Chapter 128: The Crouching Dragon and the Young Phoenix—Both Reside in Our Dormitory

Late at night, Cheng Yao was teaching Ouyang Aili how to play a musical instrument in the restroom. Ouyang Aili had only been learning for a short while when Ouyang Zhenli unexpectedly opened the door and caught them. Ouyang Zhenli never imagined that Cheng Yao would secretly teach Ouyang Aili music behind her back. Upset, she decided to join in. This impulsive decision was typical of Ouyang Zhenli’s character. Cheng Yao earnestly taught the two sisters, never doing anything else; after all, his artistic skills were quite impressive, and both sisters were diligent students. However, mastering an instrument takes time to show results. After more than an hour of lessons, the sisters had only learned a little.

By Wednesday, the two sisters had mostly recovered. Smiles returned to their faces as they went shopping and enjoyed delicious food for entertainment. They even played an escape room game, a memorable experience filled with suspense and horror. That evening, Cheng Yao once again experienced the treatment reserved only for ancient monarchs. Because he was about to leave Guangzhou, the Ouyang sisters were reluctant to see him go. Especially Ouyang Aili, the cat-like girl who had completely attached herself to him. No matter what he asked for, she eagerly complied, fulfilling his every wish—even dragging Ouyang Zhenli into the mix. After it was over, Cheng Yao felt he might have gone a bit too far. Missing out on bungee jumping was a major loss, but he wasn’t very interested anyway. Entrusting one’s life to a single rope was something he prudently avoided, particularly now that he valued his life more. After all, if his life were lost, there would be no money to spend, and the women would end up belonging to someone else.

On Thursday, Cheng Yao seemed disconnected from Jinling. Having played enough, he purchased a plane ticket for an early morning flight at 8 a.m. Without waiting for the sisters to wake, he packed his things and headed straight to the airport, bringing along some local specialties and gifts. At 11 a.m. in Jinling, Cheng Yao arrived at Lukou Airport right on time. The weather was pleasant—gentle breezes and clear skies, with the heat subsiding. Mid-October was approaching, signaling the coming autumn harvest. The leaves of the parasol trees lining the roads were beginning to show the subtle hues of fall.

As soon as he entered the terminal, Cheng Yao received messages from the Ouyang sisters. He replied briefly, then went to the parking lot to retrieve his car. After paying the parking fee, he drove off in his Mercedes-Benz E300 coupe. After all, Jinling wasn’t far from Guangzhou. He planned to visit them again soon or perhaps have them fly over. He wouldn’t mind treating them to six-yuan spicy skewers—even if prices had risen, he could still afford ten-yuan duck blood vermicelli.

Leaving the airport, Cheng Yao headed straight for the city center. His first stop was the Chaoyang Building in Xinjiekou. Wearing sunglasses, he took the elevator up to the company. This was not the first time he had come here; the staff at Shengxia Interactive Entertainment recognized him, though no one knew exactly who he was. Some asked around, but no one had any answers.

Cheng Yao went directly to Wang Yiming’s office and knocked on the door.

“Please come in.”

Pushing the door open, he found Wang Yiming conversing with a young woman.

Her name was Wang Nachang.

She was moderately attractive with a rating of 78, had a decent figure rated 85, and a special rating of 80, indicating a somewhat intriguing background. When she saw Cheng Yao enter, she quickly stood up.

“Let me introduce you—this is our chairman of Shengxia Interactive Entertainment.”

“Hello, Chairman,” she greeted cautiously, casting a careful glance at Cheng Yao, surprised by his youthful appearance.

Though surprised, she was not shocked. Nowadays, many young entrepreneurs started businesses with family funds. Even her own current superior was barely in his thirties.

“Hello, please have a seat.”

Cheng Yao nodded and sat on the sofa as Wang Yiming personally brewed some red tea. He then told the female streamer, “Let’s end our discussion here today. When your contract expires, come work with us. We’ll honor the terms I promised earlier.”

“Alright, we’ll keep in touch. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

After seeing the streamer off, Wang Yiming smiled and asked Cheng Yao, “As the big shot of Liu Chao Interactive Entertainment, Chairman Cheng, what do you think of her looks?”

“Not bad, nice figure,” Cheng Yao replied with a smile. She was indeed a beauty when made up, but her special rating was curious—it suggested she had been intimately involved with at least two men.

Wang Yiming showed a knowing smile that only men would understand.

In today’s interactive entertainment era, online streamers were often the prey of wealthy second-generation heirs. Platforms like Douyin had become grand arenas for selecting companions. It was no exaggeration.

Did you think those pretty internet celebrities couldn’t access high-level executives and bosses after signing contracts?

Wrong.

If they had both looks and talent, such tests of character were unavoidable for any executive. Even Wang Yiming had recently received many ambiguous messages from newly signed streamers, but he dared not act recklessly. The company wasn’t stable yet, and he had a family—no distractions. Naturally, he remained focused.

Wang Yiming continued, “I expect Liu Chao Interactive will retaliate. Business is all about resources and money. I’m working on some channels and connections, so I’m not worried about any surprises.”

“All legal procedures. Don’t worry about money. I have some ideas I want to share with you.”

“Please go ahead.”

Wang Yiming sat attentively as Cheng Yao explained his thoughts. Wang nodded and said, “Starting our own platform—live streaming is possible, but many have failed, and the e-sports field is even harder to break into.”

