Chapter 28: A Greedy Thought
“Xu Youyou?”
Lu Jingyao called her name and followed after her.
Xu Youyou ignored him. She only saw that the system indicator, which had been flashing continuously, suddenly stopped and turned toward the entrance of the banquet hall.
As she moved, the system indicator changed as well. Clearly, this time’s opportunity was a living thing again.
“What are you looking for?” Lu Jingyao seemed to notice her intentions. He didn’t stop her but followed behind her instead.
Annoyed by his persistence, Xu Youyou directly retorted, “Aren’t you supposed to be discussing business with the Cyrille family? Why do you keep following me? Do you really think I’m your girlfriend?”
Lu Jingyao: …
He didn’t know what was wrong with him either. His gaze always seemed to unconsciously chase after Xu Youyou. Looking at her flawless, porcelain-white face, he felt a dull frustration in his heart. Was he really just like everyone else, drawn to beauty?
Seeing that he suddenly stood there dazed, Xu Youyou seized the chance to shake him off, slipping away like a nimble fish into the crowd of guests dressed in haute couture.
Following the system’s guidance, Xu Youyou quickly reached a corner of the banquet hall.
This place was even more secluded than the spot where Lu Jingyao had pinned her against the wall earlier. At the moment, two men were standing there.
One of them looked very young, barely twenty years old, wearing a wrinkled black suit that seemed completely out of place in this luxurious setting.
The other man, appearing to be in his thirties or forties, looked much more successful. He was holding a glass of light-colored champagne, his face filled with impatience.
As Xu Youyou got closer, she could finally hear their conversation clearly.
“I don’t know how you got in here, but if you keep pestering me, I’ll have to call security. People like you don’t belong here,” the middle-aged man said, eyeing the young man’s clothing with obvious disdain.
The young man’s face flushed with embarrassment. He shrank back but still pleaded, “We’ve really been working hard on this game. We just need a bit of funding to get it started—”
“I’m not interested in your game,” the middle-aged man interrupted. “I’ve seen too many people like you—young, thinking you’re the next Bill Gates, but in reality, you’re only fit to be a waiter.”
The young man’s face turned red, but he didn’t dare to lose his temper. He seemed desperate to continue pitching his idea.
However, the middle-aged man had run out of patience. “Security!”
Hearing this, the young man looked like he was about to bolt.
Xu Youyou felt that her opportunity had arrived. She quickly stepped forward and asked, “Young sir, could you tell me more about the game you’re working on?”
The middle-aged man turned to look at her at the sudden voice.
In high society, there were unspoken rules about how to judge people. To this circle, Xu Youyou was an unfamiliar face—on top of that, a Chinese one.
However, the middle-aged man did not dare to underestimate her. The necklace around her neck was proof enough of her status.
“Beautiful Eastern lady, are you interested in this little rat that sneaked in?” he asked, squinting at her.
Xu Youyou gently swirled the red wine in her glass, her lips curling slightly. “Sir, there’s no need to be so quick to judge. You should trust the Cyrille estate’s security—they wouldn’t let just anyone sneak in so easily.”
The middle-aged man sneered but didn’t insist on calling security. However, he was eager to rid himself of the young man and, before leaving, warned Xu Youyou, “For the sake of your wallet, you’d best stay away from rats like him.”
Xu Youyou nodded lightly. “I think I know what I’m doing.”
With a cold huff, the middle-aged man strode away.
With no one else around, the young man stepped closer to Xu Youyou and said, “Miss, thank you for helping me out. I hope I didn’t cause you any trouble.”
Xu Youyou shook her head. “Even if I hadn’t helped, you would have found a way to get out of that situation.”
The young man looked embarrassed.
Xu Youyou gave him a curious glance. “Wait… Did you really sneak in? The Cyrille family checked every guest’s invitation very carefully. How did you manage to get past them?”
The young man scratched the back of his head. “I work in the kitchen. When the head chef wasn’t looking, I changed clothes and slipped in.”
Xu Youyou’s impression of him improved. She asked, “And you’re telling me this so easily? Aren’t you afraid I’ll report you?”
The young man looked at her with his emerald-green eyes. “Beautiful lady, you’re too kind. I don’t think you’d do that, right?”
Xu Youyou indeed wouldn’t. She was waiting for an opportunity from him, so she smiled and said, “I think your God rewards clever people.”
The young man looked delighted. He wanted to chat more, but he didn’t want to miss his chance to find an investor. “Miss, I must continue looking for someone to invest in my game. I hope we meet again.”
Xu Youyou, however, said, “Instead of waiting for another meeting, why not impress the investor standing right in front of you?”
The young man’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected Xu Youyou to be interested in his game, nor had he imagined she might be wealthy.
Unlike the middle-aged man earlier, he didn’t have the same keen eye for status. He had assumed Xu Youyou was just some rich guest’s companion.
“Judging people by appearances isn’t very smart,” Xu Youyou remarked.
The young man nodded dumbly, then downed a gulp of wine to gather his courage before introducing himself: “My name is Peter Locke. My friends and I are developing a game—a small 5v5 battle game…”
Xu Youyou didn’t know much about games, but she was shocked.
She had heard the name Peter Locke before. In her past life, he was the creator of Peak Battle, a game that took the world by storm.
“I plan to name the game Peak Battle,” Peter continued nervously. “Of course, if you don’t like the name, you can change it…”
His attitude was extremely humble, as if terrified that a single wrong word would make Xu Youyou lose interest.
Xu Youyou quickly said, “No need to change it! The name is perfect! I love it—don’t change it!”
Peter let out a relieved smile and added, “I just need $5 million. I’m confident I can get the game done within the year.”
Xu Youyou frowned slightly.
Peter immediately said, “If $5 million is too much, $4 million would work. Or even less! As long as we can make this game—”
Xu Youyou wasn’t concerned about small amounts of money. Right now, greed was screaming inside her mind. She was desperate to secure more ownership of this game.
“$20 million,” she declared. “I’ll pay your team higher salaries than the industry standard. I want full ownership of this game!”
