I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

"dad."

In the silence among the three, Zong Shijie looked at Zong Kunyang, a fawning smile on his face, "Look, what I did this time was also a serious matter, and quite meaningful. How about you reimburse me for the 20,000?"

Zong Kunyang retorted, "You don't even have 20,000?"

Zong Shijie chuckled, "I've been spending a lot lately, so I really don't have any. If you don't give me any, then I'll just have to buy some more things to make up the difference."

Unlike college students like Chen Wanning, Zong Kunyang had no interest in environmental protection whatsoever. However, what his son did this time was indeed a worthwhile endeavor, and most importantly, it would get him on Yangcheng TV's news. Spending 20,000 yuan was a good deal; consider it a chance to appear on television.

"Okay, I'll transfer 20,000 yuan to your card later."

Zong Kunyang was very happy as he spoke, after all, his son was going to be in the news.

However, he immediately became worried about something else: "Xiao Jie, as you said, what you did this time was indeed quite good. But I heard that those reporters like to create a big news story. Do you think there will be any inaccuracies in their reports after they interview you? Why don't you invite the people from the TV station out for a meal? I'll give you some money as a tip for their hard work."

Zong Shijie hesitated for a moment and said, "I don't think that's necessary. Shen Kang said he's already made arrangements with the TV station."

Who is Shen Kang?

"That's my boss friend."

"Your friend... is he also a college student?"

"Yes, a student from Yang-Tsing University of Science and Technology."

Upon hearing that the other person was just a student from Yangke University, and that his son had said that Shen Kang had already made arrangements with the TV station, Zong Kunyang was taken aback. "Who is this friend of yours named Shen Kang?"

Since everyone here was one of their own, Zong Shijie didn't hold back and said directly, "Zhou Man of Shengyuan Group has a daughter, and this Shen Kang is Zhou Man's chosen future son-in-law."

Upon hearing this, Zong Kunyang and Chen Kexu exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

Zong Kunyang couldn't help but ask, "Zhou Man has a daughter? Old Chen, have you heard about this?"

Chen Kexu shook his head, "Never heard of it." Then he looked at Zong Shijie, "Xiao Jie, are you sure?"

Zong Kunyang became even more worried: "Xiao Jie, you haven't been scammed, have you?"

The main reason is that Zong Shijie said all these things were too unexpected. Doing serious business, appearing on TV, and now even Zhou Man's daughter and son-in-law, whom she had never heard of before, have come out. Putting it all together, it seems too much like Zong Shijie has been deceived.

Seeing the doubtful looks from his two elders, Zong Shijie said confidently, "Absolutely certain! Zhou Man herself said that the girl was her daughter..."

He recounted the events of that day at Jule Foods in detail.

After listening, Zong Kunyang and Chen Kexu exchanged another glance.

Chen Wanning wasn't interested in anything else, only one thing: "Brother Jie, is that girl really that pretty?"

When Zong Shijie was telling his story, he used several adjectives when talking about Zhou Man's daughter, such as "too beautiful" and "I've never seen such a beautiful woman in my life." This really touched Chen Wanning's heart.

"It's so beautiful, I can't even describe it. You'll see for yourself..."

Seeing the two children chatting, Zong Kunyang gave Chen Kexu a look, then stood up from the sofa and said, "You two chat for a while."

As he spoke, he walked toward a secondary bedroom on the side.

Chen Kexu also got up and followed.

After the two entered the second bedroom, they closed the door.

This room is not usually occupied. There is a large bed in the center of the room, and the curtains are still drawn, making the room very dark.

Zong Kunyang didn't sit down. He turned on the light and said directly, "Old Chen, do you think what Xiao Jie said is reliable? Does Zhou Man really have a daughter?"

Chen Kexu said thoughtfully, "Xiao Jie has met Zhou Man before, he won't mistake her for someone else."

