Chapter 1 Aftermath of the IOI World Championship

After finishing his perusal of the IOI World Championship gossip, Pei Qian set his phone aside, deciding to temporarily ignore it.

It was only Monday. FV Club's quarter-final match wasn't until Saturday. Most of this time would likely be filled with the online squabbles between Longyu Group's hired hands and netizens. There wasn't much to pay attention to.

FV Club would continue to stir things up, and the players' daily training wouldn't be affected.

However, Pei Qian had only read a few pages of his notes when his phone rang again.

He picked it up and saw that it was Liang Qingfan.

Pei Qian was taken aback for a moment, then realized that the building with the Sloth Apartments 2.0 model must have finished its renovation and appliance installation and was now officially open for rent!

Liang Qingfan had previously said that the furniture and appliances would be installed around the end of December, and people could move in at the beginning of January. Calculating the time, it was about right.

Pei Qian paid close attention to the Sloth Apartments 2.0 model, so he immediately answered the phone.

Liang Qingfan's voice came from the other end of the line: "Boss Pei, the new Sloth Apartments building is all finished. A large portion of it has already been rented out today since it just opened. I'm calling to report this to you."

"Um... would you like to come over and take a look?"

Pei Qian thought for a moment: "Okay, I'll be there in a while."

Other projects could be put on hold for the time being, but Sloth Apartments had to be inspected.

After all, this was a welfare housing project for young people, and Pei Qian was very concerned about the quality of living that Sloth Apartments provided.

If there were any quality problems, it would turn into a good deed done wrong, which was absolutely unacceptable.

What's more, Sloth Apartments was now a very stable money-losing project. He had to pay more attention to it, in case any profit-making opportunities appeared. He had to discover and treat them early.

Pei Qian sighed silently, put his notes aside, and prepared to take a car to Sloth Apartments.

He could only continue studying after he came back.

...

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles.

The members of FV Club were still training in the internet cafe, with SUG Club sparring with them.

The data analysis team was carefully discussing the new tactics and strategies that had emerged in the group stage, summarizing the ways to counter these tactics and using them as tactical reserves.

Wu Yue and Manager Lu didn't interfere with the data analysis. They chatted idly in a corner on the second floor.

"The teams eliminated in the group stage should all be booked on tomorrow's flight, right? Let's do something new to see them off."

At first, Wu Yue felt that it was a bit too much to make fun of the other teams since they were all brothers, but after getting used to this setting, he became more and more addicted to it.

This was probably a kind of broken window effect; he was becoming more and more uninhibited.

Moreover, everyone had now accepted FV Club's "stirring things up" persona, and there were fewer and fewer trolls.

Manager Lu said while collecting material on the computer, "Boss Wu, I suddenly thought of something."

"Boss Pei's budget for our room and board expenses lasts until after the finals. Does this mean that Boss Pei has high hopes for us and thinks we can definitely win the championship?"

Wu Yue nodded: "Yes, I noticed it too. That's why we can't let Boss Pei down!"

Previously, Wu Yue didn't dare to think about winning the championship. After all, the World Championship was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, the best players from all over the world. Who dared to think so far ahead?

But after watching the entire group stage, Wu Yue suddenly became mysteriously confident.

Because after the data team analyzed it, they found that the foreign powerhouses in the group stage were nothing more than that. Their tactics were easy to crack. If FV Club really met them, they would have a good chance of winning.

Looking at the players who were training hard, Wu Yue suddenly had a feeling and said to Manager Lu, "I suddenly realized that Boss Pei made this arrangement, on the one hand, because he trusts us, and on the other hand, because of the victory of logistics."

"The World Championship version changes a lot, and all the teams are growing rapidly. Whoever progresses faster has a better chance of achieving good results, which is the so-called 'being the first to figure out the version's answer'."

"FV Club's support teams for eating, living, data analysis, and other aspects are far superior to other clubs. This is a huge advantage!"

"Moreover, I suddenly realized that FV Club has additional advantages in the elimination stage."

Manager Lu was stunned: "Additional advantages?"

