Chapter 152: Chapter 151: Young People Shouldn’t Always Want to Make Big News

Lin Chu only found out about the OCT InterContinental Hotel after he moved into Swan Castle.

Back when he was working regular jobs, he’d never even heard of it. Otherwise, he would have booked the presidential suite here for the entire year.

Eighty thousand a night, thirty million a year. He would’ve swiped his card like there was no tomorrow.

After calling to reserve the presidential suite, the executive lounge, and the Western restaurant for the evening, Lin Chu went home to freshen up. Just past six, he received a message from Gao Haitao: Ms. Liao was in her car and on her way to the InterContinental Hotel.

Just a few minutes later, Wang Zhefei unexpectedly called. "Wanna grab dinner tonight? Holy crap, that little redhead brought six of her friends, and each one is prettier and younger than the last! Help me! I’m the only guy here, I’m scared!"

Lin Chu laughed. "Damn, you’ve stumbled into the Silk Cave, Elder Wang. Good luck with that. They sell little blue pills at the pharmacy, you know."

’Idiot.’

’So many friends... If they aren’t there to mooch a free meal and drinks, I’ll change my last name to yours. You really think they’re there to mooch off *you*? What the hell are you dreaming about?’

Wang Zhefei asked again, "You’re really not coming?"

Lin Chu replied calmly, "You’re Plan B."

Wang Zhefei: "Fuck! Get lost!"

Realizing Lin Chu definitely had other plans, he hung up.

’That son of a bitch is a real player, out carousing like this every day.’

’Huh?’

’I... I think I’m starting to become just as depraved... And it feels great!’

...

At 6:20 PM, Lin Chu was already at the Western restaurant in the OCT InterContinental Hotel. Amidst the pleasant melody of a piano, he was looking at his phone, replying to a message from He Meng.

She had presented a detailed proposal today, with the entry point being "corporate deep dives."

The idea instantly impressed Lin Chu.

These so-called "corporate deep dives" would involve organizing a group, similar to a study tour, to visit various companies by invitation. They would conduct interviews and uncover secrets—the kind that could be revealed and would interest the public.

For the companies, it was good for traffic; they could get extra brand exposure and potentially attract the attention of investors. If the company was publicly traded and the show’s influence was large enough, it could even affect the stock price.

From this angle, the choice of companies was crucial. They needed to have a gimmick, be relevant to industry conversations, and be accessible through the right connections.

But those were implementation issues. Once the direction was set, there would always be a way to solve them.

He Meng, being results-oriented, wanted the first episode to be a smash hit and proposed a few topics.

— How do temples, Taoist monasteries, and metaphysics make money?

— A deep-dive exposé on the Japanese adult industry.

— Industry 5.0: The unmanned factory.

— We want to talk to Moutai.

— The players still trading crypto.

After reading them, Lin Chu thought, ’For fuck’s sake, each one is more sensational than the last, huh? Does she really have to play it this way?’

’It’s true this might make them an overnight success, but aside from the industry and baijiu topics, the rest might not even get published. Young people, always trying to make a big splash.’

He rejected them.

"Always trying to become an overnight success will be your downfall sooner or later. The shortcut is often the longest road. There’s nothing wrong with the ’corporate deep dive’ angle, but the companies you choose should be in cutting-edge fields where ordinary people could potentially make a small fortune."

"Have you heard of these? Selling Olympic crystal balls to Europe, selling second-hand clothes to Africa, making eco-friendly T-shirts from Coke bottles, herbal tattoo stickers that can be washed off at any time, AI ’resurrections’ of sons and elderly parents, electronic cemeteries... All of these have success stories, examples of people making millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions a year." (Note)

Lin Chu casually sent her a few examples. They were all in seemingly inconspicuous but novel, highly-niche fields—imaginative tracks where one could strike gold if they did it right.

Of course, these were paths that others had already walked and succeeded on. Getting into them now, there probably wasn’t any meat left on the bone.

