Celebrity Check-in

After breakfast, Zhang Yang personally drove Chen Zhuo to the station.

"Old classmate, next time you come to Gusu, let me take good care of you," Chen Zhuo said sincerely before getting out of the car.

"Okay, I'll definitely go." Zhang Yang nodded, then watched Chen Zhuo get out of the car.

The encounter with my old classmate was just a passing episode; we crossed paths this time, but there may not be a next time.

After leaving the high-speed rail station, Zhang Yang went straight to his InterContinental Garden Hotel.

He's been coming to the hotel quite frequently lately. Naturally, many people recognize his iconic Cullinan and are familiar with his license plate number.

I know, this is the boss's car.

The car parked blatantly right at the bottom of the steps outside the lobby, and the hotel doorman jogged over.

"Mr. Zhang."

"Stop the car for me." Zhang Yang casually handed the doorman the car keys, opened the door, got out, took a few steps, and then turned back to ask, "What's your name?"

"Mr. Zhang, my name is Xiao Wang, my name is Xiao Wang." The doorman was excited, and a scene from a TV series he had recently watched flashed through his mind, in which the protagonist worked diligently as a doorman and was unexpectedly appreciated by the boss.

Is there anything else you need?

"That's all. Well, keep up the good work." Zhang Yang said a few words of encouragement, then turned and left.

The reason I asked is because this doorman has been parking my car every time I come recently, and he seems quite clever.

In the hotel lobby, Qu Shanshan, who had been promoted to front office manager, was giving instructions.

Upon seeing Zhang Yang, he quickly jogged over.

"Hello, Mr. Zhang."

Her successful promotion to front office manager made her realize even more clearly who her biggest asset was in the hotel.

Within the entire InterContinental Garden Hotel, Mr. Zhang is undoubtedly the most powerful person. Who stays and who leaves, who gets promoted and who gets demoted—it's all up to Mr. Zhang's word.

Naturally, she was single-mindedly focused on currying favor with Mr. Jin.

"Hmm, can you handle the new position?" Zhang Yang nodded, continuing on his way.

Qu Shanshan jogged up beside him and struck up a conversation. "Everything is fine. Thank you for your appreciation, Mr. Zhang. Shanshan will definitely do her best."

"Keep it up, you have the ability and experience." Zhang Yang thought for a moment, "By the way, if anything happens, report to me promptly. There's no need to come to the office, understand?"

"Shanshan understands." Qu Shanshan nodded quickly and stepped forward to press the elevator button.

A short while later, the elevator arrived.

Zhang Yang walked straight in and headed straight for his office.

The saying "If you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them" doesn't mean he doesn't trust Yu Kaili, but rather that different perspectives lead to different views.

Yu Kaili, being a GM, might not notice some minor details, but Qu Shanshan is different.

Moreover, Qu Shanshan is quite sensible and has not become the kind of person who specializes in tattling. The information she reports is quite valuable.

Inside the office, Yu Kaili arrived just as I had finished half a cup of tea.

"Mr. Zhang, Zheng Zhong Design Studio has prepared several design plans based on your needs, and we need your approval." Yu Kaili first reported on Zhang Yang's Peach Blossom Spring Garden mansion renovation. "They've also specially arranged for someone to come over."

Zhang Yang's budget was 100 million yuan, which is a major project that Zheng Zhong Design Studio should take seriously. Therefore, it is normal for the other party to send someone over to coordinate.

"Where is he?" Zhang Yang asked casually.

"You'll stay at our hotel for now," Yu Kaili quickly said.

"Get the projector ready in the conference room. I happen to have some free time, go take a look," Zhang Yang instructed.

"Yes, Mr. Zhang, I'll go and fetch someone right away."

A moment later, in a small meeting room in the hotel, staff from Zheng Zhong Design Studio were showcasing several design proposals.

Zhang Yang sat in the back, observing silently and listening to their conversation.

"Mr. Zhang, this proposal uses mountains and water as a medium, integrates the Suzhou-style garden, and takes the elegant and classical style to its extreme."

"The core of this plan is a family mansion, featuring a bold and expansive style that better aligns with the essence of a grand residence..."

"This set of paintings is in the style of traditional Chinese ink wash painting..."

Each style has its own merits, but they all have one thing in common: they are expensive, yet luxurious and understated. They possess a truly high-end aesthetic that reveals its true beauty in the unintentional. In terms of artistic conception, each one is more sublime than the last.

"This one, I'll choose." Zhang Yang made his selection based on his own preference.

