The mystery was solved. Yuan Kai finally understood how Chen Xiao had landed the order from the design institute—by playing League of Legends with one of them!
He immediately pictured the female director at the design institute being a terrible player, and Chen Xiao had been boosting her rank for her, which explained everything...
Right. Once it all clicked into place, the seemingly magical feat became perfectly ordinary. 'I'll go home and grind League of Legends,' Yuan Kai secretly resolved. 'In the future, I'll definitely snatch this major client from Chen Xiao!'
Of course, Chen Xiao had no idea that his casual bullshit had actually caused Yuan Kai to sacrifice his evenings to grind League of Legends, running himself completely ragged in the process.
Chen Xiao delivered the stamped contract to the design institute. Seeing the dark circles under his eyes, Bai Lu remarked, "Is the pressure at your job that intense? You look like you haven't slept a wink!"
"It is. I was up until the crack of dawn."
"Oh? That's rough. Does your company pay for overtime?"
"Nope! It's all voluntary," Chen Xiao replied nonchalantly.
Look at this guy's dedication! Making only 4,000 yuan a month and still voluntarily working overtime until dawn. Bai Lu felt a pang of guilt. Deeply moved, she picked up the intercom and called a clerk over to stamp the contract. She then had Chen Xiao take the copy for Dr. Feng's Robot Company with him. The efficiency was staggering!
With the contract signed, the initial 40% payment was immediately transferred. Before Chen Xiao even made it back to the office, the finance department had received a payment of 1.2 million. Xia Yun was so excited she shouted, "Nice!" and rushed to share the good news with Feng Feifei, leaving the latter in another daze. This deal completely upended her perception of how business was done.
The contract was signed in a flash, and the money arrived just as quickly. It completely defied all market conventions.
"Chen Xiao is a true lucky charm! This single order just pulled the company out of the ICU! You have to give a talent like him a big reward!" Xia Yun was one of Feng Feifei's junior high classmates, so she felt comfortable giving her advice in private.
"He definitely deserves a huge reward. If it weren't for Yuan Kai, I'd be ready to promote him to manager right now!" Feng Feifei said, troubled.
She had been happy that Yuan Kai decided to stay, but his performance yesterday had significantly soured her opinion of him. Combined with Chen Xiao's stellar achievements, she was starting to feel that keeping Yuan Kai had been a poor decision.
"Actually, there's a way around that. You could split the sales department into Division One and Division Two. With two sales departments, you could even foster some healthy competition!"
Feng Feifei's eyes lit up. Xia Yun's suggestion was actually quite good. 'Okay, first I'll hire more people,' she thought. 'Once the sales team is filled out, I'll announce Chen Xiao's promotion!'
Chen Xiao knew nothing of this. After work, he first returned to his rented apartment, packed two large bags with his essentials, and hailed a cab straight for Hai Run Mansion.
Hai Run Mansion was even closer to Dr. Feng's Robot Company. It was one of the more high-end apartment complexes in Jiangzhou, but still, it was just an apartment. 'How great can it be?' Chen Xiao figured the system was just mocking his lack of worldliness, fobbing him off with some shabby little flat.
His unit was in Building 5 of Hai Run Mansion. What a coincidence. 'Am I fated to be with the number five or something?' The design institute deal was closed in a Building 5, and now his reward was in a Building 5.
Upon entering the lobby of Building 5, he saw an elevator about to close and quickly yelled, "Hold the door!"
The doors, just about to slide shut, reopened. Chen Xiao stepped inside, said his thanks, and immediately froze.
Inside the elevator was a young woman who, to his surprise, was just as tall as he was at 178 cm. Her figure was graceful, swaying with a gentle beauty like a willow in the breeze. Tresses of jet-black hair rested lightly on her slender neck like elegant, dark clouds. Her features were as exquisite as a masterfully carved work of art, especially her eyes. They were deep and soulful, as if they could peer into the very abyss of a person's heart. Her eyebrows, like strokes from an ink brush, curved subtly, perfectly accentuating her sharp yet gentle gaze.
She wore a form-fitting long dress that accentuated her perfect curves, making her look like a goddess straight out of Greek mythology. She possessed an ethereal, otherworldly air, yet didn't lack for human warmth and tenderness.
Chen Xiao stole a glance at her exquisite face, which was utterly flawless. Her expression, however, was cold, as if the world around her was of no concern. He took a small step back, pulled out his phone, and pretended to fiddle with it.
But he accidentally hit the camera button, and the lens was pointing right at her breathtaking back and perfect, round bottom. The curve of that "full moon" was a true masterpiece of creation. Staring at the picture on his phone, Chen Xiao's mouth went completely dry.
When he looked up, he saw the young woman staring at him with utter disgust. She had retreated into the far corner of the elevator, as if he were carrying the plague.
'I'm screwed. This is a huge misunderstanding,' he thought. 'She must think I'm a pervert who was secretly taking her picture. But since she hasn't said anything, I can't really explain. Wouldn't that be like admitting guilt without even being accused?'
He then remembered he hadn't pressed a floor button yet. As he was about to, he noticed that the floor the gorgeous woman had already selected was the 12th floor—exactly where he was headed.
The elevator arrived. The woman strode out, and Chen Xiao followed. He watched as she hurried away, her impossibly long legs—which looked to be nearly 1.2 meters—carrying her forward at a rapid pace.
Chen Xiao started looking for his apartment number, 1224, only to find he was still heading in the same direction as her.
By the time he found his door, the woman had already hurried into her own apartment, shooting a nervous glance back at Chen Xiao just before she closed the door. Her apartment was directly across from his.
'She thinks I'm some kind of creep!' Chen Xiao thought, frustrated. 'I'm a handsome, respectable-looking guy. How could I possibly look like a criminal?' He had no idea that she had watched him glancing left and right while searching for his apartment number. No one who actually lived here would do that, so she had naturally pegged him as a shady character.
He went inside. The apartment wasn't large—a small, two-story loft with 48 square meters per floor. However, it had a kitchen, a bathroom, a living room, a bedroom, and even a walk-in closet. It was small but perfectly formed.
All the furniture was included. Chen Xiao gave it a quick look-over and saw that it was all brand-name. This wasn't the system being generous; it was just the developer's standard package.
'Well, it's better than my old rental,' he thought. Chen Xiao tossed his bags of personal items in the living room, took a shower, and headed up to the second-floor bedroom to lie down. He hadn't slept well the night before and planned to get to bed early.
But before he could fall asleep, he heard someone pounding hard on his front door. At first, he thought it must be for one of the neighbors. After all, he had just moved in. No one knew he was here, so no one could possibly be looking for him.
After listening for a moment, he realized it wasn't right—the pounding was definitely coming from his door. He checked the time; it was 7:00 PM. He hurried downstairs to open it.
"Can I help you with something?" Chen Xiao asked as he opened the door to find two middle-aged women in property management uniforms. From the looks on their faces, they were not to be trifled with.
The pounding must have been loud, because the door to the apartment across the hall cracked open, and the woman from the elevator peeked out.
"You're more than two years overdue on your property fees. It's about time you paid up!"
Chen Xiao was completely dumbfounded. 'Pay property fees? I just moved in. What fees could I possibly owe?'
"You must have the wrong person!"
One of the women scoffed. "Your name is Chen Xiao, isn't it?"
"Yes, that's me," Chen Xiao confirmed.
"Then we have the right person. You've owed property fees for two years. We've called repeatedly, but you never answer. We've come by in person, but you were never here. We saw the lights on tonight, so we rushed right over. We are settling this today. Otherwise, who knows if we'll ever collect your fees before we both retire!"