Qiuyun directly tagged the class monitor: “I’m paying for this get-together. I’m taking everyone in our class to the hot spring resort to relax, but these people aren’t included on my invitation list.”
She then posted the names of the five people who had just been mentioned, including Jiang Yali, Classmate D, and Classmate E.
Qiuyun’s objective was simple: use herself as the dividing line in their middle school class and split everyone into two camps—so that even most of the onlookers would side with her, following the principle that the minority should obey the majority.
That way, even if Jiang Yali, with nothing left to lose, decided to make trouble, she would have plenty of witnesses to refute him.
As far as Qiuyun was concerned, if money could solve a problem, then it wasn’t a problem anymore.
The group chat erupted in cheers. Everyone said they would definitely support the game made by Qiuyun’s company.
Wen Bin: “Ahem. The standard equipment for their company’s game costs thirty-eight thousand yuan.”
The group chat fell briefly silent.
After all, everyone was only in their early twenties. Some were still in college, while others had just entered society and were still rookies.
Thirty-eight thousand was simply too much.
Wang Lan took the opportunity to post a poll link: “If you can’t support Boss Qiu’s game, then come support Boss Qiu’s little brother instead! Let’s go, everyone—vote for trainee Qiu Ze!”
The group chat immediately grew lively again.
“Vote! We absolutely have to!”
“I’ll buy VIP votes!”
Jiang Yali gripped his phone, gnashing his teeth in fury. “A bunch of snobs who curry favor with the powerful! Isn’t it just one meal? And if I hadn’t suggested it, none of you would be eating here in the first place! You don’t have to thank me, but how dare you ignore me!”
After thinking it over, he created a small group and specifically added the other four people who had not been invited.
The next day.
Qiuyun arrived at the hot spring resort’s meeting point, where the class monitor was taking attendance.
Since everyone was getting a free meal, free drinks, and free entertainment, nearly everyone who could come had shown up, except for those who hadn’t been invited and those who genuinely couldn’t make it.
They were still young and inexperienced, and most of them were simple-hearted. They gathered around Qiuyun, calling her “Boss Qiu” and teasing her.
Qiuyun accepted it with good humor. “Let’s go. We’ll get our wristbands first.”
After changing and taking a shower, everyone headed to the buffet restaurant. There was Chinese food, Western food, sashimi, and barbecue, plus unlimited durian and cherries. At twenty-something, they were all at the perfect age to eat to their hearts’ content!
One girl who loved durian immediately devoured more than ten servings. Even the staff told her she was sure to get “heatiness” the next day.
After eating, everyone split up to play pool, online games, PS5, mahjong, and various board games. Qiuyun was dragged into a game of mahjong and fell in love with this beloved Chinese pastime after just a few rounds.
Meanwhile, Wang Lan was playing Werewolf. She was killed on the first night, and Wen Bin, who was the Witch, failed to save her. With nothing else to do after being eliminated, Wang Lan took out her phone to kill time.
As she scrolled through her feed, she suddenly came across a faceless video tagged “Qiu Ze.” The person in it claimed to be Qiu Ze’s middle school classmate and went to great lengths to slander the brother and sister online!
Wang Lan was so angry that she immediately posted several comments in a row:
—I know who you are! If you’ve got the guts, show your face!
—I’m Qiu Ze’s sister’s middle school classmate! None of that happened!
—[Image][Image][Image] These people weren’t invited to the class reunion because they badmouthed Qiu Ze’s sister. Qiuyun simply didn’t want to waste money treating a bunch of loudmouths!
With idol survival shows at the height of their popularity, this involved a hot contestant—and Qiu Ze had already climbed steadily from tenth place to fourth, trampling over fans of various contestants along the way. Fans from every rival camp swarmed in, shouting that they were ready to add fuel to the fire and help push the scandal onto the trending searches.
Wang Lan’s individual comments were quickly buried beneath demands from rival fans for an explanation. She was so angry that she gritted her teeth, and just then, the main group finished their game of Werewolf.
