Chapter 160 - 119: System Upgrade
However, due to a certain incident, Jiangcheng University suddenly had a change of heart. They implied to Yang Han that she had to immediately comply with Yannan University’s demands: issue a public, written apology to Shen Yan and Yannan University, and avoid creating any more negative press for the school.
Yang Han had no choice but to do as she was told.
Yannan University, for its part, assured her that as long as she didn’t do anything to harm Yannan University or its students in the future, the written apology would not be made public.
Yang Han blamed Chen Lin for all of it.
’If it weren’t for him, how could I have been so humiliated in front of the entire internet?’
’If it weren’t for him, why would my own university have forced me to write that shameful apology letter?’
Resentment grew like a poisonous vine, running rampant in her heart.
She once again contacted "Big Spitting Mushroom," the influencer account that had been stirring up drama online.
This blogger and Yang Han already knew each other.
After the video from the competition venue was leaked, it was "Big Spitting Mushroom" who had immediately incited his followers, trying to twist the facts and clear Yang Han’s name, though it ultimately had little effect.
After reading Yang Han’s long message, "Big Spitting Mushroom" sent a smirking emoji. His reply was filled with disdain and calculation: [What’s the use in crying? That Chen Lin is in the limelight right now. A head-on confrontation won’t end well for you. What you need to do now is watch him closely.]
Yang Han was a little confused: [Watch him closely?]
Big Spitting Mushroom: [Right. He’s so famous now, Yannan University will definitely use him as a prime example for their publicity.]
[You know how it is. The higher someone stands, the easier it is to find some dirt on them. You just have to patiently lie in wait. You’ll eventually catch him making a mistake. When that time comes, I’ll have my ways to completely ruin his reputation.]
Yang Han committed "Big Spitting Mushroom’s" words to memory. A malevolent light glinted in her bloodshot eyes.
...
...
「Monday, September 1st, 4:30 PM.」
The Yanhai Company office on the second floor of the Yannan University Innovation Hub.
Chen Lin finished his math research for the day and gave a long stretch. The joints all over his body let out a series of crisp cracks.
He picked up the cup from his desk and took a sip of water, then nonchalantly glanced at the system panel that only he could see, a complex look in his eyes.
On the very last day of the previous month, the [Little Financial Planner] title had settled on schedule.
Another five million-plus in cash had been deposited into his personal bank account.
And according to the system’s calculations, his personal net worth had officially surpassed the thirty million mark!
However, along with this huge sum of money came a system notification he had never seen before.
[Congratulations, Host, on advancing to the second grade! The system will now be upgraded. More functions will be available after the upgrade, so please look forward to it! During the update period, the system will not issue new tasks or rewards. All of the Host’s existing titles and items will continue to function normally!]
"Advancing to the second grade?"
Chen Lin looked at the notification, not sure whether to laugh or cry.
’It calls itself a Growth System, but it’s really treating me like an elementary schooler.’
But complaints aside, he was still full of anticipation for the new functions after the system upgrade.
After all, from [Little Mathematician] to [Little Driver], every title the system produced was quite powerful. A few could even be considered game-breaking.
’This upgrade should be even more amazing, right?’
Snapping out of his thoughts, Chen Lin leaned back comfortably in his chair, ready to scroll through his phone for a bit and give his tense brain a much-needed break.
To be honest, ever since he started the company, he felt like he had less time to scroll through videos and read comments from goofy netizens.
It wasn’t that he’d suddenly had a change of heart and become some kind of workaholic.
It was mainly because the company had just started out, so there was a lot to do. He had a professional administrative assistant in Huang Yiyi, who handled most of the executive-level work so he didn’t have to worry. However, many key decisions, like meeting clients and finalizing proposals, still required him as the boss to make the final call.
Fortunately, starting this week, with the successful completion of the two major orders from Era of Creation and Huanrun Pharmaceutical, the company had finally entered a relatively stable period of operation.
Although the company only had these two successful cases so far, Chen Lin wasn’t the least bit worried.
For one, since the system calculated the company’s valuation, its operating income had become almost secondary. The current workload was just enough to allow him to continue focusing his main energy on his mathematical research and papers.
For another, the company’s daily expenses were so small they were practically negligible.
He could count the fixed monthly expenses on one hand. The rent for the several-hundred-square-meter office in the Innovation Hub was only a symbolic 5,000 yuan a month, thanks to a startup support policy specially approved by Principal Chang Kai.
As for personnel costs, Huang Yiyi and Sun Yu were official employees. Chen Lin offered them salaries far exceeding the industry average: 30,000 and 8,000 yuan a month after taxes, respectively.
Factoring in the company’s contributions for social insurance and housing funds, the monthly labor cost was about 55,000 yuan.
As for the two interns, Shen Yan and Yunqing, their wages were calculated on a daily basis.
When Chen Lin had discussed it with Huang Yiyi, they operated on the principle of "never short-changing our own people" and set the daily wage directly at 250 yuan a day. In the intern market of Jinmen City, this standard was absolutely top-tier.
Based on these expenses, Yanhai Company would still turn a profit even if it only took on one project a month. And that wasn’t even counting Chen Lin’s [Little Financial Planner] title, which could reliably generate over 3 million yuan in personal wealth growth for him each month.
Speaking of interns...
Chen Lin subconsciously lifted his head, his gaze sweeping across the vast office.
It was unusually empty today.
It was the first day of the new semester. Due to his special circumstances, Principal Chang Kai had already spoken to the counselor of his new class. A special exception was made, so he didn’t have to show up to class and join the commotion.
But Shen Yan and Yunqing couldn’t do the same. On the first day of school, class meetings, getting new textbooks... a whole mess of miscellaneous tasks awaited them, so they naturally couldn’t come to work at the company.
Chen Lin estimated that for the next two weeks, the number of times they’d be able to come to the company would probably be quite low.
Just then, Chen Lin’s phone screen lit up, displaying a WeChat message notification.
He picked it up and saw that the sender was Principal Chang Kai.
Chang Kai: [Chen, are you busy? Remember that interview I mentioned to you before?]
Of course, Chen Lin remembered.
After the video of the modeling competition went viral online, Chang Kai had brought it up with him. At the time, Chen Lin had said he wanted to wait until his company was established before accepting any media interviews.
For one, it would be a chance to give a direct response to the online rumors about the competition.
And for another, more important reason, it was a chance to leverage his current popularity to generate a wave of publicity for his Yanhai Company and Yannan University’s startup support policies.