YA Ch127: Domineering CEO lines (Extra)

The variety show Golden House involves game design, which requires collaboration with Shifei Technology.

With the introduction of Bajiao Video, the cooperation from Shifei Technology was exceptionally high. After the agreement was finalized, they immediately sent technicians to Chenyu Technology for early-stage communication.

At first, Lu Yu didn’t think much of it. He prepared the materials and equipment, instructing Xiao Jiang to notify him when the visitors arrived, then went off to attend to other matters. Just as he had written a few lines, Xiao Jiang called, sounding a bit unusual.

“President Lu, Zhang Chenfei came in person. Should you come down for a moment?”

Zhang Chenfei?

Lu Yu was quite surprised. Having recovered most of his memories, he knew exactly who Zhang Chenfei was. He was a legendary figure in the AI technology industry, often referred to by his father-in-law as “the child other parents talk about.”

At present, Chenyu Technology was not yet listed and couldn’t compare to a giant like Shifei Technology. Besides, Golden House was just a small project, so Lu Yu had assumed they’d send a senior technician at most. He never expected Zhang Chenfei to come personally.

Setting aside his work, Lu Yu called for Lao Yang and headed downstairs. Just as they reached the elevator, the guests arrived.

With a “ding,” the elevator door opened, and they came face to face.

Zhang Chenfei was younger than Lu Yu had imagined, but his aura was incredibly strong. Combined with his overly handsome appearance and extremely expensive attire, he embodied the image of a domineering CEO straight out of a novel, from his hair to his fingertips.

Yang Chen’s face flushed with excitement; even the bald spot on his head turned red, as if he were facing a school beauty from back in the day. Grabbing Lu Yu’s arm, he shook it so hard he couldn’t speak.

Lu Yu, unable to bear Lao Yang’s undignified display, brushed off his grip and greeted Zhang Chenfei, “President Zhang, why did you come in person? I apologize for not welcoming you properly.”

Zhang Chenfei smiled and shook Lu Yu’s hand, casually saying, “Our boss’s collaborative project must be taken seriously.”

Lu Yu was stunned for a moment before realizing who Zhang Chenfei was referring to as “boss”—Zhang’s partner, Jiao Qi, the president of Bajiao Video.

He hadn’t expected someone as important as Zhang Chenfei to speak so openly about his “domestic status,” let alone so proudly. Suddenly, Lu Yu felt a sense of closeness toward him.

The three of them toured the server room and game cabin. Lao Yang, overly excited to meet an industry legend, couldn’t stop talking throughout the visit. Zhang Chenfei listened intently, even though he had brought the project leader for the collaboration, he didn’t need his team to explain anything.

When it came to technology, the strongest technician at Shifei Technology was Zhang Chenfei himself.

After trying the buttons in the game cabin, Zhang Chenfei mentioned that Shifei Technology had also bought a set of holographic gaming equipment. “But this thing is limited by servers and can only be used within the company building. It’s outdated and feels like a relic from last century’s arcades.”

For a company like Shifei Technology that made games, the equipment would only be useful if it could be used remotely. Being tethered to a nearby server was no different than a coin-operated arcade machine.

Lu Yu agreed wholeheartedly, “Exactly. That’s why we turned the game machine into a claw machine.”

Zhang Chenfei laughed at that. “Alright, then, show me the ‘dolls’ you and President Ming have created.”

Just then, Ming Yan, who had rushed back upon receiving the message, paused as he entered and heard the comment. He had seen Zhang Chenfei in other settings before, and the man usually carried a sense of distance. He hadn’t expected him to be joking with Lu Yu so soon.

Lu Yu, oblivious to Ming Yan’s arrival as his back was to the door, waved casually. “Hold on a sec, the kid’s mom isn’t here yet.”

Zhang Chenfei noticed Ming Yan behind them and quipped, “So, President Ming gave birth to the child?”

Lu Yu boasted, “Of course. After we got married, we had two kids in three years…”

Ming Yan walked over and gave Lu Yu a playful swipe on the back of the head, causing the bragging father to immediately fall silent like a rooster whose neck had been pinched.

