"Why are you so thirsty? Coming on to me in the middle of the day?"

Lin Chu teased with a smile, naturally understanding what she meant.

’Suddenly, I kind of get why those guys who overindulge in wine and women all have dark circles under their eyes and walk like their legs are made of jelly.’

’These girls just throw themselves at you.’

’Can’t get a moment’s rest.’

Tangtang shot him a playful glare and, without responding, took out her phone and started booking a room. She quickly made her selection and paid. "I’ve booked it. Don’t I just want you to have a good midday rest?"

Lin Chu sighed. "This kind of destructive resource mining is inhumane."

She gazed at Lin Chu and suddenly had an idea. "I have a friend from the Northeast who runs a deer farm. I can have him steep some liquor for you. Antler tips, wild ginseng, and mulberries."

Lin Chu: ...

"Oh, for fuck’s sake, get lost! What is this nonsense!"

Tangtang let out a coquettish laugh.

Half a minute later, Lin Chu spoke. "Actually, go ahead and have some steeped. Just have the medicinal ingredients sent to me. I’ll use Maotai to steep it. Let’s start with a twenty-jin batch."

At that, she laughed even louder.

She immediately made a call to arrange it.

After they’d driven for a bit, while waiting at a red light, Lin Chu casually asked, "So what’s the deal with you and... what’s-his-name?"

Tangtang glanced at him and took a deep breath.

"There’s no deal..."

Lin Chu: "Come on, spill it. I’m dying to dig into the dark side of your personality. It’s exciting."

’He was getting to a point where he felt he could say anything, with no filter.’

Her: ...

She sighed again.

"He’s really close with my mom."

Lin Chu: "Huh? Holy shit, is your family that messed up?"

"Jerk! It’s not like that! He’s my mom’s star pupil. A long time ago, my mom started giving him her resources and connections. Later, she even adopted him as her godson. He’s a total social climber!"

"Now he’s the one living with my mom in Xiangjiang, using her old connections as backing for some project he’s doing. Hmph, I’m the one who’s become the outsider."

"The bastard gives me money every month, but I haven’t let him touch me in ages," she explained, sounding a little angry.

’Listening to her,’ Lin Chu thought, ’it might not be the whole truth.’

’After all, women are masters at playing the victim.’

’Whatever, I’m not going to ask any more.’

’It’s none of my business.’

"When that project is done and I get my cut, I’ll support you," she blurted out.

Lin Chu chuckled. "Like I need you to?"

’Is she seriously trying to sell me a pipe dream?’

’Bullshit.’

"It’s true!"

Her eyes darted toward Lin Chu’s thigh, and she lightly bit her lip. "I just really love your scent. It’s a kind of fragrance... the smell of hormones, I guess. It’s so masculine."

Lin Chu laughed and cursed, "Get out of here. When you girls get worked up, you’ll say the most ridiculous things."

Her: ...

She looked aggrieved and resentful, and fell silent.

...

They arrived at Peng Bay No.1 and got a private room.

Li Kai sent a message in the group chat: "Brother Chu, I invited three girls to come over. They’re just friends, to liven things up."

Lin Chu: "OK."

After all, they were in a bigger circle and a few years older, so each of them was bound to have plenty of girls like that around.

The social hierarchy was very clear.

Some girls just loved to hang around the scene, and even took pride in it.

Lin Chu didn’t mind. He couldn’t care less.

He ordered a table full of food. Looking at the wine list, he saw they had Yamazaki 25 and Romanée-Conti. Figuring he should drink a little less since it was the middle of the day, Lin Chu ordered four bottles of the Conti.

Red wine doesn’t get you drunk too quickly.

180,000 yuan a bottle.

Just as Li Kai and the others walked in, the server happened to be bringing the wine. One of the guys who knew his stuff instantly froze.

’Holy fuck!’

Lin Chu loved seeing that expression on their faces. This was one flex he never got tired of.

A meal itself really didn’t cost that much—a few tens of thousands, maybe 100,000 at the absolute most. But wine... that stuff was truly one of mankind’s greatest inventions.

