404 Bar was one of Peng City's top-tier bars. The basic minimum spend was around a thousand per person, and if you wanted to have a satisfying night out, there was no way you were leaving without dropping at least two or three thousand.
Lin Chu would never go to a place like this on his own dime. What kind of spending was that? A trip there would burn through a whole month's salary in a single night.
Unless he was tagging along for free.
But Lin Chu had been there twice before.
Both times were because his ex-girlfriend, Yaoyao, had been desperate to go, and she'd even brought along two of her girlfriends.
Of course, back then, Lin Chu's primary role was... the designated wallet.
'It's embarrassing just thinking about it!'
'What a total sucker!'
'But today... let's hope this bill is huge. The bigger, the better!'
'The more people who come, the better!'
'As long as they're guys!'
...
"Ah Chu, you broke up? Congratulations, congratulations..."
"See? Relationships are for suckers..."
It wasn't time to start work yet, so his colleagues were all on their phones. After scrolling past Lin Chu's Moments post, a chubby colleague walked over and whispered.
Liu Yang: a spa regular, the Business KTV Little Prince, and an old dog at the bars.
He really got around. In short, he was no saint.
Lin Chu glared at him. "You saw my Moments post?"
To be fair, Liu Yang was the main culprit behind his transformation from a pure, innocent college boy into the jaded office veteran he was today.
In a way, Liu Yang was his "mentor."
Back when Lin Chu was still an intern, he had to close a deal within the first month to secure a permanent position. But with no experience and no connections, he couldn't make a sale.
Liu Yang had given him one.
Lin Chu had secretly transferred the commission back to him, but that single deal had allowed him to pass his probation.
Over the past two years, they'd had some minor friction, competing for deals and clients, but nothing serious. They maintained a civil front. Eventually, they reached an equilibrium: you close a deal, you buy dinner; I close a deal, I pay for karaoke. If they were both after the same target, they'd just split the profits. It was a balance.
As long as the power gap between two men isn't too vast, they both know the score.
"President Lin is paying, so of course I saw it. I have to go! Did you strike it rich? Land a huge deal? If you found a new way to make bank, don't forget your buddy..."
Liu Yang said with a grin, subtly fishing for information.
"Nah, it's got nothing to do with a deal. I'm just pissed off, so I feel like drinking..."
Liu Yang chuckled. "Right. You've still hit the jackpot. Coco Park can't even contain you anymore; you have to go to 404 Bar. You're the man, boss. Anyway, back to work. See you tonight."
He patted Lin Chu's shoulder, then got up and left.
...
He spent the whole morning making calls.
Sifting through a sea of potential clients.
Lin Chu felt like his throat was on fire. It was even hotter outside, with the sun hanging like a giant fireball. He didn't want to leave the air-conditioned office, so he decided to just order delivery.
'Pig trotter rice is beneath me now.'
'Time to eat something nice.'
He chose a relatively high-end Cantonese restaurant and ordered four dishes and a soup.
Scalded Babylon snail, steamed sea prawns with garlic, a clay pot of fatty beef with glass noodles, a side of greens, and a portion of pigeon soup.
Such a lavish spread of four dishes only cost 280 yuan—not even 300.
'300... That's only half the price of a tube of lipstick.'
Lin Chu marveled once again. Even without the system, his standard of living had skyrocketed since the breakup.
'Time to eat!'
When the delivery arrived, the dozens of salespeople in the office were a little stunned.
Whoa.
'Did Lin Chu win the lottery? Or strike it rich trading crypto? Or did he land another huge client?'
'Even his casual work lunch is this extravagant.'
"Brother Chu, you're living large. Your lunch budget is higher than the boss's,"
a fairly pretty female colleague from the next desk, Lu Wenjing, joked with a smile.
Lin Chu gave a casual smile. "Hey, don't go starting trouble for me. I just broke up, I'm in a bad mood, and I felt like eating something nice."
Lu Wenjing poked at her own boxed lunch. "You're going to the bar tonight? Can I come?"
"Can't do it."
