Chapter 422: Chapter 342: Cheng Zhu, Fallen!

In the private room, Wang Wei hadn’t expected Shen Minglang to pull such a stunt.

The cellphone that he was covering was already in front of Wang Wei on the table.

They had been playing with Shen Minglang for several years now, and although they were just fair-weather friends, they all understood his character.

When he said he hadn’t seen it and didn’t know which place it ranked in the trending list, he definitely didn’t know.

At this moment, everyone’s gaze instead focused on Wang Wei.

He looked at the cell phone on the table and didn’t reach for it; instead, he asked first, “Did you guys buy a spot on the trending list?”

“Buy my ass, do you know how much it costs for a Weibo trending spot? Wasting money like that! My little cousin told me, spend a little to achieve a lot!” Shen Minglang said annoyed.

At the dinner table, many were snickering to themselves.

No one knew what kind of magic potion Cheng Zhu had given Young Master Shen. He kept mentioning his little cousin and took every word he said to heart.

Is that necessary?

Hearing Shen Minglang’s words, Wang Wei began to reach for the phone, saying, “You didn’t buy it? Not buying it and still making it into the top fifty trending on Weibo is really quite difficult to pull off.”

Liu Hongwei moved closer to take a look as Wang Wei picked up the phone.

Then, for dramatic effect, that idiot Wang Wei actually scrolled to the very bottom of the trending list and said, “Let me flip it up from the bottom!”

“Trending number fifty, [Jiuzhaigou High Season], oh, for end-of-year travel,” he announced loudly.

“Stop rambling and hurry up!” Shen Minglang snapped.

Damn it, I’m so curious it’s killing me!

Hurry up and tell me, what rank is our [Youu Tea] trending at, you stupid dumbass!

“Okay, okay! Let me see, 50 to 40, woah, nothing about milk tea.” Wang Wei looked up from the phone, face full of shock, as he looked around at everyone.

Then he continued, “30 to 40, also nothing, could it be?”

“What could it be, is being in the top thirty that surprising? You have no imagination,” Shen Minglang was fully fired up, but in his heart, he was already over the moon.

At the beginning, he thought it impressive if they could just hang on to the tail end of the Weibo trending list, but now it seemed they could squeeze into the middle rankings?

Damn, my bro’s awesome!

Wang Wei frowned as he scrolled further: “Not in the twenties either, damn, how did he pull it off? Really didn’t spend any money?”

“You don’t know shit. He’s made each shop he opened a hit, every single one is an internet sensation, of course, he understands operations,” Shen Minglang was already so thrilled that he was practically parched.

That’s what I like, seeing you all shocked like country bumpkins!

Yeah!!!

“Be bold, keep going,” ordered Shen Minglang, already starting to lift a finger in command.

He could feel himself getting so excited that his back was beginning to sweat.

At this table sat three daily necessities for their group when going out: three minor internet celebrities.

All were the kind of girls with a pittance of real Weibo followers but with bought tens of thousands or even over a hundred thousand fans.

Their shock was the most direct.

To them, being on the Weibo trending list was something only celebrities qualified for.

Even lower-tier celebrities didn’t make the cut!

Not to mention a high placing on the trending list.

Finally, Wang Wei and Liu Hongwei came together and found a trending topic related to a milk tea shop.

“Holy shit, could the thirteenth trending spot be [Youu Tea]?” The two exchanged looks then clicked on it.

“What’s up, doesn’t the trending topic have the words [Youu Tea]?” Shen Minglang was dying of curiosity.

“Not it doesn’t, it’s called [Milk Tea Scalpers Earning Over Ten Thousand a Month],” Wang Wei read it out loud.

This time it was Shen Minglang’s turn to be stunned.

What kind of topic is this?

Then, exclamations of surprise were heard around the room.

“It really is! It says it’s [Youu Tea] inside! Jesus!”

Shen Minglang looked at Wang Wei’s exaggerated reaction, pleased as punch, raising his hand and keeping his cool even though he was ecstatic inside, “Calm down! Take it easy!”

“Why choose this kind of topic though?” Wang Wei was confused after his surprise wore off.

A small internet celebrity couldn’t help but speak out, “Because it’s eye-catching and has a hook, makes people want to click and see!”

She also treaded the line in her online activities; her copywriting was the kind that skirted the edges, really just creating her own buzz.

You know, so Brother Fu wouldn’t overlook it!

“And consider this; even scalpers can earn over ten thousand a month just by reselling milk tea outside one shop; think about what that implies!” mentioned a man at the table wearing glasses.

Don’t look at the internet where everyone seems like a tycoon, each one boasting as if there are no poor people at all.

But, in reality, the vast majority will itch with envy at the sight of words like ‘monthly income over ten thousand,’ especially when considering their own situation.

It’s only 2014!

This topic and the article touch on many common concerns.

Scalping is already a hot topic, plus the allure of making over ten thousand a month is an eye-catcher, but most importantly, all this from just one milk tea shop?

What kind of milk tea is this that people pay extra to buy?

Is it really that delicious?

Shen Minglang too began to savor a bit of the strategy’s flavor, thinking: You’re godly, my bro!

No, from now on I might as well call you my elder brother!

It’s exhilarating, joining [Youu Tea], and then the very next day being able to boast so grandly.

He was already looking forward to the days ahead.

Right then, Young Master Shen leaned back, settled into his chair, and crossed his legs.

He looked at Wang Wei and Liu Hongwei with a smug expression, furrowing his brow as he arrogantly said, “Do you see the maneuver here by our [Youu Tea]?”

