Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees-Chapter 42 - 41: The First Employee

The doorway was empty.

Chen Yansen raised his hand to check his watch. 7:57 PM. Three minutes until eight o’clock. He felt no sense of disappointment; in fact, he was a little relieved.

He pushed the door open, walked into the room, and began unbuttoning his shirt from the top down. Just as he reached the last button, a KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK sounded from the door.

The expression on Chen Yansen’s face stiffened, and a flash of annoyance crossed his eyes. But he quickly recovered, let out a long breath, and put on his usual roguish, devil-may-care smirk.

’Women... they’re all the same!’

Chen Yansen scoffed disdainfully, walked to the entrance, and slowly pulled the door open.

Song Yuncheng stood timidly in the doorway, clutching her laptop. A far cry from the fierce demeanor she had when they first met, every inch of her was now on high alert.

"What are you spacing out for? Get in!"

Chen Yansen slapped the door panel, his tone harsh.

"Oh."

Song Yuncheng bit her lip and glanced up at Chen Yansen. His face was chiseled with sharp angles, and a wicked smile played on his lips. He was undeniably handsome, but he really didn’t look like a good person.

In an instant, the courage she had painstakingly mustered vanished completely. Just as she was about to take a step back and run for it, Chen Yansen grabbed her by the collar and, with a look of utter disgust, dragged her inside.

SLAM!

The heavy door shut tight!

"Let’s start."

Chen Yansen ordered, sitting down on the sofa and looking at Song Yuncheng.

"Start what?"

Song Yuncheng’s heart was pounding. She thought she had been prepared, but she hadn’t expected the simple sound of the door slamming shut to throw her mind into utter chaos.

"The interview, of course. I’m giving you one more chance. Based on your performance just now, I would’ve failed you already."

Chen Yansen huffed, a look of displeasure on his face.

"Ah? O-Okay, right away."

Song Yuncheng bit her lip hard, forcing herself out of her daze. She cautiously opened her laptop, plugged in a USB drive, clicked open a file, and said:

"This is my portfolio. It has product design sketches, e-commerce posters, and brand logos. Which would you like to see first?"

"Let’s see all of it."

Chen Yansen said nonchalantly. ’Graphic design work from over a decade ago is probably ugly and dated. I mainly want to test Song Yuncheng’s design philosophy and fundamentals.’

Song Yuncheng nodded and, moving the mouse, began to introduce her design works to Chen Yansen one by one.

It was just as he had expected. Her portfolio looked like a design course from the new millennium; there was nothing particularly brilliant to be found.

"Are you desperate for money?"

Chen Yansen shook his head, then looked at Song Yuncheng and asked.

"I am. Why do you ask?"

Song Yuncheng was half-squatting in front of the coffee table. Startled by Chen Yansen’s sudden question, she answered instinctively before asking one of her own.

"At your skill level, you’re not qualified for a UI designer position. How about I offer you a new job? Be my part-time girlfriend. Ten thousand a month."

Chen Yansen said it lightly. He’d made this kind of offer many times before, just with different prices and to different women.

"Chen Yansen, I knew you were up to no good! I just want to earn money with my own skills. You haven’t even given me a single design requirement, so what gives you the right to say I’m not good enough?"

Like a cat with its fur on end, Song Yuncheng shot to her feet. As she yelled at Chen Yansen, she pulled out a palm-sized brick.

’No wonder her pocket was bulging. She was hiding a weapon!’

She was seething, looking as if she would smash the brick over Chen Yansen’s head at the slightest provocation.

"I’ll give you one hour. Design a cartoon mascot for a shopping website, something like the ones for Taobao and Jingdong."

Chen Yansen squinted, studying her for a moment before speaking.

Seeing Song Yuncheng holding up the brick, he couldn’t help but grin. There were plenty of beautiful girls, but he preferred interesting ones.

"Next time, I won’t be so polite. I’ll just smash your head in."

Song Yuncheng warned, her cheeks flushing as she panted with anger.

"Yes, yes, of course. So, are you accepting my interview request?"

Chen Yansen crossed his arms, clearly not taking her threat seriously.

"Hmph! One hour it is."

Song Yuncheng picked up her laptop, pulled out a chair from the dining table, and started working, ignoring everything else.

Chen Yansen chuckled softly, grabbed his pajamas and a towel, and walked into the bathroom without a backward glance.

A moment later, the SPLASHING of water could be heard.

Song Yuncheng’s hand, holding the mouse, paused. She couldn’t help but recall their first meeting, when she had been showering in the bathroom and Chen Yansen was waiting outside.

’Ten thousand a month... he’s offering a lot.’

Song Yuncheng thought to herself. She had checked job sites. For a minor designer from a second-tier university like her, she’d be thanking her lucky stars to get a monthly salary of six thousand after graduation, and that would only be possible in a top-tier city like Shanghai, Beijing, or Shenzhen.

’Song Yuncheng, what bullshit ’part-time girlfriend’? It’s just a nice way of saying you’d be his mistress, isn’t it? You have to remember, you absolutely cannot give in!’

Sensing her resolve wavering, Song Yuncheng quickly admonished herself in her heart.

When you’re busy, an hour can pass in the blink of an eye.

After his shower, Chen Yansen dried his hair and glanced into the living room. Seeing that Song Yuncheng was still drawing, he went back to his bedroom, lay on the bed, and started chatting with Meng Jie.

As they chatted, he unexpectedly fell asleep.

In his dream, Prince Ziyuan was wearing a Chanel pantsuit, her aura overwhelming. She beckoned to him with a finger and said, "Chen Yansen, you think you can escape just because you were reborn?"

"Prince Ziyuan, I’d marry a pig or a dog before I marry you!"

