94: Chapter 94 The Self-Righteous

The story splits in two.

As soon as Chen Hao finished his afternoon class and stepped out of the main gate, he saw a familiar face sitting on the steps.

It was none other than Ma Botao, President Ma.

"Chen Hao!"

Ma Botao had been waiting there all afternoon. He got up and walked straight toward Chen Hao.

"Considering our past relationship, please help me out."

He finally let go of the pride he had cultivated over four years and spoke to Chen Hao with a tone of needing a favor.

"Help you with what?"

Chen Hao's attitude was not enthusiastic.

Ma Botao sighed and said,

"I want to kick Wang Liguo out of the company, but when he invested, the equity structure agreement clearly stated that I can't manage it alone. I need you to help me come up with an idea."

Chen Hao shook his head.

"Sorry, it's too late now. I really can't do it."

"Can't I just pay you a consultation fee?"

Chen Hao patted Ma Botao's shoulder.

"You only think of mending your ways when the illness is terminal; it's too late. As the saying goes, it's easy to invite a god but hard to send one away. You invited someone like Wang Liguo in, and now you want to kick him out. Do you think he's a pushover?"

"Then what should I do? I can't just watch my company be ruined like this, can I?"

Chen Hao actually thought about it seriously.

"Old Ma, listen to my advice. If I were you, I would quickly withdraw while the company is still worth something, hand the company over to Wang Liguo, and at least you can secure a pension. Otherwise, Wang Liguo will cheat you out of everything."

"Chen Hao, how can you say such heartless things!"

Ma Botao became unusually agitated.

"This company was built by my own hands! How can you ask me to hand it over to a petty person like Wang Liguo? How can you be so ungrateful?"

Old Ma was stuck in a rut and no longer rational. Talking more was useless. Chen Hao got into the maserati, while Ma Botao was still shouting in despair.

"Chen Hao, you've changed! You are no longer the young man who struggled alongside me!"

"You've become a greedy businessman obsessed with money now. What about your ideals? Your ambitions? Have you forgotten them all?!"

Chen Hao started the car and accelerated away, no longer paying attention to the seemingly crazed Old Ma. People who get stuck in a rut, people who are self-important, people who never look for the reason within themselves—Chen Hao couldn't be bothered to look at them twice anymore.

After classes ended today, six days marked one cycle. The second round was over. Tomorrow was a rest day, but Chen Hao couldn't rest.

According to his agreement with Zhao Yifei, the things she was preparing should arrive tomorrow.

Everything was ready except for the final push. Once all the paperwork was complete, the next step was to go all out to make this software big and strong. He not only had to fulfill Zhao Yifei's gambling agreement but also seize the trend to make a huge profit.

For now, he had nothing else to do, so he decided to drive to the hospital to check on Zhuang Hua.

...

When he entered the ward, Qian Zhaodi was also there, peeling an apple.

"Lecturer Chen has arrived?"

Qian Zhaodi greeted him cheerfully and immediately started eating the peeled apple.

He had thought it was for Zhuang Hua; he miscalculated.

Chen Hao sat down and asked,

"How is your injury healing?"

"It's almost done. The doctor said I can be discharged in another week to recuperate at home."

"Okay, I'll wait another week for you. Otherwise, I'd almost think the lecture series was my business venture."

Qian Zhaodi said while munching on the apple.

"What you taught was really good. I think it was better than what she taught. Why don't you stop opening a company, and we partner up to focus professionally on training? I think this line of work is more profitable than my factory."

Chen Hao refuted this.

"No, no, no. Training isn't a long-term business. If you catch a trend, you can make a steady profit. If you miss it, it's agonizing, and you starve to death."

Zhuang Hua nodded in agreement.

"Three years without a sale, one sale feeds you for three years."

After saying that, she remembered something else.

"Oh right, Liu Jiannan's family negotiated with me. As long as I drop the lawsuit and don't press charges, he'll hand over the account. Otherwise, he'll hold onto that money and I won't get a single cent. Can you give me some advice?"

Chen Hao said solemnly,

"What's there to hesitate about? If he's using that to threaten you, just add another charge: fraud under the guise of training, illegal fundraising, plus grievous bodily harm and attempted rape. See if he compromises then."

Zhuang Hua turned to look at Qian Zhaodi with a solemn expression.

"Why are you saying everything?"

Qian Zhaodi shrank her neck, chuckled, and then turned to run.

Zhuang Hua casually picked up an apple and threw it at the fleeing Qian Zhaodi.

"Don't let me see you again!"

The fact that they could still joke around in such a situation showed the strength of their Best Friend bond.

Chen Hao took the opportunity to sit by the bedside and held Zhuang Hua's hand.

"Don't be angry; getting too worked up will harm your body. Be careful not to tear your wound."

"You've seen a joke out of me. I..."

She blushed because her embarrassing secret had been exposed, making her a bit shy.

Women, after all, have thin skin. If an ordinary woman encountered something like being almost raped, she would choose to hide it. Zhuang Hua was no exception.

"This is victim-blaming mentality. It's not your fault, so there's no need to blame yourself for someone else's mistake."

She was somewhat moved by his words. Chen Hao's image became glorious and imposing once again. Compared to her ex-boyfriend Liu Jiannan, Chen Hao was practically a beam of light in this world, illuminating her gloomy heart.

She lowered her head and remained silent.

Chen Hao stared at her intently. Because of this injury, one side of Zhuang Hua's hair had been shaved off, and a hideous scar was hidden beneath the gauze, significantly detracting from her appearance.

Even her personal information had changed quite a bit.

"Zhuang Hua"

"Age: 28"

"Height: 165"

"Weight: 50"

"Appearance Score: 8.7 points"

"Proficiencies: Investment Theory Mastered, Business Management Mastered, English Mastered"

"Current Status: Depressed"

"goddess token: underwear"

"Capture Difficulty: Easy"

"System Evaluation: Struck down, Taciturn, Female Scholar, Paranoid, Cowardly, Lacking Love"

"Note: When Favorability reaches 100, a special reward of one qi sea pill can be obtained."

Putting aside the drop in appearance score, the change in the system evaluation was enough to show that her personality had undergone a huge transformation.

The most obvious change was that being articulate had turned into being taciturn, and she seemed to have gained cowardice and a lack of love. However, her DINK ideology seemed to have disappeared. Did she finally see reason? Allowing premarital behavior?

When Chen Hao was looking at the system information, Zhuang Hua thought he was looking at her, so her face remained very red. To ease the awkwardness, she changed the subject.

"I heard from an employee that your Internet Celebrity class today seemed to have some changes, adding a practical filming activity."

Chen Hao said half-jokingly,

"I'm staying in the hospital, yet news comes from all directions. Truly, nothing can be hidden from you."

Chen Hao also picked up an apple and started peeling it while speaking.

"Through the materials you guys researched, I discovered a brand new business opportunity: short video content flowing into the overseas market. I plan to use your efforts to benefit myself and see if I can succeed."

Zhuang Hua stared at Chen Hao, dumbfounded.

"No way, that works too?"

"As expected, those who practice are stronger than us theorists. Your drive truly makes me admire you."