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

The next afternoon, Lin Ying had just finished lunch when the landline rang.

Lin Lanying was washing dishes in the kitchen when she called out, "Sister, answer the phone!"

Lin Ying walked over and picked up the microphone: "Feed."

"Sister Ying! It's me!"

Su Jun's voice is as loud as his father's! Lin Ying moved the microphone further away: "Su Jun, are you setting off firecrackers right next to my ear?"

"Hahaha! Lin Ying, you're finally back! I heard from my dad yesterday that you're on winter break; I've invited Su Zhi, Su Cheng, and Su Wei, let's get together the day after tomorrow! You should also invite your younger brother Lin Qian, the young people can have their own table, no need for your dad and mom!"

Lin Ying was genuinely a little surprised.

Since she went abroad to study, she had hardly contacted the Su family except for phone calls with her family; Su Jun actually took the initiative to organize a gathering and remembered to invite her.

"Sure," Lin Ying replied. "Have you decided on the venue yet?"

"It's booked, it's booked. It's a private restaurant in Causeway Bay, booked by Suzhou. The private room is big enough."

Lin Ying thought for a moment: "Where's Su Zhe? Isn't Brother Zhe coming?"

Su Jun scoffed on the other end of the phone: "Su Zhi said his brother's busy dating and doesn't have time to hang out with us!"

"fall in love?"

"Yeah, I'm totally obsessed lately. I'm on dates every day but I can't even see anyone. I'm working harder than I did for my Form 5 exams." Su Jun clicked his tongue twice. "Alright, Ying-jie, be on time at 7 PM the day after tomorrow!"

"I'll be absolutely on time."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Ying turned to Lin Qian and asked, "Are you free the night after tomorrow?"

Lin Qian looked up from the pile of papers: "What?"

"The Su family is having a gathering and they've invited you."

Lin Qian immediately perked up: "Go! Definitely going! Su Jun said last time that he bought a new limited edition comic book set, which I haven't seen yet."

------

At 6:30 pm the day after tomorrow, Lin Ying and Lin Qian left on time.

The private restaurant in Causeway Bay was tucked away on the sixth floor of an old commercial building. As soon as the elevator doors opened, the private room was at the end of the corridor. Lin Ying pushed open the door, and there was already a group of people sitting inside.

Su Jun was the first to stand up: "Sister Ying! Over here, over here!"

Lin Ying glanced around. Su Zhi was leaning back in his chair, fiddling with a lighter. Su Cheng was sitting next to the head of the table, flipping through the menu. Su Wei was huddled in a corner, an English test paper spread out in front of him, and he was making corrections on it with a pencil.

And... Lin Ying looked at the man sitting at the other end of the long table, and paused for two seconds: "Brother Zhe?"

Su Zhe stood up, smiling and waving at her: "Ah Ying! Long time no see!"

Lin Ying's lips twitched. The Su Zhe who used to wear black-rimmed glasses, had a long, thin face, and looked like a top student, now had a rounder face, a blurred jawline, and his white shirt buttons were taut around his stomach.

"Brother Zhe." Lin Ying walked over and carefully looked him up and down. "You used to be so thin and handsome. How come you've gained two sizes in just a few years?"

Su Jun laughed so hard he slapped the table: "Hahahaha! I knew Sister Ying would say that!"

Su Zhi stopped fiddling with the lighter and chuckled, "Brother, look, even A-Ying doesn't recognize you anymore."

Su Zhe's smile remained unchanged, and he helplessly spread his hands: "When you're doing business, how can you not gain weight with all the socializing?"

"You used to be a top student at St. Paul's, how can you manage your figure so poorly? Do you think you're worthy of your former self who was so full of vigor?" Lin Ying said bluntly.

A young woman with fashionable curly hair and a pink suit sat next to Su Zhe. Su Zhe quickly pulled her over: "Come, come, let me introduce you. This is my girlfriend, Zhang Minyi."

Zhang Minyi smiled and nodded to Lin Ying: "Hello, Su Zhe often mentions you."

Su Zhe explained, "I wasn't planning on coming, but I was worried that you, Aying, would feel uncomfortable since your table was full of men, and you were the only girl there, so I brought Minyi along."

Lin Ying sat back down and waved her hand: "I didn't feel anything when I was a kid hanging out with you guys, but it's definitely a bit... But I studied science in Beijing. There were sixteen people in my class, only two girls, and ninety percent of them were boys. I'm used to it."

Su Jun leaned closer and winked, "Sister Ying, is anyone in your class pursuing you?"

Lin Ying glanced at him: "You should worry about your graduation thesis first."

Su Jun reflexively shrank his neck and sat back obediently; Lin Ying felt quite gratified that this reflex was still there.

Lin Qian found a seat and greeted Su Wei; Su Wei flipped his test paper face down, as if afraid others would see it: "Don't look! It's embarrassing!"

"The Form Six exam paper?" Lin Qian asked casually.

Su Wei nodded painfully: "The high school entrance exam is next month, and I still don't understand math."

As the dishes were served one after another, Su Cheng invited everyone to start eating.

