We agreed not to date, so why are you crying now that I've become the richest man?

Xia Meng was very close.

The scent of expensive haute couture perfume hit them right in the face, and the distance between them had been compressed to the limit.

At this moment, Ye Chen only needed to lower his head slightly to get a full view of the view from her slightly open neckline.

At eighteen, full of youthful vigor.

Any person of the same age would find this temptation hard to resist.

But Ye Chen stood upright in place, his breathing rate unchanged.

He looked down at Xia Meng's face, which was filled with urgency yet forced composure. His gaze was clear, without a trace of confusion.

"Manager Xia, there's no need for that."

Ye Chen took half a step back, creating some distance between them.

Xia Meng's hand was still frozen in mid-air, and the scene suddenly became somewhat awkward.

"Exclusive agency or global joint operations, these cooperation models are not out of the question." Ye Chen picked up the black clutch bag placed beside him, his tone calm.

Xia Meng felt a weight lifted off her shoulders.

If EA is willing to negotiate, it has a chance to acquire this lucrative opportunity.

She immediately adjusted her expression, put on her most professional smile, and was just about to take the initiative to speak.

"But definitely not today."

Ye Chen finished the sentence.

Xia Meng's smile froze instantly.

"You haven't even figured out my daily active users and revenue data, and what you're holding is outdated information." Ye Chen looked down at her.

"Discussing cooperation under these circumstances is unfair to both of us."

The words were spoken casually, yet they struck Xia Meng's chest like a heavy hammer.

She was completely suppressed.

Having navigated the business world for so many years, I have never felt so powerless in front of a young person.

The other party not only outperformed her technically, but also far surpassed her in controlling the pace of business negotiations.

"Go and apply for the highest level of authorization from your headquarters." Ye Chen strode towards the restaurant entrance.

"Once you have the final say, come back to me with a sincere proposal."

Xia Meng stood still, her hands gripping the edge of her bodycon skirt tightly.

Watching that young, tall figure disappear at the restaurant entrance, she let out a long sigh of relief.

She knew that forcing negotiations would only put her at a disadvantage.

She lost this game completely.

But at least it opened a door to cooperation, preventing them from being completely eliminated.

Ye Chen walked out of the French restaurant, the Shanghai night breeze blowing on his face, which was particularly pleasant.

He had a few drinks that night and called a designated driver.

Half an hour later, the car was parked in an underground parking space in an office building near Jiaotong University. After settling the bill, I gave an extra 100 yuan tip.

I grabbed my handbag and walked back to school. The night breeze was cool, perfect for a stroll.

Push open the door to dormitory 417.

The lights were on, but there was none of the usual noise before lights out.

Lu Wenbo's bed was empty.

As soon as military training ended, that guy packed his bags and went home with his girlfriend.

Chen Zhiqiang was sitting at his desk with headphones on, silently memorizing vocabulary words, and didn't even notice Ye Chen entering the room.

Only Sun Haoyu sat in front of the computer, his hands tucked into his hair, turning his already messy hair into a bird's nest.

Ye Chen pulled out a chair and sat down, casually asking, "What are you doing? Practicing Iron Head Kung Fu in the middle of the night?"

Sun Haoyu turned his head as if he had seen a savior.

"Old Ye, you're finally back!"

He pointed at the computer screen, his face full of worry.

Ye Chen leaned over and glanced at it.

The screen was filled with pages from Baidu Knows, with all sorts of titles.

The 10 essential techniques for pursuing girls.

How to get the girl you like to initiate a conversation with you.

"The Psychology of Love: How to Win Her Over in Thirty Days"

"Ugh! How do I get Li Meng's QQ number?!" Sun Haoyu scratched his hair in frustration.

"You're just grasping at straws." Ye Chen poured himself a glass of water. "Did you find anything useful?"

"That's all nonsense!" Sun Haoyu sighed. "Li Meng has completely ignored me these past two days. Today, after military training ended, I specifically went to talk to her, but she just walked away when she saw me."

"Alright, stop howling." Ye Chen took a sip of water. "Your little bit of embarrassing history will only be laughed at for a week at most, it's not like you committed murder or arson."

