126: Chapter 126 The Yoga Studio Disaster and Children's Innocent Remarks

At 9:30, the students arrived one after another for class, only to be stunned by the dark yoga studio and the lack of water and electricity.

Xiao Su, wearing a pink tracksuit, frowned and asked, "Teacher Xia, what's going on? How can we have class without water or electricity?"

"Yeah, Teacher Xia, I made a special effort to wake up early for the first class, this..."

Auntie Wang was also anxious; her lower back had been bothering her recently, and she was counting on this class to relieve the pain.

Xia Qinyi's eyes turned red, and she apologized repeatedly, "I'm sorry everyone, it's my fault for not handling this well. The property management cut off the water and electricity. I'll go communicate with them again. Let's cancel today's class, and I'll refund your tuition fees..."

"What refund? Don't talk about refunds," a woman in a suit sighed. "Teacher Xia, we know it's not easy for you, but we can't have class in the dark without water and electricity, right? I have to go on a business trip soon, so please just refund the remaining tuition fees for now. I'll come back once you've sorted this out."

Once one person started, others began requesting refunds. Xia Qinyi sat at the front desk, finding each student's registration card one by one and calculating the refund amounts, her fingers trembling uncontrollably from nervousness.

By noon, after the last student had left, the yoga studio was completely empty, leaving only scattered yoga mats and uncleaned aromatherapy bottles, looking exceptionally desolate.

Xia Qinyi leaned against the back of the front desk chair, took out her phone, and scrolled to Zhang Fan's number. Her finger hovered over the call button, but she hesitated to press it.

She didn't want to trouble him again. She already felt very embarrassed about what happened yesterday, and now, having to reach out to him again because of the water and electricity, she was afraid she would become a "burden who only knows how to cause trouble" in others' eyes.

She bit her lip and dialed the landlord's number instead, hoping to ask if he could help communicate with the property management. But the landlord's tone was even more perfunctory than the property management's: "Ms. Xia, it's not that I don't want to help you, but President Lin came to see me yesterday. He said if you continue to rent this property, he won't renew the lease for my office building. I'm also running a small business and can't afford to offend him. Why don't you look for another place?"

The moment the call ended, Xia Qinyi's tears finally couldn't be held back. Looking at the endless stream of people outside the glass door, she suddenly felt incredibly helpless.

The yoga studio was her only source of income. Now, being pushed by Lin Haoyu to the point where she was about to lose the venue, what were she and Lele going to do in the future?

Meanwhile, the office area of Singularity Technology was bustling with activity. The internal testing of "star dream workshop" had only been open for two days, and the server backend data was skyrocketing.

Liu Ruyan rushed into Zhang Fan's office holding a tablet, her voice full of excitement: "President Zhang! Look! A player used AI to generate a 'Jurassic Adventure Map'. Not only are there moving dinosaur models, but they also designed a side quest to 'find dinosaur eggs'. The screenshots are all over Weibo and TikTok, and #star dream workshop players are so creative# has already hit the second spot on the trending list!"

Zhang Fan took the tablet. On the screen was the game footage shared by the player: in a dense tropical rainforest, a giant Tyrannosaurus rex walked by with heavy steps, the ground even shaking with each stride;

The character controlled by the player crouched in the bushes, carefully avoiding the dinosaurs while searching for the dinosaur eggs hidden behind rocks. The plot branches were clear, and the visual details were realistic.

"How is the Technology Department doing? Can the servers handle it?" Zhang Fan asked, his fingers sliding across the screen as he read the players' comments—

"This AI generation is too awesome! I wanted to generate an ancient-style map, and it resulted in a Xianxia world with light-foot skills!"

"Please expand the testing scope! I've been trying to grab a qualification for two days and haven't managed to get one!"

"The Technology Department just added two more servers, which can hold up for now. However, the number of players applying for the test has already exceeded 50,000, far exceeding our expected 5,000," Liu Ruyan said with a smile.

"The player retention rate is 92%, and 80% of them have expressed willingness to pay to unlock advanced AI features, such as 3D map generation and custom character skins. Finance estimates that if we go for a full-platform public beta, the first month's revenue could exceed five million!"

Zhang Fan nodded, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth: "It seems we bet correctly. Notify the Technology Department to start the second round of testing next week, expanding the quota to 10,000 people. At the same time, prepare the pre-heating plan for the full-platform public beta, and have the Marketing Department contact game bloggers and KOLs for early trial promotion."

"Got it! I'll go arrange it right away!" Liu Ruyan walked out quickly with the tablet, and cheers from the employees could be heard outside the office.

From a small studio in the incubator to a formal company in the CBD, from the controversy of "star path: reboot" to the explosive popularity of "star dream workshop", they had finally proven themselves with their strength.

On Wednesday afternoon, Singularity Technology held a small celebration party for the successful testing of "star dream workshop".

