For Cheng Huanzhen, this summer vacation was perhaps the first one that belonged entirely to him.

To say “entirely belonged” wasn’t quite accurate. After all, he was completely unable to spend the entire vacation according to his own plans. But since the person disrupting his plans every day was his Little Uncle, it wasn’t unbearable.

The vacation was surprisingly smooth. His grandfather didn’t suddenly discover their itinerary and force them back to the capital with his usual methods; his Little Uncle’s physical condition didn’t worsen either. The only thing that troubled them both was his blindness, which showed no signs of recovery.

Amidst this smoothness and stability, Cheng Huanzhen gradually grew accustomed to the life of taking care of his blind Little Uncle around the clock and moonlighting as his “eyes.”

Cheng Huanzhen returned to the capital with his Little Uncle in the last few days of summer break. A couple of days after landing, he had to dive into his new academic year.

Because he had a Little Uncle at home waiting for him to return for company and care (though in reality, it wasn’t that necessary, as he had already “borrowed” the family doctor assigned to his Little Uncle from the old residence!), Cheng Huanzhen would pack up and go straight home as soon as his classes for the day were over.

Like today, for instance.

As a senior, his course load was light. After his first afternoon class, Cheng Huanzhen had finished his academic work for the day. He packed his things and started walking towards the school gate.

As he walked, Cheng Huanzhen suddenly noticed a seemingly familiar classmate on a bench by the roadside. His face was flushed red as he struggled with all his might to twist open a bottle of mineral water.

Cheng Huanzhen observed for a full three seconds, watching the classmate use paper, then his clothes, then switch hands, all without success. He simply changed his direction, walked up, and politely asked, “Hello. Do you need help?”

The classmate jumped with a “Wah!” and his eyes widened in shock. “Cheng… Classmate Cheng!”

The person stared blankly for two seconds before stammering, “Thank you, thank you, I really need it, please help me open it.”

Cheng Huanzhen was a little puzzled by the other’s reaction, not understanding why the expression on his face was as if he’d seen a ghost. He didn’t dwell on it, just took the water bottle and opened it with a slight twist. He handed the water back and said calmly, “You’re welcome.”

The classmate who couldn’t open the bottle cap took the water back, stunned, and watched Cheng Huanzhen’s departing figure. After a long moment, he murmured in disbelief, “Oh my god, the NPC actually deviated from his walking path to talk to me! …OMG, and he’s not even wearing a suit today? His outfit is so normal…”

Cheng Huanzhen continued towards the school gate. He passed by the small shop he often visited and estimated that it would take another five minutes to reach the gate, just enough time to drink a bottle of water. He stopped in front of the shop and asked the owner for a bottle of iced mineral water.

The owner saw him and exclaimed at his clothes, “Yo, finally bought some new clothes?”

As he spoke, the owner took a bottle of water from the freezer, grabbed a random handful from the candy basket, and handed the water and candy to Cheng Huanzhen with a grin. “Here, a candy for you. Wish you a happy start to the school year.”

Cheng Huanzhen took the items, said “Thank you,” and looked down to examine the candy the owner had given him. It was a green, vanilla-flavored candy.

He handed the candy back to the owner and asked, “Could I have a strawberry-flavored one?”

The owner was surprised, then burst out laughing. He took the candy back and picked out two strawberry-flavored ones for him from the basket.

The owner laughed. “You’ve been eating my candy for so long, and you finally have a favorite flavor. What do you think? Didn’t I tell you strawberry is delicious?”

Cheng Huanzhen nodded and said, “Yes, it is. Thank you, boss.”

He pocketed the two candies and headed home.

It was still early, and his Little Uncle was busy with his afternoon nap, so he didn’t disturb him. He planned to change his clothes and go to the company to personally check on the preparations for the November new product launch.

Just then, Cheng Zhaorui dragged his suitcase home, exhausted. Seeing Cheng Huanzhen, Cheng Zhaorui greeted him with a surprised smile. “Oh, Huanzhen, you’re back from your trip! How was it, did you have a good time?”

Cheng Zhaorui casually grabbed Cheng Huanzhen and pulled him into the dining room.

Cheng Zhaorui said with a smile, “Come, come, try this specialty I brought back from City H!”

