Chapter 53
[The new ark runs so fast, hahaha!]
[Shaoqi and Lei Ling weren't discovered yet, but he and Yun Jingcheng are the most unlucky.]
[Who told him to specifically request to be put on the back burner! That's how the arrangements went wrong, hahaha!]
[You kids were awesome! You weren't scared of that haunted house at all!]
[I'm really looking forward to the final scene with Ryūji; I can't even imagine how hellish it will be.]
[Rubbing hands together, I'm really looking forward to it!] "Meng Cheng! How did you guys run into each other?!"
"Captain Leng, you have radar, that's how you found this."
Meng Cheng was almost overwhelmed by the successive waves of joy. His teammates were chattering away on his phone, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.
After everyone quieted down, he cautiously asked, "So... can we continue the game?"
Leng Zhi: "That's right. Yu Fu has already assembled the team, but they're still choosing a location for the base. All they're missing is our genius jungler, Brother Meng."
Brother Meng was almost in tears: "You guys have given me so many surprises, I need to calm down first."
"Wait! Listen to me!" Yu Fu interrupted them.
Under everyone's gaze, he made a mournful face and delivered his bad news: "The team is indeed formed, but our team base is gone, and Old Man Yu has cut off my funding."
Leng Zhi: "...?" They completely forgot that at the same time, Jiang Yijing and Jiang Mingzhe were still waiting for Leng Zhi to return at the restaurant.
The restaurant service was excellent. Shortly after Leng Zhi left, the dishes were served to the table and placed in small plates in front of each person.
Jiang Mingzhe idly poked at the roasted potatoes served with his knife and fork: "Where's Dad? When can we eat?"
Jiang Yijing lowered his eyes: "You eat first, I'll go see what's going on."
Upon receiving the order, the little one immediately began to devour the roasted potatoes.
Hehe, potatoes are delicious, I don't want to wait for my bad dad!
The limited-edition beverage shop is not far from the Western restaurant, just across the street. You can see everything in front of the shop from the entrance.
When Jiang Yijing came out, this was the scene he saw:
Leng Zhi and the parent of Meng De from the next class were facing each other with their fists clasped together and their eyes fixed on each other with unwavering determination.
It's strange, they seem like revolutionary comrades-in-arms, but also like childhood friends of many years.
President Jiang stood with his arms crossed for a while, without saying a word.
He gradually felt a subtle, bittersweet feeling spreading through his heart.
He made a phone call to his secretary.
"Li Yang, help me check, the parents of a child named Meng De who lives next door to Jiang Mingzhe Kindergarten."
"Okay, is there any other information?" Li Yang asked thoughtfully, while inwardly grumbling about how his secretary did everything.
Leng Zhi didn't talk to Meng Cheng for long because Meng De arrived.
After waiting for a long time in the restaurant without seeing his brother, Meng De jumped down from the high round chair and ran out to find Meng Cheng.
Fortunately, the beverage shop was right next door, and he spotted Brother Cheng at a glance.
Big brother is chatting with Jiang Mingzhe's dad! Humph, it's one thing for Jiang Mingzhe to try and steal the Squirrel King from him, but why is he even trying to steal his parents' place!
"Brother!" The cub's cry pierced through the crowd.
Meng Cheng suddenly realized: "So it was you, Captain, who told me that Jiang Mingzhe's other father said his wife hoped I wouldn't get involved in the kids' smartwatch games!"
Meng Cheng rubbed his hands together, eager to compete: "Then I absolutely cannot admit defeat! Captain, let's have a showdown and see who scores the highest in the end!"
Leng Zhi snorted: "Childish. If you feel rusty because you haven't played games these past few days, you can start practicing more tomorrow."
Meng Cheng: !!!
This is an abuse of public power for private gain! He protested!
Before Meng Cheng could think of a rebuttal, Meng De's voice came from behind him.
"How did you get out here?" He caught the baby who pounced on him.
Although it was a child with no blood relation to his soul, Mengde's clinginess was undiminished, and even seemed somewhat adorable.
"Brother, you've been gone for so long!" Meng De pressed his little face against Meng Cheng's body, refusing to let go.
Looking at this scene that felt so familiar, Leng Zhi finally remembered Jiang Mingzhe.
"Damn it! I forgot about them!" He grabbed Bulbasaur Z's limited edition drink and started running without looking back.
Back at the restaurant, he repeatedly apologized to the owner, who was still waiting for him and hadn't touched his knife and fork: "Sorry to keep you waiting. I just ran into an old friend and we got so caught up in our conversation that I forgot the time."
"Old friend?" Jiang Yijing repeated the three words over and over, his face expressionless.
Although he vaguely sensed that this might not be the "pursuer" relationship that Li Yang had mentioned, Jiang Yijing still felt a lump in his throat when he thought of Leng Zhi's spirited appearance as he chatted and laughed with the other party.