“Let’s give it a shot. Jinling can’t remain stagnant forever. If it develops, the big players will probably support it. I’ll handle the finances.”

“Good, I’ll find someone to set up servers.”

Industry integration always has a market. With enough money, what kind of streamer can’t be poached? Big-name streamers’ contracts eventually expire, and the traffic they bring is huge.

Cheng Yao took a sip of tea. “In short, let’s first become Jinling’s number one interactive entertainment company, then expand outward.”

“Understood.”

Jinling’s top spot energized Wang Yiming, filling him with vigor.

They then spent twenty minutes discussing marketing. Cheng Yao said, “I have a good candidate—Xia Shiqi. You know her, right?”

“I’ve heard of her,” Wang Yiming replied with a curious smile. He recalled rumors of complicated relations between Cheng Yao and Xia Shiqi—now it seemed those whispers might be true.

Cheng Yao added, “We’ll have her endorse and promote us, and spend some money on e-sports marketing. It won’t cost much.”

Not much indeed—for just a few seconds or minutes, millions could be spent.

“Chairman Cheng, I also have an idea, assuming you don’t mind spending money…”

“Go on.”

Wang Yiming straightened up and said, “There aren’t many interactive entertainment companies in Jinling. If possible, we could buy one outright and consolidate. That would be more efficient—better to solve the problem at its root.”

“How much would a company like Liu Chao be worth?”

“Depends. I’ve looked into them. If it’s possible, I can handle negotiations. Probably no more than twenty million, but we’d have to manage their streamers too.”

Cheng Yao found it reasonable. The Jinling market was small; a buyout and merger could instantly make Shengxia the largest interactive entertainment company in Jinling and pave the way into e-sports.

“Alright, leave it to you.”

“Got it.”

After the discussion, Cheng Yao left the company and drove straight to the university.

He hadn’t been to school for several days and no longer bothered to hide. He simply drove his car onto campus.

“Mr. Qin, could you please open the gate?”

“Are you a student here?”

Cheng Yao showed his student ID. Mr. Qin glanced at it and immediately opened the gate.

Inside the school, Cheng Yao parked his car and headed toward the School of Economics. Class had just ended, so he sent a few messages to Liu Hanyue and then went straight to the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was crowded. Cheng Yao quickly spotted Liu Hanyue and Wang Churou.

Carrying a clay pot, he walked over and sat down. Liu Hanyue frowned, sniffing.

“The scent of perfume…”

“Smells good?”

“Yes.”

Cheng Yao sniffed and recognized the fragrance as that of Ouyang Aili and Ouyang Zhenli, fortunately not too strong.

“I applied it specially; summer makes sweating and odors more noticeable.”

“You’re a guy and you wear perfume?” Liu Hanyue looked at him with disdain.

“Cheng Yao, you haven’t been to school for three days. Did you roam all over Guangzhou?” Wang Churou asked with a smile.

“Pretty much.”

Cheng Yao smiled silently, having indeed spent a lot of time with the Ouyang sisters.

“Did you go bungee jumping at Baiyun Mountain?”

“No, I’m not into that kind of thrill…”

Cheng Yao recounted his Guangzhou experiences, skillfully avoiding mention of the sisters.

Liu Hanyue leaned in quietly. “Something happened in our class—Zhu Huiyang, your buddy…”

“What?”

“What nonsense?”

Cheng Yao was stunned. It had only been a few days. “Is he okay?”

“…”

Wang Churou looked a bit confused. “Not that kind of incident. We’re not sure either. Ask the class monitor later.”

“Alright, I’ll check the dorm first.”

When Cheng Yao returned to the dorm, Wang Wenbo and Zhang Lei were playing video games, showing no signs of any crisis.

“Where’s Zhu Huiyang? Is he okay?”

“Yo, Master Cheng is back! Haha, you won’t believe this…”

Zhang Lei seemed to have shaken off the shadow of his online romance. Zhu Huiyang must have taken a heavy hit to recover so quickly.

Cheng Yao took a sip of water. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing too serious. He’s fine. I’ll explain slowly…”

Wang Wenbo and Zhang Lei took turns explaining, and Cheng Yao gradually understood.

After his epiphany in Guangzhou, Zhu Huiyang began a wild lifestyle. Upon returning, he started arranging dates on forums—and actually succeeded.

He did go out that night, but paid a heavy price.

He was prepared with warm-up exercises and had bought what he needed, but by morning, inexplicably, he was saddled with over a dozen online loans.

Cheng Yao was dumbfounded. “So, after a few rounds, the girl used his phone and ID to take out loans?”

“Yep. How many wealthy second-generation kids do we have here? The rest are mostly debt-ridden second-generation, just borrowing loans…”

Wang Wenbo joked, “College student loans are common. Have you seen the ads in the alleys outside school or in the bathrooms? But using a hookup as an opportunity to rack up loans—that’s clever!”

“What’s the situation now?”

“He’s at the police station. He reported it, and after a call from the cops, the girl turned herself in. The matter didn’t escalate; otherwise, the school forum would be buzzing.”

Cheng Yao twitched at the corner of his mouth and glanced at Zhang Lei. “You guys are something else—all the hidden talents seem to be in our dorm.”

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