Chapter 3

After Liang Shi completed her onboarding process, she walked into the completely transparent creative department director's office under the watchful eyes of everyone. She liked directness, so she walked to the door and tapped on the glass door with her finger to attract the attention of all the creative department employees.

"We'll have a meeting in five minutes so everyone can get to know each other properly."

A girl wearing a gi hoodie raised her hand at her, and Liang Shi raised an eyebrow, signaling her to speak.

"Excuse me, Director, you may not be online yet. There's a notice on the company intranet that the sales department has booked that meeting room."

Liang Shi shrugged: "Are there no other meeting rooms?"

"All the meeting rooms are booked by various departments today."

"May I have your name?"

"Director, my name is Ma Yiran, you can just call me Marry."

Tsk, what an inauspicious start. Liang Shi glanced at the staff in his department; there weren't many, only about ten.

"Marry, please organize everyone to gather their work and come to my office one by one to report on it. Especially for the important projects in the department right now, make sure to explain everything to me in great detail."

When Liang Shi closed the glass door, she was shocked to hear several exclamations of "pervert!" Ha, it had been a long time since she had heard that word.

Back then, Li Junqian treated her very well. Although it was Li Guangting who instructed Li Junqian to take her to get her hair cut and her teeth straightened, she never saw any sign of disdain in his eyes.

Her spoken English was very poor, so Li Junqian took her to a bookstore to buy books and English tapes. He said that if she could memorize almost all the words in that English dictionary, coupled with the language environment of the foreign language school, her English would definitely improve by leaps and bounds.

Looking at the thick dictionary, Liang Shi thought Li Junqian must be lying to her. It wasn't until he took out his well-worn dictionary that she believed him. It turned out that top students really were more hardworking than anyone else.

From then on, Li Junqian became her role model, the light she kept chasing.

In her second week at the Li family home, Li Junqian finished his college entrance exams. That day, as she walked home from school, passing by Uncle Li's study, the door was ajar. She overheard the news that Li Junqian was going abroad to study. That night, she felt weak all over; she had never been sick before and had a fever for the first time in the middle of summer.

When she woke up, she found herself lying in a hospital bed. She turned her head and saw Li Junqian standing by the window, making a phone call. His tall frame, at 1.88 meters, was truly captivating.

When Li Junqian finished her call and turned around, Liang Shi met her gaze. Her face instantly flushed, and it was from that moment that she learned to hide her emotions.

"Brother Junqian, is it good abroad? Is that why you want to study abroad?"

Li Junqian often travels abroad, but he doesn't find it particularly fun. It's just that the major he likes has better resources and prospects at foreign universities.

"When you're on summer vacation, I'll take you on a trip?"

Go abroad for vacation? Liang Shi didn't even dare to think about it: "Really?"

Li Junqian shrugged: "I'm not lying."

Going abroad for fun? Of course, I need to improve my English! Liang Shi took her English dictionary with her everywhere, along with the MP4 player Li Junqian gave her. Back then, her classmates saw her carrying that thick dictionary and called her crazy, but she didn't care. As long as her English improved, she was willing to try, even if it meant memorizing it backwards! That year, although her English was at the bottom of the class in the final exams, she still passed. Although she was still teased by her classmates, she became even stronger. She believed that if she worked hard enough, she could achieve anything she set her mind to!

When the day she had been looking forward to finally arrived, Liang Shi panicked.

She had initially thought Li Junqian's trip abroad involved just the two of them, but it turned out to be a large group. They were all Li Junqian's good friends, people she had met at school.

If they were just good friends, she wouldn't panic. What panicked Liang Shi was that Li Junqian was holding a girl's hand, and the two of them looked so well-matched.

Li Junqian is in a relationship.

On the plane to Hokkaido, Liang Shi learned that the girl would be going to France to study with Li Junqian. During her week-long trip, she had no interest in Hokkaido's beautiful lavender fields or delicious seafood.

At that time, they were renting a villa. Liang was thirsty and planned to go downstairs to get some water. He went downstairs quietly and saw that the kitchen light was on, so it seemed like someone was there.

Liang Shi never expected to encounter the most embarrassing moment of her life. No matter how loud she ran, no matter if she interrupted the couple's passionate kiss, she ran back to her room, wide awake, and hid under the covers.

