Chapter 30 The Investor Arrives

As the evening grew late, Xu Yuan finally waited for Li Xinran to finish class.

This girl had chosen many courses in her freshman year, probably thinking of completing her credits early.

“Is it tasty?” Xu Yuan looked at Li Xinran struggling to bite the beef jerky and found it a bit amusing.

Dried beef is tough and chewy, but the more you chew, the more fragrant it becomes. It was Li Xinran’s first time eating it, and she just felt a bit addicted, like she couldn’t stop.

“It’s so hard to chew.” Li Xinran rubbed her slightly sore and tired cheeks and said with a smiling face.

“The day after tomorrow is Xia Ke’s birthday, and Wan’er will be there too. Do you want to come with me?” Seeing that Li Xinran seemed to be in a good mood, Xu Yuan took the opportunity to bring up his topic.

Hearing this, Li Xinran was slightly stunned, pouted cutely, and said, “Xu Yuan, has anyone ever told you that your emotional intelligence is very low?”

“Ah?” Xu Yuan was a bit confused. He was being sincere and didn’t want to hide anything from her. Was that wrong?

“You’re silly. Not only did you tell me, but you also said you’re going to your longtime crush’s best friend’s birthday party, and you want to bring me along.”

Isn’t this a sign of very low emotional intelligence?” Sometimes Li Xinran really wondered if Xu Yuan was stupid for telling her such things directly.

Xu Yuan was a bit annoyed. Li Xinran was getting bolder and bolder, daring to call him stupid.

“I’m stupid… and you’re very smart?”

“Of course, this academic god is the smartest in the world, okay?” Li Xinran pushed up her glasses and nodded seriously.

“What the—?”

Xu Yuan’s whole body suddenly leaned forward, directly pinning Li Xinran against the wall.

Their eyes met, and Xu Yuan directly removed Li Xinran’s glasses, revealing her beautiful eyes clearly before him.

“What are you doing?” Li Xinran nervously stuffed beef jerky into his red lips, feeling that Xu Yuan was about to do something bad.

“Are you not worried that someone might whisk me away and then not want you anymore?” Xu Yuan whispered into Li Xinran’s ear.

The gentle breath made Li Xinran’s ears tingle and flush red; shyly, she wanted to pull away, but unfortunately, Xu Yuan’s hands held her firmly.

“Xu Yuan… this is a school.”

Xu Yuan took a deep breath, looking at Li Xinran’s stunning face; he had to admit, it was hard for him to control himself.

“What are you afraid of? If they see us, they see us. Do you think you can still run away? Xinran, are you coming with me or not?!”

“The day after tomorrow, there’s a lecture at school. A very authoritative professor is coming, and I have to attend.” Li Xinran turned her head away. Xu Yuan was standing too close, and she felt her face growing hotter and hotter, as if she couldn’t breathe.

“What are you two doing?”

The sudden voice broke the originally ambiguous atmosphere.

Ye Sisi looked at the two people who were almost pressed together, feeling a sharp pang of jealousy in her heart.

Killing the dog in broad daylight!

“Sisi!” Li Xinran saw Ye Sisi and seemed to have found a savior, quickly slipping out from under Xu Yuan’s arm and hiding behind her.

Xu Yuan couldn’t help but rub his nose; Ye Sisi, this nuclear light bulb, really showed up at the worst possible time.

“Xu Yuan, are you bullying Xinran?” Ye Sisi asked, hands on her hips.

Xu Yuan sneered disdainfully and mocked:
“Are you jealous? No one’s bullying you?”

Ye Sisi almost exploded with anger when she heard this—was he mocking her for having no one pursuing her?
“Hmph! I’m the only one who gets to bully others, no one dares to bully me!
Xu Yuan, don’t be too arrogant. I see your name on the list of students going to my dad’s company for an internship this term!

Do you believe I’ll make things difficult for you then?”

Ye Sisi immediately retorted, a look of pride on her face. No matter how impressive Xu Yuan was, wasn’t he still just a student?

“Tch! Ye Sisi, you better go back to Gotham, Batman has forgiven you.”

Xu Yuan had no mood to compete with this little girl, then said to Li Xinran, “That beef jerky was given to you by my mom, you’re not allowed to share it with others.”

Watching Xu Yuan’s departing back, Ye Sisi only realized after a long time that he seemed to be insulting her, stomping her foot angrily.

“Damn it! He actually called me a clown! He won’t let me eat it, but I’ll eat it anyway!”

Ye Sisi said as she was about to grab the beef jerky, but unfortunately Li Xinran swiftly dodged her attack.

“Xinran, you’re really not going to let me have any?”

Li Xinran held the large pack of beef jerky, looking a bit embarrassed as she said to Ye Sisi, “Sisi, how about I treat you to something else delicious?”

  ……

  ……

The car slowly came to a stop, and Xu Yuan squeezed out from the surging crowd.

“President Xu, where have you been? Why didn’t I see you?”

Not far away, a young man who looked to be under thirty, dressed like a corporate drone, was holding his phone and looking around.

“Here it is.”

Xu Yuan quickly stepped forward, shook his phone, and smiled at the other party.

Zhang Chao had asked him to come take a look, so Xu Yuan had no choice but to come by and go through the motions. After all, it wasn’t necessary to give any opinions; it was just to let the production team know that the investors were also paying attention to them.

Fang Mu looked at the young man in ordinary clothes in front of him, was slightly stunned, and asked incredulously, “Are you President Xu?”

“Doesn’t it?” Xu Yuan spread his arms and turned around, smiling as he spoke.
Fang Mu couldn’t help but swallow nervously. Zhang Chao had told him that this time the visitor was a major shareholder of the company, but he hadn’t mentioned that the person was so young, looking even younger than himself.

