Chapter 119: Chapter 18: Xiaoyan Has Become Much More Obedient

A full stomach naturally led to certain cravings.

After eating his fill, Zhang Yan scrolled through his phone.

In his "Wildflowers" contact group, he picked out a few female college students—some innocent, others a bit more seasoned—to practice the art of flirting and push-and-pull.

He then swiped through his "Wild Grass" group. Although there were a few rougher moves he wanted to practice on outsiders first, no one in this group caught his eye right now, so he had to give up on the idea.

Finally, his gaze settled on Xiaoyan’s WeChat profile picture.

"I’ve given her the cold shoulder for a day. She should be a bit more obedient now, right?" he mused.

Just as Zhang Yan was about to check on his results, a profile picture with the contact name "Celestial-Grade Adopted Son" lit up on his screen.

"Hello, Brother Gan," Zhang Yan answered the call.

"Where are you? Come out for a bit," the Celestial-Grade Adopted Son demanded.

"How did you know I just got back to Meng City? If you want to treat your daddy to a meal, you’re out of luck. I just ate. Let’s make it tonight."

"Cut the crap. Hurry up and come out. I have something for you."

"Fine, as long as you’re paying."

Hanging up the phone, Zhang Yan checked the location. It wasn’t too far, so he drove his Guoya and sped off.

Although he quite liked yesterday’s setup—having a chauffeur drive while he purely enjoyed the ride—he figured that since he might buy a supercar or similar luxury vehicles in the future, it was necessary to get some practice in now. Besides, driving this Guoya was both flashy and comfortable. He hadn’t had enough of it yet.

The destination was a beverage shop. Si Mingcheng smelled faintly of alcohol, seemingly having just come from a business engagement.

As soon as Zhang Yan arrived, Si Mingcheng tossed a file folder to him and said, "Here."

"What is this? It’s so light. It’s definitely not money."

Zhang Yan naturally knew that Si Mingcheng wouldn’t call him out just to mess with him, so he ordered a glass of orange juice and leisurely opened the folder in his hands.

Inside was a stack of documents:

Name: Dai Yanfeng

Age: 28

Education...

...

Main Connections: His father, Dai Chengde, Chairman of Meng City Entertainment Co., Ltd. His mother... has reached a major strategic partnership with Si Mingxin...

...

Meng City Entertainment: Market value of fifty-five million, the largest entertainment and media company in the Meng City region.

...

Personal Hobbies...

...

Looking at this detailed information, Zhang Yan rubbed his nose. "Brother Gan, why are you giving me this? Didn’t we say we weren’t going to make a move on them recently?"

Si Mingcheng took a sip of his hangover tea and curled his lips disdainfully. "No one knows a son better than his father. I can read you like a book. You talk about laying low, but in reality, you’re already preparing to deal with him, aren’t you?"

"Ew! You’re disgusting."

Seeing that Zhang Yan had already begun reading the documents carefully and repeatedly, Si Mingcheng shook his head.

"There’s no need to rush. Dealing with Dai Yanfeng is easy in a way—just throw money at it. Compared to those traditional companies, these modern internet entertainment companies actually have very fragile foundations."

Zhang Yan raised an eyebrow, looking very intrigued. "Brother Gan, if I want to ruin him, how much money do you estimate I’d need?"

Si Mingcheng clearly already had a plan in mind. Without even thinking, he replied directly, "The most cost-effective method is for you to support a rival company, or simply start one yourself, and then throw money at them from all sides to crush them.

"The advantage of this is that your expenditures won’t be entirely wasted. Your own company will absorb some of the market share, which indirectly reduces the cost.

"But even so, I estimate it will take at least a hundred million to make it work. And that’s assuming Si Mingxin doesn’t interfere."

Zhang Yan’s enthusiasm was dampened a bit, but naturally, he didn’t show any weakness on his face. He merely replied flatly, "I understand."

"Zhang Yan, I still hope you’ll listen to me. Now isn’t a good time to make a move on him. It might cost a lot of extra resources.

"However, I also know your personality. You probably can’t swallow this insult. That’s why I’m laying everything out in front of you. How you proceed is your own choice.

"I have another social engagement later. I’ll catch up with you for barbecue in a few days. I’m taking off."

Si Mingcheng downed the rest of his hangover tea, stood up briskly, and left.

"Thanks, Brother Gan." Zhang Yan waved the file folder in his hand as a farewell.

Zhang Yan checked the balance on his card—over five million.

Not long ago, he had been feeling quite smug about acquiring such a massive sum of money so quickly. Today, that pride was completely shattered by Si Mingcheng’s casual mention of "a hundred million."

"A hundred million... and that’s only if Si Mingxin doesn’t help. Given that they’re already deeply tied together, if I move against Dai Yanfeng, Si Mingxin will definitely intervene..." he thought.

At this moment, Zhang Yan felt a far more urgent need to complete the main quest, as well as his various side quests.

A hundred million was indeed a lot of money, but it wasn’t an outrageously unreachable sum. According to the system’s reward pattern, as long as Zhang Yan could make Xia Xiqing fall in love with him, he was guaranteed to receive a base reward of a hundred million. And he had two such side quests, though he hadn’t yet made any headway on the second one.

Regardless, these were not tasks he could finish in the short term. Feeling slightly irritable, he needed to find an outlet to vent his frustration.

Opening Xiaoyan’s WeChat, he messaged her: "Where are you?"

It seemed Xiaoyan remembered her last lesson very clearly; she replied in a mere five seconds.

Yanhua Xiaomeng: "I’m here."

[Location: XX Dance Studio]

Yanhua Xiaomeng: "Darling, I’m practicing dance. Is something wrong?"

"Pack up. I’m taking you somewhere soon."

Xiaoyan hastily deleted the message she had almost sent: ’I’ll be done in half an hour.’

Yanhua Xiaomeng: "Okay, darling! I’ll pack up right now."

Xiaoyan breathed a sigh of relief. Setting down her phone, she began getting ready to change clothes and leave.

Several of her classmates who were practicing alongside her exchanged glances. They were clearly startled by how Xiaoyan had practically flown over to check her phone the second it chimed.

"Yanyan, whose message was that? Is it that important? Are you skipping the rest of practice?"

Renting this dance studio was no small expense, and the cost was split among the group. With Xiaoyan leaving early, they weren’t sure if she was going to pay less for today’s share.

"I’m done practicing, I have to go. My... my boyfriend is coming to pick me up soon."

"Boyfriend? The one who bought you the lingerie and the bags? Come on, he’s just a man, let him wait. We’ll be done soon anyway."

"No! You guys don’t understand. I won’t explain it now, but I have to leave immediately."

"Yanyan, what about the money for today..."

"Don’t worry, count me in for the full duration."

Watching Xiaoyan hurry away, the classmates gathered around, chattering animatedly.

"What’s gotten into her? A few small gifts turned her into this? She doesn’t have an ounce of the independent woman left in her!"

"Right? She was never like this before. We even used to swap tips on stringing guys along, but now she’s acting like a fish hooked on a line herself."

"I don’t know what she’s thinking. Xiaoyan is pretty and stacked; does she really need to worry about finding a rich, handsome guy? Three-legged toads might be rare, but two-legged men are a dime a dozen!"

"Her problem is that she’s too short-sighted. If my boyfriend dared to talk to me like that, I’d have him replaced by tomorrow!"

HEE-HEE-HEE! Their giggles echoed through the room. As they chatted and laughed, these young women—whose backgrounds were at best middle-class—spoke as if men worth millions weren’t even worthy of their attention.

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