Gasp! She's a Time Traveler Using Modern Tech to Improve Ancient Life-Chapter 401 - 398: Bright Lights and Flowing Wine
Not long after Lin Wanwan left, Wang Bocheng came looking for Lu Shouyue.
When he went to the basement garage to fetch the newly painted picture from his car, he brought Wang Bocheng up along the way.
Wang Bocheng looked curiously at the painting Lu Shouyue was holding carelessly and said strangely, "Lu, have you been single for so long that you’ve gone crazy? Are you starting to like young pretty boys? And even got a painting of a shapeless man?"
Wang Bocheng, who runs an entertainment company, was used to the idea of male-on-male relationships. The playful types have a little fairy in their right hand and a fresh pretty boy in their left, while the outsiders are shipping the fairy and the pretty boy from the show, not knowing that off-screen, they’re actually rivals.
That’s why Wang Bocheng said CP-shipping fans are the dumbest, they don’t understand anything, just fantasizing about a grand love story and even spending real money on it.
Lu Shouyue ignored Wang Bocheng’s teasing and asked him indifferently, "Why did you come by today, do you have a new target?"
"Hey! Can’t I come to see you?" Wang Bocheng said with a grin.
Lu Shouyue shot him a sideways glance, "Do you think I believe you?"
Wang Bocheng chuckled, "Of course you do! Lu, there’s a saying, once a man has eaten his fill, he always wants to hang out with his brothers."
Lu Shouyue shook his head with a smile, as the elevator doors opened and he led the other man into his apartment, "There’s beer and drinks in the fridge, help yourself, but the wine on the rack is off-limits."
"Oh~ but I only like the good stuff on your wine rack!" Wang Bocheng changed his shoes at the entrance with familiarity, then noticed the women’s slippers with surprise, "Oh, Lu, you’ve got someone here? Finally succeeded in hiding a beauty?"
That really hit a nerve!
With a slight annoyance, Lu Shouyue held the painting and walked away, heading to the study connected to the living room.
Wang Bocheng casually grabbed a soda from the fridge and plopped onto the sofa, "Hey Spirit of the Times, turn on the TV."
"As you command, turning on the TV for you now." said an obviously programmed electronic female voice, and the next second, the TV indeed turned on.
Listening to the noise from the TV, Lu Shouyue sat at the desk, hands crossed, with a deep look, staring at the oil painting he had just placed in front of the bookshelf.
A moment later, he took out his phone and went online to check today’s news about the auction. Among them, there was a report he had arranged, which was precisely about this painting.
Having difficulty finding the person from the video, Lu Shouyue changed his strategy and decided to let the other party reveal themselves.
Today, Lin Wanwan’s words and actions clearly told him that she indeed knows the man from the high mountain and flowing water video back then. It’s just unclear why there’s no trace of him online.
"Hey, Lu, how long do you plan to blacklist little Chen? The girl’s so desperate she’s about to throw herself at you, good thing I’m not a fan of local options."
Lu Shouyue casually replied, "Forever."
"Hey, come on, what did she do to offend you? Tried to climb into your bed in the nude, aiming for your years of monk-like self-restraint?"
"Bo, she’s just a typical newcomer in the entertainment circle with average looks, and you’re so desperate you’re considering local talent?"
"Oh, forget it! If that’s the case, I won’t play along with you love rookies!"
While these two thirty-year-old childhood friends were bickering immaturely, Lin Wanwan had already met with lawyer Tan Qinghui to start reviewing the lease contract.
After a thorough review, Tan Qinghui suggested several modifications, but all were rejected by Old Chen.
That’s just how domineering Times Square is; if you want to set up shop, you have to go by the contract drafted by their legal department.
Tan Qinghui walked aside to chat with Lin Wanwan for a bit, "Boss Lin, the contract terms are generally fine, but you’re at a disadvantage in the breach of contract clause, what do you think?"
Lin Wanwan asked, "No other traps, right?"
"No traps, just some one-sided clauses. I see they’re quite confident, if you don’t sign, they probably don’t care and won’t compromise."
Lin Wanwan nodded to indicate she understood, listened to Tan Qinghui’s analysis of those one-sided terms, and felt they were still acceptable. So, she returned to the negotiating table, signed her name, stamped the official seal, and officially completed the contract signing.
After bidding farewell with a handshake, Lin Wanwan also said goodbye to Tan Qinghui and then directly walked across the pedestrian shopping street to the office she rented in the Times Building.
Today was also the day her cousin Su Yanwei and a newly recruited batch of sales staff reported to the company.
Besides introducing everyone to each other, Lin Wanwan also planned a team-building event to enhance rapport among all the company employees.
Given they were a small team, necessary bonding was crucial. Big companies rely on rules and regulations to manage employees, while small teams motivate staff through personal relationships and big promises.
The team-building specifics were arranged by Accountant Zhou, the finance officer. In the evening, they would gather for a meal at a mid-priced restaurant on the fifth floor of Times Square, then go singing at the KTV club next to the square.
Including Su Yanwei and the five new sales staff, the company’s total number officially hit double digits, and getting to twenty didn’t seem far off. Lin Wanwan sighed about the difficulties of entrepreneurship!
Compared to selling mirrors for jewels, making embroidery—considered obsolete by mainstream society—profitable was much harder.
All the hustle and bustle in the world, for nothing more than a few pieces of silver.
After work, everyone walked over to the square for dinner.
Modern gatherings were nothing special; just rounds of drinking and offering food. Far inferior and mundane compared to the drinking games and singing and dancing banquets of the Great Tang Dynasty.
At those Great Tang aristocratic banquets, Lin Wanwan always had to be mentally prepared, or she’d be a laughingstock!
But modern times were different, it was all about eating and drinking. If the host is a power-soaked greasy old man, lowbrow jokes would serve as table seasoning.
Fortunately, Lin Wanwan’s company didn’t have that problem tonight. Except for Accountant Zhou, who was a retired old auntie, everyone else was full of youthful vigor.
The oldest was probably Pan Junqi, Gu Jingyu’s former master, but he was just in his early thirties, not even with children yet.
After dinner, a large group of people made their way to the club, and after showing the double code to security, they still had to pass through a security gate.
This was the upgraded security measure after numerous incidents of drunken brawls, affairs, and fights!
Lin Wanwan’s group of people who seldom went singing came in bewildered.
Once inside, not far from the entrance, they were engulfed by a world of neon lights, and in the hallways and lobby, there were many red men and green women.
The scantily clad ladies and vest-wearing gentlemen in such places inevitably made people imagine other things.
Lin Wanwan held a fairly disdainful opinion of these people. In the Great Tang, all of them were pitifully forced by fate, arousing sympathy, but in modern times, wasn’t there other ways to make a living?
Driving rideshares or delivering food, even those could bring in a good monthly income if you worked hard. Of course, she wouldn’t judge others too harshly, as everyone has their own aspirations.
However, once inside the private room, Lin Wanwan reminded her employees to be safe, especially the female ones, to avoid going out alone, as this place contained all sorts of people and was too chaotic.
Gu Jingyu, being pregnant, was the only one absent from the second part of the event, catching a ride home after the dinner breakup, which everyone understood.
