Now that he’d been chosen, Lin Chu was out of the "talent pool," leaving the rest to Liu Junfeng.

The whole affair was rather interesting. A few of the girls were clearly uncomfortable and a little awkward. Those were the innocent ones. The ones who weren’t awkward at all were obviously long used to this.

But in a setting with so many people, no one would voice any objections, no matter how awkward they felt.

Liu Junfeng’s ability to control the situation was actually quite good.

He was the "soft control" type, though.

’And I’m ’hard control.’’

Finding two empty seats, Lin Chu sat down with the girl, who had the figure of a model. He got a closer look at her: she looked very young, with flawless, porcelain skin. Her features, however, were striking and elegant, and she even had the air of a celebrity.

"Hello, Brother Chu. Let me introduce myself. I’m Liang Jieyu. These two characters here."

She showed him her phone’s lock screen, which displayed her photo and name.

Lin Chu glanced at it and couldn’t help but laugh. "Is that ’Jieyu’ as in the title for an imperial concubine?"

She... pouted with a charming smile and let out a deliberate sigh. "My parents chose it. What can I do?"

Jieyu was a title for imperial consorts in ancient palaces. Growing up, her name had been mocked a few times by more cultured people, but she never expected Lin Chu to know that piece of trivia.

"Nice. You’re pretty bold."

Lin Chu teased nonchalantly.

"Well, I was just worried you’d be put in an awkward spot. It would be terrible if the other girls started fighting over you later. I’m a peacekeeper, just nipping the problem in the bud."

She said, a bit cheekily, her smile revealing a hint of cunning.

After just a few exchanges, Lin Chu found her personality and way of speaking quite agreeable. She was cultured, poised, and beautiful.

’Not bad at all.’

"Were you part of their circle before?"

Lin Chu continued to gather information, all under the guise of casual chat.

"Not really a ’circle,’ no. I’m a fan of Teacher Meng. I saw a diving post she made a while back, so I added her on WeChat and joined her group chat. I just happened to see the announcement for this trip and signed up. Then there was a whole selection process. It was quite interesting."

Lin Chu: Tsk.

’You certainly are interesting.’

’Some nerve.’

"So this is what they call a fan backstabbing their idol?"

Lin Chu’s teasing was completely tactless. ’She came on to me, so why the hell should I waste brain cells on being tactful?’

She shifted a little awkwardly and pouted. "No, not at all! She already deleted me from her contacts. I’m just still in the group chat, that’s all. There’s no way she’d remember me."

A smile crept onto Lin Chu’s lips. ’Interesting, very interesting. I didn’t expect such a backstory. Sigh... women. Some support each other, others compete. It’s all perfectly normal.’

’Of course, I much prefer the latter.’

’If they all fucking helped each other out, wouldn’t that make me the dumbass?’

...

At that moment.

Up ahead in business class, Gu Jiayan was pretending to read her book but felt inexplicably flustered and couldn’t focus. She’d heard everything happening behind her. ’All that excitement is for them, and I have nothing.’

’As the ’housekeeper’ personally appointed by President Lin, it’s obviously not appropriate for me to join in the entertainment.’

’And President Lin...’

She felt a pang of jealousy but did her best to suppress it.

’Just do your job. Just do your job.’

’A mind as clear as ice, unshaken though the heavens fall.’

...

In the back.

In a corner.

Lin Xiwan was also whispering with Xiaoxiao. In fact, to avoid being overheard, they weren’t speaking at all, just texting back and forth.

Xiaoxiao: "Who’s that little slut?"

Lin Xiwan: "I don’t know. Whatever, let her be. It’s fine, really."

Xiaoxiao: "A bitch is a perfect match for a dog. I feel so bad for you, Xiwan."

Lin Xiwan: "Hugs. But don’t worry about it. I have faith in my man. He just likes to play around a bit, but he has his limits. And it’s not like I’m jealous or anything..."

She didn’t want to appear too pathetic. She didn’t need comfort; she needed the envy of her best friends.

