Chapter 61

That evening, a young man and woman stepped out of a taxi and walked toward the east gate of Xucheng Academy.

“Here’s the key to 0418. Put my suitcase in the living room—I’m going back to the Startup Park first.”

Chen Yansen instructed Song Yuncheng.

“I’m not your personal assistant…” Song Yuncheng glared at Chen Yansen, ready to refuse—then caught the faint lip movement of “deduct salary,” and immediately forced a smile: “Yes, boss.”

At the intersection, one headed toward the faculty apartment, the other strolled slowly toward the Startup Park.

As Chen Yansen stepped onto the second floor, Wang Zihao, as if sensing his presence, turned toward the staircase.

“Sen-ge!” Wang Zihao leapt to his feet, waving his arms.

“Sen-ge!” ×9!

“Boss!” ×9!

Others, hearing the commotion, put down their work and gathered around unconsciously.

“Sen-ge, did Tencent really invest ten million in us?” Zhang Wenbo pushed up his glasses, face flushed with excitement.

“Yeah. Just ten million.”

Chen Yansen shook his head slightly, looking dissatisfied.

“We’re rich now!” Zhuang Rui grabbed Chen Yansen’s arm and grinned broadly.

He was a senior this year; technically, he should’ve been interning off-campus—but his time at FoxTao made him feel staying might lead to a brighter future.

“Quiet down! I have two announcements. First, FoxTao has secured its first angel round of funding from Tencent—ten million yuan, expected to arrive within three business days. Second, increase inventory for the zero-yuan discount campaign tenfold, and raise the external team’s daily budget from 40,000 to 100,000!”

Chen Yansen announced loudly, standing at the center of the crowd.

“Yay! Class rep, so awesome!” Xu Xingxing jumped up and down, fists pumping, head swinging wildly—so startling the group that everyone fell silent instantly.

All eyes turned to her.

“Uh… aren’t you happy?”

Xu Xingxing stuck out her tongue and slipped quietly back into the crowd.

“Alright! Payday!”

Chen Yansen spoke up to ease Xu Xingxing’s embarrassment, tossing a bag of cash onto the table.

“Zhang Wenbo!”

Chen Yansen called out. Since Song Yuncheng wasn’t there, he started paying from the second employee.

Zhang Wenbo, holding his pay, counted it immediately—his heart skipped a beat.

“Humanity’s Flame +0.6!”

A familiar string of characters flashed before his eyes. Chen Yansen thought: This is probably the last time I’ll pay in cash. Once Tencent’s finance team arrives, everything will follow procedure.

FoxTao is no longer a makeshift crew!

Compared to last month, staff doubled—but total payroll was only 70,000 yuan, since half the new hires were customer service, with lower salaries.

“System! Boost me!”

Chen Yansen focused his will on the Constitution stat. The familiar icy chill surged again—his tendons, bones, blood, and flesh greedily drank in the white mist.

In an instant, his Constitution rose to “1.49.” According to the system, 3 was the human limit—he was already halfway there, with clear gains in strength, endurance, and stamina.

“Heads of each department, think tonight and submit a hiring plan tomorrow. Consolidate everything and give it to Xu Xingxing. Also, due to investor requirements, we must compile a list of employees eligible for social insurance and housing fund. Seniors without plans to take civil service or graduate exams may submit their names to their team leads.”

Chen Yansen added, paused two seconds, then continued: “Before this Friday, I’ll conduct a company-wide salary adjustment based on everyone’s October performance. I’ll confirm each of you individually—please prepare your performance reviews.”

“Class rep, what’s a performance review?” Xu Xingxing raised her hand. A few customer service staff looked equally confused.

“Simply put: talk about what you did in October, your highlights and shortcomings, and whether you have suggestions to optimize your workflow. FoxTao is growing fast—I want you all to treat this as a real career, not just a part-time job.”

Chen Yansen smiled faintly, speaking sincerely.

Salary raise!

Social insurance and housing fund contributions!

Ten million yuan investment!

One after another, earth-shattering news struck. Zhuang Rui, Hu Li, and Zhang Wenbo felt it most deeply—they knew that after graduation, no other company would likely offer better pay than FoxTao.

And FoxTao only required six hours of work per day!

Overtime paid for extra hours!

Their determination to grow FoxTao stronger was even firmer than Chen Yansen’s.

Meanwhile.

After delivering Chen Yansen’s luggage to 0418, Song Yuncheng returned to her dorm exhausted. The trip from Shencheng to Pengcheng, then a taxi to Xucheng—though she hadn’t walked far, her mental fatigue weighed heavily.

She dropped her bag, too drained to climb onto her bed, and slumped onto a chair, collapsing face-down on the desk.