He took a bag of local specialties out of his suitcase and shoved it into Cheng Huanzhen’s hands without taking no for an answer. He himself plopped heavily into a chair at the dining table and sighed dramatically. “Ugh, this drama was such a pain! Have you heard of Li Yiyi? The guy who played the second male lead in No Three Million Annual Salary. Oh man, let me tell you, that guy is so annoying to be around…”

He mumbled on, casually venting his frustrations. His good son never paid any attention to his complaints, and he didn’t expect any response. He just needed a pair of ears to complain to for two or three minutes, and then he magnanimously let his son go.

Cheng Zhaorui: “Alright, alright, I know you’re not interested in this stuff. What were you about to do? Work? Then I won’t disturb…”

Before he could finish, Cheng Zhaorui saw Cheng Huanzhen calmly take a small mango cake from the fridge, hand it to him, and say, “I’ve heard that eating dessert can improve one’s mood. Would you like to try, Father?”

Cheng Zhaorui’s expression instantly turned to one of horror!

The chair shook violently, nearly tipping over. He愣愣地 steadied the chair and subconsciously took the mango cake from his son’s hand, staring at it for two seconds.

Cheng Zhaorui couldn’t help but look up and ask, “How did you know my favorite flavor is mango?”

Cheng Huanzhen looked down, puzzled, and replied calmly, “The most stocked flavors in the fridge are mango and strawberry. Strawberry is Little Uncle’s favorite, so I figured mango must be your favorite, Father.”

Cheng Zhaorui was stunned. “You… you actually learned to observe the fridge?!”

Cheng Huanzhen: “?”

Cheng Zhaorui hissed lightly, looking at his son who had somehow become a proper human being after one trip. He couldn’t help but say, “Hey, son, call me ‘Dad’ for once. You’ve already learned to comfort me, why are you still calling me ‘Father’? Doesn’t it sound awkward to you?”

Cheng Huanzhen glanced at him strangely and replied, “It’s not awkward, Dad.”

“Clang!”

The chair flipped over, and Cheng Zhaorui lost his balance and fell to the floor. The cake splattered onto his body.

Hearing the commotion, the butler hurried over to see. “What happened, what happened?”

Sitting on the floor, Cheng Zhaorui sucked in a breath of cold air and waved his hand stiffly. “It’s nothing, nothing. Alright, good son, you… you stop looking, go back to your room and mind your own business!”

Seeing his son actually say “Oh” and turn to leave, Cheng Zhaorui quietly let out a sigh of relief, patted his chest, and muttered to himself, “That’s more like it. I was just saying, how could he suddenly become so enlightened in just two months…”

With the new semester starting, Cheng Huanzhen poured most of his energy into the launch of the new product in November. It wasn’t that he was anxious about money. It was just that his Little Uncle’s blindness was quite serious—he heard that in the past, when his Little Uncle had an episode, it would only last for a week or two, with the longest one being only a month.

But this time? It had been two or three months since his Little Uncle’s episode started in August! The doctor from the old residence was very worried about this and privately told Cheng Huanzhen, “If Young Master Yiming’s illness continues to act up, we’ll have to double the medication starting next quarter.”

The old residence’s doctor was very concerned about the cost of the medicine and gently persuaded the young master, “Young Master Huanzhen, if you ask me, you might as well have Young Master Yiming apologize to Old Mr. Cheng. It’s just a matter of a few words. Otherwise, having someone who hasn’t even graduated be responsible for Young Master Yiming’s medical expenses, that’s really a bit…”

The old residence’s doctor shook his head and sighed melancholically.

Continuous flare-ups. Doubled. Doubled. Doubled.

A bit what? Didn’t he believe he could earn enough for the medicine?

Cheng Huanzhen bit the rim of his cup expressionlessly, leaving a circle of teeth marks on it.

…He could do it. He could do it. He could do it. He had to do it!

The November new product launch… he had to succeed!!

…

November arrived at a leisurely pace. The weather gradually grew colder, and people who were afraid of the cold began to wear light down jackets. The atmosphere of the entire city seemed to become a bit heavier in November.

Especially in the Cheng family’s old residence and the Cheng family’s subsidiary that was about to launch a new product, the atmosphere was so tense it was almost hard to breathe.

The new product launch event was set for November 7th. The night before the launch, in the old residence’s game room, the lights stayed on until eleven at night.

