Chapter 437 - 273: The Wise Do Not Fall in Love

Chapter 437: Chapter 273: The Wise Do Not Fall in Love

6:00 PM.

At a barbecue restaurant hand-picked by locals.

In a private room, Lin Chu and Bai Weiwei had arrived early. The charcoal was already lit, and the mushroom broth in the dual-sided hot pot wafted an enticing aroma. Plates of meat had been ordered, and the alcohol was ready.

The two had talked for a long time by Erhai Lake that afternoon. Lin Chu was quite grateful to her. In a way, she had given him a significant spiritual revelation, allowing him to experience a thought process of "looking inward when faced with failure" from a third-person perspective.

However, for Bai Weiwei herself, her feelings at this moment were rather complicated.

’You were an unintentional breeze passing through the hall, yet your lonely pride summoned a mountain flood.’

Thinking back on it now that she had come to her senses, her original goal had just been something like a prank—a game of human nature.

But... she had lost control.

Now, Lin Chu seemed to completely understand himself, but unfortunately, it was as if she had been walking by the river and gotten her shoes wet.

All because she hadn’t considered one thing!

’Just holding his hand... could actually cause such a flutter in my heart.’

’A miscalculation!’

’This was a huge miscalculation.’

The genius girl felt a wave of helplessness, along with a hint of annoyance.

’How did the Creator even make people?’

’It’s like there’s a system bug!’

Seeing her current state, Lin Chu couldn’t help but feel a little amused. However, since she was clearly annoyed, he didn’t make any sarcastic remarks.

’This is the last of my kindness,’ he thought.

Ultimately, he still owed this girl a debt of gratitude.

Setting aside what happened last night, today had also served as a stepping stone on his path of growth.

As for whether to "repay her kindness with enmity," Lin Chu honestly hadn’t decided yet.

At times, he faintly felt that it was a kind of cruelty—to take an independent, confident girl with a light in her eyes and completely mold her into his own shape, then let her suffer in love, enduring the torments of greed, anger, and delusion.

But then again, he thought, even if she didn’t get involved with him, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t run into some scumbag later on, which wouldn’t be any better.

’Talk about not being able to have the best of both worlds. This is it.’

"Brother Chu, you’re here..."

Bai Jingrui appeared at the door of the private room, pushing it open with a brilliant smile plastered on his face. "You really know how to pick a place. This restaurant is super popular. The food’s delicious—barbecue plus hot pot. The owner’s family butchers a cow every day. We’ve been eating here since we were kids."

He was carrying a bottle of red wine, which he casually set aside. Seeing the Maotai that Lin Chu had already prepared, his smile grew even brighter.

"Where’s my dad?"

"He’s not here yet?"

Bai Weiwei asked casually. She was quite used to this kind of dinner gathering. After all, with a large family, they would get together every so often for no particular reason, the main point being simply to relax.

"He’s parking. Seems like he already had a round of drinks this afternoon."

Bai Jingrui offered Lin Chu a cigarette and explained with a smile, "With a few old friends, I think. The guys from last night."

A flicker of understanding crossed Lin Chu’s eyes, and he quickly realized what was happening.

Although the rule is that a guest shouldn’t bring another guest, that clearly didn’t apply to this situation.

After all, to get him "bailed out" last night, Bai Fengshou had also incurred a debt to others.

Inviting them over for dinner today was no big deal. It was just a matter of adding a few more chopsticks.

Just as they were talking, the door to the room was pushed open again.

Three men entered. The one in the lead was, of course, Bai Fengshou. Flanking him were two men who looked about his age. One had a square jaw, and the other wore glasses, each with their own distinct presence.

Bai Fengshou was laughing as soon as he walked in.

"Haha, Lin Chu, you all got here first! You’re a guest from afar and a big boss. I was afraid my hospitality would be lacking, so I brought a couple of influential big brothers along..."

He introduced them one by one.

The square-jawed man was Yang Guofeng, whom he’d met last night. He was the one who made the final call to let him go.

The man with glasses was Duan Wuzhuang, a local entrepreneur.

After some smiling pleasantries, the three men took their seats. It certainly made the room livelier, but Lin Chu couldn’t help a few doubts from creeping into his mind.

’I wonder what Bai Fengshou is up to?’

’Three possibilities:’

’First, he’s genuinely hospitable. It’s just a meal, and the more, the merrier. Nothing to overthink.’

’Second, he’s taking this opportunity to talk business, to talk money.’

’Third, and more sinister, he’s setting me up: An out-of-towner is here, let’s fleece him!’

’All three possibilities exist.’

"Is anyone else coming? If everyone’s here, shall we start eating?"

Having formulated a contingency plan in his mind, Lin Chu asked with a smile.

"Everyone’s here, everyone’s here."

"Let’s eat, let’s eat!"

The meat SIZZLED on the iron grill. The liquor was opened, and each person got their own small decanter. Yang Guofeng and Duan Wuzhuang were clearly seasoned veterans of such occasions. They immediately raised their glasses for a toast, Lin Chu returned the gesture, and after a few rounds, nearly half a bottle was already gone.

Yang Guofeng had the air of a big brother, playing it cool and not saying much.

Duan Wuzhuang, on the other hand, was very talkative and witty, his demeanor somewhere between enthusiastic and fawning.

Bai Fengshou chatted about local culture, good food, and fun places, laughing heartily.

As for Bai Weiwei and Bai Jingrui, they were purely along for the ride, eating, pouring drinks, and rarely interjecting.

All this information... surfaced in Lin Chu’s mind, and he found it all rather interesting.

’The three possibilities I just considered are probably in a Schrödinger’s state, entirely dependent on the atmosphere as it develops.’

"Big brothers, come, let me toast the three of you. Thank you again for last night. Haha, bottoms up! To everyone’s good fortune."

Lin Chu started to take the initiative.

Though this was just a small interlude on his journey, these were all men of the world. He might as well treat it as making new friends. If they really had something in mind, money was no object to him. He could toss out a few million, even ten million, without batting an eye.