Acquisition of the Song and Dance Troupe

In the afternoon at the library, sunlight spilled through the massive glass curtain wall onto the unpainted wooden desks, with fine dust motes floating in the air.

Xu Xinran's appearance in such a setting seemed somewhat out of place.

Amidst a crowd of college students wearing puffer jackets and hoodies, carrying backpacks, with faces either completely makeup-free or looking slightly exhausted, she stood out like a peacock wandering into a flock of chickens, almost excessively conspicuous.

She wore an impeccably tailored cream-white cashmere coat. Beneath the open lapels was a dark gray professional skirt suit.

The tight pencil skirt outlined the voluptuous curves unique to a mature woman, her legs wrapped in highly textured sheer black tights, and her feet slipped into a pair of seven-centimeter stiletto heels.

As she walked down the carpeted corridor, the faint click-clack sound seemed to step right onto people's hearts.

Su Bai raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.

This woman was long past college age. She usually frequented press conferences and high-end cocktail parties; why would she come to the Jiangnan University library?

Of course, according to the information Xu Xinran had revealed to Su Bai during their online chats, her current job as a reporter was basically in a semi-retired state.

Therefore, having time to stroll around a university wasn't entirely strange.

It was just that her overly mature and sexy image, compared to the green, youthful girls of Jiangnan University in the library, looked like they belonged on two completely different layers of reality.

Perhaps Su Bai's gaze was too direct, or perhaps beautiful women possessed a natural sensitivity to being watched.

Xu Xinran, who was looking for something in front of the bookshelves, suddenly turned her head, her gaze colliding accurately with Su Bai's.

The moment she saw Su Bai, a flash of surprise crossed her exquisitely made-up face, followed immediately by a meaningful smile.

She closed the book in her hand and, striding on those soul-captivating long legs, walked straight over.

"What a coincidence, Young Master Su."

Xu Xinran walked up to the table and lowered her voice, but that magnetic tone unique to a mature, older woman still made several boys nearby, who were memorizing vocabulary, unconsciously raise their heads.

"What young master? Compared to you, how can I be called a young master..." Su Bai teased. "How does the great Reporter Xu have the time to inspect our school's work? Could there be some earth-shattering case hidden in the library that requires your undercover investigation?"

It had to be said, Xu Xinran was truly captivating today.

That aura, a perfect blend of intellect and sex appeal, was something the little girls who hadn't yet left the ivory tower simply did not possess.

"Nothing major. I have a friend who teaches at your school. Today is her birthday, and I happened to be passing by, so I dropped in to see her, and casually... experience the academic atmosphere of the university."

As she spoke, her gaze fell upon Chen Yusheng beside him.

At this moment, Chen Yusheng also looked up. Looking at the woman with a powerful aura before her, out of a woman's intuition, she subconsciously straightened her back, a hint of wariness entering her eyes.

"And this is..." Xu Xinran asked, despite already knowing the answer.

This girl was the intelligence master cooperating with Su Bai, whom Su Bai had already consulted for many things.

To say she didn't know of Chen Yusheng's existence was absolutely impossible. This act of asking while knowing the answer was clearly another attempt to tease Su Bai.

After all, Su Bai had witnessed this woman's special fetish; she enjoyed the thrill of poaching Su Bai's affection from his other female confidantes.

Hmm...

Su Bai had no choice but to feign seriousness: "Chen Yusheng, my girlfriend."

"Oh—so this is the legendary genius female scholar."

Xu Xinran meaningfully dragged out her syllables and extended her hand. "Hello, I'm Xu Xinran, Su Bai's friend and his collaborator in the media sector."

"Hello."

Chen Yusheng shook her hand politely but let go very quickly.

She could feel the aggressiveness radiating from this woman, that desire for control typical of mature women, which made her very uncomfortable.

Furthermore, Su Bai had mentioned this woman to her a few times, noting that her family background was formidable and her personal abilities were very strong. There was no doubt that in terms of talent, Chen Yusheng was naturally excellent and feared no one. The problem was that Xu Xinran was in the humanities; they weren't in the same field, making it hard to determine a clear winner between them.

Objectively speaking, Su Bai also needed her to provide help on many levels. Actually, it was similar to Xia, but it was just unknown how far Su Bai had secretly gone with this female reporter in private. Had they gone as deeply as he had with Xia?

Hard to say.

