After searching for more than half a month and looking at countless office buildings, Yin Qianpin finally decided on a five-story white building overlooking the river in the city center as the new office location for the drama troupe.
"Did you rob a bank?" Deng Jing couldn't help but ask when he heard that he bought the entire building at one time.
The land in Linjiang is very valuable. Although the drama troupe has always made good profits due to Yin Qianpin's fame and status, buying the entire building will not be a small amount of money.
"This piece will definitely appreciate in value in the future. It's not my personal asset. The troupe's assets are more valuable."
"So you are going to organize us to rob a bank together?" Deng Jing asked seriously.
"Can you shut up?" Yin Qianpin pretended to be angry and threw a ball of paper at him. "Why would I rob a bank? I have money to give to my door. I didn't ask you to choose an office. Why are you wasting your time here?"
Deng Jing curled his lips and turned to call Sheng Min: "Xiao Min, which room do you choose? I want you to be next to me."
"Hmm?" Sheng Min poked his head out and waved, "Here."
"I thought you would choose Linjiang." Deng Jing went in and took a look. He didn't know what was special about this room, but Sheng Min chose it, so he immediately put his name tag in the next room.
“The scenery here is beautiful.”
"Really?" Deng Jing was skeptical. He walked to the window. There was no grass or trees. He saw rows of tall buildings across the street. He was confused for a moment. "Where is good?"
The software park's logo shone with golden light in the sun. This new office location was not far from the software park, and it only took a quarter of an hour to walk there. Sheng Min walked around all the rooms, and only this one had a complete view of Building C in the distance.
He smiled unconsciously: "Anywhere is fine."
After deciding on the office location, moving was soon put on the agenda. Although Yin Qianpin was not a superstitious person, he still picked a date for the important event.
Sheng Min didn't have much in her office, just scripts and books, and a few potted plants. She quickly sent all of them to the car. Thinking of Deng Jing's room full of strange things, she was about to go upstairs to see if he needed help, but her cell phone rang again. It was Yang Xu's call.
I complained to him that the bookstore was open, but the business was not going well at all.
"I thought I only needed to read comics and collect money every day, but they ran away without paying! What's wrong with kids nowadays? They were not like this when I was a kid..."
Sheng Min laughed when he heard it.
"Brother..." Yang Xu called him embarrassedly.
"If you don't want to run this shop anymore, I can introduce you to Yin Ying. Her assistant just resigned. She has a good temper and is generous to people around her. She is also very popular now. You will find it easy to work there." Sheng Min said seriously, "If you want to come back and follow me, you can. The drama will be on tour soon, and I do need an assistant."
Yin Qianpin was talking to him about this matter a few days ago. The troupe allocated the funds for him and Deng Jing and asked him to find an assistant himself.
Yang Xu was about to answer immediately after hearing this, but Sheng Min stopped him: "Listen to me first. I don't have any other staff members right now, and the things you have to handle will inevitably be more complicated and trivial. If you still want to move up, it's better to follow Yin Ying than me. You have to think it through."
"I'll follow you!" Yang Xu replied immediately.
"Let me give you some thought."
"I've thought about it."
Sheng Min was helpless: "Okay, then I'll let the troupe's administration contact you to handle the onboarding process..."
Yang Xu hurriedly agreed. As he was speaking, he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind with a surprised tone.
"I have something to say. I'll call you later." Sheng Min hung up the phone and turned around.
The girl behind him was carrying a cello, her face flushed, and she looked vaguely familiar. Sheng Min thought about it carefully and smiled: "Ms. Zhou, long time no see."
"I thought you didn't remember me." Sitting down in the office, Zhou Jia still couldn't hide his excitement.
"I remember." Sheng Min said gently.
It was still summer, when he and Li Xuan were still switching positions. In the blink of an eye, winter was almost coming to an end.
"Are you coming here to perform today?"
"Yeah." Zhou Jia nodded. "Rachmaninoff was originally my colleague's job. She was sick, so I took over for her for a few performances... I heard a long time ago that you were on the tenth floor, but there was no way to get up there because of the access control, so I never met you... You..."
Zhou Jia couldn't control his emotions and choked up unconsciously, "Are you really not going to act anymore..."
