Jiang Ming held the phone, a smirk forming at the corner of his mouth.
Liu Yao, for reasons she couldn't quite explain, suddenly thought of Jiang Chen—the man who had claimed her but still treated her with enough respect.
"Alright, I'm resigning," Liu Yao said, ending the call.
On the other end of the line, Jiang Ming's expression shifted from surprise to a mocking grin.
"You think you can afford the penalty for breaking your contract?" he sneered.
Shaking his head, he dismissed her. He had never taken Liu Yao seriously—she was just a tool, nothing more. He quickly dialed another "girlfriend's" number.
There were too many capable people in the world; who didn't know about Liu Yao's acting skills? But so what? The company's top stars were still in their prime—why waste time with a small-time actress? Giving her a small role here and there was more than enough.
Liu Yao stared blankly at the phone screen for a long time.
She had had enough of this life. Two years with no work, forced to endure the agony of being shelved. After hearing from her friends that Sanya was a great place to meet rich men and find a way out, she was tempted. She searched online, found out about the Hilton Hotel gala, and decided to make her move there.
As for her integrity? It was nothing more than food for the dogs.
Then, she ran into Jiang Chen—alone, attending the gala by himself.
And...
Liu Yao absentmindedly rubbed the phone case with her finger.
It was as if she had made up her mind. Taking a deep breath, she thought, Maybe it's worth taking a gamble.
She opened her contacts, found Jiang Ming's name, and silently tapped "Delete."
At the Cuiyu Pavilion restaurant, Jiang Chen sat quietly, waiting. When he saw a graceful figure walk in, his eyes lit up. He waved at her, signaling the empty seat across from him.
"You finally showed up. I've been trying to reach you," Xia Shiyu said, giving him an annoyed glance. His playful grin only seemed to irritate her more.
For the past few days, Xia Shiyu had been handling the company's affairs for Jiang Chen. She had paid out of her own pocket for many expenses. She had done everything from hiring lawyers to visiting the local business administration, the bank, and even scouted office spaces, all to handle the tasks Jiang Chen had entrusted to her.
Meanwhile, he had simply been having fun.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to explode.
"Don't get so worked up. I'll take you with me next time. The scenery in Sanya is really nice," Jiang Chen said with a grin, his tone far too casual.
"This is your company. You should at least show up, right? Come with me to the business administration in the afternoon. I've already prepared all the documents, they're in this folder. You should review them," Xia Shiyu said, dropping the file onto the table, ignoring his invitation.
"You've worked hard," Jiang Chen said sincerely, not reaching for the folder, but instead gazing at her face, which looked a little weary.
"You do have some conscience," Xia Shiyu huffed, still cold-faced, but Jiang Chen noticed she didn't seem as angry as when they first met.
"I'll go with you this afternoon. But let's not talk about work right now. Order anything you want; it's on me. By the way, I assume you've already covered the transaction fees? The company will reimburse you."
Xia Shiyu didn't hesitate, immediately picking up the menu and ordering a few dishes. She glanced at Jiang Chen briefly, but his cheerful face didn't show any signs of reluctance. This made her even more frustrated.
He was impossible to read...
Jiang Chen didn't notice her thoughts. There was still over a hundred thousand unspent from the company's budget, far more than expected.
"Are you thinking about something else?" Jiang Chen asked, though Xia Shiyu's face remained neutral, he could tell she wasn't fully present.
"Yes, I'm worried about the company's future," she said bluntly, without beating around the bush. "Honestly, for a company like ours focused on high-tech, it's hard to gain a competitive edge in the market."
"Isn't it said that emerging companies have a lot of room for growth?" Jiang Chen chuckled lightly.
"That's only true for companies with core competitiveness," Xia Shiyu responded, rolling her eyes at him. "Do you even understand high-tech? I bet you've forgotten everything about advanced math."
"Do I need to?" Jiang Chen laughed, "Who remembers that stuff after graduation? Look, I may not understand it, but others might. You don't need to worry about research and development right now. Let me give you a hint—we'll focus on software development, like games. From there, we'll use it as a springboard to enter the mobile market…"
"Hold on..." Xia Shiyu interrupted, rubbing her temples. "Mobile games? Browser games? Or PC online games? Given the current market, I recommend focusing on mobile games. As for the mobile market… it's a good idea, but the key to a company's healthy growth is being grounded."
"Of course I know that. We'll take it step by step," Jiang Chen said with a wave of his hand. "By the way, this isn't just my company, it's yours too. I'll give you 5% equity. Work hard."
Xia Shiyu paused for a moment but didn't respond. Equity among executives was common in private companies, as it helped to increase their sense of belonging. But 5% was just a typical percentage, nothing special.
