My Virtual Girlfriend-Chapter 158: The Last Piece of the Puzzle Comes Together!

Chapter 158: Chapter 158: The Last Piece of the Puzzle Comes Together!

...

At that moment, Chen Yan, who had no clue what was going on, was stroking his chin, still pondering what exactly had happened.

What’s going on with Lu Man?

She’s guiding herself in the romance without my help?

Or... has someone given her some sort of stimulus?

With these thoughts, Chen Yan opened the game to check Lu Man’s current location and status.

Upon launching the game, what appeared in the center of the phone screen was Lu Man’s Q-version pixel character.

At that time, her pixel character was in the makeup room, clutching her little fists, voicing something in a babyish tone in front of Mei Li.

It had to be said that this Q-version pixel character was quite cute and also very animated.

They even included Lu Man’s little tiger teeth.

But... no matter how lively... it still left Chen Yan baffled.

What is Lu Man doing?

What is she shouting at Mei Li?

"Thirty years in the east and thirty years in the west"?

Or "I control my fate, not the heavens"?

But... none of this has anything to do with confirming affection, right?

Chen Yan scratched his head and tapped to check Lu Man’s status.

Above Lu Man’s head, it read [Having an excited conversation...] And her emotional state was represented by a head tied with a "striving" headband, her eyes were determined and serious as if she was expressing a decision she had firmly made.

Chen Yan didn’t get any clues from Lu Man’s real-time status page.

He then reluctantly looked over her affection confirmation degree and affection degree changes.

Within these emotional progressions, there indeed was some additional information.

[Enlightened by Mei Li: Love +72 degrees, reaching full value.]

[Confirmed own feelings: Affection +1]

[No longer confused about her own state: Affection +7]

A few clues allowed Chen Yan to piece together the course of events...

He looked at Mei Li’s pixel character on the phone screen and was momentarily speechless: so it was you, with those thick eyebrows and big eyes, who ruined my plan!

In truth, Chen Yan was delighted that Lu Man had confirmed her feelings.

After all, he could finally put an end to this melodramatic "tortuous romance."

But... let’s not forget, this is a critical time for filming.

Chen Yan genuinely feared this affirmation of their relationship might cause a change in Lu Man’s mood, and if she didn’t perform well in the movie, that would be disastrous.

If the leading actress underperforms, the box office hits the lower limit: one hundred million.

No more luxurious villas for Lu Man, and no earnings from the box office share.

For a moment, Chen Yan didn’t know whether Lu Man confirming her feelings was a good or a bad thing.

He sighed deeply, "Sigh..."

"It seems I’ll have to make an effort tomorrow to go see Lu Man."

"See what her current state is like."

"Whether she can film..."

"And see, after unlocking feelings, what her state of mind will be when facing me."

"Cough cough. Could it be that, after years of being single, I can finally put my hard-earned skills to use?"

Hmm...

As for why Chen Yan didn’t immediately go to see Lu Man.

The main reason was that he already had some important matters arranged for today that needed attending to...

...

In the afternoon, Chen Yan met with two middle-aged men at a tea restaurant near his company.

One of the middle-aged men, plump with a round face, looked inherently trustworthy.

The other, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, was lean and always had a smile on his face that felt like a breath of warm spring air.

Upon meeting them, Chen Yan extended his hand first, asking the man with the gold-rimmed glasses, "You must be Mr. Song, right?"

After speaking, he turned to the plump man, "Manager Qi, won’t you introduce us?"

The man with gold-rimmed glasses smiled as he shook Chen Yan’s hand, then said, "Hello, President Chen. My name is Song Chuang."

The plump man also hurried forward, saying to Chen Yan, "Yes, President Chen. This is Mr. Song Chuang, former president of Quanmei Group, former president of Wanwei Film."

Chen Yan shook Song Chuang’s hand firmly and said, "Mr. Song, I’ve heard a lot about you."

After exchanging pleasantries, the three moved to a private room inside the restaurant to discuss the details of their cooperation.

Song Chuang could be considered the biggest surprise Chen Yan had stumbled upon recently.

In fact, half a month before igniting the Divine Summoning Incense, the headhunting company had already identified two important targets for Chen Yan.

The first was Yang Rou.

She had proven herself with her exceptional insight into films and TV shows and her ability to manage a company.

And the second... was Song Chuang.

Even compared to Yang Rou, the headhunters had a slightly higher opinion of Song Chuang.

This was not only because Song Chuang’s position was a level higher than Yang Rou’s.

But also because Song Chuang’s management experience and the business width and depth he dealt with far exceeded Yang Rou’s.

Yang Rou was a senior manager, but the projects she was involved in were always in the field of film and television, and she never had the experience of running a company on her own.

But Song Chuang was different. He has been at the top of the film companies for the past five years, dealing with the company’s overall strategy, capital operations, and management of senior staff.

