I really don't want to date a girl addicted to the internet!

Ye Shuang quickly followed, like a loyal maid.

"Hey Xuanqi, wait for me..."

"Xiao Fei, don't run away."

Madam Lin's casual remark stopped the young man from following her.

"Mrs. Lin, it's been a long time." The young man turned around and put on a serious smile.

"Hmm? Lin what?" Madam Lin raised an eyebrow.

"Sister Lin," the boy said with an awkward smile.

“Oh, that’s more like it. The last time my brother and I saw each other was last year. It’s been almost half a year since we last met. It really has been a long time.” Madam Lin smiled and walked up to him with light steps, looking him up and down. “Xiao Fei has grown more and more handsome. No wonder he has Xuan Qi so infatuated with him.”

"Likewise, Sister Lin is getting more and more beautiful."

The woman, whose eyebrows resembled Lin Xuanqi's and who looked as young as her older sister, laughed heartily, "Xiao Fei, I love listening to you talk, it's so interesting."

"Sister Lin, I also enjoy talking to you. Only you understand me. Xuanqi only scolds me all day long." The boy shook his head and sighed, as if the woman in front of him was truly his confidante.

"Sigh, maybe I put too much pressure on her. I'll have to make sure she's happy." Madam Lin sighed seriously, then looked behind her. "By the way, these are all colleagues from the Lin family. Get to know them properly today."

When Madam Lin stopped, her followers also stopped.

"Okay, hello everyone, I'm Cheng Fei, currently Xuan Qi's secretary." The young man nodded sincerely to the man and woman behind Madam Lin.

No one dared to neglect this exceptionally handsome young man, who was clearly Lin Xuanqi's boyfriend and addressed Mrs. Lin as her brother; they all nodded in response.

"Alright, let's go inside," said Madam Lin.

Cheng Fei and she entered the hotel and arrived at the rooftop restaurant with its large floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the sea. Many people from the Lin family had gathered there. Once everyone was seated, the dinner began amidst various conversations and greetings.

A formally dressed middle-aged man, holding a wine glass, spoke, "Today is a celebration banquet for the South American port financing project. I'll just say a few words. This project was overseen by Director Lin. Everyone has witnessed Director Lin's dedication to his work. Thank you, Director Lin, for your hard work in leading us to win this project. Of course, I also thank Chairman Lin for his wise leadership and everyone's concerted efforts..."

As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of enthusiastic applause erupted. Although the number of people was small, it was no less impressive than that of the audience at the school sports meet.

"That's Manager Liu, one of the veterans of the Lin family. He has a lot of client resources, so you should try to build a good relationship with him in the future." Madam Lin clapped her hands lightly and turned to the young man sitting next to her.

"Okay," the boy clapped along.

440. Mrs. Lin said that you can never have too much money.

The Lin Group executives present all gave speeches, and their speeches were all in tribute to Director Lin, also known as Lin Xuanqi, praising her contributions to the so-called South American port financing project. The praise in their words was so high that it was as if they were worshipping her. It is unclear whether they were just going through the motions or were being sincere.

Cheng Fei recalled that when Lin Xuanqi returned from her business trip to South America, he, the company's most lazy employee, received a bonus equivalent to six months' salary. He guessed that the latter was more likely the reason.

As soon as the others finished speaking, the young man raised his glass to Lin Xuanqi, who was standing not far away, to express his respect for his six months' salary and bonus.

The girl, whose arrogant air lingered between her brows, leaned back in her chair the whole time, occasionally covering her mouth with a lazy yawn. When she saw the boy raise his glass to her, a smile curved her lips, and she raised her champagne to him in response.

During the meal, Madam Lin introduced Cheng Fei to each person who spoke. The young man, who was favored by Madam Lin, attracted various stares and glances from those around him.

After a while, many senior executives had disappeared, and Mrs. Lin and Lin Xuanqi also left early. The atmosphere in the restaurant became relaxed. The middle and lower-level employees, having eaten their fill, went to the restaurant's sofa lounge area to enjoy drinks and desserts.

Even Ye Shuang was nowhere to be seen. With nowhere to go, Cheng Fei wandered aimlessly to the rest area with his hands in his pockets. Among a group of people, he spotted a familiar face, "Brother Liu?"

"Brother Cheng?" The young, chubby man with a small mustache looked up, his face showing surprise.

The fact that the two called each other "brother" surprised the employees nearby.

Liu Tao stood up enthusiastically and said, "Let me introduce you all, this is..."

"I'm Cheng Fei, new to the investment department." The young man smiled and nodded, subtly interrupting him.

Liu Tao understood immediately and kept quiet.

"Investment department? So young..." A short-haired female employee covered her mouth, her gaze fixed on the boy's face.

The others reacted similarly, all marveling at the boy's young age.

"So what are you guys playing?" The boy casually glanced at the cards on the coffee table.

