How A Ride-Hailing Driver Comes To Dominate The World? [EN]: Chapter 227

The Great War (1)

Fang Yingqi reluctantly ushered her mother out of her room, then collapsed onto her bed, lost in thought.

After a moment, she texted Yang Chen.

“My second aunt set me up with some young master from an investment company. I really don’t want to go, but Mom says it’ll make them lose face if I don’t. What do you think I should do?”

Yang Chen was busy picking up a passenger and only glanced at the message, not replying immediately.

Once the passenger was out of the car, he grabbed his phone and responded.

“Don’t go if you don’t want to. Which investment company is this ‘young master’ from?”

Fang Yingqi replied quickly.

“They said it’s Jiacheng Investment… or something like that. Anyway, it sounds like that. They also said he’s a master’s student from MIT and is excellent in every way. I’m just not interested. I don’t even want to meet him.”

“Could it be such a coincidence?” Yang Chen wondered.

He typed back, “You’re right not to go. That guy is all show.”

Fang Yingqi: “Ah, you know him? Then I definitely won’t go. Don’t worry, even if you don’t want me in the future, I’ll never marry someone you know, just to avoid embarrassing you.”

*Damn*, she’s such a considerate girl.

Yang Chen: “Seeing how sensible you are, come out for dinner tonight. I’ll reward you.”

Fang Yingqi: “Really? Then I won’t be polite! Time and place.”

Yang Chen: “Eight o’clock, Tang Court [a high-end restaurant]. I’ll treat you to dishes made by a Michelin three-star chef.”

Fang Yingqi: “Okay! Hehe… It’s a date! See you at eight tonight.”

Hanging up, Yang Chen resumed driving.

Around noon, after dropping off a passenger, Yang Chen was about to grab some lunch.

Just then, a woman in black stockings, dressed rather provocatively, approached.

Why do I say she’s seductive?

She deliberately emphasized her chest and rear as she walked, as if trying to highlight those assets.

“Hey there, can I offer you a bottle of water?” the woman asked.

Yang Chen never eats or drinks anything from strangers. He didn’t know what this woman, who suddenly appeared offering him water, was up to. It was best to be cautious.

“Thank you, but I’m not thirsty right now,” Yang Chen replied.

The woman forcefully shoved half a bottle of Nongfu Spring [a popular brand of bottled water in China] into Yang Chen’s hand, then deliberately stepped back, out of his reach.

Instinctively, Yang Chen tossed the bottle back to her, saying, “I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but please don’t harass me.”

The woman’s face instantly changed. She pouted, put her hands on her hips, glared at Yang Chen for a few seconds, then picked up the bottle and threw it back at him, loudly proclaiming, “Sir, please don’t litter! Hai City is my home, and a beautiful environment depends on everyone! Hmph!”

With an exaggerated hair flip, the woman turned and walked toward a man filming nearby.

Once the man stopped filming, she rushed over, asking, “How was it? Did you get a good shot?”

The man smiled. “Perfect. We can edit it to make it look like he threw the bottle and hit you, and you threw it back, lecturing him about littering. It’s a positive energy video!”

Yang Chen got out of his car and walked toward them. The two turned and ran when they saw him.

They ran while laughing, as if they’d gotten away with something.

Yang Chen chuckled. “Two idiots. Don’t you know there are surveillance cameras and recording equipment in my car? Damn, everyone’s trying to be an internet celebrity on Douyin [TikTok’s Chinese counterpart]. Are you all brainless?”

He wondered when the government would introduce policies to curb this obsession with becoming an internet celebrity. Young people were unwilling to work, preferring to do live broadcasts under overpasses.

Now, every profession was doing live broadcasts, even prostitutes were soliciting online.

If this continued, what hope was there for the future?

The couple immediately made a video after returning home and uploaded it to their Douyin account, “White Dew on the Black Forest,” around 5 PM.

This account already had tens of thousands of followers and was considered a minor internet celebrity.

After posting the video, the female internet celebrity even paid for DOU+ promotion [Douyin’s paid promotion service].

Soon, the video gained traction on Douyin.

Numerous public and personal accounts with large followings shared the video, and many netizens left comments criticizing Yang Chen and praising the female anchor.

“It’s typical. He’s driving a ride-hailing car. How high can his standards be? If he had any, would he be driving a ride-hailing car? I admire the anchor’s courage. I wouldn’t dare to do that.”

