Star Abyss Walker

Chapter 290 A Movie for Three
"Dududu-"

The phone rang a few times before being answered.

"Hello?" (pronounced with a second tone)
A middle-aged man's voice came from the other end: "Who is it?"

"Hello Section Chief Ye, I am Ding Han, who applied for the business license of Feiyang Chain E-sports Hotel. I heard that there is a small problem in the application process, so I would like to talk to you in person. I wonder if you are free tonight, Section Chief Ye? If you are, my partner and I would like to invite you to dinner. We would appreciate your presence."

"Oh, it's Brother Ding..."

Section Chief Ye smiled and said, "Sure, I'm free after get off work today. You can choose the place."

"Okay, I'll send you the address in a bit."

"No problem, see you tonight."

This Section Chief Ye doesn't seem to refuse to meet with us.

"what's the situation?"

Zhao Yihang said, "Logically speaking, since he's holding our business licenses hostage, he shouldn't want to see us. Why did he agree so readily? Could there be something fishy going on?"

Lu Xiaobei looked at me and nodded.

"So what if there's something fishy going on? I'll still go to the meeting alone. Xiao Bei, book a decent restaurant and send me the address."

"it is good……"

Lu Xiaobei took his phone and went to book a private room. Shortly after, he sent me the restaurant address, which I then forwarded to Section Chief Ye, who replied with an "OK".

I went upstairs to continue writing code.

Not long after, Lu Xiaobei pushed open the door and entered, looking worried. "Ding Han, shouldn't we give them a gift?"

"I don't know, let's prepare a backup plan."

I ordered, "Xiao Bei, go to the tea shop next door and buy a can of tea. Don't buy too much; I need the can."

"Oh……"

Although Lu Xiaobei was suspicious, he still obeyed and went.

He returned in less than ten minutes, placed the tea box on the table, took out the tea leaves and put them in the drawer, then took out 5 star coins from his interdimensional storage space, rolled them up and stuffed them into the tea canister.

"You really want to give a gift..." Lu Xiaobei said.

"Ah."

I nodded: "We can't afford to mess with this local bully. If we don't smooth things over now, he might cause us trouble again once the hotel opens. My expectation is 50,000. If 50,000 isn't enough to get rid of him, we'll have to think of another way."

"it is good!"

Lu Xiaobei nodded. Although he was still indignant, he could only endure it when faced with such a situation.

……

In the evening, he drove Lu Xiaobei to the restaurant.

We arrived half an hour early, ordered the food first, then ordered a pot of tea, and waited for Section Chief Ye.

A short while later, the door opened, and a slightly short and thin middle-aged man appeared in the doorway carrying a briefcase. His face instantly broke into a smug, street-smart smile: "Something came up and I'm sorry to have kept you waiting!"

"Section Chief Ye, please have a seat!"

I quickly stood up, shook hands with him, and then introduced him: "This is my partner, Lu Xiaobei."

"I know."

Section Chief Ye plopped down, squinted his eyes, and smiled, "Your Feiyang Chain Internet Cafe's business license in Huaining City was registered with me. Brother Ding, your business talent is truly astonishing. To be able to take a newly emerging chain internet cafe to this level is truly admirable!"

"Not at all, it was just a fluke."

I smiled slightly: "We've already ordered the dishes, but we don't know if they'll suit Section Chief Ye's taste. They're all the restaurant's signature dishes."

"There's no problem with the food."

Section Chief Ye said, "Want to have something to drink later?"

"I have a very low alcohol tolerance, and I'm afraid that drinking too much will cause me to mess things up..."

"It's ok."

Lu Xiaobei said from the side, "Ding Han, you should drink less. I'll drink with Section Chief Ye."

"Haha, that's great."

Section Chief Ye said, "I've heard so much about Lu Xiaobei. To be honest, my daughter loves Milo's songs, and she also loves your song 'Plain Face.' She listens to it every day and is completely captivated by it."

Lu Xiaobei smiled and politely exchanged a few words.

The food was served quickly. I didn't dare to drink too much, so I drank a bottle of beer instead. Lu Xiaobei, on the other hand, drank some baijiu with Section Chief Ye.

When we were almost finished eating, Lu Xiaobei was slightly tipsy, her pretty face flushed, and she winked at me.

