Sang Ying opened the door and moved in a newly purchased chair, while Ding Han followed, carrying a bouquet of fresh flowers.
“Just put the flowers on the table,” Sang Ying said.
“There is no room for anything else even if I do not put them on the table,” Ding Han replied. “Are you really sure about negotiating a partnership with a big company in this crummy little room?”
The room was truly small and shabby; with the addition of a new chair, there was not even enough space to turn around.
“President Xia said she wanted to see the place where we broadcast,” Sang Ying said while tidying up the room. “It is okay. We need to be transparent.”
Ding Han looked around the room. It was so small that one could see the entire space in a single second. She felt it was embarrassing and was terrified that others would think they were just a small workshop.
Of course, they were pretty much exactly that.
Sang Ying was quick and nimble as she tidied up. She found a glass bottle from somewhere, placed the flowers in it, and set it in the middle of the table. The crude wooden table paired with the humble vase looked quite incongruous.
“How is it?” Sang Ying asked, feeling rather satisfied.
Ding Han slapped her forehead. Sang Ying had always been frank and open, with a sincere and straightforward personality; she never felt that this place being shabby was a problem.
Ding Han shrugged, silently praying that President Xia would not see this place and regret her decision.
Once everything was ready, the two went downstairs to wait. They had scheduled the meeting for 6:00 PM. At 6:03 PM, a black Phantom drove toward them from the distance.
The car stopped in front of them, and the front passenger door opened. A burly, robust male Alpha stepped out, dressed in black. They recognized him. Ding Han glanced at Sang Ying.
Was this not the bodyguard they had encountered at the gate of the villa a few days ago?
Ding Han covered her mouth and whispered, “Could this President Xia be that Omega who helped us the other day?”
Sang Ying stared intently at the car, recalling that the female voice on the phone did seem a bit familiar.
The bodyguard walked to the rear door on the driver’s side and opened it. A pair of white high-heeled boots appeared first, followed by gray cotton-linen wide-leg pants. A woman in a white wool coat stepped out of the car.
Ding Han gasped; it really was that Omega.
Sang Ying reacted faster than her and stepped forward. “Hello, are you President Xia?”
Xia Tingwang looked up at the dilapidated little building. It had rained yesterday, and the ground was somewhat uneven and puddled, but none of that mattered; the sound of Sang Ying’s voice brought her joy.
“Yes,” Xia Tingwang extended her delicate, fair right hand. “Xia Tingwang.”
Sang Ying reached out to shake it. Xia Tingwang looked down. Sang Ying’s hand was not as fair as her own, but it was much more slender. They touched briefly before pulling away; she only felt the bony structure of the fingers.
“Nice to meet you, President Xia. I am Ding Han,” Ding Han hurriedly extended her hand as well. “Qingdeng Skincare was co-founded by both of us.”
Xia Tingwang then noticed Ding Han. She was also an Alpha, but her voice sounded like a generic, mechanical drone to Xia Tingwang. She had no interest and shook her hand perfunctorily.
Xia Tingwang followed Sang Ying into the building. The lighting inside was dim, and there was no elevator. Xia Tingwang gripped Zhuang Yan’s arm, keeping her head down to watch the steps beneath her feet.
Suddenly, a bright light illuminated the ground in front of Xia Tingwang. She looked up; it was Sang Ying, who had turned on her phone’s flashlight, thoughtfully lighting the way for her.
“Please be careful,” Sang Ying said.
The originally raspy voice had softened. Xia Tingwang felt her face flush for no reason. She calmly looked away and replied, “Mm.”
She answered very steadily, though she did not realize she had subconsciously tightened her grip on Zhuang Yan’s arm.
Arriving at the third floor, Xia Tingwang was horrified by the broken, cluttered hallway. It was dirty, murky, and emitted a musty, foul, and indecipherable odor of decay.
Xia Tingwang frowned, using all her poise to keep from showing her disgust.
After passing through the suffocating corridor, Sang Ying opened the door to the last small room. The unpleasant odor was much fainter here. Xia Tingwang glanced at the room.
It was very clean. Although small and devoid of decoration, her opinion of the room improved significantly after walking through that dump-like hallway.
Xia Tingwang was very familiar with the one wall that served as decoration; it was the background she watched on their live stream every night. In reality, it was just a large piece of wallpaper pasted on the wall with the characters “Qingdeng Skincare” printed on it.
Sang Ying pulled out the chair and greeted her, “President Xia, please have a seat.”
The chair was a simple wooden one with a cute yellow round cushion on it; the other two chairs had nothing. It was clearly prepared specifically for her.
Xia Tingwang looked aside. “Wait for me downstairs.”
Zhuang Yan nodded, handed the document bag in his hand to Xia Tingwang, and turned to head downstairs.
The three sat face-to-face at the table. Sang Ying said, “President Xia, here are our business license and the inspection reports for our products.”
Xia Tingwang sat upright in the chair, her back straight. It was not surprising that the small brand had all its documents in order; these were essential requirements for opening a business.
Xia Tingwang flipped through the inspection reports. The laboratory that Sang Ying had commissioned was so small she had never heard of it, and its professional standards were nowhere near those of her own lab.
The room was cold and damp. Xia Tingwang rubbed her hands together and asked, “You mentioned the other day that the products were made by yourselves. Do you have your own laboratory?”
