All day Sunday, Wu Yun played the part of a hands-off boss at home, leaving the interviews and contract signings for the two women to handle themselves.
In Wu Yun's words, "This is an investment in the two of you. You're the actual managers. I probably won't come to the company much in the future. As long as you follow the plan I've given you, you're guaranteed not to lose money—in fact, you'll make a huge profit."
"I have my own other business ventures! Compared to that, this current company is like child's play!" Wu Yun's words piqued the two women's curiosity, and they pressed him for details.
Wu Yun, seeing that both women's Affinity for him was already at 99, knew they wouldn't leak any secrets. So, he opened his laptop and let them have a look at his half-finished business plan.
After seeing the expenditures in the tens and hundreds of millions, the two women were deeply impressed by Wu Yun's boldness. At the same time, they became intensely curious about his net worth and his family. Although they knew they could never marry into such a wealthy family, they still wondered what kind of family would give their child, who hadn't even graduated from college, tens or hundreds of millions to start a business.
So, the two women didn't insist on dragging Wu Yun to the office with them, leaving him at home alone to work on his business plan.
Early Monday morning, the trio went to their appointment with the business registration agency to sign documents and provide their thumbprints. They also registered a dedicated company bank account, into which Wu Ying transferred the remaining funds.
Money really did make the world go round. After paying a few thousand yuan, the agency fast-tracked the entire process, significantly shortening the wait time for the business license.
With that taken care of, all the trio had to do was wait for the agency to deliver the business license.
Before leaving, Wu Yun gave the agency two more pieces of business. The first was trademark registration; Wu Yun provided dozens of famous trademarks from the future and asked the agency to register them for him.
The second was for the bike-sharing company he planned to register next. Wu Yun tentatively named it "Nirvana Network Technology Co., Ltd."—a name meant to symbolize his own rebirth, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes.
Since a company address hadn't been leased yet, Wu Yun could only have the agency handle the other matters first.
Just as the group stood in the plaza, preparing to part ways, Wu Yun's phone rang. It was a call from his senior, Qi Fei. "Wu Yun, are you done with your business? I'm at the location you sent me."
Wu Yun looked up and spotted the iconic S600L in the distance. "Senior, I see you," he said. "I'm heading over now."
And so, Wu Yun said goodbye to the others and, under their watchful eyes, got into the Mercedes S600L.
Wu Ying and Jiang Xinyi exchanged a glance. Having heard the woman's voice on Wu Yun's call, they could both see the flicker of heartache in each other's eyes. But then they were reminded of their place, knowing that anything more was impossible in this lifetime.
In the car, Wu Yun wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Senior, what made you decide to come to Rongcheng today?"
Wu Yun had been surprised to get a message from Qi Fei last night. 'Isn't she supposed to be getting an earful from her instructor? Did she skip class?'
"I came to see for myself which vixen has you so enthralled that you're enjoying Rongcheng too much to even think about coming home," Qi Fei said with a straight face, only to crack up at her own expression.
"So, how's your company coming along?" Qi Fei asked curiously.
"We just finished the paperwork today and we'll get the business license next week. We hired a few people the day before yesterday, so we should be up and running by next month."
"This company is just a small venture. I invested a little over two million, mainly because I'm optimistic about the industry and the potential of those two vloggers."
Wu Yun's casual bragging once again prompted the driver, Xiaoli, to sneak a glance at him in the rearview mirror.
Qi Fei said in astonishment, "You really don't treat money like it's money! Over two million... I've never had that much cash of my own."
Qi Fei's family was very wealthy, but that was family money, not hers. Although the saying goes that a daughter should be raised in luxury, they'd never just handed her that kind of sum. Not that she ever wanted for money; she'd saved up several hundred thousand from her New Year's allowances over the years, making her a bona fide 'it girl' at school. Otherwise, she would have been swarmed by pests long ago.
Wu Yun laughed and said, "My ambition is to become the richest man in the world! How could I be fazed by a mere two million?"
Seeing the "you're so full of it" look on Qi Fei's face, Wu Yun deflated. "You could at least play along, Senior. Okay, fine. I actually have other startup plans. I just had the agency start the registration process for another company today. That one is going to be my main focus."
Qi Fei looked at him with admiration. "You just finished the college entrance exams, do you really have to work this hard? Are you not going to college?"
"Of course I am! How could I give up on the dazzling world of college? There are so many pretty upperclassmen waiting for me to conquer! That's why I plan to rent an office just off campus to use as the company's base of operations."
Qi Fei knew Wu Yun's deadly charm. A rich kid driving a supercar to campus would be a prime target at a teachers' college—everyone would want a piece of him. Instinctively, Qi Fei blurted out, "Don't you dare!"
But then she remembered she and Wu Yun were just friends, so she quickly changed the subject. "Do you know why I really came to Rongcheng today? Seeing you was just on the way. This afternoon, you're coming shopping with me! And tonight... I have to go on a blind date!"
Qi Fei put heavy emphasis on the words "blind date," clearly trying to get Wu Yun's attention.
And sure enough, Wu Yun's attention was immediately snagged by those two words.
"A blind date?!" Wu Yun frowned, his expression like a small child whose candy was about to be stolen.
"With who?"
Seeing the pained look on Wu Yun's face, Qi Fei laughed happily. "I'm just messing with you. My dad's having a reunion with an old friend today, and both families are going. Turns out they have a son around my age, so they want to introduce us. Honestly, I don't want to go. It'll just be awkward small talk and a bunch of mutual flattery."
"They call it a reunion, but I think they're really there to talk about some new project." Qi Fei hated these kinds of business-motivated gatherings, but she couldn't argue with her father's persistence.
"Oh, okay." Wu Yun relaxed. 'Looks like the cooked duck hasn't flown away yet,' he thought. He used his Detection Glasses to check Qi Fei's Affinity again.
Qi Fei's Affinity was at 82. It seemed their chats over the last few days had raised it by 3 points from the 79 it was when he left Jingyang.
"What's wrong? You don't want me to have a blind date?" Qi Fei shot back, trying to provoke him.
"Of course! A senior as beautiful as you doesn't need to go on blind dates. Guys should be lining up at your door. Guys like... me~" Wu Yun said, dragging out the last word playfully.
"You!? You're too young, I'm not interested!" Qi Fei said, rolling her eyes, though inwardly she was ecstatic. 'Heh, you little rascal! Did you think you could escape my clutches that easily?'
"Small? What part of me is small?" Wu Yun shot back, making a show of starting to pull down his pants for her to see.
The two of them laughed and bickered playfully, completely oblivious to the pained expression of their driver, Xiaoli, who was being forced to third-wheel.