Old Mr. Cheng played chess with the old butler, remarking from time to time, “This business, it’s just like chess. Success and failure are not achieved overnight…”

“Huanzhen has been working quite hard since school started, but tell me, wasting two whole months of summer vacation like that, is it foolishness or arrogance?…”

“…Hmph, the new product launches tomorrow. I’d like to see what kind of results they can produce with their ‘fishing for three days and drying the nets for two’ attitude!”

The old butler listened to Old Mr. Cheng’s mumbling all night. Finally, he couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. Cheng, why don’t you take a look at the final versions of Young Master Huanzhen’s reports?”

The old butler said with a smile, “I heard that Young Master Huanzhen has put a lot of thought into the new product this time. He’s made improvements in every aspect and came up with many good ideas.”

Old Mr. Cheng sneered and waved his sleeve. “Look at what? I won’t look even if they write a flowery report! What do good ideas represent? There have been plenty of people with good ideas throughout history, how many of them have managed to turn them into profit?”

Old Mr. Cheng snorted heavily. “The way I see it, Huanzhen is just putting on a show, trying to make up for the wasted summer vacation—he must have learned this trick from Lin Chen! There’s nothing to see. Anyway, the product launches tomorrow. We’ll know tomorrow whether it’s a mule or a horse, what’s the rush?”

The old butler: “Well…”

The old butler helplessly put away the report, thinking to himself that he truly felt Young Master Huanzhen’s performance had been outstanding recently. But since his boss was unwilling to look, he could only coax him: “You’re right, Mr. Cheng. I was being impatient.”

But regardless of whether it was Old Mr. Cheng or the old butler, they were both equally concerned about the sales of this new product. For Old Mr. Cheng, the sales figures were related to his “battle of paths” with Lin Chen. He absolutely did not believe that Lin Chen’s behavior of wasting time with Cheng Huanzhen every day could make his grandson, whom he had already poured his heart and soul into cultivating, even more outstanding!

As for the old butler, the reason was much simpler.

—In all these years, this was the first time he had ever seen a smile on Young Master Huanzhen’s face while he was working.

…If Young Master Huanzhen could really fulfill the “tall talk” that Lin Chen and Old Mr. Cheng had made, then in the future, would he be able to see more children’s smiles in the Cheng family’s old residence?

The old butler had a tiny bit of hope. But that was all.

The launch event began punctually at 6 PM. Cheng Huanzhen took the stage himself, dressed in a sharp suit, composed and unflustered, perfectly maintaining the calm and collected demeanor that Old Mr. Cheng had always admired most.

For once, Old Mr. Cheng nodded in praise. “Not bad.”

Two hours later, the launch event ended on time, and the official website simultaneously opened the sales link!

It would take another hour for the sales data from the first hour to come out. Old Mr. Cheng simply took the old butler to the chess room to pass the time by playing chess.

Old Mr. Cheng asked the old butler, “Take a guess, how much will their sales be in the first hour?”

The old butler said seriously, “According to the previous estimates, the first-year target for Young Master Huanzhen’s project is to reach 200 million in sales. If so, then the sales for the first hour today should be around 2.5 million?”

Old Mr. Cheng sneered. “2.5 million? You’re really overestimating them! In my opinion, if they can even hit 2 million in the first hour, that would be considered an extraordinary performance!”

The old butler humbly asked for guidance, “Oh? But Mr. Cheng, I thought Young Master Huanzhen’s new product launch event went very well.”

Old Mr. Cheng glanced at him. “The official website was well-made, and the launch presentation was well-written, but what does that have to do with actual sales? Anyone can handle the superficial stuff, but whether the sales can actually be pulled up…”

Old Mr. Cheng shook his head.

“Bzz bzz.”

Just then, the old butler’s phone suddenly vibrated.

The old butler picked up his phone, a smile spreading across his face. He said to Old Mr. Cheng, “Mr. Cheng, the sales report for the first hour is here.”

Old Mr. Cheng’s hand, holding a chess piece, paused. “Let’s see.”

The old butler nodded, clicked into the email, and took a close look. His eyes suddenly widened, and he shot up from his seat by the table!

He raised his voice in shock. “This…?!”

Old Mr. Cheng clenched his fist and scolded him, “You’ve been with me for so many years, what scene haven’t you seen? How can you be so flustered, so pathetic! …Let me see.”

He snatched the phone from the old butler’s hand and glanced down.

On the first line of the report email, in the column for the first hour’s sales statistics, it was written in bold—

6.1734 million