Cang Xuehe woke up early today to go look at office spaces. Ever since she arrived in this world, she had become completely lazy; usually, she wouldn’t wake up until noon. Now that her new roommate was making her breakfast, she couldn’t be happier.
However, the breakfast she was so eagerly waiting for at the dining table far exceeded her expectations.
Inside a bowl of fragrant noodles sat a beautiful poached egg, accompanied by two small green vegetables and bright red shrimp. The surface was covered in a thick layer of red oil, looking very appetizing.
—Of course, that was assuming it wasn’t breakfast time.
Eating something so oily and spicy first thing in the morning made Cang Xuehe’s stomach ache just looking at it. With a scrunched-up face, she asked Xiao Youyi, “This… is the breakfast you made?!”
“Is it not good?” Xiao Youyi feigned surprise, playing dumb.
“It’s not a matter of whether it tastes good or not.” Cang Xuehe’s brows furrowed, her tone turning sour. “Breakfast is this oily and spicy—who could possibly eat this? Didn’t I say yesterday that I wanted something light?”
“My apologies, I forgot.”
“…”
Faced with such a flippant apology, the speechlessness in Cang Xuehe’s eyes was obvious. The two remained at a standstill for a long time, the silence only broken by the “growl, growl” of a hungry stomach.
According to Si Yao’s understanding, Cang Xuehe’s mood depended entirely on whether her stomach was full. Now that she was hungry, facing this bowl of red soup noodles would surely make her blow her top.
This was the perfect opportunity to pick a fight and trigger the “disgust” points.
“…Is there nothing else to eat?”
Si Yao answered her with absolute certainty: “No.”
“…” The atmosphere fell into a dead silence again.
There was no sign of Cang Xuehe’s brows relaxing, and Si Yao met her gaze without fear.
“Growl, growl.” Cang Xuehe’s stomach betrayed her again.
Cang Xuehe let out a long sigh and picked up her chopsticks, intending to eat. Si Yao looked surprised; her body moved faster than her brain as she reached out to stop her.
Si Yao asked, “What are you doing?”
“I’m hungry, so of course I’m going to eat breakfast,” Cang Xuehe said. As her chopsticks were about to dip into the noodles, Si Yao stopped her again, saying, “This is spicy.”
“I know,” Cang Xuehe said helplessly. “Do I have any other choice?”
Although Cang Xuehe wanted to give the person a piece of her mind the moment she saw the bright red breakfast, she endured it because she was facing a beautiful girl!
A beautiful girl can be forgiven for anything! The “face-con” (someone obsessed with looks) inside her shed tears of weakness.
Xiao Youyi seemed somewhat disappointed. The famished Cang Xuehe didn’t care much anymore; she lifted a mouthful of noodles, and just as she sensed something was off, the noodles were already in her mouth.
There was none of the expected greasiness, nor was it spicy. It was the unique, slight tartness of tomatoes—refreshing and appetizing.
Cang Xuehe stirred the noodles a few times and pushed aside the “red oil” on the surface; underneath were clear soup and white noodles.
“Huh.” Cang Xuehe looked at Xiao Youyi and quickly realized what had happened. “You’re quite the prankster!”
Si Yao: “…”
The feeling of returning to heaven from hell was a pleasant surprise for Cang Xuehe. The portion wasn’t large, and she felt a bit unsatisfied even after finishing.
Cang Xuehe patted her stomach, looking very pleased, and didn’t hold back her praise: “Tomato noodles are really delicious!”
[Cang Xuehe’s favorability UP]
Si Yao: “…………” (Despair of a beautiful woman).
“Have you eaten breakfast?” Only after filling her stomach did Cang Xuehe remember to ask about Si Yao’s well-being.
“…I’ve eaten.”
“Oh.” Cang Xuehe checked the time. “I’m going to look at offices today; come with me.”
After all, it would be her future place of work; it would be good for Xiao Youyi to come along and give her opinion.
Regarding the scale of the company, Cang Xuehe didn’t plan on making it too big. Since this was an entrepreneurial venture where she didn’t have to spend her own money, she naturally prioritized her own interests.
She didn’t know how long she would stay in this world; perhaps she would wake up one day and be back where she started. She had to maximize her benefits within this limited time.
