Chapter 93

Early in the morning, Zhang Qiu received a call from an unknown number. After answering, he asked, "May I ask who this is?"

A delighted voice came from the other end of the line, saying, "Boss, it's Xiaolong!"

"Xiaolong?" Zhang Qiu paused for a moment.

The voice on the other end continued, "Long Batian!"

It turned out to be Long Batian... Thinking of such a fierce man calling himself Xiaolong, Zhang Qiu couldn't help but shiver.

"Long Batian, right? Don't call yourself Xiaolong anymore. Just stick with Long Batian," Zhang Qiu said. "What's up?"

Knowing it was Long Batian, Zhang Qiu's tone wasn't as polite as before.

"Boss, we're out. We received the money and only had the chance to check it today. The driver chose to settle privately with us yesterday, so we were all released," Long Batian said. "Boss, you're so generous, I, Long Batian, am thoroughly impressed."

"Um, that's good. Just be careful. By the way, how did you get my phone number?" Zhang Qiu nodded.

"From Alipay!" Long Batian replied. "That Mr. He absolutely won't dare to seek revenge on you. He's more worried about us retaliating, which is why he chose to settle privately."

"Um, just do your job well, and I won't treat you unfairly." Zhang Qiu nodded. "If there's nothing else, I'll hang up."

"Nothing else, just wanted to thank you, Boss. When you have time, let's have a meal together! I'll bring my brothers to meet you," Long Batian said.

"Um, let's talk about it next time." Zhang Qiu hung up the phone.

He didn't take this matter to heart. Since he had plans to register a company, Zhang Qiu first looked up information online about company registration, including FAQs and discussions.

The process of registering a company was extremely complicated, and it would be difficult for an ordinary person to complete all the steps. Zhang Qiu was a bit intimidated when he saw the process flow.

Fortunately, he also learned about specialized companies that handle company registration.

In addition to using an agency to register, there was another type of company called an offshore company, which was also highly recommended.

Zhang Qiu was particularly interested in offshore companies and read more about them.

An offshore company is registered in an offshore jurisdiction but does not operate in the registration location. Its main characteristics and advantages include strong confidentiality, simple registration, low taxation, and convenience for international trade.

Famous offshore jurisdictions are often former British colonies, mostly island groups. Notable ones include the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, and Bermuda.

After understanding the registration process, Zhang Qiu logged into the websites of these countries that handle offshore company registration. Familiarizing himself with the process, he directly hacked into the backend. With his world-class skills, this was not difficult at all.

Following the normal process, Zhang Qiu registered three group companies, "Lanlai," "Jingfei," and "Qingyun," in different island groups. He also made these three companies hold shares in each other, forming a complex shareholding structure, which he learned from online confidentiality tutorials.

With these three companies, Zhang Qiu planned to use "Lanlai" as the main one to face the market.

After setting up these offshore companies, Zhang Qiu looked for domestic company registration agencies. He called one, asked about the price, and scheduled a meeting. He went to their office in person.

These agencies specialize in this business and are very powerful. Even if you are a lone individual with no office space, they can still register a company for you.

Zhang Qiu thought, this is what they call a shell company, but it suits him well.

They had already discussed the details over the phone, so the next step was to talk about the specifics and the fees.

In the end, it cost 20,000 yuan, and they would handle everything, including registering a limited liability company with a registered capital of 1 million yuan in Suxian City. For the name, Zhang Qiu didn't think much and decided on "Hehuo Technology."

With this, Zhang Qiu considered the company registration issue resolved. Thinking that he was now a boss, albeit a small one, he felt a bit excited.

"When I have time, I'll go look at office buildings. If I find a good environment, I'll rent it for future use." Although it was still a shell company, it didn't mean he wouldn't hire people in the future.

Zhang Qiu had enough money to rent an office in a building and hire a few employees. He could manage that.

Office buildings were easy to find. Just look around the street, and any business-style high-rise was likely an office building.

After looking around, Zhang Qiu chose the tallest building and walked over.

At the base of the building, he saw its name: Wealth Center. It was quite a common name, but it was straightforward—everyone likes wealth, and who wouldn't want to work in the "Wealth Center"?

Entering the first-floor lobby, Zhang Qiu saw a dense list of company names on the directory board, giving him a sense of grandeur.

