In fact, when I faintly heard the voice just now, I’d already figured out what was going on.

"Haha, she is pretty cute. We should just go and steal her."

Lin Chu teased casually.

Liang Jieyu naturally understood what he meant and couldn’t help but laugh out loud. "Can’t we just have one of our own? You know, just for fun..."

"I haven’t decided yet."

Lin Chu said bluntly.

Hearing this, she was slightly stunned for a moment, not understanding what Lin Chu meant by "haven’t decided yet."

Lin Chu glanced at her and offered an explanation.

"Get married? Or not get married?"

"A child out of wedlock? Or a legitimate one?"

"Have a kid, and then what?"

"Whether it’s a boy or a girl, how are they supposed to face their parents?"

"Am I supposed to tell them their dad’s a scumbag, that they have a ton of half-siblings and more than a few ’other mothers,’ and that they’ll have to fight over the family inheritance someday?"

He wasn’t holding anything back.

Huh?

Liang Jieyu was completely floored by the sheer weight of his thoughts.

She never expected that someone like Lin Chu would even consider such problems.

’But...’

’Is this really something *you* should be worrying about?’

’I’ve never even considered it.’

’As long as I can afford to raise them, why not just have them?’

She was torn between laughter and tears.

’Damn it, boss, wake up! You’re not a normal person anymore!’

"I can handle it. I don’t have a problem with any of that. I can accept anything. I... I just want a child with you."

Liang Jieyu took a deep breath, feeling she needed to set him straight.

At times like these, this man possessed a baffling sense of responsibility, both toward women and his own children.

Of course, a sense of responsibility wasn’t a bad thing.

But having too much of it wasn’t good, either!

Lin Chu looked at her calmly and smiled again. "Let’s just let nature take its course. I can’t bring myself to have a child with a clear conscience, as if I were just getting a puppy that only needs to be fed."

Liang Jieyu sighed to herself.

A wave of emotion washed over her.

She thought of her own broken childhood, her irresponsible father, and her mother who struggled to hold everything together.

Compared to her own father, Lin Chu was worlds apart. It was like comparing the heavens to the mud on the ground.

She suddenly saw Lin Chu from a completely new angle and even felt a sense of admiration.

’Scumbag?’

’Boss?’

’A man holding himself to the standard of a good father?’

’Which one was the real him?’

’In truth, he was all of them.’

’It’s... really enough to make a person lose their composure.’

"Alright, then let’s let nature take its course."

"I feel like you’ve been under a lot of stress lately. Why don’t you lie down? I’ll give you a massage."

She said softly.

Lin Chu lay down as if it were nothing, closing his eyes. He relaxed, letting himself sink into the moment. A short while later, his breathing grew steady and even.

...

After dozing for about half an hour, Lin Chu was woken up by the urgent ringing of his phone. He glanced at it; it was a call from Li Ziming.

He answered.

"President Lin, there’s an urgent matter that I need to trouble you with. A very important guest is about to arrive, and they’ve specifically requested to see you. You might have to make an appearance. I’ve sent the details to your phone."

Li Ziming’s voice revealed a hint of anxiety; he did indeed sound very tense.

Lin Chu’s brow furrowed, and a thought stirred in his mind.

’Who?’

"Alright, I got it. I’m in the office right now. Come on over."

Lin Chu replied in a low voice. Glancing at his phone, he saw the profile Li Ziming had sent.

Lan Yuzheng, male, 42, from Capital City. Chairman of Lanxin Construction. The company’s main business is the construction and renovation of regulation golf courses, as well as compliance auditing and project acceptance.

In the file, Li Ziming detailed some of the problems currently facing golf courses. There was a lack of high-level laws and regulations, creating a power vacuum. Essentially, while no single entity was officially in charge, anyone with influence could interfere. Most courses couldn’t obtain legal status or become fully legitimate, forcing them to operate in a gray area. Every year, old courses across the country were shut down.

Strictly speaking, any golf course could be legally shut down. In practice, however, that wasn’t feasible. This created a certain amount of "leeway" in deciding which courses were closed and which were not.

This Lan Yuzheng, or President Lan, was a very influential figure.

Among the thirteen golf courses in Peng City, besides the state-owned ones and Mission Hills, Sha River, and Xiangmi Lake, the other courses basically all had business relationships with him.

Most of the construction and renovation business fell into his hands.

Mission Hills, Sha River, and Xiangmi Lake were naturally top-tier courses and had no need to bend to his will.

But the owners of the other courses were no pushovers either; you don’t get to open a golf course without some serious backing. This only served as further proof of how much influence the man truly had.

Celebrities, now known as Lc, had no prior dealings with him.

After all, Zhou Ming’s Famous Group was a real estate company. He himself was a veteran of the business world with deep connections and had no need to pay this man’s "toll."

But now...

With the course having changed hands and lost the backing of the Famous Group, it was now exposed to the wolves.

As Lin Chu pieced it all together, his brow furrowed.

He suddenly recalled the question Zhou Ming had once asked him: "Are you ready?"

Lighting a cigarette and exhaling a long plume of smoke, Lin Chu thought for a moment before deciding to call Zhou Ming.

After it rang twice...

...the call connected.

"President Lin, hahaha, what can I do for you? Please, speak freely."

Zhou Ming’s tone was still quite polite.

Lin Chu chuckled lightly. "I need to ask President Zhou for a favor. I’m looking into someone named Lan Yuzheng."

Hearing this, Zhou Ming gave a dry laugh and then said very frankly, "I’ve heard of this person, even had dinner with him twice. He’s a very difficult person to deal with. He came looking for me many times before, trying all sorts of petty tricks, but I shut him down every time. He doesn’t have much real power; he’s just a scoundrel."

"Of course, he does have the ability to stir up trouble. But, please forgive me, I can’t get involved in this matter. I’m in deep trouble myself right now and simply can’t handle anything else. To many people, I’m a sinking ship."

"This person can be bought. The price is around fifty million. It’s up to you, President Lin, to weigh the pros and cons."

Listening to this, Lin Chu had a good grasp of the situation.

Because there was still a final payment of 600 million outstanding, what Zhou Ming said was definitely the truth. His attitude was also very clear: he couldn’t get involved directly, but he could offer advice from behind the scenes.

Fifty million...

It wasn’t actually a huge deal.

After all, Lan Yuzheng was just after money. Forcing the golf course into a dead end would do him no good either.

At this moment, another thought popped into Lin Chu’s head.

’I wonder if Li Ziming is involved in this. Could they be colluding?’

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Just then, there was a soft knock on the office door.

"President Lin, it’s me, Li Ziming."

Lin Chu took a deep breath and stood up. "Come in!"

...

...