Chapter 95: A Sensation [Seventh update in the explosive recommendation surge!]

The King of Fighters Ninety-Eight Tournament approval papers arrived from Jiangnan the very next day. Originally, the bureau of culture had intended to set up a special team to supervise the event, but Jiangnan later canceled it, saying it was out of trust in Yang Tian. In truth, Yang Tian knew very well that Jiangnan was doing Zhang Youcai a favor. He understood that behind this gaming competition stood Zhang Youcai’s son, Zhang Zhi, and although the young man kept a low profile, anyone who knew Zhang Youcai would show him respect.

Once the approval papers were in hand, Yang Tian immediately set the project in motion. He had Zhou Bing and Ah Gui post tournament notices at all eight branches of the Red Rain Internet Cafe, and he also distributed leaflets throughout the streets and alleys of Binhai City, explaining the rules and the various prizes.

To attract even more applicants, the tournament also established fifteen Merit Awards. These fifteen people would be drawn at random during the award ceremony of the grand finals, each receiving an annual membership card for the Red Rain Internet Cafe game club.

According to Yang Tian’s plan, registration would begin at midnight on May first and end at midnight on May thirty-first. The group stage for the eight divisions would run from June first to June fifteenth, the quarterfinals would be held on June twentieth, the semifinals on June twenty-fifth, and the final on June thirtieth. A grand award ceremony, along with a friendly exhibition match, would take place on July first.

Less than three days after the announcement went up, the entire city of Binhai was in an uproar. First, because the competition featured The King of Fighters, the favorite of gaming fans; and second, because the prizes were extremely generous. There were even lofty titles such as Supreme King of Fighters, Great King of Fighters, and Little King of Fighters. Fans who adored the game went mad over it, and the nine registration sites across the city were packed every day.

Seeing this, Yang Tian secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had set the group stage to last half a month; otherwise, with so many people, the schedule would have been far too tight.

“Brother Tian, you’re back!”

During the May Day holiday, Yang Tian went home for a visit. While seeing Yang Bao and his wife, as well as Yang Xueling, he also drafted the application to contract Daliushu Village and the surrounding land.

On May seventh, after his break, Yang Tian returned and went straight to the Red Rain Internet Cafe to check on the registration for the tournament. As soon as he reached the entrance of the headquarters, Zhou Bing came out to greet him with a broad smile.

“Anything happen while I was away?” Yang Tian asked with a grin as he shoved a bag of peaches he had picked from Daliushu Village into Zhou Bing’s hands.

“Nope. With me here, what could happen?” Zhou Bing took the peaches, not even bothering to wash them before biting into them with loud crunches. He was so busy stuffing his mouth that he could barely breathe, yet still laughed heartily. “But Brother Tian, this time we really struck it rich. Guess how many people signed up in these seven days?”

“Three thousand.” Yang Tian smiled faintly.

“Aiya, Brother Tian, you’re amazing. How did you guess so accurately? As of this morning, there are already three thousand and eighty people registered! At this rate, we’re set. Three thousand in seven days—by the end of the month that’s over ten thousand people. Just the registration fees alone will bring in four or five hundred thousand!” Zhou Bing laughed so hard he could hardly close his mouth.

“Dream on. By the end of registration, there’ll probably be just over six thousand.” Yang Tian smiled calmly.

“How could that be? Brother Tian, how did you figure that? There were three thousand in just seven days, and there are still more than twenty days left. How could it only go up by another three thousand? I don’t believe it!” Zhou Bing said, looking thoroughly baffled.

“Let me put it this way: how many bowls of rice can you eat at noon every day?” Yang Tian asked with a smile and a shake of his head.

“Three bowls. Why? What does that have to do with eating?” Zhou Bing scratched his head, even more confused.

“How long does it take you to finish the first bowl?” Yang Tian went on, smiling.

“Two or three minutes, I guess!” Zhou Bing counted on his fingers and answered foolishly.

“And the second bowl?”

“Five or six minutes, maybe.” Zhou Bing replied slowly, as if something had just occurred to him.

“And the third? After you finish the third bowl, can you still manage a fourth?” Yang Tian patted Zhou Bing on the shoulder and then turned to leave.

“Oh, I get it now. The number of people in Binhai who play The King of Fighters is limited. It’s just like those three bowls of rice. At first, a lot of people signed up, but later the pace slowed down more and more. Brother Tian, I understand now, ha ha!” Zhou Bing exclaimed, suddenly enlightened, and laughed uproariously.

“Ha ha, Yang Tian, you’re back?” The moment Zhang Zhi saw Yang Tian, he, too, burst into loud laughter.

“It’s only been a week and three thousand people have signed up. Is that really enough to make you this happy?” Yang Tian said lightly, though inside he was just as excited. After all, this was a large-scale gaming event organized on the foundation of the Red Rain Internet Cafe. To attract so many people in such a short time was proof enough that they had succeeded.

“What makes me happy isn’t that. It’s that the Red Rain Internet Cafe has really become famous. This gaming competition is truly sensational! Now, when people in Binhai City hear the name Red Rain Internet Cafe, who doesn’t know it?” Zhang Zhi said with a proud smile. His dream had basically been realized: the cafe already had a certain scale, and soon it would have a reputation to match.

Zhang Zhi felt immensely satisfied with his accomplishments.

After discussing the details of the group stage with Zhang Zhi, Yang Tian returned to his residence. Bao Yuehong’s room was locked, so she was clearly at school, but the door on this side was not locked, which meant Huang Juan was home.

Yang Tian walked up and pushed at the door, but found it bolted from the inside. It would not move.

“Xiao Juan, open the door!” he called out loudly.

“Just a moment!” Huang Juan’s voice quickly came from inside, urgent and nervous.

A little while later, the door opened. Huang Juan was wearing a light green gauze dress, and over her short black hair she had tied a pale yellow headscarf. Her hair was still damp, so she had evidently just been bathing.

The gauze dress was very thin and did not conceal the underclothes beneath: a set of pink, sexy lingerie. Set off by the light green dress and the blush on her fair, rosy face, with those two crimson lips shining brightly, she exuded the full allure of a young girl.

At the sight of her, Yang Tian suddenly felt his throat grow hot. He was a little startled; this seemed to be the first time Huang Juan had ever worn such mature undergarments. In the past she had always worn camisoles and boyshorts, but now things had changed. It meant she had grown up again.

“You’re back so early? Is Xueling all right?” Huang Juan seemed to notice that Yang Tian was looking at her, and so she quickly slipped behind the curtain, pretending not to care as she asked loudly.

“They’re all fine. Your mother asked me to bring you these apricots.” Yang Tian took a bag of bright yellow apricots from his backpack and set it on Huang Juan’s desk.

“Oh, thank you.” Huang Juan spoke softly. She did not turn around, as though she were afraid Yang Tian would see how red her face already was.

“Oh, Xiaojuan, how did you get such a big hole in the back of your dress? I can even see the flesh!” Seeing that Huang Juan was too shy to speak, Yang Tian teased her with a smile.

“Really? Where? Where?” Huang Juan panicked and hurriedly turned to look. A moment later, she realized she had been tricked and immediately stamped her feet in exasperation. “Xiao Tian, you’re teasing me again. I’m not speaking to you anymore!”