Forcing Me to Be Reborn?!
Chapter 337 - Chapter 337 Chapter 262 Shen Qingning and the Sadistic Novel

Chapter 337: Chapter 262 Shen Qingning and the Sadistic Novel Chapter 337: Chapter 262 Shen Qingning and the Sadistic Novel In this world, there always seem to be phrases circulating around, the scientific basis of which nobody really knows.

For instance, people who like to chew on straws are supposedly pretty strong in that respect.

Why such phrases spread so widely is beyond me.

At this moment, as Lin Lu saw Cheng Zhu looking at her, she thought it was because she hadn’t been drinking her beverage that she spoke up, “I’m afraid it’s too hot.”

“No problem, let it cool down a bit more,” Cheng Zhu waved his hand dismissively.

Lin Lu sat on the sofa, glanced at the pile of parcels next to the shoe rack at the entrance, and asked, “Why don’t you open all these parcels?”

She and Shen Qingning often shopped online, occasionally even purchasing items through overseas shopping agents.

Some girls really enjoy the process of unpacking parcels, and seeing so many unopened packages made her feel uncomfortable.

Cheng Zhu looked up at the parcels; those were all shipped from the factory in Guan Yun County.

They weren’t new Christmas products; the Christmas jerseys would be shipped together later.

They were just some older models with new modifications, considered a product upgrade; after they were ready, Chen Bin sent them over for Cheng Zhu to check out.

“I haven’t received them all yet. I like to wait until everything’s here and then open them together,” Cheng Zhu casually replied. “Plus, I find the process of opening parcels quite annoying, with some of the boxes being so hard to open.”

“Ah? Let me do it! I love opening parcels!” Lin Lu suddenly got excited.

Sometimes, guys and girls really are different. What boys find tedious might be something girls thoroughly enjoy.

And some girls enjoy weird things, like Cheng Zhu encountered girls who loved popping blackheads. When they squeezed out blackheads or pimples, they felt ecstatically satisfied.

It’s such a waste they don’t work at beauty salons…

Cheng Zhu saw the eager girl wanting to help, how could he let her open his parcels?

“If she does, wouldn’t my identity as the QQ Tycoon be exposed to her prematurely?” Cheng Zhu thought.

This matter, he definitely couldn’t keep hidden from Baby Lu forever.

But now wasn’t the right time.

“No need, I’ll sort it out later,” he declined Lin Lu’s kind offer.

“Alright then.”

She sat on the sofa, stirring her milk tea with the straw she had bitten flat, and took a tentative sip.

“Mmm~! It’s delicious!”

At first, she found it a bit too hot, squinting her eyes slightly and frowning, as all her facial features scrunched up.

But regarding the taste, she still gave it full marks!

“I’m not just being polite, it truly is tasty!”

“I’ll make an exception and finish it!” she announced, lifting her cup.

“Why is it an exception?” Cheng Zhu inquired.

“Because Ningning and I have set rules for ourselves. We agreed not to drink milk tea or coffee more than twice a week. I just had a toffee hazelnut latte, so I’ve gone over the limit!”

“It’s the self-restraint of a beautiful girl; you wouldn’t understand!”

Hearing this, Cheng Zhu smiled: “Sure, sure.”

The two chatted on the sofa for a few more minutes before Lin Lu got up to leave.

She had her own sense of propriety as a girl: it was okay to visit the home of someone she liked, but not proper to stay alone with a man for too long.

“No need to see me out,” she said hastily, waving her hand as Cheng Zhu started to get up.

“Alright then,” Cheng Zhu really did plop back down onto the sofa.

This left the lively girl somewhat speechless; she made a small punching gesture at him, then left with her milk tea in hand.

Riding the elevator down to the lobby of Xinhang Apartment Building B, Lin Lu stepped outside and was immediately hit by the chilly wind.

Cradling her hot taro milk in her hands, she took a big sip to warm up and then briskly made her way towards Building A.

Once home, she opened the door and found Shen Qingning sitting cross-legged on the sofa, wearing a Bluetooth earpiece in one ear and holding a romance novel in her hand.

The leggy beauty’s legs were disproportionately long, clearly visible even when she sat cross-legged.

The cool and collected Shen Qingning put down her angsty novel and turned to Lin Lu, asking, “Back already?”

Mimicking the voice of Crayon Shin-chan while taking off her shoes, the voice actress cheerfully replied, “I’m back~”

Shen Qingning knew she had been to Cheng Zhu’s milk tea shop today.

Although she was equally concerned about the new store that opened in their Star City, her proud nature didn’t allow her to be as proactive as Lin Lu.

Bounding over to the sofa with her cotton slippers, Lin Lu sat down with a bounce.

Shen Qingning immediately noticed the milk tea in her hand.

“That’s your second cup this week, right? You’re not allowed to have any more this week,” she stated firmly.