"Let's see what happens. At least now I'm doing what I like."
Sheng Min said softly, pushing the cup of water in front of her to her: "The weather is cold, drink some tea to warm yourself up. It's been a mess these days because of moving around, and there's nothing else to entertain you."
Zhou Jia sobbed and drank some water. Sheng Min's calm voice helped her calm down slowly. She seemed a little embarrassed: "Actually, for us fans, it's best if you are happy. We were all very happy when you didn't renew your contract... but we can't see you often anymore."
"If you're willing to attend the premiere of 'Bu Jiu Shan', I'll have someone send you two tickets, okay? Then you can come with Qi Boyuan."
"No, no." Zhou Jia waved his hands repeatedly, "Our fan club has already agreed that this is your first time performing in a drama, and we will all support you. We have already booked all the tickets... But I really can't come. After this performance, I plan to go abroad... And."
This time she paused a little longer: "Tomonohara and I have broken up."
"Sorry." Hearing this, Sheng Min said subconsciously, but he didn't hide the surprise on his face.
"It's okay." Zhou Jia said that there was no need to tell private matters to outsiders, but she had liked Sheng Min for many years, and she always felt that he was a very close friend, so she was willing to confide in him.
"I don't know if you've heard Li Xuan say... You two should still be in touch?"
Sheng Min was a little embarrassed and said softly, "Yes."
Zhou Jia smiled softly and lowered his eyes, probably remembering that the last time they met was when the four of them had dinner together, and his expression was somewhat melancholy.
"Tomonaga proposed to me, and I... I was very scared."
Zhou Jia's handsome brows slightly frowned, "It may not be appropriate to say this, but I always feel that marriage brings too many constraints. I don't want it, at least not now... But no matter how I explain it, we don't trust each other as much as before."
Her fingers unconsciously stroked the edge of the teacup. "Not long after that... the school arranged for me to study in the United States for two years. This was a great opportunity for me and I didn't want to give it up. Two years in a different place, with a time difference, there were too many variables. It was hard for Bo Yuan to accept... I asked him if he could go with me. His resume could get him into a very good school, but he didn't want to. He wanted to stay in China and start a business with Li Xuan."
Upon hearing this, Sheng Min was stunned: "... Didn't he resign?"
"Resigned?" Zhou Jia looked surprised. "That's impossible. I met Tohara last week... I asked him about it, and he always said the same thing."
"Maybe I heard it wrong." Sheng Min pursed her lips and covered it up softly.
"I must have heard it wrong." Zhou Jia did not doubt it. "They have been working together for a long time. Bo Yuan looks good-tempered, but he is actually a very conceited person. In the first two years when we were dating, he always complained to me, saying that teachers and classmates were all idiots and that he was the best in everything. Later, when he met Li Xuan, he was defeated." She complained half-truthfully, "Although sometimes I also feel that he is too good to Li Xuan..."
Sheng Min didn't know what expression to make, so he could only smile. Zhou Jia sighed quietly, his eyes dimmed. "Of course, in fact, I can't ask him to do that. I chose my career and he chose his. It's fair."
Although he spoke in a casual manner, his expression still seemed a little lost.
"We will always meet the right person again." Sheng Min comforted her softly.
Zhou Jia smiled, feeling lost: "I hope so."
Li Xuan came to pick him up in the evening, and Sheng Min told him about this.
"Oh." Li Xuan responded in a flat tone.
"What do you mean by oh?" Shengmin looked at him inquiringly, "They broke up, why aren't you surprised at all? You knew?"
Li Xuan did not comment, and Sheng Min did not delve into it. After thinking for a while, he said, "From what Zhou Jia said, Qi Boyuan does not seem to have any other plans now..."
"So?" Li Xuan stopped the car at the red light, pinched Sheng Min's face and smiled, "What do you mean?"
"What you mean is what I mean." Sheng Min hooked his fingers and told him a tongue twister, "When do you plan to go find Qi Boyuan and go back to the company?"
Li Xuan glanced at him, and Sheng Min said slowly: "Don't you have this plan? ... Last time I heard Song Wen call you, saying that the company has too many things to do, and it's too hard for you to manage both technology and business. He suggested that you hire another high-level manager. He also recommended several to you, but you rejected them all and didn't even allow them to come for the interview."