It wasn't until later that Xia Shiyu realized just how valuable that 5% would become. But that was a story for another time.
In the afternoon, Jiang Chen accompanied Xia Shiyu to the business and tax offices, completing all the necessary paperwork. Xia Shiyu truly had the skills of a potential CEO—Jiang Chen only needed to fill out a few forms, sign his name, attach a photo, and stamp them. She had already taken care of all the tedious steps.
Jiang Chen was very satisfied. He had never studied business management, nor did he care much for complex theories. To him, a good CEO was someone who could handle the details so he could just focus on the big picture. He didn't want to worry about small things.
Xia Shiyu had done an excellent job; she had everything prepared.
They still needed to hire an accountant to complete the tax procedures, so following Xia Shiyu's suggestion, Jiang Chen hired a part-time accountant, paying a modest 200 yuan per month. This was typical for a small company just starting out.
By the time they finished, it was already 5 PM. Naturally, Jiang Chen treated Xia Shiyu to dinner, and then they went their separate ways home. With steady income, the debt crisis had been resolved. Xia Shiyu moved back to her apartment on Shuiqing Road, while Jiang Chen returned to his small, familiar neighborhood.
His luggage had been left at the security office, and after picking it up, Jiang Chen went straight back to his home.
Lying in bed, he browsed Weibo, teasing Liu Yao for a bit before opening Taobao to focus on business.
After enough rest, it was time for him to get back to work.
With the upcoming chaos in mind, certain preparations were undoubtedly necessary.
Staring at the endless array of products, Jiang Chen couldn't be bothered to meticulously compare options. Instead, he picked the most reputable and best-selling store, and began adding items to his cart.
Canned foods were his primary choice, as they were easy to store. Beef cans, braised pork cans, sardines... Jiang Chen ordered two boxes of each. To balance the nutrition, he also made sure to get a good supply of vegetable and fruit cans. As for instant noodles, compressed biscuits, and other survival essentials, he stocked up on those too. Not that he planned to eat them; selling them later would be a good option.
In addition, Jiang Chen bought a large batch of women's clothing on Taobao. Don't misunderstand, this wasn't due to any peculiar interests of his—it was all for Sun Jiao and Yao Yao.
A few days later, a mountain of packages arrived at Jiang Chen's building. Generously, Jiang Chen handed the delivery driver two hundred-yuan bills, and the man eagerly ran back and forth, bringing all the boxes to Jiang Chen's apartment. Fortunately, Jiang Chen's rented place was sparsely furnished, so the stacks of canned goods nearly filled the living room, leaving barely enough space to move.
After a short rest, Jiang Chen grabbed some sandpaper and got to work.
He scratched off the production dates and origins from the cans, tossing them into the storage space. Though the task was tedious, it was something that only he could handle for now.
Maybe, in the future, he could arrange to directly buy unbranded food in bulk from food companies.
For some unknown reason, his storage space had expanded significantly, enough to hold all the cans from half the living room. Jiang Chen wasn't sure if this was related to the gene serum he had taken, but it didn't matter much—he was happy with the result and didn't dwell on it.
The cost of storing these goods was about 2 Arc Crystals, and the retrieval cost was roughly the same. With several hundred Arc Crystals still in the storage space, Jiang Chen didn't mind the minor expense.
Once that task was done, Jiang Chen headed to the supermarket to buy rice, fresh vegetables, eggs, meat... He bought a hefty amount. After all, once the fridge in the villa was repaired, it would be able to store a lot of fresh food. When he fixed up the fridges from nearby homes and hooked them up to solar power, the villa's food storage capacity would skyrocket!
Alternatively, he could just grab a freezer from one of the local restaurants. Those kinds of appliances would certainly be around in the post-apocalyptic world. A little fix-up, and it should work fine.
All the items were transferred into his storage space, which saved him both time and effort.
Just as he was about to head home, Jiang Chen suddenly seemed to remember something. He walked into a nearby pet store and came out holding a cage with a hamster inside.
Back home, once everything was in place, Jiang Chen picked up his familiar hiking backpack. However, he paused, furrowing his brow. He put the bag down, realizing there was something he had been keeping secret for too long... especially since Sun Jiao had already begun to notice something.
When he reached District 6, Jiang Chen didn't bring the bread with him—it was stored in his storage space. Sun Jiao must have caught onto something, but she didn't press the issue. Since she trusted him enough, there was no need to keep hiding things from her.
And, to be honest, revealing part of his secret might make things easier. No more sneaking around.
With that in mind, Jiang Chen made the decision to selectively share part of his secret with Sun Jiao.
Holding the hamster, which was blissfully chewing on a pine nut, Jiang Chen sat on the soft bed, took a deep breath, and prepared himself to speak.
The end of the world... I'm back.