Chapter 319 - 231: The Most Devoted Man in Peng City

Chapter 319: Chapter 231: The Most Devoted Man in Peng City

Lin Chu had, of course, reviewed and approved the three-part public opinion strategy from Zhou Luan and her PR firm the previous night.

However, public opinion was like a tidal wave or a hurricane. Once stirred, its final trajectory could easily deviate from the plan.

Lin Chu was well aware of this. In this event he had personally engineered, there were two particularly sensitive points.

First, his true identity and background.

Second, the source of his wealth.

However, there was already a public consensus on these points. He was known as the boss of LC Media, the founder of a famous internet influencer agency.

This aligned perfectly with the public perception that influencers are incredibly wealthy, so for the time being, almost no one online questioned it or dug any deeper. The trail went cold there.

Lighting a cigarette and exhaling a long plume of smoke, Lin Chu continued to look at his phone.

He finished reading the links.

Then he looked at his chat list.

His phone had never blown up like this before. Overnight, he had over 999 new messages.

Almost everyone who knew him had sent a message asking what was going on.

He thought for a moment.

Then, as planned, Lin Chu made a social media post.

—I’m getting too many messages to reply to everyone individually. The information about me that went viral online last night is mostly rumor. My business partnership with Famous Real Estate and the purchase of the golf club were normal business transactions. They were not done ’to chase a girl’—that’s a complete fabrication. Please don’t believe or spread these rumors. I will go live tonight at 8 PM to address this issue. Please follow my stream, "LC Lin Chu," and I’d appreciate it if my friends could help spread the word.

Posting a reply to dispel the rumors was the instinctive reaction anyone would have in this situation.

Promoting his own livestream was, of course, also part of Lin Chu’s plan.

Modern-day netizens were already desensitized to all sorts of major scandals. Until the very end, when all the facts were in, they would remain skeptical. Their first instinct would be to assume it was just a marketing stunt to drive traffic.

Lin Chu had no intention of dispelling their doubts. In fact, he intentionally guided them in that direction.

This would at least divert some of the heat.

It would also salvage a part of his public image.

He wanted to first filter out the "clever ones" from the crowd of onlookers, preventing them from reading too much into it. It was better if they simply dismissed it as a "marketing campaign."

"It’s just a standard marketing campaign for the company. We’re getting ready to start pushing products. Don’t worry. Besides, Zhou Luan is a fucking employee at my company now. If I really wanted to get with her, would I need to go to all this trouble? Keep this on the down-low."

After making his post, Lin Chu nonchalantly sent a reply to Wang Zhefei.

Wang Zhefei: "...?"

"You’re a real bastard!"

"Why didn’t you say so earlier!"

"Fuck! You wasted my emotions! I was so pissed off this morning I didn’t even eat. Quick, send me 50 yuan. I need a KFC deluxe breakfast to soothe my wounded soul."

Hearing Lin Chu’s explanation, Wang Zhefei instantly understood. His anger hadn’t vanished; the reason for it had just shifted from "being a bootlicker" to "being deceived."

Of course, he knew full well that when it came to this sort of thing, shameless marketers had no moral compass. There was nothing they wouldn’t do!

’What a bastard!’

’A total bastard!’

A smile tugged at the corners of Lin Chu’s lips. He sent him a 50-yuan red packet. "Go on, you silly son. Make sure you eat, or it’ll affect your dick’s development."

Wang Zhefei: "..."

...

"Come on, get up. We have a meeting at the office today."

He had slept with Gu Jiayan last night. She was already awake, her chin resting in her hand like a sunflower, watching Lin Chu deal with things on his phone.

He had, of course, explained the whole affair to her last night.

’A fierce heart, a fine hand!’

To pull off something big, you had to pay attention to every detail—that was just fundamental. For this, Lin Chu had even given up a night of picking up girls at the bar.

"Okay... Has anything gone wrong?"

Gu Jiayan asked with some concern.

She still felt a vague resistance to this kind of scheme. For one, it didn’t feel entirely ethical—it was like manipulating public opinion. For another, if the truth ever got out and they were exposed, the humiliation would be unbearable.

’Everything was going so well. Was all this really necessary?’

But Lin Chu’s plan was already in motion, so of course she wouldn’t voice any objections. She just focused on the progress of the matter itself.

"Not so far."

"But there are no guarantees."

"But I’m already getting pumped. I feel terrifyingly powerful right now."

Lin Chu grinned, struck a classic Schwarzenegger bodybuilding pose, and said with a laugh.

At that moment, Lin Chu was genuinely excited.

He hadn’t felt this excited in a long time.

His excitement was on par with how he felt the day the LC Golf Club changed hands, when he sat in that office for the first time.

This arena of public opinion couldn’t bring him any tangible profits just yet. His reputation was still a mixed bag of praise and scorn—mostly scorn, in fact. After all, "bootlicker" was hardly a flattering label.

But he was at the center of the storm. As long as he played his cards right, this could make him an overnight sensation.

Once he had the fame...

Once he had a relatively stable public persona...

The benefits would be absolutely immeasurable.

Most of the streamers at LC Media could even benefit from this.

Recruiting and signing new streamers would take a huge leap forward.

The golf club, including the upcoming Gold Open, would also attract a massive wave of attention. At the same time, it could serve as another card in his hand.

The work of his private council could also be advanced significantly.

Even future promotions for his short-form web series and the large-scale launch of LC Retail... all of it would gain initial traction.