Chapter 69: Zhang Yang the Nouveau Riche (Part 2)

Ten o’clock in the morning.

Zhang Yang stepped out of the van and stood at the base of the Mumaen Technology building, looking up.

Before the towering skyscraper, he still looked very small.

Once upon a time, this was the place where he had dreamed of working.

But now…

He was no longer envious.

He put on a pair of non-prescription rimless glasses and adjusted his suit. Looking every bit the refined, high-quality modern gentleman¹, he slowly walked up the steps.

“Hello, do you have an appointment?”

“I do.”

“Alright, this way please.”

“…”

Beaming with a wide smile, Zhang Yang stepped into the glass sightseeing elevator.

As the floors ticked upward and the world below grew smaller, Zhang Yang couldn’t help but feel a slight twinge of vertigo.

However, it came with a sensory thrill.

One day, I’m going to have a building of my own just like this.

Not rented.

Built by me, belonging to me.

That was what Zhang Yang was thinking.

In truth, he wasn’t feeling particularly arrogant deep down; instead, he felt calm and full of anticipation.

But deep within his character, there was a streak of awkward stubbornness. If he was going to do something, he wouldn’t do it halfway. He would take it to the absolute limit.

The elevator soon reached the twentieth floor.

When he stepped inside…

He saw a spacious work area where every employee wore an ID badge, scurrying about busily. The walls were covered in conceptual posters for various games.

Though this wasn’t his first time here, the nameplates for the various departments still made his head spin. He felt like a country bumpkin entering a grand palace².

Still, he suppressed the excitement in his heart and tried his best to appear composed.

As he walked toward the Human Resources department, he paused for a moment.

He had heard…

That Liu Yun had been promoted to General Manager of HR, taking Shen Yi’s old position?

After lingering for a moment, he continued toward the Marketing department.

“Hello, you must be Mr. Zhang Yang?”

“That’s me.”

“Our President Liu has been expecting you for some time.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Not far away, a girl wearing a staff badge stared at Zhang Yang in a daze before instinctively coming forward to greet him.

As she led Zhang Yang down the hall, she stole curious glances at him.

News about Zhang Yang was currently blowing up the indie game circles. Basically, whenever you opened a gaming Tieba, his name was there.

He seemed even more handsome than in his photos.

And more refined, with a sort of…

A sort of indescribable but very attractive charm.

The girl’s name was Yang Xue, and she was Liu Ruohan’s assistant.

At this moment, whether it was because Zhang Yang had dressed exactly to her tastes today or because of the legendary aura surrounding him, Yang Xue felt that Zhang Yang looked just like a “domineering CEO” from the movies.

Walking beside him made her heart flutter for some reason.

Soon…

She brought Zhang Yang to the door.

“President Liu is inside…”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome! Um, my name is Yang Xue. If you need anything in the future, President Zhang, you can contact me first… President Liu is very busy sometimes and might not be able to pick up the phone, so I can pass messages to her for you…” Yang Xue hesitated before getting the words out.

“Oh, alright. Let’s exchange contact information then.”

“Okay, okay!”

A high-quality male with great potential still held quite a bit of attraction for professional women.

Any fool could see that Zhang Yang had a limitless future ahead of him.

“By the way…”

“Yes?”

“Could you help me contact General Manager Liu Yun in a bit?”

“Huh?”

“Just tell her I have something important to discuss with her.”

“Understood!”

Yang Xue nodded like a little chick pecking at grain.

…………………………

The door opened.

Liu Ruohan looked up and saw Zhang Yang.

When she saw him dressed in a sharp suit, she was stunned.

In her memory, Zhang Yang didn’t seem like someone who cared much about his attire.

Why was he all dressed up like a proper gentleman today?

Moreover, this guy had just sent a lawyer’s letter to Liu Yun from their company. Logically speaking, it should have been impossible for him to show up at Mumaen at a time like this.

After all, they were rival companies now…

How could this man just swagger in like he owned the place?

“President Liu, it’s been a few days. You’re as beautiful as ever.”

“You’re looking quite handsome yourself, President Zhang.”

Liu Ruohan looked at Zhang Yang strangely. She felt his smile was very odd, the kind that made her skin crawl a little.

What was wrong with this guy?

After inviting Zhang Yang to sit, Liu Ruohan grew even more uneasy when he didn’t say a word and just stared at her with a beaming smile.

“President Zhang, your reason for coming today is…”

“Oh, it’s nothing, nothing at all. I just came to see you, President Liu…”

“???” For a moment, Liu Ruohan didn’t know how to respond.

Was this man…

Out of his mind?

“Well, President Liu… actually, there is a little something.”

“What is it?”

“President Liu, when I came over today, were the magpies on the branches outside your house chirping non-stop?” Zhang Yang gave her a meaningful look, his eyes full of expectation.

“No! Zhang Yang! If you have something to say, just say it. You’re acting really weird…”

Liu Ruohan was speechless.

She was getting goosebumps.

The current Zhang Yang was too strange, like he was a completely different person.

Was he possessed, or had someone put a hex on him?

“Cough, cough. Actually, I came this time to bring you money, President Liu. Didn’t you take a stake in our God of Conquest?”