“I didn’t know President Zhang was coming today. I’ve been busy over at Tomorrow Watches,” Ming Yan said, smiling as he shook hands with Zhang Chenfei.

Zhang Chenfei was quite amused that Lu Yu hadn’t been reprimanded for his nonsense and exchanged a few pleasantries with Ming Yan, all the while discreetly observing him.

Lu Yu, who had been winking at Zhang Chenfei behind Ming Yan’s back, suddenly noticed the man staring at Ming Yan and immediately felt displeased. He quickly inserted himself between the two and threw an arm around Zhang Chenfei’s shoulders. “Come on, come on, let’s chat in the simulator.”

The four entered the game, with Ming Yan changing President Zhang and Lao Yang into appropriate business attire before stepping into President Shen’s office.

Shen Baishui stood in the middle of the office with one hand in his pocket, turning impatiently toward the new arrival.

Xiao Jiang hurried over and whispered to him, “President Shen, this is President Zhang from Shifei Technology, here to help us with Golden House’s game setup.”

Shen Baishui nodded slightly, keeping with business etiquette. “President Zhang, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Before Lu Yu could introduce him, Zhang Chenfei walked over, shook hands earnestly, and said, “No need to be so formal. You can just call me Uncle Zhang.”

Shen Baishui: “…”

Ming Yan blinked in surprise, not expecting Zhang Chenfei to have such a personality.

Lu Yu couldn’t help but chuckle and chimed in, “Yeah, just call him Uncle Zhang.”

Shen Baishui pulled his hand back and gave a dismissive “tsk.”

Zhang Chenfei elbowed Lu Yu in the chest and said with a meaningful tone, “Your kid… is quite interesting.”

Lu Yu, trying hard to suppress a frown, sneaked a glance at President Zhang’s expression. Although Shifei Technology focused on gaming, it was at the top of its field, and expertise at the pinnacle often transcends sectors. He was worried President Zhang might notice something, so he was about to change the topic.

But before Lu Yu could speak, President Zhang, as if in his own world, sidled up to Shen Baishui and tilted his head, teasing, “Hey, kiddo, can you say one of those classic domineering CEO lines? Say one for Uncle.”

Shen Baishui rolled his eyes, unwilling to indulge him.

“Can’t say it? Let me teach you.” President Zhang pressed on, undeterred, standing up straight, his gaze suddenly distant as he lowered his voice dramatically, “The weather’s turning cold—it’s time to bankrupt the Lu family.”

Lu Yu nearly choked on his own spit. After realizing that his company wasn’t called the Lu family, he quickly regained his composure.

Shen Baishui, thoroughly annoyed, lifted his chin haughtily and said, “Beg me, and I might say one line.”

Ming Yan shot a warning look at Lao’er, signaling him not to speak further, worried that President Zhang might discover this was a super AI capable of passing the Turing test.

However, President Zhang’s focus was clearly elsewhere. Hearing President Shen’s words, he clapped his hands in excitement. “Yes! That’s the tone!”

He continued to admire Shen Baishui, casually patting Lu Yu’s chest with the back of his hand without turning around. “You’ve really made yourself a proper domineering CEO kid here.”

Lu Yu felt a vein throbbing in his temple and screamed internally: He’s not that kind of CEO! He’s from the male-oriented genre, not the female-oriented genre!

He quickly pulled President Zhang away before he could continue his “CEO talk.” “Don’t go teaching our kid bad things.”

Zhang Chenfei said seriously, “I like this child. Can I adopt him and have him take my surname, Zhang?”

Before Lu Yu could respond, Shen Baishui immediately refused, “No.” Lu Yu was instantly moved, looking tearfully at his child who didn’t mind their poor family. “Good boy.”

Unexpectedly, Shen Baishui’s next words were, “The surname Zhang is too common, it doesn’t sound like a CEO at all.” With so many web novels out there, he had never seen a single CEO protagonist with the surname Zhang.

Zhang Chenfei: “…”

Lu Yu: “…”

The inspection and exchange ended without incident. President Zhang got into his Maybach, waved goodbye, and agreed to finalize the plan at Shifei Technology in two days.

Lu Yu breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed onto Ming Yan’s back, exhausted. “That guy really doesn’t treat himself like an outsider. How can he just ask to take the child so casually?”