While the heavy, traditional Chinese style is nice, it's not quite suitable for his age. He prefers the elegant, refined style with its poetic and picturesque landscapes and relief carvings.

Of course, if he were in his forties or fifties, his tastes would be different, and he might prefer the grand and heavy Chinese style.

"Yu Kaili, could you coordinate with these people?"

He stood up, gave some instructions, and left first, leaving the specific details to Yu Kaili for further coordination.

From his office, he remotely controlled Cloud Sea Capital in Magic City.

Just now, Zhou Zhaodong sent over a list of the latest investment projects.

With an annual investment quota of 300 million yuan, it is naturally impossible to waste it; investment is at least the main business of Cloud Sea Capital on the surface at present.

"Good Goods Select?"

Zhang Yang took a look at this latest investment project: an e-commerce live streaming company.

Currently, e-commerce live streaming is booming, so it's not surprising that their own company is optimistic about this area and is entering the e-commerce live streaming market.

The investment in this project is 20 million, representing a 30% stake.

Venture capital investment; holding shares but not controlling shares.

A 30% stake is basically the highest percentage a venture capitalist can get.

Being recognized by the Cloud Sea Capital team must mean they have merit. Zhang Yang casually found the live stream room of this Premium Goods and checked the current number of viewers.

"Over 5,000 online users?"

There are countless live-streaming e-commerce companies, but being able to consistently have over 5,000 online viewers is already quite an achievement, especially compared to the top performers with over 100,000 online viewers.

Zhang Yang paused in the live stream for a long time, taking the opportunity to observe the live stream's style.

Unlike other live streaming platforms that primarily focus on influencer management, this live streaming e-commerce company is essentially a platform.

To put it simply, other e-commerce live streaming companies are essentially people; they are supported by internet celebrities.

However, this selection of quality products is primarily platform-driven; the platform remains constant, while the livestreamers come and go.

As a qualified venture capital firm, it is impossible to invest in an e-commerce company that revolves entirely around internet celebrities. The risk would be too great, since a company cannot rely on just one person.

However, there is no such concern when building a platform.

"Not bad. It's been quite a while, and although the number of viewers has fluctuated, it's generally remained quite stable." After a while, Zhang Yang looked at the number of viewers in the live stream and muttered to himself.

Right now, in the live stream room, a quiet and bookish-looking female anchor is talking eloquently.

Selling books...

Her words were eloquent and witty, and viewers in the live stream frequently expressed their admiration.

"I've learned a lot; I feel I've benefited greatly."

"I just placed an order and am going back to help my child with their studies."

Zhang Yang glanced at the products on sale; there weren't many categories, mainly food, books, and fresh fruits and vegetables.

Judging by the sales figures, they're decent, nothing special.

Half an hour later, a different male anchor appeared.

The male host also spoke fluently and naturally, unlike the usual style of those who bombard viewers with promotions and discounts. Overall, this "Good Goods Select" style was more refreshing and comfortable.

You could even call it a bit Zen.

Zhang Yang stayed in the live broadcast room until around noon. In the monotonous e-commerce live broadcast rooms, the style of "Good Products Selection" was distinctive, fresh, natural, and unhurried, forming a stark contrast with other live broadcast rooms.

Zhang Yang made a special trip to Zhou Zhaodong to inquire further.

"Chairman Zhang, the founders of Good Goods Select used to run an offline training institution before switching to e-commerce. The original professions of the livestreamers there were mostly teachers," Zhou Zhaodong reported.

"We assessed our customer profile, which mainly consists of middle-class, highly educated individuals with a certain level of spending power and aesthetic taste, mostly aged between 25 and 40."

"Moreover, this general knowledge and slow-paced live-streaming style can effectively alleviate viewers' aesthetic fatigue from shouting-style product sales. Therefore, our live-streaming room has a stable number of viewers, high engagement, and a high repurchase rate."

Zhang Yang nodded.

To put it bluntly, even though there are only 5,000 people online right now, almost all of them are die-hard fans, there's no fluff, and they are all potential customers.

Although some live streams have tens of thousands of viewers, the majority are just onlookers watching for the spectacle.

"Okay, that's good."

He ended the call with Zhou Zhaodong without giving it much thought; he simply felt that the project had potential.

However, since it was just a shareholding and there was no real sense of ownership, Zhang Yang quickly put the matter out of his mind.

At noon, Zhang Yang went directly to the Chinese restaurant upstairs for lunch.

During the meal, Zhang Yang casually sent a message to Xiang Xiaotian.

"You're up?"

