Forcing Me to Be Reborn?!-Chapter 124 - 107: The Endless Pretense

Chapter 124: Chapter 107: The Endless Pretense

Beside the trash can, Cheng Zhu tossed his extinguished cigarette butt into the bin.

Compared to grand figures like “Alibaba’s Jack Ma,” the average Joe “Ma Huateng,” and the penniless “Wang Jianlin,” this Boss Cheng with a modest eight-thousand-yuan earnings could only be considered small-time.

But, after all, this was just within the university, and he was merely a freshman who had just started the semester.

It was only four thirty in the afternoon now, and the peak hours for a claw machine shop like this should be in the evening, which meant, revenue was bound to surge tonight!

If Cheng Zhu wasn’t blowing smoke, and he hadn’t inflated his numbers, then breaking ten thousand in daily sales was a sure thing.

This figure would have been enough to impress Pei Yan, even making him feel like Cheng Zhu had shown him up big time.

To think, Pei Yan didn’t even believe that this tiny claw machine shop could rival the first-day revenue of a small arcade before the sun had set!

There were quite a few people around, but many were just taking pictures.

Plus, the average spending power of college students wasn’t that high.

You couldn’t expect every random college kid to come in and buy a hundred or even several hundred coins in one go; that’s just not realistic.

Online, it seems everyone’s filthy rich, but in reality, everyone’s as poor as church mice.

Moreover, Pei Yan was a college student himself, and he knew very well that the opening day of “Youu Come to Play” hadn’t been particularly good.

It’s not that today wasn’t an auspicious date; quite the contrary, today was indeed a good day. But hey, it was the end of the month.

Ha, for many students, their wallets are probably cleaner than their faces by this time of the month.

Those who can budget their living expenses effectively are damn hardcore!

This would also indirectly affect the average spend per customer.

His little shop could only fit so many people after all.

Unless there was a steady flow of customers like right now from morning to afternoon, that would be another story!

If Cheng Zhu knew what he was thinking, he’d likely retort with a “You guessed damn right!”

Damn it, it’s too booming, too annoying; my shop’s too busy!

To be honest, he did feel that the influx of too many people brought a lot of hassle.

At this moment, the always graceful and polite Pei Yan said, “Oh? Seems like the business is much better than I thought.”

Cheng Zhu immediately began complaining, “A crowd is annoying. It’s already autumn, yet it’s still blisteringly hot because of the crowds in the shop. I’ve even had to turn on the air conditioning, which is another added expense.”

“And with more people, you get all sorts. With the increased foot traffic, some idiots actually throw ten-cent coins into my machines; can you believe it?”

“But you don’t get one of those in a few hundred customers. Today, I ran into three. I suspect they’re from the same dorm because there were only a few hundred customers. By the way, Vice Chairman Pei, does the student council deal with stuff like this?”

“And another thing, I haven’t had a break since I sat at the front taking coins from customers. The sound of Game Coins dropping gives me a headache, and girls keep bothering me, asking for my WeChat,” he continued.

“Vice Chairman Pei, as you know, I’m sincerely trying to run a legitimate business here, right? Why are they trying to get into my personal life?”

Listening to him call out “Vice Chairman Pei” with each sentence, Pei Yan felt like his head was going to explode.

Privately, many people would drop the “Vice” when addressing him.

And are you griping, or what? Listening to you boast makes me want to open my own claw machine shop!

Observing his expression, Cheng Zhu thought, “Good, you’re taking it all in.”

You think I’m one of those posers who flaunts every penny they’ve got?

Oh, maybe I am.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t have carelessly flashed a bank card balance of over six million in online forums in my past life, only to be met with a cruel reincarnation.

But now, I have a definite purpose.

Sooner or later, I’d have to sell this shop. Before that, letting more people know how high the revenue is isn’t a bad thing.

There are plenty of people in this world who go after winners but ignore losers.

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A shop with poor business gets sold cheap and is likely to be ignored.

Yet, a shop that seems to do well gets sold for a high price, making people queue up with cash in hand.

Seeing this, Pei Yan managed to squeeze out a smile and said, “Cheng, your shop’s doing so well; why don’t you go busy yourself?”

Cheng Zhu casually waved his hand, “It’s just some trivial matter; the staff can handle it.”

I haven’t had my fun chatting with you yet!

“Vice Chairman Pei, as you know, there’s a saying: ‘If you can’t lead a team, you’ll work to death.'”

“College is full of students who only talk a big game and take themselves too seriously. Shouldn’t they come and gain some experience at my place?” he said with a grin while looking at Pei Yan.

Pei Yan always felt there was a hint of amusement behind Cheng Zhu’s smile, but he had no evidence.

Thus, the esteemed Vice Chairman of the student council had his ear bent for another full five minutes as Cheng Zhu presented his little essay titled “Business Too Good, It’s Such a Hassle.”

And, it must be said, his flamboyant groaning was actually quite amusing.

You hang on to him, and he’s too polite to leave.

Until Dong Dong came out and reported a new variety of idiot who threw a one-yuan coin into the machine.

Even though the exchange rate was one-to-one, the guy simply couldn’t be bothered to queue up for more coins when he was just one short for another try, so he threw in a whole buck instead.

Cheng Zhu took a few steps forward, stopped, and called out to Pei Yan as he hurried off, “Hey, does the student council deal with this sort of thing or what?”

He briskly caught up to the elegant freak and forcefully dragged him back into the shop, “As the Vice Chairman, go and give them a scolding! The quality of today’s college students is just too poor!”

Pei Yan: “…”

Damn, this guy’s strong!

…

…

Fifteen minutes later, a dazed Pei Yan couldn’t even recall how he’d left “Youu Come to Play.”

