Advance

Lin Yuan and Zhang Yan's first collaboration came unexpectedly.

That was two days ago.

Lin Yuan, like an underground party contact, pulled open the car door and slipped into the back seat of the SUV Zhang Yan had parked discreetly at the street corner.

"It's all inside."

There was a briefcase on the back seat of the car; judging by its size, it could perfectly fit ten stacks of large red bricks.

"Thanks!"

The air in the car was silent for a moment.

"And then?" Zhang Yan in the front seat looked at Lin Yuan through the rearview mirror, and he was looking back at her. Her sunglasses obscured her eyes, but Lin Yuan's eyes were exceptionally clear.

"There's no 'then'."

"Senior, you do this kind of thing without any guilt, with a clear conscience. But I can't help but help you."

Lin Yuan said calmly, "It's still not too late to regret it now."

"Hmph, the word 'regret' has never been in Zhang Yan's dictionary."

"Then I'll be going now."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No need. You should get involved as little as possible."

"Okay, be careful yourself."

Lin Yuan was about to get out of the car.

"Wait."

"What's wrong?"

"Guess why I chose to help you." From Zhang Yan's expression beyond her sunglasses, she seemed very conflicted.

"Because I entrusted my personal future to you, I guess." Lin Yuan's answer was quite calm.

"Then how can you take your future so lightly? I subtly asked my elders at home, and for someone like you, who makes money by getting information related to the organization, in times of war, you could very likely be shot."

"But it's peacetime now. And that dossier was just an inspiration to me; it doesn't count as taking information from the organization at all, does it?"

"But it's hard to explain under suspicion. Isn't your future important to you? You're so excellent, why do you have to do something like this?"

Lin Yuan rubbed his head. If he really were a promising covert operative within the system, he definitely wouldn't do such a thing. Unfortunately, he wasn't now. 'Damn it, who wouldn't want to eat imperial food, but the key is I can't get it.'

Moreover, his promotion still had to be decided by those bigwigs, and there were too many uncertain factors. So, it was better to get the tangible benefits at hand first.

"Because, sometimes, things aren't as simple as you think. Zhang Yan, I promise, if there's a chance in the future, I will definitely unravel this mystery for you."

"Hmm~~," Zhang Yan suddenly took off her sunglasses and turned to look at Lin Yuan, "Is this... is this part of your work plan?"

"What?"

"Is it a task given to you by the organization that you can't tell me about directly?"

"It's not a task. It's my personal love for money." Lin Yuan's answer was very direct.

"You're always like this. Every time I ask you crucial questions, you always prevaricate. Just like you always emphasized before that you were just an ordinary student."

Lin Yuan quipped, "What if everything I said was true?"

"I understand the professional nature of your work. I've heard my elders at home recall stories about our ancestors; our ancestors also did this kind of work. In that tumultuous era, they themselves sometimes couldn't distinguish what was real and what was fake in their lives.

To fulfill a mission well, it's as if you first have to deceive yourself."

Lin Yuan looked at this young official's self-deception and felt a bit speechless.

"Great cunning resembles loyalty, great falsehood resembles truth. I'm just being pushed along, going with the flow."

"You always say things that people can't understand."

Lin Yuan smiled, "Everyone has their destiny; no more talk. I'm leaving now."

"Okay, be careful yourself."

Lin Yuan then got out of the car.

What Lin Yuan meant by "great cunning resembles loyalty, great falsehood resembles truth" referred to himself, and also to Zhang Yan's master, because all her misunderstandings about him came from her master.

Lin Yuan wasn't sure why Director Wang sent Zhang Yan to assist him with his work.

His warning to Zhang Yan could only go so far. He thought he was letting her down, deceiving her feelings.

'Alas, I'll repay her if there's a chance in the future.'

Giving him cash was Lin Yuan's suggestion. The purpose, of course, was to cut ties with Zhang Yan in the accounting records.

Although he deceived her feelings, he still had this much morality.

When Lin Yuan walked into the bank and opened the briefcase, his hands trembled unconsciously.

When a million yuan was so clearly displayed before his eyes, those stacks of thick red bricks stimulated him as if every pore was pulsating. This was much more powerful than the cold numbers on a phone.

—

The process of getting an advance on salary from Good Group was completely uneventful.

Liu Zhang simply reported it to his superiors and received approval.

Lin Yuan was certain that Good Group was at a critical juncture, and the subsequent stock price increase still required his effort. An advance of 800,000 yuan was just a drop in the bucket.

It wasn't that Lin Yuan didn't want more, but if he wanted more, where would he find an excuse? Even for these 800,000 yuan, Lin Yuan was straightforward about it—it was to help his girlfriend's best friend raise money.

With this excuse, he wasn't afraid that Good Group would investigate.

—

And the smoothest part was taking out online loans.

After all, borrowing money was much simpler than earning it.

On various platforms, he borrowed tens of thousands at a time using his ID card.

'These honey-coated baits, how many lives they have ruined.'

—

Lin Yuan didn't hide any money from Xia Ye except the one million he borrowed from Zhang Yan.

He was, in fact, staking everything.

The good thing about a girl like Xia Ye was her blind obedience to Lin Yuan, even though she didn't know Lin Yuan was aware of the inside story.

Otherwise, with normal thinking, Lin Yuan's idea of getting rich through a single stock market surge would be utterly fantastical.

Because in Xia Ye's eyes, Lin Yuan could completely ignore Song Xiaoxiao, and he could completely avoid marrying a girl like her. Lin Yuan could have a much brighter future.

But Lin Yuan chose to stand with her, so she would accompany him even at the cost of her life.

Lin Yuan cherished Xia Ye's sincerity, but he still needed to hide his desire for wealth this time, lest complications arise.

More accurately, this time it was no longer just about greed.

It also contained Lin Yuan's silent protest against the bigwigs; he was vaguely beginning to resent being a puppet on a string.

Professor Zhang's teachings and guidance during this period were instantly undermined by Dean Li and the others. Lin Yuan's starting point was very simple—if Dean Li and the others could do it, why couldn't he?

However, he hadn't completely deviated from his mentor's teachings.

He was still that conflicted young man in his early twenties, just instinctively unwilling to miss out on this wealth.

More importantly.

Lin Yuan used this incident to successfully get the dirt on Zhang Yan.

Good Group was tarnishing its own reputation, and Lin Yuan was also tarnishing his own.

The glory of righteousness is only suitable for being revered, while hidden secrets that cannot be seen are the best medicine for bringing people closer.

Lin Yuan even had a hunch—Zhang Yan might be his biggest gain this time.

But he was also a bit conflicted.

Zhang Yan's usefulness was directly proportional to her background; the stronger her background, the greater her future assistance to him. However, if Zhang Yan's background was truly strong enough, wouldn't his action be like disturbing a sleeping tiger? The backlash would be greater on the day the truth came out.

But Lin Yuan still couldn't resist seeking this kind of thrill. Because it contained a simple curiosity of mortals about the heavens.

Zhang Yan unconsciously sought excitement, and Lin Yuan also sought excitement.

Carbon-based life forms are always instinctively curious about the unknown.

PS: The official separator on Qidian doesn't count towards the word count, so don't misunderstand, I'm not padding the word count with separators.