From a learning perspective, she decided to first rent a medium-to-small office in a building that could accommodate thirty to forty people, and then gradually expand as the company grew. Therefore, Cang Xuehe had to personally oversee everything regarding the company.
While they were on the road, the agent called. After confirming the time, Cang Xuehe looked down at the office information the agent had sent to her phone.
Suddenly, she heard Xiao Youyi ask, “What is the company’s main business?”
Cang Xuehe’s fingertips paused, and she quickly replied, “Advertising, I suppose. As for other things, as long as they make money, I’ll consider them.”
No matter which world you are in, advertising is everywhere. Cang Xuehe had chosen advertising as her major in university, though she hadn’t been particularly outstanding as a newcomer in her department back then.
But here, it was different. She could hire a few experts and learn from their strengths to make up for her weaknesses. If she really did go back, the trip wouldn’t have been in vain. It was killing two birds with one stone!
In Cang Xuehe’s dream company, there absolutely had to be an extra-large independent office. After relaying this requirement to the agent, the first office they visited was very much to her liking.
“Mr. Cang, what do you think of this office? All the desks and chairs are matching sets. Per your requirements, the inner office is super spacious, and there’s a pantry. You could start working immediately after signing the lease.”
“Mm-hmm~” Cang Xuehe nodded, looking quite satisfied. The workspace was large enough to comfortably accommodate forty people, which, in her opinion, was more than enough for a startup.
The agent was delighted. “Should I prepare the paperwork for this one, then?”
“Oka—” Before Cang Xuehe could finish, Xiao Youyi’s voice cut in. “No.”
“Why?” Cang Xuehe was confused. She liked this office quite a bit and couldn’t think of a reason why it wouldn’t work.
Xiao Youyi swept her gaze across the entire layout and replied, “The floor plan isn’t right. There’s no independent meeting room. It would be very inconvenient for meetings and impossible to properly receive clients.”
“That’s true!” With that reminder, Cang Xuehe realized she did indeed need a meeting room. The small cubicle next to the boss’s office could only serve as a storage room at best; it couldn’t be converted into a conference space.
“Uh…” The agent felt a bit guilty. The lack of an independent meeting room was indeed a major flaw. He had thought he could close the deal, but hadn’t expected this issue to come up again. He could only say, “Then let me take you to see the next one.”
The agent took them to another suite. This one had everything: offices, a meeting room, a pantry, and a reception desk. Except for the mediocre natural lighting, it was acceptable.
“See, this one perfectly meets your requirements!” The agent said after leading Cang Xuehe through all the rooms. “The previous company just moved out two days ago, and this hasn’t even been listed yet. Mr. Cang, if you’re satisfied, you should lock it down quickly. Once this hits the market, I guarantee many bosses will be fighting over it!”
Swayed by the agent’s pitch, Cang Xuehe took a few more looks and felt it was indeed quite good. Just as she was about to negotiate the price, Si Yao returned from scouting the hallway with new thoughts.
“I noticed this entire floor is filled with sales companies.”
The agent froze. “What’s wrong with sales companies?”
“Ah, then that won’t do!” Cang Xuehe immediately caught Xiao Youyi’s drift.
She remembered Chen Zixin complaining to her about the sales company next door to her office. They were like fanatics—playing games during morning meetings and singing and dancing after the lunch break. They were so rowdy they had been reported multiple times.
Cang Xuehe didn’t want to experience Chen Zixin’s nightmare, especially with an entire floor of sales companies. She had seen sales teams outside their buildings doing “pep talks” and “punishment drills”; it looked exactly like a cult organization.
In the end, the two of them followed the agent through several more units without finding anything satisfactory, returning home in disappointment.
On the way back, Cang Xuehe was browsing office rental ads on a website. Halfway through, she suddenly realized something.
“Wait a minute.” She looked at Xiao Youyi. “How do you know all this so clearly?”
Xiao Youyi could not only analyze office layouts but also notice the types of neighboring companies and other details that hadn’t even crossed Cang Xuehe’s mind.
According to Xiao Youyi’s resume, she didn’t have any experience working in a corporate environment. How could she have noticed all these things?