"If I can do more, I will do more."
"But I feel bad for you." Sheng Min said seriously, patting his arm to indicate that he could start, "My boyfriend works so hard, wouldn't it be good to have more people to help? ... ... I don't know much about your company. In fact, before Zhou Jia said it today, I didn't realize that you were probably saving a position for Qi Boyuan. After she said that, I think..."
"What do you think?"
"Since you have this idea, you should go find Qi Boyuan as soon as possible." Sheng Min blinked, "Okay? ... ... Give me some face?"
Li Xuan laughed: "What's the point of giving you face? It's none of your business."
"Is there anything about you that has nothing to do with me?" Sheng Min asked back.
"No." Li Xuan pretended to think seriously for a while, "Okay, then, I'll do you a favor."
Sheng Min suppressed his laughter and nodded good-naturedly: "Thank you."
Li Xuan couldn't help but laugh. He turned on the right turn signal and answered his first question when he turned onto the overpass: "I know that there was a problem in his relationship with Zhou Jia... He said he wanted to leave, but I didn't try to stop him. I pushed all the public and private affairs on him, which was not fair to him. Although the situation later was not necessarily good."
Sheng Min was slightly startled by this, but Li Xuan did not continue talking. He changed the subject as if nothing had happened: "Zhou Jia is on a flight to the United States on Wednesday morning, right?"
"No wonder you agreed so readily." Sheng Min came back to his senses and smiled, saying softly, "So you didn't do it to give me face."
The wings were hidden in the clouds, and in a moment, they were no longer visible. Today was a bit gloomy, a very suitable day for farewell.
Qi Boyuan retracted his gaze and walked out of the airport, but he couldn't help but take out his phone and flipped through the photo of Zhou Jia playing the cello at the welcome party. His finger was hesitant to press the delete key, and he suddenly bumped into someone.
"I'm sorry." He didn't even look up, but took a step to the left, and the person opposite blocked his way again. Qi Boyuan sighed and stepped back to the right, but was blocked again.
"Hey, I said..." He raised his eyes impatiently and stopped talking halfway.
"A bowl of three-prawn noodles."
Sitting down at a Su-style noodle restaurant near the airport, Li Xuan raised his hand to signal the waiter to come over to take the order, and then asked Qi Boyuan: "What do you want to eat?"
"Didn't you have breakfast?" Although Qi Boyuan didn't think this was a suitable environment for conversation, he didn't expect that he really wanted to eat, so he couldn't help but ask Li Xuan.
"No." Li Xuan said, "Did you eat?"
He was so frank that it made people breathless. Qi Boyuan looked at him twice and said nothing.
"Then he doesn't need it." Li Xuan handed the menu back.
"Eel noodles." Qi Boyuan gritted his teeth and interrupted him, turning to the waiter and said, "Cook it a little longer."
It was almost ten o'clock and there were not many people in the store. After I placed my order, it was delivered quickly.
Qi Boyuan was actually a little hungry. He was in no mood to eat when he thought about Zhou Jia leaving today. Li Xuan had just angered him and he had eaten half a bowl of rice without realizing it.
Li Xuan, who was sitting opposite him, always ate quickly. He had already put down his chopsticks and waited until Qi Boyuan finished the last bite of vegetables. He asked casually, "When are you going back to the company?"
Qi Boyuan froze for a moment, then said slowly, "I didn't say I wanted to go back."
"Are you planning to rest all the time and not work?" Li Xuan raised his eyebrows.
Qi Boyuan asked back: "I can't find any other positions in the company besides Yuanyi?"
"I can find it." Li Xuan shrugged, "But it's not like you didn't go. It's impossible for you to go."
Qi Boyuan was so angry that he almost laughed. Li Xuan also smiled, a very relaxed smile. So no matter what the original intention was, the ending seemed to be a way of forgetting the grudges.
"It's not a big problem if you don't want to come back directly." After laughing, Li Xuan said, "You can go to Song Wen's company to register for employment, and then I will ask him to send you over."
Neuropathy.
