Chapter 131 Unexpected Visit

April 9th, Saturday.

Mo Yu Internet Cafe, Hando University Branch.

After settling the initial preparations for the two game departments and the gym, Pei Qian decided to enjoy this rare and leisurely weekend.

He found a window seat at Mo Yu Internet Cafe, leisurely drinking coffee and watching the street scene outside, thinking about what else needed to be done.

The movie's box office revenue split seemed to be almost due, and a large sum of money would be coming in.

Pei Qian had already considered how to spend the money: on an apartment project.

Like the托管健身 (Tuoguan Fitness) gym, it could both lose money and be used as employee benefits, double the happiness, killing two birds with one stone!

Of course, this was a little too much money, so he had to plan before spending it.

Pei Qian figured he could appropriately sell a building, remodel it into apartments to test the waters. If everything went smoothly, he could use the remaining money to rent houses for remodeling.

The system forbade speculation in real estate, meaning that the purchased property had to be used for production and business activities, not left idle or hoarded for price increases.

Whether it was opening a restaurant or a hotel, it could be considered a production and business activity.

However, Pei Qian hadn't considered buying a building since he bought the Ming Yun Private Kitchen villa, mainly because the initial system funds for the previous cycles were too low.

Fixed assets would be included in the system funds at 10% of their value, which would affect the settlement.

Assuming that buying a building cost thirty to forty million, after conversion, it would be equivalent to three to four million. The initial system funds for the previous cycle were only ten million, so it would take up thirty to forty percent all at once.

In this way, the difficulty of losing money would be too high, and it would be easy to screw up.

But in this cycle, the initial system funds had reached twenty million, so spending thirty to forty million to buy a building wouldn't have much impact on the settlement.

Of course, there was a risk in doing so: housing prices might rise.

After considering this factor, Pei Qian decided to continue buying buildings, mainly for three reasons.

First, the world had changed a lot from what he remembered, and housing prices might not rise so quickly; second, even if they rose rapidly, it certainly wouldn't be in the next two years; third, even if housing prices rose, the increase would definitely be far less than the rate of increase in initial system funds.

According to the current situation, the initial system funds would increase by at least ten million every six months, which meant that it was cost-effective for Pei Qian to spend about thirty to fifty million on fixed assets each cycle.

This could be regarded as a fixed expense for each cycle.

In addition, Pei Qian had to check on the situation at Dream Chasing Venture Capital and Zhang Yuan's side.

Since he had arranged a job for Old Ma last time, he didn't seem to have found any new investment projects.

Pei Qian was very satisfied with this and didn't plan to urge him.

But in order to prevent Ma Yang and He Desheng from working behind closed doors for too long and accidentally causing too much trouble, Pei Qian still had to be vigilant at all times.

As for Zhang Yuan, although he said he wanted to start an esports club, he himself didn't seem to be very enthusiastic about it and was still in the preparation stage.

Pei Qian also planned to take some time to take a look and give him some "guidance."

Besides that, there were other trivial matters:

Pei Qian felt that his main problem with repeated defeats was a lack of information, so he planned to find a way to monitor the movements of various departments at any time;

The "invest in yourself" task given by the system hadn't made any progress yet;

Other industries that currently seemed unthreatening also needed to be monitored at all times, who knew which industry might suddenly pop up and stab him in the back…

The more Pei Qian thought about it, the more melancholy he felt.

Life was lonely as snow.

While he was feeling melancholy, Pei Qian saw a familiar figure pushing the door and entering Mo Yu Internet Cafe.

"Huh? Boss Pei?"

"Rare guest, rare guest."

Ruan Guangjian was surprised to see Pei Qian sitting in the corner drinking coffee.

Pei Qian: "?"

Wait, what did "rare guest" mean?

He had been busy with work recently, and it had indeed been a while since he came to this Mo Yu Internet Cafe, but if he remembered correctly, this Mo Yu Internet Cafe was his property, right?

Ruan Guangjian also instantly realized that there was something wrong with this statement, and smiled a little embarrassedly: "Ah, sorry Boss Pei, I was thinking about something and my brain had a hiccup."

