Yes, indeed. I need my elder sister to help me.

"Huh."

Meeting Qin Yanan's peculiar gaze, Chen Che picked up his cup with a hopeful look and asked, "So, what are we now?"

Just now, Chen Che had referred to them as a married couple. To his surprise, Qin Yanan hadn't refuted it.

What kind of mood swing was Sister Nan having again? How could she alternate between being affectionate and icy cold?

Seeing his expectant yet astonished expression, Qin Yanan didn't quite understand. She smoothed back her hair and asked in confusion, "Now what?"

"Our relationship, of course." Chen Che said softly.

Hearing this, Qin Yanan paused. Her alluring red lips slowly chewed on the traditional-style prawn meat. After a moment, she said, "When we are outside, call me elder sister. I will tell others that you are a friend's younger brother."

"And what about inside?" Chen Che's perspective was rather novel.

Qin Yanan had assumed he would have a strong sense of self-esteem and put on that typical "I am a supreme dragon king" expression.

"Depends on how you behave."

"What does that mean?"

"It means nothing."

Chen Che's relentless questioning left Qin Yanan speechless. A flash of cinnabar red swept across her cheeks and vanished instantly.

For some reason, Qin Yanan had rarely entertained such thoughts before, but ever since she was sweet-talked by Chen Che... she found herself starting to look forward to the next time.

However, she couldn't bring herself to say such things aloud. Anyway, Chen Che could figure it out on his own; she wasn't in a hurry.

"Oh."

The waiter served another dish, and Chen Che picked up a piece of curry crab and began to gnaw on it directly with his hands.

Seeing him like this, Qin Yanan found it a bit incomprehensible yet acceptable, so she smoothly changed the topic. "A young man should be open and generous. You should still drive that car; at worst, just consider it leased from me."

"Okay."

This crab meat was truly delicious. Chen Che happily finished gnawing on a claw, sucked on the curry lingering on his fingers, and smiled, "By the way, I also like the Maybach S680..."

"What are you doing!"

Qin Yanan had been taken aback by Chen Che's eating manners, but upon hearing his words, she couldn't help but smile before putting on a stern little face again. "Are you treating me like an ATM?"

She knew that Chen Che would take advantage and push his luck. Without setting some conditions, she truly feared he would let success go to his head.

"No, no, no. I was just expressing myself, sharing my hobbies to deepen our bond." Chen Che shook his head like a rattle-drum. He was merely trying to liven up the atmosphere and genuinely didn't have that kind of motive.

Seeing him like this, Qin Yanan's chilled face softened again. She looked at Chen Che, who was chewing voraciously, and asked, "By the way, I've actually always wanted to ask you, has it really ended just like that between you and that girl?"

"Yeah. Actually, long-distance relationships are just like this. Once communication breaks down, it easily heads toward the finish line."

Chen Che's expression remained completely unfluctuated, speaking of the matter almost from a god's perspective while continuing to eat and drink.

Qin Yanan had no idea he was a time-traveler, so she was somewhat led astray and felt bewildered. "Then you told me that day that you really liked her."

She had wanted to ask this question for a long time; she didn't wish for Chen Che to be a two-faced person. Well, it wasn't just her. Probably no woman would want a man connected to her to be two-faced.

Faced with this question, Chen Che didn't panic in the slightest. Without even pausing his chewing, he replied, "Didn't I just say? The hardest part of a long-distance relationship is the breakdown of communication. I was drunk that day. When I said I liked her, it was more about reminiscing about the way she used to be, whereas at that time, communication between her and me had already broken down and the feelings had faded."

It really was like that. For a long distance relationship to successfully enter the halls of marriage, besides material stability, communication was paramount. Why do classmates, friends, and even family members gradually drift apart? Simply because they lose touch with each other's lives.

"Do feelings fade when communication breaks down?" Qin Yanan lowered her gaze and asked softly.

"Most likely, yes."

Chen Che didn't want to continue this topic. It was enough that he had made her understand that there were no lingering feelings between him and Li Yao. Talking about this could go on for three days and three nights without end.

After eating another crab claw, Chen Che looked at the beauty in front of him and summarized this current skirmish.

Qin Yanan was a person warm on the inside and cold on the exterior. Although her outward appearance was that of a high-ranking, aloof, and icy beauty, her personality and inner self held a trace of *tsundere* and intellectual charm, along with occasional moments of sensuality.

She was both an elder sister and a younger sister.

She was like an elder sister because of her intellectual gentleness and her calm, domineering side.

She was like a younger sister because of her proud, coy demeanor, and at times, she could be rather foolish.