But the line of thinking was the right one.

Back in her office, He Meng was stunned when she saw Lin Chu’s messages.

’Uh, is my boss really this "smart"?’

She had only just heard of these businesses, but she could tell at a glance what they were selling. They were certainly novel. She just hadn’t expected President Lin to be paying attention to such things.

And these topics were clearly closer to their target audience, more down-to-earth, and more likely to give people that "I could do that too" feeling than the ones she had chosen.

"Okay, I understand. Your line of thinking is better than mine."

Her logic was sound and her thinking clear; this wasn’t just flattery.

Lin Chu replied, "Go ahead. Follow this line of thinking."

Just as he finished replying, the corner of his eye caught a figure in a white dress approaching. He saw high heels and delicate, jade-like feet. Lin Chu looked up to find Liao Meili standing gracefully before him.

"Sorry, give me one minute. Please, have a seat. I’m just finishing up a work message."

Lin Chu said in a gentle tone, then added another message to He Meng: "You need to read a ton of news every day. You have to give users the feeling that we’re on the cutting edge. Even if we aren’t the ones in those frontier industries, you need to know about them before others do. That’s the information gap, and that’s where fan loyalty comes from. We aren’t here to ’cut leeks,’ so the information has to be reliable and innovative. That’s the hardest part. You need to figure out how to approach it from that angle."

He Meng: "Received. I understand. I fully grasp your line of thinking."

Liao Meili sat down in the seat across from Lin Chu. She noticed a bouquet of flowers on the chair beside her—white roses—and was momentarily speechless.

’Wait, don’t you have a girlfriend?’

’And you’re giving me flowers?’

’Of course, this is probably standard procedure for a "president,"’ she thought. After all, she had already labeled Lin Chu a "player" in her mind.

’A player with some class, at least.’

Women like her didn’t hate players; they just hated being played.

Common scenarios at the top of a woman’s list of romantic fantasies usually included: being cornered against a wall and forcefully kissed by the guy she likes, a prodigal son changing his ways just for her, and stumbling upon a pure, wealthy, and utterly devoted diamond bachelor and becoming his one true love.

After finishing his message, Lin Chu finally looked at her and smiled. "The flowers are a courtesy, I’m not pursuing you. Don’t get the wrong idea. Otherwise, they’d be red, not white."

Hearing him say that, Liao Meili was a little lost for words. ’He already gave them to me, and now he’s making excuses.’ But it also gave her an out, so she smiled faintly. "Thank you. You’re much more polite than you were this afternoon."

’Heh.’

Lin Chu couldn’t be bothered to respond to that kind of comment and moved on to the next topic. "Let’s order. I’ve already ordered a bottle of red wine, a Grand Cru 2007 series Pinot Noir. Made a small profit recently, so I’m treating myself."

Among Romanée-Conti wines, this one was considered near the top tier. The restaurant sold it for 480,000 a bottle. With no "brothers" around, there was no rebate, but with nearly 700 million in his bank account, he could afford it.

’I can’t just drag a brother along every time I want to have a meal, can I?’

’That would be too restrictive.’

Liao Meili sensed Lin Chu was showing off his wealth but wasn’t repulsed by it. Such an expensive wine also represented a form of respect, and besides, Lin Chu had said it was a reward for his recent work success. She wasn’t that melodramatic.

’The atmosphere is actually really nice.’

She picked up the menu, and her gaze suddenly shifted. She saw the Imperial Green Jadeite necklace around Lin Chu’s neck. The translucent splash of green was utterly captivating, and for a moment, she was a bit dazzled. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

She stared for a good few seconds before nonchalantly looking away and casually ordering a steak.

Lin Chu noticed her gaze and couldn’t help but shake his head and smile. ’Perhaps the love of beauty is a woman’s greatest weakness—handsome men, luxury mansions, fine jewelry, a beautiful atmosphere, and all things beautiful.’

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