The lights in the small room were dim. The only bright light came from the lamp above the camera, aimed directly at Sang Ying’s face. Xia Tingwang sat in the shadows, watching her.
Her forehead was smooth and full, her nose bridge was straight but not overly sharp, and her lips were relatively thin. When she smiled, she revealed exactly eight teeth, which were white and neatly aligned.
Xia Tingwang subconsciously touched her own teeth with her tongue. She had two small canine teeth that were invisible when she was not smiling. She disliked these two canines, as she felt they compromised her authoritative image as a CEO.
She could not help but envy the neat, white teeth of Sang Ying.
“The eye cream is linked at number eight. There is a 50-yuan discount in the livestream room, making it 210 yuan per bottle.”
“Oily skin? For oily skin, link number three’s white toner is suitable; it is refreshing and non-greasy. Those with dry skin can purchase the blue toner. Also, our link number one masks are specifically formulated for dry skin types.”
It was tedious content, yet Xia Tingwang listened with great interest. She glanced at the time: 10:00 PM. She was getting a little hungry.
She remembered she had not had dinner yet. Was this what they called “feasting on beauty”?
She chuckled to herself. Picking up her phone, she intended to step out to call a restaurant. However, when she opened the door and saw the pitch-black hallway outside, she immediately shut it, clicked her heels, and hurried back to her seat.
Her actions caught the attention of the two women. Sang Ying looked up at her; with the camera recording, she could not ask what was wrong. Ding Han whispered from the side, “CEO Xia, are you alright?”
Xia Tingwang waved her hand. “I am fine.”
Jokes aside, she was certainly not afraid of the dark. She abandoned the idea of going outside to make a call and bowed her head to send a text message instead, instructing the restaurant to prepare the food.
At 12:00, Sang Ying ended her stream on time. Every day after 11:00 PM, the viewer count in the stream dropped to single digits, and after 11:30, it was usually only familiar faces. For the past few days, there had been three people lingering until the end.
Behind the unseen screen, there was an unknown viewer who always watched. Today, Sang Ying noticed that this particular viewer had not appeared in the stream.
“Finished?” Xia Tingwang asked.
“Yes.” Sang Ying turned off the camera light. The sudden shift from the intense glare to the dim light of the room made her eyes uncomfortable, so she closed them.
Sang Ying was used to it; she just needed half a minute to adjust.
Suddenly, her eyes were covered by a warm source, followed by a calm, soft voice: “A hot compress can relieve eye fatigue. Apply it for three minutes.”
Sang Ying held the heat source against her eyes. It was a hand warmer that was not very hot anymore; she had opened it earlier to warm Xia Tingwang’s hands because she was afraid the latter would be cold.
Now, the warmth was just right for a compress.
“I have booked a restaurant, ten minutes away by car,” Xia Tingwang said.
Xia Tingwang did not ask for their opinions; she simply stated it as a fact, leaving no room for them to refuse.
Of course, as their sponsor, they would not refuse anyway.
When it was time to go downstairs, Xia Tingwang called for Zhuang Yan. Zhuang Yan, Sang Ying, and Ding Han used their phone flashlights to illuminate the path for Xia Tingwang. She held her breath and walked down the stairs quickly.
Only when she reached the bottom did she exhale deeply and take a full breath.
She looked back at the dilapidated building. There were very few lights on in the middle of the night, and the whole building was plunged into darkness, looking exactly like the kind of place in movies where ominous people or events might appear at any moment. Did small streamers like them really leave in the dark like this every night?
Xia Tingwang hurried into her car.
The restaurant was a private kitchen located in a small building on the street not far from W University. From the outside, it looked like an ordinary five-story building, but behind it was a walled courtyard.
Inside the courtyard, there were rockeries and flowing water, arranged like a landscape painting.
Passing through the courtyard led to a two-story house; this was the private restaurant, named “Listening.” When Xia Tingwang was in college, her grandfather had specially set it up for her picky palate.
At first, it was just to ensure she had a place to eat while at school. After she graduated, her grandfather turned it into a commercial establishment, purely to keep it as a memory for Xia Tingwang.
By the time they arrived, the meal was already prepared. These were all dishes that Xia Tingwang enjoyed.
Xia Tingwang sat at the table. Having not eaten all night, the sight of the food triggered her hunger.
Sang Ying and Ding Han sat opposite her. A male Omega dressed in a suit, who appeared to be the person in charge of the restaurant, stood by the table.
The man stood beside Xia Tingwang, bending down to say, “Miss, this zebra shrimp was air-freighted here just two hours ago.”
Upon hearing this, Xia Tingwang picked up the knife and fork to cut a piece of shrimp meat, placed it in her bowl, and then used chopsticks to put it into her mouth to chew. The fresh, tender taste of the shrimp exploded on her taste buds. She nodded. “You two should eat as well.”
Sang Ying glanced at the table. These were clearly Chinese dishes, yet there were chopsticks, knives, and forks beside her plate. She did not know how she was supposed to eat.
Ding Han followed Xia Tingwang’s lead and used the knife and fork to cut a piece of meat. “Mmm, delicious.”