After not seeing each other for several years, everyone has changed quite a bit; Su Zhi still has that carefree attitude, but he is now dressed much more elegantly, and he is wearing an expensive watch on his wrist.

Su Jun is stronger than before, his voice hasn't changed at all, and he still talks as fast as ever; Su Cheng, on the other hand, is much more composed, speaking slowly and deliberately, completely different from the headstrong young man who used to argue with Lao Dou.

Lin Ying picked up a piece of char siu and casually asked Su Zhe, "What's Brother Zhe doing right now?"

Su Zhe swallowed what was in his mouth and wiped his mouth with a tissue: "I started a company."

"What company?"

"A film and television company," Su Cheng chimed in from the side. "I started it with Brother Zhe."

Lin Ying stopped picking up food with her chopsticks: "Wait, you two? Starting a company together?"

They both nodded at the same time.

Lin Ying never expected this!

Su Zhe is the eldest son of the first wife, a top student who excelled academically from a young age; Su Cheng is the eldest son of the second wife, the one who used to coast along in a minor official position, and whose father had to donate 500,000 yuan to get him into junior high school; these two would hardly have exchanged a few words even when they sat at the same dinner table as children, but now they've actually started a company together.

"Aren't you going to work with your own father?" Lin Ying asked.

Su Zhe and Su Cheng exchanged a glance and shook their heads simultaneously.

Su Zhe spoke first: "My dad works in finance, but I'm not interested in that; besides, he's too controlling, and if I work with him, we'll fall out sooner or later."

Su Cheng chimed in, "My dad is even worse. All he does all day is curse people! I'm working on set and he's pointing fingers at me from behind! It's so annoying."

Su Jun nodded in agreement, "Exactly! My dad's temper is so bad, he's driven eight workers away with his scolding!"

"So we started our own business; Zhecheng Pictures, which was registered last year, has already taken on two projects."

"Time is such a fascinating thing," she remarked with a laugh. "Do you two old folks even know that?"

Su Cheng chuckled: "I know. My dad almost jumped up at first, saying I betrayed him! But after seeing that our first project made money, he kept quiet."

Su Zhe added, "My dad was alright. He just said one thing: 'Don't come back crying if you lose money.'"

"The film and television industry is a murky business," Lin Ying said. "What types of projects are you working on now?"

Su Zhe perked up: "Mainly TV drama production and artist management; Ah Ying, you don't know how hot the Hong Kong TV market is right now, TV stations are desperately short of content every year; I'm in charge of controlling the content and script direction, and Su Cheng is in charge of production and on-site management."

"Is Su Cheng on the scene?" Lin Ying looked at Su Cheng.

Su Cheng shrugged: "I grew up on film sets with my dad since I was a kid. I can coordinate everything—the production assistants, the lighting, the sound—with my eyes closed. It's just that when my dad was around, I wasn't really interested in doing it. But now that he's not around, it's actually easier for me."

Lin Ying nodded and made a mental note of it.

Su Jun suddenly asked, "Sister Ying! What exactly are you doing in Beijing? Every time you come back, you say you're studying. You're 21 and you're still studying! You haven't even written any scripts."

Everyone at the table looked at Lin Ying.

Lin Ying sighed: "They really are studying."

"What do you mean?" Su Zhi asked.

"Communications and Automation".

Su Jun didn't understand: "What is that?"

"It means that in the future, you might not need to install a telephone line to make a call."

Su Jun's eyes widened: "No string? Then what do you use? Blow with your mouth?"

Lin Qian, who was standing next to him, couldn't hold back any longer: "Big brother, what were you doing during physics class?"

"I was sleeping in physics class! Besides, I'm a humanities student!" Su Jun said confidently.

Lin Ying looked at the group and laughed. After not seeing them for several years, some things had changed, while others remained the same. Su Jun was still the same Su Jun, quick to speak but slow to think. Su Cheng had grown up and knew what he wanted. Although Su Zhe had gained weight, his eyes now held something he hadn't had back then.

The meal didn't end until after nine o'clock.

As they left the restaurant, Su Zhe pulled Lin Ying aside: "Ying, if you have some free time after the New Year, why don't you come to our company for a visit? I'd like to talk to you about some content-related matters and get your opinion."

"Okay," Lin Ying agreed.

Su Cheng, standing to the side, said, "When the time comes, leave us your contact information from Beijing. It'll be convenient to contact you if we need anything in the future."

"no problem."

Zhang Minyi linked arms with Su Zhe and said goodbye to Lin Ying with a smile: "It was a pleasure to meet you today. Let's meet again next time."

Lin Ying nodded.

On the way home, Lin Qian walked beside him and muttered, "Su Zhe used to be so handsome, how did he get so fat?"

"I have too many social engagements and can't control my eating."

"So, will you gain weight if you start doing business in the future, sister?"

Lin Ying looked down at herself: "No, I don't gain weight."

Lin Qian sighed, "Sis, you haven't had a decent meal since you went to Cambridge! We need to be careful, we can't grow up like this!"