Going home for the Chinese New Year with a year-end bonus of 100 million

Zhou Yao was idly playing with her phone when she suddenly remembered something:

"By the way, brother, my brother said that the e-sports hotel might make a net profit of 200,000 this month."

"Mm," Yang Fan replied.

"And that AI team, Chen Mo and his team, I heard they're making pretty good progress, and they're going to release the first beta version next month."

"Um."

"Beauty blogger Zhang Xiaowen has gained 150,000 followers and is starting to accept male-female relationships."

"Um."

Looking at Yang Fan's calm demeanor, Zhou Yao couldn't help but ask:

"Brother, aren't you worried at all? What if these projects... fail?"

Yang Fan finally raised his head and glanced at her:

"Investing involves risk, and it's normal to lose money."

"Then why did you still vote?" Zhou Yao asked, puzzled.

"My brother said that many people don't think highly of what you've invested in."

"Especially for college student startups, the failure rate is too high."

Yang Fan smiled and said, "Just because others don't think it's a good idea doesn't mean we can't invest."

He put down his pen and said seriously:

"Zhou Yao, do you know what's most important in investing?"

"What is it?"

"A discerning eye," Yang Fan said.

"A discerning eye for projects, a discerning eye for people."

"What I value is not the project itself, but the people who do it."

Zhou Yao seemed to understand but not quite: "But... what if you're mistaken?"

"Then let's accept it." Yang Fan said calmly.

"That's how investing works; you can't win every time. But as long as you win more often than you lose, that's enough."

Before Zhou Yao could say anything more, Yang Fan's phone rang.

It was Lin Qingyue calling.

"Hey, Qingyue."

"Yang Fan, have you set off yet?" Lin Qingyue's voice sounded tired.

"I was just about to leave. What's wrong? Your voice sounds off."

"It's nothing... I'm just a little tired." Lin Qingyue paused.

"How about we skip dinner tonight? I want to get some rest early."

Yang Fan keenly sensed something was wrong: "Has something happened?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"It's nothing," Lin Qingyue said, not wanting to elaborate. "It's just... I'm not in a good mood. I'm sorry I can't have dinner with you tonight."

"Wait for me in your office." Yang Fan stood up. "I'm coming over now."

"Need not……"

"Wait for me," Yang Fan said firmly. "Twenty minutes."

After hanging up the phone, Yang Fan picked up his coat.

Zhou Yao asked cautiously, "Big brother, what's wrong?"

"Something came up," Yang Fan said. "I'll play billiards with you another day."

Zhou Yao nodded understandingly, "Okay, then go ahead."

Yang Fan hurriedly went downstairs and drove to the school.

Zhou Yao watched his retreating figure and muttered to herself, "Looks like something really happened..."

Twenty minutes later, Yang Fan's car stopped downstairs at the administration building.

He hurried upstairs and knocked on Lin Qingyue's office door.

"Please come in."

Pushing open the door, I saw Lin Qingyue sitting behind her desk, her face somewhat pale.

Seeing Yang Fan, she forced a smile: "Why did you still come? I told you I was fine."

Yang Fan walked up to her and carefully examined her expression: "What exactly happened?"

"No," Lin Qingyue shook her head. "I just had a fight with a bitch."

"Why are you arguing?"

Lin Qingyue hesitated for a moment, but still told the truth.

After hearing this, Yang Fan was not angry at all; instead, he laughed.

"What are you laughing at?" Lin Qingyue asked, puzzled.

"I laughed at him." Yang Fan sat down in the chair opposite her.

"He's right, the failure rate of college student startup projects is indeed very high. Many people are not optimistic about them."

Lin Qingyue looked at him: "Then why are you still voting?"

"I voted because I trust my judgment," Yang Fan said earnestly.

Yang Fan certainly wouldn't say that he had a system and that he would definitely not lose out.

But as the saying goes, when you're out in the world, you give yourself your own identity.

