Chapter 2: The Gathering of Three Beauties

Two months later, Qin Hao boarded a flight to Shanghai.

During these two months, the total number of followers across all platforms for the two self-media accounts he created, "Movie Meow" and "Discount Meow," had exceeded one million, bringing him over 700,000 in revenue.

Most of this income came from the latter month; the first month had been a period of accumulation, yielding almost nothing.

"Hello? Yes, that works. You can send the information directly to my WeChat. I’ll review it first and then see if I can promote it."

"It’s not about the money. The accounts have only just taken off, and I need to be responsible to my followers."

"I’m sorry, sir, the plane is about to take off. Please switch your phone to flight mode."

Qin Hao gave the flight attendant an apologetic smile, hung up the phone, and switched it to flight mode under her watchful gaze.

"Thank you for your cooperation."

Tucking his phone into his pocket, Qin Hao put on an eye mask and closed his eyes to rest. These two months had exhausted him. Making money was never easy; even when standing at the center of a trend, it required immense energy. If not for AlphaGo, he would never have been able to handle such a busy workload. The outside world assumed these two self-media accounts were operated by a mature team.

Before he knew it, Qin Hao had fallen asleep. When he woke up, he had arrived at Shanghai Airport. Although he had only slept for two hours, he felt refreshed. He picked up his backpack and got off the plane.

After turning on his phone, Qin Hao dialed the agent's number. Before coming, he had already rented unit 2102 in Building 19 of the Ode to Joy apartment complex, conveniently located right below Qiu Yingying.

To complete those missions, he would inevitably have to interact with the girls. Besides, Qiu Yingying was the original owner's sister, so he naturally had to help look after her.

He took a taxi to the entrance of the Ode to Joy complex and saw a man in his thirties looking around.

"Brother Li, right? I’m Qiu Yan."

"Oh! You must be Mr. Qiu. Come, come, let me help you." Old Li enthusiastically took Qiu Yan’s luggage.

Once inside the complex, he began chattering incessantly, introducing the environment as if it were a paradise.

Of course, the environment at Ode to Joy was quite good; otherwise, Tan Zongming wouldn't have arranged for Andy to live there in the show.

"Mr. Qiu, look, this is the room you wanted. The furniture and appliances are all here, and the kitchen is ready to use. Look at this bathroom—it’s a bit small, but it has a wet-dry separation, which is very convenient." Brother Li started his sales pitch again.

Qin Hao walked around. The apartment was decent, and he couldn't be bothered to nitpick over minor flaws.

"Fine, this will do. I’m moving in today. That’s no problem, right?"

Old Li’s smile was so wide it crinkled his forehead. "No problem at all. Once we sign the contract, we’ll just go to the property management office to register."

The rent was a deposit of one month plus three months' payment. This unit cost the same as 2202 upstairs—eight thousand yuan a month, with property management fees and utilities paid separately. The only difference was that 2202 was shared by three girls.

At this time, Qiu Yingying had just graduated and hadn't moved into Ode to Joy yet. Qin Hao wasn't in a hurry to contact her; he would let this naive and impulsive girl bump into a few walls in society first. There was plenty of time.

Over the next year, what Qin Hao needed to do was continuously accumulate capital while building up social resources.

Busy days always pass quickly. On his second day in Shanghai, Qin Hao registered a company specifically for operating self-media accounts.

In just ten months, the staff grew from the initial two or three people to over eighty employees, operating more than thirty accounts with over a million followers each, with monthly profits exceeding two million.

Through commercial collaborations with various merchants, Qin Hao also gained a certain amount of social resources in the Shanghai area. In a place like Shanghai, money can solve 99% of problems; the remaining 1% is only because you don't have enough money.

It was in the seventh month of Qin Hao living at Ode to Joy that Qiu Yingying finally moved into 2202. However, the girl didn't notice Qin Hao's presence. Qin Hao neither took the initiative to introduce himself nor deliberately avoided her; he let things take their natural course.

Of course, Qin Hao still sent living expenses to Qiu Yingying’s parents—ten thousand yuan every month, not too much and not too little. They were overjoyed and praised him endlessly on the phone for being successful. Originally, Father Qiu wanted him to go back home for a visit, but Qin Hao brushed it off with the excuse that he was working hard in the big city to buy a house. Father Qiu was actually quite happy with this reason and stopped urging him to return to his hometown.

One day, as Qin Hao was heading home, he saw a girl wearing glasses at the entrance, struggling to pull a massive suitcase up the steps.

"Let me help you." Qin Hao reached out and took the suitcase from her. But when he saw her face clearly, he couldn't help but be stunned. Wasn't this the "good girl" Guan Ju'er from the show?

"Thank you, sorry for the trouble," Guan Ju'er said, looking a bit flustered.

Qin Hao snapped out of it and said with a smile, "You're welcome."

Having learned that attributes from the film world could be inherited, Qin Hao had maintained a habit of working out during this time, spending two hours lifting weights in the gym every day. He had built up his strength and easily carried the suitcase up the steps.

Guan Ju'er was just about to thank him and take the suitcase back when she saw Qin Hao take out an access card to open the door, which made her curious.

"You live here too?"

Qin Hao nodded. "Yes, I live in 2102."

"I live in 2202, right above you. Hi, my name is Guan Ju'er. Thank you." Guan Ju'er extended her hand with a shy smile.

Qin Hao gently shook her fingertips and let go immediately. "My name is Qiu Yan. Nice to meet you. The elevator is here, let's go up."

"Okay."

"I'm here. Let's stay in touch."

"Sure, let's keep in touch."

After the elevator doors closed, Guan Ju'er touched her flushed face and muttered, "What a gentle guy."

*Ding.* The elevator doors opened, and Guan Ju'er hurriedly pulled her luggage to the door of 2202.

She knocked.

A curvaceous woman opened the door and asked suspiciously, "Who are you looking for?"

"I'm the new tenant, Guan Ju'er. Xiao Xia recommended me," Guan Ju'er replied quickly.

"Oh, so that's it. Come in, come in. Look, this room is Xiao Xia's." Upon hearing she was a new tenant, Fan Shengmei’s attitude immediately became enthusiastic. Xiao Xia had already moved out, and if the room wasn't rented out this month, she and Qiu Yingying would have to split the cost.

Guan Ju'er was quite satisfied with what she saw. Not long after, Qiu Yingying also got off work.

"We're roommates from now on. Let me treat you to dinner?" Guan Ju'er suggested.

"Great! I'm starving!" Qiu Yingying’s eyes lit up at the mention of food.

Fan Shengmei thought for a moment. "Let's just split the bill."

"Yeah, let's split it. You just arrived, it would be embarrassing to have you treat us. Let's go, go, go!"

(End of chapter)