Internet Cafe Expansion Plan

When Lin Qiye returned to the classroom, his classmates all started asking what had happened.

"Nothing much. Professor Wang was concerned about my meniscus, and I told him I'm exceptionally gifted, so it healed."

Amid the burst of laughter, he returned to his seat. Tian Nina asked awkwardly, "You're not mad at me, are you? I'm sorry, I really didn't know a torn meniscus was that serious."

Lin Qiye deliberately revealed a wickedly charming smile.

"Heh heh, if you do something wrong, you have to be punished. You said you'd keep me company for a whole day, so watch out."

Tian Nina responded with a surprised expression. "Really? I'm so scared. Are you going to eat me up?"

"No."

The two of them were chatting happily, completely unaware that the next class had already begun.

The Econometrics teacher on the podium suddenly stopped lecturing and glared toward the back of the classroom.

"You, the female student with the dyed yellow hair—can you pay attention in class and stop fidgeting down there?"

The teacher was pointing precisely at Tian Nina.

Clearly, her naturally blond hair had caused another misunderstanding.

The whole class burst into laughter.

"What are you laughing at?" The Econometrics teacher got angry. "Is this your attitude in class? You, the girl with dyed hair, stand up and analyze the trend in changes to national industrial output from 2009 to 2011."

Good lord. A question like that could be used for a graduation thesis. How could anyone just answer it on the spot?

Tian Nina stood up and began playing dumb.

"Sajnálom, tanárúr. Nem tudlak követni."

That was Hungarian.

It meant: Sorry, teacher, I don't understand what you're saying.

Seeing that she was a foreigner, the Econometrics teacher muttered, "Fine. I don't care which country you're an international student from. Since you're in my class, you have to sit quietly and listen."

"Understood." The moment Tian Nina spoke, it was obvious she had given herself away. Fortunately, the teacher didn't pursue it, so the matter passed just like that.

They behaved themselves and stayed in the classroom for the entire morning.

At noon, Jiang Dabao asked, "Where are you going this afternoon?"

Lin Qiye replied, "I probably can't come again this afternoon. I have to go to Computer City to talk about computer specs."

Li Nanguang was surprised. "One hundred computers in the Internet Cafe still aren't enough?"

Lin Qiye replied, "Not enough. The second floor is part of the Internet Cafe too. Uncle Li has always left it empty. I'm planning to renovate it and add another fifty computers. As for the remaining space, I'll set up some live-action games like Script Murder."

Tian Nina asked in confusion, "What's Script Murder?"

Right, Script Murder was something that would only become popular much later. What was just starting to take off now was Werewolf.

Lin Qiye quickly explained, "Have you heard of Werewolf? It's a lot like that."

Reasoning games like Werewolf were already popular on campus, and this made for a good topic.

As the conversation deepened, Tian Nina grew increasingly interested. "A reasoning script, and then everyone plays different roles according to a fixed script mode to reason together and solve the case? That sounds so interesting. Oh right, our Chinese Department and Drama Club are jointly holding a reasoning-script writing contest. Big Lin, do you want to sponsor it?"

That was actually a good idea. Sponsoring a reasoning-script writing contest would also allow him to request that the scripts be adapted into Script Murder games. It would probably attract plenty of university students to participate in this new kind of reasoning game.

Li Qiye agreed.

"Sponsorship is fine, but you have to give us naming rights, and the promotion has to mention that it's specially sponsored by Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens Entertainment Culture Co., Ltd."

"In that case, I'll go back and talk to my senior about it, see if they agree."

With the conversation at this point, it was time to go eat.

Jiang Dabao and Li Nanguang took the initiative to leave first, leaving Lin Qiye and Tian Nina behind.

"Where do you want to eat?" Lin Qiye asked.

"The cafeteria, I guess. I heard the Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish at the Second Canteen comes in huge portions. My roommate strongly recommended it."

"Then let's go to the Second Canteen."

The two of them got up and left the classroom, walking toward the cafeteria.

The school cafeteria was actually pretty good too. The prices were affordable, the flavors varied, and the food was also quite light.

Moreover, the different cafeterias were in competition with each other, often using specialty dishes to attract students.

For example: stir-fried pork with watermelon flesh, mooncakes stir-fried with chili peppers, pineapple and tomatoes, and other shocking dishes.

By comparison, Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish was very normal, just a tiny bit on the sweet side.

A big piece of Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish cost five yuan. Tian Nina couldn't finish it by herself, so she gave half to Lin Qiye.

The two sat opposite each other and ate, chatting and laughing from time to time, drawing sideways glances from the students around them.

Seeing this, Tian Nina laughed softly and said, "I'm a foreign girl, and you're a university-student boss. That's way too much gossip material. I guarantee that after today, all kinds of rumors will spread around the school."

After finishing the last mouthful of rice, Lin Qiye replied, "That's you girls. We're not that bored."

Tian Nina retorted, "Really? There's a rumor at school saying you're the illegitimate son of some financial tycoon, which is why you've been able to invest successfully over and over. That rumor came out of the boys' dorms in your Department of Economics."

Good grief, how had he suddenly become someone's illegitimate son? These college students' imaginations were way too wild.

Lin Qiye immediately felt that the looks people around him were giving him had gained a little more meaning.

In those gazes, there was envy, jealousy, and even more emotions that were hard to put into words.

So this was what it felt like to become a public figure. It wasn't exactly good, but it wasn't exactly bad either.

He patiently waited for Tian Nina to finish eating, then the two of them left the cafeteria.

Lin Qiye stated their next stop. "First, we'll go to Computer City to discuss the specs and get a quote, then we'll go take a look at the Internet Cafe."

After that, the two of them went to Computer City first. They went to the same company where he had bought the laptop last time, which was also the largest PC assembly company in Computer City.

When the staff heard their requirements for the builds, they welcomed the two of them warmly.

Then they brought out a list of configurations for them to choose from.

"We have all kinds of models here, suitable for the needs of all kinds of internet cafes."

Lin Qiye tugged at his collar. "I need to think it over."

"Please take your time. I'll pour you both some tea." The staff member left attentively.

Tian Nina glanced at the quotation sheet. "There's so much to choosing computers? I thought they were all the same."

But she did not hear Lin Qiye's answer.

The way that man seriously studied the configuration list was enough to make Tian Nina mesmerized. Perhaps this was what people meant when they said beauty was in the eye of the beholder.

After a while, Lin Qiye spoke.

"None of these will do. I need to change them."

He wrote on a blank configuration sheet, then showed it to the staff member.

Looking at the specifications, the staff member was very surprised. "With such high-end specs, the quote for one unit will be almost four thousand. The most expensive original configuration we have here is only three thousand. Wouldn't that be too extravagant?"

"Do you have the stock?" Lin Qiye replied.

"I'm not sure about that. Please wait a moment."

The staff member walked aside to make a phone call. After a while, a middle-aged man in a suit walked into the store.

He smiled and spoke with Lin Qiye. "Hello, I'm the manager of this store. We can meet your requirements. May I ask how many units you need?"

"Fifty."

"Please wait a moment. I'll calculate it."

The manager took out a calculator and calculated according to the quotation sheet. After a while, he gave the result.

"The total quote is about two hundred and fifty thousand. This includes computer desks as well as the entire installation process."

Standing beside the manager, Tian Nina, who had also calculated it on her phone according to the quote, spoke up. "That's not right, Boss. The result I got is two hundred and twenty-five thousand. Are your computer desks and installation fee really twenty-five thousand?"