Lin Feng sat across from Yu Shen in the office.
Yu Shen adjusted his glasses and pulled up some data on his screen.
"Yesterday was incredible," he said. "We surpassed our second-best day - which was the day before yesterday."
"We earned 0.8% returns. From that, we got 390 yuan in performance fees."
He paused.
"Management fees are still at 3 yuan, though. But that's about to change."
"Just as I predicted, we surpassed half a million in AUM yesterday. And we've gone even further past it."
He leaned back.
"When I checked this morning, we had over 700,000. And more keeps flooding in."
A slight smile crossed his face.
"At this rate, I think we might actually reach a million AUM by tomorrow."
Lin Feng nodded slowly.
It seems my earlier estimate of just one day was too ambitious.
But this pace was acceptable too.
"How is the algorithm coming along?" he asked.
"I've been working on it whenever I'm free," Yu Shen said. "Making optimizations and adjustments here and there."
"What about running it?" Lin Feng asked. "Isn't the load huge with all the new customers coming in?"
Yu Shen shook his head.
"Not exactly. The algorithm itself is independent."
He gestured with his hands as he explained.
"It calculates and gives a response. We then use that response to make decisions through a decision-making bot. Think of it like a thermometer - it detects temperature. It doesn't matter how many people are observing it. It will always do its job the same way."
He paused.
"Though we might need to upgrade our infrastructure on the management side. And maybe upgrade what we run on."
He scratched the back of his head.
"Right now, it's just my personal hosting. We can't perform more complex calculations for even better results and stability."
Lin Feng nodded. That made sense.
He did some quick calculations in his head.
"What have we gained since we started? Should be about a thousand, right?"
"Yeah," Yu Shen confirmed. "1,055 yuan."
"Then use that for any upgrades you need," Lin Feng said. "There's no reason to save it."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Also, we already agreed that our deposits could be considered company funds. So feel free to take money out of my account for company spending."
Yu Shen shook his head.
"That won't do."
Lin Feng looked at him.
"We only agreed about the initial funds," Yu Shen explained. "Since you've added more on top of the initial 20,000 you deposited, it would be unfair to apply the same rules."
Lin Feng sighed internally.
Yu Shen was a good person. But to Lin Feng, the money didn't really matter. As long as the job got done.
He scratched his cheek.
"But I feel bad," he said. "You always do all the work. I don't contribute much, so it would be unfair to you."
Yu Shen seemed hesitant hearing this.
Lin Feng pushed further.
"Just take it as... the only thing I can contribute."
Yu Shen was quiet for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"Alright."
He held up a hand.
"But to be honest, I don't think there's any need to. We don't have any emergencies, and with how we're progressing, the company will begin making its own money soon."
He paused, thinking.
"How about this - if we encounter a situation that requires it, I'll take the money. But only if, by the time we encounter that situation, the company itself doesn't have enough to cover it."
Lin Feng considered this.
It sounded logical.
"Alright," he said. "Let's do that then."
…
Later that day.
Lin Feng knocked on the door.
It opened almost instantly.
Su Yue stood there, her face bright with anticipation.
Lin Feng blinked, slightly caught off guard.
Was she waiting at the door?
"Come in," she said, stepping aside.
She guided him toward the seating area.
Before they could sit down, another knock came from the door.
Su Yue's earlier excitement seemed to deflate considerably.
She walked back and unlocked the door.
Mengqi stood there.
"Why are you here?" Su Yue asked.
"I called her," Lin Feng said from behind.
Su Yue paused for a moment, then moved aside to let Mengqi in.
The three of them sat together.
Mengqi looked at Lin Feng.
"What happened? You said it was urgent."
Lin Feng reached into his bag and brought out some documents.
He passed a set to each of them.
"Xingyao Entertainment's registration is complete," he said. "This means I can finally sign contracts with the two of you."
He looked at Mengqi.
"Weren't you tired of working for free?"
She didn't respond, but a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
"Don't worry. I'll definitely compensate you properly."
The two girls began reading through their contracts carefully.
Mengqi took her time with her own, then reached over and took Su Yue's contract as well.
She read through it thoroughly before returning it.
"Everything seems good," she said.
"Great."
Lin Feng handed them pens.
The two signed their respective contracts.
Lin Feng added his own signature, then pulled out the company seal and stamped each document.
He gathered the papers and looked at both of them.
"Welcome to Xingyao Entertainment."
He turned to Mengqi.
"It's about the end of the month, and you've been through a lot."
He pulled out his phone.
"I'll pay you this month's salary - ten thousand yuan. For any subsequent months, you'll receive your salary on the 25th."
He paused.
"Obviously, not ten thousand."
She nodded. "I understand."
He completed the transfer.
"I also transferred an extra ten thousand," he said.
Mengqi looked at him.
"I gave you ten thousand yesterday to use for Su Yue's training," he explained. "According to our calculations, the total fees come to around forty thousand for two weeks. So think of that as the fees for week one."
He put his phone away.
"I'll send you the funds for week two next week."
He looked between the two of them.
"With that, everything is settled, right?"
Mengqi nodded.
Lin Feng turned to Su Yue.
"How's training going?"
Her face lit up.
"It's great," she said. "I'm really enjoying it."
She clenched her fist with determination.
"I definitely won't let you down."
Lin Feng smiled.
"That's great to hear. But I hope you don't push yourself too hard."
He stood up from his seat.
"Well, I have things to do, so I won't be able to hang out with you two any longer."
He grabbed his bag.
"Have a good rest of your day."
With that, he left.