Summer #53

Don't Turn from Summer (莫负寒夏) by Ding Mo (丁墨)

Chapter 53

It’s midnight when Lin Mochen rushes to the construction site. The night wind is chilly and the sky is covered up with thick clouds. The project hasn’t really started yet. There are just a few work sheds and lights, lighting spots up with the weak yellow beams. Sun Zhi and a few other core members quickly walk up to him, with awful looks on their faces.

Lin Mochen: “What’s the matter?”

Sun Zhi’s voice is a little stuck, “Chief Lin, it’s all soft soil beneath. This lot can’t hold buildings. The foundations will sink after they are built and will sink again after we build them again. We are tricked. Damn it! It’s impossible that both lots Cao Dasheng has are soft. The probability is way too small. Chief Lin...Ai!”

His words are disorderly, but everything is instantly clear to Lin Mochen, as if a sparkle has glided by and shed light on them. Lin Mochen stands in the wind with an extremely cold face, hands in the parka pockets, and lets out a laugh, “Ha...Haha...”

Everybody holds his breath. For a moment, it was completely quiet on such a vast wild land.

In his 26 years of life, Lin Mochen has always enjoyed victories in the business world, making his rivals struggle desperately for survival. This is the first time he’s had such a big tumble, and for a while, he is silent and sulky.

But then he starts to speak slowly, “Let’s all leave it here and go back. I will handle this situation.”

But nobody moves. They are still somewhat dumbfounded. Because “this situation” is not something minor. They have spent at least several hundred million to get this lot from Cao Dasheng. And the money are loaned from the bank. It’s all Feng Chen has. It’s the whole blood and flesh of the company!

Sun Zhi is relatively calm and waves to dismiss everybody. Only he himself stays, standing beside Lin Mochen.

“Chief Lin, I’ve sent someone to go after Cao Dashen.” He says in a low voice.

“How could he still be in Lin City? He must have hidden himself really well by now.” Says Lin Mochen.

Sun Zhi’s heart sinks and he doesn’t know what else to say.

Honestly, Sun Zhi has always thought highly of Lin Mochen as his boss. A young man at around 25, 26, with advanced education and very smart, his approaches are more like a seasoned businessman in his 40s. Every time he fights his way into an industry, he can stir it up and shake the ground, creating earthquakes or hurricanes at his will. He is about seven or eight years younger than Sun Zhi, but Sun Zhi nonetheless respects him very much.

But right now, Sun Zhi looks at Lin Mochen’s slim and tall figure in the weak light, the night darkening and spreading behind him. He seems to be half smiling, but the eyes are unprecedentedly fierce, making even the heart of someone so seasoned as Sunzhi tremble from inside.

“Where are those two inspection reports?” Lin Mochen asks.

Sun Zhi hastily opens his briefcase and finds the documents for him. When things got messy earlier tonight, he took care to bring them along.

Lin Mochen takes them over and gives them a few glances. Then suddenly he rips them to pieces and dumps them into the trash can nearby. Sun Zhi’s heart is pounding at the sight of this, feeling so distressed.

Lin Mochen is quiet for a moment and then turns to leave. Sun Zhi hurriedly follows him and asks, “Chief Lin, for now we can only try to keep everything covered as long as possible, and see if we can get the money back from Cao Dasheng. Try to make money on the project with Rong Yue as soon as possible. Also, the second loan installment from Mr. Zhou should also allow us some time for cash flow...”

Lin Mochen stops abruptly and turns to look at him, starting slowly to laugh, “Sun Zhi, if I were my opponent, the first thing I would do is stop the loan from its source and break the capital chain of Feng Chen. ”

Sun Zhi: “But the loan, wasn’t it guaranteed by your mother?”

“Exactly.” Lin Mochen says, “Guaranteed by my mother... What if this was part of the interlocked scheme?”

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The night is falling. Mu Hanxia is waiting for taking off at the Capital Airport in Beijing.

Early this morning, she took the entrance exam and interview with the institute from the USA and did fairly well. The written part wasn’t finished until afternoon. But when she tried to call Lin Mochen again, still no one picked up. Then she called some colleague from the company. It was when she first heard about the terrible news.

When she thought about Lin Mochen again, she was extremely worried.

“Summer, Chief Lin has been in the meeting all the time. Maybe that’s why he didn’t take your call.” That’s was the colleague said.

So, Mu Hanxia stopped calling him in the afternoon. Instead, she rushed through the company business in Beijing and then rushed to the airport.

Now, it’s almost dark. Is his meeting over yet?

Mu Hanxia takes out her phone and tries one more time.

“Ring, ring―”, after ringing twice, the phone is connected.

He says nothing.

Mu Hanxia: “Hey, are you OK?”

“Still in the meeting.” Lin Mochen’s voice is actually very calm, with other people’s voices fluttering around him.

Mu Hanxia: “Oh...”

Then he gets up and moves to a quiet place.

“Why? What’s the matter?” He asks.

Mu Hanxia says, “I’m boarding in a minute. I’ll be back today.”

He’s silent for a moment and seems to have chuckled a bit, then says, “OK. I’m still busy right here and can’t pick you up. Stay safe.”

“Mhm, no need to pick me up. The matter...is it going fine?”

“Don’t worry about me. I will handle it. Take good care of the business on your hand. OK?”

“OK.”

The phone is hung up. Mu Hanxia is a little lost in thought. To be frank, the calm and easy attitude of Lin Mochen over the phone makes her quite reassured. The matter...maybe it’s not that serious? But, she is still very worried about him. Faced with such frustration, someone proud as him may not show anything on the surface. But he must feel quite badly within himself.

