“Holy sh*t, the food and accommodation are so good? I regret not going…”
“Forget it, forget it. There’s nothing good overseas.”
“Eh? Why do I feel like I’ve been scolded? How many melons have I missed in my sleep?”
When Pei Qian woke up, it was already night time in Los Angeles. FV Club had already posted several Weibo posts, from boarding the plane to checking into the hotel, and then starting training. They had posted many pictures and videos.
After all, the three photographers had accompanied them the entire time. Apart from taking photos and editing, they had nothing else to do. They could only try their best to make their presence known.
At the beginning, the Weibo page was still mainly filled with photos. There were even short videos that had been edited.
Obviously, they had nothing better to do in the internet cafe.
There were photos of delicacies in there. There were photos taken from the top level of the hotel and showed the entire Los Angeles and the competition venue. Even the four bodyguards in black suits were included.
Even Pei Qian felt a little envious after looking at it. One could only imagine how the others felt.
Most of the comments on Weibo were filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred. However, there were also many discordant voices on the forum.
“Oh my god, are they in Los Angeles already? Why are there so many people?”
“SUG Club is there too? What’s going on?”
“What about the other two teams?”
“Business class? It should be quite expensive, right? Finger Games are so good that they actually gave them tickets for business class?”
“Holy sh*t, they’re staying in the Ritz-Carlton? That’s the most expensive hotel in the area, right?”
“I’m jealous!”
“What’s the situation with these four black-clothed bodyguards… are they filming a movie? Does Finger Games provide bodyguards? Does every team have them?”
“I remember that FV Club used to only post one Weibo post every week or two. Why did it suddenly become so popular?”
“F*ck! Someone exposed that this was not arranged by Finger Games! All the expenses, including the air tickets, hotels, and bodyguards were paid by FV Club!”
“They paid themselves? How much is that?!”
“Is this Weibo post showing off?”
“They haven’t even gotten results, and they’re already doing all these fancy things! Are they intentionally messing with the mentality of other teams?”
“As everyone knows, the more things you do outside the game, the worse your results will be. You’ve enjoyed so many benefits. If your results are not good, you guys will die with me!”
“This money was probably given by Boss Pei, right? However, isn’t Boss Pei doting on these players too much? With such good conditions, did he really think they were going on a holiday?”
At first, everyone thought that it was arranged by Finger Games. However, they soon realized that it was not the case. Other teams did not have such treatment!
Many fans of other teams could not accept this.
On one hand, they felt that FV Club’s treatment was much better than other clubs. They were a little jealous. On the other hand, many people subconsciously associated material conditions with greed and enjoyment.
The E-Sports industry was constantly developing and the treatment was gradually improving. Ignoring people who did not play games, even many players and viewers felt that E-Sports players did not deserve good treatment.
Instead, many people missed the days when e-sports athletes slept on the streets, ate instant noodles made with cold water, and became champions.
Of course, there were indeed some players who became inflated because of good material standard of living and did not train seriously, causing them to lose the competition. Thus, many people instinctively felt uncomfortable seeing FV Club’s players in such good conditions. They posted some discordant voices on the forum.
Pei Qian was not angry at all. Instead, he was enjoying it.
Sure, haters, make use of the time to add firepower to the criticism!
He wanted to tarnish FV Club’s popularity and make all the money he spent go to waste!
The team members’ cell phones were all under the same management over there. They could not browse the forums. The comments from the haters on Weibo and the forums should not affect their mentality, but at least they could strike a blow to FV Club’s image, right?
If they did not do well in the international competition, they would definitely be criticized. The club would not be able to pull in investments or sell for a good price. Pei Qian’s share prices in the club would not increase, and the money he spent would be wasted…
It would be the perfect scenario, right?
Chapter 797 - Professional Data Analysis Completed
Pei Qian temporarily stopped paying attention after understanding briefly about the situation of FV Club in Los Angeles.
They were half a globe away and there were still more than ten hours of time difference after all. Even if something were to happen over there, it would be too late for Pei Qian to make up for it.
He could only let nature take its course and hope that the decadent life of capitalism could corrupt the fighting spirit of his team members.
Pei Qian continued to check on the other departments.
At that moment, someone knocked on the office door.
Pei Qian looked up. It was He Desheng.
“What’s the matter?” Pei Qian asked.
He Desheng nodded. “Boss Pei, it’s about the Cold-Faced Lady. Meng Chang is in Jingzhou again. He hopes to meet you again. I haven’t agreed yet, so I came to ask for instructions. Do you… want to meet him?”
Pei Qian was stunned.
Why did this Meng Chang come to Jingzhou again?!
While I’m happy that you’re running back and forth so that I can spend more money on reimbursement but why do you want to talk to me in person again?
I’m so busy… Oh, alright. I’m not actually busy. However, while I have a lot of time, I have to spend it on losing money. I don’t have time to listen to your nonsense.
Pei Qian asked, “What is he here for?”
He Desheng replied, “He said that he wanted to express his gratitude to you in person for the two million yuan that you gave him previously. In other words, he probably wants to fight for the possibility of you investing more money.”