“Um… Hello, Mr. Xu. My name is Fang Mu, I am the leader of the second group in the company’s marketing department, and also the producer of the variety show ‘Promotion Chronicles.'”

Although Fang Mu was surprised that Xu Yuan, both in age and appearance, did not look like a major shareholder, he still politely extended his hand.

Xu Yuan was also very down-to-earth. After a brief handshake, Fang Mu led Xu Yuan towards the building behind them.

“Mr. Xu, actually there’s nothing major going on with the crew, sorry to trouble you with this visit.”

“President Zhang didn’t have time and asked me to come take a look, so naturally, I couldn’t refuse. Besides, I’m also a shareholder of the company. The company has invested a lot in this variety show, so if I just ignore it, wouldn’t I be acting like a big shot with no responsibility?” Xu Yuan said jokingly.

“Yes, yes… President Xu is right,” Fang Mu also chimed in from the side.

Although Xu Yuan appeared very easygoing and not imposing, Fang Mu’s attitude was still very cautious and careful.

“President Xu, our variety show has taken up an entire floor for filming. The main gimmick of this show is that celebrities enter our Bingcheng Beverage stores.

Our company’s product positioning is for the general public, and we believe that promoting it in this way will be more effective.

Moreover, since celebrities are drinking it, it also elevates the product’s status, compensating for some consumers’ doubts about our quality due to the low price.

Fang Mu roughly explained to Xu Yuan why the company decided to invest in this variety show.

Zhang Chao’s idea was good, and Xu Yuan didn’t see any issues. He was just there to go through the motions; having agreed not to participate in company decisions, Xu Yuan wouldn’t easily break his principles.

Xu Yuan did not understand marketing, and in the business world, it is a taboo to micromanage areas you are not skilled in.

Some bosses try to boost their authority through micromanagement, but Xu Yuan considered this foolish. As long as the company makes money, the boss naturally gains authority.

“Mr. Xu, please.”

The elevator doors opened, and Fang Mu, being very considerate, let Xu Yuan go in first.

Xu Yuan felt a surge of secret delight; it had been a long time since he had experienced this. After all, in his previous life, he was a domineering CEO, always accompanied by a personal secretary who arranged his schedule.

But Xu Yuan hadn’t enjoyed it for long. Just as he was about to step in, a burly man in a security uniform suddenly shoved him aside, impatiently shouting:

“Move! Move!”

Seeing this, Fang Mu quickly caught Xu Yuan, who was about to fall.

“WTF?” Xu Yuan looked at the scene behind him, a bit confused.

A dozen or so security guards were holding hands, surrounding a heavily made-up woman. Judging by the setup, she was probably a female celebrity.

The woman wore sunglasses and a mask, proudly holding her head high.

Xu Yuan glanced around; no one was taking pictures. What was going on here?
“Mr. Xu, are you alright?” Fang Mu felt extremely flustered inside. He was just a small team leader in the marketing department; if he offended a major shareholder, he might as well start packing his things.

The female celebrity walked straight towards the elevator, completely ignoring Xu Yuan, who was pushed aside by the security guard and nearly fell.

As the elevator doors closed, Xu Yuan furrowed his brows tightly.

“Who is that person? A celebrity?” Xu Yuan wasn’t interested in the entertainment industry or hula hoops, so he didn’t know many celebrities.

“A recently popular third-tier artist named Wang Xinji. Nearly a quarter of our investment this time was spent on hiring her.

General Xu, please don’t take it personally, she doesn’t know you,” Fang Mu explained with a worried expression.

This type of workplace reality show doesn’t have strong self-promotion, so big-name stars naturally don’t want to participate. Also, there are few shows like this on the market, so there’s not much competition pressure, and we don’t need to worry too much about the viewership.

Therefore, the production team doesn’t need to invite very big-name celebrities. Wang Xinji can be said to be the biggest name in this show.

Xu Yuan touched his chin; the name really suits the person.

“Indeed quite impatient. It’s okay, I’m not that petty,” Xu Yuan said with a smile to Fang Mu, secretly thinking: If I get the chance, I’ll make sure your impatience backfires.

Fang Mu saw that Xu Yuan really didn’t seem angry, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The two waited a while longer, and the second elevator finally arrived.

This time, Fang Mu deliberately glanced around before inviting Xu Yuan into the elevator.

  ……

“Sister Wang, you really have a lot of face; even the director and the screenwriter came personally to welcome you,” the little assistant said flatteringly from the side.

As soon as Wang Xinji got off the elevator, she saw the variety show’s director, screenwriter, and other staff standing neatly in a row, as if they were there specifically to welcome her.

“Keep a low profile.” Wang Xinji said modestly, but her head was held even higher.

Originally, she was just an actor outside the third tier, but unexpectedly, playing a supporting role made her popular, and her status quickly rose to the top of the third tier.

With fame came arrogance, and Wang Xinji was no exception, but she didn’t get too carried away. Seeing the whole crew there, she quickly smiled and walked over.

“Director Hu, Editor Wang. Why are you personally here to pick me up?”

Hu Han was slightly taken aback to see Wang Xinji come out of the elevator. Wasn’t Fang Mu supposed to go downstairs to meet the investors?
“Xiao Wang, you’re here pretty early. The investors will be arriving soon, so you can meet them then,” Hu Han said with a smile.

A small third-tier artist, and he, a big shot in variety shows, was personally receiving her? And making the whole team wait? Wang Xinji was really overestimating herself.

“Investors?” Wang Xinji couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth. So it wasn’t a special reception for her after all; she had just been imagining things.

  ……