The two of them had agreed to keep each other in check.

Lin Lu felt too embarrassed to tell her that it was actually her third cup; she had just had a coffee earlier.

“Deal! No more milk tea this week, I’ll be a dog if I drink any more!” Lin Lu began making promises.

The aloof beauty rolled her eyes, “You have no shame; I know you too well.”

Lin Lu could really imitate the sound of a puppy…

“Nonsense! This is called keeping a promise! If I say I’ll be a dog, then I’ll be a dog!” she declared proudly, slamming her milk tea down on the coffee table.

That’s when Shen Qingning noticed the Youu Tea logo on the milk tea cup.

She sighed inwardly, feigning indifference, “Did you run into Cheng Zhu?”

“Yeah, he happened to be at the shop too, it was just a coincidence.”

“Oh,” Shen Qingning replied.

Unaware Lin Lu kept chatting, “Qingning, do you want a taste? Cheng Zhu made it himself and it’s really good. I think his milk tea shop is really going to make it big, no, it’s definitely going to blow up…”

Judging from Lin Lu’s endless chatter, with her overseeing the decoration and her luck backing it up–she’s always been lucky… lucky for friends, he’s bound to make a killing!

Shen Qingning looked at the milk tea on the table, shook her head, and declined, “No, thanks.”

She sat on the sofa, slowly closing the angsty novel she was holding.

To this day, she had yet to try the milk tea made by Cheng Zhu.

Two days had flown by.

For these two days, aside from attending classes, Cheng Zhu had been busy with the milk tea shop and game-related work.

The previous Cheese Mixed Berries drink he made, he felt, lacked something in taste.

It wasn’t even ready to sell, let alone serve to Ning Bao, who loved strawberries the most. He thought it still needed improvement.

So, he spent these days not only adjusting the ratios of tea, milk, fruit, and cheese but also considered switching to different raw materials.

Trying a different kind of tea, perhaps switching to a different origin of strawberries.

“In my memory, it should be made with green tea.”

“And for the strawberries… Dandong strawberries are particularly famous. They were already well-known back in 2014 and their reputation would only grow in the coming years.”

If Cheng Zhu remembered correctly, in 2022, he often saw people showing off the Dandong strawberries they bought on social media.

He had tried them himself indeed and they really were delicious!

Anyway, after gradual adjustments, the drink seemed just about right.

Meanwhile, the game Sheep had been soaring in popularity over these days.

As a game designed to be popular for just a month or two, Cheng Zhu originally intended to just make a quick buck.

Now, he has sent Wei Bo to negotiate some advertisements.

When the countdown to the opening of Youu Tea begins, he also plans to advertise the milk tea shop within Sheep.

Currently, the game had its highest player base in Hang City.

It started from the Technology University and spread outwards.

Moreover, the influencers from Ancient Mountain Culture were all from Hang City. Among their fanbase, Hang City residents were disproportionately represented.

And someone like Zhang Qiqi, a minor influencer who built her persona around being the “campus belle” of a Hang City university, naturally had a larger local fanbase.

During these days, staff members like Wei Bo in the studio were all very excited.

The game was catching on, and they all felt a sense of achievement.

Wei Bo, the most knowledgeable among them, made a rough estimate: with the current popularity of Sheep, just two days of advertising revenue could cover the entire investment.

The cost of the game was extremely low.

Of course, most importantly, they hadn’t spent much on marketing.

Given the game’s unique nature, it was bound to stir a lot of online discussions.

This was advantageous for increasing the advertising rates.

Indeed, it was a maddeningly free game.

But as Cheng Zhu said, “If you see a free product, then you are the product.”

After fermenting for a few days, Cheng Zhu kept an eye on some comments and the trends on the internet.

Believe it or not, many streamers started broadcasting Sheep!

Although it was 2014, not quite the “Year of Streaming,” many people were already accustomed to watching streams.

Interestingly, it seemed more exciting to watch others play Sheep than to play it themselves!

Streamers also noticed that interacting with viewers while playing this game resulted in unusually high activity.

Plus, the game wasn’t terribly hard, so it was easier for them to design… show effects.

A single streaming session was guaranteed to be entertaining.

On Weibo too, seeing the game gain sudden popularity and its ease of access, numerous minor influencers joined in.

Watching Sheep potentially explode again, Cheng Zhu felt it was time for some sly moves–it was time to further fan the flames.

He could now deploy some of the tactics he had reserved.

In the afternoon, Cheng Zhu specifically visited the game studio and issued a directive to team leader Wei Bo.

“Release that hack I had you develop,” he ordered.

Shocked and shivering, Wei Bo blurted: “What?”

(ps: Second update, seeking monthly tickets! All four reader groups are full, so we’ve opened two new groups. Please don’t keep joining the same groups, the links are in the profile.)