Chapter 125: Foothold In The Imperial Capital!

The area outside A University’s entrance gate was packed. This was the hour when traffic flow was at its peak, and there were countless vehicles, both private and public, zooming down the street. Luxury imported cars were by no means a rare sight in the capital, what more to say of the street in front of the best university in the nation. Thus, seeing a jeep did not impact these girls the slightest.

Sun Jiajia was born into a middle-class family so she didn’t even know what a jeep was. In fact, it’s boxy shape seemed a little old-fashioned to her, which earned her disdain. On the other hand, Bai Xinran, who was from an upper-class family, knew a little more than your typical Chinese girl about imported vehicles.

“That car’s a military vehicle modified for private use. Definitely hard to find, even in the capital. Also, that number plate’s no ordinary plate.” Bai Xinran’s eyes glimmered as she turned toward Gu Xiqiao. “How old’s your boyfriend? Why is he even permitted to drive this car?”

The number plate arrogantly displayed four zeroes. This meant that the driver did not need to stop at police checkpoints. This sort of vehicle was hard to get, even for distinguished military personnel. Of course, the corner of Bai Xinran’s mouth stiffened up as soon as she realized that Gu Xiqiao’s boyfriend was no nouveau riche, let alone an average Joe.

Gu Xiqiao did not bother answering her question. Instead, she kept her eyes on the car, which rolled to a stop just outside the university gate. She bowed slightly towards her roommates to bid them farewell.

“I’ll be leaving now. Will treat you guys out to dinner the next time.”

She walked towards the car in a graceful manner. Xu Jing was incredibly curious about Gu Xiqiao’s boyfriend but considering that they had just met a few days ago, she felt it would be rude of her to walk forward to get a better glimpse of the driver. So, she stood in place, looking from afar hoping that the man would enter her vision. Bai Xinran and Sun Jiajia too, remained still.

The car door did not pop open as they had expected it to. Right before the moment Gu Xiqiao was about to reach the car though, a man with a well-built frame hopped down from the to open the door for her. Even from a distance away, they could make out the handsome features on his face. He had a pair of slightly raised eyebrows, a high nose bridge but the most prominent thing about him of all was his intimidating demeanor. Only a man with a high social standing could give off such an air, they thought.

Still, they were surprised by his chivalrous attitude when he popped open the door for Gu Xiqiao. While he did so, he carefully placed his other palm onto the roof of the car. Every little action of his made these onlooking young girls squeal loudly in their heart.

“So that’s Gu Xiqiao’s boyfriend?” Sun Jiajia was the first to react after the car zoomed off into the distance. Her face was flushed. In her entire lifetime, this was the first time her heart had gone numb for another man. Remembering Bai Xinran’s words from before, she asked, “Say, who do you think that guy is?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure that he was raised in a well-off family.” Bai Xinran replied. Before that though, she was standing there, staring into empty air where her roommate’s boyfriend once stood. Her head drooped down slightly, making it hard to discern the look on her face. “Since we’re short of one member, I think it’s best to postpone this dinner to another night.”

Sun Jiajia did not protest this decision. She wanted to see more of that man. So much so that she didn’t mind not going to the Royal Hotel for dinner.

Naturally, without Gu Xiqiao, Xu Jing lost even more interest in dinner with those two, neither did she feel like talking with them. She fished her phone out of her pocket and proceeded to text Gu Xiqiao.

“My dear, your boyfriend is earth-shatteringly handsome! He’s really suited for you ahhhhh!”

***

Gu Xiqiao, who sat on the front passenger seat, did not visibly react to the message. Calmly, she typed out a reply.

“Thanks for the compliment.”

Then, Xu Jing sent her a longer text. “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Jiang Shuxuan brought her back to their apartment. Tang Yanling was nowhere to be seen after seeing her off to school. Gu Xiqiao had a rough idea of where she was currently so she didn’t bother asking.

Xiao Yun was still undergoing her military drills at B University, in which phones were strictly not allowed. Thus, it had been a while since Gu Xiqiao had spoken to her.

As for Wu Hongwen who went to the same university as her, they had not met because of two reasons. Number one, A University was way too large for them to bump into each other and number two, because there was no time for them to meet up due to the never-ending drills. The last time she saw him was during lunch time when he and a bunch of his roommates had gone out for some grub.

