Chapter 530: I’m Not Dead Yet

Deep autumn nights are quiet and bleak. Yet, the dorms are brightly lit every season. Jiang Qin changed clothes and stepped out with his bank card, making his way to the girls’ dorm.

Hearing Jiang Qin had arrived, the little rich girl ran fast, nearly jumping the last two steps, then extending her arm hidden in her sleeve for a hug.

Jiang Qin smoothly swept her into his arms and spun her around on the spot.

“Heard a bold girl wants to keep me?”

As the little rich girl’s feet touched the ground, she nodded earnestly, admitting she was that audacious girl.

Jiang Qin glanced at the bank card in his hand: “How much is on this card? You see, I’m too handsome to sell myself cheap.”

“618,5562.”

“Why all these small changes?”

Feng Nanshu lifted her moist eyes, tapping the card with her finger: “I also deposited my living expenses in it.”

Holding her closer, Jiang Qin felt the fullness at his chest: “Who provides your living expenses?”

“They set up a fixed transfer before going abroad.”

“You’ve stored all your money here, aren’t you eating then?”

Feng Nanshu buried her head in his chest, her voice muffled: “They said you were in a rush, and I didn’t know what to do.”

Group-buy faced many traps and crises, like Lashou and Nuomi’s combined sanctions, and Dianping’s aggressive entry, but these weren’t widely known outside the industry.

But public opinion wars are different. Daily trending searches and news worried the little rich girl terribly.

“Don’t listen to what people say; I’m such a dumb, who else but you can make me anxious?”

Jiang Qin rubbed his nose against hers and couldn’t resist patting her perky bottom: “All rumors, just to scare people.”

“Really?”

“When have I ever lied to you?”

Feng Nanshu nodded: “I’m just like you, I never lie to you either.”

Jiang Qin squinted: “You better be telling the truth.”

“You’ve caught me already.”

“Oh, I heard you asked Uncle Gong to sell the car and the villa, is that true?”

“It’s fine… I have a home now, at Hongrong Homes, Block 7, Unit 502, Golden Mountain Street, Jizhou City.”

After hearing this, Jiang Qin fell silent for a moment then leaned down to kiss her soft lips.

Kissed by him, Feng Nanshu’s eyes grew adorable.

She remembered Jiang Qin saying friends shouldn’t kiss, yet now, he always ends up kissing her without a sound.

“Though I like money, I don’t want your bank card.”

“Why?”

“Hugging you, kissing you, and spending your money feels a bit shameless.” Jiang Qin stuffed the bank card into her pocket.

Feng Nanshu pursed her lips, stubbornly saying: “Is it a bit too little?”

He nibbled her again: “Not at all, enough to buy me for ten generations, yet I’m not that poor. Keep it, spend it when I’m really broke.”

“Oh.”

“Withdraw some living expenses, cut down on sweets, eat more proper meals, don’t starve my minions.”

Jiang Qin spoke with mock severity, and Feng Nanshu earnestly nodded in agreement.

“Then, once I’m through this busy period, settling scores and revenges, thrashing them beyond returning, I’ll take some time off and take you out every day.”

“You said it, huh.” The little rich girl narrowed her eyes.

“Of course, friends don’t lie to each other.”

“Jiang Qin, you’re a good person.”

“Alright, go back to sleep. Watch less news and stop Googling my name all the time. I can see all your search terms, even ‘Who is Jiang Qin’s wife?’ You sure know how to play.”

Feng Nanshu was stunned: “How can you see that?”

“It’s my forum, I have the highest access, of course, I can see it.” Jiang Qin found her sometimes smart, sometimes silly.

“What else have you seen?”

“I see you searching every day ‘Who does Jiang Qin like the most? Why Jiang Qin adores his wife so much, How much Jiang Qin cherishes Feng Nanshu, and who is the boss lady of Room 208.'”

Feng Nanshu glanced away: “Brother, Gao Wenhui often borrows my computer.”

Jiang Qin gave a thumbs up: “Whether she has a computer, I’m not sure, but she definitely has a scapegoat.”

“?”

“Alright, I’m off.”

Feng Nanshu nodded lightly, watching as Jiang Qin walked away, then paused a few steps out and waved at her from where light and shadow merged.

Seeing this, the little rich girl couldn’t help but dash over, crashing into his arms.

They only parted when the lights-out siren sounded, bidding each other farewell.

As Feng Nanshu turned to go upstairs, she suddenly saw Wang Haini and a boy laughing together until they said goodbye at the building’s base.

