Chapter 46
The design competition may have ended, but the long-tail effect of subsequent promotion and sales is what deserves more attention.
Ying Shanhu's previous recruitment of online staff was insufficient, with shortages in everything from operations and graphic design to live streamers. Lin Langyi instructed HR to expedite the arrangements while also personally stepping in to occasionally fill in for the live streamers.
Popular trends are always fleeting. With initial investment in promotion, some products show increasing potential to become bestsellers, and the number of viewers in the live streaming rooms is also growing.
She lived in the break room behind the company office almost every day. While the live broadcast times for the main anchors were more in the open, she preferred the sessions after 10 p.m.
If it's too late, there will definitely be fewer people online at any given time, but this time period seems to fit some people's schedules perfectly.
There's an account with the nickname "Black Butterfly is a Pretty Little Cat" that's been appearing in the live stream way too often. Whenever she appears in the live stream, he follows her in almost no time. He doesn't do anything but just sit there watching the stream, and his account's intimacy level is rising incredibly fast.
Lin Langyi introduced a product during her live stream.
Black Butterfly Shell is a pretty kitten: "Hmm, beautiful."
When she interacted with the comments section and asked which of the different styles looked better—
Black-lipped Clam: "I like them all, they're really beautiful and suit me perfectly."
Sometimes the chat in the live stream gets noisy—
Black Butterfly: "Don't spam, don't make noise, I can't see the screen anymore."
Lin Langyi: ...
She inexplicably felt guilty, as if she had hired an online army. This Black Butterfly was more punctual than the company's employees clocking in and out. He was also the kind of abnormal employee who was always either praising the boss's wisdom in the group chat or working overtime to protect the company's interests. She even suspected that he had put the live broadcast announcement message first, while this Mr. Yuan was using her live broadcast as background noise after work late at night instead of handling official business.
But Lin Langyi didn't say anything.
After all, Yuan Chuyu hadn't done anything else out of line. After the competition, she deliberately ignored his expectant gaze and made a phone call with Cheng Yanjin that wasted both of their time talking nonsense. When they reached the shore, Yuan Chuyu was still somewhat dejected, but he still personally escorted her to the shore.
After that, the two didn't have any private conversations on WeChat, and their cooperation continued. Only when he was in the live broadcast room with the nickname "Black Butterfly Shell" would he act like an ordinary person, without any airs or burdens, saying a few words he wanted to say and sending a few emojis.
Sometimes, Lin Langyi would feel a pang of conscience when she saw him being so submissive and humble, and would respond with a few "Thank you, Black Butterfly Shell" when there were fewer people around. Then he would visibly become more active, and after careful consideration, he would post a lavish review praising the product and send her a few gifts to boost his popularity.
This back-and-forth online friendship didn't last long. Lin Langyi received a text message from Cheng Yanjin, asking if she was free to watch the game on Wednesday night.
Lin Langyi thought that Cheng Yanjin would not be able to escape until the beating stopped, but she did not expect that he would come to her office with two boxes of food in the evening.
"What's this?" Lin Langyi looked up from the document in a daze, holding a pen as she rummaged through the plastic bag.
Cheng Yanjin twisted open a bottle of mineral water and gulped it down, pinching a few corners of the bottle with his fingers. Only after quenching his thirst did he answer, "Teriyaki vegetarian eel, don't you like to eat it? There's some tonight, so I brought it for you."
She hadn't had time to eat yet, and upon hearing this, she didn't stand on ceremony, broke apart her chopsticks, and began to eat heartily.
Cheng Yanjin strolled around her office twice, and when he saw the rest room behind her reception room, he asked, "Have you been sleeping here these past few days?"
"Hmm." Lin Langyi didn't even look up and focused on eating. "I'll be free once the new anchor joins. I'll just fill in temporarily."
He glanced at the room, which was clearly not spacious or comfortable enough. The addition of samples for the live stream, clothing and bags for matching, as well as two suitcases of everyday clothes, made the room look even more crowded and cramped.
He frowned without realizing it and asked, "How can you sleep in this cramped room every day?"
"It's alright," Lin Langyi said. "It's just that the company is big, and Ying Shan Lake is remote at night. Looking out the window, all you see are dark mountains and water, which is a bit scary."