Freshmen were given a few days rest time after the military drills before classes started officially. Gu Xiqiao was planning to use this time to deal with Nine Heavens’ matters. Mu Zong wasn’t at the Imperial Capital and Luo Wenlang himself could not support the entire company by himself, so her help was much needed.

“Eat up.” Seeing how Gu Xiqiao was holding her chopsticks but wasn’t eating, Jiang Shuxuan rapped his knuckles on the table to snap her out of her reverie.

Gu Xiqiao rubbed her nose when her senses finally returned to her. “Brother Jiang, why did you bring Mrs. Zhang to the capital?”

Jiang Shuxuan relaxed after seeing her finally eat. “Well, to take care of Xixi, Haha, and you.”

“I don’t think there’s a need to do that.” Gu Xiqiao protested. “So the main objective is to take care of Haha. We freshmen have to remain in the dormitory for an entire semester before we’re allowed to move out.”

Jiang Shuxuan glanced at her with eyes that were hard to describe. “You studied the entire art of painting for twenty-four hours straight just because you wanted to create an oil painting. I can only relax with Mrs. Zhang here, watching over you.” He was more worried about her skipping meals. Work was demanding and the ancient martial arts world needed more of his time and effort. If no one were here to babysit Gu Xiqiao, god knows what she would end up like.

Gu Xiqiao did not try to rebuke Jiang Shuxuan’s words.

Speaking of painting, she remembered the painting she would have completed if not for Xixi’s mischief. Thus, upon finishing dinner, she went upstairs and pulled out her painting canvas as well as the required materials.

Jiang Shuxuan remained there. He sat down on the sofa, observing her as she painted.

Pulling a stool over, she sat down by the window. The canvas in front of her was unfinished but there were splashes of bright red and dark ink complementing each other. In the night, the rosefinch appeared so real that it seemed like it was moments away from taking off.

Jiang Shuxuan enjoyed looking at her painting or studying while in a serious mood. Right now, she was as still as calm water, the polar opposite from what she was normally.

“And done.” Gu Xiqiao stretched her body. The military drills had sapped out quite a lot of energy from her.

“You go up and rest. I’ll take it from here.” Jiang Shuxuan said while he looked at the paintbrushes scattered across the ground.

He had done this countless times before and Gu Xiqiao only mumbled a response before dragging her heavy body upstairs.

Xixi was hiding in a corner. It knew that this was the portrait Gu Xiqiao had made specifically for it and yet it did not have the balls to take it for itself. For some reason, it felt that if it did so, Jiang Shuxuan would smack it to death. According to Jiang Shuxuan’s philosophy, people easily lose their rationality once jealousy sets in and there is a high chance of this happening, with itself being on the receiving end.

Bird lives matter.

Jiang Shuxuan picked up Gu Xiqiao’s painting. Upon closer inspection, the Xixi on the canvas was completely unlike the Xixi in real life, who was looking at him with a pair of beady eyes. He blinked once before ripping the paper out and tossing it to one side. Then, he proceeded to carefully pick up Gu Xiqiao’s paint brushes.

Xixi, who was spying on him on the corner thought to itself, ‘Jiang Shuxuan you bastard! I knew you would do this! What do you get from bullying a mere bird?! Go bully Haha if you have the balls!”

Jiang Shuxuan turned towards the fuming bird.

╮（╯▽╰）╭

***

Next morning, Gu Xiqiao used an illusory trick to retrieve her pink car out of her inventory and into the garage. Luo Wenlang had just sent her the address of the company last night. Their company was set up in an office building in the commercial district, occupying five whole floors of said building. In the Imperial City, every inch of land was worth more than its weight in gold, so procuring five whole floors was extremely costly. Still, to the capital-rich company that was Nine Heavens, the bill was nothing but a mere digit.

Luo Wenlang came out as soon as she arrived. He appeared tired and lacked the energy he usually had with him. With a raised brow, Gu Xiqiao asked, “Where are you going?”

“To send Dalin off. The doctor said he can go to school now. So I am gonna put him to school.” A few days ago, during the military drill phase, he had entrusted the boy with Yu Ning and his friends. The next time he returned, he discovered how sloppy Luo Wenlin had become under their care. After consulting with the doctor, Luo Wenlang decided to send Luo Wenlin to a middle school situated near to Imperial City Normal University.

