Back to 17, My Brother is the Cult Leader

The two of them had dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant.

Chen Xia ordered a pasta dish, and Fang Yuan ordered a steak.

When the dishes were served, Chen Xia suddenly asked, "When are you going back?"

"I'm going to Los Angeles next Tuesday. After I finish dealing with things, I'll go back to China."

Chen Xia picked up a piece of spaghetti, blew on it, and didn't eat it right away. "There are still a few days left."

"Um."

Chen Xia put the mouthful of noodles in her mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed. "What are your plans for the next few days?"

Fang Yuan thought for a moment. "Confirm the last few details of the contract with the lawyer. The rest, I can handle it with you."

Chen Xia lowered her head, stirred the pasta in the bowl twice with her fork, and said nothing more.

But Fang Yuan noticed that the tips of her ears were a little red.

It was almost 10 p.m. when I got back to the apartment after dinner.

Chen Xia stood at the door for a moment and said, "Then I'll go back first."

Fang Yuan glanced at the other end of the corridor. Chen Xia's residence was more than a dozen blocks away, requiring a subway transfer.

"Stay here tonight. The bed in the second bedroom is new, and the sheets are already made."

Chen Xia glanced at him.

Fang Yuan's expression and tone were very natural, as if he were saying something perfectly normal.

"Okay," Chen Xia said.

Over the next few days, Chen Xia went to work at Anyong during the day and came to the apartment to find Fang Yuan after get off work in the evening.

The two of them eat together, take walks, look at stock selection data, and discuss the fundamentals of several stocks.

Fang Yuan went to the law firm to sign several documents, making a final confirmation of the clauses in the entrustment contract regarding fund custody and foreign exchange compliance.

On the night before he left, Fang Yuan left the apartment key on the coffee table.

"This one's for you." He pushed one of the keys in front of Chen Xia.

Chen Xia picked up the key and held it in her hand.

"You can come and stay here anytime after I leave. I've already paid a year's rent, so don't worry about it."

Chen Xia looked at the key in her hand; the metal surface gleamed with a cold white light under the lamp.

She threaded the key onto her keychain and hung it together with her dormitory key and office access card.

"Fang Yuan." She looked up.

"Um."

"Thank you."

"Silly girl, what are you thanking me for?" Fang Yuan looked at her.

The next morning, Fang Yuan went to the airport.

Chen Xia did not ask for leave to come and deliver it; she left home at eight o'clock in the morning to go to Ernst & Young's office.

When Fang Yuan arrived at the airport, he received a message from her: "Have a safe journey."

Fang Yuan replied, "I'll call you when I arrive."

The plane took off from Kennedy Airport.

Los Angeles.

Fang Yuan was in his hotel suite, with several documents spread out in front of him.

The company certificate for Qihang Capital Ltd., which was registered a week ago.

Fang Yuan's personal Swiss bank account information, business license, shareholding certificate, company bank account information, etc.

The procedures were handled by a local agent: pay the fee, fill out the forms, and get the certificate.

He has now transferred the remaining funds from his American bank account to a personal Swiss bank account for $100 million, and then transferred the entire amount from the Swiss bank to the Cayman company's corporate account.

The purpose of this step is to change the status. Under the foreign exchange management system in 2000, the most standard and compliant path for Chinese companies to introduce foreign investment was to receive capital injections from overseas companies.

Fang Yuan picked up his phone and dialed a number.

On the other end of the phone was his dedicated account manager at a domestic bank, surnamed Lin, who had helped him handle overseas copyright settlements in his early years.

"Manager Lin, this is Fang Yuan."

"Mr. Fang, hello. What instructions do you have?" Manager Lin's voice was very professional.

"I have a Cayman investment company with some idle funds."

Fang Yuan said calmly, "I want to find some internet companies with a user base in China for strategic investment."

You're familiar with the Shenzhen branch, could you keep an eye out for me?

"Investing in the internet at this time..." Manager Lin paused.

"Mr. Fang, Nasdaq has just experienced a sharp drop, market confidence is low, and although valuations are low, the risks are also high."

"I know," Fang Yuan said.

"I heard there's an instant messaging company in Shenzhen called Tencent? Its user base is growing very fast."

"Tencent?" Manager Lin seemed somewhat surprised.

"Our bank has been in contact with that company. The founder is Ma Huateng, with a technical background. They're just short of money; servers are too expensive. Mr. Fang, are you interested?"

"If the conditions are right," Fang Yuan said, "please have your colleagues at the Shenzhen branch pass on a message."

Let's say there's an overseas fund with cash on hand, looking for a platform with high traffic to chat with.

"Understood." Manager Lin didn't ask any further questions.

"I'll arrange it right away. However, Mr. Fang, this level of investment usually requires filing with the Ministry of Commerce and registration with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. If the procedures require it, we will cooperate fully."

"it is good."

After hanging up the phone, Fang Yuan put it down.

The rest is up to the procedures and rules.

The main reason for my trip to Hollywood is to see the finished film of "Saw 2" directed by James Wan.

Saw was a huge success, grossing $1.05 million on a budget of $120 million.

Therefore, filming for the sequel began immediately afterwards.

The release date for the sequel has been arranged, and I've had a discussion with James Wan.

The filming plan for the second half of the year includes launching the "Lurking" project at the end of the year; the script has already been registered.

While waiting for news about the company registration, Fang Yuan also emailed his assistant Xiao Mei several novel manuscripts that he had written last month, asking her to contact "Mengya" and "Story Club" to sign contracts.

Do what you've promised as soon as possible.

This time, the two books given to "Sprout" are "The Miracle Stupid Kid" and "Together Through the Window".

"Together Through Windows" is a campus youth drama series hailed as the "Chinese version of Friends".

What's most touching about it is that it uses the most ordinary and authentic "daily narration" style.

They captured the college days we longed for most.

Fang Yuan's manuscript is from the first season.

This time, the stories given to "Story Club" are "Crazy Racer" and "Safe Evacuation from the 21st Century".

The story of "Safe Evacuation from the 21st Century" is full of wildly imaginative ideas:

On the distant planet K, in 1999, 18-year-old Wang Zha, Wang Chengyong, and Paopao gained a peculiar ability after an accident: by sneezing, their consciousness could travel to their 38-year-old selves 20 years later, and by sneezing again, they could return.

However, when they traveled to 2019 full of hope, they found that their adult lives were a mess:

The former "big brother" Wang Chengyong has become a hitman for a criminal organization, the carefree Wang Zha has become a reporter exploited in the workplace, and Pao Pao's future is even more uncertain.

Worse still, they discover a shocking conspiracy to destroy the world.

Thus, the three protagonists, who are "adults with the souls of teenagers," together with the reporter Liu Lianzhi, who has explosive fighting power, try to use their "pure stupidity" and their remaining courage to fight against the terrible reality and the evil BOSS, staging a passionate yet absurd rescue operation.