…

…

Xinhang Apartment, Building B.

Cheng Zhu sat on the sofa in his rental, holding his phone and keeping an eye on the online public opinion.

The “man behind the scenes” was very satisfied with the current situation.

[Youu Tea] could be said to have sparked an internet sensation in a short amount of time, attracting a lot of attention.

The comments underneath had long surpassed ten thousand, and everyone was eagerly discussing.

It couldn’t be helped, this trending topic had too many elements crammed into it.

Cheng Zhu remembered clearly when Hey Tea had just become popular in his previous life, they frequently hyped it up this way, and the brand’s popularity skyrocketed.

Whether the scalpers for Hey Tea back then could really make an easy ten thousand a month like the news reported, Cheng Zhu wasn’t sure.

After all, it was only 2014 now, and the scalper interviewed outside [Youu Tea] wasn’t making ten thousand, but it wasn’t far off.

Eh, you know, journalists have their ways of rounding up!

And it’s not like you can’t let the scalpers brag a bit, right?

He opened the comments section and indeed, the netizens’ points of focus varied greatly.

Some discussed how rampant scalping had become and the need for control, annoyed at how they could boast monthly incomes over ten thousand.

Of course, more people were curious about the charm of this milk tea shop from Hang City.

“Any locals from Hang City care to comment, is it actually delicious?”

“Thirty yuan for a milk tea, isn’t that outrageous?”

“Damn, selling for thirty and scalpers still mark-up the price?”

“You Hang City folks must be loaded!”

“This milk tea has been super hot!”

“It’s delicious, it’s just expensive!”

“I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s really unlike any other milk tea out there; it has its reasons for the high price.”

“Lmao, us locals in Hang City are smart enough not to buy it, queuing takes at least over an hour!”

No matter what everyone was saying, the truth they concluded was that the milk tea shop was blowing up in Hang City; despite their steep prices, droves of people were willing to wait an hour or two to purchase it, these were facts.

Then, of course, a bunch of know-it-all brothers sprouted up online.

Some claiming to be in the know started calculating the costs per cup of milk tea.

Others claiming to be in the know started estimating [Youu Tea]’s daily revenue.

The comments section was abuzz with excitement, and Cheng Zhu took it all in with great amusement.

The brand’s national recognition had jumped several notches.

Moreover, Cheng Zhu was very clear about how interesting human nature could be.

“Take, for example, someone commenting online that those queuing up for the milk tea are idiots.”

“But when my [Youu Tea] opens in their city, bet they’ll follow the hype and buy it!”

“Don’t doubt it; there will be plenty of such people!”

Of course, for Cheng Zhu, increasing [Youu Tea]’s national recognition was one thing, but it was also about getting the venture capital community to keep a close eye on the brand.

Ordinary people couldn’t determine if this trending topic was bought, but for the investors, finding out such a thing wasn’t hard.

They invest not only in projects but sometimes also in the person behind the project.

Cheng Zhu was simply revealing his skills to them at the right time.

He needed their resources, and they needed a good project and a responsible person.

It was nothing more than a mutual benefit.

Cheng Zhu was effectively fishing.

But with this cast of the net, he might as well have been using a fishing net, maybe catching several fish in one go?

“Just wait for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, and launch the new product [Fleshy Grapes], once again causing a stir in Hang City’s milk tea scene, further asserting [Youu Tea]’s continuous innovation capacity!”

“This combination of punches, won’t it leave people dazed?” Cheng Zhu smiled.

Around ten in the evening, Cheng Zhu put away his phone, no longer following the Weibo trends, and began to put on his down jacket.

He and Lin Lu had agreed to eat supper together.

To be precise, Lin Lu claimed she was accompanying Cheng Zhu for supper.

Beautiful girls are disciplined; supper is sinful and can’t be eaten!

But keeping you company is a different story.

From her, Cheng Zhu learned that Shen Qingning had taken sick leave, hadn’t gone to classes, and hadn’t stayed at Xinhang Apartment that day.

But as for the specifics of Shen Qingning’s situation, Cheng Zhu could guess some of it.

They had no contact since that dinner, but Cheng Zhu’s connections with Shen Minglang had grown closer recently, as had his interactions with the Shen family.

Men need to keep their cool.

The current situation was that Lin Lu was living alone in Xinhang Apartment’s Building A.

At ten o’clock, Cheng Zhu was just about done with changing his shoes when his phone rang; it was a WeChat message from Lin Lu.

“Didn’t we agree to meet at ten? I’m already downstairs!”

Clearly, there was a date, and Little Lu was eager.

“I’m already on my way down,” Cheng Zhu replied with a smile, quickening his pace to avoid making her wait.

As he rushed out of Building B, he immediately saw Little Lu standing not far away.

Under the apartment building’s lights, she was wrapped in the black scarf Cheng Zhu had bought her, bundled up tight, and a cotton cap sitting on her head, obviously afraid of the cold.

Her scarf was covering half of her smiling face, but through her sparkling eyes, Cheng Zhu could see that she was laughing.

Remember how Cheng Zhu had frowned and greeted her with “Not even saying hi to your boyfriend” when they bumped into each other at [Youu Tea]?

And so, right at this moment, in the winter night, the quirky girl lifted her gloved right hand and waved non-stop at the boy in front of her, repeating her iconic line, forever radiant and passionate:

“Boyfriend, hello, hello there!”

…

(ps: Second update, asking for double monthly tickets!)