Sun Haoyu's face flushed red: "You make it sound so easy! It's a miracle they didn't call the police and arrest me on the spot! Right now, I just want to add a QQ account as soon as possible, so I can at least explain things online and salvage my image. Old Ye, you've got a lot of ideas, help me think of something!"

"You can't add me on QQ by begging me." Ye Chen leaned back in his chair.

Sun Haoyu grew anxious: "Then who should we ask? Are we just going to wait here like this?"

"Find Lao Lu."

"Old Lu?" Sun Haoyu was taken aback at first, then slapped his thigh. "Right! How could I forget about him! His girlfriend, Wang Yao, is in the same dorm as Li Meng!"

His eyes lit up, and as he pulled out his phone, he said, "I'll message him right now!"

"At least you're not too slow-witted." Ye Chen glanced at him. "Isn't this much better than just barging into people's faces?"

Sun Haoyu nodded vigorously, his fingers flying across the keyboard.

Ye Chen ignored him and turned back to his desk.

The penguin icon in the lower right corner of the computer screen is flashing wildly.

Upon opening it, I saw that it was a message from Shen Anran.

"Have you finished your military training at Jiaotong University?"

Ye Chen placed his hands on the keyboard and typed rapidly: "Just finished this afternoon."

Shen Anran replied instantly: "Jinda University is over too! Finally, I don't have to get up early tomorrow to stand at attention and march."

Even through the screen, Ye Chen could imagine how this usually aloof academic genius was relaxing in his dorm room.

He stared at the chat window, feigning ignorance: "How are your feet? Any blisters?"

In the girls' dormitory of Tianjin University.

Shen Anran had just finished showering and was lying on the bed playing on her phone, wearing a loose-fitting light-colored cotton nightgown.

Upon seeing this sentence on the screen, her ears instantly turned bright red.

This Ye Chen! How can he guess everything!

During the military training a few days ago, her feet were already aching terribly from standing at attention and marching every day.

As she lay in bed that night, the method Ye Chen had mentioned in the group chat kept echoing in her mind.

Having no other choice, she sneaked into the bathroom while washing up in the morning, blushing as she took out two sanitary pads, quickly unfolded them, and put them into her uncomfortable military training shoes.

Not only is it easy to use, but its sweat-absorbing and shock-absorbing effects are absolutely superb.

But how could she possibly admit to something like that!

"No!" Shen Anran jabbed her fingers hard at the 9-key keyboard. "I didn't use that kind of thing."

Ye Chen leaned back in his chair, looking at the replies on the screen, feeling great.

Ye Chen smiled.

"Not up yet? Is the Tianjin University sports field made of sponge?"

"The instructors felt sorry for you and didn't make you march in formation or stand at attention?"

"Let's go!" Shen Anran retorted.

"Then you must have extraordinary talent." Ye Chen brought the topic back, "Or did you steal my folk remedy?"

There was silence on the other end for about ten seconds.

Then they sent a facepalm emoji.

Just as Ye Chen was about to continue teasing, another line of text popped up in the chat box.

"Ye Chen, the National Day holiday is coming up soon, are you... going home for the holiday?"

Ye Chen hovered his fingers above the keyboard and raised an eyebrow.

The fact that Shen Anran asked this question carries significant weight.

He didn't reply immediately, but the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up slightly.

Sun Haoyu suddenly leaned over, glanced at the screen, and immediately exploded.

"Holy crap! Old Ye, you've got something going on here too?!"

Ye Chen slapped his face away.

"Get out of here and mind your own business."

Sun Haoyu stumbled a couple of steps after being pushed, still shouting, "Sea King! Absolutely a Sea King!"

Ye Chen ignored him and turned his gaze back to the screen.

In the QQ chat window, Shen Anran's message, still from two minutes ago, read: "Ye Chen, it's almost National Day, are you... going home for the holiday?"

The cursor is blinking in the input box.

He smiled and typed four words.

"Of course I'll go back."

send.

The "typing" indicator on the other side of the chat box lit up and then went out, went out and lit up again.

For two whole minutes, no new messages popped up.

……

P.S.: Dear godfathers, please use your lucky hands to give this a five-star review! Let's get the rating up quickly. Otherwise, we really can't continue writing. If it doesn't get up soon, we'll have to shut down the book.