Chapter 147: Chapter 146: The Journey So Far

"President Lin, the guys caught that banana vendor. We interrogated him, and his story is pretty wild."

Gao Haitao said with a smile on the way home, his tone casual and conversational.

Lin Chu had asked about this yesterday, so Gao Haitao had told his men to take action.

With thirty strapping, ferocious young men on his tail, it wouldn’t have mattered if he were in a tuk-tuk or a tractor. He wasn’t getting away.

"Oh? What’s his story?"

Lin Chu asked, his curiosity piqued.

"He’s an economic criminal—a con artist. Scammed someone for over eight million, and the victim went to the police. He fled the country with his mistress. Their plan was to sneak into South America, but once they reached Southeast Asia, she double-crossed him, took the money, and left him high and dry."

"He wanted to come back but didn’t dare, so he was just barely scraping by, living in constant fear. The moment our guys grabbed him, he spilled everything."

Lin Chu was speechless.

"Alright. So, what’s your plan for him?"

Gao Haitao’s heart skipped a beat. ’This is a test of my competence,’ he realized.

"My boss at the security company has a lot of connections with the police and the justice system. I’ll just hand the guy over to them directly. It saves time and won’t create any trouble for you. They’ll probably get the credit for the arrest, but there won’t be any reward money, of course. I’ll have them send you a commemorative banner, though. Is that an acceptable solution?"

Lin Chu glanced at him, then smiled and nodded.

"That works."

"Hey, Old Gao, you seem pretty close with your boss. This doesn’t count as me trying to poach you, does it?" Lin Chu added with a laugh.

Gao Haitao laughed. "Of course not! You’re a client—my boss wishes he had more clients like you. He personally visits many of them during the holidays. And yes, we are pretty close. I’ve known him for almost ten years. If you have time, I can make an introduction. We could all have a meal together."

Having been Lin Chu’s driver for a while now, he knew that Lin Chu enjoyed making friends.

"Sure, no problem."

Lin Chu agreed without a second thought.

’Never turn anyone away. The more friends, the better.’

After they finished discussing the matter, Gao Haitao fell silent and focused on driving.

Knowing when to speak and when to stay quiet was part of a good driver’s job description.

...

The car was stuck in rush-hour traffic. Lin Chu continued to mull over the details of his "private board of directors." Even though He Meng was drafting the proposal, he still had to think through the finer points himself.

’Intellectual laziness is the worst kind of laziness.’

’Damn it. Now that I’m the boss, I’m actually more motivated and get more done. It’s nothing like when I was a wage slave, slacking off every chance I got.’

’The incentives are just different.’

After a moment’s thought, Lin Chu took out the black private banking card he had just acquired, snapped a photo, and posted it on his feed.

’Ever since I got rich, I’ve rarely posted anything. I usually just do things in the real world; there’s no need to show off online.’

’I never posted about buying the house or the cars.’

’But now that I’m building an organization, I need to make some noise and get more visibility.’

’This inevitably meant one thing: my personal space was shrinking as my public "identity" label grew larger and larger.’

’It’s like how most people don’t know what Jack Ma’s favorite food is, what wine he drinks, or what kind of women he likes. But they definitely know he’s the founder of Tmall and Alipay.’

He sent the post with a caption: "Banks are the type to lend you an umbrella when it’s sunny, only to take it back when it rains."

’This projects a persona of being clear-headed, composed, and even a little disdainful of banks. I mean, I did just add the bank’s dedicated private client manager on WeChat, but the statement itself isn’t wrong. I’m not cursing anyone out. If it hits a nerve with some fragile soul, they’ll just have to suck it up.’

After posting it, Lin Chu casually deleted his previous post about partying at the club.

’A bit low-class.’

Soon after he posted, likes and comments started flooding in. Lin Chu took the opportunity to mentally sort through the various contacts he had on WeChat.

’There were old classmates, former clients, ex-colleagues, and past lovers—traces of a life he’d lived in years gone by.’

’Liu Yang?’

’He’d left a comment: "Take me with you, boss!"’

’This two-faced ex-colleague, a regular at "massage" parlors, had the gall to ask him for money after quitting. Lin Chu deleted him without a moment’s hesitation.’

’Out of sight, out of mind. But now that I remember, our journey together ends here. Time for him to get off the bus.’

Jiang Ya: "Wow, you’re amazing! Love you, muah~"

’My little lover from Ye City. She was as sweet as could be, the type to take a picture of a pretty cloud and send it to me. So innocent. I have a lot of her selfies saved on my phone.’

’All things considered, it hasn’t even been a hundred days since I struck it rich.’

’The days have flown by. I’ve barely noticed the time passing; every day has been pure bliss.’

Tangtang, Du Xiaoman, Chen Jinyu, Lin Xiwan, Jin Jiaying, Liang Jieyu.

’These six women had witnessed my evolution from a ten-millionaire to a hundred-millionaire. They were even a testament to the subtle shifts in my mentality.’

’The little vixen, the sweet and sensible student, the home-body rich girl, the fitness girl with the perfect ass, the long-legged golf caddy, the dancer...’

’When I first got money, it was like being starved; I wanted a taste of everything I’d never had before. Six different women, each more beautiful than the last, and each with her own unique charm. They charted the evolution of my own taste and standards.’

’As for the girls from the nightclubs, I deleted all of them a long time ago. Now, I even consider them part of my "cringey past."’

’Of course, I can still go to those places when I’m entertaining new friends in the future.’

’From loving the nightlife, to being wary of it, to avoiding it completely, and now to this casual indifference—it’s all been part of my mental evolution.’

’What a journey it’s been.’

’I really have evolved pretty damn fast.’

Lin Chu couldn’t help but light a cigarette, exhaling a long plume of smoke. Even the burning tobacco tasted sweet. He silently gave himself a pat on the back. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"President Lin, hi. So you really did stand me up. I didn’t even go out last weekend."

A sudden private message caught Lin Chu’s attention. The contact name was saved as: Liao Meili (Wanhao, white swimsuit).

’Huh?’

Lin Chu quickly remembered her. She was that gorgeous girl, a perfect 10, whom he’d hit on by a stroke of luck. They had agreed to have dinner over the weekend, but then he’d gone to Bohe Island and completely forgotten.

’Heh, so there was one that got away.’

Lin Chu shook his head with a little smile and replied, "Been completely swamped with work lately. It’s been crazy."

She replied quickly: "Alright, well, you keep busy. We can talk some other time."

’The fish is about to get away.’

’Of course, she could just be playing hard to get.’

Lin Chu thought for a moment, then typed: "When are you going for a swim? I work out every day, so we could meet up."

’The first time he saw her was at the pool. It was just a fleeting, stunning glimpse.’

Liao Meili: "Tomorrow, actually. Four in the afternoon."

Lin Chu: "Alright."

’That was clearly a proactive time to suggest. Four in the afternoon. After a swim, it would be the perfect time to grab dinner together.’

’You really don’t realize just how forward women can be until you have money—even stunners like her.’

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