Qi Boyuan cursed him in his heart, remembering that when they first met, it was Li Xuancai who won the gold medal in the programming competition. Since the establishment of this competition, this was the first time that a student outside the computer science department won this award.
Qi Boyuan was curious and unconvinced at first, but after he found Li Xuan's entry and read it, the feeling of unconvince disappeared. Only four words remained in his mind: there is always someone better than you.
He even doubted whether this was something Li Xuan made himself. He impulsively asked around and ran to the library to look for someone.
"What's up?" This was the first thing they said.
Qi Boyuan was somewhat embarrassed by the question: "I am from the Computer Science Department..."
"I know." Li Xuan was even more aggressive then than he is now. He was arrogant. "On the list of winners, your name and photo are below mine."
Qi Boyuan didn't know what to say anymore. He turned around and wanted to leave. Li Xuan suddenly called him again: "I have a job on my hands and the time is very tight. Do you want to come with me?"
Qi Boyuan turned his head away, actually wanting to mock him at that moment: "You are so good, can't you finish it?"
"Yes." Li Xuan said frankly, "Are you coming or not?"
It was a very insincere invitation, but he somehow agreed, and then they spent their entire college years together.
"Even if you fail in love, you can't fail in your career as well." Li Xuan said calmly.
Qi Boyuan sneered: "You are so proud of yourself."
"Good luck." Li Xuan was not modest.
"Shouldn't you straighten your attitude? Are you here to ask me to go back now?"
Li Xuan raised his eyebrows: "If thinking this way makes you feel more comfortable, then it counts."
Qi Boyuan smiled when he heard this, but he wasn't actually very happy.
"We all know why I left." After a moment, he said, but the next sentence was not about Zhao Jizhe, "Now you want me to go back, but in fact you didn't want to keep me at all."
"I know you really wanted to break up, at least when you said you wanted to leave." Li Xuan was silent for a moment, "But if I asked you to stay, you would probably give up as soon as I asked... You don't have to look at me like that, I think I still understand you."
Qi Boyuan shook his head: "We can't say we're breaking up... All the funds for the company are provided by you, and you pay my salary and bonuses quite generously. Strictly speaking, you are my boss and I am your employee."
"Do you really think so?" Li Xuan asked.
"I should think that you know me very well, but I don't know you that well."
Li Xuan smiled and said, "Of course you know me very well. For example, you are right. Yuanyi is not that important to me."
Qi Boyuan's expression changed visibly, but Li Xuan seemed not to notice and continued, "Even if I could go back in time, I would still let Zhao Jizhe come to the company. I know he is an unstable factor. I can't explain this to you, not even now... Of course, the way things turned out in the end was not what I wanted, whether you believe it or not. But I was indeed prepared for the company to suffer losses, which I cannot deny, and it is the most unacceptable to you."
He paused for a moment: "You have deeper feelings for this company than I do."
"Do you think it's funny?" Qi Boyuan looked at him.
Li Xuan shook his head: "I feel very sorry."
This was the only apology Li Xuan had said so far in the conversation. Qi Boyuan moved his lips but did not respond.
The wind blew outside the window, blowing in through the door that was not closed tightly, rolling up the bamboo decorative curtains and hitting the glass, making an abrupt sound.
Li Xuan raised his hand and pressed his temple: "You asked me why I didn't keep you, because the company's affairs were not only consuming your energy, but also your emotions. Besides, to be honest, Yuanyi was really in a bad state at that time, and I didn't know if it could survive that period. You couldn't accept it."
"Can you?" Qi Boyuan asked stubbornly.
"Of course. What's Yuanyi?" Li Xuan smiled disapprovingly. "Qi Boyuan, do you really think that everything will be over if Yuanyi collapses? I never think so. As long as people are still around, can't we create the next Yuanyi?" He leaned slightly, and the expression between his eyebrows was so calm that it was fascinating. "Let me ask you another question. If Song Wen's funds hadn't come in, Yuanyi would not be in its current state. It would have completely collapsed. I want to start a business again from scratch. Will you come back?"
Qi Boyuan paused for a moment, grabbed the teacup on the table and took a sip of water: "Only a fool would go back."
Li Xuan smiled but did not comment.