Wu Yue nodded: "Yes. The elimination stage is divided into three weeks, a very long period of time. From the quarter-finals to the semi-finals, and then to the finals, there will be fewer and fewer teams staying in Los Angeles."

"The other teams all make appointments with each other to play training matches, but the further they go, the fewer teams they can cooperate with. Some teams have gone home, and other teams may be their next opponents, and playing against them may expose their tactics."

"So, by the semi-finals and finals, these teams can only play rAnk to maintain their feel. It's difficult to find any high-level training matches."

"But FV Club is different. We have two teams, the second team and SUG, to spar with. No matter which stage we reach, our daily training will not be affected!"

"So, the further we go in the elimination stage, the more advantages FV Club will have!"

Manager Lu revealed a look of realization: "Oh! Boss Pei's personnel arrangement actually has this kind of deep meaning? No wonder he specifically asked us to bring SUG Club!"

Wu Yue said: "So, we must not relax. Boss Pei has created such good training conditions for us. If we don't get good results, we can only swim back!"

"We must strive to reach the finals so that we can safely return in the business class provided by Boss Pei!"

...

Jindi Huating Community, Guangming District, Jingzhou City, the location of Sloth Apartments 2.0 model.

Liang Qingfan was already waiting downstairs. After picking up Boss Pei, the two of them came to the first floor, which was the butler's office.

Pei Qian noticed that young people were coming in one after another. The staff of Sloth Apartments were responsible for receiving them one by one and taking them upstairs in the elevator, probably to see the model rooms.

In the office on the first floor, a slightly chubby middle-aged man with glasses and a square face stood up: "Boss Pei! Hello! Nice to meet you!"

Liang Qingfan introduced: "Boss Pei, this is Mr. Yuan Bo, the boss of our cooperative brand, Fanglanju."

Pei Qian shook hands with Yuan Bo: "Hello, hello."

Pei Qian had a good impression of the Fanglanju brand.

According to Liang Qingfan, Fanglanju was a designer brand with good quality, no pollution, high premiums, and high prices, which was very much in line with Pei Qian's requirements.

The sofa in Sloth Apartments was designed by Fanglanju and cost as much as 30,000 yuan. Pei Qian was quite satisfied with this price.

However, after shaking hands, Pei Qian suddenly realized a problem.

Why did the boss of Fanglanju come here?

Yuan Bo's expression was very excited: "Boss Pei, I came here specifically to thank you!"

"The Sloth Apartments 2.0 model has received a lot of attention online. The promotional video has triggered a enthusiastic response. Many people have come to see the model rooms in person, and our furniture has therefore gained a good opportunity to showcase itself!"

"Our sofas, wardrobes, coffee tables, TV cabinets, etc. have been loved by netizens for their unique designs and shapes. The orders on the online store have gone crazy!"

"This promotional effect is much better than spending a lot of money on advertising!"

"If we hadn't cooperated with Sloth Apartments, Fanglanju would definitely not have gained such high visibility, nor would we have had so many orders. That's why I made a special trip to Jingzhou to express my gratitude to you in person, Boss Pei!"

Pei Qian suddenly understood and nodded slightly.

So that was it. The Sloth Apartments promotional video objectively promoted Fanglanju's furniture, so Mr. Yuan was so happy.

Fortunately, Fanglanju makes money. What does it have to do with my Tengda Group?

As long as Sloth Apartments doesn't make money, then everything is fine. It has nothing to do with me.

However, just as Pei Qian breathed a sigh of relief, he heard Yuan Bo say: "Of course, we also know that Fanglanju and Sloth Apartments are cooperative brands, and win-win cooperation is the most important thing. To show our sincerity for long-term cooperation, we have decided to take an additional 20% of our net profit as advertising fees for Sloth Apartments!"

"The more furniture we sell in the future, the more money Sloth Apartments will get. I hope that our two brands can develop and progress together!"

Yuan Bo's eyes were filled with infinite longing for the future.

And Pei Qian's smile slowly froze on his face.