I am not just a tycoon

Jin Zhifa was startled for a moment, "I thought he was also a second-generation rich kid, that company would require at least several tens of millions to take over, how exactly did your classmate make so much money?"

"I'm not very clear on that."

Jin Kangwen shook his head thoughtfully, "I heard it seems to be through cryptocurrency trading and foreign exchange speculation."

"That's quite impressive. He's the same age as you, right? A university student already so distinguished?"

Jin Zhifa stroked his chin, pondering for a while, "However, finance and management are different matters. Without prior experience in corporate management, it's very easy to fall into the hands of people like Fei Bing."

"The key point is that Fei Bing's family business is huge. In any industry, it's common for the big fish to eat the little ones."

Jin Kangwen replied with a smiling expression, "That's not necessarily the case."

Jin Zhifa gave him a look, "Do you have that much confidence in your classmate?"

Jin Kangwen smiled without retort. That day at Sunset Camp, he had seen Shen Yuan inspiring the employees with grand promises. The fervor and longing in the eyes of those staff members in their thirties and forties couldn't be faked.

It's not easy to sell dreams these days; everyone has heard enough clichéd pitch lines.

Without experience, how did Shen Yuan manage to pull it off that day?

Besides, the fact that Shen Yuan managed to wrest the company from Fei Bing's hands indicates he must also have solid resources.

"If you have a good relationship with this classmate, you'd best remind him."

Jin Zhifa advised, "Fei Bing is also a notoriously bad character. His father put him in charge of the fitness and health check centers in the Yuelu Sub-district, but he messed around in the company, and he particularly targeted the wives of the management team."

"The first one or two incidents were suppressed by his father, but later, one of the managers couldn't bear it any longer, went directly to his office, and gave him a beating. After that incident, Fei Bing became much more restrained."

"But the saying goes, 'A dog can't change its habit of eating poop.' I reckon he's still up to his shenanigans in secret."

Jin Kangwen was momentarily puzzled, "Minotaur?"

"Whether he's a minotaur or not, I have no idea."

Jin Zhilai patted his cousin's shoulder, "Anyway, I've said my piece. You decide how much you want to tell your classmate."

Jin Kangwen "Hmm"ed in acknowledgment, then without further hesitation called Shen Yuan.

In his view, since his cousin had already informed Fei Bing, it wouldn't offend Fei Bing's side anyway.

Now if he didn't inform Shen Yuan, when Fei Bing made his move, Shen Yuan would be able to find out.

And his advance warning would certainly owe him a favor in Shen Yuan's heart.

When Shen Yuan picked up the phone, he was just about to take the Lih sisters out to look at cars. Hearing what Jin Kangwen said, his eyebrows rose in interest.

Quite intriguing, somebody is actually inquiring about me, and it's a competitor at that.

Upon hearing about Fei Bing's indiscretions with the wives of the management, Shen Yuan felt a flicker of interest; Yu Jifeng from the health check center had left his previous company because his wife was involved with someone, leading to him beating up the boss in anger.

Could it have been Fei Bing's doing?

"Kangwen, thanks, huh," Shen Yuan responded with a laugh.

"It's nothing, after all, I've also told him about you."

An easygoing voice came through the phone, "When you're free, let's get together, invite Li Yuhang and Cherng Xian, the four of us."

"Sure, let's make plans when there's time."

Just as he was about to hang up, Shen Yuan suddenly thought of something, "Why would Luo Bingying dine with a guy like Fei Bing? I remember her family was the richest in our class, didn't her dad move the company to Yanjing?"

"Ah~"

"You don't know about it yet, do you?"

Jin Kangwen sighed, "Her dad got convicted for illegal fundraising this year, and now her family is more ordinary than any other classmate's."

Shen Yuan realized the situation; no wonder she went to Sunset Camp to hitch a ride with a classmate, and last time after the bus arrived in Star City, she took a Camry home.

"Her dad's case involves a huge amount, supposedly ten to twenty billion. He was sentenced to eighteen years at the first trial."

Jin Kangwen spoke in a tone filled with emotion, "Who would've thought that the once top-tier 'belle of rich and fair complexion' from Xiang County Peicui Middle School would now be a lady fallen on hard times."

"Why do you sound even more regretful than I am?"

Shen Yuan cursed lightheartedly, then asked again, "So what's Fei Bing's angle in approaching Luo Bingying?"

"Luo Bingying's mother also has her own business, with several yoga studios in Star City, but the business is just so-so, not very profitable."

Jin Kangwen spoke methodically, "Luo Bingying's mother is out of money now, and with the yoga studios not doing well, she's looking to sell them to cash in."

"But nobody's willing to buy these yoga studios, and if there are buyers, they're only offering rock-bottom prices. Fei Bing has the capability and the desire to buy them, under one condition: Luo Bingying must become his girlfriend."

"So Luo Bingying's mother agreed?" Shen Yuan asked.

"Her mother says it's just an initial contact, but I think she's acquiesced. Fei Bing said as soon as there's actual progress with Luo Bingying, he will sign the acquisition contract right away."

"I see."

Shen Yuan nodded with a wry smile, "Luo Bingying's mother is delusional; if there's real progress, and Fei Bing gets what he wants, why would he take over those rundown yoga studios?"

Jin Kangwen shared the same view as Shen Yuan, "I think Luo Bingying's mother is acting out of desperation, hoping against hope."

Shen Yuan grunted, "This is no different from selling her daughter, the key is that after the sale, they may not even get the money."

Jin Kangwen said helplessly, "Yeah, I don't know what she's thinking."

"Alright, I've got it, Kangwen, thanks for telling me so much."

