The restaurant wasn’t in a mall, and there were plenty of designated drivers nearby. Lu Ming ran right over, called three of them, and had them drive the cars toward the Wanhao.

In the car.

Lin Chu casually glanced at his phone.

The golf club member group he had just joined that afternoon was buzzing with activity.

The group had fewer than a hundred people—eighty-four, to be exact. A quick calculation showed that just from these members alone, the annual fees amounted to two hundred million.

There were dozens of unread messages.

The vibe, however, was completely different from his previous group chats.

"@President Jiang, congratulations! I saw the news. Your company’s going for an IPO! You sure kept a tight lip on that. We were just playing golf together the other day, and you didn’t let a single thing slip. Impressive. You have the calm of someone handling big things."

"Hahaha, company policy, company policy, please understand. To all the bosses here, my company currently has internal shares available for subscription, but they come with a one-year lock-up period after the IPO. All investors are welcome to inquire. Feel free to DM me anytime."

"The overseas market is still a good place to make money. Congratulations, congratulations."

"Xiaojiang, not bad at all. It’s only been a little over six years, and you’re already going public... Keep up the good work."

The group chatted about this topic for a while.

Lin Chu was starting to get the picture. This "President Jiang" was about to take his company public, and people from all sides were congratulating him. His position in the group seemed to be middle-tier—some were flattering him, while others were offering encouragement.

Tsk, tsk.

’Circles really are different.’

In his old group, Thief Cao’s Group, there would be hundreds of messages a day. It was always lively, with some guys even giving a text-based live play-by-play of them picking up girls.

Now...

’Damn it, IPOs!’

In fact, this was the very reason he wanted to get an MBA.

At that moment, Lin Chu mentally ranked the quality—the "net worth," so to speak—of the circles he could potentially access. From lowest to highest, it would be: his current circle of friends, the MBA circle, and the golf club circle.

’In a group like this, I can only be a nobody for now.’

Below the discussion about President Jiang was another topic.

"@everyone, my daughter will be getting married on the nineteenth of next month. The venue is set at the Mission Hills Hotel. I hope all my dear friends, relatives, and fellow golfers will honor us with their presence and join us for a celebratory drink. I’ve been recuperating for the past two years and haven’t played much golf. But I’m feeling better recently, and I hope we can continue our friendships on the green."

"Congratulations, President Qian, on gaining a fine son-in-law. I will definitely be there."

"President Qian, health is the top priority. Have you been feeling better lately? Please take care of yourself."

"Old Qian, you’re finally getting ready to be a grandfather! Your son-in-law is outstanding, one of the best of the younger generation."

Lin Chu’s interest was piqued as he read this.

He couldn’t really get involved in the previous topic.

But for this one, when the day came, there was no problem with him showing up to snag a free meal.

’I wonder just how beautiful Old Qian’s daughter is?’

"Congratulations, congratulations. I’m a new member who just joined and immediately saw such happy news. How lucky. I hope some of the good fortune rubs off on me."

Lin Chu had been in sales. He knew how to be the big boss, but he could also lie low and act humble when needed. That was the law of the jungle—in the end, strength was all that mattered. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

When he first entered Liu Junfeng and Li Kai’s circle, he didn’t have his current status either. But as time went on, he became the leader.

"Welcome, @Lin Chu. President Lin, you look very young in your profile picture. What industry are you in?"

Someone who hadn’t spoken up before chimed in.

This guy, judging by his profile picture, was also quite young. It was a photo of him in the pilot’s seat of a helicopter, wearing sunglasses.

’Flashy.’

This kind of group had old, middle-aged, and young members. The ones at the top were probably the "middle-aged and elderly," but there were young people too. They usually couldn’t get a word in, but when an opportunity arose, they would still try to make their presence known.

For instance, now that Lin Chu had spoken, this "helicopter guy" seized the chance to ask a question.

Lin Chu: "I’m in the cultural industry. I hope everyone will look out for me in the future."

