At first, Chen Cheng was sipping his herbal tea as if nothing was wrong, but as he kept drinking, he got more and more hyped. In the end, he was standing on a crate, chugging Brave the World beer with Zhu Zhe.

"Ah~"

"So good!"

"Tch~ Little cabbage~" Chen Cheng muttered, looking at Zhu Zhe, who had fallen asleep slumped over her legs.

There were three or four empty beer bottles by Zhu Zhe's feet, and five or six by Chen Cheng's side; together, they had polished off exactly one case of beer.

Chen Cheng waved at a black SUV on the side of the road, and a burly man quickly stepped out from the passenger seat.

The man walked up to Chen Cheng, "Boss!"

Chen Cheng nodded and pointed at the stall owner, who was already starting to pack up and had a very impressive figure. "Brother Sheng, go settle the bill."

"Alright~" The burly man nodded and turned to walk toward the couple who were busy working.

The man's name was Chen Guosheng, a Chinese national.

Before becoming a Bodyguard for Chen Cheng, he was a coach at a fighting club in Angel City, and Chen Cheng had been his student.

He was a good guy, very straightforward, and loyal to his friends.

Later, when Chen Cheng wanted to find a Bodyguard, he thought of him immediately.

When he went to talk to him, Chen Cheng showed the utmost sincerity.

$200,000 a year, with other benefits matching those of full-time employees at Company Name.

The point that moved Brother Sheng the most was, 'I will provide for your wife and daughter; do not worry.'

Chen Cheng would cover all expenses until the child graduated from university, and he even thoughtfully went out of his way to secure recommendation letters and arrange for the child to participate in various social activities.

He also arranged for Brother Sheng's wife to work as a farm owner.

The farm was specially purchased by Chen Cheng, costing nearly $5 million.

He let Brother Sheng's wife manage it.

After doing all this, how could Chen Guosheng not understand? He immediately expressed his willingness to serve him faithfully.

He would give his all until his dying day!

I didn't want to either, but he offered too much.

Brother Sheng soon returned after settling the bill, and Chen Cheng tossed him the keys to the 488.

He stood up, walked to the other side of the table, scooped up the fast-asleep Zhu Zhe, and walked toward the black SUV.

Before Chen Cheng even reached the car, the person in the driver's seat had already gotten out and opened the rear door, waiting.

With a roar, the vehicle disappeared into the vibrant, neon-lit night, leaving only the couple at the barbecue stall standing in the wind, feeling dazed.

"We'll have it too, we'll have it someday," the man said, wrapping his arm around his wife's waist.

The woman rolled her eyes at him reproachfully. "By selling barbecue?"

"Hehe~" The man gave an awkward, goofy laugh.

"Hmph, look at you!"

"Hurry up and clean up!"

"Alright, going now. Going now." The man cast a complex look in the direction the car had gone.

...

Chen Cheng looked at Zhu Zhe, who was sleeping while hugging his arm like a kitten, and his mouth twitched.

This woman was truly bold, getting drunk when it was just the two of them.

With Zhu Zhe's thick-skinned and calculating personality, she would never let herself get drunk and lose control in public.

Unless she was truly overwhelmed, or she trusted Chen Cheng's character and let her guard down around him.

The driver was Jimmy, a Black man Chen Cheng had hired from a security company.

A professional Bodyguard, his skills in combat, firearms, and driving were all top-tier.

If you want to ask why Scum hires so many Bodyguards.

Free America, get it?

Scum has spent over $1 million on security in the last two years; he values his life very much.

Returning to Ode to Joy, Chen Cheng didn't take Zhu Zhe back to 2202; instead, he carried her up to the 23rd floor.

It was already midnight; if he knocked on the door of 2202, He Minhong would surely ask a million questions and then make up her own stories after.

Scum didn't want her spreading rumors, not to mention there was also Yu Chuhui.

"Whew~"

Chen Cheng gently placed Zhu Zhe on the guest room bed and let out a long sigh.

Carrying someone who weighed over a hundred pounds for so long was actually quite tiring.

He looked down at Zhu Zhe, who was breathing evenly, and shook his head.

It had been a long time since he'd seen someone who held their liquor so well—no crying, no fuss.

People like this set too many restrictions on themselves; it's not necessarily good or bad, just quite exhausting at times.

He turned Zhu Zhe over, letting her lie on her stomach.

This would prevent her from choking on her own vomit.

With her face on the pillow, leaning toward the edge of the bed, he placed a trash can nearby.

He poured a glass of water, grabbed a box of tissues, and set them on the bedside table. After doing all this, Scum scanned the room again to see if he'd missed anything.

He pulled the duvet over Zhu Zhe's back and then exited the room.

Early morning.

Scum woke up very early, right at seven o'clock, without needing an alarm clock; his biological clock was used to it.

He simply washed his face and went downstairs for a run.

He happened to run into Andy.

The two lived in the same residential complex and both went for morning runs, so meeting wasn't a coincidence—it was just normal.

Andy wiped away her sweat and, looking at Chen Cheng, who was drinking water, asked, "Chen Cheng, do you think... it's possible to bring in a new investor for the Red Star acquisition?"

Back on Wall Street, along with Old Tan, the three of them often exchanged opinions on investment issues.

Although it concerned trade secrets, it was clear that they didn't treat Chen Cheng as an outsider.

Chen Cheng furrowed his brows, recalling the process of the Red Star acquisition.

In the middle of the acquisition, they had indeed brought in other investors, a local powerhouse where Red Star was located: the Bao Group.

Which was Andy's destined match, "Old Oil King - Bao Yifan".

Chen Cheng thought for a moment and said, "Company name should have sufficient funds; what it needs are resource-based investors. Finding a powerful partner locally..."

Before Chen Cheng could finish, Andy interrupted, blunt and straightforward: "I'm thinking, is it possible to invite you to join?"

Chen Cheng stopped, looked at Andy with a confused expression, and pointed at himself.

"Me?"

Andy nodded noncommittally, "You heard me right. I want to invite you to join Company name's new venture project."

Chen Cheng frowned, "Why? You know I don't have a deep understanding of industry."

Andy shook her head, "For the past few days, I've been looking at Company name's financial situation. The PC business is already deeply entrenched in its problems; it can maintain profit margins, but there's no growth in sight. The real estate sector is even worse."

"Company name urgently needs a new pillar industry to supplement the revenue lost from real estate. Otherwise, in a few years, Company name will definitely be dragged down by its ever-growing debt."

"Red Star is the best opportunity. Company name has the accumulation in the PC sector and construction machinery, and Red Star has a sufficiently deep foundation. As long as the resource integration is completed, the new Red Star will become a new shining pearl."

Chen Cheng smacked his lips; it sounded nice.

He looked at Andy with a smile, spread his hands, "I still don't understand why you want to invite me. You know I don't like to get involved in areas I'm not good at."

Andy smiled, "Financing, listing, Silicon Valley."

Chen Cheng's smile froze instantly; it turned out that Old Tan and Andy wanted his connections in Silicon Valley.

However, Scum blinked and agreed.

"Alright, you've convinced me."

The reason is just two words—making money.

To meet the hardware conditions Andy mentioned.

Plus, with Old Tan and Andy, this kind of handsome and beautiful startup team is hard not to succeed.

Don't underestimate the power of good looks, especially when standing in the spotlight.

After chatting briefly, the two went home.

Andy was still busy familiarizing herself with Company name's situation, working overtime even on the weekend.

There was still no news from her younger brother's side.

Chen Cheng looked at Andy's disappearing back, feeling a moment of distraction.

He shrugged.

Female workaholics seem pretty cool too.