“This kind of positive energy video should get more traffic so more people believe they must dare to challenge uncivilized behavior, because we have hundreds of millions of netizens backing us up. No one has to be afraid of them!”

“This guy is pretty handsome, but why is he so uncultured? What a waste of a handsome face.”

“Why do I feel like I’ve seen this guy somewhere before? Could it be a setup? He just looks familiar.”

…

Yang Chen was prepared.

He was waiting for the video to go viral and create a huge impact before taking action.

First, he asked Zhou Zhengyi, Li Qinqin, and other internet celebrity anchors from his company to upload the car’s video and audio recordings online, also purchasing DOU+ promotion.

Then, Zhang Xiang posted on Weibo [China’s equivalent of Twitter], announcing he would formally sue the female internet celebrity on Yang Chen’s behalf for creating false videos through framing and editing to gain traffic and damage Mr. Yang’s reputation.

Zhang Xiang had tens of millions of followers. His Weibo post had a much greater impact. He didn’t need to buy extra traffic; his influence was greater than Zhou Zhengyi’s and the others.

Soon, the tide turned, and angry netizens flooded the female internet celebrity’s Douyin, criticizing her.

“Damn, you guys are shameless, aren’t you? I thought it was a setup, but you’re even more vicious than a script, directly finding a ride-hailing driver on the street to start acting.”

“Are you crazy for fame? Even if you want to act out a script, find someone you know to be a shill. You dare to play like this by randomly finding a ride-hailing driver on the street. Do you think people are made of clay?”

“Idiot, you dress more slutty than a prostitute every day. If you can’t become popular, then stop trying so hard and quickly find a factory to screw screws.”

“It’s over, this account can’t be saved, and Zhang Xiang will send you to the detention center for a few days. Tsk tsk tsk… You didn’t even look carefully before choosing someone. You’re done for this time. I’m waiting for Douyin to ban the account, waiting for the police’s announcement, and seeing how many days you’ll be detained.”

…

Dealing with such a small internet celebrity with only hundreds of thousands of followers wouldn’t normally require so much effort.

Yang Chen also wanted Zhang Xiang to use this opportunity to educate other internet celebrities about the legal consequences of using scripts to deceive netizens.

Either don’t pursue it, or if you do, none of them will have a good outcome.

This was the purpose of Yang Chen’s grand gesture.

After the Guo Minghai incident, Yang Chen’s ideological awareness had improved further.

He now understood the meaning of “with great power comes great responsibility” and “people always have to have some higher-level goals.”

It was about time, so Yang Chen drove to Tang Court.

Fang Yingqi had already arrived. Seeing Yang Chen, she immediately complained, “You men are really the worst. You always make me wait for an hour.”

Yang Chen checked his watch. They’d agreed on 8 o’clock, and it was only 7:30. He was even half an hour early.

“Why did you come so early? Didn’t we agree on eight o’clock?” Yang Chen asked.

Fang Yingqi replied shyly, “Of course, it’s because I wanted to see you as soon as possible. You heartless bad guy, don’t you want to see me as soon as possible?”

Yang Chen: “I am a man. A man must focus on his career. How can he delay his work because of personal relationships?”

“Hmph! I know! Let’s go in quickly. It’s so cold!” Fang Yingqi said playfully, pulling Yang Chen into Tang Court.

On the other side, Zhang Jiacheng was very depressed that Fang Yingqi had rejected him.

A master’s student from MIT, the young master of Jiacheng Investment, couldn’t even get a girl to go out with him?

He’d even booked a table at Tang Court specifically to have dinner with Fang Yingqi.

Now that she wasn’t coming, the table couldn’t be wasted, right?

Moreover, there was a charity auction to attend on the weekend. Everyone would be bringing female companions. As the young master of Jiacheng Investment, he couldn’t go alone, right?

After thinking about it, Zhang Jiacheng decided he should find a female companion in advance to prepare, so he wouldn’t be scrambling at the last minute.

This female companion couldn’t be too high-status, so it wouldn’t be difficult to get rid of her later.

She should be a simp [an internet slang term for someone who is overly eager to please someone else, especially a woman], someone he could call over when he needed her and kick away when he didn’t, without any resistance.

Rich second generations who really knew how to have fun never created trouble for themselves when it came to women.

After considering his options, Zhang Jiacheng chose a girl who’d struck up a conversation with him and added him on WeChat [China’s most popular messaging app] a few days ago at a bar entrance.

He sent her a WeChat message, inviting her to dinner at Tang Court.