There was a huge cake in the conference room. Employees gathered around to cut the cake and chat. Gu Jingshen even egged Liu Ruyan on to share her "entrepreneurial insights," and even Song Zhiwei had become a major contributor to this success.

After the celebration, Zhang Fan asked his assistant to pack an uncut strawberry cake. He remembered Lele saying she liked strawberries, so it was the perfect time to visit the mother and daughter that evening.

The door to Xia Qinyi's home wasn't closed tightly, leaving a crack. Just as Zhang Fan walked to the entrance, he heard Lele's laughter from inside: "Mom, look at the castle I generated! There's a princess and a knight!"

He gently pushed the door open and saw Lele sitting on the sofa, holding a tablet in her arms. On the screen was the game interface of "star dream workshop" — in front of a pink castle, a character in a princess dress was talking to a knight, and there were glowing unicorns in the background.

"Lele, look what I brought?" Zhang Fan shook the cake box in his hand. Lele looked up and saw him, her eyes lighting up instantly. She dropped the tablet and rushed over, hugging his leg: "Uncle Zhang Fan! Why are you here? Did you miss Lele?"

"Of course I did," Zhang Fan squatted down and handed her the cake box. "I brought you a strawberry cake. Do you want to eat it now?"

"Yes!" Lele excitedly took the cake box and pulled Zhang Fan to sit on the sofa, chattering about her creation in "star dream workshop": "Uncle, look, this princess is Mom, and this knight is me. We defeated the bad guy in the castle! That bad guy is the bad Daddy, he always bullies Mom!"

Zhang Fan's heart sank. Just as he was about to speak, Lele suddenly looked up at him, her eyes full of anticipation: "Uncle Zhang Fan, can you be my Daddy? You are much better than the bad Daddy. The bad Daddy doesn't like Mom, doesn't like Lele, and he even got Mom's yoga studio shut down — Mom said she can't teach everyone yoga at the yoga studio anymore, and Mom was crying secretly last night."

Zhang Fan was shocked. He had been so busy with the testing and celebration of "star dream workshop" these past few days that he had forgotten to pay attention to Xia Qinyi's situation. Could it be that Lin Haoyu used some means to get the yoga studio closed?

He took a deep breath and gently patted Lele's head: "Uncle is happy that Lele likes him. But Lele's Daddy must be someone Mom likes. Right now, Uncle is just Lele's good friend."

"But Mom really likes you, Uncle!" Lele frowned, her tone certain. "I got up to go to the bathroom last night and heard Mom calling your name while she was sleeping, and she even said 'thank you'!"

"Crash—"

A noise came from the kitchen. Zhang Fan and Lele both looked over. Xia Qinyi was standing by the sink, the plate in her hand having fallen to the ground and shattered. Water was flowing down the edge of the sink, splashing onto her slippers.

She had clearly heard what Lele said. Her cheeks flushed bright red, and she scrambled to pick up the shards, but almost slipped on the water.

"Careful!" Zhang Fan quickly stood up and rushed over, grabbing her arm to help her steady herself. Xia Qinyi's wrist was still a bit red from when Lin Haoyu had pinched it last time. At this moment, being held by Zhang Fan, she wanted to pull her hand back like she had been electrocuted, but he gently pressed it down.

Their eyes met inadvertently, and the air instantly went quiet. The bottom of Xia Qinyi's eyes was full of panic and embarrassment, like a little girl whose secret had been exposed. She dodged his gaze, yet couldn't help but look at Zhang Fan.

Zhang Fan looked at her flushed ears, and a subtle emotion stirred in his heart—surprise, a flutter, and a hint of indescribable tenderness.

"I... I'll clean it up." Xia Qinyi was the first to regain her composure. She broke free from his hand and bent down to pick up the shards on the floor, but her fingertip was accidentally cut, oozing a drop of blood.

"Don't move, I'll do it." Zhang Fan held her hand, took a Band-Aid from his pocket, and carefully applied it for her. "Go sit and rest, I'll wash the dishes."

Lele sat on the sofa, tilting her head as she watched them, muttering softly: "Mom and Uncle are so strange, just like the prince and princess in the cartoons."

When Xia Qinyi heard this, her cheeks turned even redder. She quickly walked to the sofa and pulled Lele into her arms: "Don't talk nonsense, Uncle is our friend."

Zhang Fan finished washing the dishes, sat opposite Xia Qinyi, and looked at her, his tone serious: "Why didn't you tell me about the yoga studio?"

Xia Qinyi lowered her head, her fingers twisting the corner of her clothes: "I didn't want to trouble you again. Your company has been so busy lately..."

"No matter how busy I am, I can't ignore your affairs," Zhang Fan interrupted her. "Don't worry, I'm already investigating the problems with his company. It won't be long before he has no heart to come and trouble you. You and Lele don't need to worry anymore."

Xia Qinyi looked at his serious eyes, feeling warm inside, but also a trace of unease stirred—she was afraid she would become dependent on this warmth, afraid she would drag him down, and even more afraid that this affection would cause trouble for Zhang Fan.