For the next few days, Liu Chen was immersed in her conception of a universal sauce. If not for her promise to attend the Weibo Night on the 29th and the need to visit the production line and her mother, who was five and a half months pregnant, during the New Year holiday, Liu Chen would have genuinely sought to rent Professor He Long’s laboratory.
On the 29th, after finishing classes, Ren Mo was already waiting at the school gate with his G-wagon, giving a ride to Mi Zhuzhu, who had already packed her luggage. Liu Chen, carrying her backpack, got into the car with Sang Ling.
Just as the two got into the car and it drove off, Ren Yu and Shen Hong arrived at the entrance of Tsinghua University shortly after.
“Boss, I heard that our Liu Chen, after entering university, first participated in her department's导师’s experimental research, and after achieving results, she did OEM for another factory to produce her own brand of Meimei Sausages. Now, their online sales are number one.”
Ren Yu, who hadn't seen Liu Chen for a long time, remained silent upon hearing this. Of course, he was aware of the achievements his little girl, Liu Chen, had made in the past six months.
To be honest, Ren Yu even felt that Liu Chen was more dedicated to her dream than he was.
For example…
He had come this time to discuss campus recruitment within the school with his advisor.
Although "League of Legends" was currently popular, the resulting manpower shortage had become his primary concern over the past few months.
Initially, when there weren't enough people, he had hired fellow students from the university to work part-time, considering it a work-study program. Moreover, the salary he offered was among the best in the industry.
Yet, even so, the rapidly growing user base and the increasing number of servers made it impossible for the part-time students to fill the labor gap caused by the game’s expansion.
He had come this time to discuss with his advisor the possibility of using campus recruitment to allow the students who had been working part-time at the company to intern directly, thereby solving both the recruitment problem and the students’ internship needs.
It had to be said that Ren Yu and Liu Chen were pursuing the same idea. The difference was that Ren Yu had already acted on it, while Liu Chen was still just thinking about it.
When Ren Yu explained his idea to his advisor, the advisor laughed and chided him,
“Good for you, Ren Yu. You’re not solving internships for your classmates; you're clearly poaching from your alma mater!” Despite the scolding, Ren Yu’s company had indeed grown to a considerable size.
“Alright, your company can have a quota for campus recruitment internships. As for how many people want to join and leave, that will depend on your own capabilities.”
Ren Yu smiled upon hearing this and nodded in thanks.
“Thank you, Professor.”
As he walked out of the office, Shen Hong, who was waiting outside, quickly greeted him.
“How did it go?”
Ren Yu nodded. “The professor agreed, but how many students we can ultimately retain will depend on our own abilities.”
“By the way, Shen Hong, how is the matter of the land in C City that I asked you to inquire about?”
Mentioning this, Shen Hong’s usually cheerful face fell silent.
“Your requirements are too high. Those who are hoarding land now are waiting for land prices to rise so they can flip them. If we try to acquire it now, it’s either at a high price or they refuse to sell.”
As Ren Yu walked, he rubbed his wrist. The manpower shortage in the past few months, coupled with the explosion of "League of Legends," had inevitably led to the emergence of numerous so-called cheats that disrupted the game's balance. For the past few months, while leading the fight against these cheats, he had also been working on improving the game’s firewall. Now, they could finally catch their breath.
Of course, during this period, he had also deliberately avoided seeing Liu Chen. He wanted to understand whether his feelings for Liu Chen stemmed from teasing and appreciating a young girl or from genuine affection.
“Send Liu Chen the land parcels that are willing to be sold first, and let her see if the location is suitable. If she asks about the price, don’t mention it; I will handle it.”
Shen Hong was somewhat puzzled by this.
“Boss, even though she’s Aunt Ren’s goddaughter, aren’t you being a bit too attentive? You’re not this attentive to Ren Mo. And from what you’re saying, you plan to secretly subsidize the land purchase yourself?”
Ren Yu did not stop his hurried steps and walked out with a calm expression, his eyes carrying a slight smile. He said faintly,
“Because Liu Chen is the treasure I discovered.”
“What treasure? Wait!! Treasure!! Is that the treasure you mentioned at the beginning of the year that you didn't want anyone to know about?!”
Shen Hong’s memory was evidently quite good when it came to gossip. Although Ren Yu had only mentioned it casually, he had recalled the only conversation they had about love.
“Holy crap, Ren Yu, Liu Chen is your sister! Are you turning into a beast?”
Ren Yu’s eyes darkened.
“She’s just a goddaughter; there’s no blood relation. Besides, perhaps Ms. Ren would prefer to have a daughter-in-law like her than a goddaughter?”
Shen Hong stood stunned, shook his head, and said,
“He’s beyond saving. This guy has unilaterally fallen.”
After some hesitation, Shen Hong decided that since his boss was finally opening up after being solitary, successful in his career, responsible, and handsome, it wouldn't be a bad thing if he and Liu Chen ended up together.
