Unconventional Center

Chapter 39: Five Words for a Car

The day after the match, Mei Yun and Chu Yu returned to Valencia. As soon as Chu Yu walked through the door, she launched into her usual teasing. “Hey, kid, how come you’ve hit rock bottom just a few days after I left?” “How am I doing so badly? Haven’t you seen the news? ‘Segunda División Rookie of the Year, Chinese Supernova,’ ‘Ten Goals in Four Games, Chinese Striker Shines in Spain’—the people of Valencia are practically ready to award me a Young Achiever Medal…” “Give me a break. When I was here, you scored a hat trick every single time. I’ve only missed one game, and your goal tally has already dropped by two-thirds,” Chu Yu said. “Seems you really can’t do without me.” “…So am I supposed to thank you for that? Why don’t I talk to our boss about hiring you as the club’s mascot?” Just as he mentioned the boss, Xiao Luo’s phone rang. “Boss, what’s up?” “The first episode’s been edited. Come over so we can go over it.” It sounded like Xiao Luo was already watching it; through the phone, Chu Yang could faintly hear comments like, “This is Ugo’s first goal for Valencia.” “Just send it to my email. I can’t be bothered to go out.” Although he didn’t play the entire game yesterday, the match still wore Chu Yang out completely. He was now slumped on the couch in a “Ge You slump,” looking completely listless. “I’ll have the driver come pick you up.” Xiao Luo hung up immediately after saying that, cutting the call short and to the point. “Your boss?” Mei Yun pulled a newly purchased long trench coat out of the suitcase she’d brought and motioned for Chu Yang to put it on. “Go ahead and try it on.” Chu Yang slipped on the trench coat, walked around the living room a couple of times while they adjusted it, and took the opportunity to explain the situation with *The Green Bacteria Magnifier*. “Making a show? You?” Chu Yu looked skeptical. “I’m just coming up with ideas—I’m not the one actually doing the work.” “Now that you put it that way, I believe you. When it comes to crazy ideas, no one can beat you,” Chu Yu said as she adjusted his collar. “It looks great. I told you it would fit perfectly. Mom insisted you’d lost weight and wanted to buy a size smaller.” The three of them chatted for a moment when Chu Yang’s phone rang—Xiao Luo’s driver had already arrived downstairs. Xiao Luo’s driver was clearly a former military man at first glance; he exuded a strong, no-nonsense aura—obviously the type who moonlights as a bodyguard—serious and stoic, with a deadly cool demeanor. The meeting took place in a conference room, with the same group of people as last time. Chu Yang greeted them, took his seat, and Yuman poured him a glass of water. All the equipment was already set up, and Tian Hong immediately projected the video onto the office screen using the projector. But as soon as the video started, Chu Yang frowned. “Stop.” “What’s wrong?” Tian Hong pressed the pause button; the Nirvana Media logo and tagline had just flashed across the screen, and the actual content hadn’t even started yet. “Who wrote this tagline?” Chu Yang pointed at the screen. “Nirvana Video, Your Online Home…” Xiao Luo replied, “At first, the Publicity Department at Nirvana Media was in charge of it, but I rejected that version. This current one was created by an advertising agency we hired. Is there a problem with it?” “If I may ask, how much did it cost?” Chu Yang glanced at the group, finally fixing his gaze on Xiao Luo. They seemed to read the words “rich and gullible” written all over Chu Yang’s expression. “Is it bad?” Xiao Luo didn’t answer Chu Yang’s question but asked one of his own. “It’s not bad—it’s tacky,” Chu Yang said bluntly. “It’s on par with what an average high school student would come up with.” “……” The group exchanged bewildered glances. The tagline was, after all, the video platform’s calling card—it had been finalized only after department heads held three consecutive days of meetings and a vote. They never expected it to be dismissed by Chu Yang with a single word: “tacky.” “Do you have a better one?” Xiao Luo asked. “What do you think?” “How good?” “Who are Nirvana Video’s biggest competitors?” “Glory and Leyi.” Two of the three giants in China’s online video platform industry. “I vaguely remember those two. I think their slogan was something like ‘Your Happiness, Our Goal,’ right? Well, they’re on par with ‘Online Home.’ ” Chen Ping cleared his throat, feeling both annoyed and a little guilty, because that advertising company was run by his brother-in-law, and his influence might well have played a part in them winning the bid back then. Xiao Luo didn’t say anything; he just picked up his phone and held it up toward Chu Yang. Chu Yang caught the hint. Not worried that Xiao Luo would renege on the deal, he simply texted him the tagline. A “ding” sounded as the text arrived. Xiao Luo opened it and stared at the five short characters for a good ten seconds before looking away. He then held the phone between his fingers, flipping it over and over, lost in thought. The others were dying of curiosity but didn’t dare ask; at the same time, they secretly admired Chu Yang’s boldness and confidence. Instead of commenting on Chu Yang’s text, Xiao Luo asked him directly, “It seems you haven’t bought a car yet?” Chu Yang sensed something was up and replied, “Yeah, I plan to buy one after the New Year.” Xiao Luo beckoned to Yuman, who hurried forward to receive her instructions. “Transfer that V80 that just came in yesterday to him,” Xiao Luo said softly, as if he were doing something completely trivial. Yuman paused for a moment, gave a brief nod, looked up at Chu Yang in surprise, then lowered her head and scribbled furiously in her little notebook. The remaining three couldn’t help but be secretly impressed. Chu Yang had sent the text right in front of them. It took only a few seconds—no matter how fast his fingers were, a message of just seven or eight characters couldn’t have taken that long. These guys had certainly seen their fair share of the world, but this was the first time they’d witnessed such a lavish display—trading a car for just a few characters. Tian Hong was fine—he only knew that the V80 was probably a car, and since Xiao Luo had specifically mentioned it, it must be something special. But Li Jia and Chen Ping, who knew exactly what class the V80 belonged to, felt much more conflicted. It was a newly released SUV from the Spanish luxury brand Diego. While popular within certain circles, its name recognition paled in comparison to internationally renowned brands whose logos featured bulls, horses, or other iconic symbols. However, once you crossed the border, owning one without an eight-figure net worth was simply unthinkable. Although this car was intended to serve as the club’s official vehicle, aside from picking up high-profile VIPs or for Xiao Luo’s personal use, it’s unlikely anyone else would even dare to entertain the idea of driving it. They were, of course, well aware of Xiao Luo’s style. While he was certainly generous, he was by no means wasteful or extravagant. The fact that he was willing to give away a car meant that Chu Yang was worth that much to him. They weren’t naive enough to believe that a few words from Chu Yang were worth hundreds of thousands of euros; Xiao Luo’s gesture was likely motivated by his regard for Chu Yang himself. It also indirectly suggested that Xiao Luo was quite satisfied with *The Soccer Magnifier* after previewing it, and the gift of the car carried a hint of rewarding merit in advance. Chu Yang didn’t feel unworthy of the gift; instead, he motioned for Tian Hong to continue, remaining calm to a fault. “Hello, viewers. Welcome to *Green Field Magnifier*. I’m Fang Wenyi, and I’ll be joining you every Friday at 7:30 p. m. This is our very first episode…” The show began with the host’s plain and simple opening remarks, then moved on to the main topic with an introduction to Valencia.