Chapter 308 - 226: Business Elite and Little Milk Dog

Chapter 308: Chapter 226: Business Elite and Little Milk Dog

Ending the chat after a polite exchange with customer service, Lin Chu opened the file and began to browse.

They were mostly names he’d never heard before.

This made Lin Chu sigh. ’There are just so many rich young people!’

’So many!’

In comparison, the private board meeting he’d had Liu Junfeng and He Meng organize suddenly felt like child’s play—small-time stuff.

’It was like everyone else had already eaten the meat, leaving nothing but a few bone fragments.’

’The first wave of the wealthy really went all out.’

’What room was left for the next generation of wealthy to even make their mark?’

Since the file didn’t include contact information, Lin Chu just gave it a glance while he waited to hear from Zhou Luan.

He went back to scrolling through his contacts.

He had added Tang Rubo a couple of days ago.

The vice president of Jiefei Group, who was in the luxury car business.

Jiefei Group was worth tens of billions, and Tang Rubo owned shares, so his net worth had to be over a billion. He was a bit older, but for now, Lin Chu was just making small talk.

After a moment’s thought, Lin Chu sent him a message: "President Tang, what are you up to?"

A moment later, Tang Rubo replied, "Just say what you need."

"I’d like to invite you to the opening ceremony of the LC Golf Club’s Professional Gold Tournament. It’s a cocktail party-style event. You can bring your wife... I’m not sure, are you married?"

At that moment, Tang Rubo’s mind stirred as he read the message.

’Something about that question feels off,’ he thought. ’If he just wanted to invite me, a simple invitation would have done it. Inviting my wife is normal too, but asking if I’m married like that seems unnecessary.’

’Unless... could Lin Chu know I hit on his little secretary the other day?’

’Is this his way of pointedly bringing it up?’

"Hahaha, I’m a single old man, what wife? Just send me the invitation. I’ll be there," he replied casually.

Lin Chu: "Alright, so President Tang isn’t married?"

Tang Rubo: ...

’He’s still fucking asking!’

’Prying into my private life like this!’

"I was. We’re divorced. What are you trying to ask?"

Lin Chu could sense the accusatory tone in his words and couldn’t help but smile, casually making something up. "Hahaha, don’t be mad. A beautiful woman asked me to find out for her."

Seeing this, Tang Rubo’s anger subsided, but he couldn’t tell if Lin Chu was teasing him or just messing with him.

"Thanks for the trouble. She can come and ask me herself at the opening ceremony."

"Okay, okay, no problem. I’ll send you the invitation later."

Lin Chu took the initiative to end the conversation.

’Divorce.’

’It’s a corrective measure, in a way.’

’But divorce inevitably meant dividing assets.’

All sorts of schemes were common. Zhao Rong from Yang City was an expert in that field.

A legal nuke that no tycoon could withstand.

The founder of the former video giant Tudou.com was sued by his ex-wife right before its IPO. She demanded a share of his stock, which directly torpedoed the listing.

Then there was Dangdang.com, with its ten-billion-dollar market cap. The founding couple’s bitter divorce devolved into a public spectacle, complete with a dramatic fight over the company seal.

Even a famous tech CEO, before marrying his much younger, famous wife, signed a prenup that limited his post-marriage salary to one yuan a year.

Thinking about all this, Lin Chu shook his head with a small laugh and lit another cigarette.

’Thrilling!’

’It’s like opening a blind box!’

’Isn’t this more of a thrill than any roller coaster?’

’Who knows what kind of messes you’ll have to go through!’

’It’s tough being a man!’

’And it has nothing to do with being rich or poor!’

...

"Here, I’ve set you up with someone. You can add him. He’s already agreed."

"His name is Kang Hao. He’s 21. His family is in the renovation business—a public company worth over thirty billion. He’s an only son, but he’s a good guy and fun to be around. None of the usual rich-kid attitude."

Lin Chu had finally gotten the message from Zhou Luan. She’d sent a contact card along with a brief introduction.

"Thank you. Finger heart."

Lin Chu added him and casually sent the reply.

Zhou Luan: ... Bleh.

’A finger heart, really!’ she thought.

Despite her thoughts, she replied graciously, "Haha, no need to thank me, President Lin. It was nothing. Are you taking me with you when you meet him for dinner?"

Lin Chu: "Of course! I have to! I’ll ask him what he wants to eat."

He sent the friend request, and it was accepted almost immediately.

