Chapter 47: Zhang Yang, What Exactly Do You Want?

Every woman, without exception.

None of them dislike being told they are beautiful.

Even if the compliment comes out of nowhere, she will feel a flicker of joy in her heart.

If you offer that praise with absolute sincerity—expressing admiration through your voice, your gestures, and every detail down to the look in your eyes.

Then!

She will be even happier.

Of course, once you have reached that point, it is best to stop while you are ahead. Do not do anything else reckless.

Otherwise, she will think you are interested in her.

Or…

She will think you are insane!

This was a set of social theories Zhang Yang had developed in his previous world after being rejected by countless girls.

“President Zhang… this way, please.”

“Mm, alright.”

However, this particular social theory did not seem to apply to Liu Ying.

Stepping along in her high heels, her short hair revealing her ears, the beautiful Liu Ying seemed to have no interest whatsoever in Zhang Yang’s admiration.

She merely maintained a professional smile as she earnestly led Zhang Yang toward the general manager’s office.

Along the way, she acted like an NPC in a game. Aside from answering a few of Zhang Yang’s simple questions, she treated him like any other ordinary visitor. There was even a faint sense of coldness about her.

As for information regarding the general manager, Chen Weiwei, Liu Ying essentially chose to remain silent.

Zhang Yang felt a twinge of disappointment after failing to fish for any useful intel.

But then, his gaze swept over the rows of neat desks and the lines of LCD monitors in the Bluebird Technology office hall.

He felt a bit envious.

While computers in this era were not exactly luxury items, they were not something everyone could own—let alone the latest LCD models. Unless your family owned a gold mine¹, you likely did not have one.

Even in Zhang Yang’s own office…

Well!

He still had one of those “big-headed” CRT monitors.

Zhang Yang also noticed the conceptual promotional posters lining the walls of the hall.

The posters featured Bluebird’s new ultra-thin laptop…

In Zhang Yang’s eyes, these “new ultra-thin” models were still significantly thicker than the laptops of the future, but in this era, laptops were already quite impressive.

Next, he saw posters for new printers, mice, mechanical keyboards, and even conceptual posters for servers.

It seemed this company was very well-equipped.

Zhang Yang felt more confident now.

Upon reaching the door of the general manager’s office, Liu Ying knocked. After receiving permission, she pushed the door open and made a “please” gesture to Zhang Yang before turning to leave.

Zhang Yang stepped inside.

He felt a sense of anticipation regarding this President Chen!

From the scattered information he had found online, Zhang Yang knew that President Chen had previously been an executive at Lianzhong Computer, Huaxia’s most famous computer company. Later, with some family backing and the “first bucket of gold²” she earned from antivirus software, she chose to start her own business…

To be this successful at such a young age, and judging by the photos he had seen online, she did not look bad either…

Was this not the real-life version of those “My Beautiful CEO³” novels?

“Hello, President Chen.”

“Ah, hello, President Zhang. Please, have a seat…”

Zhang Yang finally saw Chen Weiwei.

And then, he was profoundly disappointed…

The peerless beauty of a CEO he had imagined did not manifest in reality.

Sitting before him was a woman with long hair who looked to be about twenty-seven years old.

She did not look ordinary—she was actually quite pretty—but her entire being radiated exhaustion.

Her hair was tied in a ponytail, but it was somewhat disheveled. She wore a simple white shirt that looked neat and clean, but her skin had a yellowish tint from frequently staying up late. Upon closer inspection, he could see a few pimples on her powdered face, and the dark circles under her eyes were even worse than his own. On the desk to her left, there were several bottles of medicine with English labels.

Zhang Yang guessed they might be some kind of imported sleeping pills or melatonin.

However, despite her haggard appearance, her eyes were bright and sharp. When she looked up at him, Zhang Yang felt an inexplicable sense of guilt.

This woman had a very strong aura.

She was likely a very hardworking, powerful career woman.

After Zhang Yang sat down, an assistant nearby poured him a glass of water.