"Hey Cheng, do you play Werewolf? Let's play together!" Liu Tao said quickly.

"Sure, I'm free right now, are there any seats left?" The boy looked around the somewhat crowded sofa with seven or eight people sitting around it.

As soon as she finished speaking, the young female employee who had just exclaimed quickly moved to make room next to her, saying, "There's some here, there's some here."

"Thank you." The boy sat down casually.

Half an hour later, the boy, dressed as a werewolf, had completely fooled all the good people and killed most of them by himself. Lin Xuanqi walked over, put her hands on her hips, and glanced at the boy sitting between a man and a woman, looking extremely harmonious. She raised an eyebrow with an expressionless face and asked, "Cheng Fei, what are you doing?"

"Xuanqi, do you want to play Werewolf?"

"Kill you my foot! Come here, my mother needs to talk to you." Lin Xuanqi glared at him angrily and turned to leave.

"I'm leaving now, sorry." The young man smiled apologetically at the employee beside him, put his hands in his pockets, and quickly followed the girl.

The people sitting in their original seats watched the two walk away in a daze, their expressions changing rapidly.

"Isn't that Director Lin?"

"Wait a minute, Liu Tao, who exactly is he?"

"Director Lin's secretary, don't worry about anything else, let's continue." The young fat man, who was the first to be killed by the boy in the game, shook his head.

Lin Xuanqi led Cheng Fei to a door and sat on a sofa outside. After a group of executives in suits came out and said goodbye to Lin Xuanqi, the girl led the boy inside.

Inside was a tea room. Madam Lin sat alone behind a large tea table carved from golden nanmu wood, resting her chin on her hand. She sipped a cup of fragrant green tea and looked at the young man with a smile.

"Please sit down," said Mrs. Lin.

Cheng Fei and Lin Xuanqi sat down in front of her. Lin Xuanqi picked up the teacup next to her and poured a cup for herself and Cheng Fei, then drank it herself.

"Xiao Fei, do you know why I called you here today?" Madam Lin tapped her cheek with her five fingers.

"I don't know." The boy shook his head without hesitation and sat up straight.

"Oh, it's nothing really, don't be nervous." Madam Lin shifted her posture, still resting her chin on one hand, her expression full of interest. "I just want to ask you, with twenty trading days a month, how did you turn ten million into twenty-eight million?"

"Uh, I just wrote a random algorithm, nothing else." The boy scratched his head, looking serious. "I never expected to earn so much. Maybe I really am a genius."

“Then you are indeed a genius, perhaps even as talented as Xuanqi.” After saying this, Madam Lin looked down at the emerald green tea in her teacup and blew on it.

She took a sip of tea and continued, "Do you know? When I took over the Lin family business, it was on the verge of bankruptcy. I saved it, but that was all. The person who truly made the Lin family business what it is today is Xuanqi."

Lin Xuanqi sipped her tea in silence.

"I know a little bit," Cheng Fei nodded.

"Then what do you think you could turn the Lin family into if it were you?" Madam Lin looked up and stared into his eyes.

The boy pondered for a moment, "As for me, I guess I won't change much."

"What do you mean?" Madam Lin's eyes narrowed.

"Anyway, it's just a matter of going from having so much money you can't spend it all to having even more money you can't spend it all. Since you can't spend it all either way, the difference isn't that big." The boy spread his hands seriously.

Madam Lin stared at him for a second, then suddenly slapped the table and burst into laughter, as if she had heard a very funny joke. Her every smile and frown was exactly like Lin Xuanqi's. "Interesting, Xiaofei, you are really interesting. No wonder Xuanqi likes you."

“However, you’ve got one thing wrong.” After laughing enough, Madam Lin changed the subject, “Money can never be exhausted.”

"...Is that so?" The boy opened his mouth, looking somewhat confused.

"Throughout history, so many dynasties have risen and fallen, and even vast countries can decline. How much more so a company? A company that is thriving today could go bankrupt tomorrow. You and Xuanqi saw that when you went to Tokyo, right? The Tokyo branch almost went bankrupt." Madam Lin said slowly, "Even the most powerful giant can be injured and fall in an instant. In this world, the only way for a company to last longer is to accumulate wealth and assets. The more money you have, the safer you are. So you can never have too much money."

"I understand, I hadn't thought things through enough." The boy lowered his head, looking like he was humbly accepting instruction.

"Xiaofei, you don't need to pretend like this in front of me. How can a young person not have ambition? Who doesn't dream of making a name for themselves and thinking that the whole world will belong to them when they're young?" Madam Lin said with a smile. "Especially a genius like you. You asked Xuanqi for ten million, wasn't that to prove your ability?"

"Okay, that's true." The boy gave a dry laugh, as if he'd been exposed.

"Then congratulations on proving yourself now." Madam Lin put down her teacup and shrugged.