“Right.” Gu Xiqiao searched through her mind for something to say. “Has the Chen family come to bug you yet?”

“No, not really.” Luo Wenlang felt something was off about this. According to what his father had said, things should not have been so peaceful.

Gu Xiqiao looked up at him. “Give me your left hand.”

Luo Wenlang was surprised by her sudden request. Still, he reached out with his left hand. Gu Xiqiao then drew a bizarre-looking symbol at the center of his palm.

“What’s this?” More question marks popped up in Luo Wenlang’s mind.

“Nothing. You better be on your way now or Dalin’s going to be late.” Gu Xiqiao waved him goodbye before entering the building.

The layout of their office was similar to that found in N City. In fact, it was so similar that Gu Xiqiao felt that she had stepped through a wormhole and has returned to N City. Yu Ning and his men were gathered in one office to try out the latest virtual helmet. This time, the helmet provided a more seamless experience after adding quite a number of new features and patching up some bugs.

Yu Ning’s eyes lit up as soon as he saw Gu Xiqiao. “Look! See how much of the source code we’ve managed to crack!”

Gu Xiqiao looked over to find that his team had already cracked 10% of the source code. All that, done within less than half a month’s time. This was no small feat. Their achievement meant that they were advancing in the right direction and given another half month’s time, they should be able to crack the source code at a faster rate than before.

“I definitely see some new faces around here. Have you guys been hiring new people?” Gu Xiqiao figured that the fresh faces must be new recruits.

Pretty efficient for new recruits.

Speaking about this, Yu Ning looked directly at Gu Xiqiao after setting his phone down. Luo Wenlang was not around, so for now, he was Gu Xiqiao’s commentator. “These men are all comrades of Luo Wenlang, wooed in from University A. They are all members with overflowing potential. We even have a PhD student among us! Don’t look at me like this, this entire project is the fruit of our collective labor!”

Luo Wenlang had two roommates who were both in the investment club. And so, Luo Wenlang was quickly assimilated into said club and the club president was precisely the PhD student that Yu Ning had mentioned. For now, he was acting as a consultant for the club. Most of the people gathered here were the cream of the crop from A University’s Faculty of Finance and Economics.

Nine Heavens needed a large pool of talents during its growth stage. Luo Wenlang recognized the opportunity that had presented itself as soon as he got into the investment club. He brought the arbitrage portfolio Gu Xiqiao had devised over to let them dissect, just how this low-risk, high-profit model functioned, which quickly got the attention of his seniors.

A University was packed with talented people but at the same time, they had high standards too. Working together, they spent days trying to reverse engineer the portfolio and as they did so, Luo Wenlang released bits and pieces of information he got from the company to keep them hooked to the problem. This also earned him their respect as a fellow genius.

If the other companies were to know how he was monopolizing on human capital that was readily available at the university, they would undoubtedly cough up blood.

Hearing Yu Ning’s explanation made Gu Xiqiao involuntarily reach for her nose. Yu Ning then pushed a copy of their progress report into her hands.

As Gu Xiqiao flipped through the pages, Yu Ning continued playing as narrator.

He started off explaining how even before they officially started operating in the Imperial City, they were already pulling off such incredible feats. Gu Xiqiao, who possessed a good foresight, procured a few softwares before the news of Nine Heavens expanding to the capital was leaked out. And because of the popularity of their virtual helmet, many people set their eyes on this building.

Before Nine Heavens announced the ten companies they were going to cooperate with after their official opening, there were a great deal of tech companies competing with one another to produce the most advanced softwares in order to land a chance to seal the deal with Nine Heavens.

And yet, Nine Heavens was as cold as ice. Most of them did not know where they were; only a handful of insiders were able to contact Nine Heavens’ agents.

And so, these insiders would hastily run towards whoever they were working with as soon as they got a whiff of what Nine Heavens was up to, in an attempt to stay ahead of the curve.

***

Luo Wenlang drove Luo Wenlin to school. As he was crossing an intersection, a large truck turned around the bend. He stopped the vehicle to allow the truck to pass by and to his surprise, the truck swerved and headed straight for his car.