Pei Qian instinctively frowned.
Invest more money?
It’s not that I can’t invest. The key is that you have to spend money honestly and not cause me any trouble!
This time, Pei Qian gave them two million yuan without saying anything. He only bought some shares of the cold-faced lady based on the current valuation.
Pei Qian planned to continue giving the money to Meng Chang after he finished spending it. That was mainly to keep the cold-faced lady in a lukewarm and half-dead state. It was the safest to burn money.
However, Pei Qian did not tell Meng Chang about it. In fact, he did not even give him any hints. Thus, Meng Chang did not know about Boss Pei’s subsequent investment plan.
Pei Qian did not think too much about it. “I’ll not meet him.”
Pei Qian felt that there was nothing much to talk about between him and Meng Chang. Meng Chang came to Jingzhou definitely to get more money to do marketing and increase the valuation of the Cold-Faced Lady. However, Pei Qian did not want that to happen.
Therefore, their goals were fundamentally conflicting. Even if they met, they would probably not understand each other. Pei Qian could not tell Meng Chang the truth and would only be wasting his time.
He Desheng nodded. “Alright, Boss Pei. I’ll send him away now.”
…
On the other side, in Dream Realization Ventures’ guest room…
Meng Chang was anxiously waiting for He Desheng to return. The gifts he had brought were untou
ched and placed aside.
During this period of time, although he looked calm on the surface, he was actually very anxious.
Boss Pei had suddenly sold all of the Cold-Faced Lady’s shares and left, leaving him, the founder, in a sorry state, something big nearly happened.
Fortunately, Meng Chang had a strong character. He managed to coax and deceive the investors so that their confidence wouldn’t collapse instantly. However, this matter still had a very bad effect.
The Cold-Faced Lady’s daily expenses were huge. Since he could not find any money, Meng Chang could only carefully reduce the cost. He did not dare to make it too obvious, for fear of being discovered.
Once news like ‘Cold-Faced Lady cut costs’ was exposed, even a fool would be able to tell that the Cold-Faced Lady was out of money and about to die. Then, something big would really happen.
However, no matter how hard he tried on the surface, the money on the accounts would not lie. He could not hold on to the profits of the shop.
Meng Chang was so anxious that he could not sleep at night. After all, the situation was getting more disadvantageous for him as the days passed.
Meng Chang even wanted to give up and just let nature take its course. When the capital chain could not take it anymore, he would directly announce that the Cold-Faced Lady had gone bankrupt. The bankruptcy of the limited liability company would not implicate him, the founder. At the very most, he would at most treat everything as a dream. The sly old fox had met an even more cunning fox that was Boss Pei. At least he would have lost with dignity.
However, at that critical moment, Boss Pei returned!
Although two million yuan was not a lot, it solved Meng Chang’s urgent problem and allowed Cold-Faced Lady to continue operating.
What’s more, Boss Pei’s attitude this time was very interesting.
He had bought the shares based on a high valuation. There was no price reduction, no tricks, and he had not even made any requests. It was as if he was giving money for nothing.
This confused Meng Chang, but at the same time, he seemed to see a glimmer of hope.
If Boss Pei were to invest again… would everyone be able to pretend that nothing had happened and continue playing happily?
Meng Chang knew very well that the Cold-Faced Lady had been popular for a period of time now that it had developed to its current stage. It was now famous and there were no problems with it on the surface. Finding someone to buy him out would depend on this final bluff.
Boss Pei’s two million yuan was not much but Meng Chang saw hope again.
What’s more, Meng Chang saw FV Club’s Weibo on the internet today and knew that Boss Pei was very generous to FV Club. He allowed them to take business class and stay in a five-star hotel. Such a huge team would cost at least a few million yuan for the Los Angeles trip.
Obviously, Boss Pei was very generous and he still had a lot of money on hand.
He would rather give so much money to an eSports Club to go overseas to eat, drink, and play than invest in the Cold-Faced Lady. That was a little unreasonable, right?
Therefore, Meng Chang felt that he could still strive for the money with Boss Pei since Boss Pei had already given him some money. It wouldn’t be too much to take ten minutes to meet him, right?
As Meng Chang waited anxiously, He Desheng returned.
“How is it, Boss He?” Meng Chang immediately stood up and asked.
He Desheng shook his head slightly. “Sorry, Boss Pei doesn’t have time to see you. Please leave.”
Meng Chang opened his mouth slightly, feeling lost.
He was rejected?
Boss Pei had already given him money, but he was not even willing to meet him for five minutes? What was going on?
What was Boss Pei’s attitude towards Cold-Faced Lady now?
“Boss He, can we really not fight for it?” Meng Chang refused to give up.
He Desheng sighed, shook his head, and said, “Boss Pei has always been a man of his word. No one can dissuade him when he has thought of something. If he says he won’t see me, then he won’t. It would only backfire if I ask him again. Go back.”
Meng Chang opened his mouth but hesitated.
He was very indignant, but there was nothing he could do. He could only turn around and leave silently.
