As dawn broke, Chen Zhe rubbed his temples; he had stayed up all night and was now incredibly tired.
He poured himself a cup of black coffee, then drew back the heavy curtains. Outside, the breakfast stalls along the roadside had already been set up, and a new day had begun.
At that moment, Xing Tong's voice came from the table.
[Data received. Based on the master's plan outline, I make the following judgments...]
He was drinking coffee while listening to Xing Tong's broadcast.
He got this Star Eye from Yang Yun. He felt he would need it later. Yang Yun and the others had found his Star Eye in that car and brought it back with them.
What he wrote last night was just his idea and outline; he asked his AI, Xing Tong, to help him refine the specific details of the implementation.
It has to be said that AI is really useful now. It can consider many details and provide a lot of professional answers.
Chen Zhe organized his plan into a document. He had very important things to do today, and whether Linglong Club could continue to operate depended on whether this plan could be successfully completed.
He took his plan with him and went to the East District, where he found Yang Yun and contacted Lin Meiyu.
Both of them were somewhat surprised after reading his plan.
Yang Yun reacted strongly.
She jumped to her feet; "Chen Zhe, I don't agree with doing this. What's the difference between doing this and shutting down Linglong Club directly?"
Chen Zhe did not answer her immediately, but looked at Lin Meiyu instead.
"Sister Lin, what do you think?"
Lin Meiyu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Chen Zhe, your plan is indeed a bit bold, and it will be quite difficult to implement. I think we should reconsider."
Chen Zhe knew in his heart that the two people would not agree to his plan immediately.
His current plan is to completely change the business structure of Linglong Club, which could even be described as a career change.
Just like Yang Yun said, it's no different from simply shutting down Linglong Club.
Chen Zhe took a sip of tea before slowly and deliberately expressing his thoughts.
“I think we’ve all fallen into a misconception. We’re all thinking about revitalizing Linglong Club and how to keep it afloat. I’ve thought about it for many days, and in the end, I think this approach is wrong. A building that’s about to collapse will eventually collapse no matter how you try to support it. What we should be thinking about now is not to try harder to keep it afloat, but how to rebuild a new building after it collapses. After all, there are still more than a thousand people at Linglong Club. Our first priority should be their survival. As long as we can keep these people, it’s not impossible to restore Linglong Club to its former glory in the future.”
"You make it sound so easy, but your plan is too naive. Do you think that if we change careers, they won't target us anymore? Ridiculous! Their goal is to bring us down completely, that's what they want to do."
Yang Yun said angrily.
Lin Meiyu nodded. She had been in contact with her superiors the most during this period, and she knew best how much pressure they were under.
They were just short of giving a clear, straightforward answer.
[You should shut it down!]
"So you think the best thing for us is to do nothing?"
Chen Zhe countered with a question.
"We're not saying we're doing nothing, we just haven't figured out a solution yet."
Yang Yun retorted.
"But there are only a few days left. In two days, it will be the tenth day. We still have to keep the promises we made. Since we announced this decision that day, all the branches of Linglong Club have suffered resistance to varying degrees. I know that several managers were beaten badly, and there has been a serious loss of staff. If we announce that the company can't hold on and has to be dissolved in two days, do you think they won't cause trouble? If more than 1,000 people cause trouble, can you imagine how serious the consequences would be?"
"At worst, we'll compensate them according to the contract."
"You make it sound so easy. So who's going to pay for this? You or me? Or do you want Sister Lin to pay?"
Chen Zhe countered with a question to Yang Yun.
Yang Yun paused for a moment and subconsciously glanced at Lin Meiyu.
Lin Meiyu also frowned.
She's the richest person here now, but that doesn't mean she has to pay for everything herself; frankly, that would be foolish.
Nobody's money comes from thin air.
"Then your plan won't succeed either. All of Sister Hu's accounts have been frozen, and the company can't come up with a single penny. Your plan still requires money, doesn't it?"
Yang Yun said.
“I know, that’s why I’m asking for your opinions.”
"Um, you don't mean you want to ask us for money, do you?"
Yang Yun asked.
"It's not about money, it's about investment. To revitalize Linglong Club, we need an investment. I hope all of our managers will contribute, as well as Sister Lin. What do you all think?"
"I don't have any money!"
Yang Yun crossed her arms and said irritably.
Lin Meiyu hesitated for a moment, then looked at Chen Zhe.
"So how much do you think your plan will cost?"
"Two hundred million. The initial start-up capital is at least two hundred million."
"Are you crazy?!"
Yang Yun couldn't help but curse.
"Do you really think money grows on trees? Even if all our managers were combined, we might not be able to raise that number."
"Didn't you guys claim to have a manager with assets exceeding 100 million?"
Chen Zhe asked.
"That's all a lie! That person is just trying to save face and bragging. Her net worth is only tens of millions, and it's mostly real estate. One of her properties in Donghai is worth tens of millions. Do you really want her to sell her property to invest in your far-fetched plan? You're being too naive!"
Chen Zhe chuckled.
"Isn't our Sister Lin here?"
Lin Meiyu smiled somewhat helplessly; "So your initial plan was to target me, right?"
Chen Zhe scratched his head somewhat awkwardly.
"Sister Lin, if you really don't agree with this plan, then just pretend I didn't say anything."
Lin Meiyu rolled her eyes at him.
Then he said, "Since you've said that, what else can I say? Fine, I'll take care of the money. But let me make it clear, this money isn't entirely for you to squander. I'm still considering the issues above. Even if we change our business model, they will still continue to cause us trouble."
