Chapter 65. Mom, you and him are way too close (Part 2)

“Qingyan, Mom, let’s head to the internet café for some research.

I want to check how Penguin is ranking now.”

He wanted to see how well Yidong Penguin was performing among users.

Su Qingyan jumped up as if escaping.

“Forget it, you and Mom go. I’m tired.”

She really didn’t want to spend more time with her mom.

It was exhausting.

If she stayed, her mom might keep pressing her about the relationship.

Being around an elder came with way too much pressure.

“Mom, you should rest too. You’ve had a long day.”

Li Mo paused, realizing he hadn’t considered that.

But Liu Pingping stood up.

With a warm smile, she said,

“Mom’s not that fragile.”

“I didn’t really do much today anyway.”

She exercised regularly, so she was in excellent shape.

And she genuinely enjoyed spending time with Li Mo.

Knowing her mom was going instead, Su Qingyan felt relieved.

At least she wouldn’t be stuck with her.

If her mom kept pressing about her boyfriend,

She really wouldn’t know how to keep dodging the topic.

“Don’t run around while we’re gone.”

Her tone carried a hint of warning—

She was clearly afraid Su Qingyan might sneak off to see her boyfriend.

That would really send her over the edge.

“I know, Mom. I promise I won’t go anywhere.”

After Su Qingyan gave her word, Liu Pingping finally followed Li Mo out of the room.

Once she had changed into a pair of high heels, she walked side by side with him. Truthfully, she was genuinely curious to see what kind of buzz Penguin had created at the internet café.

Li Mo’s insights and actions in the past had truly shocked her. Naturally, she was now immensely curious to witness Penguin’s current performance in a public setting like this.

“Mom, the internet café we’re heading to isn’t far. Let’s just walk there,” Li Mo suggested. “Yan Yan and I have been there before.”

He thought back to the time when Ma Tengyun was pitching that ‘cyber café legend.’ That guy would definitely become a symbolic figure of this era. Once Penguin truly took off, its company history must include a special mention of him.

“Yan Yan really has an incredible bond with you,” Liu Pingping said with a sigh. “No wonder she doesn’t want to stay at her sister’s place. She likes you so much, and you indulge her in everything. Living here must feel like paradise to her—who would want to leave?”

Honestly, she felt the same. She enjoyed being around Li Mo.

While chatting, the two arrived at the same internet café as before.

“Manager, open up two computers for us,” Li Mo said.

He planned to play Legend for a bit while checking on Penguin’s performance in real time.

Soon, he received two slips of paper with account numbers and passwords. Internet access wasn’t too strictly regulated at the time—just pay, and the machines were yours.

Walking past a few computers, Li Mo noticed that nearly everyone was using Penguin. Given that Deep City was Penguin’s main promotional hub, he wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

Ahead, two elementary schoolers were having a heated discussion about account levels.

“The level event has officially started!” one of them said excitedly. “You can get double active days now. I won a super prize and leveled up immediately—got a star next to my Penguin!”

“Look at yours—no level mark at all. It’s so low-class!”

The other kid looked visibly embarrassed.

“Quit bragging,” he grumbled. “It’s just one star. Maybe I’ll get lucky too if I stay logged in for half an hour today!”

“I’d love to see that,” the first boy shot back with a grin. “You started using Penguin a day later than I did. You’ll always be behind me in active days, so your level’s never catching up.”

Li Mo walked up behind them, intrigued.

“You guys come to the café just to idle on Penguin?” he asked.

One of the boys sighed. “Yeah, I didn’t use to come every day. Surfing the net daily was way too expensive—could’ve bought myself a few extra buckets of instant noodles.”

As he mentioned noodles, his face lit up with nostalgia.

That made Li Mo smile. I used to love instant noodles too. But his parents had always called them junk food, and never allowed him to eat them.

“So why come every day now?” he asked.

“Because of the level system, duh!” the boy replied. “Penguin’s levels are too cool. Someone in our class got a star, and everyone else got super jealous. Now we all come daily just to idle on Penguin!”

“I’ve even got a few buddies who asked me to idle for them,” he added, pulling out a piece of paper filled with Penguin account numbers. “Their parents won’t let them come, so I’m doing it for them. Everyone wants a star!”

Li Mo was stunned for a moment. That’s… intense.

Very soon, all the nearby computers were packed with running Penguin accounts.

Li Mo: “……”

Liu Pingping stood behind him, staring at the wall of open Penguin accounts on the screens. Only now did she truly realize the power of leveling up—especially its magnetic pull on elementary schoolers.

She knew that the level system had been Li Mo’s idea, and that it was deeply tied to the monthly subscription business model. Idling with Penguin increased your level. Subscribing to Penguin also increased your level.

Among these young, impressionable users, the comparison that came with levels could trigger explosive chain reactions.

With that kind of momentum, Penguin’s user base could grow at an astonishing rate.

They might be immature, but the sheer number of kids out there couldn’t be ignored. Elementary school students were turning into a relentless user base.

Li Mo’s strategy—every step of it—was nothing short of genius.

If things continued this way, he really might grow Penguin to a third of Alibaba’s scale.

The reason Liu Pingping still didn’t think Li Mo could surpass Teacher Ma was because their revenue models were worlds apart. A business using Alibaba would spend 40,000 to 50,000 yuan annually on fees—and that wasn’t even the high end.

Even so, she couldn’t help but feel a growing admiration for Li Mo.

“Noodles, huh?” Li Mo smiled. “Uncle will treat you to some instant noodles.”

Both kids were stunned. “For real?!”

“Manager, four buckets of noodles—two each for these guys. And throw in two bottles of Jianlibao.”

The boys stared at their screens, still not quite convinced.

Is this guy trolling us?

But when Li Mo actually paid, they broke into wide grins and thanked him repeatedly.

“We’re telling the whole class about this!” one of them shouted.

Li Mo shook his head, amused by their innocence—but also strangely touched. This feels like a slice of my childhood happiness.

After logging in, Li Mo and Liu Pingping sat side by side.

“Xiao Mo,” she said, her voice filled with emotion, “I really didn’t expect Penguin to be this popular at the café. It’s like everyone’s using it.”

Li Mo nodded. “Deep City’s our base. We’ve spent the most on promotion here. It might not be the same elsewhere.”

While speaking, he suddenly noticed the familiar figure of the cyber café legend not far away.

Wow, he’s here again? Li Mo hadn’t expected to see him every time.

It really seemed like this guy had internet café in his blood.

“Bro, still remember me?”