Spirit Shareholder

"No..."

I was so startled that I took several steps back. "Lu Xiaobei, do you have some kind of teleportation ability? How do you manage to suddenly appear next to me every time? I'm truly impressed!"

"I walked over here; you were just too engrossed in watching, weren't you?"

She glanced at the huge poster as well. "So, is it pretty?"

"Nice..."

Hahahaha~~~~

Lu Xiaobei received a satisfactory answer and laughed heartily.

When did you arrive in Huaining City?

"Just arrived."

Lu Xiaobei pointed into the distance. "Look, the taxi that took me from the airport hasn't gone far yet. I just got out of the car and saw you standing here, staring blankly at the poster like a flagpole."

"So you just arrived in Huaining City, and instead of going back to your hotel, you came to my Stream City No. 1?"

"Certainly."

She argued forcefully. "Feiyang Chain Esports Hotel has always been doing very well. If you book a few days later, there won't be any rooms left. Besides, with Sister Xiaoman and Zhao Yihang managing things there, I don't have to worry about it. But with Stream City No. 1, although I didn't invest, I still care a lot about the success or failure of this store. I hope it does very well, you know?"

"Know."

I nodded. "I came here today to check on the renovation progress, would you like to come along?"

"Of course we should go together!"

So, the two of them crossed the road side by side and came to my car.

"Wow, S680+ license plate with five 6s, that's like having a full buff stacked up. I wonder which arrogant guy's car dares to park in front of our Stream City No. 1, so pretentious, humph!"

Lu Xiaobei seemed to have a lot of complaints about this car.

I took out my car keys and pressed a button; the headlights turned on briefly.

"You..."

Lu Xiaobei was shocked. "Your car!?"

"Yes, my new ride!"

Wow, really?!

She immediately pressed her face against the hood, examining the car logo closely. "So cool! So cool..."

"Wait, weren't you just saying this car was too flashy?"

"It would be different if it were your car."

Lu Xiaobei said, "After we check on the renovation progress together, will you drive me around East Lake twice? I'll treat you and Sister Xiaoman to lunch."

"What, did Nine Heavens Music Network have a change of heart and start paying you a salary?"

How did you know?

Lu Xiaobei was stunned. "You, do you actually have some kind of passive talent in the game, like precognition or mind reading?"

"No, that's not true, it's just a guess."

"The last concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum was a huge success, tickets sold out, and General Manager Huang extremely satisfied. So he generously agreed that although I wouldn't get a single penny of the concert money, I would still receive a 100,000 RMB appearance fee for each concert. In Milo's words, it's called a 'hardship fee'!"

With a hopeful look on her face, she said, "If I do the math, doing 20 concerts a year, I could earn 2 million!"

Is that all you've got?

I couldn't help but chuckle, "A top-tier celebrity like you, and you think 2 million a year is enough to satisfy you?"

"There's nothing I can do, times have changed. I signed the contract, and the company covered the hole for Old Lu, so I should be a little grateful, shouldn't I?"

"That's true. Let's go check out the renovations."

"Okay!"

So the two of them went into Stream City No. 1 to check on the progress of the interior renovation.

The manager in charge of the renovation recognized me and greeted me from afar, "Ding Han, you're here?"

"Hmm, come and take a look."

"And this is...?"

He looked at Lu Xiaobei, and the next second he was so shocked he almost lost his soul. "You are Lu... Lu Xiaobei!?"

Is that strange?

I laughed and said, "Lu Xiaobei is a human being, not a giant water monster that jumped out of East Lake."

The manager was a little embarrassed. "Ahem, this is the first time I've met such a big star, I was a bit flustered, I'm so sorry..."

Lu Xiaobei smiled faintly, her dimples revealing that she was used to such things.

Ten minutes later, the two left Stream City No. 1.

The renovation is progressing quickly, and the Cheng Group's renovation team continues to perform consistently well.

"Let's go for a drive!"

Lu Xiaobei had been eyeing my car for a long time, and after leaving the house, he ran all the way and jumped into the passenger seat.

"Ding Han, am I the first person to sit here?" she asked.

"How could that be? Xiaoying sat there yesterday."

"If it's her, then forget it, I'm not angry."

Lu Xiaobei looked resigned. "You haven't ridden this with other women, have you?"

No, you're the second one.

"That's fine!"

She quickly fastened her seatbelt. "Let's go for a drive!"

I was speechless for a moment, so I just drove her around the lake.

After driving around in circles a couple of times, I started to worry about the gas money I'd spent, but there was still some distance to go before lunchtime, so I slammed on the brakes and stopped by the lake, saying, "There are some rocks over there, want to sit for a while?"

"Alright!"

The two got out of the car and sat on a round rock by the lake.

The rich scent of the lake water wafted towards me; it was a familiar scent, one I smelled every day when I was a child fishing.

"Ding Han, you're doing better and better these days..."