So he took out a tea canister from his bag, slowly pushed it forward, and said, "Section Chief Ye, it's nice to meet you. I brought some tea with me; please accept this small token of my appreciation!"

"Oh, Biluochun tea!"

Although Section Chief Ye appeared to be drunk and his eyes were blurry, he was actually quite shrewd. He immediately picked up the tea canister, opened it a crack, and peeked inside. He probably already knew exactly how much money was inside.

"Brother Ding, I'm not trying to be mean, but there's no need for this."

Section Chief Ye laughed and pushed the tea canister back, saying, "Actually, I don't like tea. Giving me this canister would be a waste. Besides, I'm not that kind of person. How about this, since Brother Ding and I are getting along so well, why don't I just point you in the right direction?"

"Section Chief Ye, please speak."

"Applying to open a chain hotel is not as easy as you think. The business license is just the first hurdle. Many more problems will keep emerging. The most difficult one is the special operating license. You used to run an internet cafe, so it will probably be difficult for you to get this license. But I have a way to solve this problem."

Lu Xiaobei asked, "What method?"

Section Chief Ye chuckled and kept everyone in suspense: "I'll tell you if you drink the wine in your glass."

A disgusting drinking culture.

Without saying a word, Lu Xiaobei drank the wine.

"How about this...?"

Section Chief Ye looked at me, then at Lu Xiaobei, and said, "I have 2 million RMB in spare cash here. I'm very interested in the e-sports hotel you're about to invest in, so I'd like to use this 2 million RMB as an investment. We can open this hotel together. Just give me 30% of the shares. That way, the issues of business licenses, special operating permits, and other permits can be easily resolved. What do you two think?"

Lu Xiaobei was immediately dumbfounded.

"Section Chief Ye, your involvement in this investment is quite significant. Xiao Bei and I need to think about it carefully."

"Sure, you have plenty of time to consider. I'll wait for your reply."

……

After dinner, I called Zhao Yihang and asked him to come over so he could drive Section Chief Ye home first, and then return to the internet cafe.

On the way back to the internet cafe.

"Ding Han, what should we do?"

Lu Xiaobei was stunned by Section Chief Ye's series of moves: "Are we really going to let this person invest? Although having him, a section chief from the Industry and Commerce Bureau, as our backer will certainly reduce a lot of trouble after our e-sports hotel opens, I still have a feeling..."

"Don't let him participate."

I shook my head: "The shareholding structure of Feiyang Chain Hotel must be completely clean, with only you and me. No one else is allowed to get involved, so as to avoid a mess later."

"Hmm, what should we do then? What Section Chief Ye said actually makes some sense..."

"There's some truth to that."

I complained, "Xiao Bei, do you know what the most disgusting part of the Journey to the West story is when Sun Wukong protects Tang Sanzang on his pilgrimage?"

"Where?"

"The disgusting thing is that every time Sun Wukong encounters a problem, he returns to the Heavenly Court to ask various gods for help. However, those monsters are actually arranged by the gods in the Heavenly Court. So the disgusting thing is that the person who solves the problem for you is actually the one who deliberately caused the problem."

"..."

Lu Xiaobei pursed her lips, pretending to be deep in thought, and after a while nodded: "That's right, you're right..."

"What should I do?"

Zhao Yihang, who was driving, said, "Boss, Ding Han, our e-sports hotel can't just be stuck here, can it?"

"Let's talk about it tomorrow, I'll handle it."

"All right……"

……

A night of silence.

Several times I impulsively considered asking Lin Qingying for a solution to this problem, but then I thought that given her personality, she would probably just solve it for me without asking, which would only waste her goodwill, and that was definitely not what I wanted.

So I held back and decided to use my own connections to solve the problem.

The next morning, at Feiyang Internet Cafe.

Sitting in the office, enjoying the morning milk tea that Lu Xiaobei had brought, he took out his phone and called Su Wei.

"Oh my, how rare..."

She answered the phone immediately and laughed, "It's rare for you to contact me first. What's up?"

"Well, there's something I'd like to ask you for help with."

"Let's talk about it first."

So I told him that the business license of Feiyang Chain Esports Hotel had been blocked by a section chief of the Industry and Commerce Bureau, and that he wanted to use this as leverage to get shares in Feiyang Chain Esports Hotel.

"Is there such a thing?"

