Reaching the age of thirty, my income randomly doubled

Chapter 792: Chapter 599: Rebellious Period

Middle school is usually a time of rebellion for many.

Especially for someone like Chen An’an, her rebellious behavior was quite unique.

It only took her a week to become the public enemy of all the boys in her class.

If anyone dared to pursue a girl in the class, she’d march up to them and scold them relentlessly.

“What are you chasing for? Can you buy her a Ferrari or a house in Magic City?”

Somehow, Chen An’an ended up as the infamous “Witch An” in the class, and she didn’t mind being called that.

But who dared to call her that to her face?

She’d easily teach them a lesson.

Choosing to practice martial arts from a young age turned out to be quite a wise decision.

After all, isn’t this the perfect time to put it to good use?

One day, during PE class, Mo Qiqi was running ahead and suddenly fell flat on her face.

Chen An’an laughed so hard she was nearly rolling on the ground, laughing until she made Mo Qiqi, already embarrassed, burst into tears.

Mo Qiqi probably considered herself quite unlucky to have such a roommate. Her family’s financial situation wasn’t bad at all.

After all, she could afford to wear underwear that cost 800 yuan each—something an average family wouldn’t buy.

However, her decent lifestyle always seemed insignificant next to Chen An’an.

Anytime she tried to show off, she’d be mocked for having a flat butt.

“Chen An’an, don’t go too far!”

“Come on, you fell on your own, and I’m not even allowed to laugh?”

Mo Qiqi ignored her. Dealing with Witch An was a waste of time anyway.

Boys and girls going through their rebellious phase often don’t care about your pride.

They’ll zero in on your weak spot and mock you endlessly.

Chen An’an was relatively mild about it; she just didn’t like girls dating too early, and she especially couldn’t stand the likes of Mo Qiqi, who flaunted even her underwear.

Compared to her, Er Piya in the class was a true little terror.

In her eyes, there’s no limit to outrageous behavior, only how much more outrageous it can get.

Yet, her grades remained at the top of the class—this was the one constant.

After she roped in Shen Xiaoyu and An Xiaoxiao, no one in the class could surpass her.

How satisfying was that?

Among her two-girl, one-boy crew, Chen Lu was probably the only one who seemed like an honest kid.

He wasn’t even three years old yet and adored a cute, pink-cheeked little girl in the class.

He’d cling to her every day, following her wherever she went.

The girl, adorable and pretty, had a lovely name—Su Xiaoxi.

Her parents were also real estate developers, and her family was very well off.

Her personality even bore some resemblance to Chen An’an’s big-sister style.

Whenever she handed out candy, she’d proclaim, “One for you, one for me. One for you, and two more for me.”

Chen Lu, timid as he was, seemed immune to scary movies. He was always under Su Xiaoxi’s protection and loved playing with her.

That was how March generally looked.

While his daughters were in school, Chen Pingsheng was busy attending various meetings and managing headquarters affairs.

His assistant, Tang Jing, adapted quickly and was able to help handle a lot of work.

When Chang Fu called the headquarters to invite him out for a drink, Tang Jing picked up and said curtly, “No time.”

Chang Fu was frustrated. He had painstakingly started a new venture in traditional Chinese medicine therapy, only to be stifled by Song Yanxi’s Tongxin Family business.

Additionally, Gao Hu had returned to Magic City. He had no face to stay in Guangzhou anymore; Xiao Danchun had already found a new boyfriend and was even planning to get married.

What reason was there for him to stay?

Gao Hu was still under a high-spending restriction, unable to take flights or high-speed trains, which was utterly miserable.

A few classmates from Sha City had come to visit. Chang Fu initially wanted to ask Chen Pingsheng out for drinks.

Tang Jing outright said he was unavailable. How could Chang Fu insist after that?

During meetings, Old Chen habitually turned off his phone, ensuring he wouldn’t be disturbed.

Gao Hu was utterly lost now. According to Tengying Group’s Economic Research Institute, the restaurant industry would be one of the worst sectors to invest in over the next five years.

What did that imply?

Even with Fei Yangyang’s stellar reputation as the gold standard for affordable fine dining, just one incident in Wu City had pushed its net monthly profits dangerously close to the red.

How could he possibly continue in this business?

If Gao Hu wanted quick money, the best route was live-streaming sales.

Chang Fu hadn’t said it, but Gao Hu had realized it himself.

Live-streaming sales was a low-cost, high-return entrepreneurial avenue—just not the most respectable gig in their circle.

Think about it: they’d already hit rock bottom, and now you want to become a social media influencer hustling products online?

How embarrassing is that?

But Gao Hu didn’t have many options. After closing “old friends,” he had no idea what else to do.

With his identity, live-streaming sales could give him a slight edge.

After all, who hadn’t dined at Fei Yangyang Catering? He was the founder—a once-powerful and now-disgraced CEO.

That kind of backstory would elevate his initial status. If done well, he could easily make tens of millions in a year.

Gao Hu never thought he’d end up as an influencer doing live-streaming sales.

What a series of wrong turns.

Among the classmates visiting Magic City was Zhang Wei, who ran a barber shop in Sha City.

His life wasn’t bad, but he was astonished when he came to Golden Mountain.

He had never imagined that one of their classmates would achieve such feats.

Every building within sight belonged to Chen Pingsheng.

Compared to such accomplishments, his few measly barber shops were hardly worth mentioning.

The hairdressing industry, well, what can you say? They say poor kids from rural backgrounds have three golden lifelines: hairdressing, car repair, and catering.

Among the three, car repair probably had the highest average income, followed by catering, with hairdressing last.

What’s absurd about hairdressing is that after three years of apprenticeship and five years of work, you might look cool on the outside, but your pockets are completely empty.

Hairdressers with five years of experience, working over 13 hours daily, earn an average salary of around 5,000 yuan.

It’s downright ridiculous.

Zhang Wei’s visit was partly to seek advice from old classmates, hoping to elevate his modest business to the next level.

For Old Chen, that was an incredibly easy ask.

The same applied to Chang Fu. If trivial tasks like these required Old Chen’s time, then his time would become incredibly devalued.

Although Chang Fu had left Tengying Group, he hadn’t severed his connections there like Gao Hu had.

The relationships he had in Tengying Group still existed, especially those with Teng You Media and Xin Teng Live Streaming.

They were directly part of his network.

Just leveraging a bit of his resources would be enough to help Zhang Wei resolve his issues.

Right now, the quickest way to revive a small shop or business was to become popular on short video platforms.

As long as that segment soared, traffic-driven businesses were destined to make huge profits.

Oh… but a barbershop only had the potential for small gains, even with high traffic.

You charge just a few dozen bucks per haircut. How much profit can you make even if you work morning to night?

Chen Pingsheng arrived quite late, as he had only come by after finishing a meeting and stopping by home.