The Next Step

Nighttime arrived.

Chen An'an refused to sleep until past nine. Song Yanxi decided Bai Xin might as well stay over.

Her place in Shijingshan was just a tiny basement room—nothing like the comfort of their little villa.

Besides, she could tell that little An'an really liked her tutor.

Letting her stay the night wasn't a big deal.

November was just around the corner. After her shower, Song Yanxi went to the bedroom to find Chen Pingsheng.

She saw him half-sitting against the headboard, reading a book on internet entrepreneurship. But when she pulled back the covers and sat beside him, she realized—

The book was just a cover. Inside, he was reading a Korean webtoon.

The kind where people fight without wearing clothes.

Ah, men… Forever boys at heart.

"If you want to read it, just read it. What's the point of hiding behind a book?"

Song Yanxi shot him a side glance. Chen Pingsheng scratched his pants. "I didn't want you to misunderstand."

"Misunderstand what? That you're reading a dirty comic?"

Song Yanxi leaned into his arms, smiling warmly. "Honey, you haven't had any action lately. It must be tough for you, huh?"

"Tsk, change the subject. Don't make me suffer."

"Suffer from what? Your wife has plenty of ways to take care of you."

Song Yanxi flashed a seductive smile, slipped out of her top, and ducked under the covers.

A moment later, she was sent off to wash up.

Satisfied.

She cleaned up, too, and when she came back, her face wasn't as flushed.

"Honey, feeling good?"

"Let's not talk about that. My sister's grand opening is tomorrow. We should drive the Panamera over as a gift."

"Got it. By the way, how's Tengying Entertainment doing? You're not even from the entertainment industry. Are you sure you can handle it?"

"It's going okay."

Chen Pingsheng explained, "I have a theory. You see, the big internet moguls always say—whoever controls traffic controls business. I don't know much about the entertainment industry, but I do understand traditional industries. My goal is to leverage entertainment resources to boost our traditional businesses."

"You actually thought this far ahead?"

Song Yanxi looked at him in surprise. She always knew he was smart, but this was on another level.

It was like he was playing a long game. Tengying was just the beginning.

"I've always thought this way."

Chen Pingsheng continued, "People should make money in fields they understand. Look at Tengsheng Fruits—why did we make money so quickly? But Shuiyunjian struggled?"

"The truth is, we actually understand the fruit industry. We've built up real experience in it. But beauty services are different—it relies more on management, on people like Zhou Chun."

"Now imagine this: what if we heavily invest in Zhao Liying? If she becomes a top-tier celebrity, all we need to do is get her to do some promotions for Shuiyunjian. A few photos, some ads on Weibo, and boom—problem solved."

"And if I use Tengying to nurture a few more celebrities and bring them into our traditional businesses? Then we eliminate the biggest obstacles—early marketing and customer acquisition."

"We've already built strong management skills through Tengsheng Fruits. If I combine those with other industries and use Tengying's entertainment resources as leverage… Who's to say we can't build three or four major corporations?"

Song Yanxi blinked in amazement. She never realized how ambitious her husband was.

He wasn't just aiming for one company to go public.

He wanted to turn Tengsheng into a business empire.

A conglomerate with multiple publicly traded companies.

"Honey, your ambitions are crazy."

"Crazy? I'll let you in on a secret—I recently invested a billion yuan in a TV series. If all goes well, once it's done filming, it could make ten times that amount. Tengying's valuation could skyrocket into the billions. If I already own a massive entertainment company, why not dream about dominating traditional industries too?"

Song Yanxi was genuinely shocked.

Her blanket even slipped off without her noticing.

A whole lot of white was on display.

Chen Pingsheng thoughtfully pulled the covers back over her.

She used to think making fifty million was impressive.

Now she found out he secretly threw a billion into investments.

Whether or not that drama made money, the truth remained—

Her husband was now a billionaire.

And that was incredibly satisfying.

"Honey, I heard pregnant women can still… y'know."

In her excitement, she didn't hold back.

But Chen Pingsheng had his priorities straight. They'd already had their fun, no need to overdo it.

"Cut it out. Let's talk business. You're always thinking about that."

"Tsk… Hypocrite. Alright then, what's your concrete plan?"

"Of course I have one. Remember my middle school friend, Gao Hu? His dad used to be a head chef in a state-owned enterprise. He dropped out of middle school to apprentice under his father. He's coming to Beijing soon—apparently, my second uncle's family is introducing him to someone."

"Of course, I remember him."

Song Yanxi chuckled. "You two got into so much trouble back in middle school. You were inseparable. Isn't he already married? Multiple times, even. I remember you gave quite a few wedding gifts."

Just the thought of it annoyed Chen Pingsheng.

When he got married, Gao Hu gave him 5,000 yuan as a gift.

He thought Gao Hu was being generous.

But less than a month later, Gao Hu got married—so he had to give 5,000 back.

The next year, another wedding. Another 5,000.

Year three was quiet.

Year four, two weddings.

He got scammed big time.

"Four divorces in six years. What a guy."

"What happened?" Song Yanxi asked curiously.

Chen Pingsheng sighed.

"The first wife admitted she still loved her ex.

The second—turns out the kid wasn't his.

The third—he thought she was a good person. But she was actually a professional scammer. Took 250,000 in dowry, then moved back to her parents' place a week after the wedding.

The fourth was actually decent—hardworking, pretty. But one day, he took her to a massage parlor, and an old colleague recognized her. Turns out, she used to work there."

"She wasn't just a masseuse—she did the 'special services' too."

"No wonder she didn't ask for dowry. She had more savings than he did. She just wanted to cash out and marry an honest man. She probably never expected to run into someone from her past."

"Which guy could tolerate that? This isn't just wearing a green hat—it's a whole green field on his head."

Song Yanxi stifled a laugh.

Gao Hu wasn't bad—he owned a hotpot restaurant in Shacheng, pulling in a solid six-figure income annually.

Without that, he wouldn't have been able to marry and divorce so many times.

Ordinary folks struggled with just one marriage.

"Honey, do you think he's paying for his bad karma?"

"Who knows? That guy was a VIP on Yulan Road in Shacheng. There's no alleyway there he doesn't know."

"Every time he visits, he wants to take me there. But with a wife as beautiful as mine, why would I even look at those women?"

Chen Pingsheng declared righteously.

Yulan Road was infamous—at night, neon lights filled the streets, and every small shop had at least seven or eight girls lounging on sofas.

All young, all attractive.

Song Yanxi was delighted by his response. She happily snuggled into bed, while Chen Pingsheng turned off the lights.

When Gao Hu arrived, he'd see if he could convince him to stay in Beijing and open a hotpot restaurant.

Traditional dining? That was right in his wheelhouse.