"Sister Lin, I've thought about this. There's a saying that water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. My idea is to let the water rise first."
"Huh? What kind of gibberish are you speaking?"
Yang Yun was puzzled, and Lin Meiyu didn't understand either.
Only then did Chen Zhe explain his true plan in detail.
After hearing this, the two women looked at him as if he were a monster.
It felt like I was getting to know Chen Zhe all over again.
Yang Yun gritted her teeth and then managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Although I really don't want to admit it, I was indeed persuaded by you. Fine! I'll take a share of the money! Go ahead and do it, but let me tell you in advance, if you really make me lose every last penny, I'll hunt you down to the ends of the earth!"
Lin Meiyu looked at Chen Zhe with great admiration.
"Little brother, you've really changed a lot. I suddenly feel like I see Hu Ling's former self in you. Haha, if that woman really wasn't dead, what kind of expression would she have if she heard your current thoughts?"
...
The three of them came to a conclusion.
Then they called all the managers together for a meeting.
The managers reacted much like Yang Yun had initially, with some even vehemently quitting on the spot.
He stormed out of the meeting room in anger.
When someone takes the lead, others will follow, and eventually, everyone will follow.
Of those dozen or so managers, only five or six remained in the end.
These five or six people were mindful of Hu Ling's past kindness; they didn't want to see Linglong Club collapse like this, including Mei Xiaoting.
She used all her savings to support Chen Zhe.
As she left, she pulled Chen Zhe aside and quickly gave him a kiss.
Chen Zhe touched his lips and paused for a moment.
Mei Xiaoting poked his heart.
"If you make me lose everything, you have to support me for the rest of my life, and I'll stick with you."
Mei Xiaoting swayed her graceful waist as she left.
Chen Zhe stood there, his lips twitching slightly.
Yang Yun said that if she lost all her money, she would hunt her down from all corners of the country. Mei Xiaoting said that if she lost all her money, she would blame her for the rest of her life.
This puts a lot of pressure on us; we really have no choice but to get this done.
Chen Zhe went downstairs to go back, and at that moment a luxury car was parked at the door.
The car window opened, and sitting in the back seat was none other than Chen Si.
She held her pet cat and looked at Chen Zhe.
"Get in the car!"
...
Two and a half hours later
Chen Si's villa.
Chen Si sat up lazily and stretched.
The soft blanket slid off her smooth back. She opened a drawer and took out a black bank card, handing it to Chen Zhe.
Chen Zhe took it and looked at it, then froze.
This is actually an Infinite Black Gold Credit Card.
His hands were trembling slightly.
"Sister Chen...this...this..."
Chen Si smiled, quite pleased with his startled reaction.
She rested her chin on her hand, looked at him, and said with a grin, "They all say I'm love-struck, so I'll show them. I've heard about the Linglong Club; you can use the money there however you want."
Chen Zhe hesitated for a moment, then returned the card.
Chen Si was stunned, not expecting him to refuse.
"What's wrong? You don't want my money?"
Chen Zhe placed his hands on her shoulders and looked at her with deep affection. "Sister Chen, I don't want to involve you in the Linglong Club incident. If they find out I used your money, they will definitely cause you trouble, which is a consequence I don't want to see."
Chen Si's eyes suddenly welled up with tears; she could tell that Chen Zhe was concerned about her.
"I'm not afraid. I'm rich enough in my life. I don't care about these things. So what if they put pressure on me? It doesn't matter. Besides, I don't believe they can control everything!"
"But I care, Sister Chen. You are clearly a very good person. I don't want to hear outsiders say hurtful things about you. If I really fail this time, and I've used your money, they'll definitely say that you're a stupid woman who would do anything to support a gigolo. I don't want to hear those words, you know?"
Chen Si was truly deeply moved by those words.
She couldn't help but come over and hug Chen Zhe's waist tightly.
"Fool, how could you be so foolish? I told you I didn't care."
...
In the end, Chen Zhe did not accept Chen Si's money. What he said earlier was half true and half false. The true part contained genuine feelings. He really couldn't bear to see Chen Si suffer because of the Linglong Club incident.
The fake part is that he used Chen Si as his escape route.
He knew that what he was doing was a bit despicable. He could sense that Chen Si had fallen deeply in love with him, and that after he said those words, she would love him even more.
This "love" is to prevent himself from having a way out after failure. Chen Zhe is now used to leaving himself many ways out. It would be a foolish thing to blindly gamble everything before he has absolute certainty.
He was on his way back to the Linglong Club in the North District.
He also received a call from Luo Guifang, who said she would support him, but Chen Zhe refused that as well.
His relationship with Luo Guifang wasn't as deep as his relationship with Chen Si. Luo Guifang was more of a benefactor who helped him, and he didn't want to complicate the relationship too much.
He has just returned to the Linglong Club in the North District.
Then Lin Meiyu called.
She sounded a little complaining on the phone, but she was also smiling.
"You little rascal, I've already contacted several older sisters for you, and you still won't take a single penny. What? Are you only trying to take advantage of me?"
Chen Zhe smiled. The fact that those people were able to come to him so quickly meant that someone must have leaked the information, and that person was easily guessed to be Lin Meiyu.
"Sister Lin, I only want to take advantage of you, is that not allowed?"
Lin Meiyu suddenly found those words very beautiful.
"You little brat! You're so annoying, it's bad luck to know you!"
...
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