To complement the new equipment, Star Bird Fitness naturally adjusted their flyers and promotional materials, featuring the Doubt VR headsets and “Fitness Battle VR Version” as the main attractions to draw in nearby customers.

At the same time, offering grand promotions for a new store opening was only appropriate.

All Star Bird Fitness locations offered new customers a free 2-hour trial within the first week, along with membership discounts. Existing customers who tried the VR version in-store or brought friends would also receive bonus time.

Although it was Saturday, it was still the first day of opening, so Che Rong wasn’t expecting a large influx of customers.

After all, brand recognition was something that needed to be built gradually.

Che Rong’s plan was to focus on distributing flyers and special promotions to build momentum during the first few days. Once they got through the week and had established some popularity, the gym’s momentum would gradually pick up.

What he didn’t expect was that before noon, a steady stream of customers had already started coming in!

And most of these customers had never visited Star Bird Fitness before.

At first, Che Rong was puzzled—were the flyers really that effective?

It simply wasn’t logical!

He had distributed plenty of flyers before, but the efficiency was always low.

After all, most people only took flyers out of politeness. Getting one or two customers to visit the store after distributing a hundred flyers was considered good.

But now, so many people were showing up before the flyer distributors had even returned?

Upon careful inquiry, Che Rong discovered it wasn’t because of the flyers at all.

These people were all coming from the nearby Slackin’ Internet Café!

Although a batch of Slackin’ Internet Cafés had completed their renovations, converting half their positions to VR headsets, this transformation was being carried out in phases. Only Slackin’ Internet Café 1.0 locations could be renovated this way—Slackin’ Internet Café 2.0 and 3.0 e-sports lifestyle centers weren’t suitable for such changes yet. So even with these VR setups, demand still far exceeded supply.

Many Slackin’ Internet Café VR experience areas had serious queuing issues.

And that’s when Star Bird Fitness’s name began circulating among these gamers.

The Slackin’ Internet Café only offered “Animal Island,” and while this game had better playability than “Fitness Battle,” the key issue was there were no available spots!

So, as a compromise, people came to Star Bird Fitness to try out the Doubt VR headsets, check the resolution, and see the ladies in “Fitness Battle” from a VR perspective.

“Fitness Battle” was a mobile game, and while only a few people could persist with the exercise routine, most had downloaded it, had accounts, and had obtained a few pretty outfits.

Therefore, trying out the VR version was a perfectly reasonable idea.

Che Rong was moved to tears.

He had previously thought Mr. Pei had already helped more than enough—like sending a boiler in the snow—and he felt there was no way to repay him.

But now he realized that Mr. Pei’s grand gift wasn’t finished yet!

He had even utilized Slackin’ Internet Café, directing the overflow of customers to Star Bird Fitness, allowing the newly opened gym to already have numerous clients!

Of course, not all these customers would stay. Many were just trying it out and probably wouldn’t return.

But regardless, even if only a small portion of these people stayed, that would be enough!

Che Rong bustled about with several staff members, helping customers adjust their equipment and guiding them to better experience “Fitness Battle VR Version.”

Some customers played VR for a while then stopped, feeling a bit stuffy, and switched to normal mode to continue. Star Bird Fitness had equipped each smart fitness clothing rack with a large TV, which also provided a good experience.

Simply put, the VR version just offered customers an additional experience. Although this experience wasn’t perfect, it was essential.

Che Rong was incredibly busy, but it was a happy kind of busy.

Previously, Star Bird Fitness operated as a conventional gym, and no matter how hard they tried, business was just average. Even when Che Rong wanted to be busy, he couldn’t muster the energy.

But now, everything was different.

Star Bird Fitness had adopted a new business model, making Che Rong feel that the future was bright, and he approached his work with enthusiasm!

Indeed, in many cases, moving in the right direction was more important than anything else.

As he was bustling about, Che Rong suddenly spotted a familiar figure.

Though wearing a mask, it was unmistakably Mr. Pei!

When they met last time, Che Rong didn’t recognize Mr. Pei, but there was no way he wouldn’t recognize him now.

Although he appeared to be an ordinary young man on the surface, his ability to effortlessly accomplish what others couldn’t and create business miracles made his entire silhouette seem extraordinarily imposing!

“Is Mr. Pei concerned about the situation here, so he came to check personally?”

“This is really too kind!”

“Such great kindness, I truly don’t know how to repay.”

“How should I greet Mr. Pei…”

Che Rong was deeply moved.

Logically, Mr. Pei had already arranged at least three layers of preparation, which was enough to ensure Star Bird Fitness’s new store would be bustling on opening day. But even so, Mr. Pei had personally come to check, which showed how much he valued Star Bird Fitness!

But how should he approach and greet him? Che Rong was conflicted.

Although Che Rong felt that Mr. Pei already knew his identity, the two had never officially met in a business context—they had only interacted privately as house buyer and seller.

