Chapter 48: Should a Good Man Be Handed Over to a Friend?

After Chu Lin saw the payment notification, he glanced at Cai Yao beside him and handed her two of the pearls. “President Cai, here are the two pearls you needed.”

Cai Yao received them with a radiant smile. “Should I transfer the funds to you right away, President Chu?”

The twenty thousand yuan from the heiress of Zhizhen arrived swiftly. Yet, compared to the ten million transfer earlier, this sum seemed utterly insignificant. If it were a different beauty as stunning as the Zhizhen heiress, perhaps he would have simply gifted her the pearls and invited her out for a late-night snack—maybe even explored the mysteries of the fountain of life together that same evening.

But with this heiress, who was impossible to handle, he felt no such inclination. He politely excused himself and left.

Liu Ling arrived and, seeing that Chu Lin had already departed, exclaimed in surprise, “President Chu just left like that?”

“What else did you expect?” Cai Yao replied with a smile.

Liu Ling was speechless. “No wonder you’re still single, heiress. Don’t you think it’s strange? You’re a beauty with a figure like this. Any man in such a situation would have invited you for a late-night snack or a drink, right?”

“Besides, if he invited you out, your best friend would probably tag along too. Two stunning beauties at once!”

Cai Yao laughed at her words. “Liu Ling, President Chu is a gentleman, not like those playboy heirs such as Chen Feng. And he has a girlfriend.”

“When he ate at my place before, it was clear he cared deeply for her. He’s a good man.”

Liu Ling was astonished. “Handsome, wealthy, and devoted—are there really such rare men? Didn’t your heart stir, heiress?”

“I told you, he has a girlfriend.” Cai Yao rolled her eyes at her friend, exasperated.

She hurried to change the topic. “Why don’t you help me arrange the processing of the earrings first, and stop gossiping.”

Still, she had to admit that interacting with President Chu was genuinely comfortable. He didn’t look at her with the kind of desire or lust that most men did. She was sensitive to those glances and always felt uneasy. Just now, she sensed his appreciation for her attire, but none of the discomforting looks—he truly had no ulterior motives.

If Chu Lin knew what the heiress was thinking, he would surely be surprised. He really hadn’t given her a second thought. But could that really be sensed?

Liu Ling, however, sighed, as if disappointed in her friend. “If you mind him having a girlfriend, you could always recommend him to your best friend. Maybe she’d get a happy life out of it.”

“…” Cai Yao couldn’t help but roll her eyes again.

…

Chu Lin left Tassiqi and returned to his car. The remaining thirteen pearls were packed in Tassiqi’s elegant gift boxes, which he placed on the back seat.

Back at the farm, he waited for the Atlantis map to upgrade. After all, with each upgrade, a new kind of animal would appear.

But, as before, the upgrade wasn’t immediate.

A night passed, and the Atlantis map showed no signs of progress. The next morning, after waiting half the day, there was still no notification of completion. Instead, he received a call from his uncle. “Lin, where’s your farm located? I’ve brought Da Huang and Er Huang over.”

“Uncle, I’ll send you the location on WeChat,” Chu Lin replied, surprised. His uncle had said he’d come in a couple of days, but only one had passed. It seemed Uncle Er Gen had arrived early in Min City.

Soon, he heard the sound of a vehicle outside.

A small truck pulled up at the entrance.

“Chu Song, is this the place?” Uncle Er Gen parked the truck and looked at the farm in astonishment. “I didn’t expect Lin’s farm to be this big.”

“The location Lin sent is definitely here.” Despite knowing his nephew’s farm was profitable, Chu Song was still amazed by its size.

Woof woof woof!~

Da Huang and Er Huang leapt off the truck, barking joyfully as they ran into the farm.

Chu Lin’s face lit up when he saw the two dogs. Before he could greet them, they had already bounded over, circling him happily.

He hurried to rub their heads, then went out to greet his relatives. “Uncle, Uncle Er Gen, please come in.”