But she really couldn't accept that the boy she admired and liked was kissing another girl.

Is it envy? Or resentment?

As Liang Shi boarded the plane for her return journey, she silently told herself that she was nothing more than a speck of dust in Li Junqian's life, and he would never even notice her.

Their relationship was simply that of the benefactor's son and the one who was helped.

When Li Junqian and Gu Feng arrived at the Creative Department on the 16th floor from the 23rd floor, they saw several female employees in the office area with worried expressions on their faces.

Gu Feng snapped his fingers: "Marry, what's going on? Is Director Liang in the office?"

Marry sighed: "President Gu, President Li, and Director Liang are inside listening to work reports one-on-one."

The creative director position has been vacant for two months, and Li Junqian had been personally overseeing it before he took a vacation: "How's the advertisement for June's new fragrance coming along? Send me the finished product to my email."

June is a high-end fragrance brand under the Fanning Group. This new fragrance was developed by Li Junqian in collaboration with the fragrance R&D department at the French headquarters. Its domestic release was on Singles' Day (November 11th), marking its global debut. It will be available internationally around Christmas.

Marry lowered her head and pointed to Liang Shi's office: "President Li, the commercial has just been edited, and the effect is really good. However, I just reported to Director Liang, and she said..."

Gu Feng frowned: "Just say what you have to say, don't beat around the bush."

Marry was at her wits' end: "She said the perfume smelled wonderful and was very special, but the celebrity she hired didn't match the perfume's vibe, so she said... we have to reshoot it."

Finding someone else to film it again would be too rushed, and the penalty for breach of contract would be substantial. Moreover, such a significant decision would definitely require approval from the top management. Fortunately, these two bosses arrived at the right time.

Li Junqian raised an eyebrow: "Is the collaboration with Haixing Entertainment?"

Marry quickly handed her boss an iPad: "Xia Chen, the very popular actress of the past two years, was signed before your vacation. Boss, if you want to replace her, the penalty for breach of contract is five million..."

Although this fragrance is making its global debut in China, the French headquarters did not agree to have June's brand ambassador shoot the Double Eleven global debut advertisement on Tmall. Instead, they asked Li Junqian to find a female celebrity with high popularity in China to shoot the advertisement, ensuring that this new fragrance would achieve good results during China's annual major sales event.

Although Li Junqian also felt that Xia Chen was not the most suitable candidate, apart from her, the popularity of other female celebrities was insignificant compared to the sales targets required by the French headquarters.

Li Junqian watched the advertisement twice. Just then, the office door opened, and another creative department employee with a serious expression walked out. Gu Feng snatched the tablet from his hand: "Karsten, let's go meet this creative director who's given us problems right from the start!"

Liang Shi rubbed her temples with one hand, her head throbbing after listening to reports all morning. The new department's work was varied and the issues were all tricky, especially since she had forgotten about the Double Eleven shopping festival in China. It was just around the corner, and everything was beyond her original plan.

"Does your head hurt?"

Liang Shi was startled by the familiar voice. When she opened her eyes, she found her two bosses standing in front of her desk.

"President Gu, President Li, please have a seat."

As soon as Li Junqian sat down, he got into work mode: "I think Marry told you about the sales targets for June's new fragrance on Singles' Day, right?"

Liang Shi felt a chill run down his spine under his gaze and subconsciously picked up a pen from the table: "Hmm, it's the kind of numbers that make you feel intimidated. Having spent so much time abroad, I'm not very familiar with the major sales events in China, but it's not hard to see that the peak sales periods for high-end perfumes in China are generally Qixi Festival, Valentine's Day, 618, and Singles' Day. The first two are due to the social value of the perfume itself, which carries special meaning, while the latter two are due to the special purchasing mechanisms on these special dates. If a brand doesn't offer discounts or extra gifts during these major sales events, consumers will feel that the brand isn't sincere enough. Having said all that, these are things the sales department should consider. As the current director of the creative department, I still maintain that I don't think the popular female celebrity Xia Chen has the ability to drive sales."

Li Junqian looked at the pen that was twirling in her hand and chuckled, "What do you mean?"