After a while, the message finally arrived, accompanied by a sleepy-eyed photo.

"I was still half asleep. Zhang Ge, you're so mean! You disappeared after posting the photos yesterday, keeping me up all night. And I think I'm even a little swollen."

"Edema?" Curious, Zhang Yang zoomed in on the photo.

Okay, looking closely, Xiang Xiaotian's eyes do look a little swollen, but not obviously. At first glance, her eyes are glistening with tears, as if she has been crying.

"Okay, it's not obvious. I'll make it up to you later," Zhang Yang said, offering a few words of comfort.

"Hmph, compensation... how about you hold me and sleep, and then... as punishment, you can only hold me and can't do anything else," Xiang Xiaotian suddenly suggested.

"Never mind then, no compensation," Zhang Yang replied.

"Good brother, I was wrong, I'll change. How about you hold me while I sleep, and then you can do anything to me?" Xiang Xiaotian pleaded.

Zhang Yang ate his meal while chatting idly with Xiang Xiaotian.

They went back and forth, and it was quite enjoyable.

"Fine, I'll find another way to compensate you. I heard that Tian Chuxi is staying at your hotel. Could you get me an autographed photo?" Xiang Xiaotian sent a message.

"Tian Chuxi? Who's that?" Zhang Yang felt the name sounded familiar.

"A post-2000s actress, she's incredibly beautiful! Wait, you don't know her?" Xiang Xiaotian exclaimed in surprise.

"Let me look into it," Zhang Yang replied hastily.

It doesn't mean he doesn't know them; it just means he doesn't usually follow the entertainment industry. Plus, he's a grown man who doesn't usually watch historical dramas starring young actresses, so it's normal that he doesn't know them.

Zhang Yang casually searched online. Immediately, various Caught in the Web results appeared, and judging from the popularity, they were quite high.

It's obvious that she's a rising star among the new generation.

"Oh, it's her."

Upon seeing the face, Zhang Yang slowly realized who it was.

Last year, there was a super popular historical romance drama where Tian Chuxi played the female lead. I watched two episodes, but I couldn't keep up with the plot. However, I was impressed by the female lead's appearance.

Yes, it's very ethereal and pure, with an innocent and alluring quality.

"But how come I didn't know I checked into the hotel?" Zhang Yang muttered to himself, then found it unsurprising.

After all, for the people below, such a large hotel would inevitably have some public figures staying there on a regular basis, and there was no need to bother the owner with every little thing.

"Yu Kaili, would it be convenient for you to come to my office?" Zhang Yang made the phone call.

A short while later, Yu Kaili rushed over.

"I have a question for you. I heard that Tian Chuxi is staying at our hotel?" Zhang Yang asked.

"Yes, Mr. Zhang, but he hasn't arrived yet. It seems he'll be here this afternoon," Yu Kaili quickly said. "You...would you like to get to know him?"

"Someone wants an autographed photo," Zhang Yang said.

"Mr. Zhang, this is easy to handle. I'll just contact their agent directly," Yu Kaili said without hesitation.

"Oh, by the way, could you ask her if it's convenient for me to invite her to dinner?" Zhang Yang suddenly suggested. "It's a way of showing hospitality and making friends."

Zhang Yang didn't really think too much about it; he was just curious and wanted to get to know them, hoping to make a good connection.

No, that's fine too.

After all, he's just checking into a hotel; we don't have to give him special treatment.

"Well... Mr. Zhang, shall I ask him for you?" Yu Kaili suggested tentatively.

"Give it a try, if it doesn't work, then forget it." Zhang Yang didn't intend for Yu Kaili to force him to do it, after all, it was just a sudden idea of his.

In the afternoon, the number of fans cheering at the hotel entrance gradually increased.

The hotel specifically arranged for staff to maintain order and keep the road clear.

Around 2 PM, a black van arrived in a hurry.

"Tian Chuxi!"

"Tian Chuxi has arrived! Tian Chuxi, I love you!"

A chorus of shouts immediately erupted from the surrounding area.

Shortly after, the car door opened, and a girl wearing a mask and sunglasses hurriedly walked into the hotel, escorted by several staff members.

In the hotel lobby, Yu Kaili greeted them with a smile.

"Welcome, Ms. Tian, to our InterContinental Garden Hotel. This way, please. Everything is arranged."

"Mr. Yu, thank you for your trouble." The agent stepped forward politely to greet him.

"Of course, of course." Then, Yu Kaili personally accompanied them, seeing them all the way to the elevator and up to their guest rooms.