Chapter 111: The Li Corporation

The top headline on the Tencent News Sports Channel read: “2017 National College Basketball League: Top Ten Teams Crowned; Bottom-Dweller Becomes Biggest Dark Horse.”

“We made the headlines!” Chen Yuxing excitedly waved his phone in front of his teammates.

“You’ve been on the front page three times already. Is it really that exciting?” Geng Haoshi said indifferently.

“The previous times were just on the National College Basketball League section of the Tencent Sports Channel homepage. This time, it’s on the main homepage of Tencent News Sports Channel. Obviously, this is way cooler!” Chen Yu explained, his face brimming with excitement.

Moreover, the previous headlines almost always featured Geng Haoshi, the so-called “super rookie,” as the main focus. None of the other members of the Tiancheng Institute of Technology basketball team had been officially mentioned.

Although this headline didn't mention the other players either, at least it was a report centered on the entire team.

“Senior, our lovely sister has given you all a day off tomorrow. Do you have any plans to go somewhere?” Li Shishi clung to Geng Haoshi’s arm, her face full of anticipation.

After the preliminary rounds of the National College Basketball League finished, there would be a five-day rest period. Yu Manman granted the entire team a day off tomorrow, but the following four days would be dedicated to training and tactical preparation for the final stage of the league.

“One day’s not enough to go anywhere far, right?” Geng Haoshi replied to Li Shishi, then turned to Yang Mimi. “Mimi, is there anywhere you want to go?”

Yang Mimi sat quietly, seemingly lost in thought.

“Mimi?” Seeing no response, Geng Haoshi waved his hand in front of her eyes.

He wondered to himself: lately, Mimi always seems absent-minded and often lost in her own world. Should I ask her about it?

“Oh… what is it?” Yang Mimi snapped out of her reverie, still a bit dazed.

“Senior Mimi, the senior is asking if you want to go anywhere tomorrow,” Li Shishi tilted her head, puzzled. “Why do you always seem so distracted lately?”

Geng Haoshi had been hesitating about whether to ask Yang Mimi, but now that Li Shishi had done it for him, it saved him from the awkwardness.

Yang Mimi pointed to herself. “Me? Am I?”

“Senior Mimi, is it that… time of the month?” Li Shishi leaned close to Mimi’s ear and lowered her voice.

“No!” Yang Mimi laughed awkwardly. “Maybe it’s because of the final exams coming up, so I’ve been a bit… heh heh.”

“Senior Mimi, you’re so brilliant. What’s there to worry about?” Li Shishi said obediently.

Indeed, as Li Shishi said, Yang Mimi’s academic performance was among the best in the entire school. Not only was she the top beauty of the Huayu Design Institute, but also its intellectual pillar. For all the boys in the university, she was the embodiment of Athena—both stunning and wise.

Yang Mimi nodded with a smile in response.

“I’m supposed to play along, but I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything…” At that moment, Li Shishi’s phone rang, and she got up to take the call.

When Li Shishi returned, she smiled brightly at everyone. “I have good news! My dad is planning to make you all the ambassadors for Li Group’s basketball shoe brand this season!”

The team was momentarily stunned, but Zhu Di was the first to react. “Wasn’t there already a spokesperson for Li Group?”

“That was for the entire sports brand under Li Group, led by the senior,” Li Shishi explained. “This time, it’s just for the basketball shoe brand.”

“Heh, the 'second generation' alone is the face of the whole Li Group sports line, and we’re just the ambassadors for this season’s basketball shoes. No wonder the future son-in-law of Li Group gets such special treatment!” Zhu Di wasn’t jealous, just teasing Geng Haoshi.

With Yang Mimi sitting beside him, Geng Haoshi desperately wanted to shut Zhu Di’s mouth.

Li Shishi, hearing Zhu Di’s words, tightened her grip on Geng Haoshi’s arm and said haughtily, “Of course!”

Geng Haoshi froze, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. Yang Mimi looked at him quietly, her eyes full of reluctant tenderness.

The next morning, all the players of the Tiancheng Institute of Technology basketball team, along with three basketball department managers, boarded the team’s exclusive luxury bus and headed to the Li Group headquarters located in the most bustling area of the East District.

“This is it?!” “It’s unbelievably tall!” “Could there be gods living on the top floor?!” Standing at the foot of the Li Group headquarters building, the players were awestruck by the seemingly endless floors.

“Li Group headquarters is 366 stories tall, the tallest building in the East District,” Xu Gaofeng adjusted his glasses, still with that air of erudition.

“366 floors?!” The team was completely stunned.

“Don’t you guys watch the news?” Lin Ling looked down on them, unimpressed by their naïveté. “When Li Group headquarters was completed, it made front-page news several times. You really didn’t catch any of that?”

The players exchanged smiles, thinking to themselves: There’s too many games to play and short videos to watch; who’s got time for the news?

“Let’s go inside!” Li Shishi linked arms with Geng Haoshi and led the large group grandly into the building.

Seeing the lavish interior of the Li Group headquarters, Zhu Di swallowed hard and widened his eyes. “Judging by this, just building one floor must’ve cost tens of millions! For 366 floors… that’s billions!”

“It’s said that the construction cost of Li Group headquarters alone was a hundred billion when it was first completed. Add the later renovations, and it’s far beyond that,” Xu Gaofeng added, pushing up his glasses as if nothing escaped him.

“More than a hundred billion?!” Zhu Di’s eyes grew even wider. “If I could make a hundred million in my lifetime, I’d die happy! A hundred billion would let me die happy a hundred times over!”

The others nodded vigorously in agreement.

Geng Haoshi nodded too, thinking: If I can make ten million, I’d wake up laughing every day. A hundred million is just a dream for now.

Soon, Li Shishi brought them to the basketball sports brand department on the 116th floor.

“You’ll be shooting the promotional video for this season’s new basketball shoes here,” Li Shishi said cheerfully, like a tour guide.

As she was enthusiastically explaining, a short but authoritative-looking middle-aged man approached her...