It was easiest to deal with this kind of girl who took the initiative to approach him after spotting his luxury car at the bar. He could call her over to vent when he needed her and dismiss her when he didn’t. As long as he gave her enough money, she wouldn’t say a word.

Meanwhile, Yang Chen and Fang Yingqi were enjoying their meal.

Fang Yingqi: “By the way, there’s a charity auction this weekend. Are you going?”

Yang Chen: “Which organization is hosting it?”

Fang Yingqi: “It’s co-hosted by the Minghai Art Museum and several charitable foundations. They say there are many good things. Do you want to go and see?”

Yang Chen shook his head. “I’m not going. I still have to drive a ride-hailing car.”

Fang Yingqi rolled her eyes and didn’t bring it up again.

The Minghai Art Museum was providing the auction items, meaning Yang Chen had already contributed something, so there was no reason for him to spend money at the auction again. There was no need to go.

The two were eating when Tan Hongkai approached and whispered in Yang Chen’s ear, “Mr. Yang, Zhang Jiacheng is here with a female companion. They’re in box 203.”

Yang Chen nodded.

Tan Hongkai quickly left.

Yang Chen smiled. “Your blind date is here with another girl for dinner. They’re in box 203. Do you want to say hello?”

Fang Yingqi: “Ah? Really? He really doesn’t waste any time. That’s good, so my parents won’t feel embarrassed. I’ll go take a picture and send it to my mom. She definitely won’t force me to go on blind dates again. I’ll be right back. You eat.”

Yang Chen smiled and nodded. Fang Yingqi hurried off.

She turned on the video recording function, approached the door of 203, knocked twice, and pushed it open. Zhang Jiacheng, inside, was startled and quickly let go of his female companion, standing up and asking, “You… why are you here? Didn’t you say you weren’t coming?”

Fang Yingqi paused the recording. “I’m just testing if you’re sincere. I didn’t expect you to fail the test so spectacularly. You’re no different from the rich second generations I know. There are so many women out there, why bother going on blind dates and harming other girls? Okay, you guys enjoy your dinner. I won’t disturb you.”

With a wink at Zhang Jiacheng, Fang Yingqi laughed and turned to leave.

Zhang Jiacheng quickly chased after her.

“Fang Yingqi, stop!” he shouted.

Fang Yingqi looked back. “Why are you chasing after me instead of accompanying your girl?”

Zhang Jiacheng: “Did you take a picture of me just now? Delete the photo in front of me right now.”

Fang Yingqi replied as she walked, “Are you dreaming? I still want to show my mom what kind of person you are.”

Zhang Jiacheng quickened his pace to catch up.

However, Fang Yingqi, who often exercised and traveled outdoors, was agile and fast, quickly leaving him behind.

The two arrived at Yang Chen’s box one after the other.

Hugging Yang Chen from behind, Fang Yingqi said, “Honey, protect our output!” [a gaming term, meaning protect the damage dealer]

Yang Chen smiled, put down his chopsticks, and said, “Oh, isn’t this Young Master Zhang? I heard from Qiqi that you wanted to go on a blind date with her, but she wasn’t interested. Why did you bring another girl to dinner so quickly? You don’t seem very sincere at all.”

Zhang Jiacheng was furious, pointing at Yang Chen and questioning Fang Yingqi, “You rejected me to go on a blind date just to have dinner with him?”

Fang Yingqi: “You can understand it that way.”

Zhang Jiacheng: “This is too much! It’s obvious you didn’t cooperate with the blind date, and you still want to use the photos you took to put the blame on me, right?”

Fang Yingqi: “You can understand it that way.”

Clenching his fists, Zhang Jiacheng said angrily, “You guys are courting death! Originally, I didn’t think there was anything wrong with you refusing to meet me, but you’re playing with me like this, and I’m very angry. The consequences will be very serious. You dog couple, just wait. If I don’t make you kneel in front of me and kowtow to admit your mistakes, I won’t be surnamed Zhang! Damn it!”

After uttering those harsh words, Zhang Jiacheng stormed off.

Fang Yingqi quickly asked, “He seems really angry. What if he retaliates against us? Can you beat him?”

Yang Chen smiled. “He won’t be able to cause trouble for long.
I’m just waiting for the replies from those two people. Otherwise, I could have taken care of him now. If your family has any cooperation with his family, remember to cut off contact as soon as possible. Don’t blame me for not reminding you if you suffer any losses.”