Just as Ding Han prepared to cut a second piece, Sang Ying grabbed her arm. Ding Han looked at her in confusion, only to find her staring at Xia Tingwang.
Xia Tingwang was cutting the shrimp meat, placing it in her own bowl, and then using chopsticks to eat it. Sang Ying gave Ding Han a look.
Ding Han understood. Xia Tingwang was a very fastidious person. Since Ding Han’s fork had already been in her mouth, it was a bit inappropriate to go back to cutting the shrimp meat with it. Both are Alphas, she thought; why is Sang Ying so much more observant than I am?
Ding Han felt a bit down. The meal was delicious, but the entire dinner felt overly constrained. Only when they sat in Xia Tingwang’s car and arrived at the school gate, and stepped out of the vehicle, did Ding Han finally release the breath she had been holding.
Ding Han rubbed her stomach and walked toward the campus. “I am not full.”
No one answered. She turned around to see Sang Ying still standing at the school gate, watching the black Phantom drive away. Ding Han smiled and called out, “Stop looking! We have already signed the contract; CEO Xia is not going anywhere.”
Sang Ying touched her ear. She still felt it was a bit surreal. Was it just because of that sales pitch she made at the villa gate that day that Xia Tingwang decided to work with her? But why? They were a completely new brand with no experience.
It felt unrealistic, but it was a good thing regardless. If she could not figure it out, she would not dwell on it.
The next day, Sang Ying and Ding Han arrived at the address provided by Xia Tingwang. It was a large building located very close to the VW Building. The space was bright and spacious, and workers were moving furniture inside when they arrived.
A woman in a gray suit skirt was directing the workers. When she saw Sang Ying and Ding Han, she waved at them.
“Which one is Sang Ying?” the woman asked.
Sang Ying stepped forward. “I am.”
“I am CEO Xia’s special assistant, Bai Li,” the woman said. “CEO Xia asked me to tell you that this will be your streaming location from now on. Shortly, a specialist will come to help you with the inventory. You must memorize our VW products thoroughly.”
Bai Li handed her a file containing the product brief for VW.
“Oh, by the way,” Bai Li walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and pointed across the street. “That building is our company. The third to fifth floors are the beauty department, the sixth to eighth are the skincare department, and the ninth floor and above are other departments. You do not need to know too much about those. If you have questions, you can find the person in charge of the relevant department. The very top floor is CEO Xia’s office.”
Sang Ying had an excellent memory; she memorized the floor assignments after one pass.
As a special assistant, Bai Li was highly efficient. Within two hours, the empty building was quickly furnished.
In the center sat a rectangular marble table, and opposite the table was an LED screen displaying the VW logo. This was clearly to serve as the streaming background.
The table was equipped with professional streaming gear, and the chandelier overhead was so bright that no additional lighting was needed.
One room was designated as a warehouse. Staff members continuously carried VW products into it. Ding Han walked around the room and came out covering her mouth.
“Ying, none of the things in here are items we could ever afford.”
Sang Ying went in to take a look as well. The warehouse was lined with over a dozen racks, all filled with VW products.
She frowned and called Xia Tingwang.
The buzzing sound made Xia Tingwang look up from her reports at her phone.
[Little Streamer]
She smiled, put down her pen, and answered.
“CEO Xia, it is me.”
“Mm.” For the first time in her life, Xia Tingwang realized the significance of that phrase. She could tell who it was just from the sound of their voice.
What a magical feeling.
“It is like this,” Sang Ying said. “Our ‘Qingdeng’ inventory is low. Each item only has single-digit stock, which is clearly not enough. We urgently need to go into mass production.”
Xia Tingwang walked to the window and looked across the street. “Mm. Give the formula to Assistant Bai. I will have the lab adjust it for production, and the factory will work overtime to produce the stock.”
There was a silence on the other end of the line. “I am sorry, I cannot give my formula to others.”
She was straightforward.
Xia Tingwang reached out and counted the floors of the building across the street, stopping at the twenty-second floor. She could not see anything clearly, but she said, “VW does not want your formula.”
“That still will not do.” Sang Ying stood her ground.
Xia Tingwang could not help but laugh in frustration. She had never met someone so stubborn. She compromised: “Fine. You adjust it yourself, and I will arrange for the factory to handle the rest. Is that acceptable?”
“Yes, thank you, CEO Xia.”
Finally, she said something pleasant, thought Xia Tingwang. “Come downstairs now; I will take you to the laboratory.”
After hanging up, Xia Tingwang went into the small lounge in her office, touched up her lipstick, put on a pair of sunglasses, and left the office with a cool expression.
When the car pulled out of the underground garage, Sang Ying was already waiting by the roadside. She opened the door and sat beside her.
Sang Ying’s mint-scented pheromones and her raspy voice permeated Xia Tingwang’s senses.
“Thank you, CEO Xia.”
Xia Tingwang, wearing her sunglasses, crossed her arms and stared ahead, nodding slightly. “Mm.”
Her face was expressionless, appearing somewhat unhappy. Sang Ying wisely stopped speaking and suppressed her pheromones, fearing she might disturb the CEO.
The car moved smoothly. Suddenly, Xia Tingwang turned her head. “Where did your pheromones go?”