Judging by Qin Yanan's performance today, her words clearly revealed a desire for him to pursue her.

And yet she still wanted to put on airs of reserve.

Now that she preferred to keep their relationship under wraps, Chen Che was quite happy to oblige—who doesn't enjoy a bit of ambiguity?

As for being a substitute for that other deceased young man, he didn't feel any particular way about it; why bicker with someone who was no longer in this world?

Besides, he wasn't exactly a saint himself. Before making demands of others... it was necessary to first examine one's own character.

Chen Che was wide awake; Qin Yanan's childhood sweetheart was gone, but his own childhood sweetheart was still alive... If anyone had the right to be angry, it should be Sister Nan.

Now that Chen Che and Qin Yanan had established their future interaction mode and tone, it was time to discuss some serious matters.

"I need to make a trip home tomorrow," Chen Che remarked casually.

Hearing this, Qin Yanan nodded. Seeing that he didn't proactively elaborate, she asked out of curiosity, "How long will you be back?"

"About a week or so."

Chen Che had bought off people at Bangyuan Real Estate, and it was time to return and initiate the third step of his plan.

A week's absence was not an issue for Qin Yanan. She let out a soft "oh" and said indifferently, "After you get back, will you still work at your previous place? Is there anything I can help you with?"

An hour ago, Chen Che hadn't understood why she was treating him so well, but now he understood.

He didn't dwell on it and simply treated Qin Yanan like a caring older sister, speaking without any pressure: "Speaking of which, I might actually need your help. Do you know any programming experts?"

"Huh?"

The topic shifted too abruptly. Possessing a touch of intellectual grace, Qin Yanan was momentarily stunned, her face full of incomprehension as she asked, "What do you need those for?"

Sincerity! One must be sincere.

Chen Che didn't try to be clever with such matters. After wiping his hands with a napkin, he said with a serious expression, "I rented an office space today and had an agency handle the paperwork. I'm planning to start my own business, but right now I'm a lone commander and I need manpower."

So Chen Che had already planned everything out: go handle matters in Tianjin first, and then return to Beijing a week later to recruit soldiers and horses.

However, plans could never keep up with changes.

Now that he knew Qin Yanan was a wealthy benefactor... how could he let her sit idle without utilizing her?

"You're going to start a business?" Qin Yanan was somewhat shocked, constrained by her preconceived impression... she had thought Chen Che only knew how to rely on petty cleverness.

"Yeah, I need my big sister to help me."

On the path of living off a woman, Chen Che did so with absolute relish, completely devoid of any misplaced self-esteem.

Self-esteem? Once you become powerful, it naturally follows; successful people are always right in what they say.

"Can you tell me what you plan to do?"

Qin Yanan suddenly looked very interested, a flicker of anticipation and pleasant surprise replacing her previous expression as she looked at Chen Che.

Seeing this, Chen Che didn't hide anything and said, "I'm going to build a coffee brand, which requires developing a big data platform, preferably one integrated with experienced professionals."

"A coffee brand..."

Currently, Luckin had established 500 stores nationwide, but Lu's phase at this point was still living off his past achievements. His funding came entirely from club circles and hadn't yet gained full external recognition. It wouldn't be until after the autumn of this year, when Lu secured US investments, that Luckin would embark on its subsidy-driven expansion path.

Luckin at this moment was merely beginning to show its potential, and Chen Che's opponent had just barely crawled out of the swaddling clothes.

Seeing Qin Yanan lost in thought, Chen Che cast aside any unwarranted pride and explained without hesitation:

"I want to do 'Internet + Coffee'. I need a big data platform to help me integrate all data and information from the front-end to the back-end. Users will be able to see the production status online in real-time, including preparation time and delivery time. I call it 'smart coffee retail'."

"Oh!"

Hearing these words, Qin Yanan's pupils contracted slightly. As she looked at Chen Che, she no longer restrained her astonishment.

At present, apart from a few platforms like JD.com providing real-time dynamic updates, things that would become commonplace in later generations—such as tracking where the delivery rider was or when the food would be ready—were still in the exploratory stage for everyone.

It wasn't until 2019 that Meituan pushed out intelligent perception combined with delivery mapping, achieving more accurate indoor and outdoor positioning, POI+AOI profiling, and routing algorithms.

That's right, Chen Che intended to develop his own app, and in the future, he would certainly sell pastries and other items as well.

Simultaneously, he would venture into WeChat mini-programs, funneling customer traffic from all channels into the app.

As for Meituan and others, they would only be his third choice—the lower limit of his strategy, not the upper limit; he couldn't afford to put the cart before the horse.

"Alright, I'll invest."

"Huh?"

"No... wait..."