"Besides, they were at Jule Foods at the time, which is part of Shengyuan Group. It's quite reasonable for Zhou Man to be there, and it's highly likely that it really is Zhou Man. Zhou Man herself said in front of so many people that it was her daughter, so how could it be fake? That's Zhou Man, how could she randomly claim a daughter?"

Zong Kunyang nodded. "I didn't expect Zhou Man to have a daughter... Do you think the claim that Shen Kang is Zhou Man's chosen future son-in-law is plausible?"

Chen Kexu pondered, "Judging from Xiao Jie's description, it seems there's some truth to that. If Zhou Man only has one daughter and no son, she might actually choose a son-in-law she approves of and raise him like a son."

Zong Kunyang nodded silently again, then suddenly laughed: "Hehe, if that's the case, Xiao Jie is really lucky to have met such a person. And it seems that he and Xiao Jie have a pretty good relationship. He collaborates with Xiao Jie and even drags Xiao Jie along when they go on TV. He's much more reliable than Xiao Jie's other friends."

He was also aware that his son had made friends with a group of rich second-generation friends, and they were always hanging out together.

In Zong Kunyang's view, this is a good thing.

It's normal for these kids to spend their days hanging out and playing around, since they're still just children. When they grow up, they'll naturally start doing more serious things, and that's when their friendship will truly take on a real purpose.

However, Shen Kang is indeed different. He is also the same age and has a powerful background, but he has already started to do serious work, which makes him stand out.

Chen Kexu nodded in agreement. "Indeed. From this perspective, it's no wonder Zhou Man chose him as her son-in-law to groom."

After talking for a while, the two went out and sat down back in the living room.

After sitting down, Zong Kunyang said directly, "Xiao Jie, you should call Shen Kang and tell him about the compensation for those reporters. Tell him you'll pay for it."

"All right."

Zong Shijie then picked up his phone and made a call.

After talking for a while, he hung up the phone.

"Shen Kang said that he approved the one who came today, and that I don't need to worry about it."

Zong Kunyang and Chen Kexu exchanged another glance, thinking to themselves, "Just as I thought."

Then, Zong Kunyang added, "The interview is a joint effort between the two of you. You both have to participate. What kind of talk is it if only he comes? Xiao Jie, this isn't how you build friendships. You can't let your friends suffer losses. You need to be more generous and considerate. That's how friendships last..."

After giving a lecture on the principles of friendship, Zong Kunyang concluded, "I'll transfer another 20,000 yuan to your card later. Make sure Shen Kang accepts this money. He absolutely cannot be the one to pay for the reporter's expenses."

Zong Shijie was delighted to hear that it was another 20,000, but then he heard his father insist on having it done by Shen Kang, and he became worried: "What if he refuses to accept it?"

Zong Kunyang glared at him. "Then you think of a way!"

Knowing son Moruo father.

Judging from Zong Shijie's current reaction, Zong Kunyang realized that his son was still the same old idiot, and he didn't know how much of what his son had said earlier was true.

Zong Kunyang also wanted to maintain a good image for his son and didn't want to expose his mistake in front of Chen Kexu, so he quickly changed the subject: "By the way, what are you looking at?"

When he and Chen Kexu arrived, they saw Zong Shijie and Chen Wanning huddled together, with Zong showing her something on his phone.

"Looking for photos."

As Zong Shijie spoke, he casually held his phone up to the two elders. "Ningning said she wanted to see just how pretty Zhou Man's daughter is. I didn't have any photos of her either, so I came to Shen Kang's QQ space to see if there were any pictures of her. But after searching and searching, there was only one picture of himself in his album, and no other pictures..."

Zong Kunyang and Chen Kexu also turned their attention to Zong Shijie's phone screen.

The above is also the only photo in Shen Kang's QQ space.

A handsome young man was riding a rusty old bicycle on a main road. He was wearing a slightly yellowed polyester shirt. A bright smile graced his face; he looked very handsome and youthful.

This photo was taken by Shen Kang in June.

"Is this Shen Kang?" Zong Kunyang asked.

Zong Shijie nodded and hummed in agreement.