Su Wei was a little angry: "These parasites who abuse their power for personal gain are simply scum among civil servants!"

"So, can you help me solve this?" I asked directly.

"This one……"

Su Wei hesitated for a moment: "I work for the military, but this matter involves business administration..."

"If you can't solve it, then forget it."

I sighed and said, "I called Wei Yang and Fang Ran, but I don't know if they can help me."

"No, no, no, no, no..."

Su Wei panicked and said a series of "no"s, "Don't look for them. It's like our Crimson Dragon Legion is inferior to the Great Wall Watchers... Leave this to me, Ding Han, don't worry, we'll make the call right now! A mere section chief dares to pull this stunt, he can forget about being a section chief. And I'll make him send you the business license within 24 hours and apologize in person!"

She retorted angrily, "What a joke! How could a Silver Star Hero Medal recipient from the Crimson Dragon Kingdom be bullied?!"

I coughed and said, "Then I'll leave it to you!"

"Leave it to me, just wait for news."

……

Around 10 a.m., less than two hours after I called Su Wei.

"Ding Han!"

Lu Xiaobei burst through the door and said, "That Section Chief Ye is here, and he brought our business license, saying he wants to see you in person to apologize. What's going on?"

"what?"

I laughed and said, "My connections are working? Let's go down and take a look."

Lu Xiaobei nodded vigorously and dashed downstairs ahead.

Down in the lobby, Section Chief Ye, wearing a black jacket, with a briefcase tucked under his arm and a business license in his hand, looked at me with an embarrassed expression.

"Ding Han, you had such a powerful backer, why didn't you say so earlier? You've ruined my life..."

"Section Chief Ye, didn't you ask for this?" I said with a smile.

"Hey, I'm not the section chief anymore, just call me Old Ye."

"..."

"Ding Han, I'm really sorry, I made a mistake in a moment of confusion."

He presented the business license with both hands and bowed deeply to me and Lu Xiaobei: "I'm sorry, please forgive my momentary lapse of judgment. I sincerely apologize to you!"

With that, Section Chief Ye drove off in a black Audi A6 as if fleeing.

How can a person change so much?

Lu Xiaobei stared in disbelief.

I smiled slightly, put away the business license, and said, "How about having lunch with Cheng Shuang? I'd like to ask her about the renovation of the e-sports hotel, since Cheng's Group is one of the leading companies in the domestic hotel and catering industry."

"Sure, I'll treat you to lunch."

"it is good."

So I told Cheng Shuang, and we immediately agreed. Lu Xiaobei and I set off from Feiyang Internet Cafe, carrying our business license, to Donghu District.

"Beep beep~~"

On the bus, a call came in from an unknown number.

"Hello, who is it?"

A young man's voice came from the other end of the phone: "Is this Ding Han?"

"Well, it's me."

"Oh, I'm Secretary Liu from the Municipal Party Committee Office. I heard you just applied for a business license for the Feiyang Chain E-sports Hotel, located by East Lake, right?"

"Yes, what's wrong? Is there a problem?"

"No problem, no problem."

He laughed and said, "SJ brought this up and asked me to ask you if there was anything you needed the government's help with in the process of opening this hotel, such as support or funding. SJ said that you are a key top talent in the city, and such support is very easy to get approved."

Is there such a thing?
I suddenly had a feeling that "when the time is right, everything in the world lends a hand".

So, I decided to organize a gathering and said, "I happen to be heading to Donghu District to invite Ms. Cheng Shuang, the head of the Cheng Group, to dinner to discuss the e-sports hotel. Secretary Liu, if it's convenient for you, please come along. We can discuss how to provide support together. How does that sound?"

"Sure, sure, I'm coming right away!"

"Okay, I'll send you the restaurant address."

"Uh-huh!"

I was driving, so I was on speakerphone. When the call ended, Lu Xiaobei, who was sitting next to me, looked completely bewildered: "Ding Han, when did you get such strong connections? A secretary in the municipal party committee office, is that something ordinary people like us can get in touch with?"

"Don't ask. These connections are earned through hard work and skill!"

"Oh?"

Lu Xiaobei was skeptical.

Actually, I wasn't lying. My status wasn't given to me by others; it was earned through my own hard work and dedication. Without my top-ranking combat power in the national server and my heroic performances in countless battles, the people in the municipal party committee office wouldn't care who I am. My so-called status is simply due to my own equivalent value.

