Chapter 127: The Deserved End (6)

Jinhai’s beady eyes darted around restlessly. After a long while, he finally stood up, shuffled over to the counter, and shamelessly asked Fang Yu for an idle computer so he could browse the web.

Just as Fang Yu was wondering how to get rid of this shameless stray dog, Jinhai suddenly came over again, grinning as he waved.

“Churan, I’m heading off first. I’ll message you when I get back.”

With that, he lifted the door curtain and walked out of the Internet café without even looking back.

While everyone else stared in confusion, Shijicheng came over with a smug smile.

“Hehe, Boss Fang, aren’t I clever? I tricked Jinhai into going to Yanlin to join a pyramid scheme.”

“What? What pyramid scheme?” Fang Yu asked, utterly bewildered.

After Shijicheng explained everything from beginning to end, Fang Yu burst out laughing.

“Good. Nicely done, Gungun. I, Fang Yu, hereby declare that from now on, whenever you and your girlfriend come to the café, all your expenses are free. Here—this is what you deserve.”

With that, Fang Yu pulled another ten large bills from his wallet and handed them over.

Shijicheng’s face immediately flushed red. He nodded enthusiastically.

“Thank you, Boss Fang! Hehe, I was only saying it offhand. I never thought that guy would actually be so stupid. Who told him to badmouth Panyan just now?”

Xia Churan, however, seemed somewhat worried.

“Fang Yu, if Jinhai really went to Yanlin and got held there, would you all have to go rescue him?”

“What’s that got to do with me?” Fang Yu rolled his eyes blankly. It was already generous of him not to kill that bespectacled idiot himself.

“But if a grown man goes off to join a pyramid scheme, won’t his school contact his family?”

“That still has nothing to do with me. If he dies in Yanlin, I might even buy a string of firecrackers to celebrate. All right, what’s there to worry about with a four-eyed idiot? You’d be better off checking what we should buy for Shawan.”

After all, she was still a young girl at heart. Xia Churan had never truly cared about Jinhai’s fate, and after hearing Fang Yu say that, she promptly forgot all about the bespectacled fool. Delighted, she pulled him over to the computer.

“Waaah, I heard Shawan is really beautiful, and lots of celebrities hold concerts there. I want to go!”

With several days remaining before their departure for Shawan, Fang Yu worked without pause, dragging everyone into discussions about Qinglu’s marketing strategy.

“Damn it. Ever since Xianlin Milk Tea pulled this stunt, our sales have been dropping in a straight line.” He stared at the report in his hand, muttering under his breath.

Even the usually careless Cheng Chen became serious.

“Yeah. Looking at the numbers, it’s down by about forty percent, isn’t it? Damn!”

“Why don’t I just take out the boss of Xianlin Milk Tea?” Zhao Bin cursed as he rubbed his fists together.

The customer was king, and everyone had the freedom to choose. The showdown between Qinglu and Xianlin was about to begin, but Fang Yu and the others had no significant advantage when it came to price.

“Why don’t we lower our prices too? Their cheapest milk tea is three yuan, so we can sell ours for three yuan as well.” Lu Zhen stroked the stubble on his chin.

“Hmm, now that you mention it, I’ve had an idea. We don’t necessarily have to lower the price—we can increase the quantity instead!”

He made the decision at once and immediately instructed the company to purchase a batch of extra-large plastic cups, each with a capacity of roughly one thousand milliliters.

“Notify every branch. Start using these new cups immediately, replace the price lists, and launch the latest promotion. Customers can enjoy a large cup by paying just one extra yuan on top of the original milk tea price!”

This was an idea that a milk-tea shop from Shawan, in Nanwu, had come up with in his previous life. The idea would not appear until 2007, but Fang Yu had no choice except to bring it out ahead of time.

The cost of milk tea was low. Even increasing the volume to one thousand milliliters would add only a few coins to the expense, which was still perfectly acceptable.

Fang Yu’s swift action produced immediate results for Qinglu. Once the extra-large cups were launched, many customers returned. At the end of the day, milk tea was easier to accept than chicken cutlets.

Greasy chicken cutlets could only be eaten a few bites at a time, but milk tea was different. Not only could one drink it oneself, one could also buy it for the boy or girl one had a crush on.

The chicken cutlets at the neighboring Xianlin Milk Tea, however, remained wildly popular. For the moment, Fang Yu still had no good solution to that problem.

Since he had to make frequent trips into the city during those few days, Fang Yu took the opportunity to spend a little more time at Qin Lu’s school.

“Lu Lu, I’ll be going to Shawan in a few days. I might not be back for a week or so.” He smiled as he pulled his beloved girl into his arms.

“Is it that far? Why are you going to Shawan?” Qin Lu asked, puzzled.

“Hmm. The milk-tea shop has lost a lot of business, and their supplier is in Shawan. I need to go there and find out what’s going on.”

“All right. But won’t missing school be a problem? Won’t the school investigate?”

“It’s fine. I can do without that lousy vocational college anyway. By the way, what has Jinhai been up to lately?”

He suddenly remembered the bespectacled fool whom Shijicheng had tricked.

Qin Lu tilted her head and thought for a moment.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him for several days. He hasn’t even attended the big lectures. Didn’t he go to your place to look for Senior Sister Churan?”

Fang Yu rolled his eyes. It seemed Jinhai really had gone to Yanlin.

“He didn’t. Maybe he’s found a new target. Who knows?”

Qin Lu angrily tightened the arms she had wrapped around his waist.

“I don’t think so! Senior Sister is so beautiful—she’s one of the prettiest girls even at my school. How could Jinhai possibly give up? Oh, right, is she going to Shawan with you too?”

He gave an awkward laugh and hurriedly denied it.

“How could she? I can’t close the Internet café, can I? She and Li Jing both have to stay behind and watch the place.”

Only then did the girl relax a little.

“Oh, good. Waaah, I want to go out and have fun too, but the school inspections are so strict.”

With a sly grin, Fang Yu pinched her rosy cheek.

“Oh, come on. Why don’t you stay out tonight? I’ll tell you a bedtime story.”

Qin Lu’s pretty face instantly turned crimson, and she buried her head against his chest.

“I can’t. The student council checks the dorms. If they catch me, it’ll be troublesome.”

She had said it would be troublesome, not that she was unwilling. Fang Yu naturally understood the hidden meaning in her words. Still, he could hardly force the girl in his arms to elope with him, so he could only nod dejectedly.

“What kind of lousy school checks on students so strictly? By the way, is there anything you want? I’ll bring it back for you from Shawan.”

“No, I don’t want anything. I just want you to stay with me.”

A girl’s wishes were naturally much simpler.

During those days, Cheng Chen and the others were not idle either. They all went out and bought themselves clothes and accessories for the trip to Shawan.

“Are you guys trying to get yourselves killed? Are you planning to attend a hula party dressed like that?” Fang Yu stared blankly at their floral shirts and beach shorts.

“What do you know? I heard the girls in Shawan are incredibly uninhibited. Besides, we’ll definitely be going to the beach. These clothes are perfect!” Cheng Chen said proudly as he fussed with his brightly colored short-sleeved shirt.

“Damn, you’re taking Li Jing with you. When will you even have the time?”

“Time can always be squeezed out. We’ll find a way!”

Jinhai, meanwhile, seemed to have been thoroughly fooled. He actually sent Xia Churan a long text message, telling her in no uncertain terms to wait for him for two years. Once he graduated, he would return with ten million yuan and formally ask for her hand in marriage.

That gave everyone at the Seven Stars Internet Café plenty to laugh about over the following days.