“Director Liu, if I may ask, how old are you this year?”
“Twenty.”
“And you’re already thinking about retiring at twenty?”
“Planning ahead. If I waited until I’m seventy or eighty to think about traveling to outer space, wouldn’t it be too late to start aerospace then? I call it being proactive.”
Zhou Yingpei: “…”
“Then… if you retire early, what happens to your company?”
“I’ll hand it over to someone else.”
“You can’t make all the money in the world, but life only lasts a few decades. You push hard when you’re young, and when you’ve done enough, you learn to enjoy yourself. Don’t you think so, Professor Zhou?”
Zhou Yingpei: “…”
Did he think so?
He thought this girl actually had a point somehow.
“Alright, alright, I’ll take your proposal. Let me think it over for a few days.”
Liu Yutong: “Great, I’ll wait to hear from you.”
Just as she reached the door, she suddenly turned back: “Oh, by the way, Professor Zhou, if you restart that engine project, how long would it take to produce a prototype?”
Zhou Yingpei answered instinctively: “If the funding and the team are in place, two years… no, a year and a half would be enough.”
Liu Yutong nodded: “Money isn’t an issue, and people aren’t either. If I can’t recruit domestically, I’ll go abroad. I hear the aerospace sector in the US has been laying off a lot of people—I’ll send someone to make contact.”
“In short, I’ll handle all the resources. You just do your job well!”
With that, she waved goodbye stylishly and walked away.
Zhou Yingpei stood there, stunned for a long moment.
“Wait, what does she mean by ‘doing my job well’?”
“Am I her employee?”
…………
Not long after Liu Yutong left Hangda University, she received some bad news.
The permits for rocket manufacturing and satellite frequency usage had been stalled.
Everything had been going smoothly. They only needed to finalize the last steps, and the approvals would be stamped within a few days.
But now, at the final signing stage, someone had deliberately blocked them.
“Someone used connections to put pressure on things, saying that Wanlong Aerospace’s project involves national security and requires stricter review.”
“The exact source hasn’t been traced yet, but given the influence and our past conflicts, it can only be Chu Junlin,” Yun Cheng said.
Liu Yutong sneered upon hearing this: “Chu Junlin sure knows how to pick a time to be obnoxious.”
She had expected Chu Junlin to pull some small tricks.
After all, that day at the Imperial Club, she had embarrassed him in front of so many people and forced him into a ten-billion yuan bet.
Given how Young Master Chu’s ego worked, he was bound to try and get even.
She just hadn’t expected him to reach into aerospace approvals.
Quite impressive!
“The Young Lady, should we try pulling some strings? Lin Yi might be able to help.”
Liu Yutong shook her head: “No rush. I have my own plans for Lin Yi. For now, you find out what Chu Junlin is up to lately.”
Yun Cheng reported: “I’ve already had people look into it. He’s been busy lately—besides setting up a new chamber of commerce, he’s also working on a variety show.”
“A variety show?” Liu Yutong was slightly surprised.
“Yes, it’s called ‘China’s Best Music,’ meant to be the country’s first major music talent show. The mentor lineup is strong, and it feels like a direct challenge to our ‘China’s Best Voice.’”
Liu Yutong couldn’t help but laugh at the news.
“Interesting. He’s trying to go after me on all fronts.”
Yun Cheng: “That’s not all. Lin Muyang told me that some of the singers who signed up for our auditions have been poached by that show’s production team. We’ve already lost several standout contestants from Beijing to high-paying offers.”
“Let them go.”
Liu Yutong wasn’t too concerned: “There are plenty of good talents from the auditions. We don’t need those fence-sitters.”
Yun Cheng continued: “There’s one more thing. After our investigation, the person behind the delayed approval of our Longkan Vision platform—the capital behind it was Chu Junlin.”
Liu Yutong: “We hadn’t even fallen out by then, had we?”
“No, it was pure business competition. He owns a listed entertainment company that invested in several video platforms. Longkan Vision’s copyright strategy hurt those platforms, so they went to him for help, and he stepped in.”
Liu Yutong nodded and said nothing more.
She’d seen this kind of business maneuver plenty of times. It wasn’t anger, just a sense that Chu Junlin was small-minded.
Look at someone like Little Ma, for example—even when competing, he’d still call ahead to give you a heads up.
Chu Junlin, on the other hand, only knew how to use underhanded tricks behind the scenes.
“Yun Cheng, set up a meeting with Lin Yi for me. I’ll go see her tomorrow afternoon.”
“Got it.”
The next afternoon, Liu Yutong showed up on time at Lin Yi’s office.
Lin Yi’s office wasn’t large, but it was elegantly decorated. Several delicate orchids sat on the windowsill, and a calligraphy scroll hung on the wall with the words “Tranquility Leads to Far-reaching Ambition.”
“Yutong, you’re here.”
Lin Yi put down the documents in her hand and smiled as she invited her to sit: “What’s up? Did you suddenly miss me?”
Liu Yutong got straight to the point and explained the issue with the stalled aerospace approvals.
Lin Yi listened, her delicate brows furrowing slightly: “I’ll look into this for you later. But since you say it’s the Chu family, it’s almost certainly them.”
“Can you help smooth things over?” Liu Yutong asked.
Lin Yi: “It’ll take some time, but I’ll resolve it as soon as possible.”
Liu Yutong: “I’m not in a rush, as long as it gets approved in the end.”
Lin Yi nodded: “Sure, I’ll go talk to my uncle later and ask him to pull some strings.”
Liu Yutong: “Thank you, Sister Yi.”
“Don’t mention it. We’re family.”
Lin Yi waved her hand, then suddenly recalled something: “Oh, by the way, I heard someone’s been poaching talent from your ‘China’s Best Voice’?”
Liu Yutong: “News travels fast?”
Lin Yi: “Beijing is a small place. Any little stir gets around. Chu Junlin is setting up ‘China’s Best Music’ with a strong mentor lineup. I heard he shelled out big money to bring in A-list stars from Hong Kong and Taiwan.”
“Looks like you really offended him. He’s creating a whole show just to counter you.”
“So, do you think you can win?”
Liu Yutong: “Sister Yi, I never realized you were so gossipy.”
Lin Yi: “Gossip? No, this is me caring about my little sister.”
“I’ll keep an eye on the aerospace approval and let you know when I have news. But I don’t think it’ll be a big deal—he’s probably just trying to mess with you.”
“Well, he succeeded. I am annoyed.”
“But I’ll annoy him back. Fair’s fair.”
“Hearing you say that, I get the feeling he’s about to be in trouble.”