"Qingyue, do you know why I voted for Chen Mo's AI team?"

Why?

"Because the first time I met them, I saw the light in their eyes," Yang Fan said. "That kind of passion for technology and dedication to dreams can't be faked."

"And Zhang Xiaowen, that beauty blogger."

"She can stay up for three consecutive nights to create good content."

"This kind of drive is something that many so-called 'mature' entrepreneurs don't have."

He paused, looking at Lin Qingyue:

"I never invest in projects, I invest in people."

"As long as the right people are involved, even if a project is not mature now, it can still be successful in the future."

Lin Qingyue stared at him blankly.

Moonlight streamed in through the window, illuminating Yang Fan's face and making him appear exceptionally determined.

"What if...we lose money?" she asked softly.

"If we lose money, we lose money," Yang Fan said calmly.

"I don't invest to make quick money."

"I want to see that young people with dreams can avoid some detours because of my help."

He smiled and said, "Of course, it would be even better if we could make money."

A warm feeling welled up in Lin Qingyue's heart.

She suddenly realized that arguing with Chen Zhiyuan that afternoon was completely pointless.

Those kinds of people will never understand Yang Fan's vision.

"I'm sorry," Lin Qingyue said softly, "I shouldn't have let him influence me."

"I'm the one who should apologize," Yang Fan said. "Because of me, you've suffered."

The two stared at each other, a subtle atmosphere filling the air.

After a long silence, Lin Qingyue finally spoke: "Have you...eaten?"

"No," Yang Fan said. "I was originally planning to treat you to a meal."

"Well..." Lin Qingyue stood up, "I'll treat you. We'll have something simple at the school cafeteria."

Yang Fan smiled and said, "Okay."

……

At 8 p.m., the lights in the "Ace Billiards Hall" were soft, and the green billiard tables gleamed under the lights.

Zhou Yao cleared the table with one shot, accurately pocketing the black 8.

"Beautiful!" A few young people watching the spectacle whistled.

Zhou Yao straightened up triumphantly, tossed her pink ponytail, and looked at Yang Fan sitting in the rest area: "Big brother, it's your turn."

Yang Fan put down his phone, smiled, and stood up: "Not bad, your skills have improved."

"Of course!" Zhou Yao handed him the cue stick. "I've been practicing a lot these past few months. There's a billiards table upstairs at my brother's e-sports hotel, and I play a couple of rounds whenever I have free time."

Yang Fan took the club, weighed it in his hand, and bent down to aim.

The posture is correct, and the eyes are focused.

"boom--"

The cue ball was struck, a beautiful low shot, the object ball went into the pocket, and the cue ball came to a perfect stop with a spin.

"Wow!" A young woman in her early twenties with pigtails poked her head out from behind the bar. "This guy's technique is pretty good!"

Zhou Yao glared at the girl: "Mind your shop, don't cause trouble."

The little girl stuck out her tongue and then pulled it back in.

Yang Fan scored three goals in a row, but the fourth one was slightly off target and didn't go in.

"My turn!" Zhou Yao hopped over and bent down to aim at the ball.

She was wearing a loose T-shirt today, and the neckline was a little loose when she bent over. Yang Fan looked away and glanced at the bar next to her.

The billiards hall wasn't large, with only about ten tables, but it was tastefully decorated. There was a dark wood bar counter, warm yellow lighting, and posters of various billiards stars hanging on the walls.

At this time, all seven or eight tables are occupied, mostly by young people, chatting and laughing, creating a pleasant atmosphere.

"Bang!"

Zhou Yao scored another one.

She straightened up and saw Yang Fan looking around, so she casually asked, "Brother, what do you think of this place?"

"Not bad." Yang Fan nodded. "The environment is nice, and there are a lot of people. Business must be pretty good, right?"

"It's alright," Zhou Yao said. "I've heard that the owner earns about 20,000 to 30,000 yuan a month. It's just that the location is a bit out of the way. If it were located in the university town, it would probably be even more popular."