“Little Orange, back from your trip? Was Shencheng fun?”

Her roommate by the balcony turned to ask.

“Whoa, Little Orange! That outfit’s Ports’ new autumn collection—costs five grand!”

Another roommate leaned in, about to speak—then caught the brand logo on Song Yuncheng’s collar.

“You said how much?”

Song Yuncheng jolted upright, fatigue vanished. Her mouth hung open in disbelief.

Chen Yansen had told her the outfit cost only a few hundred.

“Look, Ports’ website lists it at 4,999 yuan. And you’re wearing their inner layer—that top’s another thousand.”

This roommate regularly studied high-end women’s fashion design and planned to study fashion design—she recognized it instantly.

“Chen Yansen, you’re wasting money! Just give me the cash!” Song Yuncheng nearly fainted, her face pale with pain.

Six thousand yuan for one outfit—that was two months’ salary!

Not to mention—

The white leather shoes too. They probably cost a fortune.

“Little Orange, you didn’t buy this yourself, right?” her roommate ventured cautiously.

Song Yuncheng had always soaked her rice in free cafeteria soup, counting every cent—how could she afford such an expensive suit?

“Chen Yansen bought it. He said my clothes made him look bad when we went to Tencent HQ.” Song Yuncheng lowered her head, speaking honestly.

“Tell us! What was it like at Tencent?” Other roommates crowded closer. To them, Tencent was the ultimate internet giant.

Not much. We first met the CEO of Paipai.com, then ran into Ma Wenteng and someone named Liu Zhiping—Chen Yansen calls him Martin.

Still stewing over the outfit’s price, Song Yuncheng spoke briefly.

“You met Ma Wenteng?!” her roommates gasped in unison.

“I looked it up—Liu Zhiping’s one of Tencent’s founders. A top-tier legend. Little Orange, I’m so jealous!” One roommate, laptop in hand, exclaimed.

“By the way, Little Orange, is FoxTao hiring? Take us too! Aren’t you head of customer service and operations?” someone asked with a smile.

“The decision’s up to Chen Yansen. I can’t approve it,” Song Yuncheng replied, slightly embarrassed—but seeing their disappointment, she added: “If FoxTao opens any positions later, I’ll notify you right away to submit your resumes.”

“Hehe, we knew Little Orange was the best!” the roommates laughed.

“Ding—”

Song Yuncheng pulled out her phone, opened the message: “Wash my shirt. Submit hiring plans for design, operations, and customer service tomorrow.”

“You can start preparing your resumes!”

Song Yuncheng looked up, smiling faintly.

…

…

A cool autumn breeze rippled the surface of Pearl Lake.

Under the night sky, Xucheng Academy glowed with a few dim streetlamps. Half a dozen shirtless boys, bathed in faint light, battled fiercely on the basketball court.

“Clang!”

A three-pointer swished perfectly through the net.

“Nice, bro! One more!” The boy under the basket paused, stunned, then tossed the ball back to Chen Yansen.

“Clang!”

Another three-pointer!

Seeing the boy wanted him to keep shooting, Chen Yansen pointed to Meng Jie beside him and shook his head slightly.

“I’m Zhang Yifeng, Business School, senior. What’s your name? Add my QQ—we can play together sometime.”

Zhang Yifeng nodded in understanding, but seeing Chen Yansen’s tall frame and deadly three-point accuracy, he couldn’t resist approaching.

“10th-year Journalism, Chen Yansen.”

Chen Yansen added him on QQ, gave a brief intro, waved, and walked off with Meng Jie toward Liuxi.

Soon after he left, Zhang Yifeng suddenly realized: “Holy shit! That guy’s the star of Xucheng Academy—and I didn’t recognize him! My roommate works part-time at FoxTao. Guess how much he earns monthly?”

“Two or three grand? I heard that before,” someone replied.

“Four thousand. Two days off. Six hours a day,” Zhang Yifeng corrected, speaking slowly and clearly.

He’d planned to interview tomorrow—never expected to meet Chen Yansen tonight.

“That much?” Someone doubted it. College students might be naive, but not stupid—job ads listing 2,000–4,000 meant 2,000.

“FoxTao’s hiring soon. I’m going to try,” Zhang Yifeng declared firmly.

Meanwhile, news of Chen Yansen securing ten million yuan in funding from Tencent spread rapidly among students and faculty.

“Ten million funding? From Tencent?”

Guo Dongchen, studying for his PhD at home, stared blankly. First thought: fake news. Then he called a few students working customer service at FoxTao—and confirmed: this absurd rumor was true!

Please continue reading—

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(End of Chapter)