Never once had his mind been so clear before. Luo Wenlang felt his hands move on its own. They turned the steering wheel and directed the car towards the railing that lined the side of the road.

Sitting in the car, he could feel the immense impact as his vehicle slammed into the steel railing. Instinctively, he hugged Luo Wenlin to protect him from all the jarring movements his car made. They survived the near-fatal car crash. Shortly after, traffic police had arrived to cordon the place off for inspection. They pulled both Luo Wenlang and his brother out of the wreck. Astonished, one of the police officers said to him, “Mister, you’re really lucky! Seems like a scratch and nothing else!”

The car which Luo Wenlang was driving had their company’s logo on it. However, said logo was barely recognizable after the entire car smashed into the steel railing. The police estimated the total damage of his vehicle to be at 85% and yet both driver and passenger were able to walk away unscathed. This was a miracle.

“Maybe, it’s just my luck.” Then, Luo Wenlang remembered the ominous marking Gu Xiqiao had made on his hand.

Had he escaped the jaws of death because of that? Was she even related to this incident? Luo Wenlang couldn’t stop himself from wondering. He desperately needed answers from Gu Xiqiao. And yet, he knew that she would not necessarily answer his question. Still, his unconscious mind told him that the answer was right in front of him the whole time.

***

At the same time, in a villa on the outskirts of the Imperial City.

“Smash!”

A wine glass smashed into the marble floor, splashing wine in every direction.

“I don’t recall asking you to take out Luo Wenlang. It’s too quick and easy for him to die like this!” Chen Feng’s voice shook with rage after sending her wine glass flying across the room. “I wanted him to suffer a fate worse than death! Isn’t he currently working for a local company? I want you to deal with that company first. Let’s drive him into a dead end, let him witness how it’s like to have his friends leave him one by one. A fate worse than death!”

Luo Wenlang had finally arrived at the capital. Chen Feng was in a good mood. She had always despised the man but because of her foolish actions against the Jiang family, everything she had was taken from her. Naturally, she placed the blame all on Luo Wenlang. And so, she wanted him to go through the same painful process that she herself had experienced.

The voice on the other end of the line went silent for a while before agreeing with Chen Feng’s decision.

Shi Teng hung up the phone. He could be considered one of Chen Feng’s closer friends. Back then, when she was at the peak of her career, she had helped him a number of times before, so he owed her a favor. Now that Chen Feng had toppled over, the only person she could rely on was him. The company she spoke about was barely in its infant stage. Shi Teng didn’t mind taking it down since it would be an easy task, or so he thought.

Recently, he had been planning on further expanding his company so if he could transfer the workers in that company over to his own, it would end up in a win-win situation.

Chen Feng wasn’t sure about Luo Wenlang’s current whereabouts. Regardless, she sent Shi Teng an address. It was an office building occupied mostly by government agencies; the staff were all highly trained. Calling up his assistant, he scheduled a visit with a couple of other friends to this office building.

Nine Heavens had yet to open its doors, so only a small sign was hung up on its main entrance. Frankly speaking, it seemed pitiful, even to Shi Teng’s assistant.

Looking in, there were clusters of employees discussing something; there was not the orderly vibe you’d find in a professional environment. Very obviously, the employees were country bumpkins who have just recently moved to the Imperial Capital. The assistant cleared his throat loudly to get the attention of everyone.

“Nice to meet you all today, I am the assistant to the CEO of Wanteng Technology. I have an important announcement to make so listen up.”

“This applies to all of you here. As long as you are willing to join our company, we will guarantee benefits a hundred times better than whatever this place is offering.” The assistant scanned the faces of the workers around the office. “I believe that you all know what our company does. We are one of the most successful companies our nation has ever seen and today, we welcome you to join our team. Though, if you decide not to…” The assistant smirked. “Expect fierce competition. I personally have seen the downfall of many startup firms like yours.”

The employees at Nine Heavens were stunned by what they heard. It took them a while before their senses returned. So, this person was here to intimidate them? Nearly everyone of them felt their mouths cramp up. Leave Nine Heavens? What kind of joke was this? It was through their collective effort that Nine Heavens was able to become what it was today. This firm possessed so many talents, high-end software, and a robust financial management system that would allow them to keep on advancing far into the future.