With this thought, Shen Hong quickly caught up with Ren Yu, who was walking ahead.
“Hey? So, boss, how far have your pursuits progressed? Have you confessed?”
…
Liu Chen was unaware that Ren Yu intended to secretly subsidize the land purchase. She had just landed at Shanghai Airport and boarded the business car sent by Weibo to pick her up.
For ease of communication, Weibo had created a QQ group for the bloggers attending Weibo Night. When Liu Chen’s group boarded, a fashion blogger was already in the car. She was fair-skinned and delicate-looking. At first glance, Liu Chen felt that the blogger looked less than eighty catties in person.
“Hello, I’m Liu Chen.”
Mi Zhuzhu, Liu Chen, and Sang Ling got into the car. Liu Chen was the first to greet the fashion blogger.
“Hello, I’m Xiao Xi.”
Xiao Xi’s eyes quickly swept over the three of them, and then, with a flicker in her gaze, she tucked the Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet, which had been exposed, back into the cuff of her down jacket.
The four of them introduced themselves by their Weibo handles and then took out their phones to follow each other on Weibo.
After following each other, Xiao Xi held her phone and began to continuously scroll through Weibo, the sound of refreshing echoing from time to time.
Liu Chen did not suffer from social anxiety. Since the other party didn't want to chat, she was happy to enjoy her own company.
The business car weaved through Shanghai's night traffic and finally stopped in front of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Lujiazui.
After Liu Chen and her two companions got out of the car, they intended to let Xiao Xi, who was traveling alone, take her luggage first. However, Xiao Xi lagged behind the three of them, acting as if she expected them to take their luggage first.
Liu Chen was not overly polite. She took her luggage from the driver, exchanged a greeting with Xiao Xi, and walked into the hotel's revolving door. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
After she left, Xiao Xi’s gaze fell upon the ‘Samsonite’ suitcase covered in protective film at the deepest part of the trunk. She pursed her lips.
She admitted that she had brought this imitation ‘Samsonite’ suitcase with a touch of vanity.
While waiting in the car, she had harbored a sliver of hope that the freshman campus beauty and scholar named Liu Chen would be a dedicated entrepreneur uninterested in fashion. However, upon boarding the car, she had seen the full-diamond Van Cleef & Arpels clover bracelet on Liu Chen’s wrist and the Chanel earrings on her earlobes. Even in the dim car light, Xiao Xi recognized them as genuine at a glance.
She had originally thought that with the distant shots from the camera, fans wouldn't be able to recognize an imitation. Now, Xiao Xi could only silently take off the ‘Van Cleef & Arpels’ bracelet and put it into the pocket of her down jacket.
Seeing that the three in front had already walked away, she then dragged her luggage into the Ritz-Carlton.
Liu Chen and her companions were signing their names and taking photos at the signature board in the hotel lobby. Several photographers invited by Weibo stood by the signature wall, busy capturing candid shots.
Perhaps because it was the first Weibo Night, most bloggers were dressed primarily in warm down jackets for the signing and photo session. A few wore coats, their fingers turning pale from the cold.
The scene Liu Chen had imagined, with everyone vying for attention in evening gowns, did not materialize, which came as a relief.
In fact, some bloggers who had initially intended to dress provocatively, wearing tight-fitting mini-dresses under their black down jackets, inexplicably felt their subtle intentions were rather petty when they saw Liu Chen, dressed in a pure black coat with accessories but an earnest and serious expression.
This led to a strange phenomenon that would later be unearthed by fans every year when they revisited the first Weibo Night:
No matter which blogger or idol fans liked, and no matter how freely they expressed themselves now, during the first Weibo Night sign-in, they were all bundled up as if they had just disembarked from a polar expedition ship.
After signing in, the Weibo staff led the three of them to the hotel front desk. Liu Chen waved her hand to decline.
“The three of us want to stay together, we’ve already booked our own room. Thank you, you can go ahead with your work. We’ll manage on our own, and we’ll keep an eye out for any news.” Liu Chen said, showing her phone.
“Ah, alright, okay.”
Sang Ling and Mi Zhuzhu knew that Liu Chen had booked a separate room, but they hadn’t realized how expensive the hotel booked by Weibo was at the time. Now, walking in and seeing such a luxurious and grand lobby, they could vaguely guess that it wasn't cheap.
Mi Zhuzhu tugged at Liu Chen’s hem and whispered,
“Why don’t we just stay in the room arranged by Weibo? I estimate it won’t be cheap to book our own. There’s no need. We can save this money and use it for more promotion.”
Liu Chen heard Zhuzhu's words and replied with a low laugh,
“It’s okay. I’m here this time to showcase the strong financial backing of Meimei Brand’s boss. On one hand, it can be shown to our partners, and on the other hand, it can intimidate those who are secretly causing trouble.”