Fang Yingqi nodded quickly. “My family does art trading, and his family does investment. There shouldn’t be any overlap, right? I’ll ask my dad when I get home. If there’s any relationship, I’ll ask him to cut it off quickly.”

Yang Chen smiled and nodded. The two continued eating.

Around ten o’clock, they left Tang Court, satisfied.

As soon as they reached the gate, they saw Zhang Jiacheng hugging a female companion and chatting.

Fang Yingqi deliberately coughed twice. When the two turned to look, she mocked, “The relationship is progressing quickly. You’ve already started kissing and hugging. It seems Young Master Zhang’s blind date tonight is going very smoothly. Congratulations, congratulations.”

Yang Chen was expressionless, but Zhang Jiacheng’s female companion’s face changed drastically because she was Zhao Feifei.

Zhao Feifei had truly learned from Chen Xinyi. Her ability to hook up with sugar daddies had improved significantly.

At Chen Xinyi’s wedding, Zhao Feifei was with a sugar daddy from a clothing factory, but now she was hooking up with Zhang Jiacheng. She was really taking it one step at a time, each sugar daddy more high-end than the last.

A bitch and a dog are a match made in heaven. I hope they last a long time. Yang Chen didn’t want to break them up.

He put his arm around Fang Yingqi and got into the car to leave.

Zhang Jiacheng gritted his teeth, watching them go, his eyes filled with intense killing intent.

It was a good thing this wasn’t a slaughter world in a xuanhuan Xianxia novel [a genre of Chinese fantasy literature], or he would have killed Yang Chen.

Zhao Feifei deliberately asked, “Who were those two people just now?”

Zhang Jiacheng: “Two bitches! Damn it, you want to play with me, right? Okay, I’ll show you how I’ll play you to death!”

Zhao Feifei quickly asked tentatively, “Can you handle them?”

Zhang Jiacheng suddenly turned his head and glared at her. “Nonsense! I can handle two more of them! Damn it, I’m so angry. Don’t go home tonight. Come to the hotel with me.”

Zhao Feifei pretended to be shy and nodded, taking Zhang Jiacheng’s arm and walking away.

“I’ve finally found someone who can handle you. Yang Chen, the grudges between you and me should be settled. You’ve humiliated me so many times. This time, I’m going to repay you with interest! Hmph!” Zhao Feifei thought.

After several days of preparation, the charity auction began at nine o’clock on Friday morning.

Many guests came for the Minghai Art Museum, so Yang Chen opened the art museum for the first time for everyone to see.

Of course, some priceless treasures that couldn’t be shown to the public had already been put into the safe. What everyone saw were things they could see.

The art museum opened for viewing from nine o’clock in the morning.

Many guests with invitations came to visit.

Some people who hadn’t planned to come heard that the Minghai Art Museum was open to guests attending the charity auction in the evening, so they quickly took the initiative to come.

“As expected of the art museum that Old Guo spent his whole life building, the collection is really large.”

“Not only is it large, but some of it is also very precious.”

“I didn’t expect Old Guo to have so many paintings by Mr. Jinghu. He’s a very popular mysterious master recently. I wonder if there will be any paintings by Mr. Jinghu at tonight’s auction.”

“The items to be auctioned haven’t been announced yet, which is nerve-wracking.”

“Don’t worry, the art museum and charitable organizations have guaranteed there will be many auction items that everyone dreams of. I’m just afraid the competition will be too fierce, and you won’t have enough money with you.”

“Haha…”

…

The art museum tour lasted from nine o’clock in the morning to four o’clock in the afternoon.

The museum closed at 4:30, and the items to be auctioned in the evening would be transported to the auction site by the Aegis Security Group.

From five o’clock, luxury cars began arriving at the parking lot outside the auction venue.

Because this was an invitation-only event, only those invited could come themselves or bring 1-2 friends. Apart from female hangers-on like Zhao Feifei, most were wealthy.

In addition to wealthy businessmen and collectors, there were also some celebrities to help out.

Mercedes-Benz and BMW were considered low-end cars here. Most were Porsches, Bentleys, Rolls-Royces, etc.

Reporters and onlookers were taking pictures of these luxury cars.

“Damn, is that a Rolls-Royce Phantom?”

“Is that a Porsche 918?”

“Wow, that Ferrari 812 is so cool!”

“I thought Mercedes-Benz and BMW were luxury cars, but these two brands aren’t even in the mainstream.”

