Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

The next morning, the "TOOT TOOT" of a ship’s horn sounded from outside the window.

A freighter glided slowly across the Huangpu River, waking many of the people sleeping on both banks.

Meng Jie slowly opened her eyes. Just as she was about to sit up, she realized she was lying in Chen Yansen’s arms. Startled, she quickly threw back the covers and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her pajamas were still perfectly intact.

Chen Yansen was lying on his side, facing her. His lips were beautifully shaped, and his nose was high and straight.

For some reason, Meng Jie recalled a certain saying about men with high-bridged noses. She gave Chen Yansen a gentle shake. Seeing no reaction, she bravely lifted a corner of the blanket and peeked down.

Her heart pounded like a drum, and her cheeks flushed as she slowly ducked her little head under the covers.

Chen Yansen, who had been sound asleep, suddenly rolled over, clamping Meng Jie’s head between his legs.

The strong, masculine scent of Chen Yansen filled Meng Jie’s nostrils, and she instantly panicked, raising her hands to slap his back hard a few times.

"What are you doing?"

Chen Yansen asked, his eyes hazy with sleep after being slapped awake.

"I should be asking you that!" Meng Jie shot back, feeling a pang of guilt but bracing herself to stand her ground.

"You’re supposed to be on the sofa. Why are you in my bed?" Chen Yansen asked out of the blue.

"Yeah, why is that! You must have carried me here while I was asleep," Meng Jie said, making a wild guess.

’Damn it, she’s spot on!’

"Well, since you’re up here, don’t even think about getting down!" Chen Yansen scooped up Meng Jie by her slender waist and pulled her into his embrace, her whole body pressing against his.

Meng Jie was petite, standing at just five-foot-one and weighing a little over ninety pounds. In Chen Yansen’s eyes, she felt as light as a ball of cotton.

Their foreheads touched, their noses were nearly brushing, and they could feel each other’s warm breath just inches away.

"What are you hiding under the covers?" Meng Jie asked suddenly, trying to diffuse the intimate atmosphere.

"Don’t just grab whatever you want!" Chen Yansen sucked in a sharp breath. ’This girl’s grip is surprisingly strong.’

It suddenly dawned on Meng Jie what he meant. With a cry, she jumped up, her cheeks so red it looked like blood might drip from them, and she scrambled away from him.

"Chen Yansen, you’re such a pervert!"

Meng Jie cursed.

"You’re the one who took advantage of me, and now you’re cursing me out?" Chen Yansen sat up in bed and retorted irritably.

With that, he moved to teach Meng Jie a "profound lesson."

Seeing this, Meng Jie dodged, turned, and fled. The two of them began a chase around the forty-square-meter suite, one pursuing, the other escaping.

"Alright, I’ll stop teasing you. Go brush your teeth and wash your face. This morning, I’ll take you to Jiaoda for a walk. For lunch, we’ll eat at the revolving restaurant in the Oriental Pearl. This afternoon, we’ll go to the City God Temple, and tonight, I’ll go to a concert with you."

Chen Yansen laid out the jam-packed schedule, then added, "Consider it your birthday present. Are you satisfied?"

The activities he had planned seemed ordinary, nothing too special, but they were perfectly suited to Meng Jie’s tastes.

"You remembered my birthday!" Meng Jie giggled, grabbing his arm and hugging it affectionately.

"December 24th. I’m the one who personally handled your campus ID card, remember?" Chen Yansen said with a smile as he walked to the sink and unwrapped a new toothbrush.

Meng Jie grabbed her clothes and went into the bathroom.

Soon, they were both dressed and ready. After finishing breakfast in the restaurant, they hailed a taxi to Jiaoda.

Forty minutes later, the taxi stopped at the entrance to Jiaoda. The two of them registered their information and walked onto the campus.

Meng Jie mentioned that back in middle school, she had wanted to get into a university in Hu City. Her top choice was Jiaoda, followed by Tongji, but in the end, she only got into Xucheng Academy.

Since they were passing through Hu City, she naturally had to come and see it.

Chen Yansen nodded and joked, "Well, I used to think I’d have my pick between Tsinghua and Peking University."