Chen Yusheng felt that given Su Bai's stats and boundless energy, it wouldn't be surprising no matter how many female confidantes he had.

"It seems your relationship is truly good."

Xu Xinran withdrew her hand, her gaze circling the two of them before teasing, "You even stick together to review for final exams. Although there are many people in this library, I can see the air around you two is pink. It's truly enviable to have common ground."

"Is it strange for couples to have common ground?" Su Bai asked in return. "If there's nothing to talk about, then what's the point of dating?"

"That's not necessarily true."

Xu Xinran shook her head gently, a sarcastic curve forming at the corner of her mouth. "In all my years as a reporter, I've interviewed people from all walks of life and seen countless couples. Some share a bed but have different dreams, some are seemingly united but divided in heart, some are purely just making do to get by, and some even... scheme against each other more ruthlessly than enemies."

"Couples like you two, who only have each other in your eyes, who can sit quietly together reading books, truly harmonious... in this restless society, they are really too rare."

At this point, she seemed a bit emotional. A trace of imperceptible loneliness flashed in her eyes, but she quickly recovered her astute and capable demeanor.

"Alright, I won't disturb you two lovebirds' sweet time."

Xu Xinran looked at her watch. "However, Su Bai, I have a few words I'd like to discuss with you alone, is it convenient? About... business."

She deliberately emphasized the word "business."

Although Chen Yusheng was somewhat reluctant, she also knew that Su Bai had a lot of serious matters outside, and this woman did look like she was here to talk about official business.

"Go ahead, don't take too long." Chen Yusheng put her earphones back on, pretending not to care, but her ears were perked right up.

Su Bai smiled, stood up, and followed Xu Xinran to the library's terrace area.

There was hardly anyone here, only the howling cold winter wind blowing.

Xu Xinran pulled her coat tighter around herself, turned around, leaned back against the railing, and looked at Su Bai.

"Speak, what's the important matter?"

"Not exactly an important matter, just adding a little bonus to that private club you're building."

Xu Xinran didn't beat around the bush and cut straight to the chase. "I received news that a commercial dance troupe affiliated with the tertiary industry of the Provincial Song and Dance Theater has recently run into trouble."

"A commercial dance troupe? What kind of trouble?"

"The boss got involved in an illegal fundraising case and was arrested. Now the troupe is in a state of insolvency. The books are full of holes, and venue rent and employee salaries have been in arrears for several months."

Xu Xinran narrated in a flat tone, "However, the foundation of this troupe is excellent. The twenty or so dancers in the troupe were all carefully selected from major art academies. They have solid basic skills, and their looks and figures are top-notch. Originally, they took the high-end commercial performance route. They can dance anything—classical, modern, jazz, and even... they've choreographed some rather avant-garde immersive plays."

When saying the word "avant-garde," Xu Xinran gave Su Bai an "if you know what I mean" look.

"Right now, everyone in the troupe is panicking, facing disbandment. It would be such a pity if those girls were scattered. Some might change careers, and to less decent professions at that... Oh, you know, they don't have any other survival skills. They might just end up doing group live streams. Nowadays, very few group streamers can land safely; most are just waiting for a sugar daddy."

"So, I thought of you."

Xu Xinran took a step forward, the tips of her high heels almost touching Su Bai's shoes. She looked up at him, "Doesn't that private club of yours happen to need a performance team? If you acquire this troupe as a whole and keep them in the club, they can practice normally, perform when there are guests, and even... put on some customized private shows."

"Not only would this elevate the class of your club, but it's also... a massive recycling of wasted resources."

Hearing this, Su Bai's eyes lit up slightly.

This was indeed a good idea.

His club was built so large; how could it only have hardware facilities without software services?

He had previously considered whether to hire people from outside, but how could hired help be as easy to use as his own people?

Moreover, an exclusive girl group made up of over twenty top-tier dancers...

Tsk tsk, just thinking about that scene made Su Bai feel that this business was doable.

In the future, in that massive underwater suite, he could have them perform a water sleeve dance, or a hula dance by the heated pool...

This was the life a true tycoon should have!

"Sounds good."

Su Bai nodded, "However, taking over this kind of mess should be quite troublesome, right? Debts, contract disputes, and all that."

"Trouble is a given, but you have me."

Xu Xinran smiled confidently, "I'm very familiar with the troupe's current temporary person in charge, and I have connections in both the media and judicial circles. If you're interested, I can help you negotiate. We can use the lowest price to acquire this troupe clean and clear."

