Chapter 160: Cheap Drones, a Luxurious Presidential Suite

Xia Shiqi certainly knew he was joking, and gave him a reproachful glare.

Suddenly, a mobile phone ringtone chimed.

Cheng Yao picked up his phone and saw it was a call from Guan Yiqiu. He answered it with a teasing tone, "Hello, Senior Sister, did you miss me this early in the morning?"

"Yes, Junior Brother, I even dreamed of you. Don't forget about tonight. You're a very busy man now, so it might not be so easy to make an appointment with you in the future."

Guan Yiqiu's voice was full of joy, and anyone could hear it.

"Not at all. If Senior Sister wants to see me, isn't that just a matter of minutes?"

Cheng Yao laughed and bantered with Guan Yiqiu, while Xia Shiqi sat quietly on the side as a spectator.

She understood that the person on the other end of the phone was not Cheng Yao's girlfriend.

Oh, so he's a playboy player!

He looked so decent and handsome on the surface, but deep down he was an old lech. Just listening to their conversation, Xia Shiqi could tell that he probably flirted around quite a bit in his daily life.

That Senior Sister was no proper woman either; what proper person talks like that?

Once he hung up the phone, Xia Shiqi sneered, "She's not even your girlfriend, yet you're flirting so brazenly. Cheng Yao, you're a scumbag!"

"I only flirt brazenly when she's not my girlfriend. In front of my girlfriend, I'm a very good boy. Besides, there's nothing wrong with a little harmless flirting over the phone."

After the witty banter, Cheng Yao explained, "She's a senior sister from the TV station, inviting me to an interview show tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Yes."

"Aren't you going to Shanghai?"

Xia Shiqi was curious as to why this fellow was tagging along to Shanghai.

"The slot starts at midnight, so I can just rush back in time to catch my girlfriend's competition."

"Your girlfriend is from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, a piano competition..."

Having nothing better to do that morning, Cheng Yao chatted with Xia Shiqi to pass the time. Director Yang had also called earlier to report that distributors and agents had already started cooperating with Midsummer Technology.

The phones at Midsummer Technology's marketing department were ringing off the hook. Many distributors wanted to source products from the factory, though the quantities were small—mostly just riding the hype to see if they could be the first to taste the forbidden fruit.

Midsummer was willing to cooperate since they were currently a small-scale factory.

Around ten o'clock, Zheng Yuechan finally got up and freshened up, though her mental state looked somewhat lacking.

"Aunt Zheng, are you alright?"

"I had a bit of insomnia."

Zheng Yuechan shook her head with a wry smile. "No more coffee in the evening from now on. Are things ready?"

"Ready."

"Then let's go. We won't have lunch in Nanjing; we'll eat at the crew's catering. I've already spoken with Director Guo."

Hearing the name Director Guo, Cheng Yao looked at Xia Shiqi and said, "Let me tell you, that Director Guo is an old scoundrel with the heart of a beast. You must be careful and make sure he doesn't hit on you with unwritten rules."

"Ah?"

Xia Shiqi was dumbfounded, completely clueless.

Zheng Yuechan gave him an exasperated glare and nodded slightly. "Guo really does have improper intentions, but at his age of forty or fifty, he wouldn't stoop to harassing a young girl like Shiqi. Just focus on your acting with peace of mind."

"Okay, got it."

Taking advantage of the moment while Zheng Yuechan was packing her things, Xia Shiqi hurriedly asked, "What's this all about?"

So, Cheng Yao recounted what had happened after the banquet that night.

Xia Shiqi felt nauseated just listening to it, and expressed her disgust, "He really is an old scoundrel! Good thing you were there that day, trying to prey on young tender grass like an old beast."

"Haha, you better not say that on set, otherwise Director Guo might vomit blood from anger."

In fact, Cheng Yao knew that even if he weren't there, Xia Shiqi wouldn't have left temporarily, and nothing would have happened anyway.

Even if Xia Shiqi wasn't around, Zheng Yuechan had spent so long in the entertainment industry without getting her reputation tarnished, which showed she had some methods of her own.

"I'm not an idiot. But if you hadn't said anything, I really wouldn't have guessed. Director Guo is a married man with a pretty good reputation in the industry. You truly can never judge a book by its cover."

Cheng Yao nodded lightly. But this was probably the norm in the entertainment industry.

Directors hitting on female celebrities—isn't that completely normal?

Even Cheng Yao thought it was normal, but he was ticked off that the guy actually dared to target Zheng Yuechan, so he fully intended to drag the man's name through the mud.

Xia Shiqi gave him a sidelong glance and whispered slyly, "By the way, you're Aunt Zheng's nephew, and I'm Aunt Zheng's most obedient and well-behaved artist. If there are any products to endorse in the future, you must remember to look after me."

"Sure, no problem. I actually have a project in the works right now, I'll look for you then, and you can come to Nanjing to hang out by the way."

"No problem, you can reach out anytime."

Xia Shiqi didn't forget to secretly pull strings for herself; even a mosquito's leg is still meat.

Now that she and Cheng Yao were friends, she naturally spoke her mind directly.

With everything packed, Cheng Yao didn't bring much, just a backpack with a few sets of clothes to change into.

Once they arrived in Shanghai, he would also need to prepare things for Zhang Ya's birthday. Where should the birthday venue be set? After much thought, Cheng Yao decided a hotel was the most suitable option.

He could negotiate with the hotel later and have them help decorate it. With money, anything is easy to accomplish; even a hero can be stumped by a penny.

He had been planning since October and came up with many ideas, all of which boiled down to spending a bit of money.

Arriving at the garage, Cheng Yao drove the Mercedes E-Class, with Zheng Yuechan and Xia Shiqi sitting in the back.