After walking around for a while, Meng Jie’s head drooped, feeling a little insecure. "Xucheng Academy can’t compare to this place."

Putting aside the teaching quality and faculty, the campus environment alone put Xuyuan to shame. Even the cafeteria was several times larger than Xuyuan’s.

"Why compare? Life isn’t just about studying. You can excel in other areas too," Chen Yansen said nonchalantly.

Boss Chen never wasted energy on internal conflicts. He had dated quite a few highly educated women; some had contrasting personalities, but most were dull and uninteresting.

Meng Jie hummed in agreement, but she lost interest in the rest of the tour. They had planned to head to the restaurant at 10:30, but it wasn’t even 9:30 when they left Jiaoda.

"There’s a coffee shop over there. Let’s go rest for a bit," Meng Jie suggested.

Seeing that it was still early, Chen Yansen readily agreed.

They ordered two coffees and sat at a small round table by the window. Next to them was a half-height bookshelf filled with some young adult novels for customers to pass the time.

"You have to pull the slingshot back further so the bird can fly higher and farther."

Chen Yansen and Meng Jie were huddled together, playing "Angry Birds." They weren’t speaking loudly, but their conversation made four people in a corner furrow their brows.

"Ahao, why don’t we go to the library? That couple is too noisy," a guy with glasses said, his face full of displeasure.

"There are even more couples in the library," Cai Yuhao said, shaking his head.

"Once we get the prize money from the iOS Game Development Competition, we have to rent a quieter place for our studio," another guy, whose hair was thinning a bit, said dreamily.

"That kid’s using the latest Apple 4. We’ve only tested our new game on an Apple 3GS. How about we ask to borrow his phone to check for version compatibility?" the balding guy said, glancing over at the last member of their group.

"Damn! Why don’t you go?!" Liu Wei said with a grin.

"You’re our team’s social butterfly. Sending you is making the best use of our resources. If we sent Ahao, he probably wouldn’t be able to squeeze out a single word all day," the balding guy chuckled.

"You know what’s what."

The corners of Liu Wei’s mouth curved up. He then got up and walked toward Chen Yansen and Meng Jie.

"Hi, fellow student. I’m a graduate student at Jiaoda. I was wondering if I could borrow your Apple 4 to test a game’s compatibility on the iOS system? Would that be okay?" Liu Wei said, getting straight to the point, assuming they were also Jiaoda students.

Chen Yansen turned to see a young man in his early twenties with a long face and short hair, his eyes radiating confidence.

"You guys are developing a game?" Chen Yansen asked casually.

"Yeah. You guys are from Jiaoda too, right? Here’s my student ID." Liu Wei, ever the socializer, offered his ID and flashed it in front of them.

"Sure, go ahead and use it." Chen Yansen handed over his phone.

"Thanks, man!" Liu Wei took the phone and scurried back to his seat.

Chen Yansen didn’t think much of it and went back to playing games with Meng Jie.

About half an hour later, just as he and Meng Jie were getting ready to leave, Liu Wei, Cai Yuhao, and the others packed up and came over to return the phone.

"Hey man, I didn’t delete the game. If you like it, you can play it to pass the time," Liu Wei said with a smile.

Chen Yansen took the phone back and glanced at it casually. He was about to put it in his pocket when his hand suddenly froze.

He looked at the game’s title again, then looked up at Liu Wei to confirm. "You guys developed *Bodhisattva’s Story*?"

"Yeah, we even won an award with it back in July. You’ve played it before, man?" Liu Wei replied instinctively.

"My name is Chen Yansen, CEO of FoxTao. And you all are?" Chen Yansen took a breath and asked softly.

’The CEO of FoxTao?’

Liu Wei and the others looked at each other in confusion. The name FoxTao sounded a bit familiar, but they couldn’t quite place it. Still, the title of CEO was impressive.

"I’m Liu Wei!"

"Luo Chenghao!"

"Jin Zhicheng!"

"Cai Yuhao!"

Although they didn’t understand Chen Yansen’s intentions, he had lent them his phone for over half an hour and had introduced himself, so they all openly stated their names.

’Damn, it really is these guys!’

