There were many people at the entrance of Slackin’ Internet Café. Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan were busy inside and didn’t notice that Pei Qian was outside.

Pei Qian, accompanied by Assistant Xin, observed quietly.

A waiter recognized Mr. Pei and was about to inform Ma Yang, but Pei Qian grabbed him and made a “shush” gesture.

The waiter immediately understood.

“Mr. Pei, are you planning to surprise Manager Ma? Got it!”

The waiter pretended not to see him and continued with his work.

Pei Qian felt symptoms of an impending heart attack as he silently circled the outside of the internet café.

The open space at the entrance was filled with tables, chairs, and parasols—all clearly expensive and quite high-end.

In Ma Yang’s mind, he was going for that European seaside town feel with the arrangement.

But in Pei Qian’s eyes, with all this bustle, was this still his Slackin’ Internet Café?

It was heartbreaking!

Just as he was about to go inside, guitar sounds came from the outdoor speakers.

The singer had begun.

The reaction outside wasn’t particularly enthusiastic, as these were mostly passersby who came to listen to music, not die-hard fans.

But inside the Slackin’ Internet Café, especially in the bar area, a burst of cheers and applause erupted instantly—the atmosphere was quite lively!

If you didn’t know better, you’d think someone was holding a concert here!

Pei Qian and Assistant Xin mingled with the crowd as they moved inside, only to discover that all the seats in the bar area were filled, with many people standing.

Many people went straight to the bar. Pei Qian watched helplessly as they handed over two red bills but only took one drink away, without asking for change.

Looking at the stage.

Chen Lei was playing guitar and singing folk songs. His face was slightly red from shyness as he faced the crowd, but he wasn’t too stage-frightened.

Perhaps once he started singing, he entered a state where he forgot about everything else, including stage fright.

On an inconspicuous wall nearby hung a beautiful screen, scrolling information about which customer from which table had ordered what drink, how much commission Chen Lei received, followed by a message of good wishes.

Row after row of well-wishes scrolled by, making the atmosphere even more vibrant.

Pei Qian’s mouth twitched violently.

He had never met Chen Lei before, but seeing this setup, he naturally guessed that this was the resident singer newly hired by the internet café.

But the other things happening were somewhat hard for Pei Qian to accept.

However, Mr. Pei was, after all, a clever person. After a brief thought, he figured out the general sequence of events that had led to this.

“A perfectly good Slackin’ Internet Café has turned into Slackin’ TV?”

“How is sending drinks any different from sending gifts or launching virtual rockets?”

“If I had arrived two days later, wouldn’t it have turned a profit?”

Watching the numbers scrolling across the display screen, Pei Qian felt a palpitation. He even saw someone sending ten cocktails in a row, achieving a cool screen-filling effect, directly tipping five hundred yuan.

Pei Qian wouldn’t consider this as people being stupid with their money. After all, he knew that in the future, the wealthy viewers on streaming platforms would be even more extravagant—this was just a small gesture in comparison.

Moreover, Chen Lei’s singing was indeed pleasant to listen to, completely worth that much money.

What Pei Qian wanted to know now was, who had discovered Chen Lei, this treasure of a singer? Who!

Amid his distress, Pei Qian found some secret relief.

Fortunately, I’ve been having thoughts during the day and dreams at night these past few days, and discovered this early.

If I had forgotten about this and continued to calculate Slackin’ Internet Café as losing 300,000 yuan per month until settlement time, I would probably have coughed up blood when the accounts were settled!

The key issue was, such a significant development, and they didn’t even report it to me!

Xin Hailu was also observing, feeling somewhat impressed.

Not bad! The Slackin’ Internet Café that was so quiet just a week ago had become so vibrant in just a week.

At this rate of development, the surrounding shops might also get a boost, eventually entering a virtuous cycle!

And strangely enough, even though the singer was just singing quietly and the atmosphere inside wasn’t as lively as a typical bar, people were tipping generously. The drink revenue for tonight would certainly be substantial.

