Chapter 40

The assistant noticed that the CEO had started slacking off toward the end of the workday.

Several times, he had walked in to find the CEO on his phone. Sometimes he even heard audio coming from it. It sounded like the CEO was watching a livestream.

Today, for instance, he came in with some documents and heard the streamer talking again. Those goofy sound effects were familiar. If he remembered right, this was the streamer Gu Lin had asked him to find; he had watched plenty of the streamer's videos during the search.

Gu Lin frowned at the screen. Private messages? What private messages?

He left the livestream and opened his inbox. Sure enough, Su Yu had sent him messages—more than one. Su Yu had asked whether he needed help with the game and what his game account was. The first message had arrived when Gu Lin first sent a gift, quite some time ago.

Gu Lin was about to close the chat when another message came in.

[The Landlord's Foolish Son: Hello? Boss, are you there? What do you need help with?]

[The Landlord's Foolish Son: How about adding me on WeChat so we can discuss exactly what you need?]

Add him on WeChat?

Gu Lin thought for a moment, then used another phone number to create a new WeChat account and sent it to Su Yu. There was no reply yet. Su Yu was probably busy.

The Alpha set his phone back on the desk. Seeing that his assistant was still standing there, he asked in a low voice, "What? Is there something else?"

Gu Lin looked perfectly composed, as if he had not just been watching a livestream during work hours.

The assistant quickly came to his senses. "Those documents need your signature."

Gu Lin himself had messaged him half an hour ago to bring them over, only to forget. Their boss really was slacking off—he had even forgotten about work.

"Got it."

*

After ending the stream, Su Yu checked his private messages and discovered that, against all odds, his top donor had finally messaged him and left a WeChat ID.

He searched for the ID and sent a friend request. The account looked fake too: no profile picture, just like the donor's untouched account on the platform. And the display name... aaa Building Materials Wholesale?

It sounded like someone selling things.

Were rich people all this eccentric?

Or was it some internet meme I'd missed?

The account owner had not accepted yet, so Su Yu left the cloned app and opened QQ. He had not checked it all evening, but his account, which had barely received a message in ages, now showed 99+ notifications.

He took a look. Oh, Lu Chengfei had pulled him into a discussion group.

[Su Yu: You asked for my QQ number just to add me to a group?]

[Lu Chengfei: What else? What normal person uses WeChat? That's for talking to your parents. We all use QQ.]

Su Yu had once thought the same way. Then he started working, and everyone used WeChat. Hardly anyone chatted on QQ anymore.

Lu Chengfei would end up using WeChat all the time too, sooner or later.

[Lu Chengfei: Why doesn't Yun Shang have a QQ account? I wanted to add him too. Does he not have one, or does he just not want to tell me? Ask him for me.]

Yun Shang did not just lack a QQ account. He had only recently signed up for WeChat.

[Su Yu: He doesn't have one.]

[Lu Chengfei: So he really doesn't. Then why is he ignoring me? Waiting for him to reply takes a whole lifetime. Is he like that with you too?]

Was it not perfectly normal for Yun Shang to ignore him? Who wanted to talk to someone who had picked on him before? Su Yu replied with a single, icy "Oh."

Yun Shang did not take a lifetime to reply to Su Yu. He replied instantly.

Lu Chengfei shot back: The fuck kind of reply is that? I'm asking you for advice. Advice!

[Su Yu: I'm busy. Go sit in a corner. I'm writing up the rules. Make sure everyone reads them. If any one of you causes trouble at Yun Shang's place, I'll wring your neck.]

Lu Chengfei ended the conversation with an ellipsis. The group chat was too noisy for Su Yu, so he muted it. Then he told Yun Shang to let him know if they caused trouble, and Yun Shang replied, "Okay."

A little after ten, Su Yu went downstairs for water and ran into Gu Lin, who had just come home. They exchanged a glance but no words, then went their separate ways.

Once Gu Lin had gone upstairs, Su Yu took an ice cream bar from the freezer and headed up too.

His top donor had accepted his friend request but had not sent a message. Eating his ice cream, Su Yu could not even be bothered to type. He copied and pasted the same message he had sent on the platform, then added a sticker so it would not sound too stiff.

[Aaa Building Materials Wholesale: I don't play the game. I don't need help.]

Talk about aloof.

Then why had he sent gifts? Surely no one was generous enough to throw money at a stranger for no reason.

Su Yu was about to ask when the other person quickly recalled the message.

[Aaa Building Materials Wholesale: I have one request. Don't stream after nine thirty.]

[Su Yu: ?]

As they chatted, Su Yu noticed that the man had changed his profile picture to a photo of a blue sky.

[Aaa Building Materials Wholesale: You disturb me.]

[Su Yu: Mind if I ask how old you are? What should I call you—uncle?]

The man had to be middle-aged. That profile picture looked exactly like something an older person would use.

The other side sent an ellipsis.