Zheng Yuechan wore a Louis Vuitton dress, looking dignified and sexy. She glanced at Cheng Yao in the driver's seat and massaged her brow.

What happened last night had left quite a lingering wave of emotion in her heart.

Although she kept restraining herself from thinking about it, seeing Cheng Yao brought it all rushing back.

"Aunt Zheng, if your complexion isn't good, go back and catch up on some sleep."

"Okay, thank you."

A wave of warmth washed over her, and Zheng Yuechan thought to herself how wonderful it would be if Cheng Yao really were her nephew.

Cheng Yao had no idea what she was thinking; otherwise, he would definitely have minded, because if he really were her biological nephew, that would be a disaster.

He had finally managed to create such great conditions now, to die of wrongful regret...

After about forty or fifty minutes, he parked the car at the South Railway Station.

After collecting their tickets and boarding the business class cabin, there were quite a few fans seeing them off at the station.

Yesterday's hype was fantastic, and Midsummer handled things very well, so there were even more fans than when they arrived—all belonging to Xia Shiqi's support squad.

Cheng Yao hadn't expected that there would even be fans for himself, though not many.

This indirectly proved that hype really had an amazing effect. He could pull off stunts like this more often in the future, conveniently providing a cover for his playboy behavior.

As a qualified scumbag, one must never leave behind any incriminating evidence.

The train started moving. Cheng Yao put on his headphones to listen to music while sending a message to Zhang Ya.

The venue for the Star Cup was an art center in Shanghai, jointly organized by the Shanghai Piano Association Committee, Shanghai Piano Co., Ltd., Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and other institutions. With numerous contestants and generous prizes.

Zhang Ya's performance was scheduled for four in the afternoon, and they could head straight to dinner right after the competition ended.

This was merely a regional preliminary, and competitions were taking place across various regional divisions as well. The national competition would follow right after the Star Cup, which the country paid quite a bit of attention to.

Cheng Yao wasn't an insider in that circle, so he didn't fully understand it.

After a two-hour train ride, once they arrived in Shanghai, Zheng Yuechan and Xia Shiqi boarded an Alphard at Hongqiao and were picked up by the crew's staff.

As for Cheng Yao, he hailed a Didi ride and headed straight to a drone rental location in Shanghai.

Just before one in the afternoon, he arrived at a drone rental company in Lujiazui, located on the twenty-sixth floor of a financial building.

Looking out through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the building, the scenery was prosperous, dazzling, and intoxicating, though without the atmosphere and halo-like embellishments of nighttime during the day.

Entering the shop, Cheng Yao looked at the front desk. "Hello, how do you rent drones here?"

"Drones? That depends on how many you want to rent and for how long."

"I might be renting quite a few. Is your person in charge around?"

"Yes, let me get in touch with him for you."

"Great."

A moment later, a middle-aged man wearing a cap walked over and said politely, "Hello, hello, my name is Ru Feihang. What should I call you, Boss?"

"Cheng Yao."

"Come, let's talk inside. Xiao Wang, pour a cup of tea."

Sitting down on the sofa, Cheng Yao took a tour of the company; they really had an abundance of drones, and he familiarized himself with the situation.

Ru Feihang asked, "Boss Cheng, what do you plan to use these drones for?"

"Throwing a birthday party for my girlfriend."

"Oh, a birthday party! We have quite a few people renting them here. You young people sure are romantic. Some people even rent them to propose near the Bund at night, very common. Roughly how many do you need?"

"How many would it take to make it look impressive and have a great visual impact?"

Ru Feihang smiled and said, "Renting is cheap, thirty-five yuan per drone per day. Buying them is a different story, starting at a minimum of five thousand per drone, but you probably won't need that. For a girlfriend's birthday, it depends on your budget. There's no upper limit to this stuff; with money, you can create any kind of grand display."

Cheng Yao roughly understood. He hadn't expected renting to be so cheap, but labor and performance fees were expensive—roughly coming out to about five hundred per drone all-in. Truly a game for the wealthy.

Seeing Cheng Yao laid his cards on the table, Ru Feihang suggested setting up 520 drones, signifying "520" which meant "I love you" in internet slang, complete with sky subtitles and more...

The performance would feature drones drawing "Happy Birthday" and the heroine's name across the sky, maximizing the visual effect.

Ru Feihang also brought out some previously recorded videos. Most of the ones Cheng Yao looked at were weddings, where they could even form wedding rings and other intricate shapes—flashy and filled with the rich aroma of RMB.

"That looks great. Can you really pull off this effect?"

"Guaranteed. If we can't pull it off, we won't charge you a dime."

Since the other party was straightforward, Cheng Yao was too, paying the full amount of 260,000 yuan upfront, which included all associated fees.

By the time he left the rental company, it was already half past one, and Cheng Yao headed straight to the hotel.

When in Shanghai, options like The Peninsula or The Ritz-Carlton were the go-to choices. Having stayed at The Peninsula a few times before, it was his top priority.

Entering the hotel lobby, it was resplendent and magnificent.

Setting up the birthday celebration right here meant that once the birthday ended, they wouldn't even need to go out for the night.

"Sir, did you make a reservation online?"

For globally renowned luxury hotel brands like this, the service attitude was beyond reproach. Cheng Yao inquired, "What is the current price for the presidential suite?"

"The presidential suite is currently priced at 150,000."

What kind of experience was a 150,000-yuan presidential suite like? Cheng Yao had never stayed in one, but he had heard about it. They said it was like a palace, though he wasn't sure if that was true.

This was the world of the wealthy. When he visited Sanya and stayed at Atlantis without booking a presidential suite, he could make up for that regret now.

In the future, there would still be plenty of opportunities.