Chapter 117: Chapter 117 – The Big Star Goes on a Blind Date (Please Subscribe, Vote for Monthly Tickets!)
Wealthy and handsome in his youth, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Zhao Zhenhao had all the makings to become the dream lover of countless young girls.
Initially somewhat confused, the car parking attendant perked up the moment he saw Zhao Zhenhao, hurriedly running out to greet him with respect, “Young Master, you’ve arrived. We’ve reserved a parking spot especially for you downstairs; I’ll take your fleet there right away.”
“Go ahead,” Zhenhao said lightly with a wave of his hand, then pulled a pristine white handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his hands. “Make sure my cars don’t get a speck of dust on them, understood?”
“Understood!” the manager nodded eagerly, like a pecking chicken. “I’ve had the parking space cleaned three times already. Afterwards, we sprayed water to ensure the air is dust-free. Even if your car stayed there for a week, I guarantee it will be just as it was when it drove in!”
“Mhm, good,” Zhao Zhenhao nodded in satisfaction, then offhandedly said, “One thousand.”
Instantly, a bodyguard from his entourage reached into his pocket and stuffed a wad of hundred-dollar bills into the manager’s hand, “This is the Young Master’s reward. You may go now.”
“Thank you for the reward, Young Master!” the manager accepted the money, nodding and bowing as he saw the group off.
Looking at the grand entrance of the hotel, Zhao Zhenhao exhaled softly, smiling, “Finally, I have the chance to meet Yaning. I’ve truly waited too long for this day…”
Steadying his mind, Zhao Zhenhao instructed the bodyguards beside him, “You remember what I told you on our way here, don’t you?”
The lead bodyguard replied, “Remember, we guarantee to complete the mission!”
“Good,” Zhenhao nodded with satisfaction. “I’ll go in first. Remember to handle things well; the reward will be generous.”
Inside the private room, Zhao Changsheng and Bai Haochen were chatting about household matters when a knock on the door was heard. Soon after, Zhao Zhenhao gently pushed open the door and came in, immediately greeting Bai Haochen and Ning Ruqi, “I’m sorry for being late due to some company matters, Uncle, Auntie.”
“Heh, it’s no problem. Take a seat,” Bai Haochen sized up Zhao Zhenhao with a smile, “Hmm, not bad. You’ve become even more handsome since I last saw you, and it seems you’ve done well in your career. Quite an impressive young man.”
Ning Ruqi also expressed her admiration, “This child gets better looking every time I see him. I remember when you were in junior high a few years ago, right? Back then, you ran wild like an untamed horse. Looking at you now, you’ve changed so much. If I’m not wrong, you should be 25 this year?”
“Born in April ’92, I’m indeed 25 this year,” Zhao Zhenhua replied with a bashful smile, then wiped his chair before sitting down.
“Yes, achieving so much at 25 is truly not easy,” Bai Haochen nodded and asked, “So what business are you in now? Would you mind talking about it?”
“Of course,” upon hearing Bai Haochen’s inquiry about his business, Zhao Zhenhua immediately perked up, “Currently, I’m focusing on Internet Plus, mainly following the virtual economy route. It’s about integrating payment and top-up services for various portals into one system, where our company charges a fee of two-thousandths percent.”
After all, he was a business tycoon; Zhao Zhenhao succinctly conveyed the essence of his venture.
The virtual economy was exactly the field currently undergoing rapid development in the Heavenly People’s Republic. His ability to seize this opportunity clearly demonstrated his exceptional foresight and skill, especially as a member of the Zhao family, one of the top four families, who innately held tremendous advantages.
“Indeed, this is a promising direction,” Bai Haochen nodded in approval, smiling, “While two-thousandths percent may seem small, we are now in an era of rapid internet development, and the daily financial flows of major portals are staggering. I’ve calculated before: based on the current financial flow of nearly a hundred industry portals within the country, the sum is approximately 3.26 billion. Two-thousandths of that is 650,000 RMB, which amounts to a profit of 240 million a year. Even after deducting some costs, it’s still considerable income. Very good, the future looks promising.”
Two-thousandths percent may not seem like much, but the daily financial traffic in the Heavenly People’s Republic is massive.
Once Zhao Zhenhao’s virtual economy fully connects, it would mean that users only need to top up in one location to use nearly a hundred portals. Convenient and efficient—and with the rapid development of the internet, this business will only grow more lucrative.