The boy seemed affected, walking a few steps away then suddenly looking back, giving a final look before stylishly making his exit.

“Haini.”

Wang Haini was smiling sweetly and stared in surprise at Feng Nanshu: “Hey, what are you doing downstairs? Oh, your husband came to see you? Why so late?”

Feng Nanshu shook her head: “I don’t know, but brother was quite pampering today.”

“Nonsense, when does he not pamper you?”

“Who was that just now?”

Wang Haini glanced back: “That boy? A new good friend I just made.”

Feng Nanshu blanked out for a moment, a trace of confusion in her eyes: “But I remember you already had a good friend.”

“Our friendship is genuine, not like the special kind you and Jiang Qin have, where there can only be one. Do you know what we call this type of relationship where there can only be one good friend? It’s called dating!”

“Good friends don’t date.”

Feng Nanshu emphasized this fact seriously, then was dragged upstairs by Wang Haini.

The next morning greeted Linchuan University with a refreshing, sunny day. Jiang Qin, along with Cao Guangyu, arrived at the rented photo studio, brimming with vigor.

Lu Feiyu was standing at the door, suddenly tapped on the shoulder: “Keep at it. If group-buy collapses, you’ll be jobless. As for me, sorry, I’ve got a rich woman keeping me.”

“?”

Cao Guangyu felt his scalp prickle at the side: “Old Jiang, you really sting whoever you encounter, huh?”

Jiang Qin waved his hand: “You don’t get it, this face alone is worth 618,5562.”

“Down to the last cent, you sure know how to boast.”

“…”

Soon, young master Cao was led away by the makeup artist for makeup, to shoot the penultimate scene, while the last scene was Jiang Qin’s rewrite, the highlight of the entire commercial.

Initially, the scene showed three capitalists demeaning the protagonist with a contract.

In the revision, the protagonist flings the contract back at the three partners, the contract bearing bold words—”Shareholding Agreement”, signifying defiance and resilience.

During filming, Wei Lanlan and Xu Yu arrived from headquarters, waiting until the director called cut before approaching Jiang Qin.

“Boss, the funds have been arranged, totaling over fifty million. All contract terminations from various branches are ready, as well as the strategic partnership notices with Linchuan Business Group.”

“Good, hard work.”

After Xu Yu’s report, Wei Lanlan handed over an invitation: “Boss, look at this, found it in the mailbox this morning.”

Jiang Qin took it, reading a big line—”Peak Forum of the Group-Buying Industry, hosted by Dianping.”

Forums in the group-buying industry started in 2009, typically led by the era’s leading companies; for instance, the first was hosted by Lashou.

Later, as group-buy emerged distinctly, in 2010, no forum was held due to various take-down attempts.

Now, with group-buy embroiled in public opinion issues, Dianping decided to seize the opportunity to host, positioning themselves as leaders.

“Boss, what do you think?”

“I’m not dead yet.”

“Shall we go then?”

“Yes, when you stage a play, it needs an audience. I can’t wait to see their faces.”

By early evening, Dianping’s event operations department received replies from various companies, reporting up until it reached Chen Jiaxin’s hands.

Lashou, Nuomi, and Wowo Group all declined, denying Dianping’s claim to leadership.

However, Chen Jiaxin didn’t care about the other sites’ responses but was puzzled to see group-buy agreeing to attend.

Group-buy, nearly crushed by public opinion, surprisingly agreed to attend the forum.

“Any recent moves from Jiang Qin?”

“Heard he’s been shooting an ad.”

“Shooting an ad?”

Chen Jiaxin frowned slightly: “How could an ad suppress the news? Moreover, advertising now could backfire.”

Zhang Li paused: “Why?”

“Ads are just for promotion. You can’t prove via ads that the company still has funds. Merchants and consumers are clamoring for payments, but instead of settling, he’s spending on ads. What does that make you feel?”

“It feels like they’re stubbornly holding on, making me even more uneasy because Tuanbao Net also launched a series of ads before it went bankrupt.”

Chen Jiaxin sighed: “Those in the game are lost. How could he make such a decision?”

After a pause, Zhang Li thought: “Not much else to do, right? Building community group-buys, setting up supply chains, no matter how much capital, it’ll be tight. Merchant payments and customer refunds together make cash flow tight. Nothing left to do but ads.”

“Forget it, don’t think about it anymore. Go and renotify Lashou, Nuomi, and Wowo Group that group-buy is coming.”

“This…”

“Without Lashou, Nuomi, and Wowo Group, what kind of peak forum is this? Let group-buy be the bait, for our last bit of heat.”