Hearing Lin Chu's words, An Qingning instantly understood his meaning. She gave him a dark look and said, "I didn't bring it."
"Oh."
Lin Chu heard this and glanced at her, but didn't think much of it.
'If she didn't bring it, it means she's not interested.'
'If she's not interested, then forget it.'
'I couldn't give a damn.'
"I'm heading to the restroom."
Lin Chu stood up and headed for the restroom.
"Hey, Brother Chu, I'll go with you."
The moment Zhang Peng saw Lin Chu get up, he immediately rose to his feet and followed. He had some man-to-man business to discuss with Lin Chu privately.
The two walked toward the restroom, arm in arm.
"Not bad, the hotties from your company..." Lin Chu said with a smile.
Zhang Peng: "Heh, these are just the regular ones. Our company has a huge influencer with six million fans, but she's reserved for the boss. I can't call her over. Brother Chu, see anyone you like? I'll be your wingman."
He asked with a waggling brow and a sly grin.
Lin Chu flashed a knowing smile. "The one in the gold-rimmed glasses and the black, form-fitting skirt. She's got some class, but she's also a little bit of a slut."
Zhang Peng couldn't help but laugh out loud when he heard that.
"I knew she'd be your type. I invited her specifically for you. She used to be a teacher at a children's tutoring center, but it went out of business, and she ended up at the livestreaming agency. Yeah, she's a real catch. A bit of an airhead, you know, the 'silly and sweet' type... Of course, she likes to party—that's a given. But when I say 'silly and sweet,' I mean she's easy to handle and definitely won't get clingy. Don't worry, I've got this."
Lin Chu: *Ahem.*
'So this is the 'big boss' treatment, huh?'
'Your little bros arrange everything for you?'
"Alright, she's the one. What's her name?"
"Her real name is Bai Fangfei. Her nickname is Feifei."
...
Back at his seat, Lin Chu checked the time. It was just past ten. Since An Qingning wasn't playing along, he decided to just ignore her. He nonchalantly plopped down right in the middle of the five beautiful women.
On his left was his target, Bai Fangfei.
On his right was a girl with pink hair and a biker-chick vibe.
"Alright, ladies, let's have some fun. What'll it be, dice or some other game?"
Lin Chu was soon having a blast playing with them.
An Qingning's expression soured as she watched the scene unfold. Meanwhile, Li Yaoyao was still relentlessly bombarding her with voice calls and had left some very nasty messages on WeChat.
She suddenly felt like she had lost on all fronts.
'How did Lin Chu become such a jerk?'
'Should I just confront him?'
'I don't really dare to.'
'So many people here are his friends, and he's a high roller at this bar. I wouldn't come out on top.'
'Just get up and leave?'
'But then all my effort tonight would be for nothing.'
An Qingning was finally learning just how hard it was to earn a rich man's money.
'It takes one to know one. We're all seasoned players here.'
She let out a long sigh, poured herself a drink, and downed a mouthful.
She suddenly found herself missing the old Lin Chu. When he was dating Li Yaoyao, he had been so cheerful, generous, gentle, and considerate.
After she hurt him, he'd turned into this.
*Sigh...*
'It's all Li Yaoyao's fault! That bitch!'
As this thought crossed her mind, an idea suddenly struck her. She took a photo of the scene—Lin Chu sitting among the five beautiful women, an arm around one on each side—and sent it to Li Yaoyao.
"Yaoyao, congratulations. You ruined him. The world is short one good man, and you're nothing but a bitch!"
"And you have the nerve to question me?"
"Regret it now, won't you? He spent at least 300,000 on drinks alone tonight. Heh, Li Yaoyao, you'll never find another man in your life who's this rich and loved you that much."
'The art of transferring negative emotions!'
After unloading all the negative feelings she'd gotten from Lin Chu onto Li Yaoyao, An Qingning instantly felt much better.
And...
Li Yaoyao stopped harassing her.
She went silent.
...
Just as Zhang Peng had said, Bai Fangfei was a bit of the "silly and sweet" type—all beauty, no brains. She also seemed to have a people-pleasing personality.
In the presence of a high roller who dropped 300,000 in a single night, she was as docile as a kitten, but she still maintained an instinctual reserve.
Lin Chu found this combination much more to his liking.
