Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Chapter 41: Chapter 40: Bad Girl

Most KTVs near universities were budget-friendly. And with Xucheng Academy bordering the countryside, the quality of the KTV right outside the main gate was predictable.

When Chen Yansen pushed open the private room door, a 50-inch screen came into view. The microphones were wired, with long cables coiled all over the floor.

Tang Zhenzhe was holding a microphone, affectionately singing Andy Lau’s ”Ice Rain.”

’This guy’s a lost cause. Singing ”Ice Rain” is no way to pick up girls.’

Chen Yansen shook his head to himself.

This was 2010. Li Yuchun, Cai Yilin, Liang Jingru, and BY2 were the popular singers girls adored. At the very least, you had to sing something from the ”QQ Music Trio.” If you sang ”Ice Rain,” the girls would think they were at karaoke with their parents.

”Brother Sen, you’re finally here! What do you want to sing? I’ll queue it up for you.” Meng Xibo shot to his feet, greeting him with a smile.

”Brother Sen!”

”Chen Tongxue, you made it!”

The others also chimed in with enthusiastic greetings.

”Sorry, something came up this afternoon. I kept you all waiting. You guys go on, I’m just going to sit and have some water.”

Chen Yansen waved his hand dismissively, offering an excuse.

He sat on the edge of the sofa, several meters away from the girls, clearly uninterested in them.

After hanging up on Song Yuncheng, his phone had been ringing off the hook.

Chen Yansen stepped out to answer a few times, but it became a hassle, so he started replying with a simple text: ”Tomorrow, 9 AM. Let’s talk on the second floor of the Innovation Park.”

”Whose songs do you like? I can sing with you.”

At some point, Su Meiling had quietly moved over and was now speaking to Chen Yansen in a soft, gentle voice.

She had deliberately worn a short lace skirt today, revealing her long, straight legs. Her top was a white chiffon blouse that offered tantalizing glimpses of her figure. This pure-yet-seductive style could easily make a young guy lose his mind.

Chen Yansen gave her a casual glance and shook his head lightly. ”You all have fun. Don’t mind me.”

It wasn’t that Su Meiling wasn’t pretty. It was just that in his last life, he’d dated a few gentle girls like her. Not long into the relationships, they all wanted to marry him and have children.

’Isn’t just dating good enough?’

He was repulsed by this type of girl from the bottom of his heart.

”Hehe, Brother Sen, you’re already here. It’s boring to just sit around. What do you want to sing? I’ll queue it for you!”

Tang Zhenzhe put down the mic after finishing the chorus, grinning as he tried to persuade him.

Judging by his expression, he probably thought his performance just now had been pretty good and must have left a great impression on the girls, especially Su Meiling.

Zhu Xiaopeng, Meng Xibo, and Wang Zhengqiang also chimed in to egg him on. In their eyes, Chen Yansen hadn’t even touched a microphone since he walked in, which probably meant he was tone-deaf. They kept pushing him, just wanting to watch the show.

They didn’t have any malicious intent. It was mainly because their impression of Chen Yansen was one of excellence, and they were curious to see him make a fool of himself.

Only Song Yang remained silent, his head down, staring at his phone. The screen was filled with dense text—he was actually reading a novel!

”Well... in that case, queue up ’Bad Girl’.”

Chen Yansen looked at Su Meiling, smiled faintly, and said this intentionally.

The underlying message was clear: ’I’m not into good girls. I like bad girls!’

Bad Girl?

A song by Xu Liang?

Everyone looked at each other, stunned.

You have to understand, at that time, admitting you liked songs by the ”QQ Music Trio” was absolutely mortifying. No one wanted to admit they were non-mainstream.

His words, however, made another girl’s eyes light up.

She had been looking down at her phone, but she immediately sat up straight, her gaze fixed intently on Chen Yansen.

The familiar intro began to play slowly.

Chen Yansen took the microphone, pulled over a chair, and sat in front of the screen, leaving everyone with a view of his tall back.

The Rolex on his wrist gleamed under the lights. His outfit—a white shirt and black casual pants—seemed completely out of place with this song.

”Back then I let go of your hand, turned around with only ’take care’ left to say♪”

”You didn’t say a word, but you cried for a long, long time♪”

The moment Chen Yansen opened his mouth, everyone was stunned. The few who had thought he was tone-deaf exchanged awkward glances.

His voice was deep and richly textured, its quality even surpassing the original singer’s. He sang with confidence and a devil-may-care attitude, turning ”Bad Girl” into a ”Bad Boy” anthem.

It was a love song duet. After Chen Yansen finished the male part, he was about to continue with the female chorus when a charming and cute female voice suddenly came from behind him:

”In whose arms will I feel something? In the deep of night, loved, I’m still missing you. I clearly changed just for you, but we can’t go back to how it was before♪...”

Chen Yansen turned around to see a girl in a short denim jacket winking playfully at him.

In terms of looks, she was by no means inferior to Su Meiling. One was just lively and straightforward, while the other was gentle and sweet.

’There it is. This is the playful type of girl President Chen likes—no drama when you part ways, no baggage when you’re having fun.’

A corner of Chen Yansen’s mouth lifted, and he beckoned to the girl.

She understood his meaning instantly. Holding the microphone, she skipped over to him in just a few steps and placed her soft little hand in his palm.

The scene left everyone else staring, dumbfounded.

They looked perfectly natural, not a hint of awkwardness between them, as they held hands and finished the entire song.

”Are you a bad girl?”