They have learned so many things working at Nine Heavens. And now you’re asking them to leave?

Does your company possess such a fearsome source code? Does your company even have this magical virtual helmet? Does your company have an investment portfolio that has as little risk as we do, while simultaneously providing such high returns?

No! So spare us the bullcrap!

Seeing how cold a response he was getting, the assistant’s smile faded away. This was the Imperial City, where he had many connections. It was as easy to merge and acquire this small startup as it was to flip over one’s hands. If they choose to do this the hard way then so be it.

The assistant picked up his phone and was about to dial for an acquaintance when a familiar voice sounded from behind him. “Why, if it isn’t Mister Shi’s assistant?”

“President Fang, what are you doing here?” The assistant nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the fatty walk in through the doorway. This man was a financial giant, with assets nearing hundreds of millions. Still, he was able to maintain a low-profile and had met Shi Teng in private a handful of times before.

“Well, for the same reason as to why you are here,” said the financial giant with a hushed voice. “So, how’s it going? Have you guys procured any good softwares? I heard that Nine Heavens is very picky when dealing with partnerships. It was hard enough to locate their whereabouts and it’s not guaranteed that they will work with me either.”

Hearing the financial giant’s words, the assistant’s jaws almost dropped to the floor.

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, I can’t believe you’re still trying to hide what you’re doing.” The financial giant sounded a little displeased. “Everyone that steps into this place has only one goal in mind—to offer their software and to partner up with Nine Heavens. Of course, a long-term partnership would be the ideal outcome. They have just expanded into the Imperial City so of course they need partners. I’ll do my best later. I wonder if I’ll even be picked.”

“Nine Heavens?!” The assistant was astonished. As an assistant, he was well-informed about the current affairs in the tech world, especially when it came to the virtual helmet that had taken the world by storm. Ever since the product’s conception, he had always felt that this was an opportunity he could not miss out on.

This feeling was reinforced when Nine Heavens announced on Weibo, their decision to penetrate the Imperial City’s market. As a tech employee himself, he genuinely was looking forward to working with Nine Heavens. This was his golden ticket to rise up on the international stage.

But what did the financial giant just say to him? This is the renowned Nine Heavens tech company? Did he mess up the location or something? No way they were this small!

“Fine, if you aren’t talking, it’s fine. I’m gonna head in to look for the man in charge.” Seeing how Shi Teng’s assistant was staring blankly into empty air, the financial giant furrowed his brows and proceeded to enter one of the office cubicles.

The assistant stood there, jaws agape. In the blink of an eye, his face felt like it had been pepper-sprayed. To think that he was acting so arrogantly in front of his dream partner, never in his life had he felt so embarrassed before. If only he could curl up in a hole and disappear from mankind.

He could not stand there any longer. He made his way back to Wanteng with his tails tucked between his legs, back to Shi Teng’s office.

“So? How are things coming along?” Shi Teng asked as he looked up from the document he was reading. Of course, he was completely unprepared for failure. After all, his tech company was the best there is out there.

“Boss, we’ve got a problem.” The assistant was trembling. “The company Miss Chen was talking about is not what you think it is. They’re actually Nine Heavens! The one that you were looking forward to partnering up with!”

You could ask anyone what the next “big” tech company was going to be and they would not hesitate to answer “Nine Heavens”.

Their network speed was the highest throughout the nation and was as secure as a vault when it came to private information. Apart from that, their many functions triumphed over many other companies offering the same, but inferior service. Adding their latest game to the equation, Nine Heavens dominated the local market when it came to the internet of things. In just a few months’ time, this local firm had managed to get the attention of the entire globe. Foreigners might not know where China was but they definitely would know that Nine Heavens Network was “Made in China”!

What more to say of the virtual helmet. From now on, said product would be China’s main source of revenue once it was launched worldwide!

Anyone with an ounce of intelligence would know that this wasn’t an opportunity you could simply skip out on.

Even Shi Teng admitted defeat in the face of such a fearsome adversary. The moment he caught wind that they were moving to the Imperial City was the moment he decided to form a partnership with them.

However, it turned out that not only did he fail to form said partnership, he had even insulted them at their own office. In the blink of an eye, Shi Teng’s expression dullened.