He Desheng picked up all the expensive gifts that Meng Chang brought and handed them back. “There’s no need for these gifts. Boss Pei won’t accept them.”
Meng Chang wanted to reject him but he had no choice but to take it back seeing how determined He Desheng was.
…
Meng Chang held his gift and felt very lost after leaving Dream Realization Ventures.
The tiny spark of hope that had just risen was extinguished by Boss Pei’s rejection.
For some reason, Meng Chang suddenly felt like he had met a scumbag.
What did Boss Pei mean?
He invested and then divested; Invested and then divested…
The key was that they could never predict what Boss Pei’s next move would be. When he predicted that he would continue investing, he suddenly sold his shares at a low price. When he predicted that he would not invest again, he inexplicably sent two million yuan to him.
There was no clean break like an old PUA[1.Abbreviated for ‘Pickup Artist’].
The chauffeur took the gift and put it back into the trunk. He asked, “Boss Meng, where are we going next? Are we going back to Beijing, or…”
Meng Chang frowned and pondered for a moment.
Suddenly, he thought of something and took out his cell phone to check.
“Boss Li from Fu Hui Investments is also in Jingzhou. Why don’t we go there and take a look? We can’t make a wasted trip since we’re already here, right?”
Meng Chang had a list of potential investors in his heart who might invest in Cold-Faced Lady.
To Meng Chang, this list was extremely important.
Li Shi had been paying attention to the Cold-Faced Lady’s situation and had intentions to invest. Meng Chang knew this very well.
Since he was already in Jingzhou, there was no hurry to return. He might as well take this opportunity to pay Boss Li a visit and see if he could obtain some investments.
No matter how small a mosquito was, there would still be some meat. What’s more, Fu Hui Investments had a lot of funds. What if Boss Li was persuaded and decided to invest a few million yuan on the spot? That was not impossible.
It was not as if there had never been a case of investing a few hundred million yuan in ten minutes in the investment circle. What’s more, it had happened quite a few times. A few million yuan was nothing to them.
At that thought, Meng Chang said to the driver, “Don’t go back to Beijing first. Go to Fu Hui Investments.”
…
Half an hour later, Meng Chang arrived at Fu Hui Investments’ guest room.
He did not bring the gift. On one hand, it was a thank-you gift for Boss Pei. It would be inappropriate to give it to others even though Boss Pei did not want it. What’s more, Boss Li was very close to Boss Pei. Meng Chang was worried that it would backfire if he were to be too humble.
Li Shi was very warm and welcomed him personally. Xue Zhebin was with him.
The three of them had known each other for a long time. They chatted while drinking tea, and the atmosphere was harmonious.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, both parties entered into the main topic.
“Boss Meng should be very busy in Beijing. Why do you have time to come to Jingzhou?” Li Shi asked as he sipped his tea slowly.
Meng Chang smiled. “I feel a little ashamed.”
“If I were a little more hypocritical, I would definitely say that I came specially to visit Boss Li. However, I have always been a rather honest person. I cannot tell such lies.”
“To be honest, I came to Jingzhou this time to thank Boss Pei in person. However, Boss Pei was busy with work and did not have time to see me. C
oincidentally, Boss Li is also in Jingzhou, so I came to pay a visit.”
Li Shi smiled. “Boss Meng, you’re too polite. Even a visit along the way is still a visit and is a token of appreciation. Come, have some tea.”
Meng Chang knew very well that Li Shi was very smart and was very guarded by nature.
He had been observing and paying attention to the Cold-Faced Lady’s since their first news conference, but he had not invested a single cent until now. This was enough to show that Li Shi was filled with doubts about the Cold-Faced Lady and did not trust Meng Chang.
If Meng Chang were to say that he had specially come to visit Li Shi, it would easily arouse Li Shi’s wariness and might backfire.
Now, Meng Chang said that he was here to visit Boss Pei and Li Shi on the way. It might sound a little rude but it could remove some of his wariness.
What’s more, Meng Chang knew about the relationship between Li Shi and Boss Pei. He also knew that Li Shi had always liked to follow Boss Pei in investments blindly.
Thus, his words had cleverly planted a small trap. It would depend on whether Li Shi would take the bait.
If Li Shi did not take the bait, Meng Chang would not mention it again because that would seem too deliberate.
Li Shi sipped his tea and caught the message from Meng Chang sharply. “You’re planning to thank Boss Pei in person? What are you thanking him for?”
According to the information he had, Boss Pei had already sold all of the shares in the Cold-Faced Lady. He had also led a large group of investors to continue watching on the sidelines, causing Meng Chang a lot of trouble.
Since they had nothing to do with each other anymore, why did Meng Chang have to go all the way to thank him? That didn’t seem to make sense.
Meng Chang smiled and said, “Actually, it’s nothing much. It’s just that Boss Pei invested a small sum for a small portion of Cold-Faced Lady’s shares again.”
He did not want to mention two million yuan since it would not be exciting, at the same time he could not brag too much. What if Li Shi really went to verify with Boss Pei? Thus, he could only vaguely mention it.
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