Mengqi turned to Lin Feng, her expression thoughtful.
"Actually, I've been thinking. Maybe we should consider changing platforms. These people don't seem all that competent."
Lin Feng blinked.
Damn.
She's good.
Even he was almost convinced.
The large man's composure cracked. He turned to Lin Feng, an almost pleading look in his eyes.
"Mr. Lin, please. Help us out here."
Lin Feng raised a hand, placing it gently on Mengqi's arm.
"Mengqi," he said calmly. "Let's at least hear them out."
Mengqi paused, then slowly she seemed to calm down a little, though her expression still remained unimpressed.
The slimmer representative seized the opening. "The server issue - that was a surprise. We weren't expecting that level of traffic so suddenly. But we resolved it, didn't we? The stream continued without further problems."
Mengqi's eyes narrowed. "So we should expect you to 'resolve it' every time she gains a few thousand viewers? That doesn't exactly inspire confidence."
"We've already begun upgrading our infrastructure," the large man added quickly. "This won't happen again."
"You say that now."
"We're committed to supporting high-value talent. Miss Moon Fairy is clearly…"
"Then show that commitment in the split."
The conversation went back and forth, neither side willing to budge. Arguments were made, counterarguments were given, and the atmosphere in the room grew increasingly tense.
Finally, they reached a standstill.
Lin Feng placed a hand on Mengqi's arm again.
"I understand where both sides are coming from," he said.
Mengqi scoffed.
The StarWave representatives smiled nervously.
Lin Feng continued, his tone measured. "How about this - we settle on a seventy-five twenty-five split. With room for future negotiations as our partnership develops."
He turned to Mengqi, a small smile on his face.
"Are you willing to take that?"
Mengqi was silent for a moment.
Then she sighed.
"I guess it's somewhat passable."
The large man exhaled, visibly relieved. He exchanged a glance with his colleague, who nodded.
"Seventy-five twenty-five it is."
The documents were revised, reviewed, and signed.
Lin Feng stood and extended his hand across the table. The large man took it, shaking firmly.
"We look forward to working with you," the StarWave representative said.
Lin Feng smiled. "Likewise."
…
Later that day.
Lin Feng knocked on the chairman's office door.
"Come in."
He pushed it open and stepped inside.
Chairman Wu Zhennan sat behind his desk, reviewing documents. He looked up - and his pen paused mid-stroke.
"Lin Feng?"
"Chairman Wu."
Lin Feng closed the door behind him and walked over to the chair across from the desk.
He sat down without waiting to be invited.
The chairman studied him for a moment.
"This is unexpected," the chairman said, setting his pen down. "What brings you here?"
"I came to ask for a favor."
The chairman blinked.
Of all the things he had expected to hear from Lin Feng, that was not one of them.
He leaned back in his chair.
"A favor," he repeated. "From me."
"From you."
The chairman's expression was hard to read.
"I didn't think you'd ever willingly walk into this office again." He paused. "You didn't exactly leave here with warm feelings last time."
Lin Feng smiled faintly.
"You said it yourself, Chairman. The world of adults is much more complicated than I think."
The chairman's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So I did."
A brief silence passed between them.
The chairman folded his hands on the desk.
"Alright. I'm listening."
…
Lin Feng didn't rush. He let the silence sit for a moment before speaking.
"How much do you know about my current business activities?"
The chairman raised an eyebrow.
"Surface level," he admitted. "I know you registered a holdings company - Fenghua Holdings, was it? You have some involvement with a delivery business on campus and an investment fund called Tianji Capital." He paused. "Beyond that, I haven't looked too deeply."
Lin Feng nodded.
"Then let me fill in some gaps."
He straightened in his seat.
"Fenghua Holdings is the parent entity. Beneath it, I hold shares in Xunfeng Delivery, Tianji Capital, and an entertainment agency. The delivery business is expanding. The fund is performing well - consistently generating returns. The agency manages a rising artist."
He listed these facts the same way one might read items off a grocery list.
The chairman listened without interrupting.
"Fenghua Holdings," Lin Feng continued, "would like to sponsor the university."
The chairman's eyebrows rose.
"Sponsor?"
"Yes, five hundred thousand yuan a year."
The chairman was quiet for a moment.
Then he leaned forward, his demeanor noticeably more serious than before.
"That's... generous," he said carefully. "Especially from a student-founded company."
"Think of it as giving back," Lin Feng said. "The university believed in me. Recognized me. It's only right that I return the favor."
The chairman wasn't fooled.
"What's the favor, Lin Feng?"
…
Lin Feng met his gaze directly.
"You see, Chairman, there's something that's been bothering me."
He tilted his head slightly.
"I'm a scholarship student. My family doesn't have money. A few months ago, I couldn't afford a smartphone."
He gestured vaguely at himself.
"And now I run a holdings company with multiple successful subsidiaries."
He paused.
"Doesn't that seem a little... strange to you?"
The chairman said nothing. But his eyes had sharpened.
"People will ask questions eventually," Lin Feng continued. "Where did the money come from? How did a nobody from nowhere suddenly build all of this? The story doesn't add up - not without a starting point."
He leaned forward.
"But what if there was a starting point?"
The chairman's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.
"What if," Lin Feng said, his tone measured, "after the Outstanding Citizen Award ceremony, Chairman Wu Zhennan - deeply impressed by a young student's courage and entrepreneurial spirit - had personally awarded him a quarter of a million yuan"
The office went very quiet.
"What if that young man then used said money to co-found Tianji Capital, fund his other businesses, and eventually became successful enough to give back to the very institution that had nurtured him?"
Lin Feng spread his hands.
"Think about the story, Chairman. Think about the PR. A university chairman with the vision to personally invest in a student's future. A student who repaid that trust tenfold. It's the kind of story that gets told at alumni dinners for decades."
The chairman's expression had gone very still.
Lin Feng smiled.
"And since it would be your personal money on paper, it also opens up a natural channel for me to... return the investment to you personally. Without it being strange."
He tilted his head.
"Are you picking up what I'm putting down, Chairman?"