Listen to your father!

When Chen Ling led Feng Lifang outside, Feng’s father wailed, “Lifang!” Feng Lifang paused for a moment, but without turning her head, she walked out the door.

Chen Ling’s hand was solid and strong, giving her a sense of security she had never known. As she crossed the threshold, she felt as if her former self had died—or perhaps, at this very moment, she was finally truly alive.

After descending the stairs, Feng Lifang looked up at the sunlight.

It wasn’t as dazzling as he was.

…

They all piled into Zhang Peng’s car and headed toward the university.

“That family’s nothing but vampires in human skin, asking us to help pay off their loan? What a pipe dream!” Zhang Peng was still fuming from earlier and couldn’t help but vent. Then he realized Feng Lifang was in the car and awkwardly added, “Sister Dou, I don’t mean you—I’m just mad, that’s all…”

“It’s fine, it’s all in the past. Say whatever’s on your mind,” Feng Lifang sighed deeply.

Zhang Peng let out a breath and muttered, “Honestly, we could have just given them nothing and let them fight it out in court like dogs…”

Chen Ling chuckled at that, was about to speak, but changed his mind, and patted Bu Chunsheng, who was riding shotgun. “Brother Sheng, why don’t you explain it to him?”

Bu Chunsheng blinked, then said seriously, “It’s true, even if we gave them nothing, they couldn’t actually do anything to Teacher Feng. But when cornered, people can turn desperate, and the harassment would only get worse. Who knows what they’d resort to? By giving them the money, at least they’ll feel somewhat appeased, and if we scare them a bit, they won’t dare harass Teacher Feng again.”

“Exactly,” Chen Ling confirmed.

Zhang Peng grinned sheepishly. “You really think things through!”

“I’ll pay you back, little by little,” Feng Lifang suddenly said. “It might just take a while.”

Zhang Peng shuddered. “Sister Dou, there’s no ‘you all’—it’s all Chen’s money. We’re just here to cheer him on.”

Feng Lifang looked at Chen Ling in disbelief. She knew their business had done well, but not this well—Chen Ling alone could put up 660,000?

“Don’t look at me like that,” Chen Ling shrugged. “Actually, it’s not a loss at all. For 660,000, I’ve bought out a graduate student’s career. No matter how you look at it, it’s a bargain!”

Seeing Feng Lifang was still puzzled, Chen Ling smiled and explained, “Sister Dou, I’m not lying. Zhang Peng and I have already set up a real estate agency, and we’re just about to need people. You already have experience teaching and mentoring students, so I hope you’ll take charge of our training department. Consider this money an advance on your salary.”

He then added, feigning seriousness, “Sister Dou, I’ve helped you this much—you can’t turn me down, can you?”

“That’s right!” Zhang Peng chimed in quickly. “Look at us—our first employee is a graduate student! We’ve got a high starting point!”

…

Feng Lifang understood all too well: they said this only to spare her any sense of burden. Otherwise, as their teacher, how could she ever face them again?

Especially Chen Ling…

Boyfriend? Boss? Clearly, the latter was more appropriate. As for that passionate kiss and the safety she’d just felt holding his hand, Feng Lifang considered those luxuries she could not afford.

Now that the weight on her heart had been lifted, the desperate courage she’d mustered seemed to quietly dissipate.

“All right, I’ll do my best with the training,” she promised earnestly, telling herself this was to repay the money, and the kindness—not to pledge herself in return!

Chen Ling already knew her character well, and was secretly relieved. Otherwise, with both Liu Xinyue and Feng Lifang, he’d truly be caught in a living hell! Being the Sea God wasn’t so easy after all—he still had much to learn.

Since they were on the subject, Chen Ling asked Zhang Peng, “Is the office big enough? Can we set aside a room for training? It doesn’t need to be large—just a meeting room for twenty people will do.”

Zhang Peng nodded. “No problem. You’ve got to look at things with an eye for growth. The office is set up as a branch, and while the location is a bit out of the way, the place is big and cheap.”

“By the way, where is it?” Chen Ling had never paid much attention to this and asked offhandedly.

“In Qianjiang District, over ten kilometers from the city center—nowhere land, basically. There’s a new office tower. My dad said we’d eventually have to expand to Linjiang anyway, so he just bought two floors, over three thousand square meters. I couldn’t talk him out of it… Renting in the city center would be much more prestigious, don’t you think, Chen?”

“Wow…” Chen Ling’s heart skipped a beat!

Qianjiang District might seem inconspicuous now, but in ten years, it would be the heart of Linjiang! The municipal center, the Sun and Moon Twin Towers, provincial headquarters of all the major banks, countless financial, securities, and insurance company HQs, and the Olympic Sports Center and Asian Games Village—all would be packed into Qianjiang District…

It would become the city’s calling card, with property prices easily holding steady at over 100,000 per square meter!

Two floors, over three thousand square meters… What did that mean?

“Old Zhang,” Chen Ling said, a trace of envy in his tone, “You should be really good to your dad! Always listen to him!”

…

Upon returning to campus, Chen Ling immediately had Zhang Peng use his connections to look into a man named Xu Ming.

Zhang Peng was a bit dismissive—after all, Xu Ming had been scared out of his wits earlier. What could he possibly do?

But Chen Ling knew well—people who seem to cave easily face-to-face can be the most vicious when scheming in the shadows.

Not that he feared Xu Ming striking from behind, but it was always best to be prepared…

With that handled, life settled back into a calm routine.

Chen Ling finally had time to draft the company's rules and regulations, especially the training programs for employees. This was the core of building his team and could not be taken lightly.

Feng Lifang resigned from the university and devoted herself fully to the company’s final preparations, already training employees recruited by the new office. Though her departure sparked some speculation, no one guessed the real reason.

After further discussion, the company’s share distribution was finalized.

As motivation and out of affection, Bao Zhenhai received 1%, and Bu Chunsheng 0.8%.

At Zhang Peng’s insistence, Chen Ling held 53.2%, becoming the largest shareholder, and Zhang Peng himself took 45%, as the second largest.

In Zhang Peng’s words: “I’ll just do as you say—anything else, I don’t care. If you try to bail, forget it! You have to hold this stake, no discussion! Even if the sky falls, you’ll be the one holding it up!”

Chen Ling had tried to refuse, but when Zhang Peng mentioned the two floors of office space, he relented.

What he didn’t know was that Zhang Peng had insisted on this at his father’s urging.

“Shared interests are the strongest bond,” Zhang Peng’s father, Zhang Linhan, chairman of Pengcheng Group, had told his son.

A few days later, it was October 1, 2008.

Late at night, as Chen Ling was about to fall asleep, a chime sounded in his mind…

“Congratulations! Novice Mission 1 complete!”

“Mission objective: Acquire 100,000 yuan in disposable funds.”

“Mission progress: Current disposable funds: 3.44 million yuan. Completion: 3,440%!”

“Overshot the goal! Hidden reward unlocked!”

“Mission rewards as follows: …”