Leng Zhi was completely oblivious to his boss's subtle jealousy. He sat down next to Jiang Mingzhe with ease and said, "Yes, we used to play games together online."
The knife and fork sliced through the steak, cutting out a perfectly shaped piece of beef.
"You have many friends like that?" the boss asked casually.
Leng Zhi paused for a moment, then gave a non-lie-like answer: "Not many, just four online friends."
Jiang Yijing paused slightly with his knife and fork.
Four?
There can't be... four suitors, can there?
Jiang Yijing paused, then seemed to remember something: "He's an e-sports player."
Li Yang blurted out, "Esports again? Is it someone Mr. Leng knows?"
He immediately remembered the gossip Qin Xuemei had sent him a few days ago on a variety show.
Although he forgot about it during his busy work schedule, Jiang's mention of it reminded Li Yang that the "suitor" named Zou Shu was also a skilled e-sports player.
What a coincidence that Mrs. Jiang is also an e-sports expert?
Jiang Yijing caught Li Yang's ambiguous words and lowered his voice: "And... is there something else?"
Li Yang dared not hide anything any longer and immediately recounted everything he had seen and heard in the past few days, from the suspicious visitors in the security room to the public chat messages on the variety game that were rejected by the backstage team.
Finally, he added, "However, none of this has been leaked out, so President Jiang can rest assured."
Li Yang didn't know if President Jiang was at ease; he only knew that there was silence on the other end of the phone.
From the secretary's perspective, in principle, Mr. Leng's private romantic relationships are not a problem as long as they do not affect the Jiang family's reputation in the public eye.
However, President Jiang seems to be paying too much attention to Mr. Leng lately—at least more than the level of attention a boss would pay to a subordinate.
Mr. Jiang on the other end of the phone seemed unwilling to say more, only giving a few instructions before hanging up.
Contrary to Li Yang's guess, Jiang Yijing calmed down.
He returned to the opposite side of Jiang Mingzhe, his fingertips gently resting on the handle of the steak knife.
When two similar "suitors" appeared at the same time, Jiang Yijing instinctively sensed the hidden story behind it.
However, there were still not enough clues, so he could only suppress the subtle feelings in his heart.
“Today I went back to report on my startup, and Old Man Yu said he would give me his opinion, so he took your resumes over to look at them.”
"As a result, his expression became increasingly strange. Finally, he slammed the stack of reports on the coffee table and said that I couldn't even select the right people, and that I had only recruited those who had never achieved anything... In the end, he said that I either had to replace them with a group of capable candidates, or I shouldn't expect him to invest another penny."
Yu Fu described it in a straightforward manner. In reality, when Yu's father saw the resume his youngest son submitted, he genuinely couldn't understand how he, who had earned so much money, could have given birth to such a fool.
A bespectacled boy still in school, a street urchin working as a waiter in a restaurant, and a wealthy young lady—none of these three people have a record of reaching the top in the game.
When he asked Yu Fu where the fifth contestant was, the scoundrel stammered, "I've chosen mine too, but I haven't been able to contact him yet... Give me some more time."
Old Man Yu: ? ? ?
What do you mean by having someone in mind but being unable to contact them? I've never heard of such a thing before. Did this mysterious fifth person just fall from the sky?
In his thirty years of business, he had never seen such an unreliable project.
"No, we have to change the players. If you don't know how to choose, I'll pay you to poach a few top players from those famous teams to oversee things." Old Man Yu said decisively, leaving no room for negotiation.
Yu Fu didn't know how to explain to him that to build an excellent team, it wasn't enough to simply poach players; the most important thing was the synergy between the players and the overall strength of the team.
He couldn't explain that he had actually been replaced, and that the five of them were the strongest e-sports team in China.
So he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "I can't switch. No matter what you think, I have to fight all four of them."
Old Man Yu was so angry that he glared and his beard bristled: "Then you can go play by yourself, I won't invest any money in you!"
In this video call, Yu Fu could only pin his hopes on Captain Yu: "Captain, I'm out of money, sob sob sob."
Leng Zhi remained calm: "He manages his own money, and there's nothing we can do about it. Besides, from an outsider's perspective, this is indeed an unreliable team."
Even though it was through a phone screen, the captain's words were like a stabilizing force, calming everyone's hearts:
"As long as all five of us are here, there's no game we can't win."
They silently repeated this sentence to themselves, and the joy of finding Meng Cheng quickly overshadowed the bad news.
Meng Cheng clenched his fist and held it in the air: "We are a grassroots team that fought our way out of internet cafes. Even if we have to do it all over again, it doesn't matter."
Leng Zhi raised his fist and blocked his friend's right fist.
[Jiang Mingzhe has evolved into an NPC!]
[As expected of him, I have a feeling he'll pick up other props later.]
[Little genius Mingzhe!]
[He actually sneakily lay down on the ground and waited to scare the NPCs!]
[What a naughty baby, but Auntie loves him~]
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