It was just right.
While he was having fun playing games with the women, Lin Chu casually glanced over at An Qingning. He saw her sitting there, looking bored out of her mind while fiddling with her phone, and a smirk played on his lips.
'If she wants to put on airs, let her.'
'At least half the reason I even wanted to mess with her was because she's Li Yaoyao's best friend.'
'Otherwise, she's just another pretty face.'
'Any of the five women here are just as good, if not better.'
'When you have money, do you ever lack for women?'
'What a joke.'
...
Happy times are always fleeting.
"Brother Chu, we're heading out. Gotta work in the morning."
It was nearly midnight. Li Jian and Guo Haodong came over to say their goodbyes with a smile.
After Lin Chu had ordered a Divine Dragon Set for Li Jian earlier, the bar's promoter had arranged a girl for both him and Guo Haodong. They weren't knockouts, but they weren't ugly either.
Now, the women were holding onto their arms, ready to leave with them.
Even though his two buddies weren't exactly studs in this kind of scene, Lin Chu had spent over 300,000 yuan tonight. It was only natural for the bar's promoter to take good care of his friends.
"Alright, you guys head out. Be safe."
"We'll catch up again soon."
Lin Chu stood up and clinked glasses with them one last time.
He thought for a moment, then turned to the promoter who had been standing behind him all night. "You set that up?" he asked with a smile.
Her eyes lit up as she nodded.
"Nice. You know how to handle things. I'll hit you up next time I need a table."
She immediately grabbed Lin Chu's face and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks, boss! You guys hungry? I'll get you some more fruit platters and snacks."
"Go ahead," Lin Chu said with a casual wave.
'In this world, no matter where you are, money makes you king.'
'Except with your girlfriend.'
*Tsk.*
'Unbelievable.'
After Guo Haodong and Li Jian left, Liu Yang got ready to leave too.
He was a veteran player and had already managed to hook up with someone.
Lin Chu saw him off as well.
Liu Yang's attitude was practically that of a bootlicker. "Brother Chu, I won't say any more. It's all in the drinks. We'll talk business tomorrow."
He downed three glasses in a row before leaving with his arm around a girl, looking a bit tipsy.
Lin Chu watched him go, shaking his head with a slight smile.
It didn't matter whether he meant what he said or was just putting on a show.
The relationships between men are very flexible.
As long as there's no deep-seated grudge or major conflict of interest, you can still be fair-weather friends.
In Lin Chu's mind, Liu Yang was just that—a fair-weather friend.
Moreover, the kind of fair-weather friend you could only trust a little bit.
...
"Fei Zai, Pengzi, you guys aren't heading back, right? Let's just stay at the nearby Mandarin Oriental tonight."
Lin Chu said with a smile, then looked at Lu Ming. "Brother Ming, what about you?"
Lu Ming smiled nonchalantly. "I'll stay at the Mandarin too, then. The four of us might even be able to get a game of mahjong in later."
As a second-generation heir, he had a wonderfully relaxed air about him. After all, he didn't have to work.
'Whatever works.'
'As long as it's fun.'
"Alright, I'll book the rooms now. You guys can head over and check in yourselves later."
Lin Chu pulled out his phone, opened the Meituan app, and booked four Executive King Rooms.
This particular Mandarin Oriental was located on the 78th floor of a high-rise in the central business district. It boasted an unbeatable night view and was the most expensive five-star hotel in the area. The Executive King Rooms went for 4,999 yuan a night.
"Holy shit, Brother Chu, you're the fucking man!"
"Foster Father!"
"Love you, mwah mwah mwah!"
Zhang Peng clowned around, hugging Lin Chu and pretending to kiss his cheek. It was cringey.
'Hm?'
Lin Chu was in the middle of paying when Zhang Peng suddenly pulled this stunt. As the nearly 20,000-yuan payment for the four rooms went through, the virtual panel only he could see suddenly flashed red.
"Friend Slot #2, Zhang Peng, has triggered a 10x critical rebate. You have received a rebate of: 199,960."
'Oho?'
Lin Chu was pleasantly surprised.
'A tenfold return!'
'I can't believe I got another tenfold rebate, and under circumstances I never would have expected.'
'It's true what they say: the best things happen when you least expect them.'
'In a word: beautiful!'
...
...