The next morning, the sky was clear, the air crisp. The temperature had dropped another degree, making it feel even colder. With the upcoming venture capital conference approaching, Jiang Zhou roped Han Rou, Huang Qi, Su Nan, and Feng Siruo into the Ganfanren headquarters. He needed them to organize materials and gather intel on other participants. Official source ıs 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝙣𝙚𝙩 “Boss, do we really have to write two thousand partner merchants?” Jiang Zhou nodded. “Didn’t the marketing team go out canvassing? Two thousand partners is just around the corner.” Su Nan’s fingers clattered on the keyboard. “But what if investors demand real numbers?” “Who cares? We don’t even know how much funding they’ll give. If it’s not at least a million, is it worth arguing over?” “Even a hundred thousand is worth it. That’s money!” Jiang Zhou stretched lazily. “This is just a student project conference. The total investment pool won’t even exceed ten million. What I care about isn’t money.” Su Nan frowned. “Then why do you care so much about this?” “It’s about impressions. I want to leave a mark on Shangjing’s business circle. That way, when I actually need investment, I won’t have to knock on doors with a project book.” Su Nan thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up. “Ah, so it’s like how you always set things up before scamming people?” “…That’s one way to put it. At the end of the day, ‘Ganfanren’ is still just a student project. It doesn’t get much attention. So I have to let people know I’m holding onto something big.” Just then, Han Rou and Huang Qi came in, carrying stacks of project reports, exhausted and out of breath. “Bro, we printed everything for the investors.” Jiang Zhou looked up. “Good work. Take a break.” Huang Qi held out her hand. “I want a reward!” “Fine. A glass of water. Sister, pour it for her.” Han Rou, sweating, poured two glasses — one for herself, one for Huang Qi. The sisters reeked of ink mixed with their natural scent. It was strangely pleasant. “Student Feng, have some water too.” Jiang Zhou handed her a cup. She sipped lightly, pointing at the screen. “This number isn’t clear.” “That’s the refund amount. A little vagueness works in our favor.” Jiang Zhou ruffled her hair with a smile. She and Xu Yurong were working on the financial report for Ganfanren. As a wealthy young lady, she had a natural talent for finance. Even Xu Yurong, with internship experience, wasn’t her equal. For this conference, the financial report was the most important piece. Investors might like your creativity, your concept. But in the end, they cared about returns. If your project couldn’t make money, no matter how fresh or broad the market, it was worthless. Get this part right, and you’d already won half the battle. Feng Siruo wiped sweat from her nose. “Not really. Almost done.” “Go rest with Senior Xu for a bit.” “Suit yourself. After all, this is your dowry. You should work harder.” At the word dowry, Feng Siruo’s eyes widened. The word felt so strange, so distant… Just then, Yan Weimin wandered in. Seeing the whole group hard at work, the old director’s face lit with satisfaction. Honestly, the rise of Ganfanren had shocked him. Jiang Zhou was only a freshman. Yet in just two months, he had built a project from nothing and spread it across every university in Shangjing. It was almost unbelievable. “Jiang Zhou, you’ve got all your materials ready?” Jiang Zhou stood. “Almost. Director, please sit. I’ll get you water.” Yan Weimin sat on the sofa. “Seeing your energy, I feel young again.” “Director, you’re still in your prime!” “Am I? Hahaha, I feel that way too!” Jiang Zhou forced a laugh, thinking, Director, you’re even thicker-skinned than me. At that moment, Yan Weimin pulled a pair of reading glasses from his pocket, put them on, and handed Jiang Zhou his phone. “Someone’s been texting me lately. I don’t understand what they mean. Take a look for me.” “Text messages? From an unknown number?” “Yes. Not in my contacts. I didn’t dare reply—thought it might be a scam.” Jiang Zhou took Director Yan’s phone and glanced at it. With just one look, his heart leapt into his throat. After reading a few of the texts, Jiang Zhou immediately knew. Th-this… these were sent by Director Chen from the University of Technology! Cold sweat broke out across his forehead. What is wrong with this Director Chen? Already fifty years old, yet acting like some love-struck girl! Isn’t it enough to write love letters? Why send text messages too?! Isn’t she just pushing herself into the fire pit?! “Jiang Zhou, what’s wrong? Your face doesn’t look good.” Jiang Zhou glanced at Yan Weimin. “Director, this might be a new type of weather forecast.” Yan Weimin was surprised. “Really?” “Yeah, didn’t you see? The messages always warn you about the wind, reminding you to dress warmly.” “Oh, so that’s it. I thought it was a scammer. Turns out it’s a weather forecast.” Jiang Zhou kept a straight face. “These days everything is about appealing to the young. You didn’t expect even official forecasts to be this lively, right?” Yan Weimin nodded. “That’s a nice format. I’ll forward it to your teacher’s wife to have a look.” “Ah, wait, wait, wait!” “What’s wrong? Who stepped on your tail?” Jiang Zhou coughed. “Teacher’s wife must have received the same messages. If you forward them to her, what’s the point?” Yan Weimin thought that sounded reasonable. “Fair enough. You keep working, I’ll go have a walk around the cafeteria.” “Take care, Director. The wind is strong, don’t forget to dress warmly!” Watching Yan Weimin leave, Jiang Zhou finally breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness he hadn’t been exposed… for now. This shouldn’t end up destroying someone’s family… right? He chuckled to himself, though the smile felt a little guilty. Soon, it was the third night. All the materials for the venture capital conference had been prepared. All that was left was tomorrow afternoon’s final step. Whether it succeeded or not would depend on the investors’ judgment. Jiang Zhou sat wearily on the sofa, stretching with all his strength. Starting a company from scratch was , everything had to be handled personally. And Jiang Zhou still hadn’t gotten used to being a cold, detached boss. Watching the whole room of employees working overtime made his heart ache. He even kept running around helping out. If someone was tired, he’d step in so they could rest. It seemed that last time’s “crying practice” had been useless. Maybe he really wasn’t cut out to do big things after all. Just then, Han Rou came in carrying a bag. “Bro, I brought beef brisket rice. Want some?” Jiang Zhou waved. “Just pour me a glass of water, thanks.” Han Rou set the food down and poured him water. “Why are you so exhausted?” “It’s not just exhaustion, there’s a lot of mental pressure too.” “Don’t worry, tomorrow’s venture capital conference will definitely go smoothly!” Jiang Zhou sighed. “I hope so. Has Mom called you recently?” Han Rou nodded. “Every day. We talk for ages.” “Don’t mention the venture capital conference to her yet, or she’ll say I’m not doing serious work.” “Good thing I didn’t last time. But… I did sell out Student Feng.” Jiang Zhou couldn’t help but laugh. “I know. When Madam Yuan Youqin called me, she specifically asked me to bring her home.” Han Rou opened the brisket rice and took a bite. “How about after the conference, we take Student Feng home with us?” “She’s so timid. How would she agree to that?” “She’ll be scared if it’s just you taking her.” Jiang Zhou blinked. “So what are you planning?” Han Rou thought for a moment. “I’ll just invite her in the name of being my best friend.” “Oh? That’s actually a good idea.” “Then you just focus on the conference. In a couple of days, I’ll talk to her.”