"So?" The boy first cautiously observed Lin Xuanqi, and seeing that the girl had lowered her eyes and was expressionless, he then looked at Madam Lin.

441. Cheng Fei becomes a fund manager

“Xuanqi said you want to start a private equity fund.” Madam Lin looked at Cheng Fei, her eyes thoughtful.

“Yes.” The young man nodded decisively. “I want to run a quantitative private equity firm. I believe my algorithm will not lose.”

"Then I'll give you this opportunity. It just so happens that Lin's investment department has relied on Xuanqi's subjective strategies all these years. It's a good thing that someone is expanding into quantitative business. Let's launch a new quantitative private equity fund under Lin's name, and you will be the fund manager," Mrs. Lin said decisively.

"Really? Thank you, Sister Lin. I definitely won't let you down." The boy looked very happy.

"Don't thank me yet, I haven't finished." Madam Lin swirled her teacup.

"Please speak." The boy immediately became quiet.

“We’ll follow the rules. First, as a private equity firm, you’re responsible for negotiating with clients yourself. Whether you try to win over existing clients of the Lin family or find new clients on your own, I’ll give you an initial subscription of 100 million yuan, and I won’t be responsible for your future success or failure.” Madam Lin held up one finger.

"Okay." The boy nodded.

"Secondly, your compensation will also be the usual 30% management fee plus 10% performance-based bonus, with the investment research team receiving a separate salary."

The boy nodded again.

"Third, you yourself need to invest 5%. That means if the fund size is 100 million, you need to invest 5 million. If it's 1.05 billion, is there a problem?"

"No problem." The boy nodded again.

"Very well, that's settled for today. Xuanqi, have your people help him get the compliance procedures sorted out as soon as possible." Madam Lin stood up and stretched, revealing her alluring figure.

"Okay." Lin Xuanqi nodded casually.

"Then I'll be going now. You two have fun. Xiaofei, I look forward to your results." Madam Lin chuckled and walked away without looking back.

"Don't worry, Sister Lin. Take care, Sister Lin. Goodbye, Sister Lin." The young man watched her go with utmost respect.

After Madam Lin's figure disappeared through the door, Lin Xuanqi walked to the boy's side and pinched his waist.

"Hiss... Xuanqi, what's wrong now?"

"You keep calling me 'Sister Lin,' you're getting better and better at it, aren't you?" The girl looked amused and annoyed.

"As long as she's happy, what's wrong with that?"

"You don't care if I'm not good, do you?" Lin Xuanqi pinched his waist even harder.

"Hiss... Xuanqi, you're not jealous, are you? Let me check." The boy cupped her small face to examine it, looking as serious as if he were studying a pomelo or coconut.

The girl, whose arrogant air lingered between her brows, remained motionless, letting him do as he pleased, her eyes, reddish at the corners and exuding a hint of allure, fixed intently on the boy.

After a few seconds, she said in a tone that revealed neither joy nor anger, "So, what did you find out?"

"It's a bit hard to detect; being too beautiful interferes with the judgment," the boy said, shaking his head seriously.

"All you do is talk nonsense all day long," Lin Xuanqi muttered under her breath. Suddenly, she stood on tiptoe, hooked her arm around the boy's neck, and leaned in for a strong counterattack.

The young man didn't stand on ceremony and hugged the slender waist tightly.

The quiet tea room, filled with the fragrance of incense, has unknowingly become enchanting.

After a long while, when the silver light flashed and disappeared in the air, Lin Xuanqi took a deep breath, her face still flushed, and walked towards the door as if nothing had happened, saying, "Let's go, let's go back."

"Shall I drive you?" The boy caught up with her and casually grabbed her small hand.

"Nonsense, what else?" Lin Xuanqi rolled her eyes at the boy, exuding charm.

The young boy and girl left the hotel and got into the car.

"By the way, where's Master Ye?" Cheng Fei gripped the steering wheel, merging the Panamera into the traffic.

"She'll go back by herself. Hey Cheng Fei, I've noticed you're getting more and more meddlesome." Lin Xuanqi, in the passenger seat, suddenly changed her sitting position and stared at the boy, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied.

"Just asking, Xuanqi, aren't you being a little too sensitive?"

"Ha, so it's my problem now, huh? Cheng Fei, just wait and see how I deal with you tonight." The girl's smile turned cruel.

"Who's going to take care of whom, Xuanqi? Don't you dare cry in my arms tomorrow morning. Even if you cry, I won't let you off the hook. You're dead meat." The boy stared at the road ahead, his tone resolute.

Lin Xuanqi's eyes flickered, and she shivered, as if she had thought of something bad. She put on an authoritative expression and tone, "Cheng Fei, I'm warning you, don't go too far. If you make me angry, I'll throw you to South Bay to feed the fish."

The boy seemed not to hear her, "By the way, Xuanqi, why did you tell your mother about our bet?"