Chapter 33: The Second Young Master of the Lin Family
Gu Wan chuckled lightly on the other end of the phone: “Understood. Also, the Second Young Master of the Lin family is here again. He booked the biggest booth and specifically requested you to go over for a drink.”
“Tell him I’m abroad surveying the market.” Chi Jiong refused without a second thought.
The second child of the Lin family was a good-for-nothing, relying on his family’s wealth to squander. He was too lazy to deal with him.
Hanging up the phone, he stood up and walked to the wine cabinet.
He knew how to use the natural attention brought by the surname “Chi”.
But precisely because this success carried a nature of “spite” and “proving oneself”, his relationship with his father, Chi Mingyuan, was always somewhat delicate. His father appreciated his capabilities, but looked down on the “industry” he operated, always feeling it was unpresentable, and had hinted openly and secretly multiple times for him to settle down and return to take over the family’s main business.
Just as he was thinking, the phone rang again. The receptionist’s voice carried a trace of imperceptible tension: “Boss, there is a Mr. Chi downstairs looking for you, saying he is your father.”
Chi Jiong’s movements paused. Father? He actually came to ‘Zero Six’ in person?
“Please bring him to the office.” He put down his glass.
The office door was pushed open, and Chi Mingyuan walked in. His gaze quickly swept over every detail of the room, finally stopping on his son. Without exchanging pleasantries, he cut straight to the point:
“Next Tuesday night, the dinner with the Zhao family, you must be present.”
“The Zhao family’s daughter, Zhao Ningchun, just returned from abroad. You young people should meet more and communicate.”
This routine again.
Familiar annoyance welled up in Chi Jiong’s heart, but he smiled on the surface:
“Dad, it’s really unfortunate. Next Tuesday, I have an appointment with a few people from Europe to discuss a partnership. The time was set long ago; I’m afraid I can’t get away.”
“Postpone it.” Chi Mingyuan was concise, “‘Zero Six’ is doing alright, but it’s ultimately just a small corner. You will have to touch the Chi family’s core industries sooner or later. The partnership with the Zhao family is crucial for the group’s future. You need to participate.”
“A small corner?” Chi Jiong laughed out loud, “Dad, do you know what ‘Zero Six”s net profit for one quarter is right now? Do you know how much capital wants to invest in us? This isn’t child’s play, this is my…”
“Your kingdom?” Chi Mingyuan interrupted him, his tone carrying a faint mockery, “Without the surname ‘Chi’ backing you, do you think your licenses would have been approved so smoothly? Do you think those people who came looking for trouble could have been settled so easily?”
Chi Jiong fell silent.
He knew what his father said was the truth. In the early days of his business, there were indeed some troubles he couldn’t solve at the time that were smoothed over silently.
This surname was like an invisible thorn constantly reminding him that his independence always seemed separated by an invisible thin veil. This made him feel more powerless than direct opposition.
“The time and address for the dinner will be sent to your assistant.” Chi Mingyuan looked at his gloomy eyes, his tone softening slightly, but still unyielding, “Dress decently, don’t wear these…” After saying that, he didn’t say anything more, turned, and left.
The office door closed again. Chi Jiong stood in place.
He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window again. Downstairs, “Zero Six” glittered in the night. That was his blood and sweat, his everything.
He took a deep breath. Then, he picked up his phone and dialed Gu Wan’s number:
“Sister Wan, clear my schedule for next Tuesday night. Also…” he paused, “Help me carefully investigate what style of music the Zhao family’s daughter, Miss Zhao Ningchun, usually likes? Or any hobbies she has.”
Gu Wan didn’t ask much, agreeing crisply: “Understood, Boss. I’ll send Miss Zhao Ningchun’s detailed information to you as soon as possible.”
The phone hung up, and Chi Jiong’s gaze returned to the window outside.
He loathed this feeling of being arranged, especially when it involved emotions and future ties. But he also knew that rough refusal wasn’t the best policy; that would only intensify the conflict with his father, making him appear childish and irresponsible.