"This is a high-stakes game."
Lin Chu said with a grin, "But we can go out, just the two of us, some other time."
Lu Wenjing chuckled softly. "Are you trying to make a move on me? You've got some nerve."
Lin Chu lowered his voice. "Why? The manager gets to make a move, but I can't?"
Her face instantly flushed. She instinctively glanced around, shot Lin Chu a playful glare, then buried her head in her food and didn't dare say another word.
In her heart, she was now certain: 'Lin Chu must have struck it rich!'
'Rich people really do have a way of talking with such confidence!'
Having shut her down with a single line, Lin Chu felt a quiet thrill of satisfaction.
He suddenly felt his mood lighten considerably.
...
"Brother Chu, you have a delivery."
After lunch, Lin Chu took a short nap. When the afternoon work session started, the young woman at the front desk sent him a message.
Lin Chu went to the front desk to pick it up.
'Huh?'
'I didn't order anything.'
Lin Chu was a little puzzled. When he got to the reception, he was surprised to see it was an intra-city courier, holding a red bag with the word "Shuibei" printed on it.
He took it, glanced inside, and was shocked. They were Gold bars.
20 grams each.
Two of them.
"Happy breakup. Feel like the price of Gold is about to go up, so sending you two bars. Just hang onto them. If you dare give them to a woman, I'll fucking kill you."
At the bottom of the box was a handwritten note from Wang Zhefei.
Er.
Lin Chu was speechless. He just shook his head and smiled.
'Heh, so I can even get a return on my investment, huh?'
This morning, to churn his money, he'd bought Wang Zhefei an iPhone 15 Pro Max for just under 15,000. Now, he'd been sent two Gold bars. With the price of Gold around 500 a gram, 40 grams was worth 20,000. 'So I actually came out ahead?'
He signed for the delivery.
He took them back to his desk, snapped a photo, and posted on Moments again.
—"Good brothers are true love; girlfriends are just a side dish."
In the past, Lin Chu would have worried that a post like this would damage his image and hurt his chances of meeting someone new. But now? 'Who cares!'
Soon, the likes started rolling in.
"We're going clubbing tonight at 404 Bar. Just head straight there."
Lin Chu sent Wang Zhefei a message. He didn't even mention the Gold bars; Wang Zhefei had liked the post, so he'd definitely seen it. There was no need to bring it up.
"Not going."
he replied instantly.
Lin Chu: "Come on! Fuck! Don't be a dick! It's my treat!"
Wang Zhefei: "Not going. Just give me the cash."
Lin Chu: "...We're going to the spa after clubbing."
'If you don't go, how am I supposed to rake in my rewards?'
'He's the jackpot. The only friend slot I have right now, my number one whale who gives a ten-times reward if I call him Daddy.'
Wang Zhefei: "Cash for the spa, too. (smirk)"
Lin Chu was starting to crack. "Fine, you don't have to go. But when the time comes, I'll put a picture of you on the table, light a cigarette in front of it, order a Divine Dragon Set, and have the big screen display 'In loving memory of my Brother Fei, who could not be here with us.'"
Wang Zhefei: "..."
He didn't reply.
Lin Chu knew that meant yes.
'Heh. Trying to play games with me?'
...
He took care of a few more work matters that afternoon. Just before quitting time, Lin Chu created a group chat.
"Tonight at 9 PM, 404 Bar for a pure Arhat Array."
Then he started adding people.
Wang Zhefei, Liu Yang, and four other guys who had signed up during the day who were "at least not intolerable."
Seven people in total.
The moment the group was created, a flood of messages appeared.
"The hell? You're doing an Arhat Array at 404 Bar? Are you trying to turn it into a gay bar?"
"What kind of bizarre move is this? I don't get it, I just don't get it."
"Brother Chu, are you about to make an announcement? The closet door can't hold you in anymore, huh?"
"Boss, I've got the gasoline ready, just watch me..."
"Uh, hey, Brother Chu, is the budget big enough? I just met a few girls, models... Should I, you know? Heh heh..."
...
...