Chapter 335 - 238: Hard, Steady, and Audacious

Chapter 335: Chapter 238: Hard, Steady, and Audacious

Lin Chu said it with a laugh.

But Liao Meili could still sense a sharp, aggressive edge to his words.

"Geez, are you still mad? I was just trying to do something nice for you. If you don’t want it, just say so. You scared me. Why are you being so aggressive?"

Her heart was racing a little. She backed down, looking at Lin Chu with a wronged expression as she spoke.

"I’m not drinking it. It’s disgusting."

Lin Chu thumped the bowl down on the table, tossed the spoon aside, and got up, heading for his bedroom.

He paused at the doorway, giving her an out. Turning back, he asked, "Coming to bed?"

Liao Meili stared at him, dazed.

She sat on the sofa in a sulk, not saying a word.

"Come on now. All right, all right, I’m not mad anymore. I’m exhausted today. Come on, I just want to hold you while we sleep."

Seeing that she seemed genuinely angry, and deciding it was better to avoid more trouble, Lin Chu went back to her. Half-coaxing, half-pulling, he got her off the sofa, then suddenly bent down, scooped his arms under her knees, and lifted her into a strong princess carry.

Liao Meili let out a surprised cry. She was still pouting, but the momentum of her anger was completely broken.

*Sigh*...

There’s an old saying: all the best cabbages get eaten by pigs.

At that moment, Liao Meili coined a term in her mind: piggish boyfriend.

’The man was simply intoxicating.’

’His good and bad points were equally obvious.’

’But she had to admit, he was genuinely charming. At the very least, his power was on full display, making him someone you couldn’t help but love and hate at the same time.’

...

「Day four of the live stream.」

The scheduled celebrity guest was Chen Xiaochun.

Peng City was close to Xiangjiang, after all, and those stars offered incredible value for their price.

Lin Chu planned to milk these "big brother" actors from Hong Kong’s golden age for all they were worth before moving on.

The process was always the same.

A Golden Statue, a Golden Golf Club, and a Golf Club Annual Card—he gave them the full package.

No emotion, all technique.

They filmed a short video, too.

With the experience from the first time, they didn’t even bother preparing multiple scripts. They just shot a simple one.

The video had a retro *Young and Dangerous* vibe mixed with some slapstick comedy.

It was a rooftop scene.

The two of them faced off.

More foes than friends.

"Hello. The name’s Pheasant. Yeah, like the bird."

"Hello. I’m Lin Chu."

"Hey. What crew you with?"

"I roll with Jin Yong. *The Deer and the Cauldron*. I’m the leader of the Heaven and Earth Society."

"Huh? So you’re a big shot, then."

"Just your average big shot. You can call me Master."

"Master my ass! What gives you the right?"

"On the grounds... that I’m rich, of course. Two million to act in this little scene. Is that enough for you? Be in my stream tonight at eight. Sharp."

A metal briefcase hit the ground with a thud. The lid popped open, and red bills scattered everywhere in the wind.

"Fine! I’ll be there! You think I’m scared of you?"

During the shoot.

Lin Chu broke character and started laughing several times, but they finally stumbled their way through the take.

’The company’s scriptwriter sure knows how to cook up some shit.’

’What a terrible script.’

But they were on a tight schedule, and done was better than perfect.

If it had been a serious production, he definitely wouldn’t have been able to pull it off with his current acting skills. Without any professional training, his acting was on par with any of those pretty-boy idols.

This take would just have to do.

The live stream that evening was, unsurprisingly, a hit. The viewers were now treating Lin Chu’s channel like a one-on-one talk show.

It was chill.

Very chill.

For many viewers, it was the perfect way to unwind. Get off work, lie on the couch, have a smoke and a drink, and listen to two guys shoot the breeze. One was a real tycoon, a super-rich magnate. The other was a celebrity, a memory from their childhood or youth, who had torn off his glamorous mask to chat casually like a normal person. There were no airs, nothing was off-limits. They’d even make some dirty jokes now and then. Best of all, they weren’t trying to sell you anything. It wasn’t annoying. In fact, you could even win prizes. The day before yesterday it was a Xiaomi SU7, yesterday a Tank 300, and today a BYD Han... The whole vibe was just so damn comfortable and relaxing.

Of course, some people questioned what Lin Chu’s end game was.

’He’s really not going to sell anything?’

But for now, at least, he wasn’t. So they might as well keep watching.

The moment the vibe changed, the giveaways stopped, or it wasn’t so chill anymore—it wouldn’t be too late to leave then.