Liang Shi propped his chin up: "The French are known for not liking to work. I once worked five extra hours a week and was called in by HR for a lecture. Since then, I've had more time to watch dramas. I've watched several of Xia Chen's dramas. If you look closely, it's not hard to see that the one who actually became popular wasn't her, but the male actors she worked with."

Gu Feng interrupted her: "Xia Chen is a child star with a lot of popularity, so why isn't she famous anymore?"

Liang Shi pointed to his phone: "If you don't believe me, you can check her Weibo. The total number of reposts, comments, and likes is less than 50,000. Do you think I would let such a fake traffic female celebrity challenge the 30 million sales of a new fragrance?"

Aside from the fact that her pen-twirling posture was exactly the same as Liang Shi's before, this confident way of refuting him was something Li Junqian had never seen before. Over the years, he found it hard to imagine how she had changed like this.

"If it's not Xia Chen, who would you like to film this commercial?"

Gu Feng gave him a look that seemed to say, "Seriously, bro, you're not really going to break the contract?" He continued, "Five million is a small amount, but if the French headquarters finds out, they'll definitely criticize our Greater China region. Karsten, Suzie, don't be foolish."

Liang Shi stopped writing, the pen tip pointing at him: "You."

Looking into the woman's eyes, Li Junqian knew she wasn't joking.

"Suzie, are you kidding me? My brother may be good-looking, but the Vice President of Fanning Greater China wouldn't go down in business for 30 million, would he?"

Liang Shi searched on his phone and pushed it in front of them: "The hashtag 'Second Daughter of Haixing Entertainment, Mysterious Boyfriend' trended three times not long ago. The paparazzi were also very efficient, quickly uncovering the true identity of this mysterious boyfriend. I think Mr. Li's Weibo comments section must be exploding by now, right? This trending topic exploded on the same day, with over a million reposts, comments, and likes. So, taking advantage of this popularity and traffic, if Mr. Li doesn't jump into the adult entertainment industry this time, who will?"

Gu Feng was surprised by Liang Shi's abilities. He was so knowledgeable about the domestic entertainment industry after returning from France. He truly deserved to be a senior director who had previously worked at a luxury cosmetics group.

Li Junqian looked at Liang Shi's phone; the photos of him and Cha Junjun on vacation in Iceland on the screen slowly dimmed and then disappeared.

"Frankl, call the French headquarters to let them know. Suzie, I'm free tomorrow and the day after, please have your department arrange the advertising shoot, I'll fully cooperate."

Gu Feng blurted out "Holy crap!"

"Karsten! Are you out of your mind? You're actually going to shoot an ad? Do you think the French headquarters will agree?"

Li Junqian smiled and said, "I believe your French is good enough to convince those blond-haired, blue-eyed people, just like Suzie convinced me."

Gu Feng thought Zhou Yun's suggestion was excellent; the company really should set up a venting room.

Liang only has a French driver's license and hasn't gone through the procedures to exchange it for a domestic driver's license yet. He also hasn't decided what car to buy. Fortunately, his company is very close to where he lives, and Shanghai has a well-developed subway system, so there's no need for him to buy a car.

She walked out of the company building in her high heels, and a gust of wind almost lifted her skirt, making her a little flustered.

The subway station was 500 meters away. When Liang Shi had walked nearly 300 meters, a black car slowly approached her, and the sound of its horn made her turn her head to look.

"Get in the car."

Seeing Li Junqian reminded Liang Shi of the scene that day when Cha Junjun had her arm around his. She was principled and had a sense of propriety; she didn't want to get too close to a man who had a girlfriend, even if he was the man she had liked for fourteen years.

"No need to trouble Mr. Li."

"Little Shi, even if you don't call me brother anymore, you can still call me Karsten."

For some reason, Li Junqian disliked the way she called him "President Li," always feeling that this woman was very distant from him.

"Karsten, we've arrived at the subway station. Take care, I'm leaving now. Goodbye."

As soon as Liang Shi stepped onto the escalator, she went from being airborne to landing in less than a second. She could feel the strength and heat in her waist.

"Li Junqian, do you know what you're doing?"

Li Junqian knew that if he didn't open the car door and run to take her away, he might never find out why she was so cold to him.

"Liang Shi, I just want to know why you changed your phone number back then? Is there some misunderstanding between us?"