Monday, November 23rd.
Lin Feng settled into his chair and opened his laptop, connecting to the video call.
A few seconds later, the connection established.
But this time, it wasn't Tingting on the screen.
Madam Zhao sat alone in front of the camera, her expression unreadable.
"Good evening, Madam Zhao," Lin Feng greeted. "Is Tingting not available today?"
The woman studied him for a moment before speaking.
"She's at a friend's house for the evening. I apologize for not informing you sooner."
Lin Feng nodded. "That's alright. These things happen."
He was about to suggest rescheduling when she spoke again.
"Actually, I wanted to speak with you."
He paused. "Of course. Is there something wrong with the lessons?"
"No, nothing like that."
She tilted her head slightly.
"I saw you on television the other day."
Lin Feng's expression remained calm. "Ah. The Hangzhou Tonight segment."
"Yes, that one." Her tone carried a hint of amusement. "I have to admit, I didn't expect it. When my husband first showed me, I thought he was joking."
She leaned back in her chair.
"The young man teaching my daughter English for 75 yuan an hour... is running a few successful businesses."
Lin Feng smiled slightly. "It seems my cover has been blown."
"Indeed." She paused. "Though I have to ask - why are you still doing this job?"
"What do you mean?"
"Your time must be worth quite a bit more than 75 yuan an hour now," she said. "Wouldn't it make more sense to focus on your businesses?"
Lin Feng considered the question.
"I started this job when I was still broke," he said. "Before the investment, before everything."
He met her eyes through the screen.
"This job helped pay for food when I had nothing. It wouldn't feel right to just abandon it now that things have improved."
Madam Zhao's eyebrows rose slightly.
"Besides," he continued, "I'm Tingting's teacher. I started this, so I should see it through. It's my responsibility to make sure she becomes fluent."
Silence hung in the air for a moment.
"I didn't expect you to have such a mindset," she finally said. "Most young people your age would have quit the moment they had money."
Lin Feng scratched the back of his head, looking slightly embarrassed. "That's just how I was raised, I suppose."
Madam Zhao smiled.
"Your parents must be quite remarkable people."
"I think so too."
She nodded slowly.
"Well, since Tingting isn't here, I suppose you have the evening off." She paused. "Don't worry about the payment. We'll still compensate you for today - it was our fault for not alerting you sooner."
"There's really no need…"
"I insist."
Her tone left no room for argument.
Lin Feng relented. "Then... thank you."
"You're welcome." She smiled. "Have a good evening, Mr. Lin."
The call ended.
…
On the other end, Madam Zhao leaned back in her chair.
A voice came from behind her.
"So that's Lin Feng. He's a nice kid."
She turned to look at her husband, Zhao Weiming, who was just out of frame during the call.
He stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"He doesn't forget his roots and takes responsibility for his commitments..." He nodded slowly. "That's rare these days."
Madam Zhao smiled smugly. "I told you he was special."
"Indeed he is."
He leaned forward slightly.
"This kid has potential. Real potential. I can tell he's going far."
Madam Zhao tilted her head. "What are you thinking?"
"Father's birthday is in three weeks," he said. "Why don't you invite him?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Invite the tutor to Father's birthday banquet?"
"Invite the founder of Fenghua Holdings," he corrected. "It's not a bad idea to build relations with someone like him. Especially now, while he's still rising."
He smiled.
"Better to befriend the dragon before it learns to fly."
Madam Zhao considered this for a moment.
Then she nodded.
"I'll send him an invitation."
…
That evening, Lin Feng checked the game's statistics.
5,000 sales.
It was quite the dip from Saturday, but most of these were organic sales from the feature - not the Su Yue shoutout.
Speaking of...
He hadn't thanked her yet.
He pulled out his phone and dialed.
She picked up after a few rings.
"Lin Feng?"
"Hey."
He paused, gathering his words.
"My friend who watches your stream told me about what you did."
There was silence on the other end.
"I wanted to say thanks. Really."
He exhaled.
"I feel bad taking advantage of our friendship like this. I'll definitely pay you back for this."
He continued before she could interrupt.
"For the other matter too. I hadn't expected you to have so many viewers. I didn't want to take advantage of you."
"Lin Feng."
Her voice was calm.
"I did it on my own free will. I didn't do it for you."
She paused.
"I wanted to play games, and it was all I knew. You don't need to repay me."
"But…"
"If you pay me now for wanting to play your game and playing it, will you pay me every time I play it?"
Her tone turned slightly exasperated.
"I played because I like it. You're making things difficult for me."
Lin Feng opened his mouth, then closed it.
"As for the other matter," she continued, "I agreed to that favor. If I took payment now, that would mean I was walking back on it."
He was silent for a moment.
Then he sighed.
"...Alright."
"Good."
"Thank you, Su Yue."
"It's no problem."
Her voice softened.
"Goodnight, Lin Feng."
"Goodnight."
The call ended.
Lin Feng stared at his phone.
His eyes grew slightly misty.
"I've raised you well, Moon Fairy."
He blinked.
Then shook his head.
"I should get some sleep. I'm saying strange things."
He set the phone aside and closed his eyes.
…
Tuesday, November 24th.
Lin Feng continued working on researching the game engine plan.
That evening, Tingting was back as usual, and they had their lesson.
The game received about 5,000 sales that day - same as the day before.
He hoped it could stabilize around this level for a while.
But he wasn't so sure.
…
Wednesday, November 25th.
Lin Feng checked his system.
[Infinite Money System]
[Personal Balance: ¥595,547.00]
His balance had finally surpassed 500,000 yuan.
He stared at the number for a long moment.
Then he pulled out his phone.
It's time to meet with the chairman.
Time to complete the loop.