Chapter 259: Could It Be My Fault?
After saying goodbye to Manager Cui, Pei Qian left Mingyun Villa Estate feeling a bit lost.
A series of setbacks had left him dazed, and all he could think about now was heading to the Moyu Internet Café, having a cocktail, and letting its calm atmosphere soothe his restless heart.
As he walked, Pei Qian gradually felt that something was off.
Wasn't it already nighttime? Why were there still so many people on the street?
The area around Mingyun Villa Estate had always been quiet. Even on weekends, there were never many people around in the evenings.
But today, there were noticeably more pedestrians!
Groups of people walked along the street—mostly students, with a few office workers mixed in. There were also more cars parked by the roadside than before!
When Pei Qian looked at the shops on both sides of the street, he felt a strong sense of disbelief.
When did all of these open up?!
In the beginning, the only thriving business around here was the Moyu Internet Café. Most of the other shops were half-dead—either deserted or already closed down.
When Pei Qian had planned to open the Against the Wind Logistics Station here, he had had endless options to choose from.
Every shop space was up for grabs—he picked the one with the best location and the largest area without hesitation.
Because back then, no one wanted these properties. They were all vacant!
But now, even the less desirable locations have all opened new shops!
And the types of shops were all over the place.
Bars, chess rooms—those were originally opened by President Li, and now they were bustling with business.
Especially that bar—you could hear the music from the entrance and feel the lively energy of young people gathering inside.
Many other shops had been converted into trendy snack stores—selling things like "dirty buns," "cloud ice cream," "meat floss cupcakes," and "durian mille crepes." Business looked great.
There were also some traditional eateries selling fried buns, potstickers, soy milk, and dough sticks.
And of course, milk tea shops, beverage stalls, and convenience stores.
What Pei Qian found most unacceptable was that someone had actually opened a restaurant called "Nameless Kitchen" in a prime location—and it was packed!
Pei Qian nearly spat blood.
What was this behavior?!
This was blatant plagiarism!
They were deliberately trying to scam customers who came from far away!
But… the name wasn't technically wrong. Strictly speaking, his own restaurant was called "Mingyun Private Kitchen," and on the "AllReviews" app, its listing name was blank.
This other shop was called "Nameless Kitchen." So technically, it wasn't even infringement.
Pei Qian was furious. He pulled out his phone, opened AllReviews, and prepared to expose this shameless copycat.
But when he looked at the rating… it was 4.3 stars.
Then he checked the customer reviews:
"This place is definitely riding the hype, but the food's not bad."
"The real Nameless Restaurant is great, but it's impossible to get a reservation, so I just came here instead."
"You can tell the real Nameless Restaurant made this area popular—now everyone's cashing in. I bet this place will become one of Jingzhou's new snack streets soon."
"I wouldn't really recommend eating here. Better to go to the Moyu Internet Café—they serve very healthy home-style dishes. And if you're still hungry, you can grab snacks nearby. Highly recommend the dirty buns and cloud ice cream!"
"Yeah, this is just an average restaurant. The food at the Moyu Internet Café might actually be better."
Pei Qian: "???"
He had just wanted to expose this shameless clout-chaser, but after reading the comments, he suddenly realized there was an even more serious problem.
Who the hell was doing this?!
Who was out here advertising the Moyu Internet Café?!
Pei Qian quickly searched for the Moyu Internet Café on AllReviews—and the moment he saw the score, his heart sank halfway.
4.8 stars!
Then he looked at the user comments.
"The machines are amazing, the internet speed is blazing fast—totally on par with the flagship store. The Moyu Internet Café chain never disappoints! Guaranteed quality!"
"First time here, I didn't expect there to be another Moyu Internet Café in this area. What a nice surprise! The cocktails are great, the live singer's good too, and the internet environment—as always—is perfect."
"It's a chain store, totally non-smoking throughout. The environment is top-notch, and the food's great too. That new Xingle Internet Café that's been trending lately looks okay, but compared to this one—it's like a cheap knockoff."
Pei Qian put his phone away, feeling an extremely bad premonition.
Something was seriously wrong!
He quickened his pace, walking past what used to be a quiet street—now bustling with people—until he reached the entrance of the Moyu Internet Café.
When he saw the scene inside, Pei Qian froze.
The gaming area was nearly full, with only two or three open seats left.
The bar area also had plenty of customers. A live singer on stage was softly performing a folk song, and from time to time people went to the bar to order drinks—even leaving tips.
Pei Qian stood at the entrance, completely stiff.
The waiter at the door spotted him right away and hurried over. "President Pei! You're here! Please, come in!"
Lately, Pei Qian had been so busy that he hadn't visited the café in over a month.
Although he often went to Mingyun Private Kitchen, he always had his driver take him directly there, never stopping by the café.
Who would've thought this street would turn out like this!
He didn't even need to think about it—this had to be President Li's doing.
But Pei Qian's first instinct wasn't to find President Li—it was to find Ma Yang.
Where's Old Ma?!
I trusted you with the Moyu Internet Café, and this is what you've done?
You're the general manager of the café chain, my most trusted right-hand man—and this is how you "share my burden"?
