46: Crystal Harem?

The next day.

Chen Qiu sat in the president's office.

His gaze was fixed intently on the computer screen, his fingers flying across the keyboard, producing a rhythmic clattering sound.

Don't misunderstand; he wasn't working!

He was logged into the PC version of WeChat, chatting with several beauties at the same time.

After drinking last night, he had fallen asleep as soon as he got home, so a fair number of messages had accumulated on his WeChat.

The first thing he saw was that string of exclamation points from Xu Jia!

Through the symbols, Chen Qiu could vaguely picture her pure face, her red lips parted in a look of shock.

Xu Jia: "You're actually the largest individual shareholder of the Cultural Industry Group?! President Chen?"

Xu Jia: "This is the group specifically established for the Cultural Industry Park that the city is prioritizing!"

Seeing the series of messages Xu Jia sent, Chen Qiu replied directly.

Chen Qiu: "Manager Xu is quite well-informed. Are you looking to pull strings to get an interview?"

Xu Jia: "Obviously! My younger sister is interning at your company; of course I'd look into it!"

Chen Qiu: "Then wouldn't it be perfect for you to come over too and become my right-hand woman alongside Yiyi!"

Xu Jia: "Hmph, keep dreaming!"

Xu Jia: "But, thank you for what you did for Yiyi..."

The corners of Chen Qiu's mouth curled up slightly; it seemed that girl Xu Yi had told her everything about yesterday.

Chen Qiu: "How do you plan to thank me?"

Xu Jia: "I'll treat you to a meal in a couple of days. Also, our bank has some New Year goods prepared for clients; I'll bring some over for you..."

New Year goods?

Chen Qiu remembered the trunk full of rice, flour, and cooking oil he had brought back last time; his parents had been absolutely beaming with joy when they found out.

For middle-aged and elderly women, they would happily wait in line for an hour just to collect a few eggs.

Let alone when someone brings it right to their door.

Just as Chen Qiu was about to reply, another contact popped up with a series of red notification dots.

Yan Baiwei: How is it? Have you finished looking at the design renderings? Is there anything that needs to be changed?

Chen Qiu: No need, I'm quite satisfied with everything.

It had to be said that Yan Baiwei was indeed capable enough to have become a somewhat well-known interior designer.

In fact, Yan Baiwei's name was even on the list of recommended cultural architectural designers in the Cultural Industry Park proposal.

Subsequently, Yan Baiwei sent over the renovation plans and cost breakdowns for both properties.

The large flat was relatively simple, since it only involved soft furnishings. Aside from the 800,000 budget Chen Qiu had previously decided on, Yan Baiwei hadn't charged a single cent for the design fee!

It was essentially free!

The other villa involved both hard and soft furnishings, so there were many more details!

It even meticulously noted the brands and models of all materials used, including pipes and wiring.

The preliminary cost for the hard furnishings was 2 million!

That was enough to buy a house of over a hundred square meters in the city center!

And that was just the cost for the hard furnishings; if the soft furnishings were a bit more luxurious, it was very likely the final total would reach four or five million!

"Renovation really is a bottomless pit."

Chen Qiu immediately replied to Yan Baiwei: "Let's sign the contract in a couple of days. I'll transfer 1 million to you first; let's get the soft furnishings for the Binjiang No. 1 flat done first!"

With that, Chen Qiu transferred 1 million to Yan Baiwei's company account.

This was where the benefits of opening a private bank account became apparent.

If it were his previous bank card, let alone a million in a single transaction, he wouldn't have even been able to transfer a million in a single day.

Chen Qiu checked and saw that there was just over 10 million remaining in the account.

On the other side, Yan Baiwei, having received the payment, stared at her phone in a slight daze.

One million!

It wasn't that she hadn't handled luxury property projects before, but this was the first time she had experienced someone transferring money so nonchalantly before even signing a contract!

You have to understand, for some of the projects her father was doing now, he had to pay for everything upfront himself!

Having experienced the changes in her family, Yan Baiwei knew all too well how fragile trust between people was in the face of money.

Yet Chen Qiu, whom she had reunited with after many years, still placed absolute trust in her.

It was just like back in high school, when he had subconsciously assumed she would cover for him skipping class to go to an internet cafe...

"I don't know where he gets his confidence from!"

Recalling the past, Yan Baiwei couldn't help but smile.

A nostalgic smile appeared on her cold, elegant face, blooming like a snow lotus!

Yan Baiwei: Aren't you afraid I'll run off with the money?

She rarely joked around with Chen Qiu.

Chen Qiu: "I have eyes and ears everywhere in Gannan; if you run, I'll have you caught in minutes and sold off to pay back the debt!"

Yan Baiwei pursed her lips and chuckled.

She wasn't that cheap; she wouldn't sell herself for a million!

Putting aside the wild thoughts in her mind, she began to help Chen Qiu purchase furniture.

...

At this moment, Chen Qiu was chatting with Zhang Mantong about luxury goods.

