718: Chapter 713 A Strong Foundation

He didn't elaborate on the thrilling details, only adding one more sentence.

"For the next three days, we are here for a vacation."

Liu Hui, being sharp and intelligent, did not press for details, only holding his arm even tighter.

She knew the immense pressure this man carried on his shoulders, and she also knew that what he was willing to give his family would always be the gentlest sunshine.

The gulfstream g650 was already waiting at the private tarmac down the mountain, but Shen Yan waved his hand, telling the driver arranged by Chen Guangke to return to the hotel first.

"We'll walk on our own."

Lingnan City, since ancient times, has been the home of silk and a land of brocade.

The streets of the old city preserved their antique charm; on both sides of the bluestone slab roads were rows upon rows of silk shops and embroidery workshops.

Shen Yan held Youyou’s hand, and Liu Hui leaned against his side. The family of three strolled through the bustling streets, looking just like the most ordinary and happiest family in the city.

"Daddy, look at that sugar figurine!"

Youyou pointed at an old craftsman making sugar figurines not far away, her eyes sparkling.

"Buy it."

Shen Yan smiled, took out his phone from his pocket, scanned the code to pay, and shortly after, a lifelike phoenix sugar figurine was in Youyou's hands.

The little girl held the sugar figurine, beaming with joy.

They walked past an elegantly decorated Qipao shop, and Shen Yan paused.

In the display window, a moon-white silk Qipao was quietly showcased. A few budding orchids were embroidered on it with silver thread, simple and elegant to the extreme, yet noble to the extreme.

"Want to try it on?"

Shen Yan looked at Liu Hui.

Liu Hui hesitated slightly.

"It must be too expensive..."

She saw the long string of zeros on the price tag.

"It suits you perfectly."

Shen Yan said without room for argument, leading her inside.

The sales associate in the shop had initially paid them little attention, seeing their casual attire. However, when she noticed the seemingly ordinary casual jacket Shen Yan was wearing, and the Patek Philippe watch inadvertently revealed at the cuff, her expression instantly changed.

That was the "Starry Sky" series; ordinary wealthy people didn't even qualify to stand in line.

The sales associate immediately switched to her most enthusiastic smile and personally took down the Qipao.

"Madam, your temperament is a perfect match for this 'Quiet Orchid's Faint Fragrance.' This is our shop's treasure, hand-sewn by a Suzhou Embroidery Master, taking a full year to complete."

The moment Liu Hui walked out of the fitting room wearing the Qipao, Shen Yan’s breath hitched for an instant.

The moon-white silk enveloped her graceful figure, setting off her snow-white skin and her gentle, water-like temperament. Those few silver-threaded orchids seemed to come alive on her, emitting a faint, subtle fragrance.

"Mommy is so beautiful!"

Youyou praised indistinctly, her mouth full of sugar figurine.

"Wrap them up."

Shen Yan's voice carried an unquestionable tone.

"Also, bring out all the styles in your shop that suit this lady."

Half an hour later.

The family of three walked out of the Qipao shop.

Behind them stood the manager and sales associate, respectfully escorting them to the door.

In their hands were over a dozen beautifully packaged, top-tier Qipaos and silk scarves, which would be delivered directly to the hotel where Shen Yan was staying.

Liu Hui’s face held a slight flush, a mix of sweet happiness and slight chiding.

"You, you are being too wasteful."

Shen Yan just smiled and pulled his daughter into his arms.

"Everything I owe you, I will slowly, doubly make up for."

As the sun set, the golden afterglow sprinkled onto the bluestone slabs, stretching the shadows of the family of three very long.

At this moment, there was no billionaire, no business magnate.

There was only a husband, a father, doing his best to mend past regrets and guard the warmth before him.

Meanwhile, deep within Wuyin Mountain, at the Lin family residence.

Inside Tingyuxuan, the lights were brightly lit.

Yet the atmosphere was even heavier than during the day.

Lin Boyuan, Lin Zhiyao, Ms. Su, and Lin Chuxue sat around a purple sandalwood table; no one spoke.

In the very center of the table lay a thin-as-a-cicada’s-wing tablet computer, its screen displaying an encrypted file.

A middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit, the Lin family’s old butler, Lin Fu, stood respectfully to the side, reporting in a low voice.

"Master, Young Miss, the investigation results are out."

Lin Zhiyao took a deep breath and asked in a deep voice.

"Speak."

"Shen Yan, male, thirty-four years old. His overt identity is the founder and CEO of Shenyan Group."

Lin Fu's voice was steady, yet carried a barely perceptible tremor.

"It was established three years ago, initially just a small software studio with a few people. But just two years ago, the company suddenly erupted with astonishing energy."

"They successively released three pieces of software: the enterprise-level collaboration system 'Tianshu,' the personal intelligent assistant 'janus,' and an industrial design underlying architecture software named 'pangu.'"

"'Tianshu' and 'janus' currently occupy seventy percent of the domestic market share and are expanding overseas."

"And 'pangu'..."

Lin Fu paused, seemingly organizing his language.

"The 'pangu' software directly changed the ecosystem of high-end domestic manufacturing. It allowed our Engineers, for the first time at the underlying architecture level, to possess tools comparable to those of Western giants. Currently, over half of the domestic military-industrial groups and aerospace research institutes are using the deeply customized version of 'pangu.'"

Lin Zhiyao's pupils contracted sharply.

Military-industrial groups? Aerospace research institutes?

This was no longer a simple commercial company.

This was a pillar of the nation.

"These are the overt aspects."

Lin Fu turned a page of the report.

"We utilized the family's overseas connections to thoroughly investigate his personal assets, and the result..."

His voice dropped lower.

"The results are unbelievable."

"Shen Yan controls or holds stakes in over fifty high-tech enterprises globally through a series of offshore funds and shell companies registered in the Cayman Islands and the Virgin Islands."

"These enterprises cover almost all cutting-edge fields, including Artificial Intelligence, biopharmaceuticals, new materials, and commercial aerospace."

"Three months ago, there was an anomaly in the international helium futures market. A mysterious buyer used over thirty times leverage to go long on helium futures, netting nearly thirty billion US dollars in profit within three days. Our intelligence suggests the ultimate beneficiary of this trading fund points to Shen Yan."

"A month ago, a brain-computer interface company in North America called 'Star Ring Technology' saw its stock price plummet to rock bottom, on the verge of bankruptcy. A mysterious consortium also quietly absorbed over sixty percent of the circulating shares at the lowest point. Last week, 'Star Ring Technology' announced a major breakthrough in 'passive brainwave signal recognition,' and its stock price soared forty times overnight."

"That consortium also belongs to Shen Yan."

"Furthermore, the base of the Xuande blue-and-white plate that fetched an astronomical price at the Sotheby's auction a while ago—the buyer was also him."

...

With every piece of information Lin Fu disclosed, Lin Zhiyao's face grew paler.