"Holy shit, did you get plastic surgery?"

Wang Zhefei parked his little electric scooter at the gate, walked through the yard, and entered the living room to see Lin Chu sitting on the sofa, smoking. The instantaneous big-shot vibe he gave off made the words just tumble out of Wang Zhefei’s mouth.

It was just absurd.

It had only been a few days. How could Lin Chu have changed so much all of a sudden?

It felt like he’d gone from a blunderbuss to a cannon.

It was mainly the clothes, combined with his overall aura, that inexplicably made him look so much more handsome.

Hmm?

Lin Chu glanced at him with a smug smile, then stood up to give him a better look. "Did you sit on your damn eyes? What would I need plastic surgery for?"

Still, Lin Chu could understand why he’d say that.

After all, he had startled himself a little when he’d looked in the mirror that afternoon. Clothes make the man, as they say.

As he spoke, Lin Chu deliberately fiddled with the string of Imperial Green Jadeite beads with both hands, making a show of highlighting them.

Wang Zhefei was a very mischievous guy, and extremely curious too.

This move was called entrapment.

And sure enough...

"Whoa, you’re even wearing a necklace now. You’re getting more and more effeminate. Listen to me, this thing doesn’t suit your vibe. How about you let me hold on to it for you?"

Wang Zhefei said casually, smiling and sizing it up a few more times.

They had made this kind of joke many times before.

At this moment, he had no idea that this thing was worth over sixty million.

"Not a chance."

"Unless you call me ’Dad’."

The corners of Lin Chu’s mouth twitched as he went along with the joke, grinning. ’He’s taking the bait,’ he thought, inwardly blooming with delight.

When it came to his friend, he knew exactly which buttons to push. He could get a bite out of him in minutes.

"Foster Father! C’mon, c’mon, let me try it on."

Wang Zhefei called out with no hesitation whatsoever.

Lin Chu took it right off and tossed it to him casually. "It’s yours. I’ll just go grab another one later."

"Alrighty!"

He caught it with a grin, put it on with relish, and stood in front of the full-length mirror, striking a pose.

Just then, Lin Chu saw the panel in front of him—[10x Rebate Acquired: 620 Million].

In that instant, Lin Chu’s heart couldn’t help but seize. This was the largest and easiest rebate he had ever received.

So sweet.

Really, really sweet.

’Sure enough, high-end Chinese luxury items have an unexpected stealthiness to them,’ Lin Chu thought. Of course, he knew this only worked because Wang Zhefei didn’t know the price. If he knew, he’d be so burdened by it he wouldn’t even be able to joke around.

After so many years as best friends, he knew exactly how Wang Zhefei’s mind worked.

"This is really nice. How much was it?"

"Expensive?"

"Is it real jadeite?"

Wang Zhefei asked with a grin from in front of the mirror.

Having successfully completed his mission, Lin Chu sat down at the tea table and began to brew some tea. Hearing the questions, he just chuckled and said casually, "Of course it’s real jadeite. Shit, don’t you recognize Imperial Green? And it wasn’t that expensive. Just around sixty million."

"How much?!"

His voice suddenly shot up, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

His hands even started to tremble.

He whipped his head around and stared at Lin Chu with wide eyes, looking like he was about to go crazy.

"Fuck your grandpa!"

"You... you’ve gotta be shitting me. I’m begging you, stop bullshitting. I’ve never fucking bought jadeite before, but I don’t believe you..."

He was so flustered he was starting to stutter. Despite what he was saying, he frantically took off the necklace, hurried over to the tea table, placed the Imperial Green necklace back on it, and made a gesture of "returning the item to its rightful owner." "My apologies for the disturbance."

"You son of a bitch, are you some kind of Jade Assassin?"

"Seriously, you spent over sixty million on this? Are you out of your mind?!"

Wang Zhefei then started cursing him out.

He didn’t get it.

He really didn’t get it.