Chen Yansen didn’t actually play many games. It was just that in his past life, whenever he was out at a KTV with Hao Rui, Hao Rui would always talk about his work experience at Ezsen and say that missing out on the angel investment in Miha You was the biggest regret of his career.

Hao Rui was an executive director at the Penguin Venture Capital Department who had led the Series A funding for Feiyu Technology and had a good relationship with Chen Yansen.

"Is developing games very expensive?" Chen Yansen asked with a smile, posing a new question.

After hearing Chen Yansen’s introduction, Cai Yuhao and the others finally understood FoxTao’s position in the industry and couldn’t help but see him in a new light.

He started his business as a freshman and gained 20 million users in less than half a year. His abilities were just too impressive.

They also had entrepreneurial ambitions, so they naturally understood how difficult it was to start a business.

"President... President Chen, are you saying you want to invest in us?" Liu Wei chose his words carefully, testing the waters.

"Mhm, if you’re willing, of course I can," Chen Yansen replied.

Cai Yuhao was introverted but very smart. Chen Yansen’s actions made him wary.

Liu Wei felt the same. Running into an investor in a coffee shop who wanted to throw money at them right off the bat felt too unreal.

Chen Yansen noticed their strange expressions and realized he had been too hasty. He added, "The gameplay design and control mechanics of *Bodhisattva’s Story* are both excellent. Investing a few hundred thousand is nothing to me."

His tone was casual and unconcerned. Although it came off as a bit of a flex, it made Cai Yuhao and the others lower their guard.

Chen Yansen knew that just throwing money at Cai Yuhao’s team wasn’t enough; he also had to give them plenty of creative space and freedom.

On top of that, he would often say things like, "I really appreciate your game," which moved them deeply. They excitedly declared that as soon as their studio was established, they would definitely seek out Chen Yansen for investment.

The two parties exchanged contact information.

Just then, two inspectors walked in, scanned the room, and fixed their gazes on Chen Yansen.

"Are you Chen Yansen?"

One of the inspectors stepped forward, looking Chen Yansen up and down before asking in a deep voice.

Chen Yansen was completely baffled. He couldn’t figure out what could possibly have prompted inspectors to skip the usual process of a phone inquiry and come find him in person.

He had just arrived in Hu City yesterday. He hadn’t gone to a KTV or a foot massage parlor. ’Aren’t they framing an innocent man?’

He wanted to say, "You’ve got the wrong person."

But seeing the unwavering certainty in the two inspectors’ eyes, he could only nod and admit it. "What do you want with me?"

"Don’t you know what you’ve done?"

The other, older inspector snorted coldly, reciting the cliché line out of habit.

"Come with us," the younger inspector said, gesturing toward the car outside.

"Wait! You haven’t shown any identification. Who knows if you’re real inspectors? And you haven’t given a reason. What gives you the right to take him away?"

Meng Jie stepped forward, questioning them aggressively.

"Young lady, are you trying to obstruct our work?" the older inspector asked, his eyes narrowing in a veiled warning as he flashed his credentials.

"It’s okay. I haven’t done anything wrong, so I’m not afraid to go to the station." Chen Yansen patted Meng Jie’s shoulder, soothing her softly before adding his unhurried instructions:

"Have Wang Zihao contact Cao Dahua, tell Principal Tang what’s happening here, and then have Teacher Wang Jing recommend a local lawyer from Hu City."

Wang Jing was the legal consultant Tang Qingshan had sent to FoxTao. With his connections, finding a reliable lawyer wouldn’t be difficult.

After confirming their destination, Chen Yansen got into the car, his expression calm.

Meng Jie stood frozen, her mind in turmoil. Remembering Chen Yansen’s instructions, she rushed out of the coffee shop and started making calls.

"That guy isn’t a con artist, is he?" the balding guy speculated.

"I doubt it. I’m a pretty good judge of character. He doesn’t seem like a bad person," Liu Wei said, stating his judgment.

「Elsewhere.」

When Wang Zihao learned that Chen Yansen had been taken away by inspectors, he immediately panicked. But he didn’t forget Chen Yansen’s instructions and rushed into Cao Dahua’s office.