Qi Boyuan added: "You really should become a pyramid scheme leader, you always have a lot to say."
"It depends on what you believe in." Li Xuan shrugged.
The tense atmosphere seemed to relax from a certain point. After finishing the glass of water, Qi Boyuan finally said, "I'll think about it."
"Think about it." Li Xuan looked at his watch and stood up. "Is one day enough? I'll ask them to clean up the office for you. It's all dusty."
Qi Boyuan rolled his eyes and said, "At least one month. You can pay me the salary first."
"Have you never looked at your card since you left? Which month did you miss your salary?" Li Xuan said, "Hurry up, Against the Track will be online at the beginning of next month, and we have to prepare for the promotion."
Qi Boyuan gritted his teeth and said, "Without me, you can't make it, right? Then who is in charge of publicity now?"
"I."
"Shouldn't you be in charge of internal testing adjustments now?"
"It's all me." Li Xuan said as a matter of course.
Qi Boyuan cursed secretly, but stood up unconsciously the next second: "It's rare to save labor costs like you do. You can do the work of ten people, right? ... ... Going back to the company now? I'll go with you."
Li Xuan laughed and threw the keys to him: "Just drive my car. Song Wen will be here this afternoon to lay out the plan for the first quarter. The materials are on my desk, take a look. I'll meet you this afternoon. I need to go to Xin Ge."
The lawyer came to Li Xuan a week ago with an inheritance agreement. All the shares of Xinge were under Shu Xin's name, and he was the only designated heir.
"I should be able to refuse, right?"
"reject?!"
The lawyer has served the Li family for many years. He was the one who handled Li Xuan's adoption procedures and was the one who knew his adopted son's status best. On the way here, he couldn't help but sigh, how could he have such good luck to get such a large family business, shares, villas, and a high deposit...
"Legally, yes, it is possible..." he answered stutteringly.
"Where is Li Mingge?" Li Xuan asked again.
Shu Xin's will was obviously made a long time ago, but since Li Mingge is around, it is unlikely that the will will appear in front of him smoothly.
The lawyer considered, "Mr. Li... has some other arrangements."
"Underground arrangements?" Li Xuan smiled.
The lawyer did not reply, but everything was self-evident. In the state at the funeral home that day, Li Mingge was already in his twilight years.
When he arrived downstairs at Xinge Building, Zhou Qi was already standing at the door. He looked at Li Xuan's car, but unexpectedly a taxi stopped right in front of him.
Zhou Qi hurriedly went to greet him, and said respectfully: "You are here, the directors and heads of business departments are waiting."
"Why are you only talking about them? Haven't you been waiting for a long time too?" Li Xuan smiled.
Zhou Qi's back was covered in cold sweat almost instantly. He had handled all the things in Yuanyi in the past, including Zhao Jizhe. Ever since he knew that the shares of Xinge were in the name of Li Xuan, he had been worried and worried about whether to resign. However, he had no choice but to endure it for now, as he had parents and children to take care of.
"Just kidding..."
"We are not familiar with each other, so let's not joke around." Li Xuan curled his lips, looked at Zhou Qi's pale face, and finally showed kindness, "Lead the way."
I didn't tour the company, but took the elevator all the way to the top floor. In the office at the end, I could hear constant discussions.
"Why hasn't the prince come yet?" His tone was somewhat disdainful.
"He is no longer the crown prince. He has already ascended the throne."
"I have never been here before and I don't understand the business. It's hard to say whether I can keep my position stable."
They were talking and laughing with different expressions, but when the door was pushed open, they restrained their expressions and cast inquiring glances.
Zhou Qi had already taken the lead and pulled out a chair, but Li Xuan did not sit down.
His calm and cold gaze swept over everyone. Many of the people here were old people who had followed Li Mingge, and they would not obey him.
"Mr. Li." Someone finally spoke, and the rest of the people followed suit.
The attitude is not respectful, but more of a test.
Li Xuan pulled the corner of his mouth, did not answer, and sat down slowly: "Sorry for the long wait."
"Let me introduce you." As soon as he arrived, the atmosphere was already a little awkward. Zhou Qi quickly said to Li Xuan, pointing to the first person on the left, "This is..."