Why was Jack Ma Earth’s richest man in the Heavenly Empire? Wasn’t his greatest advantage that Alipay connected countless websites’ payment systems, earning commissions in the process?
Clearly, Zhao Zhenhao was developing this very business.
“Right, the cash flow in online shopping is also substantial,” Bai Haochen thought for a moment, then asked, “Is the channel through Taobao open?”
“This is a bit difficult,” Zhao Zhenhao shook his head with some helplessness when it came up, saying, “Now the channels on Taobao are controlled by the Fang family, and it’s not easy to get a foot in the door.”
“The Fang family…” Bai Haochen pondered for a while before he sighed and said, “This really isn’t that easy.”
Among the four great families of the Heavenly People’s Republic, the Bai family controlled more than sixty percent of the film and entertainment resources. The Zhao family originated from the internet, with Baidu being one of their family’s industries. The other two families included the Hong family that managed the instant messaging system QQ as well as a real estate company, the Marriott Group, with a total asset of two hundred and fifty billion. Finally, the Fang family controlled the Taobao mall, also valued at two hundred and fifty billion.
For this reason, neither Zhao Changsheng nor Bai Haochen had any solutions when this topic was mentioned.
“Let’s not talk about this anymore,” after a brief silence, Bai Haochen said with a smile, “After all, it’s the young people’s business to struggle and rise. With Zhenhao’s vision and methods, it’s inevitable that he will become a top-tier Phoenix man in the country.”
As soon as he said this, it represented his recognition for Zhao Zhenhao. Therefore, Zhao Changsheng was very excited and laughed, “With Brother Bai saying this, our Zhenhao’s value must have risen a level, haha.”
“Yes, I have no objections to Zhenhao,” Bai Haochen nodded and said, “What’s left is to see what my daughter thinks.” While saying this, he checked the time, “This girl, what time is it already and she’s still not here, such a headache.”
“Boom, boom…” When the white Lamborghini stopped at the entrance of Tianfu Building, it was already six thirty-two in the evening.
Bai Yaning, in a white long dress, had just gotten out of the car and immediately caught everyone’s attention.
It’s difficult to express a woman’s beauty through words, but one can glean an understanding from the reactions of those around her when she appears in public.
Whether it’s ignored, awestruck, or simply dumbstruck.
Clearly, Bai Yaning definitely belonged to the latter category.
Zhao Zhenhao’s twelve bodyguards were lined up at the entrance, already fully prepared for any situation that might occur after Bai Yaning’s arrival. They overlooked one thing: her beauty—As soon as they saw Bai Yaning, the twelve bodyguards were stunned, standing like statues until she entered the doors of the Tianfu Building. It was only then that their team leader came to his senses, slapping his forehead sharply!
“Damn, I forgot to deliver the gift the young master prepared for her. What should we do now?” The team leader was instantly dripping with sweat, “Oh heavens, if the young master blames us…”
“No way, she’s too beautiful,” one bodyguard sighed, saying, “Anyone who sees Miss Ice Princess would react the same way…”
Bai Yaning had a very cold expression; in fact, she rarely smiled.
Following the waiter’s direction, Bai Yaning finally arrived at the private room where her father Bai Haochen was and knocked on the door to enter, “Sorry, I was delayed due to a traffic jam and arrived a bit late.”
As soon as Bai Yaning appeared, Zhao Zhenhao’s eyes noticeably lit up.
He diligently got up to pull out a chair for Bai Yaning, saying very gently, “Good, you’ve arrived, please have a seat.”
“Thank you.” Bai Yaning replied coolly and then sat down gracefully.
“Ah, Yaning has become even more beautiful,” Zhao Changsheng smiled as Bai Yaning sat down and said, “Now I really understand what they mean by ‘time waits for no one.’ Looking at Yaning makes me truly wish I could be ten or twenty years younger.”
“You old rascal,” his wife laughed on the sidelines, “Even if you were twenty or thirty years younger, it would be to no avail!”
“Ha ha, that’s true, that’s true,” laughed Zhao Changsheng, and he immediately stood up, saying, “Brother Bai, let’s not meddle too much with young people’s affairs. Let’s go. I just got a nice new project here. I’ll take Brother Bai and sister-in-law for a visit.”
Bai Haochen nodded, “Sure, let’s go. I’ll take a look. If Brother Zhao says it’s good, it must be very surprising.”
The four people left the private room as they spoke.
For a moment, the entire room was left with just Zhao Zhenhao and Bai Yaning.