She was referring to the conversation at the villa gate.
“No,” Sang Ying said. “We are students at Wen University across the street, in the Chemistry Department. The formulas for these products were developed in the school lab, and then we paid a factory outside to manufacture them.”
So that was it. That resolved Xia Tingwang’s doubts. She turned to look at the room. In the corner, there was a simple wooden shelf with unopened products stacked on it.
Xia Tingwang said, “It is dry and cold in the room during winter, so it is fine to store them like this. But once the weather gets hot, this place will become damp and dark, which easily promotes mold growth.”
Sang Ying had already considered this issue. She replied candidly, “Yes, this is just for temporary storage. When the weather gets hot, we will find another solution.”
She looked at Xia Tingwang and noticed she was constantly rubbing her hands, so she crouched down and turned on the heater under the table.
Xia Tingwang felt a sudden warmth by her feet and stood up in surprise. “What is this?”
“A heater,” Sang Ying was startled by her reaction and stood up to comfort her. “Please, do not be afraid.”
Under the table, a device that looked like an electric fan but had no blades was emitting an orange-yellow light. Xia Tingwang sat back down; the small heater made her feel warm.
As her body temperature gradually returned, Xia Tingwang cleared her throat to hide the slight embarrassment from just moments ago. “Are you familiar with VW?”
“We are!” Ding Han answered first. “VW’s skincare and cosmetics have always pursued pure plant extracts and follow a healthy skincare route. Actually, Sang Ying and I have always been fans of VW. Although we cannot afford VW products, when we founded ‘Qingdeng,’ we truly studied VW.”
These words were not flattery; they really liked VW. However, Sang Ying felt a bit embarrassed after Ding Han finished, as the words sounded very much like she was trying to suck up to Xia Tingwang right to her face.
Xia Tingwang was indeed pleased to hear it, and with the heater having an effect, she felt warm all over. She leaned back in the chair, her waist resting against the cushion.
“The reason I am seeking a partnership with you is that I want you to help sell VW products,” Xia Tingwang finally got to the point. “We will provide the venue and the platform; you only need to provide the talent.”
Xia Tingwang opened the document bag beside her, took out a contract, and placed it in front of Sang Ying. “Take a look.”
Sang Ying looked down; it was a partnership agreement. Her breathing tightened, and she reached out to flip through it.
Xia Tingwang twirled the ring on her index finger, smelling the faint scent of mint pheromones in the air, and felt quite good.
Ding Han leaned in to read the contract with Sang Ying. The contract stated that the Party A, the VW side, would provide all funding, while Party B, Qingdeng Skincare, would only need to provide the hosts to sell the products. They would receive commissions and wages based on sales quotas determined by the market.
Ding Han was a bit puzzled. “Is this hiring live streamers?”
The contract looked just like a job offer for streamers; what did it have to do with their “Qingdeng Skincare”?
“No,” Xia Tingwang said. “Your products will be given away as free gifts to the consumers.”
Sang Ying looked up, beyond shocked. Ding Han’s jaw dropped.
“Do not be surprised,” Xia Tingwang said calmly, her presence as a CEO very powerful. “You are currently a new brand. Use this as a promotional gift to gain recognition. Besides, I do not know the quality of your products, and neither do the consumers. But by using them as promotional gifts, even if they are not great, they will not face severe criticism. Conversely, if they turn out to be excellent, you know yourself what the results will be.”
The two pondered Xia Tingwang’s words. VW had wide recognition; using its reputation to build their own was undoubtedly the best strategy.
“What is the duration?” Sang Ying asked. “There must be a time limit for using them as gifts.”
Xia Tingwang held up three fingers. “Three months. If your products receive good feedback after three months, you can officially sell them on the live stream.”
It was a tempting contract. Sang Ying had no reason to refuse, so she signed it.
Xia Tingwang stamped the end of the contract with her personal seal and handed a copy to Sang Ying. “The contract will officially take effect starting tomorrow. Also,” she took out her phone, “let us add each other on WeChat.”
Sang Ying hurriedly added her. To make things look professional, Xia Tingwang also added Ding Han and created a three-person work group. Xia Tingwang looked at the sunflower on Sang Ying’s WeChat avatar and curved her eyes into a gentle smile.
After a long while, she realized the two across from her were still watching her. She put down her phone and looked at Sang Ying. “Are you doing a live stream tonight?”
“Yes, at seven o’clock.”
It was already 6:40 PM. Xia Tingwang said, “Do you mind if I listen in?”
The two were stunned. She quickly added, “I need to see if you are professional enough.”
“We do not mind,” Sang Ying said. “Though it might be a bit boring.”
Xia Tingwang waved her hand to indicate it was fine. How could it be boring? Just listening to this voice alone, she would never be bored.
At seven o’clock, the live stream started on time. Xia Tingwang sat behind the camera, watching Sang Ying stream face-to-face for the first time. She watched intently. Without the barrier of a screen, Sang Ying’s genuine voice and real person were right in front of her.
Xia Tingwang closed her eyes, enjoying this unique scent. The air was filled with the mix of her pheromones and her voice.
Of course, if it were not for Ding Han’s pheromones, Xia Tingwang might have actually found this little room quite cozy.