Chapter 141: Chapter 140: I Lied About My Dad Being Rich

After Liang Jieyu left the office, Lin Chu had some tea and smoked a cigarette. He took out a pen and paper amidst the curling sandalwood incense and began to scribble and sketch.

One keyword after another appeared on the page.

Gym, livestreaming company, high-end Chinese luxury, Overseas Island, orphanage.

Looking at the list, Lin Chu shook his head with a smile and tsked.

’Talk about scattershot.’

’There was absolutely no connection between them.’

’But that’s just how the early stages of development work; you take anything you can get your hands on.’

’But as the "ingredients" piled up, it was time to figure out how to cook them into a proper feast.’

’A man’s got to have some ambition, after all.’

Lin Chu was now instinctively beginning to pursue self-actualization—the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

His solo brainstorming session had barely begun...

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Suddenly, a light knock sounded on the office door.

"Come in."

Hou Chengjin pushed the door open and walked in, a smile on his face. "President Lin, hope I’m not interrupting. I just finished my chat with President Zhang and thought I’d come over for some tea and a chat."

"Have a seat."

Lin Chu nodded, set the kettle to boil again, and put away his pen and paper.

"What have you been up to lately?"

After taking a seat, Hou Chengjin made some casual small talk, probing curiously.

He was starting to think Lin Chu’s livestreaming company was quite mysterious. It had gathered a bunch of male streamers and promoted their streams daily, but the operation was so crude, like some ragtag outfit. The costs had to be enormous.

’Even if the boss is loaded, you can’t just burn money like that, can you?’

He figured Lin Chu must have some ulterior motive; after all, nobody is that stupid.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out what Lin Chu’s game was.

He was curious, and intrigued.

The livestreaming industry had pretty much peaked by now. Every competitive angle had been exploited to death. The only remaining room for innovation was in business models and content, and he hoped to get some inspiration from Lin Chu.

Lin Chu poured him a cup of tea and said with a casual smile, "I bought an island overseas."

Huh?

Hou Chengjin’s prominent Adam’s apple bobbed. He was momentarily stunned by the flex. ’Wait, you’re already playing at that level?’

"Planning to emigrate?"

he asked, following up on the topic.

Lin Chu shook his head. "Emigrate? What for? It’s just for fun, something new."

"Well, that’s certainly novel. Look, there’s something I’d like to say, but I don’t know if I should."

He planned to offer a suggestion, hoping to get Lin Chu to refute it and persuade him, which might allow him to deduce Lin Chu’s core strategy.

Lin Chu chuckled. "Then don’t."

Hou Chengjin was taken aback for a moment, then couldn’t help but laugh. "I’d better say it anyway. From my chat with President Zhang and from watching your streamers’ broadcasts and operations, something feels off. Burning money like this... how long can you keep it up? How much are you planning to burn? You’re just lining Douyin’s pockets."

As he spoke, his eyes were glued to Lin Chu’s face, watching for any reaction.

Lin Chu smiled. "See? I told you not to say it. Now that you have, I’m not going to answer you. This strategy is pretty new. Once I’m making a killing, I’ll give you the post-mortem."

’This guy is pretty sharp,’ Lin Chu thought. ’And he knows the livestreaming industry well.’

’But of course, he was destined to get nothing out of me.’

Hou Chengjin sighed. ...

’By then it’ll be too late!’

The market’s rewards for innovators and first-movers are immense, far exceeding those of normal business activities. But once that window of opportunity closes and the copycats rush in, profits revert to the mean.

But since Lin Chu wasn’t talking, he couldn’t very well force the issue.

Still, he was dying of curiosity.

"What’re you doing tonight? Wanna grab dinner together?"

Hou Chengjin changed the subject. ’Better to build up the relationship first,’ he thought. ’Just need to hang around him more.’

"Not tonight, I have plans. Some other time."

Lin Chu rejected him again. ’The chicken my dad sent is on its way,’ he thought. ’Of course I’m eating at home tonight.’

’That chicken is all mine.’

’It’s the perfect chance to be alone for the night and properly think through the ideas I just started on.’

Seeing Lin Chu’s impenetrable stance—polite and gentle, but unwilling to engage—Hou Chengjin sighed inwardly. He chatted with a smile for a little while longer before getting up to take his leave.

’Damn it!’

’That damn female streamer!’

’If it wasn’t for her, our rapport would still be warming up. Now it’s suddenly frozen solid.’

’If only I’d accepted that watch that night.’

’Bad move. Such a bad move.’

Hou Chengjin then recalled a principle of human nature: someone you’ve helped might not help you when you’re in trouble, but someone who has helped you once is very likely to help you a second time.

...

"President Lin, when I was driving Ms. Lin Xiwan home, she asked what you were busy with earlier. I told her I was just the driver and didn’t know."

Gao Haitao brought it up as they sat in the car on the way to Lin Chu’s home.

’A driver is one of the boss’s closest people. You always have to make sure you leave an impression of loyalty and reliability.’

Lin Chu nodded. "Noted."

A moment later, he added with a teasing smile, "Pick out a gold bracelet on your way home. After being away on a business trip for so many days, you’ll be kneeling on a washboard if you go back empty-handed."

Gao Haitao paused for a second, then quickly smiled and nodded. "Alright, thank you, President Lin."

After calling the courier service, Lin Chu went straight to the depot to pick up the lychees and chicken. Once he was home, he sent Gao Haitao on his way.

He put the chicken on to stew.

The lychees went into the fridge to chill.

Lin Chu was just wondering what other dish to make when he suddenly heard the doorbell.

He went out to the courtyard for a look and saw Yang Huixian standing outside the gate. She was in loungewear and flip-flops, revealing her fair, delicate feet. ’I’ve played with those before,’ he thought. ’So soft.’

Still, Lin Chu was a little surprised to see her here.

"Hm?"

"Staking me out?"

"I’m calling the cops, you know."

Lin Chu teased with a smile as he opened the main gate for her.

"Oh, cut it out. I heard your car, that’s how I knew you were back," she said. "Hello, neighbor. Let’s get acquainted. I’m Yang Huixian."

She extended her hand with a beaming smile, putting on an act again.

"Tsk. The beautiful new neighbor... I feel like I’ve seen this plot somewhere before..."

Lin Chu laughed, though he was a bit speechless inwardly. He continued to tease her, "Really? You went so far as to buy the house next door just to be my neighbor? You must be loaded."

"Don’t be so full of yourself. I didn’t buy it, my dad did. Old Yang is really something else, isn’t he? Turning his own daughter into a total bootlicker. Makes it seem like I’m the desperate one."

She tossed her hair with a chic smile, then her nose twitched. "Well now, you can cook? Are you hogging a good meal all to yourself? Or do you have someone over for a candlelight dinner? Busted!"

She had no idea if another woman was inside, but her tone was so relaxed it was as if, even if there were, the three of them could happily share a meal.

Lin Chu just shook his head and smiled.

"Come on in. I’ll let you have a chicken bone. You’re unbelievable, with a nose like a dog’s, showing up the second you smell food."

He was speechless inwardly, but he wanted to laugh.

’Old Yang really is something else,’ he thought. ’When I said my dad gave me 300 million, I was just bullshitting. But her dad... he actually did it!’

...

...