Ming Yan chuckled, “He wasn’t like that when I first met him. I didn’t expect him to be quite amusing.”

Lu Yu was immediately displeased. “What’s amusing? Is he reciting cheesy CEO lines? I can do that too! Ahem, ahem—’Man, how dare you praise another top in front of me? Don’t you know this is a challenge, hmm?'”

Ming Yan’s whole body tingled, and he couldn’t help but shake, tossing the clingy “dog-skin plaster” off his back. “Shut up.”

Lu Yu thought the matter was over, but he didn’t expect Zhang Chenfei’s “mental pollution” to be so severe. After being tainted by it for a while, Shen Baishui actually got addicted and spent the evening speaking like that at home. The President Ball reached out his short little arms and pressed down on the merman ball’s fork: “Merman, you’re playing with fire.”

His tone was low, filled with the charm of a domineering CEO, successfully earning a slap from his older brother.

Lu Yu was speechless. “Damn Zhang Chenfei, corrupting the kid! I need to go settle accounts with him.” Speak of the devil, and he shall appear—just as he was complaining, Zhang Chenfei’s video call came through. Lu Yu gestured for the balloon kids to be quiet and answered the video. Zhang Chenfei, in his loungewear, appeared on the screen, sitting on a velvet armchair, his gaze deep.

“President Zhang, what’s the matter?” Lu Yu didn’t think their relationship was close enough to be having long-night chats. There must be something important.

Zhang Chenfei looked around, lowered his voice, and said, “I just wanted to ask… huh? Is that your balloon person?”

Lu Yu turned around and saw Hua Wenyuan aiming a small bow with a plunger at him. When he looked over, General Ball nonchalantly redirected the arrowhead toward the wall.

Lu Yu’s mouth twitched. “Yes.”

Zhang Chenfei stared at the little guy in the distance with great interest for a while and then asked, “I heard Second Young Master Hong bought the balloon manufacturing factory. Can you make realistic children?”

Lu Yu: “How realistic do you want it to be?”

President Zhang: “Real enough to fool my father-in-law.” His father-in-law was always nagging them to have kids, but as two men, either getting a child would be illegal or betraying their lover. Zhang Chenfei absolutely wasn’t up for that. The moment he saw the balloon person, he suddenly had the idea of making a realistic child to fool his father-in-law.

Lu Yu wrinkled his nose. “That probably won’t work. Your father-in-law isn’t dumb. Plus, the kid grows up every year. You can’t just make a new body every year, right? Imagine your father-in-law opening the warehouse and—whoa, so many grandchildren.”

Zhang Chenfei thought about that scene and shuddered. “Never mind then.” He didn’t want to give his father-in-law a heart attack.

Lu Yu patted Hua Wenyuan’s butt, telling him to go play elsewhere, and turned back. “What was it you wanted to say just now?”

Zhang Chenfei looked around again, lowered his voice as if plotting, “I wanted to ask—how do you do it? How do you make President Ming so gentle with you?”

This morning, as he closed the car window, he saw Lu Yu pounce onto Ming Yan’s back. Ming Yan didn’t reject him, even ruffling his hair, letting him cling to his back. In their family, Young Master Jiao had never let him act so freely in public.

So that’s what he’s curious about today, staring at Yan-ge all morning. Lu Yu’s wariness toward Zhang Chenfei instantly melted away, and he raised his eyebrow like Tom the cat. “You’ve asked the right person. Come, come, let me teach you a trick.”

Zhang Chenfei: “What?”

Lu Yu, in an exaggerated manner, pinched his fingers like a delicate orchid: “A strong gong knows how to act cute—’Wife, lift me up high!'”

Fresh out of the shower, Ming Yan came out drying his hair and asked, smiling, “What were you talking about? You’re so excited.”

Lu Yu sprang up like a carp. “Hey, I just learned a new move—lift me high!”

He grabbed Ming Yan’s waist and lifted him up.

Startled, Ming Yan dropped the towel, instinctively wrapping his legs around Lu Yu’s waist.

Lu Yu held his butt and whispered, “Let’s give it a try.”