Although Song Fan already had an inkling, receiving the customer’s praise still made her very happy.

"We’re out for now. Because we’re still in the experimental phase, I only made two cups in total. I drank one myself, and this was the last one. If you want to have it again, you’ll have to wait until we officially launch it."

Song Fan was playing a little trick. In reality, she still had more, but she didn’t want the customer to get her fill all at once. That way, she might not be so eager for it next time. If she wasn’t as eager, whether she drank it or not would no longer be that important. But if Song Fan kept her in suspense, the customer would undoubtedly think about it every day, not resting until she could drink it again. She would also tell other people just how delicious the new milk tea was. This would serve as free advertising for the shop, saving a considerable amount on marketing fees. She was such a little genius for coming up with such a brilliant idea.

"So when are you guys releasing the new flavor?" Deng Baoling asked, clearly impatient.

"Well..." Song Fan glanced over at Xue Yang. "We’ll have to ask our boss about that."

"He’s your boss?" Deng Baoling was astounded. When she first came in, she had noticed Xue Yang right away. His sunny good looks, combined with his unique aura, had immediately captured her attention. It had been a long time since she’d met a guy who could make her heart flutter at first sight. The only reason she’d agreed to help Song Fan test the new milk tea was to have an excuse to stay in the shop longer and steal a few more glances at him. Staying for no reason would have made her intentions too obvious and would have been very awkward. She had initially thought he was just a regular customer and never expected him to be the owner of this milk tea shop! To think she had visited so many times and never once seen him.

She had definitely come on the right day.

"Yes, he’s our new boss. The previous owner wasn’t him. We changed ownership recently."

"Oh, so that’s why," Deng Baoling realized. No wonder she’d never run into him before, despite visiting so often.

Song Fan approached Xue Yang and asked, "Boss, this customer wants to know when our new milk tea flavor will be released."

It was best to ask now while he was here. Otherwise, who knew when she’d see him again? Contacting him by phone always felt a little impersonal.

Xue Yang said, "Draft a list of new products for me, and we’ll launch them as soon as possible."

"Alright, Boss!" Hearing Xue Yang’s reply, Song Fan was absolutely thrilled.

After finishing their milk tea, the trio stood up and headed out to continue with the handover they hadn’t finished earlier.

Deng Baoling watched Xue Yang and the other two leave. Song Fan, however, didn’t notice her gaze, as her mind was completely focused on the new products.

She planned to launch a series of fruit-flavored milk teas, starting with the durian flavor. The next fruits to be launched would include mango, lychee, grape, pomelo, and more. With all these options, so many new flavors could be released... She could already see the money pouring into her pockets.

Deng Baoling finished her milk tea and, seeing that the shop was now closed for the day, she decided to leave. But after a moment’s thought, she turned back.

"Excuse me," she said, "I’d like to ask you something."

"Go ahead," Song Fan replied, her mind completely consumed by the new milk tea and oblivious to the fact that Deng Baoling’s true interest wasn’t in the tea at all.

"Does your boss come to the shop at this time every day?"

"No. I never know when he might stop by."

"Oh, I see," Deng Baoling said, her voice tinged with disappointment.

"Yeah, but the boss’s girlfriend comes by often. If you run into her, you can ask her just the same," Song Fan said.

"The boss’s girlfriend?" Deng Baoling’s eyes widened. Of course, all the handsome guys are taken.

"Yes! Our boss’s girlfriend is gorgeous. Prettier than a celebrity, like a fairy from a story," Song Fan said, her eyes sparkling with obvious admiration at the mention of Lin Xi.

Prettier than a celebrity and like a fairy? Wasn’t that a bit of an exaggeration? Well, she’d just have to see for herself if it was true.

Having made up her mind, Deng Baoling decided she would come by every day until she finally met the boss’s girlfriend.

「...」

Xue Yang and his two companions returned to the sixth-floor office at Yonghui Supermarket.

No sooner had he sat down than Cui Hao saw Xue Yang was already drafting ideas for the milk tea shop’s upcoming product launch. He couldn’t help but speak up.

"Foster Father, is the pocket change from that milk tea shop really worth bothering with?"

They had been in there for a while, and only one customer had shown up. And today, the shop had claimed to be sold out after selling just over thirty cups. One could easily guess that their stock was based on their usual sales volume. It would be a miracle if a shop that couldn’t even sell thirty cups of milk tea a day turned a profit.

Xue Yang replied without lifting his head, "Small money is still money."

Cui Hao was struck speechless for a moment. He just felt that Xue Yang was obsessed with making money. It didn’t matter if it was big or small; he wanted to earn it all. Now, he was even taking on businesses that were losing money. Cui Hao was genuinely worried that if this trend continued, it would one day backfire.

He listed off Xue Yang’s projects one by one. "Think about it. You’re running a gaming company, a new energy vehicle market, and a clothing company. Now you’ve acquired a supermarket. You don’t really need a small business like a milk tea shop. Otherwise, you’ll work yourself to exhaustion."

Hearing Cui Hao, Ming Yue, who was standing to the side, finally realized just how much this young man had accomplished. What shocked her the most was that he was only a sophomore in college. Most sophomores were probably just starting to think about their first money-making project, right? But as for Xue Yang, everything already seemed to be in perfect order.

"Is that a lot?"

Cui Hao was speechless again. For a moment, he didn’t know how to persuade Xue Yang.

"Well... no wonder Chairman Lin agreed to your relationship with Miss Lin."

What elder wouldn’t adore such a hardworking and ambitious young man?

"That’s not the point. The point is, I’m worried that if he keeps this up, he’ll work himself to death. Foster Father, are you trying to run your body into the ground? Think about your girlfriend. She’s so beautiful, and so many guys are eyeing her like tigers stalking their prey. If you collapse one day, won’t you just be making it easy for someone else?" Cui Hao pleaded earnestly. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"In high school, you killed yourself studying to get into university. Now that you’ve finally made it, you’re killing yourself again just to make money. How many lives do you have to burn?"

In this world, if anyone besides his parents and Lin Xi truly had Xue Yang’s best interests at heart, it was Cui Hao.

"I know what I’m doing."

"Like hell you know what you’re doing. If you really knew, you’d be listening to me right now. This milk tea shop... if you’re so fond of it, then just let Song Fan handle it however she wants. If it starts losing too much money one day, sell it. Just focus on your current businesses. If you really want to expand, it’s not too late to think about it after you graduate."

Xue Yang didn’t respond. Clearly, getting him to stop pursuing profits was impossible. As long as there was money to be made somewhere, he would undoubtedly pursue it.