’Intangible cultural heritage counts as the cultural industry, right?’

’Financial sales doesn’t really count as finance. Damn it, if someone who really knew their stuff asked me a casual question and I slipped up, it would be a huge embarrassment.’

Just then, the group admin sent a message: "@Mr. Lin Chu is currently our youngest member at 24 years old. He’s some fresh blood, but he’s already incredibly accomplished for his age."

Lin Chu had bought five memberships here, paying 13 million in a single transaction. That earned him at least this much face.

Welcoming new members was also a custom in the group.

Still, Lin Chu was pleasantly surprised.

’The group admin is a god-tier wingman!’

Once the admin spoke, others chimed in.

"Haha, it’s good to have young people, it’s good. The future belongs to you all."

"Awesome 👍👍"

"Welcome, welcome! So young. When I was your age, I didn’t even know what golf was."

Everyone maintained a friendly atmosphere.

At least, it was friendly on the surface.

Most of them here were probably businessmen, if not all of them. A harmonious atmosphere brings wealth, after all.

’In a public group like this, there wouldn’t be any "sensitive" individuals anyway.’

So, Lin Chu exchanged pleasantries with them.

Suddenly, he saw a friend request. It came through the group, and a glance showed it was from the "helicopter guy." Lin Chu accepted it.

"President Lin, great to have you. The group finally has someone my age. I’ve been listening to a bunch of old guys drone on and on every day. I haven’t even dared to use a single emoji sticker."

Lin Chu couldn’t help but chuckle at the message.

’Seems like a lively one?’

"🤝🤝 How should I address you, brother?"

"My surname is Hou, Hou Chengjin. I’m 27, and I run an MCN agency."

Lin Chu: "..."

’Well, I guess we’re more or less in the same line of work.’

’A young person who could afford to start playing golf at this age... Indeed, the live-streaming industry is full of miracles.’

’It’s a wealth-creation gold rush, after all.’

"Impressive, impressive. Which company is it? Do you have any famous influencers? I watch live streams often, I’ll drop by and show some support."

Lin Chu thought for a moment before replying.

Hou Chengjin: "Sure, a few A-listers, a few dozen B-listers, but no S-listers. I’ll thank you on behalf of my little ones first. When you have time, you’re welcome to come to my company for tea."

Lin Chu: "Alright, no problem. We’ll set something up later. I’ve got things to do today, I’m in the car right now."

"Okay, okay, you go ahead. I’ll take off too."

Lin Chu mulled it over. Getting to know this person was an unexpected gain. There might actually be a possibility for collaboration in the future.

A few A-listers wasn’t a huge deal in Peng City, but it was still decent.

...

While Lin Chu was chatting, Jin Jiaying sat beside him, looking quiet and well-behaved.

Her mind, however, was racing with all sorts of thoughts.

From the corner of her eye, she could vaguely see Lin Chu chatting in the golf group, but she was afraid of being noticed and didn’t dare to look too closely.

It wasn’t until Lin Chu finished replying, looked up, lowered the car window, and lit a cigarette.

Only then did she turn to look at him, a gentle smile on her face.

"Hey, let me ask you something. How many people in this member group do you know?"

An idea suddenly occurred to Lin Chu. He opened the group member list and showed her his phone screen.

She glanced at it, her eyes brightening slightly as she said in a soft voice, "I know almost all of these clients. The company gave us special training, requiring every one of us to be able to name every charter diamond member and have a general understanding of their personalities and preferences."

"If there’s anyone you want to know about, I can tell you. And if I don’t know, I can help you ask my colleagues."

"Of course, we definitely wouldn’t know the more sensitive information, but general things are no problem."

She was smart.

She suddenly realized her value to President Lin, and a sense of security settled in her heart.

’It’s good to have value.’

’Then I won’t have to worry about being used for free.’

’These big bosses aren’t lacking for beautiful women.’

’Relying on looks alone is definitely not enough.’

...

...