Chapter 582: Site Selection

In Tan Kaixuan's worldview, many things in life are like wisdom teeth—the best solution is to pull them out, not endure them. In a cold, hard city, there is no soft, warm love; life is not Lin Daiyu, and it won't become enchanting just because someone is sad.

So Tan Kaixuan was still the same vigorous Tan Kaixuan.

In his view, life is a marathon; he'd better stay away from those predatory, sprinting types.

As for competing, some people simply aren't worthy.

Zhao Fusheng had no objection to this. For things Tan Kaixuan could figure out, he didn't need to say much. That guy, in both past and present lives, wasn't as harmless as he appeared.

Some people only look like good little boys in front of friends and family; once they step out the door, they're ruthless characters who devour meat without spitting out bones.

Tan Kaixuan was that kind of person, and so was Zhao Fusheng.

Regarding opening an internet café, Zhao Fusheng hadn't told anyone except Tan Kaixuan and Qian Dongliu. It wasn't that he felt embarrassed, but rather that he felt he didn't need to be in the spotlight for everything.

As for letting Tan Kaixuan take the lead, it was purely Zhao Fusheng's habit.

Among everyone around him now, the one Zhao Fusheng trusted most was Tan Kaixuan.

There was no helping it—given their relationship from past and present lives, Zhao Fusheng had no reason not to trust him.

Early the next morning, Tan Kaixuan dragged Zhao Fusheng out of bed. Yes, that day, Tan Kaixuan was the first to get up. In his own words, he was full of fighting spirit, and if Zhao Fusheng held him back, he wouldn't let him off.

Zhao Fusheng had nothing to say to that. Since he was so enthusiastic, he'd just go along.

To survey the market, they needed to get familiar with the terrain, and their tool was the bus.

For the rest of the day, the two shuttled through the streets and alleys of Ninghai, with conversations basically like this:

"How about here?"

"No, not much foot traffic nearby."

"There's a school here."

"Still no, they're all elementary school kids. How much money can they have?"

"What about here? I think we could open a bigger one."

"Heh, it's less than fifty meters from the school. What do you think the Education Bureau would say?"

"I don't care what they think; it's none of my business."

"Sooner or later, the authorities will notice the impact of the internet on teenagers. When they regulate, we'll be in trouble."

After repeating this kind of dialogue a dozen times, Tan Kaixuan frowned at Zhao Fusheng: "I get the feeling you're especially worried about government policies?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled bitterly: "Not worried—scared."

Tan Kaixuan was taken aback, never expecting Zhao Fusheng to give him such an answer.

Zhao Fusheng sighed. He couldn't exactly tell Tan Kaixuan that regarding the internet, the country had gone from laissez-faire to overcorrection, and it would be years before a comprehensive management system was formed.

For one thing, before the Blue Speed incident, domestic internet café management was in a state of wild, disorderly growth. Internet café streets existed near every major university. With daily profits of hundreds or thousands, countless owners made a killing.

But hidden behind this were issues like inadequate safety measures and minors spending long hours online, which hadn't caught the attention of officials or higher-ups.

As a result, after the tragedy, the whole country turned pale at the mention of internet cafés. A nationwide overcorrection crackdown began from the bottom up. Zhao Fusheng remembered clearly that around Ninghai Normal University, internet access used to cost three yuan an hour, but after the crackdown, it dropped to one yuan an hour, with monthly packages available.

It wasn't until the rise of internet cafés later that the business gradually recovered, with several popular online games playing a major role.

Zhao Fusheng calculated the time. If he remembered correctly, around now, Boss Chen should be contacting Korean game companies to license the online game *Legend*, which would make him the richest man.

"Hmm, when the café opens, I'll ask Boss Chen to help set up a private server for fun," Zhao Fusheng blinked, scheming inwardly.

Tan Kaixuan, of course, had no idea what Zhao Fusheng was plotting. He just thought Zhao Fusheng was being too cautious.

"What are you afraid of? We'll get all the connections in place, smooth things over with the city authorities. I'm sure it'll be fine," Tan Kaixuan said.

In his view, Zhao Fusheng's worries were completely unnecessary.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head helplessly. It couldn't be helped—limited perspective kept Tan Kaixuan from recognizing the risks. At times like this, his own foresight was crucial.

People are like that: before something happens, if someone tells them what the future holds, most people's first reaction is that the person is a liar or exaggerating.

It's like ten years ago, when our parents would say, "Don't believe all that nonsense online; not a word of it is true."

And ten years later, parents often say, "It's all over my Moments—unscrupulous merchants are using it to make fake rice."

Thinking is always confined within a certain framework. Those who can freely expand their thinking and view things beyond the logic of their era are called geniuses.

Zhao Fusheng was naturally no genius; he was just an ordinary man favored by fate. That's why he worried now: if he made a wrong move, would all his efforts be wasted?

Even if it seemed a bit low, the fact was, you couldn't expect a man who had been poor and miserable for half his past life to suddenly become all-powerful and all-knowing, like he'd unlocked a cheat code.

Life isn't a novel or a TV drama; there aren't that many romantic tales and love stories.

On this topic, Zhao Fusheng didn't say much more to Tan Kaixuan. After all, telling him too much now wouldn't make him understand. He'd just prepare in advance.

Ninghai's urban area wasn't big, but it wasn't small either. The two walked all day and only just covered it.

"I'm exhausted," Tan Kaixuan said when they got back to the dorm. He lay on the bed and didn't want to get up. He wasn't a diligent person to begin with, and if it weren't for the prospect of money, he wouldn't have lasted this long being dragged around by Zhao Fusheng all day.

"Exhausted or not, there's no helping it. This is the startup phase," Zhao Fusheng said with a smile, comforting Tan Kaixuan.