All it took was a click in the top-right corner, anyway.

...

「Day five.」

Lin Chu had Zhou Runfa on.

「Day six: Nicholas Tse.」

「Day seven: Wang Baoqiang.」

He was like a machine, devoid of emotion.

It was even starting to feel like a job.

Step by step.

A fixed process, a set routine.

Day in, day out.

The initial novelty and excitement were gradually beginning to fade for Lin Chu.

It wasn’t completely boring yet, but it had become a bit monotonous.

Still...

...the growth in his follower count was real.

After a week of this, his follower count had already surpassed five million.

His daily streams had a stable viewership, even without much algorithmic promotion.

The growth rate, however, was gradually slowing.

After all, creators and consumers have the same mindset: they crave novelty, change, new stunts, and pure entertainment value.

Once the initial novelty wore off, interest could drop off a cliff just as quickly.

Even so, a huge number of core fans had stuck around.

Once the style was established, those who liked the vibe would naturally stay.

Lin Chu felt that, with the backing of his massive resources, he had more or less figured out this whole "content creation" game.

He now had over five million followers.

The foundation of his popularity was set.

The negative fallout from the "Peng City’s Most Devoted Lover" incident had mostly faded. It was time to logically proceed with the next phase of his marketing plan.

"No stream tomorrow. Taking a day off. I’m tired, going to go out and get some fresh air, find some inspiration."

At the end of the stream with Wang Baoqiang, Lin Chu announced this with a smile.

"What kind of ’inspiration’ are we talking about? The kind that comes with a ’happy ending’? Take us with you, bro!"

"Holy shit, the host is turning tricks! Quick, see who the top donor is!"

"Ran out of money? Can’t afford to keep burning cash, huh?"

"Trash! You’re nothing!"

"Nooo! I just went to the temple yesterday to burn incense and pray, I even fasted and bathed, all waiting for my luck to pop so I could win a car. And now you’re suddenly taking a break?"

"Is it just for one day? Or are you quitting for good?"

"Sigh... unfollowing. Haven’t you all figured it out yet? For the host, this was just a game. A week ago, he had his heart broken, got dumped, was treated like a bootlicker, and completely lost face. That’s why he started streaming for fun. Now he’s soaked up all our energy, he’s back at full health, so of course he’s done playing. When you’re that rich, you can do anything for fun, right?"

There were a lot of negative comments in the chat.

Lin Chu understood all of this, of course. It was the fate of every content creator.

’If the hen stops laying eggs, of course people are going to curse it out!’

But his own state of mind remained extremely stable.

’There’s still a long road ahead.’

’No need to get hung up on short-term gains and losses.’

Looked at another way, he had gained immense popularity in just seven days. His five million-plus followers were more than some streamers could hope to gain in a lifetime.

Without the foundation of time, that support was naturally unstable.

Easy come, easy go.

Building a personal brand and marketing it properly was a time-consuming process.

Half a year, a year, two years, maybe even three or five—only when his face had more and more exposure, when it became more and more familiar to the public, could he say he had truly established recognition and trust.

That was just an objective fact.

When Lin Chu woke up the next morning, he pulled out his phone and glanced at it. As expected, his follower count had dropped by over a hundred thousand overnight.

That’s how it was with a large base number—big gains, big losses.

Fortunately, it hadn’t dipped below the five-million mark.

Shaking his head with a small smile, Lin Chu took it in stride.

What else could he do?

He could only extend his timeline, look at it from a long-term perspective, and commit to the long game.

What went down would eventually come back up.

He couldn’t let himself get obsessed with the numbers.

...

He seized a day of leisure in his fleeting life.

Lin Chu found time to visit the golf club, where he gathered a few directors for a quick meeting.

The golf club’s Golden Old Friends Tournament was now past the halfway point. It would be over in about a month.

The date for the opening ceremony of the celebrity invitational tournament was also finalized: October 6th.

The date fell right at the tail end of the National Day holiday, so it wouldn’t interfere with people’s vacation plans but could still ride the wave of holiday buzz.

Meanwhile, all the various preparations were proceeding in a tense but orderly fashion.

Just like him, they were all swamped with work.

After the meeting.

Lin Chu casually sent a message to Li Ke’er: "What are you up to? Come on, let’s get a room."

Her: "Huh? Did you text the wrong person?"

Lin Chu: "Haha, nope, I got the right person. We’re manufacturing a scandal, remember? Today’s the day. All the preparations are made, all we need now is to get a room."

Li Ke’er: ...

’Could you be any more shameless?’

...

...