Chapter 173: Chapter 172: He Really Dares to Brag
While Lin Chu was discussing business with the screenwriter, out in the courtyard, Lin Haifu was cheerfully rolling dice with a few female livestreamers.
He was wearing a black BOY London T-shirt with the golden eagle spreading its wings, matching shorts, and a pair of flip-flops. A thick gold chain hung around his neck, making him look every bit the part of a small-town tycoon.
It was a bit more extravagant than the classic landlord look. Landlords are usually more low-key and rarely wear BOY London.
As for this...
When Lin Chu saw him a couple of days ago, he was also quite surprised. ’What kind of cringey getup is this?’
But what could he do? As long as his dad was happy.
—You can’t even imagine how blissful life must be for a single man in his fifties who suddenly gained status and wealth through his son!
He spent his days drinking Maotai, smoking Chunghwas, driving an Audi, and hanging around all sorts of flirty older women. He was living on cloud nine.
Right now,
as Lin Haifu played his game, he was also sizing everyone up.
’Among this group of girls, who looks the most like a potential daughter-in-law?’
’They all do.’
’And none of them do.’
’I’ll be damned. It’s only been a few months, and this little brat went and bought an eighty-million-plus villa in Yang City. He even got a Rolls-Royce and a sports car. Not even robbing a bank is this fast!’
Lin Haifu had asked about it when he first arrived, but Lin Chu just grinned cheekily and dodged the question, changing the subject. He couldn’t get anything out of him.
To be honest, Lin Haifu was a little panicked. But on second thought, ’I wasn’t panicking when I had no money, so why the hell should I panic now that I’m rich?’
’Isn’t that just how the world works? The criminals get rich, while the good guys suffer.’
"Uncle, you lost this round! Time for you to drink, drink up!"
A sweet, coquettish voice urged him to drink.
He had been distracted and lost a round for no good reason, a disgrace for an old hand like him. Lin Haifu raised his glass and drained it, his eyes glancing at the nearest pair of "headlights." ’So big, so pale!’
He didn’t flirt indiscriminately, though. After all, he didn’t know which one might be with his son. If he hit on the wrong one, he’d want the ground to swallow him whole.
’Forget it, forget it. I’ll just go for a massage tonight.’
He still had to maintain his image as "Lin Chu’s Dad."
"Uncle, let me toast you. To your happiness, health, and long life!"
Zhao Rong had been casually observing Lin Haifu, having pondered this for the past two days. It was a complete mystery. His appearance didn’t scream "old money" or "powerful elite" at all. ’Could it be that Lin Chu isn’t from a wealthy family? Did he build his fortune from scratch?’
She couldn’t figure it out.
But what kind of self-made man could amass a ten-figure net worth by the age of 24?
And there was almost no trace of it. His company wasn’t publicly listed, he had no physical stores, and he had no fame online... ’Did the money just fall from the sky?’
It’s not like the Pearl River Delta didn’t have its share of prodigies, like the guy who created Heytea and became financially independent in his twenties. But he had actual, tangible directly-operated and franchised stores.
It wasn’t that she was worried about her six million. Lin Chu was definitely rich; she had seen his property and cars with her own eyes. He wasn’t going to run off.
But... how on earth did he make his fortune?
The curiosity was killing her.
Lin Haifu clinked glasses with her. From the way she swayed her hips when she walked, his instincts told him she was another flirty one. He took a sip with a grin, put down his glass, and mulled it over. ’This one seems more like a daughter-in-law. A mature beauty in her thirties... My son isn’t a kept man, is he?’
’It’s not impossible.’
’But hey, that’s a skill in itself!’
’That kid’s always been well-endowed.’
For a moment, he found himself being a bit more polite toward Zhao Rong.
"And what’s your name, young lady?"
Zhao Rong smiled sweetly. "Uncle, you can just call me Rongrong."
"Mhm, mhm, have a seat. Have a couple more drinks."
Lin Haifu waved for her to sit down.
Zhao Rong took the opportunity to join in, playing casually, drinking, and chatting, all while nonchalantly probing for information, gradually steering the conversation to his younger days.
Lin Haifu wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but he had lived for several decades and learned a thing or two from knocking around all those years. A thought suddenly struck him. ’Hey, this little beauty is trying to secretly dig up information on my family!’
A single thought immediately surfaced in his mind—’I absolutely cannot embarrass my son!’
He was, after all, a five-star bullshitter back in the village, with years of practical experience from bragging under the old tree at the village entrance. ’Time to put on a show!’
"Me? Back in ’92, during the Qiong Island development boom, you know? Back then, the streets were paved with gold..."
He rambled on and on, mixing all sorts of hearsay with his own embellishments, painting a vivid picture of a seasoned veteran of the world. The group of young people was left listening in a daze.
A few decades ago, things really were a form of magical realism.
When Lin Chu came over, he stood nearby and listened for a moment, only to hear his dad starting to talk about "the first aircraft carrier."
A Xiangjiang businessman wanted to buy the decommissioned aircraft carrier under the guise of converting it into an amusement park, and he was negotiating with various international powers.
His dad was supposedly one of his "deputies," mainly responsible for planning the route back to the country. They went through all sorts of struggles and outwitting their opponents, but in the end, they managed to tow it back!
Lin Chu: ?
’Damn, with all my experience, even I can’t spot any obvious flaws in his story!’
But...
’He really has the balls to spin a yarn like that!’
"A few years later, when I was at the Great Hall of the People..."