He was about to open the window to take a look outside when, just as he did, an upside-down ceramic cup placed in a hidden spot by the window rolled off. He reacted instantly, catching it in a flash. Just as he was about to speak, a sudden realization dawned on him, and he understood the meaning of the cup.
If someone breaks in through the window, the sound of breaking a cup will wake her up from her sleep.
"You—" Cheng Yanjin put the cup back in its place, feeling inexplicably choked with anger, and now he couldn't stand the sight of the lounge.
He said in a deep voice, "Let's renovate the house in Dingpu Community as soon as possible. It's a fully furnished apartment, so it won't take long and you can move in right away. It's only a ten-minute drive from here. Why don't you sleep there tonight? The security and property management are good, and the rooms are big and comfortable."
Lin Langyi wiped her mouth with a tissue: "From what Aunt Feng said, this apartment isn't for the time being, and we're going to buy a new one in the new development zone, right?"
"Why would you listen to her?" Cheng Yanjin rejected her outright as usual, but his reason for rejecting her was not to go against Feng Congning as before. Instead, he was seriously analyzing the situation with her. "The new development zone is ridiculously remote. If you live there, won't you have to circle the city to get to work? It'll be like a journey to the West, which is extremely inconvenient. Besides, it's only half-developed. Supermarkets, hospitals, subways, and all sorts of facilities haven't been built yet. The main problem is that it needs to be renovated. It'll be ages before it's ready to move in. What are you going to do in the meantime?"
He said firmly, "You don't need to listen to Feng Congning's ignorant nonsense. A house is for living in. Pick one you like."
Lin Langyi put down her chopsticks. She had only eaten a little something for lunch, and now that she had eaten so much teriyaki vegetarian eel, her stomach felt particularly comfortable.
She nodded: "Okay, let's go with the set we looked at last time, and get the furniture in as soon as possible."
His brows finally relaxed, and his light brown pupils shone brightly even without being under the light: "Okay, that's the one."
It was still early, so Lin Langyi finished her meal and continued working for a while. Cheng Yanjin, on the other hand, wandered around her aimlessly. He sat or lay on the sofa in the guest room and played on his phone for a while, then strolled into her lounge and touched and looked at everything. He even looked at the clothes she had left hanging on the hanger that she hadn't had time to throw into the washing machine. I don't know what he found so interesting, but he acted like a leader coming down to inspect the site.
Fortunately, he was sensible enough to know that it was best not to make a sound. Although he couldn't sit still, he didn't disturb her from doing her work.
During this time, the company's department manager came to Lin Langyi's office to report on matters. Cheng Yanjin poked his head out of the lounge and made eye contact with the other party. He immediately raised his hand and laughed heartily, revealing a set of neat and white teeth, and said: "Hello, I am a family member of Boss Lin. Please have a chat."
The department manager kept saying things like "golden couple" and "a perfect match," but Lin Langyi walked up to him expressionlessly and kicked the door of the lounge, trying to lock the dog that was wandering around everywhere inside.
Cheng Yanjin was grinning from ear to ear when he was suddenly nearly hit on the nose by a door panel. He quickly blocked the door with his hand and asked in a low voice, "Lin Langyi, can I sit on your bed?"
Lin Langyi pressed down on the doorknob with one hand and pressed down on his furry head with the other, as if forcing a dog that didn't want to go back to its cage, coldly saying: "No one can sit on my bed before they've taken a shower, and even less so while wearing a coat."
He smirked, muttered "I take two showers a day," and obediently retreated back onto the sofa.
Lin Langyi listened to the report for an hour, and several documents were submitted one after another, which she handled seamlessly.
Every time Cheng Yanjin heard the silence of reports or the sound of doors opening and closing outside, he would quietly open the door to the lounge and peek at her. If she noticed, he would grin, and when he saw someone else coming in, he would droop his lips and lock himself in his room without making a sound.
Finally, the company employees left one by one, and no one was looking for Lin Langyi anymore. Cheng Yanjin slammed the door open, took a couple of deep breaths, and walked out: "I was suffocating in there. How much longer are you going to keep me locked up?"
