Old Friends Meet Again

Shortly thereafter, Zhang Zhaohai found a professional manager who had previously worked in management at a well-known chain restaurant but had returned to Yinghai due to family matters.

All thirty Haiqin Restaurant are located in Yinghai. Although they are chain stores, they are not difficult to manage.

Therefore, the newly appointed professional manager naturally found the job easy.

With their business settled, the couple waved goodbye and, without a word, went on a round-the-world trip.

This round-the-world trip only has a start date.

The end is nowhere in sight.

Before they left, they told Zhang Yang that since there was nothing left to worry about, he should take advantage of his remaining years and good health to travel all over the world.

As for when I'll be back...

They'll naturally come back when needed, which is a subtle way of pressuring people to get married or have grandchildren.

Zhang Yang pretended to be confused even though he knew the truth.

My parents want to go on a round-the-world trip. Go ahead, they can stay as long as they want.

He even arranged for Honey Badger Security personnel to secretly follow him.

As for the children...

As I said before, Cloud Sea Technology won't have a baby until it reaches the top spot in the world.

It seems certain that Cloud Sea Technology will be among the world's top 500 companies in the future, but whether it will become the world's number one in market capitalization is still uncertain.

Because the goal is to become the number one company by market capitalization.

This company is destined to change the world.

··

In Magic City, Zhang Yang sped through the streets in his dazzling Apollo supercar.

Among the top figures in China, he is considered an anomaly.

Most of the time, like the super tycoons in the eyes of the world, he lives a secluded life, always chauffeured around, maintaining a low-key and profound demeanor unique to tycoons.

However, his age also meant that he could be young and impetuous.

For example, personally driving a supercar.

It's a bit strange and incongruous for a super tycoon to personally drive a supercar, but it seems unusually reasonable for a super tycoon under thirty to drive a supercar.

"Mr. Zhang! Hello, Mr. Zhang!"

As I was parking, another car pulled up beside me. The young people inside were so excited their faces turned red. They were holding their dogs and waving excitedly at me.

Zhang Yang immediately recognized it as a simulated dog from his company.

These individuals are naturally also fans of Yun.

Just like there are rice fans and peanut fans, the fans of Cloud Sea Technology are naturally called Yun fans, a title bestowed upon them by the fans themselves.

"Hello." Zhang Yang nodded and greeted everyone in a friendly and dashing manner.

His current public persona is that of a business tycoon, a technological genius, and an entrepreneurial idol for countless young people.

Naturally, one's outward appearance should be more approachable.

His greeting sent the young people into a frenzy of excitement.

"Ahhh! My idol talked to me!"

"Mr. Zhang, Mr. Zhang, I'm a big fan of Yunhai. When will you release your next generation product, and what will it be?"

"The next generation of products?" Zhang Yang smiled. "Please wait and see; they won't disappoint."

He needs to create a legendary Cloud Sea Technology.

He wants Cloud Sea Technology's annual new product launches to be highly anticipated and attract worldwide attention.

Just like Apple, which changed the world in the past.

A short while later, Apollo, with his legendary appearance, departed.

The young people who were still there were still excited and eager to share their chance encounter with Mr. Zhang on social media.

··

Standing outside an office building in Magic City, Pudong, Zhang Yang looked up, smiled, and walked into the building.

The system has naturally been upgraded several times in the past two years.

The daily cashback offer has been mentioned repeatedly.

However, compared to the vast and continuous cash flow generated by his current businesses, it's barely worth mentioning.

As for the upgrade gift packs, they are mostly material rewards.

A private jet in Shenzhen Bay No. 1 in Shenzhen, China, and a global roaming pass for a private jet, with all flight expenses reimbursed.

Oh, and this company in front of us: Sky Tour Pan-Entertainment

This is a company engaged in IP development and operation, holding the full copyrights of many well-known works. In recent years, it has also cooperated with another company under its umbrella Guangrui Media, to develop film and television adaptations of many works.

Of course, given the size of this company, he wouldn't necessarily pay much attention to it.

The reason for this visit is solely because of the company's current CEO.

His parents had just started their round-the-world trip, but this person had only returned from their round-the-world trip a year ago.

This person was none other than Leman, whom he had sent on Le Man -the-world trip.

Who is Le Man? She is the older sister of her younger cousin's classmate. She had a marriage of convenience with her ex-husband, but he only had eyes for his first love, Zhang Yang, so he naturally took her as his girlfriend.