“Come look at this!” Wang Lan said, showing everyone the faceless person’s video.
One of the boys cut in, “That’s Liang Ping! He sat behind me in school. Even with a voice changer, I can still recognize him.”
“What’s wrong with him? Didn’t he repeat a year before getting into college? He’s spreading rumors online in his own name. Isn’t he afraid his school will expel him?”
After watching the video, Wen Bin said, “Why don’t we record a video clarifying things for Boss Qiu? Anyone who doesn’t want to show their face can ask the staff for a mask.”
Wang Lan agreed. “I’m in. We can’t be heartless. Someone is being targeted with rumors out of jealousy over a class reunion. The least we can do is help Boss Qiu out.”
Lin Chengjun muttered under his breath, “This is entirely her own fault, isn’t it? She’s already so rich. What would it have cost to invite a few more people? Why provoke all this trouble, then make us clean up after her?”
Wang Lan frowned. “Didn’t you get to eat Chinese food? Why are you still whining? Do you think you’re not enough of a member of society just because you didn’t pay? You can reimburse Boss Qiu later.”
After being shut down so harshly—and with her constantly bringing up reimbursement—Lin Chengjun’s face flushed red. He fell silent and turned away.
Wang Lan rolled her eyes, set up the camera, and had Wen Bin fetch the other classmates who were playing pool or watching a movie. Together, they prepared to record a clarification video.
Over in the mahjong room, Pei Cizhou called.
“Miss Qiu, have you decided whether you’re going to take the college entrance examination?”
Qiuyun discarded an eight of bamboo. “Yes.”
“Good.”
Pei Cizhou hung up. The moment Qiuyun discarded her tile, the player before her declared mahjong.
“Haha! Pure one suit!”
“…” Qiuyun refused to accept it. “Again, again! Why is my luck so terrible today?”
Wait.
Had Pei Cizhou just called her?
What had he said?
She had forgotten.
Qiuyun arranged her tiles again. Whatever. She’d worry about it later.
After an entire afternoon of mahjong, everyone went to dinner together, but the atmosphere felt strange.
Wang Lan sat beside Qiuyun and told her what had happened that afternoon. Qiuyun immediately opened Weibo.
Wen Bin cleared his throat twice. “We were going to come over and tell you after recording the video, but in the blink of an eye, that video—and all the related trending searches—disappeared.”
Wang Lan was excited. “We hadn’t even recorded our clarification video, and the entire topic vanished! I bet the platform got involved. After all, our little brother is one of the hottest contestants.”
Qiuyun frowned slightly as she remembered Pei Cizhou’s inexplicable phone call. She got up and went to a more private area before calling him back.
“President Pei, did you have this afternoon’s trending searches taken down?”
“Yes.”
Pei Cizhou did not beat around the bush. “If you want to follow the path Mr. Wenchuan has arranged for you, it would be best for you to keep your distance from your brother, who is becoming a celebrity.”
Qiuyun had read the relevant laws. “Doesn’t it only say that I can’t participate in profit-making activities, such as livestreaming sales?”
Pei Cizhou’s tone was serious. “If you want to rise through the ranks, you can’t become known to the public online.”
It was an unspoken rule. No government official would allow their face to be active across the internet, with every expression and word subjected to frame-by-frame public judgment.
Even a saint couldn’t withstand that kind of scrutiny, let alone an ordinary person.
Qiuyun couldn’t help taking his words seriously. She lowered her voice. “I understand.”
At the same time, a small stir was brewing in the esports world.
RG, a veteran esports team, officially announced a new player, QY, who would serve as a starter in the second stage of the current season.
In the announcement image, the new player wore the team’s black-and-white jersey and looked so handsome that he seemed to outshine the other players by two full layers of editing!
The once somewhat lackluster strategic fighting game Legend suddenly began radiating a distinctly alluring charm.
