Yang Ruoqian stared at the latest old-cinema report and finally found the word he hated most.
Reputation.
It was printed in the middle of the page, between two columns that should have brought him comfort. Repair costs were still rising. Staff hours had not gone down. The second hall remained useless, the projector room still needed inspection, and the lobby had developed a habit of swallowing small expenses without making a sound.
Any normal loser would have smiled.
Yang Ruoqian did not smile, because the last line of the report said: "The venue has begun forming stable neighborhood reputation."
Stable.
Neighborhood.
Reputation.
Three words, none of them cash, all of them poisonous.
"Who wrote this?" Yang Ruoqian asked.
Lu Shuyuan, who had just entered with another folder, answered honestly, "The operations team summarized it after comparing repeat visitors, neighborhood comments, and the old customer list."