That he, Chi Jiong, could gain a firm foothold in A City’s entertainment industry relied not only on his courage and resources, but also on his sense of propriety and principles in dealing with people. One of them was respect.
Respect for partners, respect for employees, and even more, respect for women. He never used his own conditions or status to play with feelings, and he was extremely averse to treating feelings as bargaining chips in a transaction.
———————————————
The Lin Family.
Lin Siwu angrily slammed the door hard.
He had just returned from “Zero Six”, having failed to invite Chi Jiong once again.
“Didn’t come again? Said he’s abroad again?” He complained to the air, his face showing obvious displeasure and the grievance of being ignored, “It’s like this every time! Does Brother Chi look down on me?”
The Lin family’s Second Young Master, Lin Siwu, was famously known in A City’s rich second-generation circle for loving to play and knowing how to play, with a very straightforward personality. His nature wasn’t bad, having no sinister calculations; he was just overly protected by his family, somewhat ignorant of worldly hardships, spending money lavishly, loving liveliness, liking to gather in crowds, and enjoying the feeling of being surrounded by stars.
He was a regular at “Zero Six”. On one hand, he genuinely liked the atmosphere and top-tier entertainment experience there; on the other hand, he truly admired Chi Jiong.
He felt Chi Jiong was different from those playboys he knew who were either rigid or only knew how to eat, drink, and play. He had ability and courage, managing “Zero Six” with great success, living the way he somewhat yearned for but couldn’t achieve. He genuinely wanted to make friends with Chi Jiong, rather than just treating him as the boss of an entertainment venue.
But Chi Jiong was always polite yet aloof towards him, unable to be moved eight out of ten times he invited him.
This frustrated the usually smooth-sailing, highly popular Second Young Master Lin very much.
“Young Master Wu, what’s wrong? Who made you unhappy again?” A friend who played well with him came over and asked.
“Who else could it be? Chi Jiong!” Lin Siwu grabbed the iced drink on the table and chugged a mouthful, “I specifically booked the biggest booth to invite him over for a drink, and he had the receptionist tell me he’s abroad surveying the market! Lying to ghosts! I clearly heard he was in the club this afternoon!”
The friend smiled and smoothed things over: “Aiya, Boss Chi manages such a big venue, he’s busy. Besides, maybe he really has something to do?”
“Something to do? What could be more important than entertaining guests?” Lin Siwu muttered, but his tone had softened a bit.
He actually knew he was being a bit unreasonable. Chi Jiong was the boss, he had no obligation to come drink with him every time. But he just felt that since he was so supportive and spent a fortune every time he came, Chi Jiong should at least give him some special treatment, right?
His brain started calculating other ideas:
“No, I have to think of a way to make him come out and see me once…”
Once his childishness acted up, it carried a stubbornness of not giving up until he achieved his goal.
He didn’t want to cause trouble for Chi Jiong; he just purely wanted to use a method he considered “effective” to close the distance with his idol, to prove he wasn’t just a good-for-nothing guest who only knew how to spend money.
Suddenly, his phone rang.
The name flashing on the screen made his movements pause—it was his twin brother, Lin Siyu.
Translator’s Note:
- Jian (見 / 賤 / etc.): In the Mini Theater of Chapter 29, the author makes a pun with the pinyin “jian”. “想見你” (Xiang jian ni) means “Wanted to see you”. But saying it a second time implies a different word sharing the same sound, typically “Wanted to fuck you” (although that is usually 幹 or 操, in this context it’s a dirty joke, likely meaning “Wanted to screw you”).
- Orthopedics Double Male Lead (骨科雙男主): Orthopedics (骨科) is a slang term for incest. Jiang Qing is saying that if Linmu keeps acting so dramatic and devoted, people will think they are starring in an incestuous BL drama!
- 1 and 0: In Chinese BL (Danmei), “1” refers to the top (Gong) and “0” refers to the bottom (Shou). Jiang Qing is baffled because in all the fanfics, he (the beautiful, smart one) is written as the “0” while the silly, tall Jiang Linmu is written as the “1” (a trope known as “handsome-silly 1 and beautiful 0”).
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