“Oh, so it’s Mr. Bennett.”

“You’re welcome, Mr. Parker. I’ve already reviewed your information. Let’s be straightforward—if you just put your kennel on the website for promotion, I’m afraid it won’t be very effective. I recommend you buy a spot on the ranking list.”

“You can buy a spot on the ranking list?” Henry Parker was surprised. “If my dogs could appear on the list, it would definitely be more effective than regular ads, but wouldn’t that be unfair?”

When Grace Bennett heard this, he immediately understood—the person on the other end was a young man with a scholarly air, probably not much older than himself.

“Mr. Parker, you misunderstand. Not just anyone can buy a ranking ad. For example, if you’re already at a five, I can get you to an eight. But if you’re at zero, no matter how much you pay me, I won’t put you on the list. That would ruin our reputation.”

“You need real strength to get a ranking ad. Your Border Collies are indeed purebred, with shiny, healthy coats—it’s clear you take good care of them.”

“To be honest, the ranking list currently only shows the top fifty pets. But I checked the backend, and you have a dog named General, ranked fifty-seventh—just a bit short of making the list. If you’re interested, I can move General up to the top ten.”

“General is ranked fifty-seventh, just a bit away from making the list?”

Henry Parker’s voice suddenly grew excited. He couldn’t help it—this situation reminded him of his college entrance exam year.

Because he didn’t perform well, he missed the first-tier university cutoff by two points and could only attend a second-tier school.

If he’d made it into a first-tier university, things might have turned out completely differently.

Don’t underestimate a difference of just a few points—sometimes, it’s enough to change your fate.

While Henry Parker was struggling with his thoughts, Grace Bennett continued, “Actually, instead of calling it buying a spot, it’s more like doing a small favor for a friend. General’s current ranking is a bit awkward—not high, not low. It’s like an exam; if it’s a friend’s child, the teacher will always give a few extra points, right?”

“How do you buy a spot on the ranking list?” Henry Parker was tempted, clenching his fists secretly.

“Right now, we happen to have a special offer: top ten is thirty thousand per week, monthly is calculated as four weeks, with an extra five thousand off—so it’s a hundred thousand per month.” Grace Bennett casually made up a number. The so-called special offer was, of course, just something he made up.

“What about top six?”

“Top six is double—sixty thousand per week, two hundred thousand per month. Top three is a hundred and twenty thousand per week, four hundred thousand per month.”

“That expensive?”

“It’s not cheap, but you can check our daily average IPs. The impact of the ‘Seeking Peerless’ event was huge—our website traffic has exploded, and our daily visits have already surpassed one million.”

“Also, you can only choose from the top ten. There are only three spots available on the list; the top three and top six have already been sold.”

“What? Already sold!” Henry Parker’s voice was hoarse. It seemed Grace Bennett’s tactic of playing hard to get was working well.

“After all, it’s not a small sum. I think you should think it over. There’s no rush—when you’ve decided, contact us again,” Grace Bennett said with a smile.

This was a pretty ruthless move—one Grace Bennett had learned from real estate agents. Those agents had long since figured out how customers think.

First, create a sense of urgency, making it seem like if you don’t buy now, you’ll never get another chance. Then, suddenly ease up, making the customer feel like someone else is interested. Even the calmest customer would feel the pressure.

Henry Parker was still young. He steeled himself and gritted his teeth, saying, “No need to think it over. I’ll take the top ten spot for a month!”

“Great.”

“How do I transfer the money to you?”

“Just send it to my Alipay account.”

“Alipay? Not a business account?”

“Mr. Parker, soft ads can’t go through business accounts. It’s not just us—if you buy fake followers from any company, there won’t be a contract or receipt. That’s the industry rule,” Grace Bennett said, pretending to be very knowledgeable.

Chapter 008: The First Pot of Gold

After hanging up the voice call, Grace Bennett let out a long breath and touched his back—it was soaked with sweat.

His parents were small factory owners, so Grace Bennett had grown up immersed in business, and could just about handle negotiations like this.

“Once I have more money, I definitely need to find some help. Doing everything myself is just too much trouble,” Grace Bennett muttered.

Henry Parker agreed to transfer the money to Grace Bennett’s Alipay account as soon as possible. A hundred thousand yuan is no small sum for a student—this was the first money Grace Bennett had ever earned in his life, and he was quite excited.

Grace Bennett didn’t return to the dorm, but instead walked laps around the rubber track, calming himself and thinking about the future.

“Once I get this money, I’ll set aside half for server expenses, and give the other half to my mother. No matter what, I have to make sure we keep the house,” Grace Bennett thought.

“Hey, is your roommate’s snoring keeping you up again?”

As he was walking, someone suddenly called out to Grace Bennett. He looked over and saw two slightly chubby girls. Back when Grace Bennett collapsed by the track, they were the first to find him.

“Oh, it’s you two.” Grace Bennett walked over with a smile. The two girls were sweating and out of breath, resting by the track.