Just like the connections I've built with people like Su Wei, Wei Yang, and Fang Ran, the reason they hold me in such high regard is simply because I'm strong enough. Otherwise, why?
Is it because I'm handsome?

I called Cheng Shuang and told her about Secretary Liu joining the dinner party.

"sure!"

Cheng Shuang smiled and said, "I know Secretary Liu. We've met at several dinner parties. Although we're not close, we're acquaintances. Actually, this is a good thing. If the Municipal Party Committee Office is willing to get involved, your e-sports hotel project is basically secure. I reckon they'll treat this project as a key project supported by Donghu District."

"That would be perfect. We'll be there soon. See you at the restaurant later."

……

At noon, at a well-known Sichuan restaurant near the Chengshi Group's Donghu project.

Secretary Liu arrived even earlier than Cheng Shuang. She was a young man in his thirties with black-rimmed glasses. She looked refined and very enthusiastic, and was very polite to me and Lu Xiaobei.

Soon after, Cheng Shuang arrived, and after exchanging pleasantries, they began to eat.

During the meal, we talked about trivial things, even the East Lake Insect Nest incident and the plan to handle the victims, but we didn't mention the e-sports hotel at all.

After dinner, we drove to the hotel address.

"So this is it! The location is indeed excellent!" Secretary Liu exclaimed. "Ding Han, you have a good eye!"

"Haha, it's alright."

I led Secretary Liu to the back of the hotel and pointed, saying, "I want to convert half of the hotel's rooms into lake-view rooms, but this reed bed at the back blocks the view, making it impossible to enjoy the lake view. Secretary Liu, do you think we can deal with these reeds?"

"can."

Secretary Liu took out a pen and paper and said, "Tomorrow, the Municipal Party Committee Office will arrange for the sanitation department to come and completely clear the reeds within 100 meters of the hotel. In the future, this area will also be included in the city's landscaping management area, and there will be dedicated personnel to take care of it."

I felt a secret thrill; this feeling of having resources at my fingertips was just too good!

"By the way, Secretary Liu."

Cheng Shuang, who was standing to the side, said, "According to Ding Han and my previous idea, the nearly 20 meters from the hotel to East Lake will be turned into a viewing terrace. In addition, we plan to extend the terrace to the lake and build a lakeside restaurant, developing it in the style of a lakeside inn. This will probably require applying for land for several hundred bungalows, as well as the qualification for a lakeside restaurant."

"sure!"

Secretary Liu smiled and said, "Donghu District has always been encouraging the vigorous development of the tourism industry, which is a good thing."

"But……"

Cheng Shuang laughed and said, "Along the East Lake, the applications of thousands of inns to build terraces have all been rejected. Only a very small number of inns have actually obtained the qualification to expand."

"That's to protect the water quality of East Lake."

Secretary Liu smiled meaningfully: "Ding Han's e-sports hotel is different. Its main user group is college students. College students are of high quality, and their pollution to the water is almost negligible, right?" "Yes, yes, yes!"

Secretary Liu and I locked eyes and burst into sly grins.

Thus, the expansion of the e-sports hotel and the lakeside restaurant were basically finalized. Secretary Liu's notebook was filled with two pages of notes. He would continue to follow up on these matters to ensure their full implementation. No wonder he was someone who could make a living in the municipal party committee office; he was meticulous.

As for using personal connections and government resources to open an e-sports hotel, gaining an overwhelming advantage over competitors through "slightly unfair" means, and inevitably leading the industry in future operations, I have no conscience whatsoever.

If you have resources, you should use them; if you have connections, you should use them too. I'm not a pedantic person, and I don't pretend to be. When I encountered difficulties in my previous startup, I would take the initiative to ask Lin Qingying and Cheng Shuang for help. As long as you don't do anything against your conscience, doing a good job on the project is the most important thing. Otherwise, what else can you do but compete fairly with your peers?
There is no such thing as absolute fairness in this world.

……

In the afternoon, after seeing Secretary Liu off, Lu Xiaobei, Cheng Shuang, and I were having coffee at the hotel's coffee shop, and the person who brought the coffee was the girl I thought was very pleasing to the eye.

I've already asked the cleaning lady; her name is Xiaowen, which is a nice name.

"The next step is renovation and refurbishment."