"This Internet cafe was originally opened by you, hahahaha."

"I have to say, the coffee is very good."

Currently, Ruan Guangjian was the number one person on Boss Pei's little notebook.

Originally, Qiao Laoshi was also a strong contender, but Pei Qian had after all made Qiao Laoshi suffer a loss before, so he had been much more tolerant of Qiao Laoshi.

As for the other people on the notebook, as long as they had a set of roller coasters, pendulums, bungee jumping, and haunted houses, they would basically be obedient.

Ruan Guangjian was the only exception, a complete anomaly!

The more he played roller coasters and pendulums, the more excited he got;

He kept saying that he was afraid of ghosts, but in the haunted house, he screamed louder than anyone else, but after coming out, he was radiant and glowing!

This was simply an ultimate tank with both physical and magical resistance maxed out. All of Boss Pei's attack methods were worthless in front of him.

If he wanted to get revenge, he would probably only be able to use true damage.

But Pei Qian didn't have such means at the moment.

So he could only let Ruan Guangjian jump on his face and show off.

Pei Qian drank his coffee and said with a smile, "How have you been since you moved to Jingzhou? Have you not adapted? If you haven't adapted, I think it would be better to go back to Shanghai…"

Before Pei Qian could finish speaking, Ruan Guangjian had already said, "Don't worry, Boss Pei, I've adapted, I've adapted too well!"

"Our studio members even regret that we moved late!"

"We should have moved to Jingzhou when the studio was first established!"

Pei Qian's hand holding the coffee stopped in mid-air: "?"

He originally wanted to be sarcastic, but Ruan Guangjian seemed to have heard concern and greetings?

A waiter came over with two large paper bags in his hand, which seemed to contain seven or eight cups of coffee.

"Brother Ruan, your coffee is ready."

Ruan Guangjian reached out and took it: "Okay, thanks."

It seemed that Ruan Guangjian came here often, and the waiter was already very familiar with him. These coffees should have been ordered by phone in advance, and he could just come over to pick them up.

Pei Qian was a little surprised: "The studio boss personally comes to get coffee for the employees?"

Ruan Guangjian smiled: "I just wanted to come out for a walk. Usually, everyone takes turns to get coffee."

"Boss Pei, do you have time? Why don't you come to our studio for a tour?"

Pei Qian instinctively wanted to refuse.

Why would he want to go see an arsenal that develops backstabbing weapons when he has nothing better to do?

But then he thought again, know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

Since the enemy had already driven straight in and penetrated deep into Jingzhou's hinterland, and the danger was right beside him, it was better to find out the enemy's situation and prepare in advance.

Thinking of this, Pei Qian stood up: "Okay, let's take a look."

Ruan Guangjian carried the coffee and crossed the street with Pei Qian, entering the Light and Shadow Studio.

This was Pei Qian's first time at Light and Shadow Studio.

It was originally a two-story bookstore that couldn't stay open and was forced to transfer. Ruan Guangjian liked that the store was diagonally opposite Mo Yu Internet Cafe and very close to Shenhua Haoyuan, so he happily rented it.

After entering the studio, Pei Qian's first feeling was that it was full of spring and artistic atmosphere.

The indoor temperature was comfortable, and the warm sunlight shone in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, giving people a warm feeling.

The door, tables, and corners were filled with various green plants, as well as many works of art for decoration, including sculptures, paintings, and so on.

The desks, chairs, and overall layout of the workstations were also quite casual, but not messy, obviously after careful planning.

The whole environment gave people a relaxed and leisurely feeling, an environment that could fully stimulate imagination and creativity.

Someone had already noticed Pei Qian, who came in with Ruan Guangjian, and greeted him one after another.

"Huh? Boss Pei!"

"Hello, Boss Pei!"

"Welcome to come often, Boss Pei!"

Everyone was very enthusiastic.

After all, in everyone's mind, Pei Qian was Ruan Guangjian's close friend, an important partner of Light and Shadow Studio, and a golden thigh that everyone could hug in Jingzhou.