He couldn’t help but wonder if Chen Feng had led him into a trap. After all, this Chen Feng was narrow-minded and short-sighted. Else why was she so hellbent on killing the child that her husband had with his ex-wife?

He sat there in silence for a while before calling Chen Feng.

***

Chen Feng was laying on the recliner. Her mouth curled up into a menacing grin upon hearing her phone ring. At that moment, there was a middle-aged woman doing her nails. Shortly after, her butler brought her phone over. “Miss, this is a phone call from Mister Shi.”

“Hello?” Chen Feng answered the call with a smile on her face. “You’re pretty effective aren’t you?”

“Effective? Chen Feng, do you have any idea how close I was to committing corporate suicide?! Let’s just end the plan now. I don’t need you to compensate me for my losses today but please don’t meet me ever again. Even if you want to die, I don’t!” Shi Teng sounded furious over the phone. After saying what he wanted to say, without waiting for Chen Feng to respond, he hung up the call.

Chen Feng’s expression changed straight after she was hung up on. She smashed the phone on the floor, her face, twisted in anger. “Luo Wenlang! You bastard Luo Wenlang! You! Start the car! I’m going to meet my father!”

She was the only heir of the Chen family. No matter how far down she has fallen, there was no way her father was going to ignore her. It has been over two months now, long enough for the Jiang family to have gotten over her. She felt that this was the perfect time to make her comeback. Everyone around her, she felt, was nothing but trash. In the end, it would be up to her to finish off Luo Wenlang!

Luo Jiajun was about to head out when he saw Chen Feng storm out of the house. The woman smiled at him and said sarcastically, “What a fine son you have produced!”

Luo Jiajun felt threatened by her words. Seeing her taking off in a hurry, he dialed Luo Wenlang’s number. Just like countless times before, his phone would either be switched off or he would refuse to pick up the phone. Perhaps his phone number had become blacklisted. Luo Jiajun cursed under his breath at his good-for-nothing son.

***

Around that time, the financial giant was sitting in an office cubicle at Nine Heavens. “Please wait sir, Mister Luo will be with you in a moment.”

“Hm, thanks.” The financial giant looked around to observe the office layout of his would-be partner. After a while, he was thoroughly surprised. The appliances they had lying around were all top-of-the-line equipment, which although added comfort to the working environment, was extremely costly. A small office like this with its decorations must have cost over a million yuan for them! This… really was luxurious!

Luo Wenlang safely sent his brother to school before arriving at the police station to answer a few questions. It was near noon by the time he returned to the office.

“Great timing.” Yu Ning was walking towards his office with a piece of paper in hand when he bumped into Luo Wenlang. He then tossed a bunch of keys into his hands. “Boss left this for you before she left. The car’s downstairs. Find it yourself. I don’t know which one it is. Also, someone’s here to see you. I think you should go in and check it out.”

Yu Ning rushed back to his office after saying that. Gu Xiqiao had been in her office a while ago and had discovered a new method of cracking the source code. Their methods surprisingly clashed. This, he felt, was worth his time investigating!

Luo Wenlang’s car had been towed away by the insurance company after the accident. He had not told anyone about the accident yet and for Yu Ning conveniently passed him the keys to a new car…

He found it hard to believe that Gu Xiqiao was not related to his accident earlier on.

Clenching his fist over the keys, Luo Wenlang walked closer to his office. The financial giant was waiting for him inside. That man was visibly surprised as soon as Luo Wenlang walked in; he did not anticipate seeing such a young man running such an important business. He looked like he had just graduated high school last year. Was Nine Heavens composed entirely of young people like him? This, the financial giant found, was hard to accept.

He would find it even harder to swallow if he knew that Luo Wenlang was just a freshman at A University.

“We are not interested in cooperation but what we can offer, is a new investment method.” Luo Wenlang had a photographic memory. He had briefly scanned through the list of people interested in a partnership with his company and this man was part of said list. “Please have a look at this.”

He quickly typed in a series of codes on his computer. After mingling with Yu Ning, he now understood basic programming. Soon, dense lines of digits filled his computer screen. “We can change the way we cooperate. You help us procure advertising space, and this investment will be yours.”