Chen Yansen moved the microphone away, leaned in close to the girl’s ear, and exhaled a puff of warm air as he asked in a low voice.

The girl was wearing a white camisole under her denim jacket. Perhaps because they were so close, he could clearly see the compressed, snow-white contour down her neckline.

”Take a guess.”

Seeing that Chen Yansen hadn’t let go of her hand, the girl giggled. When no one was looking, her other hand snaked out and gave his stomach a quick feel.

After all, Chen Yansen was tall, handsome, and rich. It was only normal for girls to be drawn to him.

Su Meiling stared daggers at the two of them, grinding her teeth. The mixer she had painstakingly organized had ended up setting someone else up.

”Whoa! Brother Sen, you look so cool when you sing!” Song Yang was the first to snap out of it, his voice full of envy.

As the others came to their senses, they also began to applaud and praise them.

To be fair, the two of them really had sung well, and their chemistry was perfect.

Chen Yansen smiled and returned to his seat. The girl in the denim jacket followed, leaning close to him. ”My name is Xu Xingxing. Xingxing, like the stars in the sky.”

”Not that little. They’re pretty good.”

Chen Yansen raised his glass, clinked it gently against hers, and said in a low voice.

”I don’t know if I’m a bad girl, but you’re definitely a bad boy.”

Xu Xingxing followed his gaze and realized she was at risk of a wardrobe malfunction. She quickly adjusted her top and replied softly.

”Then why’d you still sit over here?”

Chen Yansen took a sip of his drink, teasing her with a smile.

”They’re too straight-laced. Boring!”

Xu Xingxing pouted, pointing at Tang Zhenzhe and the others.

”I think so too.”

Chen Yansen glanced at Su Meiling and agreed in a cool tone.

In his past life, Chen Yansen’s personality during college had been similar to Tang Zhenzhe and the others, earning him a spot in the ’boring’ category among girls.

Afterward, the two of them drank and played dice, chatting and laughing.

Xu Xingxing had a great figure and was good-looking. Before Chen Yansen arrived, both Meng Xibo and Zhu Xiaopeng had tried to chat her up, but she had acted like she didn’t want to hang out, even claiming to have social anxiety, which made them give up.

Now, the two of them understood. It wasn’t that she really had social anxiety; she just had social anxiety *around them*.

The group sang until six in the evening before heading to a restaurant for dinner.

During this time, aside from Su Meiling growing a bit quiet, everyone else continued to chat excitedly about university life.

On the way back, Tang Zhenzhe said with a laugh, ”Brother Sen, if you go after Xu Xingxing now, you could probably win her over in two days.”

”Why would I chase her?” Chen Yansen retorted, looking speechless.

”Uh, from the way she acts, she definitely likes you. If you chase her, it’s a sure thing!”

Tang Zhenzhe was taken aback by his question. He faltered for a moment before explaining with a hint of exasperation.

”If she likes me, she can be the one to chase me.”

Chen Yansen gave a faint smile. He didn’t look like he was joking.

”Holy shit! As expected of Brother Sen. My perspective was too narrow,” Tang Zhenzhe said, slapping his forehead and grinning.

”Huh? Brother Sen, how come you didn’t drive today?”

Zhu Xiaopeng asked curiously, noticing he was walking back to school with everyone else.

”I returned the car to the rental company.”

Chen Yansen answered truthfully without giving it much thought.

”Ah? So that Mercedes really was a rental?”

Zhu Xiaopeng was startled. For some reason, he felt like 99 percent of the pressure he felt from Chen Yansen had suddenly vanished.

’Dumbass! The car might be temporary, but his ability to make money isn’t.’

Zhu Xiaopeng’s expression was so obvious that not only Chen Yansen but even Song Yang noticed. Song Yang cursed him inwardly with disdain.

”Yeah, it’s several hundred a day.”

Chen Yansen played it down, acting pitiful. He couldn’t care less what others thought. To him, the 800-yuan-a-day Mercedes E300 had solved many problems and opened up many opportunities.

That’s just how the world works. People respect the clothes before the person. If you drive a Maybach or a McLaren, pretty girls will flock to you on their own.

Back at the dorm, the guys were still fired up, endlessly chatting about the pretty girls in their class and the sophisticated sophomore girls. Before they knew it, it was almost eight at night.

”Shit! I haven’t showered yet today! There are only ten minutes until eight, the bathhouse is about to close!”

Wang Zhengqiang suddenly yelled, startling everyone.

Once they realized what he meant, they immediately started grabbing their toiletries. Any later, and they’d be stuck with a cold shower. Even in summer, that wasn’t a pleasant experience.

”I forgot to tell you guys, I rented a place in the faculty apartments out back. I won’t be sleeping in the dorm at night anymore. If the counselor asks, just tell him the truth.”

Chen Yansen got up to leave, mentioning this to Tang Zhenzhe on his way out.

”Brother Sen, you’re only a freshman and you’re already moving out?”

Tang Zhenzhe asked, pausing with his washbasin in hand.

”I’ll still be back during the day, I just won’t be sleeping here at night. I’m heading out. You guys better run. I heard the old man at the bathhouse packs up the card swiper five minutes early every day.”

Chen Yansen reminded them.

”Fuck! Only 9 minutes left!”

”Bo Bo, wait for me!”

”Ah Qiang, you forgot your shampoo!”

After a flurry of chaos, only Chen Yansen was left in the dorm room. He gave a carefree smile and strolled leisurely toward 0418.

’Will she come?’

As Chen Yansen stepped onto the fourth floor, his gaze fell upon the door of 0418.