“When did I take a stake?” For a moment, Liu Ruohan’s brain couldn’t keep up.

“Remember our phone call about the endorsement for God of Conquest? And your bonus from Desert Bicycle before that? I said the bonus would count as shares in God of Conquest, and you agreed. Now that God of Conquest is a huge hit, I’m here to give you your cut…”

“Huh?” Liu Ruohan blanked for a moment. After thinking it over for a long time, she finally nodded instinctively.

It seemed like there really had been such a conversation.

She watched with an even stranger expression as Zhang Yang picked up his bag and placed the money on the table, a foolish grin plastered across his face.

“You came all this way just to bring me money?” Liu Ruohan was stunned.

“Yes! It’s not much, about three hundred thousand for now. If it continues to sell well, there will be more!” Zhang Yang nodded, his smile radiant. “Pleasure doing business with you, President Liu. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now?”

“Huh? You’re leaving already?” Liu Ruohan stared blankly as Zhang Yang stood up. She found the whole situation inexplicable.

He was really just leaving?

“Yeah, I’m a man of my word. I said I’d do it, so I did…”

“Zhang Yang, are you alright? Why do you seem so weird?” Liu Ruohan stood up. She had truly never met such a bizarre person.

Traveling all this way just to deliver money…

And leaving the second he handed it over!

What kind of move was this?

“Actually, I was thinking about signing you as a spokesperson just now, but on second thought, I decided against it. I don’t think I can afford you. I was originally planning to take advantage of the situation a bit, but then I realized there wasn’t much to take advantage of. After thinking it over for a while, I figured I might as well leave early.” Zhang Yang looked at Liu Ruohan with a perfectly serious face.

“…” Liu Ruohan watched in a daze as Zhang Yang walked out of the office and closed the door.

She was even more bewildered now!

What did he mean, “not much to take advantage of”?

Am I not worth taking advantage of?

What was that supposed to mean?

Just as Liu Ruohan was struggling to understand what Zhang Yang was up to, the office door suddenly swung open again, and Zhang Yang poked his head back in.

“President Liu!”

“Yes?”

“I heard you speak several foreign languages?”

“Not many, I’m only reasonably proficient in four. Why?”

“Do you think our God of Conquest could sell in Southeast Asia? Or South Korea, or maybe even America?”

“It could, but you’d need an agent,” Liu Ruohan nodded seriously.

“Well… President Liu, looking at your expression just now, I think you must feel it’s a pity that I didn’t get to take advantage of anything. So, why don’t you just let me take a little advantage of you and help me set up the agencies? Otherwise, if you feel like you’ve taken advantage of me, you might feel guilty. If that leads to insomnia, it would be terrible!”

“???”

“…”

Liu Ruohan didn’t know why.

Looking at Zhang Yang’s deadpan expression, she suddenly had a powerful urge to slap him!

This man…

Why was he so obnoxious?

How could someone be this shameless!

……………………

Half an hour later.

Zhang Yang left Liu Ruohan’s office feeling thoroughly satisfied.

He adjusted his glasses, wearing a brilliant smile.

Then, he ran into a cold-faced Liu Yun.

“President Zhang, do you have business with me?”

“Ah? Miss Liu, hello…” Zhang Yang looked at Liu Yun and began to chuckle.

“President Zhang, hello. Is there something you need?”

“Heh, there’s something, but then again, it seems like there’s nothing. Heh heh.” Zhang Yang continued to stare at Liu Yun with a silly grin.

“Zhang Yang, what exactly are you doing? I’m very busy!” Liu Yun felt her blood pressure rising for no apparent reason.

“Then go ahead and get busy, Miss Liu. Heh, it’s just been a while since I saw you, so I wanted to take a look. Now that I’ve seen you and noticed you’ve gained some dark circles under your eyes, I’m satisfied. Heh heh heh…” Zhang Yang’s smile grew even wider!

“Zhang Yang, don’t think you’re someone special just because you made a single-player game! Your sales aren’t even a fraction of ours! With an arrogant personality like yours, you won’t get far!” Liu Yun’s cold facade finally cracked.

What the hell did this guy come here for!

To annoy her?

“Heh heh, right, Miss Liu, don’t get so worked up… Calm down, or you’ll start getting wrinkles. It’s fine, I’m leaving, I’m leaving… Oh, before I go, let me say one more thing. Even though you haven’t apologized to us, seeing you this frustrated is enough. I’ll take it as an apology. We forgive you…”

“…”

She watched as Zhang Yang sauntered away!

Liu Yun stomped her foot in rage, her lungs feeling like they were about to burst!

How could a person be so shameless!

……………………

On the other side, at the airport.

“Tong Wei, the primary goal of this scouting trip to the US is to check out Apple Inc. See how their phones actually are. I need a report on their true reputation and a survey from actual American users…”

“Second, look at the games from American companies. See what genres they’re focusing on… and mobile games. I want to know exactly what level their mobile games have reached…”

“We’re going to topple the American empire³ from its very roots!”

“…”

“…”

Tong Wei had just picked up the call from Zhang Yang.

After hanging up, Tong Wei was a bit lost.

Mobile games?

What was that supposed to mean?

(End of Chapter)

Translator’s Notes