He had proven with his ability that he was capable of holding his own.

Such a talent could no longer be simply described as a manager. He had already earned the recognition of capital with his abilities and had become an embodiment of capital.

Thus, even when approached with top-level conditions by the headhunting company, even with the attraction of Divine Summoning Incense, Song Chuang did not easily make up his mind in the preliminary phase.

Fortunately, the effect of the Divine Summoning Incense was ongoing. As long as he had a moment of interest within those three days, the effect would not disappear just because the incense had burned out.

So, after a half-month of back and forth, he eventually agreed to come and have a chat with Chen Yan.

Once settled in the private room, the headhunter found an excuse to leave.

When only Chen Yan and Song Chuang remained, Song Chuang asked directly, "President Chen, Manager Qi said that as long as I join your company, you will agree to any conditions, is that correct?"

With the "Profession Fortune" cashback, Chen Yan said without hesitation, "That’s right. As long as you are willing to join our company, I can meet any condition to the best of my ability."

Song Chuang was not dazzled by Chen Yan’s words. He nodded and asked, "Then may I ask, what positions in your company would be suitable for me?"

Song Chuang’s query wasn’t unreasonable.

Chen Yan only had three companies under his control; the gaming company was his own venture and his forbidden territory, not open to interference from others.

What remained were only Chenlu Film Company and Lu Man’s Celebrity Studio.

Presidents for these two companies were Yang Rou and Mei Li, respectively, both key players for Chen Yan and not replaceable.

Indeed, within Chen Yan’s current company structure, there was no suitable position for Song Chuang.

It wasn’t as if he should demote himself to become Yang Rou’s deputy, right?

But... if Chen Yan dared to negotiate terms with Song Chuang, he certainly had a plan in mind. Without the slightest hesitation he said, "Of course, there’s a position."

"I already have two companies in the entertainment industry, and I will surely continue to expand."

"The film and television industry itself is an industry based on team cooperation, where coordination and collaboration between companies are required. So I need a general who can keep the presidents of the various companies in line."

"I have set my sights on you."

"As long as you’re willing to join my company, I can reorganize the company structure and establish a film and television division, with you as the president, managing the business for all the film and television-related companies under my wing."

"Although there are only two companies now, I believe there will be nine, ten, or even more than a dozen in the future!"

With that, Chen Yan looked at Song Chuang and said, "What do you think?"

Song Chuang smiled and stated bluntly, "President Chen, isn’t this just pie in the sky?"

Chen Yan did not deny it, responding with a smile, "What’s promised in pie in the sky might yet come true. Who knows, in the future, I might really build a business empire spanning various industries."

"At that time, won’t this ’pie’ also become a legendary anecdote?"

Song Chuang looked at Chen Yan, nodding with a laugh, "Just like the eighteen Arhats."

Chen Yan never concealed his ambition, declaring, "Exactly."

Song Chuang gave Chen Yan a profound look, as if trying to discern whether Chen Yan possessed the strength he spoke of.

After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and said, "President Chen, I feel it would be a bit hasty to establish a film and television division right now."

"Your companies are not numerous enough to necessitate the coordination of a division."

"Moreover... imposing an ’overlord’ above the companies during their infancy might also generate resentment within their management."

"However, I do have another idea which you might consider."

Saying so, he took a document from his folder and handed it to Chen Yan.

Chen Yan curiously took the document from Song Chuang. Just as he was about to open it, Song Chuang gently held down the document and said, "No rush with that, you can read it later at home too."

"How about we have some tea and food first, and discuss the company situation?"

Chen Yan did not object.

He understood that talents of this level can’t be won over merely with high remuneration; most of the time, it depended on their own intentions.

Clearly, Song Chuang wanted to gauge through interaction whether he and Chen Yan were compatible and suited for a partnership...

The rest of the afternoon passed with the two men drinking tea, eating, and chatting.

Song Chuang initially controlled the flow of the conversation, mostly asking questions with Chen Yan answering.

But gradually, as Chen Yan got a handle on his temperament, Chen Yan began to take control of the situation, using the excuse of taking Song Chuang for a walk along the beach to admire the scenery of Qin Island, and arranging the rest of the agenda.

And so an afternoon went by.

After arranging to talk again in detail two days later, Chen Yan had the company driver take Song Chuang back to his hotel.

Once Chen Yan had sent Song Chuang off, he too strolled back home.

Back at home, Chen Yan switched into slippers and went to his computer desk, eager to open the document Song Chuang had given him in the afternoon.

After quickly scanning through the document, Chen Yan looked up in surprise.

Because... in this document, Song Chuang had not mentioned his salary, his benefits, or even his work or position.

Instead... he boldly had a request.

He wanted to partner with Chen Yan to open a movie distribution company.

Chen Yan would provide the capital, and Song Chuang would bring his expertise, focusing on film distribution...