"We've been classmates for so many years, no need for formalities."

"I've got a bit to handle here, let's catch up another day."

"Right, right."

After hanging up, Shen Yuan couldn't help feeling bewildered, recalling Luo Bingying's appearance from last night and at Sunset Camp. Her appearance hadn't changed much; she still favored wearing white dresses, and she still had that same ascetic face, exuding a cool and aloof air from the inside out.

But who would have known that behind that unapproachable face, so much had occurred.

With her father in jail, her mother seeking to barter her daughter for glory.

Shen Yuan previously thought that his family's bankruptcy was pretty tragic, but compared to what Luo Bingying had suffered, it really didn't seem like much.

Shen Yuan did feel a bit of sympathy, but didn't entertain too many altruistic thoughts.

That being said, the urgent task at hand was to figure out Fei Bing's situation.

Since this guy came to snoop around, he would definitely take some action.

Shen Yuan was not a target for anyone to shoot at will.

A Minotaur? He even messed with Old Yu's wife?

Just perfect, old and new grudges could be settled together. Enjoy new tales from My Virtual Library Empire

Shen Yuan dialed Yu Jifeng's number and got straight to the point, "Old Yu, I know why you changed jobs, and what I want to know is, is that man named Fei Bing?"

The moment Fei Bing's name was mentioned, Yu Jifeng felt a pang in his heart; he didn't know why his boss was tearing open his old wounds, but still he replied, "Yes, Mr. Shen."

"Want revenge?"

Shen Yuan knew such matters couldn't be resolved by a mere beating. Even though he was divorced, it was a lifelong knot.

"Of course I do. However, Mr. Shen..."

Yu Jifeng paused and then said, "We live in a society governed by law now, last time I was momentarily clouded by rage."

"Who said anything about fighting? We are all civilized people; everything must be done within the legal framework."

Shen Yuan cursed, then instructed, "This is what you should do..."

Yu Jifeng, somewhat taken aback, hesitantly said, "...Mr. Shen, is this appropriate?"

"What's inappropriate about it? Special measures are needed to deal with such people."

"Listen to me," Shen Yuan said earnestly, "just do it this way."

"Uh, alright."

Yu Jifeng agreed, then asked, "Mr. Shen, I was wondering, has Fei Bing offended you in any way?"

"Offend?"

Shen Yuan laughed, "He's not worthy. Can't I simply vent your anger for you?"

"Uh... sure."

Yu Jifeng said all was good, but his heart was filled with disbelief, thinking Mr. Shen, I'm not a three-year-old kid, what's the point of fooling me?

His issue with Fei Bing was a closed chapter long ago. Now that Mr. Shen brought it up out of the blue, Fei Bing must have offended Mr. Shen.

However, this was a good thing for him, after all, it was a hate borne of a stolen wife.

He heard that after the divorce, his ex-wife wasn't doing well either; Fei Bing dumped her after growing tired of her, and she even sought to get back with him.

Yu Jifeng could only see this as one thing.

Deserved!

...

After hanging up the phone, Shen Yuan immediately called Mo Zhenwang.

Mo Zhenwang was one of only two men in the startup base, running a fried food store with an investment of 157,000 yuan, which was more or less the same as Yan Song's fruit shop.

Shen Yuan chose Mo Zhenwang not just because the fried food shop project was viable, but also because of his special skills.

"Hey, Old Mo, I'm craving fish," Shen Yuan said on the phone.

The person on the other end was clearly taken aback, not quite catching on, while Shen Yuan laughed to mask the awkwardness, "Just kidding. It's Shen Yuan; I need to talk to you about something."

Mo Zhenwang then realized, "Shen Yuan... ah no, Mr. Shen, please go ahead."

They were originally classmates and it wasn't easy to get used to the formality of the new title. However, to him, Shen Yuan was not only an investor but also a future pillar in his career.

Actually, not only him, but also Yan Song, who kept in frequent contact, thought the same way; being around Shen Yuan was akin to being close to resources.

Look, Shen Yuan was now proactively calling him, which meant opportunity was knocking, right?

"Is your batch of internet soldiers still active? I need them these next few days," Shen Yuan asked.

He had chosen Mo Zhenwang to join partly because of this point on his resume. Last time he mentioned that although the group only had a little over a hundred people, they were all elite.

Mo Zhenwang immediately corrected, "Mr. Shen, what I have is called 'social network opinion leaders'."

"Damn, isn't that the same thing!" Shen Yuan cursed.

"The term 'internet soldiers' sounds too low-end, this sounds more upscale," said Mo Zhenwang proudly. "They are all still around, the brothers have been very active lately, ready for your command at any time."

"Good, wait for my word."

After hanging up, Lih Xiao and Lih Meng, the two sisters, had also just about finished getting ready.

Lih Xiao had changed into a round-neck white T-shirt paired with a white pleated miniskirt, and white sneakers on her feet.

With light makeup on her face, she looked graceful and three-dimensional, her lips touched with moist lipstick, lacking her usual intellectual elegance, yet she appeared more purely alluring.

"Beautiful,"

Shen Yuan reached out to pinch Lih Xiao's cheek, but she deftly dodged, her face blushing as she said, "Don't pinch, it'll ruin the makeup."

"Then how about a pinch on the little belly?"

Shen Yuan stretched out his hand to pinch her waist, and Lih Xiao shyly moved away while the room was soon filled with their playful laughter.

Lih Meng crossed her arms over her chest, watching this scene with a sour feeling in her heart; I also changed clothes and put on makeup, why doesn't Shen Yuan look at me?

Stupid oaf!