Chen Yansen turned and ran. By chance, there was a bicycle on the side of the road. He threw himself onto it and started pedaling for dear life.

"Chen Yansen, wake up! Wake up!"

In his daze, an urgent voice called out. Chen Yansen felt the world in front of him rapidly collapsing. He snapped his eyes open, and after letting out a long sigh of relief, he realized he’d been dreaming again.

"Chen Yansen, I finished the design according to your requirements. Take a look."

Song Yuncheng looked at Chen Yansen with a strange expression, inwardly pondering: ’Who is Prince Ziyuan? To be able to scare this bastard so badly?’

Chen Yansen sat up in bed and turned to look at Song Yuncheng, who was squatting by his bedside. He gave a wry smile and said, "I thought you’d left long ago. Let me see."

On the screen was a lively and adorable little fox, colored orange and white. A gold coin hung from its ear, and it was holding a golden Yuanbao in its paws.

"I did some research. You want to create a rebate-style shopping guide e-commerce platform. In advertising, it’s called the CPS model. The little fox symbolizes intelligence and cleverness, which aligns with the website’s feature of helping users shop smart and earn rebates..."

Song Yuncheng explained her design concept and the clever little details with a serious expression.

Chen Yansen gazed at her profile. Her skin was very fair with a slight flush. A soft strand of hair fell beside her ear. Her rounded nose added a touch of charming innocence, and her lips, though a bit dry, were a beautiful pale pink.

"You know, you don’t have to work so hard. Being my girlfriend isn’t something to be ashamed of," Chen Yansen suddenly said.

"Do you still want to keep your head attached to your shoulders?"

Interrupted, Song Yuncheng frowned and shook the brick at him.

"Monthly salary of 2,000, weekends off, six hours a day. If you have classes, you can make up the hours on the weekend. You’ll be paid at the end of the month."

Chen Yansen gave a dry laugh and said seriously.

"Are you saying I passed the interview?"

Song Yuncheng pointed to herself, asking in disbelief.

She knew Chen Yansen had bad intentions, but for that sliver of hope, she had still prepared thoroughly. She had expected him to mock her a bit before arrogantly saying, "Sorry, you’re not skilled enough. You’re not hired!"

"One-month probation. If you don’t do well, you’re fired!"

Chen Yansen added fiercely.

"Thank you, boss! I’ll definitely work hard!"

Song Yuncheng promised with a radiant smile, the usual worried look gone from her face.

"However, I asked for one hour. Take a look at what time it is now."

Chen Yansen raised his hand, shoving his watch face in front of Song Yuncheng. "10:47 PM. You took almost three hours!"

"That’s because you were asleep for three hours. I couldn’t wake you up no matter what I did."

Song Yuncheng forced herself to lie. This job was hard-won, and she didn’t want to lose it.

"So you’re saying you’re not going back to your dorm? Planning to stay here?"

Chen Yansen raised an eyebrow, reminding her.

Song Yuncheng froze for a second, then it dawned on her. She snatched her laptop, threw open the door without hesitation, and bolted downstairs.

「Five minutes later.」

Standing on the balcony, Chen Yansen saw Song Yuncheng in the distance, squatting in front of the girls’ dormitory. She looked like she wanted to call for the door to be opened but didn’t dare to. He found it amusing.

He picked up his phone and called her. "My sofa can still fit one person."

"No need, I... I’ll go get the dorm manager."

Song Yuncheng’s voice was feeble, drained of Spirit.

"I’ll wait five minutes, tops. If you’re not back, I’m locking the door. And let me be clear, if you dare to disturb my sleep, don’t even think about reporting to the Innovation Park tomorrow."

Chen Yansen didn’t waste any more words on her and decisively hung up.

’With Song Yuncheng’s temperament, if she really dared to call the dorm manager, she would have done it already. Why would she wait until now?’

’The manager would definitely ask for her department and student ID, and then she’d get written up for staying out past curfew.’

Sure enough.

Song Yuncheng returned dejectedly, her hand tightly clutching that wretched brick.

"There’s AC in the living room. There’s also disposable underwear and a bath towel in the storage cabinet by the door. Get them yourself. I’m going to sleep."

Chen Yansen gave a few simple instructions and turned back to his room.

"Th-Thank you, Chen... Boss."

Before Song Yuncheng could finish, Chen Yansen had already entered his room.

She gave an awkward smile, rummaged where Chen Yansen had indicated, and took out a box of disposable underwear and a bath towel. Tiptoeing, she went into the bathroom.

She clutched that brick for most of the night.

Late into the night, with a CLATTER, the brick fell to the floor. She had forced herself to stay awake for hours. The incident she had anticipated never happened. Finally, unable to hold on any longer, she lay down on the sofa and fell into a deep sleep.

’Maybe Chen Yansen isn’t so bad after all.’ This was her last thought before she fell asleep.

「The next morning.」

Chen Yansen found Song Yuncheng still sound asleep, her breathing deep and heavy. Her white T-shirt had ridden up below her stomach, revealing a sliver of fair skin. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on her flat belly.

’Heh, as stingy as she is, it’d be a miracle if she could afford to get fat.’

Chen Yansen chuckled, thought for a moment, and grabbed a blanket. He casually tossed it over her. Seeing no reaction, he went into the washroom to brush his teeth and wash his face, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and headed straight for the Innovation Park.

As soon as he entered the Innovation Park, Chen Yansen saw Cao Dahua approaching him with a beaming smile. "Xiaochen, what a coincidence! I saw your space was a bit empty, so I helped you get a few sets of desks and chairs."

’This guy... why would he be so kind?’

A suspicious look appeared on Chen Yansen’s face, and he immediately became wary.