Lin Muyang’s sudden change in attitude wasn’t just due to the information revealed by the two assassins—more importantly, he genuinely recognized Liu Yutong’s business acumen.
Take the Wanlong Society she founded, for example. In just half a year, it had grown to such an impressive scale. Back when he was pursuing Liu Yutong, the first supermarket in Bright Pearl City hadn’t even opened yet. But now? Over a dozen large chain supermarkets dominated the city, topping all comprehensive metrics—popularity, sales, foot traffic—and even surpassing well-known national retail brands.
The valuation alone exceeded a billion, though that figure might be slightly inflated. Even excluding the unfinished mall still under renovation, the net assets still amounted to hundreds of millions after discounts.
And that number was staggering enough.
What made it even more remarkable was that Liu Yutong had truly built this empire from scratch.
In contrast, Lin Muyang himself, after all his efforts, was now teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.
As Liu Yutong had pointed out earlier, even if Zhao Weixiang introduced him to a few investors who, out of courtesy, threw some money his way, could he really turn this sinking ship around?
The odds of failure were still overwhelmingly high.
Unless he outright embezzled the funds and fled abroad. But that kind of desperate move was only a last resort.
Besides, overseas, he’d be powerless and without reliable connections. What would he do once the money ran out?
More importantly, to him, foreign countries were culinary wastelands.
No matter how rich he was, no matter how much of a young master he appeared to be, he’d eventually grow sick of Western food. What he truly craved was the lively, smoky flavors of street-side Chinese cuisine.
So unless absolutely forced, he would never take that step.
At least in China, he was still the feared Young Master Lin.
Abroad? To put it bluntly, even a homeless man might end him.
All things considered, if he had to choose between Zhao Weixiang and Liu Yutong as the more reliable option, the answer was undeniably Liu Yutong.
Liu Yutong had a legendary track record to back her up, while Zhao Weixiang only owned a nightclub. His so-called “investor connections” seemed flimsy in comparison.
Now that Liu Yutong was willing to bring him into her ventures, he had no reason to refuse.
Frankly, he had no better options left.
"Yutong-jie, are you really going to confront them?" Xue Linna asked, a hint of excitement flickering in her voice.
Since signing with the entertainment company, she’d met Director Wang. Though the man was undeniably talented, his hands were far from clean.
No matter what indignities she suffered, everyone expected her to endure it silently.
So when she heard Liu Yutong was going after Director Wang and his associates, she couldn’t help but feel a thrill of anticipation.
"Of course. I’m going to discuss some business with them—or rather, Young Master Lin here will," Liu Yutong said, pointing at Lin Muyang.
Though Lin Muyang didn’t understand why she was putting him forward, he played along and nodded. "That’s right. I’ll be handling the negotiations."
Just as Su Qing was about to speak, her phone rang.
It was Sun Feiyang.
She could guess why he was calling—he must be getting impatient since his replacement hadn’t shown up yet.
The moment she answered, his voice barked through the line.
"Su Qing, don’t say I didn’t warn you. You know exactly what kind of influence Director Wang holds in this industry. You’d better bring that girl over, or you’ll regret it."
"Fine. I’ll bring her now."
"Good. She’s just a small-time entertainer—what’s the big deal if she suffers a little? Glad you’ve come to your senses. I’ll be waiting."
After hanging up, Su Qing turned to Liu Yutong. "Miss Liu, shall we head out now?"
Even she couldn’t hide her anger now.
As a manager, she’d witnessed plenty of shady dealings, but that didn’t mean she was okay with them.
She was a manager, not a pimp.
Before meeting Liu Yutong, she might have tried to dodge the issue with excuses.
But now? She was done tolerating it.
She could tell this young woman, who seemed to command respect effortlessly, wasn’t just going to Director Wang for a simple business chat.
She was ready to take a gamble.
Liu Yutong nodded. "Let’s go."
Soon, an imposing fleet of black vehicles came into view.
Though half the Wanlong Society members had already withdrawn for the night, the other half had stayed behind.
Liu Yutong hadn’t intended to keep so many, but they insisted on remaining for her safety.
Two assassins had been caught, but who knew if more would come?
Better safe than sorry.
Su Qing watched as Liu Yutong strode toward a top-tier luxury car worth millions, flanked by black-clad subordinates who opened the door for her in perfect unison.
Even for someone accustomed to grand spectacles, the sheer scale of this display left her quietly awestruck.
This level of pomp? Even the biggest names in the entertainment industry couldn’t hold a candle to it.
Su Qing and Xue Linna took their seats in a Mercedes leading the convoy, while Liu Yutong and Lin Muyang shared a car—mainly because she still had things to discuss with him.
The car had just started moving when, before Liu Yutong could speak, Lin Muyang couldn’t hold back and asked first.
"Yutong, earlier you told me to go and negotiate, but I don’t even know what exactly we’re negotiating. Isn’t that a bit reckless?"
Right now, he didn’t even know what the money-making project Liu Yutong was referring to was.
Liu Yutong countered, "What do you think about domestic film and TV copyrights, or music copyrights—specifically online copyrights?"
Lin Muyang thought briefly before answering, "Well, I don’t know much about this area, but right now, does China even have any copyright awareness? If you want to listen to a song, you can just download it for free online. The same goes for movies and TV shows—people just download and watch them however they want."
"Yutong, you’re not thinking of getting into this, are you?"
Liu Yutong gave a slight nod. "Smart."
"Precisely because copyright awareness is so weak in China right now, this is our opportunity. A few thousand yuan, maybe tens of thousands at most, can buy you the copyright to a film or TV series. It’s practically like picking up money for free."
"Other copyrights for songs might be a bit more expensive, but digital online copyrights are still dirt cheap. Just like you said, right now everyone can download songs for free, so expecting to make much from digital copyright fees is, at least for now, nothing short of a fantasy."
"What I need you to do is simple: acquire the online copyrights for music and films held by Qiyu Audio-Visual. This company is currently one of the top five copyright holders in China. Taking them over would save us a lot of trouble."
"As for radio copyrights and other distribution rights, we don’t need those. Of course, if they’re willing to sell, we can buy them—but not if they’re too expensive. If the price is too high, forget it."
"Once you offload that mess of yours, you should be able to pull together around thirty or forty million, right? When the time comes, pour all of it in!"
Hearing this, Lin Muyang reacted with some alarm. "What? All of it? Are you sure this is reliable?"
He could accept investing half, but if he threw everything in and these copyrights ended up worthless in his hands, he’d be completely finished.
Liu Yutong asked, "Tell me, if that fund project you’re working on in the west of the city succeeds, how much profit do you estimate you’d make?"
Lin Muyang thought for a moment. "If everything goes smoothly, doubling or tripling the investment wouldn’t be a problem."
"Oh?"
Liu Yutong’s tone took on a meaningful edge. "Then what if I told you that if you acquire these copyrights, within five years, they could multiply by at least tenfold—maybe even several dozen times?"
Lin Muyang’s eyes widened instantly, as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.
"Several dozen times?! You’re not joking with me, are you?"