I took a deep breath and said, "Cheng Shuang, you're an expert in hotel decoration, can you give me some advice?"

"Well, wait a minute."

Cheng Shuang sipped her coffee and said, "I'll have my assistant bring over some documents; she should be here soon."

"it is good."

A few minutes later, Cheng Shuang's assistant walked into the coffee shop, panting, placed a thick stack of drawings on the table, and then went to drink coffee.

"Here."

Cheng Shuang said, "Our Cheng Group's hotels have their own decoration companies. Here are some of our design plans. Take a look and choose one you like. I will have the design team design a specific plan for your e-sports hotel according to your preferred style. In addition, the terrace, lakeside restaurant, etc. will maintain the same decoration style as the hotel."

"Let's see first."

Lu Xiaobei and I started looking at the renovation plans.

We quickly chose one that we both really liked. The interior design was modern with some technological elements, while the exterior design had a more guesthouse feel, giving a sense of relaxation.

After confirming the plan, Cheng Shuang handed the materials to her assistant and said, "Have the design team work overtime and come up with three plans within 48 hours for me to choose from."

"Yes, Mr. Cheng."

The assistant left.

I then looked at Lu Xiaobei and said, "Xiaobei, Cheng Shuang is one of our own. In my opinion, why don't we entrust the renovation of our hotel to the Cheng Group?"

"I have no opinion."

Lu Xiaobei readily agreed: "Sister Cheng Shuang would definitely not cheat us."

Cheng Shuang smiled and said, "Of course not, I swear to God!"

I was a little unsure: "Let's wait for the plan to come out first, and then Cheng Shuang, you can make the budget first, and Xiao Bei and I will see what to say. To be honest, I'm really not sure."

"It's okay, we can postpone the renovation payment for now."

Cheng Shuang, understanding and considerate, said, "We can settle accounts with you gradually after the hotel starts operating and making money. The Cheng Group has a healthy cash flow and won't miss out on this little bit."

Her words made me feel somewhat ashamed, so Lu Xiaobei and I hit it off and decided to treat her to barbecue that night!
……

Two days later.

Cheng Shuang sent me the revised renovation plan, which included three options: A, B, and C. Lu Xiaobei and I liked all of them, but in the end, we painfully chose option A.

"drop!"

Cheng Shuang sent over a list, saying, "This is the renovation budget list. You and Xiao Bei take a look. If you confirm it, we'll sign the contract, and then the renovation team can start working on site."

The bill clearly states the total renovation cost: 1200 million!

"Fuck..."

This number scared Lu Xiaobei so much that he swore.

"Behave yourself!" I turned to look at her.

"oh oh……"

Lu Xiaobei blushed: "The person who said 'Holy shit' just now wasn't me."

"Alright, I know that's your sister who lives deep in your heart, named Lu Xiaonan."

"what?"

She widened her eyes and joked, "How did you know I have a twin sister named Lu Xiaonan? That brat has a terrible temper. If you ever see her, don't mistake her for someone else. She's not like me; she's gentle, considerate, kind, and generous."

"Keep your voice down, or God will hear you and strike you with lightning!"

"Depend on!"

She lightly punched me, and just then, Cheng Shuang sent another message, interrupting our conversation: "1200 million, isn't that too expensive?"

It is indeed a bit expensive.

I'm speechless. Add to that the 300 million in rent, and that's 1500 million. That's definitely a huge investment!

"Yes, but if you want to create a boutique hotel brand, it seems like you can't do it without investment."

"correct."

Cheng Shuang said, "Huaining City is a tourist city, and Donghu District is a key tourist area. There are thousands of inns and hotels along Donghu Lake. Without absolute competitiveness, it is impossible to survive. The investment is a bit large now, but once it is completed, your e-sports hotel will definitely be fully booked. It may even become a popular spot for internet celebrities to take photos. At that time, you can make money without any problem."

I was a little gloomy: "If only we could just sit back and collect money like that, that would be great! Thanks for your kind words! But 1200 million is indeed a bit too much. We'll pay half first, and we'll transfer the rest to you when we have the money!"

"Okay, then let's sign the contract and have the renovation team come in?"

"Ok!"

……

The next day.

The renovation team from Cheng's Group entered the site, and the first Feiyang chain e-sports hotel officially started operations.