That's right, it was that blonde with the big wavy hair who had rear-ended him on her bicycle yesterday!

Today, he finally remembered why he had felt a sense of familiarity when he saw Zhang Mantong.

He had previously scrolled past a video of Zhang Mantong, which claimed she was one of the top ten Baimi in Gannan?

After seeing her in person, Chen Qiu could confirm that she was indeed quite pale, and her beauty was beyond doubt!

As for whether she was wealthy, that remained in doubt!

However, Zhang Mantong was indeed quite knowledgeable about luxury goods.

Today, she kept insisting on accompanying him to the LV store in the afternoon to compensate him with an item of clothing.

Chen Qiu: "Sure, it just so happens I want to get a few suits tailored."

Private customization—this was the most high-end and core offering of luxury goods!

Besides, Chen Qiu was the president of the group after all, so he really did need a few proper suits.

Zhang Mantong seemed to be silent for a moment, then sent a voice message directly.

"Alright! What time are we going this afternoon?"

Even through the electronic compression, the voice still carried a hint of charm!

This woman was really putting on a cutesy voice!

But, he liked it!

"Two o'clock in the afternoon."

After typing his reply, Chen Qiu heard a knock at the door.

"Come in."

The crisp and rhythmic sound of high heels rang out, and Liu Qi, dressed in professional attire, walked up to the desk.

"President Chen, this is the list of local intangible cultural heritage merchants compiled yesterday..."

Chen Qiu took it and glanced at it casually, then handed a document to Liu Qi.

"In the next few days, hurry up and recruit everyone on this list!"

Liu Qi froze.

After taking the list and glancing at it, her beautiful eyes became a bit strange.

Recruiting at the end of the year?

What kind of move is this?!

And looking at the names, it seemed many of them were women?

This young master couldn't be trying to turn the President's Office into a harem, could he...

Then, as his chief secretary, would she be the empress?

Liu Qi coughed lightly, suddenly feeling that this President Chen selected by Director Wang didn't seem very reliable!

"President Chen, do you need to have them all recruited before the New Year holiday? That's a bit difficult!"

After all, most people look for jobs or change jobs after the New Year.

It's really hard to negotiate at the end of the year!

"For every person you recruit, your year-end bonus will increase by ten percent!"

Chen Qiu waved his hand and chuckled.

Liu Qi's back straightened up immediately, and her charming face also became serious.

Director Wang really has a good eye for people; this President Chen is simply too reliable!

"I guarantee I will complete the task!"

Watching the motivated, mature secretary leave the office, Chen Qiu stood up and stretched.

He didn't want to have to sit here every day after the New Year, stressing himself out. The sooner he recruited the recommended people from the proposal, the sooner he could become a hands-off manager!

Moreover, to avoid any issues while being a hands-off manager remotely controlling the President's Office, the people he selected might not have the top-tier abilities, but their character was definitely the most suitable!

Their loyalty would be rock-solid!

Hmm, even building a real crystal harem would be no problem at all!

...

In Zhang Mantong's room.

She was lying on the bed wearing only a white T-shirt.

Her lower body was hidden under the quilt, and one of her smooth, shapely, long legs was poking out, holding the quilt between them.

"Custom-tailored suits?"

Suddenly, seeing this message, Zhang Mantong sat up abruptly from the bed.

The quilt slid off her body, revealing her exquisite curves.

She stared at her phone, her eyes flickering slightly, radiating an excited glow.

On the internet, in front of strangers, a person's level of consumption can be faked!

Yesterday, she had indeed seen with her own eyes that Chen Qiu was wearing a full set of LV and had an Audi Horch!

But Zhang Mantong was a fake Baimi, an expert in this field!

After the initial excitement, she had thought about it carefully when she returned that night.

She wasn't that desperate to become a wealthy socialite's wife!

It wasn't as if rich second-generation heirs hadn't pursued her before, but those people looked like big spenders, squandering money recklessly, while in reality, they were just big kids living off their allowance!

The financial power was in their parents' hands!

Once their parents cut off their allowance, those usually arrogant and domineering rich second-generation heirs would instantly wilt!

After realizing this essence, Zhang Mantong immediately lost her fascination with this type of rich second-generation group who only knew how to eat, drink, and play.

She wanted to become that kind of rich second-generation, but she didn't want to be the girlfriend of that kind of rich second-generation.

When they eventually broke up, she wouldn't even know if it was because he wanted to or because he was forced by his parents!

She was a woman with ambition!

Even if she couldn't become the legitimate wife, she had to at least become a concubine, and then enjoy life forever...

Hmm, although her ambition wasn't that big!

And the fact that she had asked Chen Qiu out today, saying she wanted to compensate him with an item of clothing, was Zhang Mantong's preliminary test!

At the very least, she had to gain a preliminary understanding of this person's personality and background.

Otherwise, what if she ran into a peer who was also faking their persona just like her? That would be too embarrassing!

However, Zhang Mantong hadn't expected that as soon as Chen Qiu arrived, he would want to go get a custom-tailored suit!