He randomly chose a few company names that caught his eye, visited the floors where they were located, and examined the environment.

It was his first time entering such a high-end office building, and everything was unfamiliar. He felt like Liu Laolao entering the Grand View Garden. However, his current composure was better than before, and he could control his curiosity, remaining calm and only glancing around with his peripheral vision.

As he moved from the lower floors to the higher ones, Zhang Qiu lost interest after just three floors and returned to the elevator.

It wasn't rush hour, so the elevator didn't stop often and arrived quickly.

Soon, the elevator arrived, and as the doors opened, Zhang Qiu saw someone and exclaimed in surprise, "It's you?"

The person in the elevator was also taken aback, looking surprised. They stared at each other in a daze. Just then, the elevator doors started to close, and the person in the elevator quickly pressed the open button. Zhang Qiu also reacted and jumped into the elevator.

There were only two people in the elevator: Zhang Qiu and his newly acquainted classmate, Ye Mei.

This pretty girl, a close friend of Lin Lai, had left a deep impression on him after he used his charm on her.

"Ye Mei, what are you doing here?" Zhang Qiu broke the silence. "Aren't you with Lin Lai?"

"It's a holiday, so I came to visit my family's company," Ye Mei said. "What about you?"

"So, you're a rich second generation." Zhang Qiu smiled. "Unlike you, I just came to look around and see what a high-end office building is like. Let this country bumpkin broaden his horizons."

"I see." Ye Mei nodded. "I have a question, what's going on between you and Lin Lai?"

"Um, what do you think? Hasn't Lin Lai told you?" Zhang Qiu asked. He wanted to gauge Ye Mei's reaction before explaining.

Otherwise, it would be hard to explain his situation with Lin Lai. Technically, he was at fault first, and Lin Lai's prejudice against him wasn't entirely a misunderstanding.

Feeling guilty, Zhang Qiu knew he couldn't admit it, but he also couldn't lie and distort the truth.

"If I knew, would I ask you? Nana wouldn't say anything," Ye Mei said. "Actually, I think you're not bad." After saying this, Ye Mei suddenly felt a bit shy. The good impression she had of Zhang Qiu still lingered, making her think it was a real connection.

"Ha ha." Zhang Qiu laughed. "Maybe it's all an illusion. There's nothing between me and Lin Lai, just some misunderstandings. I've had a crush on her for a long time, and I'm not the only one in the school. With graduation approaching, I naturally wanted to take action, which led to the misunderstanding."

Zhang Qiu's words were vague, essentially saying nothing, and his response was off-topic. However, his words easily sparked imagination, and Ye Mei couldn't help but start to fill in the gaps.

She thought Zhang Qiu probably boldly confessed to Lin Lai, who was "very moved but rejected him." Perhaps Zhang Qiu had an extreme reaction and said something extreme, leading to an unavoidable misunderstanding.

"I see!" Ye Mei nodded.

Zhang Qiu thought Ye Mei would offer to help him and talk to Lin Lai, but after nodding, she didn't say anything more.

At this point, the elevator had reached the first floor, and the doors opened. Several people were waiting outside to enter the elevator.

"Where are you going? Want to go together?" Ye Mei said as they exited the elevator.

Zhang Qiu, wanting to get closer, smiled and said, "Sure!"

So, he followed Ye Mei out of the office building and toward the parking lot.

Just then, Zhang Qiu noticed a car that started moving as soon as it saw them and drove toward them.

He had a bad feeling, sensing that something was about to happen.

He activated his insight, focusing his vision and hearing on the surroundings, especially on the car that was approaching.

They were on a mixed-use path for both pedestrians and vehicles.

The car had already driven over and suddenly stopped in front of Ye Mei. As it stopped, the door opened, and two men jumped out.

Zhang Qiu immediately knew what was happening. He had been watching the car, so he saw the men jump out.

As the two men jumped out, they were already reaching out, as if to grab someone. These actions confirmed Zhang Qiu's suspicions.

Just as they were about to grab Ye Mei, Zhang Qiu suddenly kicked the car door, which slammed shut, hitting the two men hard.

The two men had just jumped out of the car and hadn't fully moved away from the door. The sudden impact almost killed them.

At this moment, Ye Mei was so shocked that she covered her mouth, staring in disbelief at what had just happened. (To be continued...)