Zong Kunyang and Chen Kexu seemed thoughtful: Judging from this photo, Shen Kang appeared to have come from a very poor family. A son-in-law like this would be easy to manage and wouldn't usurp the family's place. If he were also capable, he would truly be the perfect live-in son-in-law…

After sitting there for a while, the three of them left, and they didn't insist that Zong Shijie go to dinner with them anymore, since he had important business to attend to.

As they left in that L8, Chen Wanning was still sitting in the third row playing on her phone.

Zong Kunyang pondered silently, wondering if Old Chen would change his mind after seeing today's events. But these things were best left unsaid; it wasn't appropriate to say them aloud. Besides, his son was lucky to have met such a friend. If things went well, and Zhou Man helped her son-in-law, he might even be able to get in touch with Shengyuan Group. He didn't need much else; even a little from Shengyuan Group would be enough for him…

Chen Kexu remained silent, simply turning his head to look at the scenery outside the window, thinking to himself that he should observe the situation further. After all, there were still a few years until the two children grew up, so there was no rush.

……

After the three left, Zong Shijie tidied up and went to keep his appointment for that evening.

Shen Kang also arrived, and as soon as he arrived, he went to have tea with Jiang Chengle.

When they arrived at the manager's office, they knocked and went in. They saw that in addition to Jiang Chengle, the deputy manager Ma Lei was also in the office.

Jiang Chengle glanced at Shen Kang and said to Ma Lei in front of him, "If there's nothing else, Manager Ma, you can go ahead and get back to work."

Ma Lei nodded and got up to leave.

As he passed by Shen Kang, he smiled at him, and Shen Kang returned the smile.

After passing Shen Kang, Ma Lei's lips curled into a smile, and his face darkened.

He hadn't been optimistic about the program the college student was running, thinking that with Tanghui sponsoring it with so much money every month, it was bound to lose money. After all, the website's main users were mostly students from Yangke University, a limited number, not even comparable to Yangbei Forum.

The best promotional slots on Yangbei Forum only cost a few thousand yuan a month, and that's for all time slots throughout the month. This website, on the other hand, offers so little promotional time each month, yet dares to charge such a high price—equivalent to over ten thousand yuan a month.

We're definitely going to lose money.

After Ma Lei persuaded Dong Baitao to take the responsibility, he also reported the news to the Second Young Master, who praised him highly.

Of course, Ma Lei didn't forget to keep an eye out and watched the first episode of "If You Are the One" on time, just to see the show become a flop.

Unexpectedly, the first episode of "If You Are the One" became far more popular than he had anticipated.

It's alright, though. Even though there are a lot of people watching, they're just there for the spectacle. Even if some of them are indeed influenced by GG and come to Zhongtanghui for dinner, the number definitely won't be large enough to cover the huge monthly GG expenses...

"sit."

Jiang Chengle gestured, and Shen Kang sat down opposite him at his desk.

Jiang Chengle poured him another cup of tea, then sat down at the back of the office with a smile on his face.

Seeing his expression, Shen Kang casually asked, "Manager Jiang seems to be in a good mood. Has the promotion of 'If You Are the One' been effective?"

Jiang Chengle nodded, a broad smile on his face: "I watched the show, it was very popular, with over 13,000 people watching online at its peak. GG's position was also quite good. After the show aired, many customers specifically asked if we could provide the 'Friendship Package' that we tailored for your show."

Shen Kang picked up his teacup and took a sip. "So what did Manager Jiang say?"

Jiang Chengle laughed and said, "Don't worry, it was agreed that it was specially made for your program, so it is specially made. But I recommended their other 'Love Package'."

Shen Kang laughed as well, "Manager Jiang has already prepared another 'love package' in advance?"

Jiang Chengle shook his head, "We've always had them, but they only sell so-so on normal days. They sell best on Valentine's Day and Qixi Festival. But after your show airs, we'll be able to sell more."