"No need." Li Xuanyi raised his hand, "Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, I know."
He leisurely called out everyone's name and position, and said in a relaxed manner: "I'm not here to meet you all. My time is very precious, and I can spend even less time at Xin Ge. Every time I come, it must be to discuss work. I should have notified you of this by email yesterday."
Then he pointed to the chief financial officer next to him and said, "Then let's start with you."
"I..." The finance director was stunned. In their eyes, Li Xuan was just a young man. Who would care about his emails? It was only when he came today and the secretary informed him that there would be a meeting.
"Each person has half an hour to tell me about this year's work, any discrepancies with the goals set at the beginning of the year, and next year's plans." Li Xuan kindly reminded him, "The Spring Festival holiday is coming soon. Your subordinates should have reported these contents many times."
“This…” The chief financial officer coughed, “This year’s revenue target is…” He thought about it carefully and gave a number.
"Isn't this the goal at the beginning of the year?" Li Xuan propped up his head. "Didn't we make a revision during the review in May? We raised it by 10%."
"Yes, yes... I haven't finished yet." The finance director's attitude unconsciously became more respectful. He couldn't help but secretly curse himself for being the chicken that was killed to scare the monkeys.
"It's okay." Li Xuan smiled faintly and let him go. "If you can't remember, I think you have a lot of reporting materials. Just project the screen and talk for half an hour."
He went through the situation of each department one by one. It was okay for those who had prepared in advance, but it was the same with the finance department. No one could be fooled, and even the R&D department could not pass.
"Sorry." Li Xuan interrupted and smiled, "I understand, so I reported each item truthfully. Although I don't like it, I did study physics in college, and I know a thing or two about optics."
The R&D manager's face paled visibly.
The meeting didn't end until it was almost dark.
Li Xuan looked at the leaders who had completely changed their demeanor. "We have been delayed long enough today. I will just say a few more words and then it will be over. My energy is limited. I don't have much time to manage Xinge. I will arrange for a professional manager to take over as soon as possible. The rest of the people will not be adjusted for the time being. From now on, I will come here once at the beginning of every month, in this conference room. You don't have to wait for everyone to come together. It will waste your time. Come one by one in the order of today and go over the work of the previous month in turn. Each person will have 15 minutes. If there is anything in your daily work that requires my approval and signature, let Zhou Qi contact me."
Zhou Qi was startled. He thought he was going to be fired from Li Xuan's attitude just now, so he nodded quickly: "Okay."
Li Xuan took a sip of tea and said, "Some time ago, due to various circumstances, various departments were slack. I know. But it has nothing to do with me. I don't care and I won't review it. This year's year-end bonus will be distributed to everyone according to the performance of completing all the goals set at the beginning of the year. There is nothing else. Let's adjourn the meeting."
He stood up and walked to the door. As if he suddenly remembered something, he turned around and smiled softly: "Oh, there is one more thing. There is no Little Mr. Li. There is only one Mr. Li in this company."
After leaving Xinge, Li Xuan went straight to the coffee shop downstairs. There were two people in charge of a physics experimental base in the northwest in the private room.
Li Xuan signed a contract with them, donating all of Xingge Optics' annual profits as research funds for astrophysics research.
"Your mother is a very good colleague of ours. There is a work photo of her when she was pregnant with you in the base." After leaving the cafe, the person in charge shook hands with him and said goodbye. "Thank you for your donation. We will make good use of this fund to continuously advance the research of astrophysics, even if it is just a small step."
Li Xuan nodded: "I think this is also her real dream."
“It’s snowing!”
A little child passing by the door suddenly shouted happily.
"I see you don't seem to be driving?" the person in charge asked him politely, "It's probably hard to get a taxi in the snow, do you need a ride?"
"No need." Li Xuan smiled, "Someone is here to pick me up."
At the corner, Sheng Min's car could be seen approaching. Under the light of the car lights, snowflakes were falling, covering everything in layers.
This is the last snow of the year. After it melts, it will be a new spring.
The author has something to say:
First of all, I slid to my knees. I wasn't wearing a lock, I was editing the text. I mentioned it in the comments section, but it was pushed to the back, so maybe you didn't see it. Countdown to the end: two.