Lin Langyi frantically typed on the keyboard, her eyes fixed on the screen, and said, "I didn't even have time to have a cup of tea in order to squeeze in time to watch your match tonight, so don't bother me."
It was clearly meant to be a reprimand and a lesson, but Cheng Yanjin didn't explode as usual. Instead, he walked briskly back to the sofa and sat down, looking quite composed as he hugged the cushion he had taken from her lounge. He even hummed a couple of lines of a song with a cheerful air.
Lin Langyi glanced over with a melancholy look.
He immediately stopped talking, frantically trying to suppress his smile but couldn't. He got up to pour her some water: "So what if you don't have time to drink water? I'll pour you some. If you can watch my game and drink less water, that's a steal."
He poured some water, casually splashed a little on the back of his hand to test the temperature, and once he felt it was warm enough, he held it directly to her lips: "Mr. Lin, have some tea."
Lin Langyi saw him testing the water temperature and froze: "Isn't this the procedure for testing the temperature of baby formula?"
He raised his hand and poured water directly into her cup: "Yes, I saw worshippers holding children in temples testing the temperature like this."
Although he looked no different from before, he had become much more careful in his work. When he held the cup up to her to feed her water, the angle was just right so that she wouldn't drink too quickly or spill it on the keyboard.
Lin Langyi finished her drink and nodded: "Now I think sending you to the retreat was the best decision I ever made."
He still harbored resentment about it, and with a snort, said sarcastically, "Thank you for giving me a chance to spend my life in jail, so I can turn over a new leaf and start anew."
Lin Langyi smiled and said, "You're welcome."
The matter was finally completed in a rush. Lin Langyi picked up her bag and was about to leave when Cheng Yanjin pushed open the door and stood there impatiently, saying casually, "It's still early. It starts at eight o'clock. If you haven't eaten enough, you can go for another meal."
Lin Langyi turned off the air conditioner and lights: "I'm not eating. You guys will definitely go out for a late-night snack after the competition, so we can eat then."
A wide smile spread across his face: "Okay."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Langyi's phone suddenly rang. She glanced at the name of village cadre Fu Shuxuan on the screen and a bad feeling suddenly rose in her heart.
She answered the call and glanced at Cheng Yanjin. He looked like a big dog with a leash, eager to go for a walk, gesturing for her to make the call while walking.
Lin Langyi hesitated for a moment, then met his expectant eyes and turned on speakerphone.
Fu Shuxuan: "Langyi? Are you still at the company?"
"Yes, Director Fu, what's the matter?"
"Oh, it's good that you're here. Here's the thing, we also received a last-minute notice. The city held a meeting this afternoon and received the latest policy document from above saying that we need to apply for the second batch of characteristic towns. Yingshanhu is on the list, so the bureau and office have to convey the spirit of the policy document and the meeting to the townships overnight. There will be a video conference at 6:30. Are you free tonight? You can join this video conference."
Lin Langyi did not answer, but simply raised her head and calmly looked at Cheng Yanjin.
He listened to every single word without missing a single one. His initially excited eyes gradually dimmed, and the radiance that had surrounded him faded, like a sunflower that had suddenly withered, unable even to raise its head and enthusiastically greet the sun.
"It's nothing, it's nothing..." He lowered his head and shuffled his shoes on the ground. "Hey, it's all men where I live. You girls might find it boring and uninteresting. If you have a meeting, then go to the meeting."
Lin Langyi stared at his dejected yet feigned indifference face, and replied to Fu Shuxuan on the phone: "Okay, Director Fu, thank you for the notification. I will definitely attend on time."
After hanging up the phone, Cheng Yanjin was still listless with his head down. Lin Langyi paused and explained, "This is very important. Policy documents are the weathervane. I've been paying attention to the application for the second batch of characteristic towns for a long time, so..."
“I know.” He kicked the floor again casually, as if there were some unsightly pebbles in the smooth, tidy corridor. “Didn’t you say that you should keep your own things in your own hands? If you don’t go, your brother will, right?”
He turned completely around, his back to her, his broad shoulders slumped slightly, like a withered, listless stalk of wheat, and waved his hand: "Go on, go on, I'm leaving first too."
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