“Lin, your shrimp farm is really huge,” Uncle Er Gen said, looking around in wonder. “You’re truly impressive now.”

Chu Song, hearing his nephew being praised, felt a surge of pride. “What did you expect from my nephew?”

Uncle Er Gen teased, “We all know Lin is your nephew.”

Chu Lin chuckled. “Uncle Er Gen, let me show you and Uncle around. Tonight, I’ll treat you both to a seafood feast.”

Chu Song quickly replied, “Lin, we won’t have time for a feast this visit. Er Gen has matters in the village, so we need to head back soon—that’s why we came early to Min City.”

“Yes,” Uncle Er Gen nodded. “But we’ve found your place now, so next time you can’t refuse us.”

“Uncle Er Gen, you’re joking. Of course you’re welcome anytime, and there’ll always be a seafood feast waiting for you,” Chu Lin said with a smile.

Uncle Er Gen was a good man and had a close relationship with his uncle. When they ran their seafood shop, whenever he came to Min City, he always helped bring things for Uncle and Aunt.

“Now that the dogs are delivered, Er Gen, let’s head back,” Chu Song said. Seeing his nephew’s farm, he felt reassured. With Er Gen’s urgent matters, they didn’t want to waste time. There would be plenty of chances in the future.

He grabbed Da Huang and Er Huang’s dog bowls from the truck.

The dogs seemed to understand what that meant, running over and grabbing their bowls in their mouths.

“Uncle, wait a moment,” Chu Lin said, hurrying inside. He grabbed a net and began scooping Atlantis prawns from the internal breeding pool, along with the remaining Atlantis clams and scallops. He also caught about ten fish from the wild fish pond, packing them into two bags and carrying them out.

“Uncle, Uncle Er Gen, these are all seafood I raised myself. Take them back and try them for me,” Chu Lin said as he placed the two bags of fish and shrimp onto the truck.

Uncle Er Gen laughed. “Lin, you don’t need to sweet-talk us when you’re giving gifts. Everyone knows your shrimp are delicious.”

He accepted the gesture without protest—since they were already on the truck, refusing would be unnecessary.

Chu Song and Er Gen didn’t stay long and soon left.

Chu Lin played with Da Huang and Er Huang for a while.

Before long, Liu Fa returned from deliveries. Seeing the two dogs, he was surprised. “President Chu, will they be living at the farm now?”

“Yes,” Chu Lin nodded and instructed, “Master Liu, isn’t there an empty room on the first floor of the steel house? Please tidy it up for Da Huang and Er Huang. I’ll give them a bath, and then take them for vaccinations and dog registration.”

“Alright, President Chu,” Liu Fa agreed and went off to prepare.

Chu Lin turned to Da Huang and Er Huang. The dogs were indeed a bit dirty.

He went inside to fetch a brush and his own shower gel, then dragged out a hose and sprayed the dogs.

They hopped about happily under the water jet. Having bathed them often in the village, they knew exactly what he was doing.

Once they were soaked, Chu Lin applied shower gel to Da Huang.

Mongrels weren’t too delicate, and human shower gel worked just fine.

After the foam lathered up, he used the brush to scrub Da Huang, making the bubbles even thicker.

“Woo woo woo!”

Da Huang let out a contented whimper, clearly enjoying himself. He half-closed his eyes, then lay down and lifted a paw, inviting Chu Lin to brush there.

“You really know how to enjoy yourself,” Chu Lin laughed.

He felt that his skill at bathing dogs was pretty good—he could make them feel so relaxed.

Sometimes, bathing a person wasn’t so different from bathing a dog. With enough experience, he could make people feel just as comfortable.

Just like in Li Qian’s studio, he had made her feel completely at ease.

She, too, couldn’t stop humming in pleasure.

When he was done, Chu Lin took the hose and rinsed all the foam off Da Huang.

As he put the hose down, Er Huang was already biting the brush, reaching it toward his hand. Once Chu Lin took the brush, Er Huang promptly lay down, ready to enjoy himself.

“Damn!” Chu Lin muttered.