father needed.
A judicial officer was at the pinnacle of the legitimate world in the city. Regardless of private dealings, at least on the surface, there couldn’t be obvious blemishes. Moreover, as a high-ranking official, one must surely be stable and presentable, at least in the eyes of outsiders.
At the same time, running illegal industries likely encroached upon the criminal underworld. Both partners and rivals would probably not allow Qin An’s father’s heir to easily withdraw from this industry. Lu Zhiyin’s impression of the underworld was typically full of deceit and constant betrayal, backstabbing, and firefights. Although she didn’t know the specifics of the underworld in this world, it was likely very similar.
To take over Qin An’s father’s industries in the underworld, setting aside other considerations, ruthlessness was essential. Otherwise, how could the subordinates be kept in check?
Considering all this, Lu Zhiyin had a general idea of Qin An’s father’s ideal heir. His heir needed to have a clean background without any blemishes, be sufficiently stable and presentable, and be able to leave a good impression on others. Simultaneously, in private, the heir had to be ruthless enough to stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
After understanding the ideal heir’s image for that judicial officer, Lu Zhiyin compared the image she constructed in her mind with Qin An. She roughly understood why Qin An had conflicts with her father.
Qin An was not stable. As the daughter of a judicial officer, she spent her days socializing with thugs and taimei, lacking any proper decorum. Furthermore, Qin An’s bullying of weaker students at school did not align with ruthlessness; it only made her seem childish and ridiculous. Would people from similar backgrounds seek validation from helpless classmates at school? Most likely not.
“Where are you? Why are you gone? Did you run off?”
While Lu Zhiyin was contemplating, Qin An, on the other end of the phone, was becoming impatient. She began to suspect that Lu Zhiyin was playing a trick on her.
“No, I’m still here. I think I know what your problem is. Your father is involved in both legitimate and illegitimate circles. In the legitimate world, you’re not stable enough. In the illegitimate world, you’re not ruthless enough. You’re not pleasing either side, so it’s no wonder he would look for an adopted son.”
Her fingers danced across the virtual keyboard, and Lu Zhiyin felt a little dazed looking at the lines of black text on the screen. She truly couldn’t imagine that one day she would be giving advice to others; frankly, she didn’t consider herself very smart either.
“…Tsk, tell me then, where am I not doing well enough?”
Qin An seemed displeased with Lu Zhiyin’s words. However, Qin An actually knew that Lu Zhiyin’s words held some truth; she indeed wasn’t quite up to par, but she was too proud to admit it.
“What are your father’s colleagues’ children usually like? What are you like? To be frank, hanging around with the taimei is indeed a bit beneath you. As the daughter of a judicial officer, everyone is watching you. You might not realize it yourself, but isn’t it possible that your father has been embarrassed by you countless times already?”
Across the phone screen, Lu Zhiyin became increasingly bold, and her wording became somewhat aggressive. Qin An was infuriated on the other end but couldn’t say anything in return. Compared to those socialites in high society, her behavior was indeed a bit undignified. Ultimately, thugs and taimei would bring her no resources. Even if she were to inherit her father’s position and wealth in the future, these thugs would absolutely not become her allies.
“On the other hand, let me ask you a question, have you ever killed anyone?”
“…No…”
Before Qin An could recover, Lu Zhiyin’s next question made her pause. She answered Lu Zhiyin’s question truthfully; she had indeed never killed anyone.
“Have you ever crippled anyone?”
“No…”
“See? You tell me yourself, are you neither stable enough nor ruthless enough?”
“…”
Qin An somewhat wished not to reply to Lu Zhiyin anymore. She had only just woken up, and she contacted Lu Zhiyin to hear how she would help her, not to be lectured by someone who was crippled.
“For now, what you need to do is change your image, starting with the legitimate world.”
Seeing Qin An’s reply with ellipses, Lu Zhiyin decided to stop while she was ahead and not dwell on Long Qinxin’s shortcomings.
“First, you need to break off contact with your former thug friends and your followers. Second, you should try to communicate with people of similar status and befriend them as much as possible. The offspring of officials are still offspring of officials; becoming friends with them is all benefit and no harm. In this regard, you have an advantage. An adopted son is still an adopted son, and in the eyes of most people, his status should be inferior to yours. The officials in the city are limited, and every friend you make provides you with support and an ally for your future. Correspondingly, your competitor will receive one less piece of support.”
Typing out a long string of words in one go, Lu Zhiyin intended for Qin An to first demonstrate her competitiveness in the legitimate world, making her father re-evaluate his own daughter. As for how to show her ruthlessness in the underworld… Lu Zhiyin had a somewhat dangerous idea. She planned for Qin An to change her image in the legitimate world and then find a way to get rid of her rivals. Directly eliminating those who wanted to take what was rightfully hers – that should be ruthless enough, right? Lu Zhiyin was not entirely sure. After all, her plans were mostly based on imagination, and whether they could actually be implemented was another matter…
“…I’ll try.”
Unaware of Lu Zhiyin’s numerous thoughts, Qin An was somewhat hesitant. She wasn’t particularly keen on interacting with the children of her father’s colleagues, but in order not to let that damned brat snatch what rightfully belonged to her, Qin An decided to make an effort and try.
Taking a Leave
Today has been quite unfortunate. I’ve encountered many terrible things, and my state of mind is quite poor. I’ll skip a day. I apologize.