Jiang Chengle had been pondering how to mitigate Dong Baitao's "dereliction of duty" in this matter, but the effect of "If You Are the One" after its broadcast gave him a pleasant surprise.

Although the current business growth may not be enough to cover the monthly sponsorship fees, there's still a long way to go, as the show has only aired its first episode.

As the show airs more and more and its influence grows, he believes that GG will bring in more and more customers. At that point, it's something to look forward to: making up for GG's sponsorship costs, and even generating profit because of GG.

"By the way, what brings you here today?" Jiang Chengle asked.

"Oh, it's nothing." Shen Kang put down his teacup. "It's just that Yangcheng TV is planning to do a special interview with our show 'If You Are the One,' the kind that gets on TV news. So I need to talk to the two guests about something. They're having a meal at your restaurant right now. I'll go find them after they finish eating."

"Yangcheng TV Station?"

Jiang Chengle quickly inquired about the specifics, and after learning more, he was even happier, as this was truly an unexpected delight.

"Do you think they'll include our company's logo in the footage during their interview?"

"It's possible. They always have to take a picture of the page, and your Zhongtanghui's guy is right in the center. Besides, Zhongtanghui is a sponsor of our mystery reward, so they'll probably mention you when discussing the program..."

Shen Kang and Jiang Chengle drank tea for a while. When they saw that it was almost time, Shen Kang made a phone call to Zong Shijie and then went to the private room where the two of them were having dinner.

The talks went smoothly.

The female guest who left her light on for Zong Shijie immediately agreed when she heard that she would get her original money and could also donate an extra 20,000 yuan.

That basically settled the matter. After everyone went over the details, there wouldn't be any problems. All that was left was to cooperate with the TV station's interview.

Time flies, and soon three days have passed, and it's Friday again.

……

A bus was traveling on the highway, surrounded by desolate mountain scenery.

Gradually, the desolation along the roadside receded, and more and more people appeared.

After exiting the highway, the population on both sides of the road became denser and the scenery more and more prosperous.

This is the provincial capital.

Lu Zijian sat by the window on the bus, turning his head to look at the scenery outside, thinking silently, his eyes showing a hint of excitement and anticipation.

He was a boy born and raised in a small town under Pingxi City. After graduating from high school, he was admitted to Pingxi College, a local undergraduate institution in Pingxi City.

He had never left Pingxi City since he was a child. This was his first time coming to another place, and it was directly to Yangcheng, the capital city of Qianlin Province.

This bus is also full of students from Pingxi City.

Like Lu Zijian, many people were looking out the window at the scenery, while rustling sounds could be heard all around.

"That building is so tall." "How come Yangcheng still has pedicabs these days? I thought only small cities like Pingxi had them." "It's different; there are far fewer now. Taxis are much more common." ...

The bus continued moving forward.

After admiring the scenery of Houyang City for a while, Lu Zijian gradually calmed down from his initial excitement of arriving in the provincial capital. As the car swayed, drowsiness gradually crept in.

They got up and got on the bus before dawn and drove for several hours to get here.

As drowsiness overcame him, Lu Zijian fell asleep.

Lu Zijian didn't know how long he had slept, but the noise around him woke him up.

When I opened my eyes, the car had already stopped.

Looking out the window, this is a parking lot.

The teacher leading the group stood at the front, loudly calling out, "We've arrived! Everyone, please take your belongings and disembark in an orderly manner. Don't leave anything behind..."

Lu Zijian picked up his bag and got off the bus with everyone else.

This is a hotel parking lot.

The group of university students and accompanying teachers from Pingxi walked through the parking lot and arrived at the entrance of the hotel, where several banners were hanging.

One of the banners read, "A warm welcome to all participants of the 'Innovation, Creativity, and Creativity Competition,' and we wish the competition a complete success."

Lu Zijian and his team were the participants in the provincial-level competition of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition.

As Lu Zijian approached the main entrance, he noticed that many hotel staff members, dressed in uniforms, were lined up in two neat rows at the entrance, seemingly welcoming them in a grand manner.