Chapter 455 - 280: Prince

Chapter 455: Chapter 280: Prince

Another afternoon.

Goose-feather snow drifted down outside the window, while inside, the heating was so dry it made one’s lips crack.

In a trendy, artsy book cafe, bathed in the warm, orange glow of the lights, Lin Chu ordered a pot of pear soup and read a copy of *Tomb Raider Notes*.

Changbai Mountain featured prominently in the bestselling book, a windfall the local tourism industry had fully capitalized on. Of course, it was hard to say who was riding whose coattails. In any case, the place he was staying was now called Yunding Market.

Truthfully, Lin Chu had wanted to go skiing in the blizzard. It would have been an absolutely insane and thrilling experience, like a frenzied dance with the snowflakes—a feeling of becoming one with nature.

However, the ski resort had chickened out. For safety reasons, the slopes were closed, and entry was forbidden.

With no other choice, he had to settle for the next best thing: killing time by reading a novel.

Hibernating.

This was what it meant to hibernate for the winter.

The leisurely, languid atmosphere seeped into his very bones, leaving Lin Chu feeling wonderfully lazy. His mood was tranquil, free from all worldly cares.

Gotta say, the white powder really is an addiction. With his recent high-intensity training, he had achieved a state of passive celibacy. He’d barely been with any women, and even when enjoying a massage, he’d only gone so far and no further.

At the same time, because of the inconvenience at the ski resort, he had even been smoking less.

So when he stepped outside from the warmth, lighting a cigarette and taking a harsh drag of smoke mixed with the frigid air gave him a doubly satisfying feeling. It was sharp and refreshing.

Smoking in the cold weather, the cigarette somehow seemed even more fragrant.

DING-DONG.

His phone suddenly rang.

He glanced at it. The message was from Liu Junfeng.

"Brother Chu, I want to borrow some money from you. Ten million. Haha, I just can’t hold back anymore. I have to get in on this market trend. Don’t try to stop me; just call me a gambler. My current fixed assets are worth about that much—my house in Peng City and three cars add up to around ten million. If I really lose everything in the stock market, I’ll give it all to you. Then you can support me. (blushing emoji)"

Reading the long message, Lin Chu was speechless for a moment, then a smile involuntarily touched his lips.

’What do you call this?’

’Shameless-style borrowing.’

’Definitely something Old Liu would do.’

He was the one who was really wishy-washy. Before the National Day holiday, he’d said he wanted to go on a trip with him, but he delayed for two days and ended up catching this huge stock market wave. After that, he stopped pushing to leave. The little flame of ambition to make money in his heart had probably been reignited.

Making money was in the cultural DNA of people from Peng City, an intangible cultural heritage.

And now he was coming to him for funding.

"Send me your account number. I’ll transfer it in a bit. Go all in. Don’t you dare chicken out."

Lin Chu replied with a smile.

There was nothing to discuss. It was only ten million. Forget borrowing—if he’d just asked for it, Lin Chu would have given it to him.

’Who told me to be the "sugar daddy," anyway?’

Old Liu kept his pride carefully hidden beneath his clowning around and a veneer of middle-aged greasiness, never letting it show. But Lin Chu knew that ever since his mountaintop sports car club was forcibly demolished for environmental reasons, he had been down for a while. He’d even seemed to be in a state of just lying flat and giving up. Now that an opportunity had presented itself, his ambition was stirring once more.

’Makes sense.’

What man is content with accomplishing nothing, remaining unknown and obscure?

Unless they truly have no other choice.

Take himself, for example. Even though he was currently enjoying a life of leisure, if a truly great opportunity came along—one that got his blood pumping and ignited his ambition—he’d definitely shoot up from his deathbed and descend from the heavens like a roaring dragon.

But now, he had learned to better alternate between tension and relaxation, to control the rhythm of his life.

Even without his virtual panel, Lin Chu felt he could now be a proper magnate. True wealth came from strategy, not from toil and trouble.

’Looks like this market trend really is a wind, a huge one at that.’

Just a couple of days ago, Teacher Meng—Lin Xiwan—had sent him a message to collect a debt.

When they first got together, she had taken out her entire life savings of three million at the gym’s swimming pool, asking him to help her get rich and see if there was a chance.

Now, thanks to his "love ’em and leave ’em" ways, they had grown considerably distant. Combined with the current market trend, she probably felt like "you can’t rely on a man." Although she was still working at the club, she had been hinting around that she was short on cash.

He had paid her back six million. You couldn’t exactly call it an amicable breakup, but if he ever felt like it down the line, hooking up again wouldn’t be a problem.

The extra three million was basically a gift.

’A 100% return.’ He figured his persona of "spending money like water, but skilled at making it" hadn’t crumbled in her eyes.

’If a problem can be solved with money, then solve it with money.’

’It’s just a string of numbers in a bank account, after all.’

As he mulled this over, he saw the account number Liu Junfeng sent and transferred the money. Suddenly, a curious idea popped into his head.

After a moment’s consideration, he sent a message to his core group of bros.

—"Anyone who wants to get into the stock market can borrow money from me now. The limit is ten million, and no other leverage is allowed. If you lose, it’s on me. If you win, you pay me back the principal with interest."

"There are nine people in this group right now. Later, we’ll rank everyone by their rate of return. Whoever wins the most is the top dog. Go for it!"

He didn’t want to play the market himself, nor could he be bothered to learn. The returns from his panel were countless times better than the stock market—even casinos couldn’t compare. But... that didn’t stop him from having a little fun. Even if they lost it all, it would only be a hundred million at most. He could just consider it taking one for the country.

If his bros had the skills and actually made a profit, he would consider it his gift of seed money to them.