189: Chapter 189 They're almost unable to pay wages.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Early in the morning, Chen Fan drove toward Changan University.

He parked the car at the south gate, turned off the engine, and leaned back against the seat to wait.

At 9:30, Lin Xi walked out of the school gate.

She was wearing a light-colored wool coat, with a scarf loosely wrapped around her neck and her hair in a ponytail that bounced as she walked.

She spotted the black Porsche immediately, walked over, opened the door, and sat in the passenger seat.

"Finished your exams?" Chen Fan asked.

"Finished." Lin Xi let out a long breath and leaned back against the seat, looking like a taut string that had finally relaxed.

"How did you do?"

"It should be okay. What about you?" Lin Xi tilted her head to look at him.

Chen Fan chuckled. "Aren't you aware of my capabilities? A small exam is nothing to me."

"Braggart."

Lin Xi said so, but the corners of her mouth curled up.

Chen Fan smiled, said no more, started the car, and drove out of the school gate.

As the car merged into traffic, Lin Xi looked at him. She hesitated for a moment but couldn't help asking, "You said you were taking me somewhere. Where is it?"

"You'll know when we get there."

"Keeping secrets again." Lin Xi rolled her eyes at him but didn't press further.

After driving for over twenty minutes, the car turned into the gates of the Software Park.

On both sides of the road were rows of neat office buildings.

Lin Xi looked out the window, somewhat puzzled. "Why did you bring me here?"

"My company is here."

Lin Xi turned to look at him, stunned. "Company? You started a company?"

"Yeah." Chen Fan nodded, his tone very calm.

Lin Xi was stunned for a couple of seconds.

She knew Chen Fan made a lot of money writing novels, but she never imagined he would start a company.

In her mind, writing novels and running a company were two completely different things.

The former was something one person could do in front of a computer, while the latter... She looked at the grand office building outside and then at Chen Fan, unable to reconcile the image of him as a company owner.

"Why did you suddenly want to start a company?" she asked.

"Writing novels isn't a long-term career after all, so I thought I'd try starting a business," Chen Fan said nonchalantly.

"So how is it going now?" Lin Xi's tone carried a hint of concern.

Chen Fan sighed, his voice dropping slightly. "Sigh, it's not very prosperous. Right now, I can barely even pay the employees' salaries."

Lin Xi's brow furrowed instantly, her face filled with worry.

She hadn't seen Chen Fan's company and didn't know how big it was or how many employees it had, but his tone made her heart tighten.

Thinking of this, she suddenly felt a bit of heartache and a bit of blame. "Then why did you buy me such expensive things before?"

She counted on her fingers, "The bags, watches, and dresses—they're all still new. I haven't really used them. Selling them should fetch a good amount of money, which you can use to pay salaries."

Chen Fan was stunned for a moment.

He had only been joking.

But Lin Xi's reaction caught him by surprise.

She didn't hesitate or waver; her first instinct was to sell the things he had bought for her.

An indescribable emotion suddenly welled up in Chen Fan's heart—a mix of being touched and finding it a bit funny.

He reached out and took Lin Xi's hand. "No need to sell them. I was joking. The company is operating very well, and I can afford the salaries."

Lin Xi paused and looked up at him.

"Really?"

"Really." Chen Fan smiled. "If I couldn't pay the salaries, I would definitely sell the car first."

She stared at him for a couple of seconds, and seeing his playful expression, she knew he was indeed joking.

She glared at him, pulled her hand away, and slapped his arm. It wasn't hard, but it made a crisp sound.

"How could you! You made me worry for nothing!"

Chen Fan chuckled and quickly tried to soothe her. "My bad, my bad. It was just a joke."

"You're not allowed to make jokes like that anymore."

"I promise, I won't."

Lin Xi looked at him, pursing her lips. She tried to maintain her angry facade, but she couldn't keep the corners of her mouth down and let out a small smile.

"Let's go, take me to see your company," she said. Her tone had returned to normal, but the tips of her ears were still tinged with a faint pink.

"Alright."

The two of them got out of the car and entered the building. They were alone in the elevator. As the doors closed, the enclosed space became so quiet they could hear each other's breathing.

Lin Xi stood beside him, watching the red numbers flickering on the elevator door while her fingers lightly rubbed the strap of her bag.

Soon, the elevator stopped at the twelfth floor.

The doors opened, and they stepped out, arriving at the company's entrance.

The company's logo was printed on the glass doors. Through the glass, the lobby was visible, featuring a minimalist gray-and-white color scheme. The company's name hung on the wall, and a green plant sat on the reception desk, making everything look clean and professional.

Lin Xi stopped at the entrance, her steps hesitant as if something was holding her back.

Chen Fan looked back at her and found it a bit funny—she had been so confident just a moment ago about seeing the company, but now that they were at the door, she was getting nervous.

"What are you dazing for? Let's go."

He started walking toward the door. Seeing this, Lin Xi took a deep breath and followed.

As the door opened, a wave of gentle warmth greeted them. A girl in her twenties was sitting at the reception desk. Seeing Chen Fan, she immediately stood up with a proper smile: "Good morning, President Chen."

Chen Fan nodded and led Lin Xi inside.

Following behind him, Lin Xi felt a bit dazed upon hearing the girl call him "President Chen."

In her heart, Chen Fan was just Chen Fan—her boyfriend and a college student under twenty, just like her.

Now that someone was suddenly calling him "President Chen," she couldn't quite process it.

They entered the office area. Rows of workstations were neatly arranged, with various interfaces flickering on computer screens. Some employees were coding, some were in meetings, and others were coming out of the breakroom with water cups.

Seeing Chen Fan, they all nodded in greeting: "Good morning, President Chen," "Hello, President Chen."

Chen Fan responded to each of them without stopping.

Lin Xi followed, her eyes wandering as she scanned the workstations, counting silently in her head.

One, two, three... dozens of workstations, most of them occupied, with only a few empty seats. But the total count...

"Your company looks so big, there are so many people," Lin Xi couldn't help but remark, her tone filled with surprise.

"There are only sixty or seventy people right now. It's not that many," Chen Fan said casually.

"Sixty or seventy people isn't many? Then how many is considered many?"

Lin Xi felt like Chen Fan was showing off a bit, but his expression was perfectly normal.

A nineteen-year-old college student running a company of sixty or seventy people and saying it's "not many"—if their classmates, who were still worrying about final exam grades, heard this, they would probably all have a collective stroke from high blood pressure.

In the terms of a decade or so later, this would be a bit "Versailles."

But Lin Xi had actually misunderstood Chen Fan.

He truly felt that the company didn't have many people yet.

A few years later, a large internet company would easily have thousands or even tens of thousands of employees.

Those top-tier giants would have hundreds of thousands of employees spread across the globe. Compared to those companies, these sixty or seventy people were indeed nothing.

However, he didn't bother explaining; Lin Xi probably wouldn't believe him anyway.

"My office is just ahead." Chen Fan pointed to a door at the end of the corridor, then tilted his head to look at her. "What's wrong? Still nervous?"

Lin Xi straightened her back as if to psych herself up.

"Who's nervous? Let's go."

Chen Fan looked at her feigned composure, his mouth curling into a smile, but he didn't call her out on it.

The two of them walked through the office area toward the end of the corridor.