In Pei Qian's opinion, if Ruan Guangjian was the assassin who ultimately stabbed him in the back, then these people were the ones pushing him from behind, allowing the knife to be inserted deeper.

To be fair, they all had to be noted down in the little notebook!

But after all, Boss Pei was a cultured person. Faced with everyone's warm welcome, he smiled and waved in response.

Ruan Guangjian gave the coffee to a guy next to him: "Lao Huang, you can distribute it, I'll take Boss Pei around."

Pei Qian followed Ruan Guangjian upstairs and toured the entire studio.

Ruan Guangjian introduced the details of the studio while sighing.

"Coming to Jingzhou was really a very correct decision!"

"The prices in Jingzhou are much lower than in Shanghai."

"Whether it's renting a house or daily expenses, you can save a lot of money."

"The studio is bigger, the working environment has improved, and everyone's work efficiency has improved significantly, and their mental and physical states have also improved."

"And, life is especially convenient!"

"Now all our work meals are ordered from Mo Yu Takeaway, which is nutritious, healthy, and delicious, and the price is not expensive."

"Mo Yu Internet Cafe and Upwind Logistics have also greatly improved the happiness of life."

"Most importantly, as long as Tengda Group is here, life in Jingzhou will become more and more convenient, and the overall economic development will get better and better. Such prospects are not available in general second-tier cities…"

Listening to Ruan Guangjian's introduction, Pei Qian only had one feeling.

That was heartache.

Look, this was completely a case of forgetting where he came from!

After coming to Jingzhou, he immediately abandoned Shanghai completely.

Scumbag!

But Pei Qian could indeed see Ruan Guangjian's love for Jingzhou from his excited expression.

Alas, it seemed that it was impossible to drive Light and Shadow Studio away…

Melancholy.

Ruan Guangjian took Pei Qian around and returned to his workstation.

There was no separate office, partly because those who were engaged in art needed to learn from each other, make progress together, and find inspiration in communication; on the other hand, because Ruan Guangjian was responsible for the acceptance of all projects to ensure the consistency of the painting style.

Pei Qian noticed that Ruan Guangjian's computer screen was displaying an extremely detailed portrait.

The lower left corner of the screen, about a quarter of the area, was a real person's photo.

A white man, looked to be in his forties, handsome, with a kind expression, with not much else that was impressive.

What surprised Pei Qian even more was that this portrait was not completely drawn according to the photo, but not only enriched many details that were not originally there, but also modified the person's image in certain aspects.

For example, there were more wrinkles on the model's face, but it didn't give people a feeling of aging or vicissitudes, but instead enhanced his charm;

The beard and hairstyle had been carefully trimmed, especially the beard, which was obviously something that only rich and idle people had the leisure to take care of;

The expression had also changed. It was originally very kind, but now it seemed ambitious, with a strong self-confidence in his eyes;

The slightly receding hairline was completely filled in, and the lush hair seemed to be showing his strong vitality.

If the photo was "a middle-aged white man in good condition," then the portrait was "an elite white man who has reached his peak in all aspects."

Comparing the photo and the portrait, Pei Qian deeply understood what was meant by "artistic exaggeration and reprocessing."

Pei Qian couldn't help but sigh: "This is really well drawn! If this person's original appearance was 70 points, this portrait would directly reach 95 points."

"It not only retains the original facial features, but also further highlights the characteristics of the appearance, and comprehensively improves the temperament!"

"Is this some kind of daily practice for you artists?"

"Just find a photo, and then draw a vivid character based on this photo?"

"The road to art is truly endless."

Pei Qian looked at this portrait with great interest and praised it.

Ruan Guangjian's expression was a little strange: "Uh… Boss Pei."

"Our construction period is relatively tight. Generally speaking, we don't have that much time to do such detailed painting exercises."

"This is our recent work content… Can't you tell? This is the latest art requirement given by Tengda Games."

"The rich protagonist in *Struggle*."

Pei Qian: "…"

Accidents always come so unexpectedly.