There was a reason why this man was called a “financial giant”; it was because of his ability to analyze cash flow that he was renowned worldwide. He had come here expecting to help Nine Heavens expand their business, not to receive an investment plan from them.

Listening to Luo Wenlang made the financial giant’s brows furrow. There was already a great number of investment methods his company possessed, all of which were fundamentally the same. Likewise, there were a handful of financial management systems his company was using. Why would he need another one in exchange for providing advertising space for these fools? He was no fool himself!

Still, forcing politeness, he accepted the piece of paper, which he half-heartedly glanced through. His eyes caught onto something that made him suck in a mouthful of air. “9% risk-free, guaranteed profit?! What?!”

Even for a world-class company, the highest returns one would get from investing while remaining risk-free was 3.4%. Them offering 9% meant that one would get more than three times the returns, which was to say that if one invested ten million for exactly one year, said person would receive 900, 000 every year. If you had a bit more capital, it was easy to get up to five million in returns every year.

A company could grow exponentially with this investment plan.

The financial giant stared blankly at the paper. He did not understand the complex formula behind it but he sure understood the digits printed on it. He looked up at Luo Wenlang, wide-eyed. “A-Aren’t you guys a tech company?”

Luo Wenlang responded with a humble smile. “We are well-known for our network system but our financial management is also fairly robust.”

Fairly? No, that wasn’t the right word, the financial giant thought. This was revolutionary! The man thought to himself, ‘It would be great if you guys could just stick with tech. Now you’re trying to compete with us too?’

“Well, we’ll stick to this for the moment. Glad to be working with you. We will be starting operations here the day after tomorrow and I hope to see you soon!” Luo Wenlang passed the partnership agreement to the man with a slight smile.

“Why of course! I’ll be seeing you soon!” He must keep his eyes glued to this company. With 9% guaranteed returns, he would be smiling even in his dreams.

Luo Wenlang thought to himself, ‘If only you knew about Gu Xiqiao’s investment plan that would guarantee 15% returns, would you just die on the spot?’

Following that, Luo Wenlang had to meet with a further ten well-known interested partners and successfully procured ten more advertisement spaces. This was the way things were done back in N City. Of course, the best advertisement space remains to be their official website.

***

Next morning, at 9 am, a new announcement was made on Nine Heavens’ official website which had remained dead for the past ten days.

Nine Heavens Network official blog site: Nine Heavens has officially established itself in the Imperial City. Tomorrow, at 10 am, at the International Exhibition Hall, we will be offering 5000 units of virtual helmets for sale. In addition, another 2000 units will be available online for pre-ordering. This includes the Supreme Edition, the Deluxe Edition, as well as the Common Edition. It will be available in different designs for you to choose. Our staff will be standing here, waiting for you.”

Commenter 1: “Ahhhhhhhhhh! Finally, God has answered my prayers!”

Commenter 10: I don’t care anymore! I must get my hands on this thing! Don’t you dare steal my virtual helmet away from me! 🐷

Commenter 113: They’ve finally come to the Imperial City! Imma go rent a room near the International Exhibition Hall right now. I’m gonna get my very own virtual helmet now! 😁😁

Commenter 999: If you can post on Weibo then you should be able to post pictures! That supreme edition thing sounds sickkk! You’re teasing us by not showing what it looks like man! Reveal the damn thing already!

Commenter 12,222: Those who live outside the capital are watching you guys with envy. Fellow pre-orderers, this will be a test of our humanity.

Commenter N: Good God, there’s only 7000 of them for sale. And with so many richfags around, this will be hell!

Commenter NN: Am I the only one who has noticed this? Nine Heavens must be richfags themselves to be able to even afford renting the International Exhibition Hall 😁😁

Commenter M: Also, that place isn’t always available even if you have the money.

***

No matter what, Nine Heavens would always end up being at the top of the discussion. You could visit any news website and they’d always be on one of their headlines. In fact, this new announcement made them overshadow even the announcement of a new popular film that was being released that day.

Yu Ning was even more hard pressed to break the source code after seeing the crowd’s response to their release of the virtual helmet. Something inside told him that the age of virtual reality had finally arrived.

Luo Wenlang glanced at him and thought to himself, ‘Gu Xiqiao would never care so much about what our customers think.’

No matter what, from today onwards, Nine Heavens would have solidified its foothold in the capital, the Imperial City.