Seeing him getting more and more outrageous with his stories, Lin Chu immediately went over and clamped a hand over his mouth. "Dad, what are you doing? Are you crazy?! Stop bullshitting! Go on, go take a break."
Lin Haifu shot his son a glare, his heart skipping a beat. ’Hey, what did I say wrong?’
But he was thick-skinned and didn’t panic, just chuckled. "I was just chatting with the kids... Alright, alright, I’ll stop. I’m hungry, time to eat."
He stood up and walked toward the dining table with a smile.
The group: ...
The story was a mix of fact and fiction, truth and lies, and it was hard to tell which was which.
The main thing was the generation gap. It happened too long ago, and nobody knew the specific details.
What Uncle said was so outlandish that it didn’t even sound like a lie.
Lin Chu glanced at the group, sighed, and shook his head without saying much more.
’Unbelievable.’
’What a dad. He can really put on an act!’
The only one there who probably understood what was going on was Pei Ming, but he hadn’t really come over. He heard a couple of sentences and slipped away. He decided to skip this drinking party to avoid getting drunk and having to be carried back again.
...
Just then, Lin Chu called He Meng and Liu Junfeng over.
"Shall we start?"
"Let’s do the livestream tomorrow?"
"Let’s use this house. Just leave the top-floor bedroom for me. You guys can use the rest as a common area. It’s just sitting empty anyway."
He definitely couldn’t live in such a huge villa all by himself, and he had to go back to Peng City eventually. Leaving it empty wasn’t an option, so Lin Chu decided to put it to good use.
That was why he had called them over.
Hearing this, He Meng took a deep breath. They weren’t fully prepared, but she wasn’t afraid. They would just get started, optimize quickly, iterate rapidly, and polish it until it was in its best possible form.
’Eighty-six million!’
’If we don’t do a good job, we’d be letting down this massive investment in hardware!’
"I’m good with it. We can start tomorrow. I’ve already registered the account. It’s called ’Sister Meng’s Bullshit Sesh.’ We’re not going for a high-end vibe, just chatting, no selling courses. We’ll build a following first."
Liu Junfeng glanced at her and couldn’t help but smile. "True. We couldn’t sell anything even if we wanted to. Are there even any suckers left to fleece? Sincerity is king nowadays. I think there’s still value in it. Just the location, Taiyi Villa, will attract a lot of people. This was a good buy, a really good buy."
Lin Chu looked at the two of them. He could tell they weren’t very confident.
The main issue was that the idea was too cliché.
To come up with something truly original would really take a lot of brainpower.
He was naturally aware of the difficulty, but he still smiled and encouraged them, "Alright, you two just give it a try for a month and we’ll see. You won’t be short on traffic. Let me know if you have any ideas."
’This still feels a bit like an open audition for the whole internet.’
’But if you don’t cast the net, how will you know if there are any fish?’
’Even a guy like my dad can fool people just by bullshitting. These two, a finance veteran and a Qingbei scholar, there’s no reason they can’t attract an audience. It’s just that popularity and influence have to be built up bit by bit.’
’Time is on my side!’
’I’m 24 this year. I’ll set a small goal: by the time I’m 30, I’ll become the top dog in the Pearl River Delta... uh, one of them. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?’
...
After giving his instructions, Lin Chu couldn’t help but look over at Zhao Rong.
The instigator from earlier, who was trying to get information out of his dad. ’This woman is still bent on digging into my background.’
’So annoying.’
’Nope, I need to find something to keep her busy.’
"Ah Rong, come here."
Putting on the air of a mob boss, Lin Chu smiled and beckoned to her, his eyes crinkling.
’Huh?’
Zhao Rong’s heart stirred. She smiled and walked over quickly, turning her body to the side to show she was ready to listen.
"What were you talking to my dad about?"
Lin Chu was still smiling. He draped an arm loosely around her shoulder and, after they had walked a short distance, his expression suddenly changed. His voice turned cold and sinister.
She froze instantly.
Her whole body went rigid.
"N-nothing... We were just chatting. Weren’t we listening to Uncle’s stories?"
She tried to compose herself. She hadn’t expected Lin Chu to suddenly adopt this posture. It was quite scary; his expression looked vicious.
"Have I been too fucking nice to you? If you don’t know your goddamn place, then don’t come hanging around me. Just behave, and you’ll get your chance to make money. But if you have other ideas, you’d better think twice. You want to dig into my background? I’ve got a crew of brothers down in Southeast Asia. What, you want me to introduce you?"
Lin Chu said, his tone deceptively calm.
Zhao Rong’s heart suddenly clenched, as if gripped by a giant hand. A wave of fear washed over her.
’Southeast Asia?’
’A crew of brothers?’
’What kind of shady background is that?!’
But just then, Lin Chu broke into a smile again, looking faintly unhinged. He patted her on the shoulder, the tension dissipating in an instant, and said warmly, "Oh? Heh, look at me, learning to bullshit just like my dad."
"Aiyo, your face has gone all pale. You alright? Look how scared you are. I’m just messing with you!"
Zhao Rong: ...
She took a deep breath.
This volatile, unpredictable behavior truly triggered her deepest fears, even more frightening than the mention of Southeast Asia. The big shot she followed in her youth was just like this, and he had become a nightmare that haunted her. She was on the verge of developing PTSD.
It seemed all these "big shots" were the same.
She forced a smile, quickly composing herself. "N-no, I’m fine. I know Brother Chu was just joking with me."
Lin Chu just smiled.
"Of course. We live in a society governed by law, after all. Come on, let’s go have a drink."
...
...