Would it be appropriate to call him “Mr. Pei” now? It seemed somewhat unsuitable.

But calling him “Young Pei”? That would be even more inappropriate!

Being too formal wouldn’t work, but being too casual wouldn’t either. If he mishandled it and angered Mr. Pei, it would be unforgivable.

The balance was truly difficult to strike.

While Che Rong was conflicted, he saw Mr. Pei take a quick look around Star Bird Fitness and immediately turn to leave.

“This…”

Che Rong was stunned. He had just raised his hand to call out to Mr. Pei, but the word “Pei” had barely formed on his lips before he pulled back.

Mr. Pei was wearing a mask when he came—he clearly wanted to keep a low profile.

If Che Rong called out, it would indeed be inappropriate.

But with this moment of hesitation, Mr. Pei had already walked away.

Che Rong felt regretful—he really shouldn’t have hesitated! If he had approached earlier, he might have been able to exchange a few words with Mr. Pei!

But on second thought, perhaps it wasn’t necessary.

According to Mr. Li, Mr. Pei was very clean and efficient, never doing anything superfluous, and he planned his time very strictly, never wasting a moment.

Mr. Pei’s visit was likely just to confirm Star Bird Fitness’s status and see if his arrangements were working.

Since he had already seen what he needed to see, he could leave without lingering unnecessarily.

So, there was no need for Che Rong to go up and greet him—Mr. Pei didn’t like meaningless small talk.

Thinking of this, Che Rong felt somewhat relieved. Perhaps his hesitation earlier wasn’t a bad thing after all.

“When dealing with Mr. Pei, you absolutely cannot apply the usual rules of social interaction.”

“You have to be like Mr. Li, understanding Mr. Pei’s temperament and character, and interact with him in a way he prefers.”

“There was no need to go up and greet him this time—we have a tacit understanding. I’ll make Star Bird Fitness successful, and Tenda’s investment will be profitable. This is a win-win.”

Mr. Pei’s visit greatly boosted Che Rong’s confidence, and he continued to throw himself enthusiastically into his work.

…

Leaving Star Bird Fitness, Pei Qian was speechless.

Is this supposed to be a gym?

It’s completely just a large internet café!

Even the payment model resembled an internet café.

The only difference was that other internet cafés used computers as equipment, while this place used smart fitness clothing racks, large TVs, and VR headsets.

And business was actually good—that was the most ridiculous part!

The reason Pei Qian left so quickly was that with just one glance, he realized he had been duped.

Che Rong had never mentioned before that this gym was using a full set of Tenda equipment!

Che Rong had only said that his gym had been struggling for the past two years, but thankfully, with the help of a benefactor, the situation had slightly improved.

Thinking back now, the identity of this “benefactor” was highly questionable!

If Che Rong had mentioned earlier that they had purchased a complete set of Tenda equipment, whether Pei Qian would have instructed Yuanmeng Venture Capital to invest in him would have been another matter entirely.

So, Pei Qian felt thoroughly deceived.

Now, with the gym fully equipped with smart fitness clothing racks and VR headsets, there were dozens of products at once.

If Star Bird Fitness opened many branches, the procurement costs would be significant.

Most crucially, Star Bird Fitness would also play a role in promoting and advertising!

It wouldn’t be surprising if someone visited Star Bird Fitness, played some VR games after getting tired from exercising, and then happily decided to buy a VR headset for their home.

But at this point, Pei Qian didn’t have many good options.

Fortunately, Star Bird Fitness wasn’t very large in scale yet, and the amount of equipment purchased wasn’t too significant. After the first wave of Doubt VR enthusiasm subsided, the popularity here should gradually decline as well.

Tenda had only indirectly invested in Star Bird Fitness, so they shouldn’t profit too much.

It truly was an ambush from all sides!

How was it that a random person he encountered in life could backstab him like this?

Pei Qian shook his head helplessly and took a car back to continue contemplating how to spend money aggressively before the end of this cycle.

…

…

July 22nd, Sunday.

Star Bird Fitness flagship store.

Che Rong was even busier today than yesterday because there were more customers!

Although the gym wasn’t completely full, the occupancy rate during peak hours had reached 80-90%, and during regular hours, it was about 40-50%.

Star Bird Fitness’s model was different from other gyms. Other gyms required membership cards, but Star Bird Fitness allowed pay-per-use, with more diverse payment options.

It truly didn’t resemble a gym, but rather an internet café.

While single-use fees were more expensive, for customers wanting to try it out, paying per session or getting a monthly card was clearly the safer choice.

Che Rong was considering the possibility of outsourcing software development in the future, allowing customers to check the gym’s real-time status, see if it was full, and whether there were available spots.

Though they couldn’t achieve the same level of precise scheduling as Tenda’s managed fitness centers, where everyone’s fitness routine was meticulously arranged, they could at least try to minimize waiting times.