On the side of the office building located at the heart of the financial district, three words were displayed proudly across the middle five floors: Nine Heavens Corporation!

Pedestrians walking by below all stared up in awe at their majestic name.

Over the course of two days, Chen Feng managed to convince her father to allow her back to manage the family business. Although she wasn’t as big of a player she once was, the position she held was pretty high up. Right after she had dealt with that, she caught wind of Nine Heavens’ launch in the Imperial City, which was where Luo Wenlang worked at.

Her cheerful expression turned cold again. Looking down at the traffic below, she sneered: “Nine Heavens?”

***

After overseeing Nine Heavens’ operation and being satisfied that they were heading down the right track, Gu Xiqiao returned to her dormitory. Her break was coming to an end and classes were about to start. Her room was surprisingly noisy when she came back. She heard Sun Jiajia ask excitedly, “Really? You bought the supreme edition helmet?”

“I mean, it’s just a helmet. You could play with it if you want,” replied Bai Xinran. She looked up from her computer screen. “Oh, you’re back huh?”

Gu Xiqiao nodded in response. She put her bag down and sat down on her bed. Xu Jing was not in the room, presumably doing something elsewhere.

“Was that man really your boyfriend?” Bai Xinran asked. Jiang Shuxuan had left too deep of an impression on these girls. No matter in terms of appearance or temperament, he triumphed over every Tom, Dick, and Harry in their university. Also, there was that car of his, which they felt, was an indication that he was no average joe.

She couldn’t get over the fact that Gu Xiqiao had a boyfriend like him.

Sun Jiajia put down the helmet she was holding and asked, “What’s his family involved in? He has this air around him, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know?” replied Gu Xiqiao while tidying up her desk. She knew that someone had been going through her stuff, which was why her gaze turned cold and hostile in an instant.

“Don’t know?” Bai Xinran’s tense expression loosened up. She looked at Gu Xiqiao with sympathetic eyes. A man who refrained from telling his woman what he was up to meant that he did not care about her enough to explain the truth.

Bai Xinran smiled deviously. “We should meet up sometime, have dinner together or something. Let’s all get to know each other.”

Gu Xiqiao continued tidying up her stuff. “He’s busy, doesn’t have the time to have dinner with you guys.”

“Come on, don’t be like that,” said Sun Jiajia. Although she was born into a regular family, her standards were pretty high. She looked down on most people she met but hearing Bai Xinran’s words made her impressed with Gu Xiqiao’s mysterious boyfriend. “We’re roommates after all. No way you guys don’t have time to share a meal.”

“He really doesn’t have the time.” An intimidating smile surfaced on Gu Xiqiao’s face.

Being on the receiving end of such a look, Sun Jiajia snorted. Without saying a word more, she returned to her own bench and continued fiddling with the virtual helmet. “Xinran, how much did you spend buying this?”

“Someone gave it to me as a gift.”

“Gift? Who’s that? I saw online that this thing’s going for tens of thousands!” Sun Jiajia’s mouth was wide open. Her allowance per semester was limited to a couple thousand yuan only.

“A friend of mine.” Bai Xinran seemed to have remembered something as she turned toward Gu Xiqiao. “Oh, right, I recall seeing the icon of the game Nine Heavens had just released. Did your boyfriend buy you a helmet as well?”

Gu Xiqiao sighed. What a bothersome fellow. “Nope.” In reality, it was she who had presented the deluxe edition of the virtual helmet to him. Subsequently, she forcefully dragged him into a gaming session on said device that lasted hours.

“But…” Bai Xinran’s brows were tightly knit. “He should easily be able to afford it, no?”

“I don’t particularly enjoy gaming that much.” Gu Xiqiao’s patience was running out.

Bai Xinran smirked. “I see that the version of your game is pretty far behind. Was the last time you played it a long time ago? If you wanna try it out, I can lend it to you. Still, don’t you think that that boyfriend of yours is getting pretty irresponsible?”

“So-so, I guess.” Gu Xiqiao really wanted to get out of this uncomfortable conversation. Thankfully, Xu Jing came back at the right time. However, her eyes were wide open when she looked over to Gu Xiqiao.

“Beauty Gu, someone really handsome is waiting for you downstairs!”