"You want me to turn around just because you said so?"
Ye Ling raised an eyebrow and scoffed.
âLittle girl, do you have any idea what kind of situation youâre in?â
"W-what... are you trying to do?"
Ning Ruoxi clutched the blanket even tighter, her face beet-red as she spoke.
"HAHAHAHA..."
Seeing Ning Ruoxiâs reaction, Ye Ling couldnât help but burst out laughing.
At that moment, Ning Ruoxi realized Ye Ling was just teasing her and couldnât stop herself from shooting him a vicious glare.
"Alright, alright. Iâm turning around."
Ye Ling didnât tease the girl any further and turned around.
Staring at Ye Lingâs back, Ning Ruoxi gritted her teeth and huffed. Wrapping the bathrobe around herself, she dashed straight into the bathroom.
Around ten oâclock, Ye Ling checked out of the room. He took Ning Ruoxi to breakfast, and only then did they head home.
...
Back home, Ye Ling flopped onto his bed and pulled out his phone.
He had spent all of yesterday with Ning Ruoxi, so he hadnât checked his phone. The moment he opened his messaging app, he saw countless notifications pop up.
Seeing this, Ye Ling couldnât help but rub the bridge of his nose and start dealing with the messages.
First was a friend request. The name on it was Zhou Xing.
Ye Ling had given him his contact info after their half-day discussion.
Ye Ling casually accepted the friend request and sent a "Hello, Professor," as a simple greeting.
Next up was the "3222 Demon Lords of Chaos" group chat. In just the past day, those guys had somehow managed to rack up 99+ notifications.
Ye Ling was left speechless.
Uhh...
Getting 99+ messages in a single day would be normal under ordinary circumstances.
âBut the crucial thing is, you three live in the same dorm. How can you still rack up 99+ messages?â
âAre you guys messaging each other from across the room?â
Ye Ling tapped into the chat and skimmed through it. They were mostly talking about the joint social event for next week.
With Ye Ling confirming he would attend, the joint social between the School of Arts and the School of Information Science was officially set for next Thursday.
âHe Jian: Hehe, I have a feeling I can finally escape singlehood!â
âYang Yu: I have a good feeling too. To be honest, Iâve already got a target. That Lin Xue from the School of Arts, I think sheâs totally my type!â
âYang Yefeng: What a coincidence. I think that Lin Xue is pretty too, though nowhere near as beautiful as Sister-in-law Ruoxi.â
âYang Yu: @Ye Ling, some mofo here has his eyes on your girl!â
âHe Jian: @Ye Ling, Brother Ling, hurry up and teach this psycho a lesson!â
âYang Yefeng: Uh... is it too late for me to unsend that message?â
...
Reading their conversation, Ye Ling couldnât help but let out a resigned smile.
âAs expected,â he thought. âEvery single one of them is a damn clown!â
Ye Ling leisurely typed out a reply.
âYe Ling: Itâs fine, go ahead and discuss all you want. Itâs not like any of the girls will be interested in you anyway.â
DING!
Just a few seconds after Ye Ling sent his message, replies from He Jian and the others came pouring in.
âHe Jian: Can you at least try to be human?â
âYang Yu: Can you at least try to be human?â
âYang Yefeng: So, thereâs still hope for me?â
âYang Yu: @Yang Yefeng, you idiot. Brother Ling means that even if you have ideas, itâs useless. None of those girls would be into you, let alone a top-tier beauty like Sister-in-law Ruoxi~â
âYang Yefeng: I really wasnât thinking anything like that... This is so unfair. I was just making a comparison.â
âYe Ling: Alright, stop spouting this damn nonsense. Iâm calling it now: you guys are destined to be single for all four years of college. Iâve spoken, and not even Jesus can change it!â
With that, Ye Ling muted the group chat without a second thought.
Without their constant, annoying chatter, Ye Lingâs messaging app looked much cleaner. Only a single red notification dot remained.
âAt that moment, Ye Ling felt he should have muted the group ages ago. Damn it, those guys could talk way too much!â
The last red dot was a message from Zhu Yun, giving Ye Ling a rough report on Shengding Groupâs recent decisions and moves.
Net Entertainment Group was basically finished. Their game, Yulian, had been found guilty of infringement, their stock had hit its daily downward limit several days in a row, and countless shareholders were dumping their stock...
At a time like this, Shengding Group naturally didnât hesitate to make its move.
By the time of Zhu Yunâs report, Shengding Group had already acquired ten percent of Net Entertainment Groupâs shares!
The reason they had been able to acquire so many shares so easily was mainly because Net Entertainment Group was the result of a merger between two companies, which meant its stock ownership was relatively dispersed.
âOtherwise, it really wouldnât have been this easy!â
As Ye Ling thought about this, he searched online for more information about Net Entertainment Group.
These days, the internet wasnât just interested in celebrity gossip. News about major corporations like this was also very popular with the media.
Take Net Entertainment Groupâs current situation, for example. All sorts of news about them was circulating across the entire web.
Some of these stories were true, while others were just clickbait.
For example, there were rumors that the head of Net Entertainment Group owed tens of billions and ran off with his wifeâs younger sister... Ahem, sorry, got my stories mixed up.
In short, all kinds of rumors were flying around.
Right now, Net Entertainment Group was well and truly in the eye of the storm.
"The Jiang Family must be going insane right about now, huh?"
A smile touched the corners of Ye Lingâs lips.
âThe Jiang Family had created Net Entertainment Group specifically to target Shengding Group, and now, it was about to be swallowed whole by Shengding Group instead.â
âThey did all the hard work, and Iâm the one reaping the rewards. Funny how that works.â
However, Ye Ling wasnât completely relaxed yet.
âAcquiring Net Entertainment Group was just one small step.â
âIf the Jiang Family was the final boss, then Net Entertainment Group was merely a pawn.â
Next, he needed to figure out how to handle the Jiang Familyâs inevitable retaliation.
After all, they were one of the capitalâs Eight Great Families. The power they wielded was far beyond anything he could currently match.
âBecause while he had money now, he had no real authority!â
"Ding! A change has been detected in the Hostâs life goals. Automatically triggering system upgrade mission."
"Ding! System Upgrade Mission: Bring Net Entertainment Group under your control!"
"Ding! Completion Reward: 1. System will be upgraded to Version 2.0. 2. Host will receive one Upgrade Grand Gift Pack."
Just then, a series of notifications suddenly rang out in his mind.
Instantly, Ye Lingâs eyes lit up.
âHoly crap.â
âIs this system finally going to stop slacking off?â
âIs it finally going to start pulling its weight?â
âSystem, whatâs the difference between Version 2.0 and Version 1.0?â
Ye Ling asked inwardly.
"Ding! In response to Hostâs question: Host will find out after the system upgrade is complete."
The systemâs cold, mechanical voice echoed in Ye Lingâs mind.
âFine, donât tell me then.â
Ye Ling pouted, clearly annoyed.
âIsnât that just a load of crap?â
âItâs the same as saying nothing at all!â
Still, Ye Ling couldnât help but feel a little excited about this so-called Version 2.0 of the system.