He just felt that the bastard had really lost his sense of reality, spending real money like it was ghost money.

Lin Chu just looked at him and smiled faintly. "Buy the jadeite, get the proprietress for free."

Wang Zhefei: "..."

His face immediately contorted as if he were constipated. He scratched his head. "I want to strangle you. A dog can’t change its ways, huh? Just go ahead and burn through it all, you fucker. That money won’t last a day with the way you spend it!"

"He’s back! The Lin Gou who’d do anything for a piece of ass, the one who always gets his pockets emptied, he’s back! And now he’s playing in the big leagues. Awesome, just awesome. You do you."

He was laying on the sarcasm thick and heavy.

It was a classic case of tough love.

But Lin Chu just smiled serenely, brewing his tea, his heart as calm as a placid lake. He even felt a little like laughing.

’He’s my brother, of course he genuinely has my best interests at heart.’

’His words may be harsh, but good advice is often hard to hear. If I’m Emperor Taizong of Tang, then my man Brother Fei is Wei Zheng.’ "Alright, alright, enough with the nagging. This jadeite is an asset, not an expense. You leave it here, and it’ll continue to appreciate in value. It’s a gift, but of course, I’ll borrow it to wear from time to time."

Lin Chu put extra emphasis on the words "from time to time."

He couldn’t help but laugh to himself.

Tsk.

’A perfect exploit of the system’s bug. The ten-fold rebate is already in my account, ownership belongs to him, but the right of use belongs to me.’

’That’s the great thing about movable property.’

’I should start stocking up on a few more items like this later on.’

Wang Zhefei didn’t pay any mind to that comment. He stopped cursing, let out a long sigh, sat down, and lit a cigarette.

"I got promoted."

"Technical Director."

He quietly changed the subject.

"Whoa, nice, man, nice."

Lin Chu praised him immediately, pouring him a cup of tea.

He figured it was a reward for dealing with that bug a while back. After all, Wang Zhefei had worked himself to the bone, single-handedly turning the tide. It was a major contribution.

"Goes without saying... Four hundred eighty thousand a year, plus stock options. Shit, even the cute little receptionist at the office has started hitting on me."

Lin Chu gave him a teasing look. "Go for it! You can talk about it after you’ve fucked her!"

Him: "..."

"Get lost! You think I’m you? I’m not thinking about that stuff now. I’ll wait until my sister’s job situation is stable."

His eyes revealed his resolve.

Lin Chu caught it and nodded, feeling a little moved. Wang Zhefei was doing an impeccable job of shouldering the roles of both son and older brother—steady as a mountain. The price, of course, was overworking himself, going bald, and constantly grinding.

That’s what it means to be a man.

Lin Chu wanted to give him a thumbs-up. ’A real man.’

But the gesture felt a bit sentimental, so he skipped it.

...

Just then, the sound of a car engine suddenly echoed from outside.

A moment later, Yang Huixian walked into the living room. She saw Lin Chu, noticed he had a guest, and also saw the Imperial Green on the table. She had already prepared herself mentally on the way over, so she managed to control her emotions and said softly, "You have a guest?"

Wang Zhefei had already turned his head for a look. He instantly guessed that this must be the proprietress of the jewelry store.

She was decked out in jewels.

Lin Chu glanced at her, his tone somewhat indifferent as he replied, "You’re the guest here. Come, sit. Have some tea."

’Since she came here on her own initiative, what else is there to say?’

Yang Huixian pursed her lips and walked over as if nothing was wrong. Her eyes swept over Lin Chu’s face and found it calm. She smoothed out the hem of her skirt and sat down across the tea table.

Wang Zhefei shifted a little farther away to give her more space. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

After a moment’s hesitation, he stood up directly. "Well, I’ll be taking off then. You two talk... Bye."

He turned and left.

After taking a few steps, he glanced back at Lin Chu and gave him two middle fingers.

’Go on and play yourself to death, you horndog!’

...

...