All staff, including receptionists, accountants, and cleaners, will be on paid leave. They will be put to use on the opening day after the renovation is completed.

afternoon.

With a string of code input, debugging is complete, and it runs normally.

Congratulations! The progress of the Yuening Mall algorithm has increased to 40%!

Finally, it has reached more than 40%!

I sent Lin Qingying a message directly: "Good news, the core algorithm is 40% complete!"

"it is good!"

She replied quickly, "I'm coming right now!"

Soon after, Lin Qingying's white Bentley pulled up downstairs, attracting the attention of many students who were online. It was only natural that the appearance of such a beautiful woman as Lin Qingying, with her authoritative looks and temperament, would cause a small sensation.

"Good morning, Mr. Lin! You've arrived!"

Downstairs, Zhao Yihang's rather obsequious voice could be heard.

Lin Qingying has always been Zhao Yihang's ideal choice. Ever since he met Lin Qingying once in Xicheng, he has been obsessed with her, but it's hopeless, she's mine.

With the sound of footsteps, Lin Qingying and Shen Man appeared in my office.

"USB drive."

"Ok!"

She handed me the USB drive, then leaned on the chair and watched me copy the algorithm. A delicate fragrance wafted into my nostrils, and even her hair fell over her shoulders. This intimate feeling made my heart flutter.

"I have to work overtime today, so I can't have dinner with you."

Lin Qingying simply rested her chin on my shoulder and laughed, "Why don't you stay at the internet cafe and eat your boxed lunch?"

"Don't work overtime for too long, or I'll go to Yuening to bail you out."

"Wow……"

She laughed and said, "You're so domineering..."

Across the desk, Shen Man crossed her arms and looked at us with a scrutinizing gaze: "President Lin, if I may be so bold as to ask, are you two really not together?"

Lin Qingying immediately realized that the posture was too intimate, so she quickly got up: "You noticed?"

"I see it."

Shen Man rubbed her forehead, feeling utterly speechless.

After the copying was completed, Lin Qingying rushed back to Yuening to deliver the core technology, prioritizing her work.

I stayed in the internet cafe and continued writing the rest of the code.

……

Time flies, and three days have passed in the blink of an eye.

On a leisurely afternoon, a light rain drizzled down, tracing patterns on the windowpane.

"drop!"

A message came from Lin Qingying: "Ding Han, the R&D department informed me that the overall algorithm of Yuening Mall has made a great breakthrough because of your core algorithm. Fang Tuo even said that even with only 40% of the algorithm, it can already be used to create a very perfect user profile and product recommendation algorithm mechanism."

"Tell them not to get too complacent, but to strive for excellence. There are still 60% of the algorithm not finished. If Yuening Mall is going to do this, it should be the best in the world. Don't be satisfied with what you have now."

"Ok!"

She sent a "striving for progress" bear emoji and said, "No overtime today. I'd like to invite you, Fang Tuo, and the three R&D directors from Yuening to have dinner together. Would you do me the honor?"

"Oh dear, so rushed? I'll have to check my schedule..."

"Wow, busy man, take a look."

"You're lucky, I happen to be free for dinner tonight, so I'll give you that favor."

"Alright, then we'll meet there!"

Lin Qingying sent me a restaurant address and then happily went back to work. Our brief chat and jokes were probably the happiest time of her day.

……

In the evening, Lin Qingying took a taxi to Yuening Plaza, where she had booked a restaurant.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, Fang Tuo and three bald young men were already there.

Sure enough, people who write code tend to have less hair; it seems to have become a pattern.

"Ding Han!"

Fang Tuo stood up and shook hands with me, smiling, "President Zhang, President Jiang, President Liu, this is Ding Han, who gave us the key insights and designed the core algorithm. Let's get to know each other."

Wow, so young?!

The slightly chubby Mr. Zhang immediately stood up and shook hands: "Ding Han, I've heard so much about you... Your algorithm is really... I don't know how to describe it, I can only use two words to describe it—awesome!"

"That's really impressive, a truly insightful and strategic view!"

President Jiang stood up, shook hands, and said, "I am utterly impressed and admire you greatly!"

Mr. Liu had the least hair. He was a man who paid attention to his appearance. He tucked his hair from the sides to the middle, then stood up and shook hands, saying, "I am Liu Jianbin from the R&D department. Ding Han, your algorithm has been extremely helpful to us. We are really grateful to you. Without you, I estimate that the algorithm we built in the dark would be at least two levels lower, and that's not an exaggeration at all!"

