Chairman Liao's Request

"Who's looking for my son?"

Lin Shoucheng stood and asked.

He ran through the list in his mind once more.

He confirmed that every relative who should have been there had arrived. No one had been missed.

Could some relative have decided to come at the last minute without saying anything beforehand?

Lin Shoucheng could not help growing suspicious.

"It's Mr. Chu."

Seeing this, the staff member let out a slight sigh of relief.

It could not be helped. Chu Corporation had worked with Fanxing Hotel for years.

Just now, the founder of Chu Corporation had personally come looking for Mr. Lin Yuan, which had truly frightened her.

Fortunately, he really was here.

"Mr. Chu?"

The people at the family banquet were slightly stunned.

The surname Chu?

He was not part of the Lin Family, was he?

As everyone quietly discussed it among themselves.

A bearded man entered, bringing along a youth of seventeen or eighteen.

Although the bearded man was dressed plainly, the bearing he casually exuded was far beyond that of ordinary people. It was very similar to those powerful figures who held great authority.

"Is he... the founder of Chu Corporation?"

Someone seemed to have thought of something and could not help crying out.

In the interstellar era, the internet was highly developed. Photos of any citizen with even a little fame were widely circulated.

Chu Corporation was among the top fifty companies in all of East Ning City, so it was naturally well known. No matter how low-profile its founder was, it was impossible for no one to recognize him.

"The founder of Chu Corporation?"

"My God, he's a major figure in East Ning City."

"I heard Chu Corporation has assets worth tens of billions, maybe even over a hundred billion. Its founder is a famous tycoon across several nearby cities."

"A person like that came to see Lin Yuan?"

The crowd immediately began discussing it. Some even connected to the internet on the spot and began comparing the bearded man before them with photos online.

"Chairman Chu."

Lin Jiye hurried over, standing before the bearded man with great excitement. "We met six years ago. Your corporation bought that plot of land in the suburbs."

"Mm."

The bearded man replied perfunctorily.

In truth, he did not remember Lin Jiye at all.

"Secretary Lin is here too?"

The bearded man swept his gaze around, spotted Lin Hao seated in the place of honor, and nodded in greeting.

Then he pulled the seventeen- or eighteen-year-old youth behind him—Chu Shiyu—and quickly walked over to Lin Yuan.

"Mr. Lin, this junior of mine was blind and ignorant. I hope you will not hold it against him."

The bearded man lowered himself greatly, without the slightest air of an elder.

"It's nothing."

Lin Yuan glanced at Chu Shiyu, who stood nearby looking extremely uneasy. He immediately recalled their chance encounter at the café not long ago, then shook his head.

"How did you find this place?"

Lin Yuan asked curiously.

"Today, I originally planned to bring Shiyu to visit Mr. Lin at your home in person. But after we arrived, we heard from others that Mr. Lin's family was holding a family banquet here at Fanxing Hotel, so we came over."

The bearded man answered truthfully.

"I see."

Lin Yuan nodded slightly.

The family banquet being held by his father, Lin Shoucheng, was no secret. Six or seven out of every ten neighbors in their residential complex knew about it.

"This is a small token of my regard. Congratulations, Mr. Lin, on becoming an Evolutionary."

The bearded man took out an envelope and handed it over with a trace of reverence.

What he feared was not Lin Yuan's status as an Evolutionary. Evolutionaries were merely rare, not nonexistent. Even Chu Corporation employed a group of Evolutionaries.

What the bearded man truly dreaded was the Goddess of Wisdom's favoritism toward Lin Yuan. Even searching for information related to him would trigger a warning from the Goddess.

Any fool would know that Lin Yuan was not ordinary. At the very least, other people would not receive any warning for searching up a mere corporate founder like him.

"Got it."

Lin Yuan replied indifferently.

He had not taken what happened at the café that day to heart. In fact, nothing much had happened at all.

What Lin Yuan did not know was the tremendous uproar his conversation with the bearded man caused in the eyes of the many relatives present.

After recognizing the bearded man's identity, some had originally suspected that he had come to the wrong person.

Perhaps the "Mr. Lin Yuan" the bearded man was looking for merely shared the same name as Lin Shoucheng's son.

After all, Lin Yuan had only just become an Evolutionary. How could he possibly have such extensive connections and know a major figure like the bearded man? Yet once the bearded man personally approached Lin Yuan and the two began speaking, everyone realized there had been no mistake.

The founder of Chu Corporation had come for Lin Yuan.

"Lin Yuan..."

Lin Jiye's expression shifted uncertainly.

Just moments ago, he had assumed the posture of an elder and intended to give Lin Yuan an opportunity to work for him.

He had even grandly offered him a monthly salary of twenty thousand.

Yet not long after, the founder of Chu Corporation, whom he had once been unable even to look up to, was standing before Lin Yuan with an extremely humble attitude.

"My nephew..."

Lin Hao, seated in the place of honor, fell into thought.

To everyone else, the bearded man was an important figure.

But to Lin Hao, he was merely a businessman, at most a somewhat larger businessman.

What puzzled Lin Hao, however, was that the bearded man was still extremely wealthy. How could he possibly speak to Lin Yuan in such a tone?

Knock, knock, knock.

The private room door was knocked on again.

"May I ask if this is Mr. Lin Yuan's private room?"

A robust voice rang out.

What? Someone else had come looking for Lin Yuan? With the bearded man's example before them, no one dared take this lightly. Lin Shoucheng personally went forward and opened the private room door.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, a man with an arrow-straight back walked in.

Behind him was another youth of seventeen or eighteen. It was Huo Qingyao.

"Who is this?"

The people at the family banquet began searching online, but found no information related to him.

"This time, he probably isn't some major figure, right?"

Everyone secretly breathed a slight sigh of relief.

They had all been greatly shocked by the bearded man and thought Lin Yuan truly possessed some terrifying identity.

Now, it seemed they might have been overthinking it. Perhaps the bearded man's attitude toward Lin Yuan had merely been a coincidence.

Just as everyone finally relaxed.

Lin Hao, who had been seated in the place of honor and whom even the bearded man had to lower his head to greet, suddenly stood up.

"Colonel Huo?"

Lin Hao's voice carried a trace of disbelief.

Information about the military district had always been kept confidential. Without a certain level of authority, ordinary people would find it difficult to uncover anything online.

But Lin Hao was different. As a Bureau Chief's secretary, he had far greater authority and access to more information.

"Secretary Lin?"

Huo Yanming glanced at Lin Hao and nodded in acknowledgment.

Then he stepped aside, allowing another figure to stroll in leisurely.

"Chairman Liao?"

If seeing Huo Yanming had merely shocked Lin Hao, since the military district and the government belonged to two separate systems and neither could control the other.

Then seeing the person behind Huo Yanming made Lin Hao's scalp go numb.

Chairman Liao.

The chairman of the East Ning City Evolutionary Association.

A Second Level Citizen, whose status and standing placed him among the top five in all of East Ning City.

Even Lin Hao's Bureau Chief would have to greet such an important figure with utmost care.

"Could it be..."

"Chairman Liao came to see Yuan too?"

An utterly unimaginable thought suddenly surfaced in Lin Hao's mind.