’Other than being bad for your liver, it has no downsides.’

’And for him, it was the perfect tool for burning cash.’

"Let’s just have a casual lunch, everyone. Thanks again to all you brothers for coming. I won’t say much more. Make yourselves at home."

Lin Chu stood and said a few words, then had the server open and decant the wine.

Li Kai came over and sat on Lin Chu’s other side. "Pairing lunch with Conti... isn’t that a bit too extravagant?"

"I can’t bring myself to drink anything else," Lin Chu said casually.

Li Kai: ...

Lin Chu turned his head and whispered in Tangtang’s ear, "Think you can afford to keep me?"

Her: ...

Her lips instantly formed a pout. Her face grew slightly hot, and even her fair, delicate earlobes turned a visible shade of red.

’This... I really can’t afford him.’

’Who drinks Conti for lunch?’

’I couldn’t afford you even if I sold my body!’

She shot Lin Chu a playful glare and gently stroked his hand.

This feeling of true power gave her a thrill. The pleasure of being conquered, even slightly humiliated, by a man with such casual ease was addictive.

"Ah Xiong, Li Fei, Old Liang, Dongzi, Xu Feng. I got those right, didn’t I?"

Lin Chu went through each of their names and passed around a round of cigarettes.

All five of them nodded with a smile.

On the way over, they had been talking about it the whole time. The whole thing felt truly incredible.

’Could someone this generous really exist in the world?’

When they got to the private room and saw the standard of the meal, it felt even more incredible and shocking.

This was the first time they’d ever seen anything like it. Not even a business banquet would be this high-spec. What kind of big shot would you have to be entertaining for that? They’d truly never seen anything like it.

"Brother Chu, where are you from?" Xu Feng asked with a smile.

He didn’t look very old. He had a slicked-back, greasy-looking American hairstyle, kind of like a pretty boy.

"Guangdong Province. Came from the countryside. Just got lucky," Lin Chu replied in a relaxed tone.

Li Kai: "Awesome! Starting from scratch is the most badass way to do it!"

The others also chimed in with a round of flattery.

’Inwardly, though, they were all secretly speculating. Lin Chu definitely had a big boss behind him, and a very big one at that.’

Of course, they couldn’t possibly ask about such a private matter.

No one would be that tactless.

As the dishes were being served one by one, the three girls Li Kai had invited arrived one after another.

Lin Chu glanced at them. They all had exquisite makeup, but they lacked any real spark. He wasn’t interested.

’His standards were too high now.’

’Just a bunch of common, dolled-up girls.’

The food was all served. Drinks flowed and glasses clinked, and with a few well-placed dirty jokes... the atmosphere was cheerful and harmonious.

Lin Chu suddenly thought that these dinner parties were actually quite interesting. If every day was a dinner party like this, where he was the center of attention, he could get used to it.

’When you’re a workhorse, you think gatherings are pointless and a waste of time. You work like a beast of burden all day, and then you have to act like one at dinner after work. It all just comes down to not having enough status.’

Suddenly, his phone rang.

It was Zhang Peng calling.

"Bro, I found three places this morning. I’ll send them to you so you can take a look. The economy’s not great right now, so Class A office buildings are pretty easy to rent. The prices have dropped to what they were a few years ago."

Lin Chu: "Alright, send them over. I’m at a dinner. I’ll look at them later."

"Okay."

Zhang Peng hung up.

Then his phone started DINGING with one message after another.

Lin Chu silenced his phone.

Ah Xiong stood up with his glass and walked toward Lin Chu. "Brother, let me toast you. I’m in the legal industry. If you ever need anything, just say the word. I can’t promise anything major, but I can definitely run some errands for you."

Li Kai chimed in with a laugh, "Ah Xiong’s a lawyer. A gangster lawyer, but he’s one of us." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Lin Chu clinked glasses with him and joked, "Alright. I’ll call you next time I get arrested."

"As if that would happen! Brother Chu, you’re kidding, hahaha... I’ll down mine. You can drink as you please."

...

...