Internet cafes were booming for a few years, but in 2002, due to the increasing number of illegal and unregulated internet cafes, the government began to strictly regulate the industry.
For example, at the end of 2002, regulations were introduced prohibiting minors from going to internet cafes.
Before that, Guan Baiyu had already sold the internet cafe he owned to someone else.
His internet cafes opened early and are well-managed, unlike the various illegal internet cafes that have suddenly sprung up in the last two years. They also have legitimate operating licenses, so even if the government cracks down hard, his internet cafes can still operate well, and those who buy his internet cafes won't lose money.
Before every household had a computer, internet cafes were always doing very well.
Guan Baiyu sold it mainly because he didn't want to cause trouble.
After selling the internet cafe, Guan Baiyu had a lot of money again, and then he... supported the struggling internet industry.
To put it simply, it means investing money in certain internet companies.
He doesn't stay in Changxi City all the time; he takes time to travel all over the country.
In Changxi City, people in Shi Zhen's circle don't know much about Guan Baiyu, but in the internet industry, Guan Baiyu is quite famous.
The Shengshi Games he works with has developed many interesting mini-games, and almost everyone who has ever been online has played these free mini-games.
Recently, they even launched a really fun online game...
Of course, most importantly, Guan Baiyu has invested in many companies.
He invested early and owns a significant number of shares in these companies. That's not all; he also studied computer science, so when these companies encounter problems, they consult him and he can provide solutions.
Every now and then, he would come up with some new ideas.
This led many people to regard him as a confidant.
Time flies, and it's already 2010. Guan Baiyu and Shi Zhen are both in their early thirties.
Shi Zhen's Baishi Construction has been operating for over ten years. Now, the projects he undertakes are no longer limited to Changxi City. He has bought land and built houses in the provincial capital and even some other major cities. His business can be said to be growing bigger year by year, making a fortune every day.
Since his business grew, Shi Zhen has donated 10% of the company's profits to charity every year.
Whitestone Construction has always maintained a low profile, but its high-quality construction has led to its continued success.
Shi Zhen never got married.
He had a very good reputation in Changxi City, and the wealthy people there had long wanted to marry their daughters to him.
But Shi Zhen kept saying he didn't want to get married, and refused all his kind words.
At first, no one thought much of it, assuming that he was young and busy with his career and didn't want to get married yet.
But as time went on, everyone noticed the problem.
Many of the men in Changxi City who suddenly became rich found themselves surrounded by women after acquiring wealth.
There aren't many men like Liang's father who abandon their wives, but there are quite a few who play around with women.
Shi Zhen was much younger than them, almost old enough to be their son, but he usually associated with them, which made him seem... out of place with them.
This man doesn't drink, nor does he philander. Besides work, he spends his days with his cousin…
That's not my cousin! He's Shi Zhen's lover!
With the rapid development of the internet in recent years and the faster speed of information dissemination, the fact that men like men has become known to more and more people.
Although Shi Zhen and Guan Baiyu were not particularly close in public, they were together every day, so how could anyone not guess their relationship?
Realizing this, no one tried to arrange a marriage for Shi Zhen anymore, which brought him much peace and quiet.
Although those big bosses had questionable private lives, they were not stupid to have built such large businesses. Although they thought Shi Zhen and Guan Baiyu's behavior was a bit inappropriate, they didn't say much and were very polite to Guan Baiyu.
However, some people are not so smart.
One day, Shi Zhen went to a meeting, and out of nowhere a handsome young man in his early twenties appeared and kept trying to get close to him.
At first, he didn't have time to get close to Shi Zhen, but during the meal... he picked up a glass of wine and tried to toast Shi Zhen several times.
Shi Zhen dislikes attending dinner parties, but sometimes he has no choice but to show up on such occasions.
However, he had long ago announced that he did not drink alcohol and only drank boiled water. Over time, everyone got used to it. Occasionally, when they met new acquaintances at dinner parties, those who knew Shi Zhen would tell them that Shi Zhen did not drink alcohol.
However, even though he doesn't drink alcohol, Shi Zhen would still offer people a toast while holding a glass of plain water.
The young man brought a glass of baijiu (Chinese liquor) to toast Shi Zhen, who drank plain water. After toasting him, he downed the glass in one gulp and spoke in a sticky, incoherent manner, praising him incessantly.
Shi Zhen didn't notice him at first, but then he immediately realized something.
Shi Zhen did not drink the water in his hand.
His demeanor was rather aloof, but the man didn't seem to care at all, and kept telling him how much he admired him.
Shi Zhen simply went to talk to someone else and stopped paying attention to the other person.
The young man looked a little embarrassed, but still said, "Mr. Shi, I studied architecture at J University, and your company has always been my goal."
Shi Zhen pretended not to hear. There were plenty of people here, and he didn't need to bother with all the minor characters.