[Su Yu: No? Then... grandpa? If you don't need help, why are you sending gifts? Trying to spend money to ward off bad luck? Money's hard to earn these days. What part of the building materials business are you in, if you don't mind me asking?]

Since the man was older, Su Yu used respectful language and kept his tone polite. All he got back was another ellipsis.

[Aaa Building Materials Wholesale: LED lights.]

[Su Yu: I've heard that industry's doing well. Sounds like it has a bright future, at least.]

[Aaa Building Materials Wholesale: Mm. Interested in learning about it?]

Su Yu: "???"

Wait, was he actually selling lights?

Was he about to pitch me some?

How many would he try to sell? If it was a lot, I couldn't afford them.

No. Salespeople are supposed to be persuasive. I have to stand firm and not buy a single one.

He expected a sales pitch for LED lights. Instead, the man launched into the development prospects and future trends of LED lights in the building materials market. Su Yu nearly fell asleep reading the enormous block of text. He knew nothing about the subject and could not make sense of it.

If I hadn't graduated yet, I could've used this for my thesis.

When the man finished, he asked what Su Yu thought.

Su Yu had finished his ice cream and was lying in bed. When he saw the message, he almost dropped his phone on his face. Why is he asking me? What am I supposed to think?

[Su Yu: Are you... asking me to invest?]

[Aaa Building Materials Wholesale: ...]

[Aaa Building Materials Wholesale: I'm asking for your opinion.]

[Su Yu: I don't have one. You're right, and your analysis is great. You're clearly well-educated. But I'm not really interested in this stuff, so I can't follow it.]

[Aaa Building Materials Wholesale: Pearls before swine.]

What was with this man? Even through the screen, Su Yu could feel his chilly lack of manners. He had a sharp tongue too.

If he weren't so old, I'd give him a piece of my mind.

[Aaa Building Materials Wholesale: Then what are you interested in?]

[Su Yu: Games, obviously. I'm a gaming streamer, aren't I? I edit videos sometimes too.]

[Aaa Building Materials Wholesale: Mm. I'll analyze the current state and future prospects of the gaming streamer industry for you.]

Su Yu was baffled all over again. "???"

Did this guy wholesale building materials or analyze industries? Was he an academic?

[Su Yu: Uncle, you really know your stuff. If I hadn't graduated, I'd be discussing my thesis with you. Do you actually wholesale building materials? Don't fool me just because I'm not that educated.]

[Aaa Building Materials Wholesale: I can tell.]

[Su Yu: ?]

[Aaa Building Materials Wholesale: That you're not that educated.]

Su Yu: "..."

Well, that was blunt.

[Aaa Building Materials Wholesale: I work across a wide range of industries. I've only recently started dealing with building materials.]

[Su Yu: Then why call yourself Building Materials Wholesale? I thought you were a salesman.]

[Aaa Building Materials Wholesale: I was working on a document, saw the phrase, and picked it at random.]

[Su Yu: You're pretty trendy, uncle. Names like that are popular lately.]

The man sent another ellipsis without saying anything else. Su Yu had no idea what had left him speechless.

At eleven, the man said he was going to bed. Su Yu had wandered so far off topic that he had forgotten to ask why he sent gifts. The man did not play the game and was not a fan. Surely he did not just have too much money to spend?

Forget it. I'll ask tomorrow. He's older; he should get to bed early.

Gu Lin did not work weekends, and it made Su Yu miserable. He could not feel at ease at home. From morning until lunch, Su Yu's messages kept coming as he checked on Yun Shang and the others.

[Su Yu: What are they doing? Have they caused any trouble?]

[Yun Shang: No. They're eating.]

Su Yu asked whether Lu Chengfei had done anything to upset him. Yun Shang again said no, then added: Lu Chengfei talks a lot. He's noisy.

There's nothing I can do about that.

Su Yu knew Lu Chengfei could not help it. He was much the same himself: talkative and noisy, and miserable when he could not speak.

Just like right now. He felt miserable.

Unable to stand not talking, Su Yu had been streaming more often than before. At least during a stream, he could answer questions in the chat and talk to people.

[Su Yu: Hang in there. It'll be quiet once he leaves.]

[Yun Shang: Mm. I'm trying.]

After chatting with Yun Shang, Su Yu remembered last night's building materials salesman. He was easy to find, right at the top of his contacts. Now Su Yu understood why salespeople put an "a" at the start of their names. It certainly caught the eye.

Just as he sent a message, Gu Lin's phone vibrated across from him. Su Yu looked up, but the Alpha only glanced at the lit screen. He did not pick up the phone or look at Su Yu. "Don't play with your phone while eating."

Su Yu suspected nothing. He only grumbled inwardly that Gu Lin was old-fashioned. Just because Gu Lin did not use his phone at the table did not mean Su Yu could not.

But the moment Su Yu looked down at his food, the Alpha turned off his phone's vibration.

Good thing he's not very sharp.