A year ago, after returning from her Le Man didn't contact him; instead, she quietly joined the company on her own.

This is Sky Tour Pan-Entertainment.

It wasn't until six months ago, when Zhang Yang acquired all the shares of Sky Tour Pan-Entertainment from the gift package, that the two were reunited after a long separation.

The gift pack also includes a talent buff, which can be applied to any member of Sky Tour Pan-Entertainment, granting them exceptional leadership skills.

Needless to say, the natural course of action is to apply this buff to Le Man, allowing her to manage the company for him.

In the past six months, Sky Tour Pan-Entertainment has been thriving under the management of Le Man, and has become quite well-known in the industry.

Sixteenth floor

Sky Tour Pan-Entertainment

"Chairman Zhang..."

"It's Chairman Zhang."

The young women at the front desk were taken aback, then quickly stood up excitedly to greet them.

"Good morning." Zhang Yang nodded and strolled into Sky Tour Pan-Entertainment.

The company is quite large, spanning two floors, with around two hundred employees, all in their twenties, and the management team is only in their thirties. The company culture is youthful and positive, filled with elements that appeal to young people, with posters and characters from the company's adapted IPs displayed throughout the company.

Zhang Yang knew the way well and went straight to the CEO's office.

Then, they pushed open the door and entered.

Inside the office, a woman dressed in a professional uniform, exuding an air of dignified elegance, was working with her head down—it was Le Man.

"Busy?" Zhang Yang asked with a smile as he closed the door.

"Chairman Zhang?" Le Man looked up, her eyes filled with surprise as she stood up. "What brings you here?!"

"Just came to see you." Zhang Yang sat down with practiced ease, casually pulling Le Man into his arms. "The company's recent big moves have been doing quite well in the market, and you've contributed a lot to that..."

"Chairman Zhang is a good leader."

"Don't be so bureaucratic. I don't care how you address me in public, but there's no need to be so polite in private," Zhang Yang said with a smile, casually slipping his hand under Le Man's clothes.

Instantly, my hands were covered in a smooth, warm texture.

Le Man trembled slightly, then nestled obediently in Zhang Yang's arms, letting that hand explore freely within her.

The office door was closed, and the office was quiet and peaceful.

After lingering tenderly for a while, Le Man got up from Zhang Yang's embrace and went to retrieve the company's latest project to report to Zhang Yang.

An anime adaptation of a super popular work.

The film or television adaptation of a certain work.

A certain work has been adapted into a mobile game.

"By the way, I've recently taken a liking to Su Xiaoran's new work and am planning to acquire the film and television adaptation rights," Le Man chatted casually. "It's really super good... I think it's the pinnacle of her work in recent years, and the adaptation should be a hit."

"Su Xiaoran?" Zhang Yang muttered to himself.

"A super popular female writer, huh? But your career is as vast as the stars and the sea, so naturally you wouldn't pay attention to such trivial matters," Le Man said with a smile.

Zhang Yang blinked and remained silent.

He naturally remembered who Su Xiaoran was... wasn't she the one he had deliberately approached a few years ago to complete his mission?

Su Xiaoran, real name Xie Shuting.

The two spent some time together in the misty rain of Wuyuan. She even made a Magic City trip to Shanghai for him. But after completing his mission, he couldn't bear to continue deceiving her feelings, so he told Xie Shuting the truth. Well, it was quite hurtful.

Fortunately, he wasn't so despicable as to deceive people emotionally and physically; knowing when to stop was his only kindness.

I never imagined that after so many years, I would get to know him again in this way and under these circumstances... And the novel based on him from back then has actually been written?

"Would you like to read this novel?" Le Man asked.

"I'm not looking anymore." Zhang Yang shook his head. "Since you've chosen it, you can decide for yourself... By the way, have you made any contact? Have you agreed on a price?"

"Not yet, the price... will depend on market conditions," Le Man said after thinking for a moment.

"Okay, then you can arrange for someone to make contact," Zhang Yang said with a smile. "Leave work early tonight, I'll pick you up."

Upon hearing this, Le Man's cheeks flushed red, and she gave a soft "hmm".

··

He said he wouldn't look.

But Zhang Yang couldn't resist his curiosity and found Su Xiaoran's latest work.

You wouldn't know unless you looked it up.

Upon checking, I discovered that this book had already become incredibly popular, truly living up to Su Xiaoran's reputation as a super-popular female author.

The online discussion surrounding this work is ridiculously high.

