Chapter 52: Killing with a Borrowed Knife—The Creditor Comes Calling

Shoving his face into his pocket, High Virtue finally returned to his office after painstakingly placating Little Ancestor Lin Le. The sycophantic smile he had worn earlier had vanished, replaced by a vicious, sinister expression that contorted his features into an ugly mask.

“Damn it, forcing me to grovel before him in front of so many people—just wait till I get the chance. I’ll make him pay!” High Virtue cursed inwardly.

For years, High Virtue had cultivated the image of a venerable educator—a paragon of virtue and wisdom. He had wealth, he had status, but what he sought now was reputation, the stepping stone to his future in politics. Yet today, all that he had painstakingly built was ruined by Lin Le.

Worse still, thanks to Lin Le, it seemed High Virtue had suffered a setback with his superiors; whether this would affect his next promotion remained uncertain.

The thought made his hatred for Lin Le gnash at his very bones.

“Principal Gao, what are we going to do about Lin Le’s situation…?”

After receiving that phone call, High Virtue had rushed out in a panic, leaving Ji Guihua waiting. Only now did Ji Guihua have the chance to seek clarification.

Her question only inflamed High Virtue. Had Ji Guihua not drawn Lin Le’s wrath onto him, he wouldn’t have ended up so disgraced today.

“Don’t concern yourself with Lin Le anymore!” High Virtue replied coldly.

“What? Principal Gao, didn’t you just say—”

“That was then, this is now! You know better than I what kind of person your precious son Zhao Hu is! He’s brought me enough trouble; today, have him pack up and leave!” High Virtue barked without pity.

“Principal Gao, how can you do this?” Ji Guihua, hot-tempered as ever, immediately wanted to argue.

“What have I done? Not just your son—starting today, you’re finished as director!” Spittle nearly sprayed from High Virtue’s mouth onto Ji Guihua’s face.

“What? You’re removing me?” Ji Guihua was incredulous.

“High Virtue, just try to remove me! I know all about your dirty dealings, the money you’ve taken. If you dare strip me of my position, I’ll expose you tomorrow!”

Ji Guihua had long been High Virtue’s right hand—no one understood his shady business better than she did. Seeing him now try to discard her like an old workhorse, Ji Guihua was ready to fight him to the bitter end.

“You…” High Virtue had not expected Ji Guihua to threaten him with this, leaving him speechless.

A few seconds later, his aggressive demeanor melted into an awkward grin.

“Director Ji, don’t get angry. Hear me out.” High Virtue tried to placate her.

“Principal Gao, what’s all this about? Why would you target me over that pauper Lin Le?” Ji Guihua snapped.

“Director Ji, we’ve worked together for years; surely you know my character? How could I ruin things with you for some poor kid?” High Virtue pounded his chest in feigned sincerity.

“Then why?”

“Because behind Lin Le is someone we cannot afford to offend!” High Virtue whispered mysteriously.

“You mean the Tianxiong Gang?” Ji Guihua guessed immediately.

“Tianxiong Gang? That kid has connections with them too?” High Virtue hadn’t known this before. “But even so, I wouldn’t be concerned about Tianxiong Gang.”

“Then who is it?” Ji Guihua couldn’t imagine who else Lin Le could rely on.

“The Gu family of Haizhou!” High Virtue dropped his voice.

“What? You mean that pauper has the Gu family backing him? How is that possible…” Ji Guihua was dumbfounded.

She couldn’t fathom it. If Lin Le truly had the support of a family as powerful as the Gu clan, why hadn’t they stood up for him when the Lin Group went bankrupt? With a reputation like theirs, a single word from them would have rallied Haizhou’s business community, even the banks, to support Lin Group—the company wouldn’t have ended up bullied by small-time bosses like Zhao Mingyi.

“There’s nothing impossible about it! The phone call made it clear: this time, the Gu family is standing up for Lin Le!” High Virtue dismissed Ji Guihua’s doubts.

“So removing you from your post is out of necessity!” High Virtue played the good guy.

“Scoundrel! Not only did you let my Zhao Hu get beaten, you cost me my job. I won’t let you off easily!” Ji Guihua spat with venom.

Over the years, as her husband Zhao Mingyi’s business grew, their influence in Haizhou increased, and so did Ji Guihua’s confidence.

High Virtue, seeing Ji Guihua’s fury, felt secretly triumphant. He knew Ji Guihua had never been a pushover in her youth—she’d run with the street crowd until she bought her way into this job. Zhao Hu’s domineering ways were inherited straight from her.

Now that Lin Le had beaten her son and cornered her, Ji Guihua was sure to retaliate! High Virtue dared not touch Lin Le himself, but unleashing Ji Guihua, the mad dog, would be trouble enough for him.

This was what he called killing with a borrowed knife.

High Virtue congratulated himself on his cunning plan.

“Director Ji, I truly had no choice this time, but rest assured: so long as Lin Le and the Gu family are not in the way, your position as director is yours!” High Virtue added fuel to the fire, stirring up Ji Guihua.

“Are you serious?” Ji Guihua saw hope.

“Of course!” High Virtue promised.

“Fine, I’ll make sure Lin Le is driven out of Haizhou No. 1 High!” Ji Guihua snarled.

High Virtue felt even more pleased.

Lin Le, of course, knew nothing of their plotting.

After school, Lin Le left the classroom under the gaze of all his classmates, utterly unconcerned.

Just as he reached the ground floor, his phone rang—it was Gu Ya.

“Well, did you settle it?” Gu Ya asked coolly.

“With Miss Gu’s intervention, it was extraordinary as expected,” Lin Le laughed. “I really must thank you.”

“Well, I never thought Young Master Lin would thank me,” Gu Ya replied, her voice tinged with pride—not because she had dealt with High Virtue, but because she could make Lin Le thank her. For Gu Huaishan, who wanted to win Lin Le’s favor, this was no small achievement.

“All right, I’m waiting for you at the school gate. Drive over.”

Hanging up, Lin Le started his car and headed for the gate.

But before he had driven more than a few meters, a swarm of figures rushed forward, blocking his car.

“Lin brat, get out!”

“Get out! Pay up!”

These men wore suits and ties, looking more like corporate employees than gangsters.

From their words, Lin Le realized they were here to collect debts.

When Lin Group went bankrupt, aside from assets pledged against loans, they still owed quite a bit. Though the debts were in Lin Group’s name and should have been settled by the company, after its collapse, they all landed on Lin Tenghui’s shoulders. Perhaps out of a sense of honor, Chairman Lin Tenghui willingly bore the burden.

Frankly, Lin Tenghui’s choice was disadvantageous, but since his father accepted it, Lin Le had no complaints.

To repay debts is only right, and Lin Le had planned to deal with these matters soon.

What puzzled him was why all the Lin family’s creditors had suddenly appeared at the school, as if coordinated, to confront him.