"Where there!"

I laughed and realized that chatting with tech geeks is indeed easy; everyone is very approachable.

Lin Qingying arrived shortly afterward.

"Mr. Lin!"

Everyone stood up to greet them.

I patted the seat next to me and said, "Mr. Lin, sit next to me!"

She gave me a reproachful smile, and obediently walked over and sat down, asking, "Have you ordered anything?"

"Waiting for you."

"Give me the menu, what would you like to eat?"

"Eat expensive food."

"Expensive doesn't necessarily mean good."

"Then eat well."

"Ok!"

She lowered her head to order, while Fang Tuo and other executives were dumbfounded. They had probably never seen Lin Qingying like this before. Back in Yuening, she was the high-ranking CEO, a leader full of authority.

……

Soon after, a table of dishes was served.

Lin Qingying asked if they wanted to have some drinks, but Fang Tuo and the others shook their heads, saying they had to work overtime later.

At this moment, I finally understood why Lin Qingying had invited these people to dinner. They were all leaders of the technical team at Yuening Group. As long as she could gain their support, Lin Qingying could wield significant influence within Yuening.

Clearly, although Xie Zheng is the chairman, his focus is on capital. He strives to gain more power from capital, which is completely different from Lin Qingying's strategy.

So I lowered my stance and had a pleasant conversation with several presidents and directors. I didn't act like an "algorithm guru or master" at all. On the contrary, I gave them some pointers, which made them realize something and exclaim how awesome it was.

Lin Qingying couldn't understand, but she just smiled and listened to us talk about technology and work. She really enjoyed the atmosphere.

As a result, halfway through the meal, the door opened, and an uninvited guest appeared—

Xiao Chen!

"Oh, what brings you here, Mr. Xiao?" Fang Tuo was taken aback.

"I heard that some senior executives from Yuening were having dinner here, so I came to check it out. Sure enough, it's you guys. I'm right next door."

Xiao Chen's gaze fell on Lin Qingying: "Xiaoying, why didn't you invite me to the dinner party?"

"I thought you weren't in Huaining City," Lin Qingying replied politely.

"I've been here recently."

Xiao Chen finally looked at me and smiled, "Ding Han, it's been a long time."

"Well, long time no see."

I smiled and nodded: "Would you like to sit down and have something to eat?"

"OK……"

Xiao Chen pulled out a chair and sat down; this man's shamelessness was simply astonishing.

Fang Tuo and the others were also shocked, probably because they didn't expect that such a handsome and rich man would be so shameless in order to pursue the girl he liked.

No one spoke; they ate in silence.

"Xiao Ying".

Xiao Chen said, "A movie about financial fraud just came out yesterday. You might be interested in it. How about I invite you to see it later? There's an 8 o'clock showing."

Lin Qingying smiled and shook her head: "I'm a little tired today, so I'll go home after dinner."

"Oh……"

Xiao Chen was a little disappointed.

Lin Qingying glanced at me secretly.

"It's okay, I'll watch it with you if you want," I said.

"it is good."

Lin Qingying said, "Then buy me milk tea."

"Buy it if you're not afraid of having trouble sleeping."

"Not afraid!"

Beside him, Xiao Chen's face was pale.

"Don't you want to see it?"

I looked at him and said, "Xiao Chen, if you want to watch, I'll treat you too. Buy three tickets, and I'll sit in the middle."

Xiao Chen probably wanted to curse.

Fang Tuo secretly gave me a thumbs up, and the other three directors also exclaimed that it was awesome. When masters clash, every move is deadly, and Xiao Chen was clearly having a hard time keeping up.

……

After dinner.

Several executives went back to work overtime, while I bought three cups of milk tea and three tickets. Xiao Chen, feeling embarrassed, bought two buckets of popcorn instead.

The movie was pretty good; Lin Qingying was completely engrossed in it.

I sat in the middle, and as I ate, I finished the popcorn in Lin Qingying's arms. So, I naturally reached into Xiao Chen's popcorn bucket and grabbed a handful.

"Ding Han, you son of a bitch..."

In the darkness, Xiao Chen could be vaguely seen glaring angrily, his lips twitching wildly.

(End of this chapter)