“President Chen, I actually came here today because I wanted to talk to you about future development…” Zhang Yang looked at Chen Weiwei, briefly analyzed her personality, and began his pitch.

“President Zhang, to be honest, I was quite curious when I heard you were coming. You make games, and we sell computers. What kind of cooperation could there possibly be between us?” Chen Weiwei looked at Zhang Yang with genuine curiosity.

In fact…

She had received Zhang Yang’s call to the company out of the blue, and she had spent the entire morning unable to figure out what he was actually coming for.

But for someone like Zhang Yang who had built something from nothing, it was a certainty that “all the world’s hustle and bustle is for the sake of profit⁴.”

“President Chen, our company has designed a new type of game. In this game, there is a female CEO character. However, we haven’t been able to find the right candidate for the role. That is, until I happened to see your image. My eyes lit up. After researching your entrepreneurial journey online, I felt a deep, heartfelt admiration. I feel that in the 21st century, girls like you who are willing to endure hardship and forge ahead are truly rare. A woman like you is definitely the ideal that many young men dream of…” Zhang Yang began to lay on the flattery.

“President Zhang… if I may be so bold, those words of yours might work on an eighteen-year-old girl, but in front of me… let’s skip all that. Speak plainly. What has caught your eye in my company, or what is it you want to get through us?” Chen Weiwei rubbed her forehead as she listened to Zhang Yang’s praise, then cut him off directly.

“Cough, cough…” Zhang Yang felt a wave of awkwardness. “Actually, I simply hope to use your image, President Chen, to create a game with the company. As long as they are customers of Bluebird Computer, we will provide this game to them for free… You should have looked into my background; you know that I, personally, have potential, right?”

“Continue…” Chen Weiwei nodded, her haggard face remaining calm as she looked at Zhang Yang.

“President Chen, as you know, Universe Technology currently possesses a vast pool of potential customers. The user count across our two game forums has reached nearly a hundred and fifty thousand, and our official website sees close to three hundred thousand visits a day. These numbers are constantly growing. These are all potential resources. At the same time, our new game has reached a cooperation agreement with President Liu – that is, the most popular pure goddess on the internet, Liu Ruohan. She is very optimistic about the project and has already taken a stake in our new game. Her influence online is certainly no less than that of many celebrities. These are massive traffic resources…” Zhang Yang paused again after speaking, looking at Chen Weiwei.

Seeing Chen Weiwei listening with such a calm expression, he suddenly felt a bit uncertain.

What was wrong with this woman?

Could she give some kind of reaction?

What did this expressionless face even mean?

Were his conditions still not enough?

“Keep talking…” Chen Weiwei signaled for him to continue when she noticed his pause.

“In fact, President Chen, if I’m not mistaken, I believe your primary focus right now is the growth point for Bluebird Computer sales, isn’t it? After all, while Bluebird Technology’s performance is decent for a new computer company, you are facing competition from both domestic and international brands. Every step is crucial for Bluebird Technology. I believe our games – and our company as a whole – can provide you with a significant growth point in the future…” Zhang Yang continued.

“The conditions look good, so… President Zhang, what do you need? I’ve looked into your background. You are a self-made man in the truest sense. You wouldn’t be playing the Good Samaritan for no reason, would you? Let’s go back to the old question: what do you want to get out of this?” Chen Weiwei continued to watch Zhang Yang calmly.

“President Chen, we’ve just moved offices and are becoming more formalized. We have the conditions in place now, but we’re lacking a strong partner…” Zhang Yang felt he had played all his cards and finally let a trace of helplessness show on his face. “Because of the needs of the new game and the necessary equipment upgrades, I need a batch of high-quality computer equipment…”

“What equipment?”

“The latest computers, and computer desks…”

“How many?”

“Thirty units,” Zhang Yang replied, staring back at Chen Weiwei.

“The latest models?”

“If possible, yes!”