That was private customization for luxury goods!

The starting price was six figures; a set of clothes could even reach seven figures!

At this moment, Zhang Mantong was certain.

Chen Qiu was, at the very least, not her peer!

After all, she herself definitely couldn't afford LV's high-end luxury customization!

She even vaguely felt that Chen Qiu might be the kind of wealthy person she was looking for—someone capable of having a certain say within their family!

Zhang Mantong jumped off the bed and looked at her own heart-stopping figure in the floor-to-ceiling mirror.

She clenched her fists!

"Zhang Mantong, for the sake of being able to lie flat for the rest of your life, come on!"

Immediately, she began to carefully select the clothes for her appointment in the afternoon.

...

Before it was even time to get off work at noon, Chen Qiu left the company directly.

When he was a corporate drone before, he had to clock in and out on time... oh wait, he even had to work overtime at night!

Now that he was president, if he still had to clock in and out on time, wouldn't he have become president for nothing?!

However, before leaving, he suddenly remembered one thing.

He took out his phone and saw an unreplied message.

Shao Shushuang: President Chen, I am truly sorry. I didn't realize it was you yesterday, and I was too self-righteous about the previous blind date. Please give me a chance to apologize!

He had received this message last night, but Chen Qiu hadn't intentionally left it unread.

He simply didn't know how to reply, and then he had forgotten.

Now that he had left it for so long, Chen Qiu simply replied directly.

"It's fine, it's all in the past."

...

Culture and Tourism Bureau!

Sitting at her workstation, Shao Shushuang felt a bit dazed.

Although her eyes were fixed on the computer in front of her, her vision wasn't focused on the screen.

Every few moments, her gaze would involuntarily fall on the phone to the side.

The screen was pitch black, with not the slightest movement.

Thinking about the message she had sent last night that still hadn't received a reply, Shao Shushuang felt incredibly panicked.

"Does he really hate me that much?"

Shao Shushuang gripped her hands tightly, her mind feeling like mush.

She had absolutely no heart for work.

"Xiao Shao, this document..."

At this moment, one of her colleagues called her, and Shao Shushuang paused for a moment before hurriedly standing up.

"Sister Zeng, what is it?"

Sister Zeng suddenly remembered that Shao Shushuang was no longer temporarily responsible for the work on the Cultural Industry Park, so she shook her head at her awkwardly.

"Never mind, Xiao Shao, you go ahead and get busy. I'll just let Xiao Li handle it!"

After speaking, Shao Shushuang watched helplessly as Sister Zeng walked past her with the document and headed toward another male colleague.

Shao Shushuang stood there for a moment before biting her lower lip and slowly sitting down.

In the year since she passed the exam to join the Culture and Tourism Bureau, she had always managed her connections very well!

Plus, her ability was decent, and she had okay relationships with most people in the unit.

But today, she keenly felt a difference from the past!

When she ran into Director He in the morning, she greeted him, but he didn't even respond.

After a cold nod, he walked straight past her.

Shao Shushuang felt a bit embarrassed, and that scene had been seen by quite a few people in the unit!

Director He's indifferent gesture seemed to directly confirm the rumors others had heard.

And from that moment on, Shao Shushuang felt a strange atmosphere!

That strangeness was marking her, following her like a shadow!

Everyone seemed to be able to see this mark and began to change their attitude toward her!

However, the others' actions were far less clearly indifferent than Director He's.

They could even still chat and laugh with Shao Shushuang.

But Shao Shushuang could keenly perceive the pity for her in their words!

It seemed everyone had determined that her future at the Culture and Tourism Bureau would be bleak!

This kind of pity made Shao Shushuang, whose life goal was to enter the ministry, feel suffocated!

Sitting in her office chair, Shao Shushuang suddenly felt a bit dazed.

She recalled her hard work in the unit over the past year and the effort she had exhausted to manage her connections!

It was precisely because of this that she had been able to join the working group for the Cultural Industry Park.

However, all of this had vanished into thin air in just a single day!

What made Shao Shushuang feel most desperate was that the person who had caused all of this was herself!

Buzz!

Just then, her phone vibrated, and the screen lit up!

Shao Shushuang's spirit lifted, and she hurriedly picked up her phone.

"He replied!"

Seeing Chen Qiu's WeChat profile picture, Shao Shushuang felt like a drowning person seeing a long pole extended by someone on the shore.

However...

"It's fine, it's all in the past."

Seeing this sentence, Shao Shushuang was completely stunned.

She knew very well that what he called "in the past" meant brushing aside the matter of their previous blind date and completely defining the nature of their relationship!

One was the president of the Cultural Industry Group!

One was a civil servant at the Culture and Tourism Bureau!

This was a judgment from a superior toward a subordinate!

This perhaps also meant that for a long time to come, she was destined to remain a small clerk at the Culture and Tourism Bureau!

Just imagining that possibility made her feel unable to breathe!

"Maybe... no, there must still be a chance to turn things around..."