Right now, she just wants to see him immediately.

As to the exams for entering a foreign institute, how can she bring it up at a time like this? They have to first fight through the stormy waves they are facing.

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The city lights are just turned on. Lin Mochen and Sun Zhi are at socialization dinners.

Although the opponent in the dark hasn’t made their next moves yet, Lin Mochen has already begun to prepare the money needed. But the gap of several hundred million is not a small number. It won’t be easy to fill.

After the dinner, Lin Mochen and Sun Zhi get back into their car. Sun Zhi says, “Manager Mu called just now and said she’s back in Lin City. Right now she must be in the hotel.”

Lin Mochen replies, “OK, I see.”

Sun Zhi gets home in a moment. Driving all by himself now, instead of heading back to the hotel, Lin Mochen takes a drive around the city first. For the first time after he returned to the city, he realizes that he hasn’t really looked at the changes closely enough after so many years he was away. The little streams flowing through the city are still winding and clear, but those old buildings he remembers are all gone, replaced with skyscrapers that can only be seen in a metropolis. The greens in the city are still full of life. In the air there is the freshness and moist typical of this southwestern city.

Sitting in the car, he stays by the river for a long time. Then he drives away. On the way he passes again the two lots he bought Lot A and Lot II (Note from translator: Lot II referes to the lot LMC bought from Cao Dasheng, previously translated as Lot B. From now on, Lot II will be used instead whenever applicable.) A sarcastic sneer comes to the corner of his mouth, his eyes icy cold. He doesn’t stop, driving on into the deeper night.

Finally, before he realizes it, he comes to the gate to the Third High School of the city. The students here have been dismissed from the evening studies. Few people are on campus. There are only a few lights in the classroom building. His little sister Lin Qian must have gone to bed back in the dormitory at this moment. Lin Mochen sits at the gate for a while and leaves.

It’s two past midnight when he gets back to the hotel.

The door to Mu Hanxia’s room is closed. It’s quiet inside. She must have fallen asleep, he thinks. In his mind he suddenly sees her clear and bright eyes. In such a quiet deep night, smiles come to the corners of his mouth, even unnoticed by himself.

Taking the door card out, he opens the door.

A table lamp in on, the light soft as in a dream. A slim figure is sitting near the bed, head bent into a book. At the sound, she puts down the book and looks up.

The two pairs of eyes lock their gaze.

Lin Mochen shuts the door behind him and walks over.

“Why are you here?” He asks, propping his hands on the bed beside her, almost encircling her beneath him.

“Why can’t I be here?” She lifts her head, “this is my boyfriend’s room.”

Lin Mochen smiles. He pushes her down into the bed and lowers his own head to kiss her.

In the enticing light and air, Mu Hanxia vaguely senses the kiss to be somewhat emotional and ventilating. His face doesn’t show much expression, and his gaze on her is deep. The kiss is a little too aggressive. The hand that has fumbled beneath her clothes are also with some urgency, not very gentle.

But everything is hidden behind his calm appearance.

This, however, melts Mu Hanxia’s heart. She reaches out to stroke his hair. Under his touches, she feels as if she’s melting away. This is it, tonight is the night, she thinks. She thinks that tonight he will really make her his woman. 

But he doesn’t go further. After kissing her for a long time, she even sensing his gradually hardening desire, he suddenly loosens her up and lies beside her, traces of smiles in his eyes and on his brows as usual.

He doesn’t want it. He doesn’t want to make her completely his this night.

Mu Hanxia lets her disorderly breath calm down, for a moment not sure whether to feel relieved or disappointed. Gazing at the handsome and craggy lines of his profile, she says softly, “Lin Mochen, whatever happens, I’m facing it and shouldering it with you. ”

Lin Mochen is silent for a moment and reaches over to wrap her in his arms.

“The estate business, I will handle it. You just take care of the apparel business for me. Don’t let the backyard get on fire. That will be good enough for me.”

He says it so casually and lightly that Mu Hanxia feels much less nervous. After all, she has seen him manage all kinds of things well, keep everything under control, and have all the problems solved with simply a few words or some smiles. So this time, maybe he can also handle it?

But Mu Hanxia has her own thoughts. She has made up her mind to look for financial support for him starting from tomorrow. Only that she doesn’t have much power and may not be helpful. So she decides not to tell him right now.

Mu Hanxia has been travelling all day. Right now in each other’s arms and feeling quite relieved, she quickly falls asleep. Lin Mochen also shuts his eyes and sleeps for a while. But he wakes up not long after.

She is sound asleep now, face pressed against his chest and having left a little stain of saliva on his shirt. Lin Mochen smiles quietly, hugging her even closer, pulls over the quilt and covers the two of them with it. Then he looks up at the night out the window.

The moonlight is clear, the stars twinkling. Lin Mochen looks on with coldness in his eyes. Finally when the sky is slowly paling up, he closes his eyes and falls asleep.

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“Sunrise on the Yunwu (Note: Yunwu literally means ‘cloud and mist’) Mountain” is one of the famous scenic views in Lin City. In the early morning, a golden line of the sun just peeks out on the horizon, shining on the many mountain peaks that are covered with thin snow, contrasting the mountain ranges covered with lush forests. CEO of Rong Yue Group Zhang Yifang is sitting on the patio of his luxurious mountain-top house on the Yunwu Mountain, in his hand a brass hand warmer decorated with an interlocking-branch lotus design modeled after antiques. Fragrant tea and a few cigars on the table, he is enjoying the beautiful view of sunrise.