The guy, Kang Hao, had the WeChat username "Xiaokangkang."

His profile picture was an anime character.

Then he checked his feed.

A pinned post at the top read: *Black Myth: Wukong!*

Below that, his feed was mostly photos from anime conventions, pictures with various cosplayers, and a random assortment of images and shared songs.

Lin Chu couldn’t help but shake his head and smile.

He felt like he’d been instantly pulled into the world of the youth.

’That’s it!’

’This is how it should be!’

’Full of youthful energy!’

"Hello, I’m Lin Chu, the owner of the LC Golf Club."

Lin Chu typed out and sent the message.

Xiaokangkang took about a minute to reply: "What’s up?"

*Tsk.*

’Pretty aloof.’

Lin Chu couldn’t tell if the kid was socially awkward or just arrogant. After all, Xiaoluan had surely filled him in, yet this was the attitude he got.

’What, does he just not like talking to guys?’

"Show me your chat history with him."

Lin Chu immediately messaged Zhou Luan, wanting to do a quick analysis.

Zhou Luan sent a screenshot of their chat history.

One glance was all it took for Lin Chu to confirm it. ’Just as I thought!’

When talking to Zhou Luan, the kid was enthusiastic, typed long messages, and wasn’t the least bit aloof. But with him... he acted like a total ass!

"You tell him we’re having dinner tonight. You pick the place."

Lin Chu messaged Zhou Luan, too lazy to bother chatting with Kang Hao online himself. ’I’ve never been a bootlicker for a woman, and now you want me to be a bootlicker for some guy?’

’Pah!’

Zhou Luan: "? What’s going on?"

Lin Chu sent her the screenshot. She was left speechless and even felt a little urge to laugh.

’So you get shot down too, huh?’ she thought.

"Hurry up and set it. That’s an order from your boss!"

Lin Chu urged her again.

Zhou Luan: "One moment."

A moment later, she had it all arranged. She sent a screenshot: Japanese food at seven p.m.

As soon as she was the one asking, Kang Hao readily agreed.

He even added a complaint: "Your boss is like some country bumpkin. He started with ’Hello.’ How old is this uncle, anyway?"

Reading the message, Lin Chu slapped his forehead and sighed.

’Don’t tell me... there’s really a generation gap between me and the youth?’

"So how do you people chat these days?"

"What’s your opening line?"

Faced with Lin Chu’s "confusion," Zhou Luan completely lost it, covering her mouth and giggling in her office.

’This is hilarious.’

’It was rare to see Lin Chu like this.’

"It’s the massive generation gap between a ’business elite’ and an ’anime pretty boy.’ It’s not your fault. We usually just send memes to start a conversation."

"Actually, when I roast you, I’m not really trying to be mean. It’s a sign of affection. If I were all polite and proper with you, it would just mean we’re not close."

Lin Chu: ...

"I’m just going to call you Zhou Dian from now on. Fine, don’t change. Just let the world burn. I’m tired."

Zhou Luan: "Emmmm... No, I’ve already changed! I want to grow up, I want to blossom! I’m going to become a mature, elegant, and ruthless career woman—a she-devil!"

*Ugh.*

At this point, Lin Chu was utterly convinced that he really did have the mentality of a middle-aged man.

And he wasn’t happy about it.

’Dammit, is being mature a crime now?’

’Had he forgotten how many girls had called him childish when he was younger?’

’He’d painstakingly corrected every childish flaw, finally mastering his craft and becoming a mature, solid man, only to... become obsolete?’

DAMN!

Of course, plenty of women liked the mature man type. He certainly wasn’t lacking for female attention.

But...

This feeling... it was an instinctive fear of being "isolated," or even "abandoned," by the younger generation.

Lighting another cigarette, Lin Chu exhaled a long plume of smoke.

"Let me ask you a question. The ’business elite’ or the ’anime pretty boy’—which type do you prefer?"

He wasn’t trying to flirt with Zhou Luan by asking, of course. He was purely curious.

Zhou Luan: "When a man’s out, he should be a business elite. At home, he must be a pretty boy. That’s a man’s proper self-cultivation. Capable in the living room and in the kitchen."

"Of course, if one man can’t manage both, getting two is also an option. You just have to make sure they never meet."

Lin Chu... ’Brilliant!’

’The world has finally gone crazy in a way I can appreciate.’

’I was thinking the exact same thing.’

’If you can’t beat them, join them.’

...

...