"So kind of you?"

Su Bai looked at her with a half-smile, "Since when did the great Reporter Xu switch to doing charity? Or is it... you want a cut from it?"

"As for money, having enough to spend is fine with me."

Xu Xinran extended a finger and gently poked Su Bai's chest, "I'll help you settle this matter, and in return... I want you to take me out to dinner alone."

"Just dinner?"

"And a date, of course."

Xu Xinran's voice became somewhat soft and sweet, her eyes turning hazy, "A date like normal couples have. Watching a movie, shopping, taking me home... and then..."

She didn't continue, but those watery peach-blossom eyes already explained everything.

Looking at the charming woman in front of him, Su Bai couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.

This woman was truly persistent.

From the time they met until now, she seemed to have always been thinking about one thing—having a child with him.

He didn't know how her brain was wired.

She was clearly a successful, highly discerning modern independent woman, yet she had an almost paranoid concept of "eugenics."

In her eyes, a male like Su Bai, whose looks, IQ, and physique were all at the peak of humanity, was simply a walking "perfect gene pool."

Rather than finding an unpleasing man to marry and have kids with, or blindly choosing from a sperm bank, it was better to find Su Bai.

She could enjoy the process and get perfect offspring; it was simply killing two birds with one stone.

"Great Reporter Xu," Su Bai shook his head helplessly, "Do you really want to... have something happen between us that badly?"

"Not have something happen."

Xu Xinran corrected, her body almost pressed against Su Bai's, her breath smelling like orchids, "It's to create something."

"What? Is Young Master Su afraid? Or... are you afraid that little girlfriend of yours will get jealous?"

"To be honest, the girls around you aren't really suited to have children right now, and you probably can't bear to let them do it for the time being, right? I happen to be at the right age. You know my family situation, so I won't be after your money either."

Xu Xinran said slowly.

This girl always had a calm demeanor of calculating pros and cons. Su Bai wasn't really used to this situation; he preferred a relatively passionate romantic atmosphere like with Sheng Sheng or Senior Sister Lu.

No, it wasn't romance. She wasn't even thinking about romance; her thoughts were purely based on practicality.

After thinking about it, Su Bai decided to agree first. After all, this song and dance troupe was really not bad, and relying on various system functions, Su Bai could also control the microscopic aspects of his body... well, you know.

It wasn't like Xu Xinran could successfully get what she wanted just because she wanted to do that with him.

Nowadays, when Su Bai usually discussed "academics" with his female confidantes, he controlled it casually according to his own wishes. And according to the system's scan, Xu Xinran was a pure, zero-experience Clown Girl. Could she really forcefully insta-kill Su Bai?

"Alright, you handle this matter. If it's done, I'll treat you to dinner."

"It's a deal."

Xu Xinran smiled in satisfaction, stood on her tiptoes, and left a perfume-scented kiss mark on his cheek.

"Wait for my good news."

"..."

"Hehe, does this feel a bit like a couple?"

"...There's really no need."

"Haha, just kidding."

After saying that, she adjusted her coat, restored her dignified and intellectual reporter appearance, and turned to leave the terrace in her high heels.

Watching her retreating back, Su Bai touched his cheek and sighed helplessly.

These days, a man being too excellent was also a kind of trouble.

Not only did he have to deal with the pure campus belle at school, but he also had to handle this kind of ravenous workplace mature woman.

However...

Thinking of the exclusive dance troupe he was about to get, Su Bai's mood improved again.

When he returned to his seat in the library, Chen Yusheng was staring at him.

"Done talking?"

"Yeah, done talking."

"Why is your face red?"

"The wind outside was strong, it blew it red."

"Then why is there an extra red mark on your neck?"

"A mosquito bite."

"Where would a mosquito come from in the dead of winter!"

"In a scholarly place like the library, isn't it quite normal to breed a few cultured mosquitoes?"

"..."

Chen Yusheng was so angry she stomped on his foot hard under the table.

But Su Bai just held her hand, smiling like a complete scoundrel.

At this moment, Chen Yusheng actually felt a bit fortunate in her heart... Reporter Xu secretly kissing Su Bai was a minor thing; it was good enough that they didn't find a hidden corner to do something even more outrageous.

As expected of the Big White Goose, his charm was truly overflowing.