About the characters... About the plot...

[It's so realistic it's unbelievable, and supposedly it's based on a real person. The female lead is probably based on Xiao Ran herself, but the male lead... I really can't imagine what his real-life counterpart must have been like.]

[Are you sure it's not just the author's bias that led to giving the male lead a biased view?]

"Let's go take a look," Zhang Yang muttered, unable to resist his curiosity.

This look took up most of the day.

Zhang Yang's expression darkened upon seeing this.

The earlier parts were mostly the same, all of which he witnessed firsthand... Damn it, later on, they completely portrayed him as a super scumbag who started relationships and then abandoned them.

Wealthy, rich, and passionate, yet also heartless.

Of course, under Su Xiaoran's pen, this character is not so one-dimensional; on the contrary, he is a rather complex character that readers both love and hate.

There are character polls on the website.

The male lead was voted the most favorite character by a landslide. The male lead was also voted the most hated character.

There's also a poll about film and television adaptations.

The supporters are almost 100%.

The only point of contention is which celebrities are the readers' top choices for the male lead; the online debate has almost escalated into a full-blown fight.

After the argument, everyone was disheartened to find that, looking at the entire Chinese entertainment industry, there seemed to be no one who could handle the role and perfectly portray it.

When Zhang Yang went to pick up Le Man in the evening, he brought up this matter.

"I also read that novel about Su Xiaoran that you mentioned when I had some free time," Zhang Yang said casually.

"How was it?" Upon hearing this, Le Man's eyes lit up immediately. "Was it good? Did you hate the male lead so much you wanted to grind your teeth?"

"How could my male lead hate the male lead?" Zhang Yang said, a little guilty. "You have to put yourself in the female lead's shoes to hate the male lead, right?"

"Hey... have you noticed?" Le Man suddenly exclaimed, "Now that I think about it, I feel like the male lead in that book is more like you, isn't he? Rich, perfect, and romantic... If you were to play the male lead, you'd be amazing!"

Zhang Yang smiled but didn't say anything.

That being said, even if the movie isn't filmed, he himself would never actually play the male lead.

Given his status, acting would be beneath him.

Even for personal amusement, it's not allowed.

Because others may not know, but he knows it all. This is more than just a natural performance; this is practically the male protagonist of a novel—he's the one being written about!

The two went straight back to Le Man's residence in Magic City.

That night, they naturally shared another tender moment.

In the middle of the night, Zhang Yang, with Le Man in his arms, suddenly said, "Let's negotiate for Su Xiaoran's book at double the market price. No need to haggle."

His idea was... even if it wasn't filmed, the film and television adaptation rights to the novel shouldn't fall into the hands of other companies.

There's no particular reason, it's just that I feel uncomfortable.

He couldn't accept any random people playing a character based on him on the big screen.

As for why the price is doubled.

Ultimately, he felt somewhat indebted to Su Xiaoran, also known as Xie Shuting.

Because of her, he successfully completed the task and received the reward, which was the complete ownership of Soup King Hotpot.

Today, Soup King Hotpot has already achieved great success, with hundreds of stores across the country. When it comes to the two giants of domestic chain hot pot brands, one is Lao Lao, and the other is Soup King Hotpot.

Today, his Soup King Hotpot is valued at tens of billions of yuan, and once it goes public, it will become another legend in the catering industry.

So what does it matter if we buy the film and television adaptation rights to her works for double the price?

"Double?" Le Man was slightly taken aback, but then nodded without asking any further questions.

In her eyes, whatever Zhang Yang said was law.

There's no need to ask or inquire about the reasons; just do as Zhang Yang says.

··

The next morning, at a bookstore in Magic City.

Xie Shuting, with her long hair flowing, is attending an offline book signing event for her new book.

A long line of people waited, each carrying a book, to ask Xie Shuting for an autograph. Behind the long table, a huge poster prominently featured Xie Shuting's image and promotional text.

"Su Xiaoran, I'm your fan."

"The new book is fantastic!"

"Keep it up! I hope this book will be adapted into a film or television series!"

The book fans spoke with excited expressions.

With a slight smile, Xie Shuting swiftly signed her elegant pen name and politely returned each signed book to its owner.

She looked up casually and suddenly froze.

Suddenly, a news report appeared on the television in a shop in the distance. The figure that flashed across the screen was incredibly familiar, yet also the focus of everyone's attention.

"It's you." She murmured, her thoughts drifting.