Lu Xiaobei sat on a rock, hugging his knees to avoid being exposed, and smiled, "As someone who has watched you grow step by step to where you are today, I am very gratified."

"Xiao Bei."

I looked at her and said, "I'm really gratified that you've transformed yourself from a layabout on the street into a top star and taken on all your family's debts. That way, if I ever leave this place and return to my own world, I'll feel more at ease and can leave with peace of mind."

"Ding Han, you..."

Lu Xiaobei's eyes suddenly reddened. "If we could really return to our original world, would you really go back?"

"Yes, no matter how much I can't bear to part with, I must go back and give that world an explanation."

"What about Lin Qingying?"

"Xiaoying will understand me, and she might not be unable to come back after she goes back, right?"

"And what about me? I..."

She was almost in tears.

"Xiao Bei, these are all things for the future, don't worry about them too much."

"Um!"

She turned her face away to wipe her tears and said, "Milo said he doesn't want to go back, and even if he had the chance to go back, he would choose to stay in this world."

"Perhaps he didn't have so many attachments in his original world."

I looked at the ripples on the lake and said, "But I'm different. If I don't go back, Mom will be all alone in that world, and she'll be very lonely..."

"Yes, I understand you!"

Lu Xiaobei said, "Let's talk about something happy, not this."

"Okay, happy news... How's Milo doing lately? Any news from Lin Jianwei?"

"Wow, is it a happy thing for your brother to get cheated on?"

"Cough cough..."

"Milo is doing well."

Lu Xiaobei said, "He's drowning in debt and is currently considering preparing for a concert, but he's not very confident, fearing that ticket sales will be dismal, since he's nowhere near as good-looking as me."

"That's very true..."

"Ding Han."

Lu Xiaobei smiled and said, "Milo gave me some advice, would you like to hear it?"

"You say."

"He wanted to help me design the content for my next album as soon as possible, because the company bought out the entire rights to my first album, so I didn't receive any income. But once the second album is released, the copyright will be mine."

"It's possible, but..."

I said softly, "Don't rush things. We can't rush this. There should be at least a year between the two albums. If we rush it, the fans will have a hard time processing the new songs. We need to give them a year to listen to the old ones. Otherwise, if the new songs come out too early, it will cause confusion in their memories."

"That's what I think too."

She said casually, "Let's set it for a year from now, and Milo and I will start planning and preparing in advance."

I nodded and didn't say anything more.

Just then, a phone call came in; it was from Cheng Shuang.

"Ding Han, the renovation department told me that the renovation work will be finished in three days. After three more days of ventilation, we can basically open for business. So, the official opening date for Stream City No. 1 is set for seven days from now. Do you think that's okay?"

"Okay, then in seven days!"

"Okay, then I'll prepare in advance!"

Hang up the phone.

"Stream City No. 1 will open in seven days?" Lu Xiaobei asked.

"That's right."

I nodded. "Do you want to come?"

"If I can make it in time, of course I'll be there. After all, even though I haven't invested, I'm still Spirit Shareholder of Stream City No. 1, right?"

"Too..."

I was speechless. Lu Xiaobei's choice of words was too precise; she even came up with the term "Spirit Shareholder."

"Oh, right."

She pursed her lips. "Ding Han, would you like me to be the spokesperson for Stream City No. 1? It's free."

"Ah?"

I was surprised. "I just run a small restaurant, not a big corporation like Yuening, so you won't sign an endorsement deal?"

"Is that so?"

Lu Xiaobei said, "Just let me know if you need anything. If business isn't doing too well, I can help with promotion or do a store visit or something."

At this moment, Cheng Shuang sent a message, which was a collection of pictures.

"Ding Han, these are the uniforms for the waitresses at Stream City No. 1. Pick one, and I'll have it made right away."

I immediately fell in love with the first one.

"What do you think of the first one? I really like it."

This uniform looks a bit like the McDonald's uniform that went viral online before: a dark pink short-sleeved shirt paired with a gray-black skirt, with the Stream City No. 1 logo branded on the skirt.

It's really beautiful.

If a pretty girl wore it, the effect would be even more stunning!

"Sure, I like this one too. Shall we order it?"

"Okay, let's order!"

I smiled slightly, then showed the picture to Lu Xiaobei and said, "Aren't the uniforms for our Stream City No. 1 waitresses nice?"

Wow, it looks great...

Lu Xiaobei was shocked. "Ding Han, I suddenly have an idea."

"What idea?"

"I'll order an extra set of this outfit based on my size. I'll wear it for a set of promotional photos of me as a chef before we open. Do you think that will bring in more customers!"

"Holy crap..."

I was shocked. "If these photos go viral online, Stream City No. 1's business will be booming!"

"Uh-huh!"

Lu Xiaobei nodded repeatedly. "Will you do it or not?"

"Dry!"

"Good!!!"