Billiards: Starting with the Overlord's Shot, Dominating the World

Coach Zhou Zhenhua was so excited that he ran to confront the provincial team's head coach. The news that Fan Zhengyang refused to be "guaranteed" to the provincial team and wanted to make it on his own also spread like wildfire to Gu Qingcheng's ears immediately.

The top floor of the Liying Group headquarters, the president's office.

Standing before the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, Gu Qingcheng, dressed in a silk bathrobe, held a glass of 82 Lafite in her hand, gazing down at the city's dazzling night view.

Her personal assistant, a sophisticated and capable woman wearing gold-rimmed glasses, stood respectfully behind her, reporting the news she had just received.

"...That's how it is, Mr. Gu. Mr. Fan declined the pre-selected spot with the provincial team and decided to participate in the provincial youth championships next month."

After the assistant finished reporting, he carefully observed Gu Qingcheng's reaction.

In her opinion, Fan Zhengyang's decision was rather youthful and impetuous, and could even be described as ungrateful.

Instead of taking the easy road to success, choosing to brave the uncertain narrow bridge is, in the eyes of any rational adult, a sure-fire way to lose money.

She had assumed that President Gu, who always prioritized return on investment, would be displeased upon hearing the news and might even personally intervene to persuade the immature young man.

However, Gu Qingcheng's reaction once again exceeded her expectations.

She slowly turned around, and her breathtakingly beautiful face, instead of showing any displeasure, blossomed into a dazzling smile.

That smile contained appreciation, pride, and an air of knowing certainty.

"Hahaha……"

She couldn't help but laugh out loud; her clear, melodious laughter echoed in the empty office, like the most beautiful music.

"As expected of him! That arrogance, that damn, captivating confidence! It's just my type!"

She downed the glass of red wine in one gulp, her beautiful eyes gleaming with an excited and burning light—the look of a hunter eyeing his most prized prey.

"Mr....Mr. Gu?" The assistant was a little confused.

"You don't understand." Gu Qingcheng walked behind the huge desk and sat down. At that moment, her entire aura subtly changed.

If she was a languid and alluring beauty just now, she is now a shrewd and decisive business queen!

"Xiao Chen!" She looked at her assistant, her eyes sharp as knives. "Do you think I signed Fan Zhengyang and invested in him simply because he's a good player?"

"Isn't that right...?" the assistant asked cautiously.

"That's only part of the reason!" Gu Qingcheng shook her finger, a confident smile playing on her lips. "Blue Country has many talented players who excel at basketball. But those with the heart of a champion are a rare breed, perhaps only one in decades!"

"What is the heart of a king?" she asked herself, answering her own question. "It's disdaining any shortcuts, fearing no challenge, and always believing that the sword in your hand can cut through all thorns! It's a pride and confidence that comes from the very core of your being! Such a person will either perish along the way or will surely reach the summit and become a legend of an era!"

"What I'm betting on is never just an ordinary championship; I'm betting on a future era!"

The assistant was stunned. It was the first time she had ever realized that her beautiful boss had such a terrifyingly sharp and far-sighted business acumen!

She wasn't investing in Fan Zhengyang's current value, but rather in the limitless heights he could potentially reach in the future! (Author: September Blessings - I hope you enjoy the story of "Table Tennis: From the Overlord's Shot to Global Domination").

This is no ordinary business investment; it's a high-stakes gamble! An angel investment that stakes the entire group's future!

"But... Mr. Gu, what if... I mean, what if he falters in this provincial youth competition?" The assistant was still somewhat worried. "As far as I know, the provincial team also sends top players from their second team to participate in the competition in order to train new talents, so the competition is extremely fierce."

"Mistakenly?" Gu Qingcheng seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. "Do you really think someone who can make an old fox like Wang Dehai lose his composure and come to pick him up in person, someone who can make a scoundrel like Liu Bin question his existence and incidentally stir up a media frenzy across the entire internet, a young man with such a strong heart and invincible confidence... would actually fail?"

"Even if we take a step back," her tone became incredibly domineering, "so what if he really did fail?"

"With me, Gu Qingcheng, here, and with our entire Liying Group, he can afford to lose!"

"It's just a provincial youth competition. We lost, but we'll wait for the next one! As long as he's still here, as long as his champion's heart remains, my investment will never fail!"

"I want him not only to be the king on the field, but also the undisputed king in business and influence!"

His words were spoken with unwavering conviction and an air of unquestionable authority!

The assistant was awestruck by this powerful aura, and a surge of admiration welled up in his heart for this young female CEO.

What is vision? This is it!

"Alright." Gu Qingcheng waved her hand and quickly got into work mode. "Now that our little champion has chosen a more difficult but also more glorious path for himself, those of us in the 'logistics' department can't just sit idle."

She activated the holographic projection, and a huge commercial map of the Blue Country appeared before the two of them.

"Immediately activate the 'Northward Move Plan'!" she issued her first order.

"A plan to head north?"

"That's right!" Gu Qingcheng's slender finger pressed heavily on the icon of the provincial capital on the map.

"Our first step is to acquire a landmark office building in the heart of the provincial capital's CBD, to serve as the future headquarters of Liying Sports! I want everyone to know, we're here!"

"The second step is to immediately assemble a top-notch public relations and legal team to contact the provincial table tennis team. I want sponsorship! Not just sponsoring a player, or a competition; I want the title of the chief strategic partner of the entire Lanzhou provincial table tennis team for the next ten years!"

"I want all the jerseys of the Blue Provincial Team to have our Liying Sports logo printed on them! I want Fan Zhengyang to be able to walk around the provincial team with impunity!"

"The third step," her gaze fell on the map again, on the city at the very center, shining with golden light—the capital.

"Let our investment team begin researching the national team's related industry chain. From sponsoring the national team to acquiring Chinese Super League clubs, and then to controlling the ITTF's commercial development rights... What I want is a complete 'table tennis business empire' that we can fully control from top to bottom!"

"Fan Zhengyang charged ahead, winning glory for the country and becoming an immortal legend."

"And I will build an impregnable business empire behind him!"

Her voice echoed in the empty office, full of ambition, confidence, and admiration for the boy.

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