“There are as many rich people as cows in Hai City. If it weren’t for this charity gala, I wouldn’t have known there were so many rich people here.”

“That’s right. As the saying goes, if you go to Beijing, you can hit a cadre by throwing a brick. If you come to Hai City, you can hit a rich person with assets of no less than ten million.”

“Alas… I wonder when my Porsche Thai [a cheaper Porsche knock-off] will be qualified to enter this kind of occasion.”

“Porsche Thai? My Baojun [a very cheap Chinese car brand] didn’t even say it would come to this kind of occasion. What qualifications does your Porsche Thai have?”

“Haha…”

…

Did guests have to drive luxury cars?

Not necessarily.

Because Yang Chen wanted this charity auction to be impressive, the people in charge of the charitable foundations took it very seriously, turning the low-key event into a film festival awards ceremony.

All guests had to walk the red carpet after getting out of the car, accept media photos, and leave their signatures for souvenirs.

Those who knew understood it was a charity auction, but those who didn’t thought it was the opening ceremony of a film festival.

Zhao Feifei took Zhang Jiacheng’s arm and walked onto the red carpet.

“Is this a gathering of the upper-class celebrities in Hai City? It feels so great, I feel like I want to fly to the sky. I’ve finally waited for this day. I’ve finally squeezed into the circle of the upper class with my own efforts,” she thought excitedly.

Zhang Jiacheng and Zhao Feifei signed the backdrop and paused for reporters to take pictures.

Suddenly, there was a commotion at the entrance, drawing everyone’s attention.

A JAC Refine S3 [a relatively inexpensive Chinese SUV] stopped at the entrance of the red carpet.

Everyone was stunned. Was this also here to attend the charity auction?

The car door opened, and the handsome Yang Chen got out under everyone’s gaze, threw the car keys to the valet, and took out his invitation.

The onlookers were shocked. He was really there to attend the charity auction.

“Damn, can you enter with a JAC car?”

“It seems I wasn’t rigorous enough. Whether you can enter has nothing to do with the car you drive, but with the person.”

“Damn, are there still such low-key big shots? They drive a JAC Refine S3? Isn’t that too low-key?”

“Wow, this guy is so handsome. He’s the most handsome person attending the charity gala tonight.”

…

Actually, Yang Chen hadn’t wanted to come, but he changed his mind after learning Zhang Jiacheng would be there.

If he didn’t take the opportunity to make Zhang Jiacheng bleed more, he’d regret deliberately stirring things up.

“Yo-ho, Young Master Zhang, what a coincidence. You’re here too,” Yang Chen said with a smile.

Zhang Jiacheng replied coldly, “There are a lot of people today, and I don’t want to talk nonsense with you! Be sensible and don’t talk to me.”

Yang Chen signed his name while replying, “Who wants to talk to you?”

After signing, Yang Chen walked directly into the venue without stopping for pictures.

Zhang Jiacheng followed closely with a straight face.

Around 7:50, all the invited guests arrived, and the door was closed, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving.

Soon, it was eight o’clock.

Wang Wangdu walked onto the stage, approached the microphone, and said loudly, “Respected guests, good evening. I am Wang Wangdu, representing the Minghai Art Museum. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend tonight’s charity auction gala. All proceeds, after deducting venue fees, will be donated to the Haishan Charitable Foundation, the Yanran Charitable Foundation, the One Yuan Foundation, the Hai City Red Cross, the Hai City Welfare Lottery Company, and other charitable organizations to improve the schooling and living conditions of children in mountainous areas, as well as the treatment of infants and young children with cleft lip and palate, polio, etc. I hope you will actively bid and do your part to help those children who need our help. To set an example, the Minghai Art Museum will not charge any fees for the auction items we are offering. I hope you will actively participate. Thank you.”

The guests applauded to show their appreciation.

“That’s really good!”

“The new owner of the Minghai Art Museum is generous. I wonder what kind of person he is. I really want to get to know him.”

“The new owner is so mysterious. He must be a low-key big shot, probably from some big family that doesn’t show up much.”

…

This was Guo Minghai’s last wish. Yang Chen respected him and was willing to continue the charity auction.

If the money could be used on those children, Yang Chen felt it was meaningful.

He made money easily and didn’t care about these small amounts.

Wang Wangdu nodded with a smile. “I won’t say much more. Please welcome the famous auctioneer Mr. Li Chengde to co-host this charity auction with me.” Amidst applause, Li Chengde took the stage, and the charity auction officially began.