Xiaoxiao: "Alright, alright. But President Lin is so domineering. It must be tough on you, sweetie."

Lin Xiwan: "Huh? What’s so tough about it? He chartered a plane and put together this huge party just to celebrate my thousandth dive. Don’t you think that’s romantic?"

Xiaoxiao: ...

’She was envious. Genuinely envious.’

’But she was even starting to regret it. ’Why did I even stand up to defend you just now?’’

’Oh, so you two have a mutual understanding now, do you?’

’So I’m the clown here?’

...

The flight from Xiangjiang to the Philippines was only two and a half hours. The route had been planned long in advance: first to the capital, Manila, to clear customs, and then straight to Bohe Island.

No one actually ended up going through customs in a bikini. After all, once everyone had picked their dive buddies, they all broke off into private conversations, as if they’d just finished a novel form of matchmaking.

Even Liu Junfeng couldn’t be bothered to keep organizing things; the initial event had just been an icebreaker.

The veterans of these kinds of scenes all had a tacit understanding—group activities were fun, but they were mostly just to liven things up. They weren’t good for "securing a kill." For that, you needed to chat one-on-one.

Meanwhile, Lin Chu was still chatting with Liang Jieyu about their past experiences and other interesting tidbits.

"You studied dance?"

Her mention of her major was a pleasant surprise for Lin Chu. Yaoyao had also been a dancer, and he knew better than anyone just how much fun a girl who could dance could be.

"Mhm? Why do you ask?"

She said with a faintly smug smile, her eyes full of flirtation.

"So what do you do for work now?"

Lin Chu asked again.

"I’m a senior in college, about to graduate. I was actually getting ready to interview for a company—I’d just passed the resume screening—but then the company went bankrupt before I could even interview. It’s actually really hard to find a job with my major, which is classical dance. For now, I just livestream online sometimes, being a bit of a ’cyber beggar.’ If things really don’t work out, I can always go home and be a freeloader, living off my parents."

She said this with a self-deprecating laugh, but she remained confident and optimistic, not seeming discouraged in the slightest.

’For a streamer to call herself a ’cyber beggar,’’ Lin Chu thought, ’she clearly looks down on the profession. Her standards must be quite high.’

Lin Chu raised an eyebrow and teased with a smile, "The company you were about to interview with—it wasn’t a real estate company, was it?"

She pouted and gave a slight nod.

’Ah,’ Lin Chu thought. ’I get it now.’

This gave Lin Chu a strange, thrilling sensation. ’A classical dancer whose skills would completely blow Yaoyao’s out of the water. She’d passed the resume screening for the dance troupe, but never got to interview... Does that mean I’ve essentially poached her?’

’There’s still mobility in society, after all.’

’The new wave is always pushing the old, and the old wave always ends up dying on the beach.’

"Good thing you didn’t go,"

Lin Chu said with a smile.

She smiled and nodded back, a meaningful glint in her eyes. "You’re right. Otherwise, I never would have met President Lin. The man upstairs must be looking out for me."

Lin Chu clicked his tongue. ’She gets it.’

...

When the plane landed at the Bohe Island airport, it was clear this was a small, rather undeveloped town.

The scorching sun beat down from above, and the sea breeze was thick and humid.

As the group deplaned, Gao Haitao and his men shifted into "combat readiness." Acting nonchalant, they formed a protective circle around Lin Chu, eyeing everyone nearby with suspicion.

Lin Chu shot them a glance and smiled.

’It really wasn’t necessary, though.’

’Still, better safe than sorry.’

Gu Jiayan came jogging over. She shot a glance at Liang Jieyu, who was clinging to Lin Chu’s arm, and said calmly, "President Lin, the hotel’s ground team is waiting for us outside."

"I booked a five-star hotel with 180-degree ocean-view villas. It’s only 300 meters from the beach. We’ve bought out the whole place, and they’ve already sent vehicles for us."

Lin Chu smiled and nodded. "Let’s go."

She had thought through every step of the process, running it through her head countless times to ensure everything was arranged in perfect order.

...

...