Had Mr. Pei been unconcerned about Slackin’ Internet Café’s losses because he had anticipated this day all along?

Assistant Xin still silently followed behind Pei Qian, not asking questions, as such occurrences had become commonplace by now.

Pei Qian quietly squeezed through the crowd toward Ma Yang, who was engaged in an animated discussion in the corner.

…

Ma Yang was discussing plans with Zhang Yuan.

“I think this flagship store still has room for improvement!”

Currently, the curtain wall can’t be opened, which is a bit of a shame. I plan to find a construction team to renovate the curtain wall, ideally so that people outside can also feel the atmosphere inside…”

Ma Yang was now brimming with confidence, feeling that his business talent had never been so fully utilized.

Zhang Yuan was listening attentively when suddenly he noticed Pei Qian behind Ma Yang, half his face hidden in shadows under the dim yellow light.

“Mr. Pei! How did you get here?” Zhang Yuan hurriedly greeted him.

Ma Yang was startled, then turned around to see the pale-faced Pei Qian.

“Oh, Brother Qian?”

“It’s a pity, I originally wanted to give you a surprise, but you discovered it.”

Pei Qian’s mouth twitched slightly. So it was indeed old Ma causing trouble!

“The internet café has changed so much, how come you didn’t tell me?” Pei Qian felt betrayed, and by his best friend no less, making him feel exhausted.

Ma Yang was taken aback: “Brother Qian, I report only good news and not bad, right? I just felt the good news wasn’t significant enough to disturb you!”

Pei Qian: “…”

What the hell do you mean by reporting only good news and not bad?!

If all my employees were like you, I’d be dead!

But Pei Qian couldn’t speak harshly to Ma Yang, after all, old Ma’s intentions were good—he was working for the internet café’s profitability. If Pei Qian forcefully criticized Ma Yang for destroying the style of Slackin’ Internet Café, it would seem rather unreasonable.

In any case, old Ma had fully utilized his pig brain this time, wholeheartedly trying to make money for Pei Qian.

But why did Pei Qian feel like he was having angina…

Was even his most loyal and capable subordinate about to leave him?

“Since Mr. Pei has discovered it, please give us some guidance. Do you see anything that needs improvement here at the internet café?” Zhang Yuan smiled.

Pei Qian’s mouth twitched slightly: “Everything’s… fine.”

“But… there is still room for adjustment.”

“This screen, it’s a bit tacky. Although your intention is good—to let everyone see their tips and write well-wishes, satisfying everyone’s desire to show off.”

“But first, the constant scrolling on this screen greatly disrupts the atmosphere; second, stimulating customers to compete in consumption also doesn’t align with our internet café’s character.”

“So I think it’s better to remove it. Customers coming to drink is already the greatest support—there should be no competition in consumption.”

Pei Qian appeared visionary.

Ma Yang looked at Zhang Yuan, who, after a moment’s thought, said: “Indeed, Mr. Pei makes a good point! I previously felt somewhat uneasy about this screen, but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was off about it.”

“Thinking about it now, it’s exactly as Mr. Pei said—it doesn’t match our internet café’s character!”

Ma Yang was still somewhat reluctant: “Then… let’s remove it.”

Pei Qian felt a bit more at ease. Without this screen, people’s enthusiasm for tipping should decrease a little… right?

“Also, the tables and chairs outside are too densely packed! There’s no style. Some could be removed.”

“Hmm… that’s true.” Ma Yang nodded, finding some reason in this as well.

Pei Qian spoke earnestly: “Old Ma, I’m touched by your efforts to turn Slackin’ Internet Café from a loss to a profit.”

“But you must remember, for Slackin’ Internet Café, profit is never the priority—the priority is shaping Tenda’s image!”

“Alright, Brother Qian, I understand!” Ma Yang nodded vigorously, “Don’t worry, we’re of one mind. You don’t need to say more about these things—I understand completely!”

Heh, you understand a hammer is what you understand…

Pei Qian silently grumbled as he walked away.