“Thirty units would cost three hundred thousand… If you purchase thirty, President Zhang, we can give you a five percent discount, which brings it to two hundred and eighty-five thousand. Of course, in addition to that, I can give you two of the new models for free as a gesture to mark the beginning of our preliminary cooperation…” Chen Weiwei offered a faint smile as she looked at Zhang Yang.

“…” Zhang Yang was instantly stuck in an awkward spot.

Two hundred and eighty thousand?

Even with the free computers, he couldn’t produce that much money right now!

After paying the rent, he wasn’t even sure if he could scrape together twenty-eight thousand.

In that moment…

He fell silent.

“President Zhang, what’s wrong?” Chen Weiwei asked, looking at him with some confusion.

She felt she had been very sincere.

“It’s nothing. The price is quite reasonable. When can they be delivered?” Zhang Yang’s expression returned to normal as he asked with a smile.

“Anytime.”

“Good. Then I’ll go back and discuss it with my colleagues to see what specifications they need and draw up a list.” Zhang Yang took a sip of water and stood up.

“Alright then, President Zhang. It’s a pleasure doing business with you.” Chen Weiwei nodded, standing up to shake Zhang Yang’s hand.

“Yes, a pleasure.” Zhang Yang nodded, his face still full of smiles. However, the moment he turned away, his expression shifted instantly, becoming deep and unreadable. He walked out of the office under Chen Weiwei’s gaze.

Just as Zhang Yang was about to close the door, he suddenly stopped.

He turned back, his smile as bright as ever.

“President Chen…”

“Yes, President Zhang?”

“I heard you’re considering signing Zhou Yang and Zhao Yiman as spokespeople?”

“Yes, we are considering it. Why do you ask?”

“Zhao Yiman shouldn’t be a problem, but Zhou Yang… he seems like he’ll be difficult to sign, won’t he?”

“That’s true. We have considered that. Our budget is limited, and if we really can’t sign him, we might have to give up…”

“Wouldn’t it be a pity to give up? I heard Lianzhong Computer is also in talks with him. If Lianzhong Computer secures the endorsement, given the Heavenly King’s current influence, I think they would pose an even greater threat to you, wouldn’t they?”

“What choice do we have? we don’t have much of an advantage. After all, when it comes to endorsements, they get to pick and choose as well…” Chen Weiwei shook her head.

“What if I could help you sign him?”

“Sign him within our budget?”

“Yes. In addition to that, plus our company’s future resources, that should be enough weight, shouldn’t it?”

“What do you want?”

“The same as before. I need those thirty computers and thirty sets of desks and chairs provided by your company!”

“Wait, did you mean from the very beginning…” Chen Weiwei froze, her eyes widening in shock as she stared at Zhang Yang.

This guy had been talking her ear off for so long – had he intended to walk away with something for nothing from the very start?

This man…

“Well, I won’t hide it from you, President Chen. At the moment, I really can’t afford that many computers.”

“You could take out a loan, couldn’t you? If you have confidence in your new game, a loan should be a good option…”

“For certain reasons, I can’t get a loan.” Zhang Yang shook his head with a smile.

“Fine, I won’t pry. In short, if you can help us sign Zhou Yang at our target price, I won’t just give you the desks and chairs for free – we can even rent you the servers your company needs at half price in the future…” Chen Weiwei’s eyes lit up as she stared intently at Zhang Yang.

A problem she couldn’t solve.

If Zhang Yang could solve it.

Then it meant this man’s capabilities were truly terrifying!

In that case…

It was definitely worth doing!

“Then it’s a deal, President Chen. However, I’ll need your company to do me a small favor.”

“What kind of help?”

“I need to meet with Zhou Yang in person. President Chen, can you arrange that?”

“I’ll try. Yes, it should be possible!” Chen Weiwei nodded.

Seeing her nod, Zhang Yang’s smile widened.

Right now, he was a nobody.

And a nobody had to leverage power.

He needed to borrow strength.

He would use every ounce of influence he could get his hands on…

As long as there was even a sliver of a chance, he was going to take it.

(End of Chapter)

Translator’s Notes