After stepping outside, he took several deep breaths of fresh air, then glanced back.

“It’s strange; the shop’s almost only got claw machines, yet it’s busier than an arcade.” Pei Yan couldn’t fathom what was going through women’s minds.

But let’s not forget, he’d earlier thought about having people from the external relations department come and shear this sheep.

With such good business and being a student entrepreneur, shouldn’t he contribute some funds to the student council?

The classic “Forced Donation”!

As night fell, “Youu Come to Play” saw yet another surge of customers.

The shop was packed, with crowds gathered outside as well.

Lin Lu, as usual, was constantly chatting with Cheng Zhu via WeChat, feeling today that his replies were sluggish, probably due to the shop being busy.

Thus, she thought about heading directly to “Youu Come to Play” to see him.

To her dismay, Cheng Zhu rejected her.

“Don’t come over these next few days, you and Shen Qingning.”

“Why?” Lin Lu was puzzled.

“It’s all because of those stunning photos I took for you.”

“Now a lot of people are taking pictures and checking in at the shop, imitating those photos.”

“If the original subject herself showed up, they might feel awkward while taking photos, and I don’t want to affect my customers’ experience.” Cheng Zhu’s typing focused on being considerate toward female customers.

Annoyed, Lin Lu typed, “So, you really are a proper businessman now, huh? All you see are customers.”

She originally wanted to buy a few milk teas for Cheng Zhu and even drop by the shop to recharge a card for support.

But not anymore, no milk tea for him today, hmph!

The voice actress was genuinely concerned about affecting his business if she went.

She picked up her phone and, for some reason, started browsing through the photos Cheng Zhu had taken, murmuring, “Are they really that good?”

“Ugh! They are actually quite nice, but mostly because I’m the one who looks good!” she vocalized.

After a brief exchange, Cheng Zhu set down his phone.

It was now eight o’clock in the evening, prime time for business.

But soon, two unwelcome guests arrived.

The external relations department of the student council had “Five Tiger Generals.”

Wang Yuan, the vice-director responsible for sponsorships, was one of them.

He was actually quite excited on his way here.

The external relations department was in dire need of funds, with weighty fundraising tasks at hand.

Upon learning that the shop was owned by a freshman and was currently booming, a thought crossed his mind: “A place where the owners are naive and there’s plenty of money, I must act fast!”

From his experience, it was indeed easier to get money from students than from middle-aged folks.

So after finishing his tasks, Wang Yuan immediately brought his subordinates to the shop.

And boy, the business did look bustling!

There were too many girls inside, just the sight of all those fair, long legs was almost too much for him to handle.

Not to mention so many girls snapping photos, quite a few of them attractive.

“Wow, she just puckered her lips while taking that photo; so cute!”

“Oh damn, that girl is hot, but it looks like that guy next to her is her boyfriend.”

A delighted Wang Yuan entered the shop, bypassed the queue waiting to buy coins, and approached the counter, “Is Cheng Zhu here?”

Sitting there, Cheng Zhu glanced up and replied, “That’s me.”

“Oh! Hey Cheng, I’m Wang Yuan, vice-director of the external relations department. Can we talk for a sec?”

He thought Cheng Zhu was quite handsome and felt even more certain about securing a sponsorship. According to his experience, good-looking guys often carried a burden of vanity, and many were concerned with keeping up appearances.

“It’s not very convenient,” Cheng Zhu frowned, his movements of handing out coins uninterrupted.

His actions were a clear indication that he was busy.

He already knew why the external relations department would come to his shop.

Just because you come with the title of vice-director, do I have to accommodate you?

The audacity of coming here for a sponsorship and hindering my work, you certainly have some nerve.

Cheng Zhu couldn’t help but recall a classic line from “Crazy Racing”: The local gangs really lack manners!

It must be said, as someone who was accustomed to rejection in his role focused on fundraising, Wang Yuan really wasn’t bothered.

Seeing so many people queuing up to buy coins, seemingly Technology University students, he took the opportunity to openly start soliciting sponsorships, urging Cheng Zhu to make a modest contribution to the school and the student council.

The spiel was always the same—some verbal craft followed by moral blackmail, as though not contributing meant you didn’t value your own education.

What, did I avoid tuition fees when studying?

Then, informing you that the school’s activities would also promote your shop, maybe even display a banner.

Listening to all this, Cheng Zhu hardly paid attention.

In this era of widespread information, his shop could become famous overnight. As for those lousy student council events, it was they who should be advertising with him, not the other way around.

“Helping me with promotion isn’t necessary,” Cheng Zhu nonchalantly asserted.

“Uh… Wang Wei, give our two senior students ten Game Coins each. They came all this way, so let them enjoy the place,” Cheng Zhu thought himself quite generous.

Looking for money? Here’s ten bucks; now go play over there, OK?

Ready for a break, he added, “I’m busy with something right now, I gotta go.”

As he spoke, he slid the ten coins Wang Wei had handed over in front of Wang Yuan and apologized to the queueing customers, “Sorry about this, can you let these two cut in line? I’ll throw in a few extra coins for you guys later.”

Wang Yuan, seeing Cheng Zhu about to take off, hastily said, “Hey, Cheng, don’t you have five minutes? Just five, can’t be that busy, right?”

Cheng Zhu had had enough of these student council folks. First Pei Yan, now Wang Yuan.

Seriously, Technology University’s student council wasn’t above sending people to pester me with their problems!

If I keep allowing this, what’s next, seduction?

Standing up, he said, “As you can see, my shop pulls in over ten thousand a day, and that’s just one of my ventures. My daily turnover is tens of thousands; you tell me if I’m busy or not.”