Chapter 154: Minor Disagreements

After hearing the phone call end, Chen Lu still hadn’t woken up, staring blankly at Liang Zhirou.

Liang Zhirou had only woken up a few seconds earlier than Chen Lu, and hadn’t fully recovered.

How did she end up asleep on him…?

“Jiang Chao is coming over, I don’t know what it’s about.”

Chen Lu said as he got up and walked towards the bathroom, turning on the faucet to wash his face and wake himself up.

To make someone who’s usually not serious become serious, it must be something important.

When he came out, he found that the ostrich who had been sitting on the sofa was gone. He turned his head and saw the closed door of Liang Zhirou’s room.

Chen Lu curled his lips, “It’s not like we just slept together?”

“Why are you reacting so strongly?”

“I… I’m changing clothes.”

Chen Lu tilted his head, “Your pajamas are more conservative than your clothes for going out, is there a need to change?”

It’s like you’re really living together?

He remembered that when guests came to his house when he was a kid, Wang Xiaoxia had the same reaction.

A few minutes later, Jiang Chao knocked on the door and came in. When he saw Liang Zhirou, he was stunned.

The words he wanted to say were all stuck in his throat, swallowed down by him.

His eyes widened, staring fixedly at Chen Lu.

Seeing that both Chen Lu and Liang Zhirou looked sleepy and exhausted, his eyes widened even more.

Chen Lu could tell from Jiang Chao’s expression what he wanted to say, so he could only say helplessly:

“Let’s talk in my room.”

……

Jiang Chao slowly closed the bedroom door and looked at Chen Lu with a ghost-like expression.

“What’s your progress speed? I’m not as fast as you!”

He couldn’t help but shout loudly, his two hands already around Chen Lu’s neck.

It’s not okay if my brother is suffering, but it’s also not okay if my brother is driving a luxury car.

Chen Lu disdainfully slapped his hand away, “You’re misunderstanding, she just sleeps here for a nap when she has classes. She doesn’t have a dorm, and it’s too far to go home.”

Jiang Chao still looked at him with a black face, “You’re not living together?”

“No, we’re not living together.”

“You haven’t done anything?”

“We really just slept together for a nap.” Chen Lu yawned and smirked at him.

“Do you think I’ll believe your bullshit?”

Jiang Chao didn’t believe a single word, he sat down on the edge of the bed and asked seriously: “What if your mom comes for a surprise inspection one day?”

“It’s impossible.” Chen Lu didn’t bother to explain, the more he explained, the more suspicious it would be. He was too lazy to explain seriously, it’s better to let Jiang Chao imagine it himself.

My greatness depends entirely on your imagination.

“What’s the matter, you have to tell me in person?” Chen Lu asked.

Jiang Chao took a deep breath. “Someone from Penguin came over personally, but you weren’t at the company. I just showed them around casually.”

Chen Lu raised an eyebrow, this was quite interesting. It wasn’t a serious visit, as they didn’t even call ahead. But it wasn’t completely casual either, as they still sent someone over directly.

“What’s the matter?”

“To put it simply, they want to absorb our studio,” Jiang Chao said solemnly. “Especially you.”

“We can talk about investment in the future, but everything else is off the table.”

Chen Lu said directly. They were already following their plan step by step, how could they change their minds and go work for someone else?

Jiang Chao seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at Chen Lu’s reaction, but he continued to speak. “Just hear me out… the conditions they offered you are ridiculously good.”

“No matter how good it is, I won’t go.” Chen Lu stopped him from continuing. “Things are good as they are now.”

A smile finally appeared on Jiang Chao’s face, which had been incredibly serious. He stood up and said softly, “Then I’ll just reject them. Those two seem to be staying at a hotel nearby.”

Although he supported whatever choice Chen Lu made, he was really afraid that Chen Lu would agree.

After all, if that happened, his dream of making games would be realized, but he wouldn’t be able to make a game of his own dreams in the future.

Working for someone else meant considering profits, but if he did it himself, he wouldn’t have to worry about that after he made his fortune.

Chen Lu shook his head. “Since we rejected them, we need to talk to them about investment cooperation.”

“What do you mean?” Jiang Chao didn’t understand.

“If we don’t let them get something out of it, they’ll suck your blood dry.”

The business world is like a battlefield, it’s not a joke. It’s always the big fish eating the small fish.

Small fish must have the awareness and survival wisdom of small fish, only then will they have a chance to make their way out.

Chen Lu could guarantee that if they let the other party leave empty-handed this time, a competing game with higher quality and more investment would enter the testing phase soon.

What would a small studio like yours use to compete with that?

Jiang Chao vaguely understood something. “So they can just come over and take a bite out of us? Is there any justice in the world?”

Chen Lu looked at him like he was an idiot and smirked. “How could I let them get away with that? We’ll need them soon.”

Seeing Chen Lu’s expression, the stone in Jiang Chao’s heart dropped. He patted him on the shoulder. “Are you a Zhuge Liang?”

“You didn’t tell them about my whereabouts, did you?” Chen Lu asked again.

“No, I thought it wasn’t a good idea to tell them that the leader is slacking off. I just said you were busy. I made up an excuse to get away and come find you.”

“That’s good. You take them out for dinner tonight, tell them I’m out of town negotiating with another company. Then I’ll tell them tomorrow that I just got back and we’ll start talking about cooperation. That’s how it’s done.”

“……You’re a real jerk.”

Jiang Chao left these words behind and closed the door.

Chen Lu walked slowly to the living room, looking at the closed door to the entrance hall, and took a deep breath.

Liang Zhirou walked up to him, looking at him curiously. It felt like they had really discussed something very important.

“I never thought I’d be so far from a stable life,” Chen Lu said suddenly. He was clearly someone who loved to slack off.

Although he couldn’t help but sigh, he had decided to go down this path with Jiang Chao ever since Jiang Chao had directly given up all his share to pay for Xiao Xunfang’s surgery.

“Don’t you like it this way?” Liang Zhirou asked softly.

Chen Lu slowly took her hand, feeling the calluses on her hand, and his heart became firm. “I didn’t like messing around before, but I do now.”

Liang Zhirou pursed her lips and pulled Chen Lu to the mirror in the bathroom. “Look at your dark circles…”