Pei Qian's eyes swept quickly across the café and soon spotted Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan sitting in a corner.
Ma Yang was leisurely sipping a cocktail, enjoying the soothing folk tune coming from the stage, looking perfectly relaxed.
Pei Qian nearly exploded on the spot. Relaxed? You still have the nerve to look relaxed?!
The waiter quickly walked over to Ma Yang. "President Ma, President Pei is here."
Ma Yang turned his head, and his long face immediately broke into a big grin. "Brother Qian, you're here! Come, sit down!"
"Business has suddenly gotten better lately, so we've been a bit busy. With the new semester just starting, I was planning to tell you the good news next time we met on campus—but I guess you found out first."
Pei Qian was speechless.
Old Ma, oh Old Ma, you've always been the one I trusted most. How could you let me down like this?
"The café's traffic suddenly spiked and you didn't think to tell me?" Pei Qian said irritably.
Ma Yang blinked in confusion. "Huh? Brother Qian, isn't this all part of your plan?"
"You said at the last meeting that the Mingyun Villa branch of Moyu Internet Café would be our main focus for the foreseeable future. Then you opened the Against the Wind Logistics Station nearby, bought a villa, and opened a private kitchen—wasn't all that meant to boost the local business scene?"
Zhang Yuan chuckled and added, "Yeah, isn't this all in President Pei's master plan?"
"I thought when you leaked that info to trick President Li into investing here, it was just to make him lose some money. But now I see—I totally underestimated you."
"Not only did President Li invest, but he also got other investors from Jingzhou's business circle to pour money in too. Plus, with the Nameless Restaurant brand drawing attention, this whole area has been turned into 'Jingzhou's New Business District' and 'Jingzhou Food Street' overnight! Naturally, the Moyu Internet Café got popular too!"
"Honestly, the café was losing money before not because it was bad, but because there wasn't enough foot traffic in the area. Now that problem's fixed—so of course the Mingyun Villa Estate branch is thriving!"
Looking at the two of them beaming with excitement, Pei Qian was utterly speechless.
Then he sank into deep self-doubt.
Wait a minute…
Could it be… that this is my fault?
He had indeed said before that the future focus of Moyu Internet Café's development would shift toward the Mingyun Villa branch, and he had indeed tricked President Li into investing here. But…
His real intention was nothing like what everyone thought!
Still, when he looked at it from Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan's perspective, their not reporting the situation to him actually seemed… somewhat reasonable.
Everyone knew that Tenda now had too many industries to manage, and President Pei was extremely busy. So unless something really urgent came up, no one would usually bother him with minor updates.
And the reason the business environment around Mingyun Villa Estate had suddenly improved?
Because Mingyun Private Kitchen had become wildly popular.
Because President Li and Fu Hui Capital had invested heavily in the area.
Because President Pei bought a villa there, and Mingyun Villa Estate itself had been promoting that fact for publicity.
When you traced it all back—it all connected to President Pei himself.
So what if the Mingyun Villa branch of Moyu Internet Café becoming popular? Wasn't that just the expected result of President Pei's "master plan"?
Since he had foreseen it, why bother reporting such a "small matter" like an increase in foot traffic?
"President Pei, your drink."
The waiter brought over Pei Qian's usual—an Aurora Borealis cocktail.
Pei Qian took a silent sip, sinking into despair.
Old Ma's performance this time had been as "stable" as ever—he'd done nothing from start to finish.
And somehow… it wasn't even his fault this time.
Pei Qian felt both sorrow and relief.
The sorrow, of course, was that his own businesses had both succeeded—Mingyun Private Kitchen's success had dragged Moyu Internet Café up with it. They were both making money now. Even his villa's value was about to rise!
The relief was that Ma Yang was, at least, still dependable.
This time, though, the blame really did seem to fall squarely on himself…
Pei Qian quietly took another sip of his drink, sighing inwardly.
Fine. I'll admit it. This one's on me.
Ma Yang, unaware that Pei Qian was now questioning the meaning of life, asked excitedly, "Brother Qian, does that mean our strategic goal for the Mingyun Villa branch has been successfully achieved?"
Strategic goal?
Pei Qian blinked, then nodded. "Mm."
Achieved? It was more than achieved—it was wildly overachieved!
Completely beyond anything he'd planned for!
Ma Yang grinned proudly and continued,
"See? I told you my work as general manager of Moyu Internet Café wasn't for nothing! I can take a load off your shoulders!"
"I think since even the least profitable branch—the Mingyun Villa Estate one—has become successful, it's about time we start expanding!"
"We should strike while the iron is hot, open more Moyu Internet Cafés across Jingzhou, and capture the market!"
He leaned in a bit, lowering his voice.
"President Li's Xingle Internet Café has been aggressively opening new branches lately."
"Brother Qian, the high-end café model was pioneered by Moyu Internet Café. We can't let them overtake us now!"
Pei Qian shuddered.
Open more cafés?
Two profitable ones were already giving him headaches—and he wanted more?
How was he supposed to lose money at this rate?!
Wait.
Suddenly, Pei Qian realized something.
The situation… had changed.
So maybe… his strategy should change a little too.
<+>
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