The young man immediately looked aggrieved.
A middle-aged man with a round belly next to him said to Shi Zhen, "Mr. Shi, you're being a bit clueless. Xiao Meng admires you, but you're ignoring her completely."
Shi Zhen said, "I don't know him."
"You'll get to know each other after chatting, won't you?" the middle-aged man said. "Xiao Meng is a college student, and his uncle is the CEO of Changhui... He had to pester his uncle to bring him here."
Shi Zhen frowned and looked into the distance, where he saw Mr. Meng from Changhui smiling at him from the next table.
Shi Zhen said, "I'm not familiar with President Meng either."
Xiao Meng said, "President Shi, I know about your situation and I've always liked you, that's why I came to talk to you... You don't have to do this, do you?"
Shi Zhen clearly wanted to distance himself from them.
Shi Zhen was too lazy to talk to them and simply ignored them.
Xiao Meng was a little angry, but she didn't say anything. The middle-aged man, on the other hand, seemed to be drunk and kept talking: "Mr. Shi, do you have to be like this? Your wife isn't young anymore, is she? Don't you want to find someone younger? Even if I like women, I would like to see Xiao Meng."
This Xiao Meng is indeed good-looking. Although she can't compare to Guan Baiyu, she knows how to dress up and looks quite alluring.
Only then did Shi Zhen look at the middle-aged man: "President Li, be careful what you say."
"What do you mean by being careful with your words... Mr. Shi, haven't you always been decisive and done whatever you want? How come you're still being controlled by your younger brother?" the middle-aged man said.
There are many people eating here today, and quite a few of them are newcomers who only have a vague understanding of the matter concerning Shi Zhen and Guan Baiyu.
They only vaguely knew that Shi Zhen had a male lover whom he kept at the company.
Judging others by their own standards, they thought all men would want to cheat, and at worst, it was just a joke... Then someone else said, "Yeah, Mr. Shi, you're too good to your husband. He's just a man who lives off you..."
Shi Zhen suddenly stood up: "I'm full, goodbye!"
Among those present, Shi Zhen was considered to be of a relatively high status. Seeing Shi Zhen get angry, both President Li and the other person who was speaking felt a bit awkward and thought that Shi Zhen was going too far—it was just a joke, why get so angry?
At this moment, Shi Zhen suddenly looked at them again: "By the way, you're overthinking it. My wife doesn't rely on me for food; she's richer than me."
Shi Zhen was absolutely right.
Guan Baiyu doesn't usually have much money, but the market value of the shares he owns is astonishing, with a total value comparable to that of Baishi Construction.
A few years ago... Guan Baiyu bought shares in some large foreign companies under his guidance.
Most importantly... Baishi Construction also has shares in Baiyu.
Shi Zhen left as soon as he finished speaking. He didn't want to have anything to do with this kind of person anymore.
After Shi Zhen left, General Manager Li couldn't help but say, "General Manager Shi really didn't give me any face..."
There are quite a few people who think like Mr. Li.
They were just talking about Shi Zhen's mistress, was it really necessary to make such a fuss?
However, at that moment, someone scoffed.
Liang Qinxuan was sitting at the next table.
After graduating, he took over Huaguang Stationery. He also came to this gathering of people in Changxi City.
Liang Qinxuan leaned back in his seat and said, "You mean the person he cherishes most, you expect him to give you face?"
Mr. Li chuckled awkwardly, "I didn't know Mr. Shi cared so much about his mistress. I thought..."
"What do you think you are? You know nothing, yet you offend people everywhere... The lover of Shi Zhen that you mentioned is one of the founders of Huaguang," Liang Qinxuan said.
Mr. Li was taken aback. Huaguang is now a nationally renowned stationery brand…
Someone else chimed in, "Old Li, didn't you say your son likes playing games? Those games were made by that company."
"Yeah, he's got his hands on every single one of those internet companies that's gained some recognition lately," someone else said.
"What's so special about that? His status is extraordinary... He has an academician in his family... What's J University compared to him? He was the top scorer in the college entrance examination in J City." An older man said, "Back then, when Shi Zhen met us, he kept telling us about his story."
"He's just too lazy to bother with us. We can't even get to know him... But if you're on good terms with Shi Zhen, you can ask him to act as a go-between and you might be able to talk to him." Someone sighed.
They were initially unaware of Guan Baiyu's situation.
But over time, you'll gradually understand.
The main thing is... in crowded places, Shi Zhen won't say much, but when there are fewer people... Shi Zhen will brag about his cousin all day long.
No, he's not my cousin; that's just a title they made up...
Shi Zhen is someone who flaunts his relationship with his younger brother whenever he has free time.
They all knew how much Shi Zhen valued Guan Baiyu, and only those who didn't have much contact with Shi Zhen dared to speak recklessly... They should stay away from these people in the future.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com