Xia Tingwang stood outside the central lab, looking through the glass wall as Sang Ying, dressed in a white lab coat, meticulously performed titrations in front of the instruments.
With a mask on and her head bowed in concentration, Sang Ying looked every bit the professional. Her proficiency with the tools was not inferior to the veteran professors in the lab.
Professor Guo stood beside her, nodding in approval. “She is quite professional.”
“Mm.” Xia Tingwang tilted her head, a hint of undetectable pride in her tone. “She is from the Chemistry Department at Wen University.”
“No wonder,” Professor Guo said. “Did you recruit her specifically for the lab, CEO Xia?”
Sang Ying kept her head down, a strand of hair falling onto her cheek. Too busy to deal with it, she kept her focus on placing the test tube under the instrument. Eventually, the stray hair became too bothersome, and she tilted her head to rub it against her shoulder, tucking it behind her ear.
Xia Tingwang curled the corners of her lips. “It is a waste to just keep her here.”
After the formulations were finished, Xia Tingwang sent someone to deliver them to the factory. Sang Ying was a bit worried. “There is no way it can be produced today. Are we still livestreaming tonight?”
No stream? If there was no stream, what would she listen to at night?
Xia Tingwang pushed up her sunglasses to push away the clutter of stray thoughts in her mind. “For these next two days, just familiarize yourself with the VW products. Once the first batch of your own products is produced, we will start the official streams.”
Personal biases aside, Xia Tingwang remained a professional when it came to work. The official VW Weibo account announced that livestreaming sales would officially launch on the 10th of this month.
As soon as the post went live, netizens were overjoyed. They were excited that VW was finally becoming approachable, discovering quality products, and preparing their wallets. Some were college students hoping for promotions, while others expressed their loyalty to specific masks or eye creams, wishing for discounts. Overall, the public was surprised and delighted that the luxury brand was embracing modern retail.
The moment the Weibo post went live, the entire company was in shock, except for the few who already knew. This was especially true for the top executives, who immediately headed to Xia Tingwang’s office.
Xia Tingwang had just returned from the lab and barely had a chance to sit down before she saw Liu Shan and Zhou Jun walk in. She was not surprised at all.
These were Old-Fashioned Number One and Number Two.
Xia Tingwang instructed her secretary to bring them tea, but Liu Shan waved her hand in anger. “No, thank you.”
Liu Shan, the Vice President of VW, was 59 years old and just a year away from retirement. Zhou Jun was the head of the makeup division. Both had accompanied VW through twenty years of growth, and they were conservative and stubborn to the bone.
“CEO Xia, why did you not consult us in advance? If we had not seen the Weibo post, we would not have even known.”
Zhou Jun’s tone was somewhat urgent, though he tried to maintain a polite attitude. “To announce a livestream just like that, is that not a bit rushed?”
Vice President Liu was so angry that her face had drained of color. “You cannot do this. What does this look like? Does VW really want to be mentioned in the same breath as those low-priced, hawked products? How will we keep our footing as a blue blood brand in the future?”
“We have counters, we have malls, we have specialized consultants; we do not lack a sales platform like livestreaming.”
Liu Shan stared at her. “What on earth are you thinking? We spent over twenty years painstakingly building this high-end brand, and it cannot be ruined just like this.”
It sounded as if livestreaming were a terrifying disaster. Xia Tingwang took a sip of her coffee; she had never taken the opinions of these two old-fashioned figures to heart. Once they finished voicing their complaints, she stood up, grabbed the file she had prepared earlier, and walked over to the coffee table in front of them.
“Take a look,” Xia Tingwang said.
Reluctantly, they took it. Once they read the contents, whatever they had intended to say died in their throats.
Xia Tingwang said, “In the last two years, how many international high-end luxury brands have started livestreaming? Yet their status as high-end goods in everyone’s hearts has not changed. They have not changed because of livestreaming; it is our prejudices that need to change.”
“Livestreaming is currently the most popular way for young people to shop. In the second half of this year, VW’s sales have been the lowest in history. It is time for us to break away from our fixed mindset and get closer to the consumers.”
Xia Tingwang weighed her words carefully. “You both need to change your mindset as well. Livestreaming is not shouting through a megaphone at a street stall as you think it is. And even if it were, so what? Did Karetina not start as a street stall before becoming a major international brand?”
“As long as our products are good enough, they will always be high-end.”
Sang Ying was holding the stock list in the warehouse, checking items one by one. VW was a major brand, and they had a vast range of multifunctional products; there were no duplicates on the shelves. Just memorizing the names, uses, and ingredients of each product would take a long time.
This was especially difficult for the makeup section, which she was unfamiliar with. However, VW had professionals teaching her, and she needed to learn everything within three days before the 10th.
At 8:00 PM, the warehouse was empty of everyone else except for Sang Ying and Ding Han. Ding Han touched the expensive merchandise and said, “I suddenly feel like I am completely useless. You have become the streamer, and I am just helping out, but I do not even know where to start.”
She had been frustrated countless times today, her head spinning as she heard people talk about these high-end products she had never seen before. The joy of signing the contract yesterday had been crushed today.
“That is not true,” Sang Ying said, checking an eyeshadow palette. “You can be my assistant or co-host. There are just too many products. I might know a little bit about skincare, but I am completely clueless about this makeup. I really need your help.”
“Really?” Ding Han smiled again. “I can really help you?”
“Mm.” Sang Ying looked up, meeting her eyes seriously. “Do you not want to help me?”
“How could I not!” Ding Han walked around the rack to her side. “I was just thinking, why are we so lucky to be chosen by the CEO of VW for this partnership? I have thought about it over and over; CEO Xia must have taken a liking to you. You are so pretty, that is why she is partnering with you. I am just an afterthought.”
Sang Ying ignored her rambling. She looked up at the row of eyebrow pencils on the top shelf. Counting them carefully, there were over twenty types. She felt a bit overwhelmed.
She picked one up to compare; oh, so they were classified by color, thickness, and shape.
Ding Han also took on her responsibilities as an assistant and began familiarizing herself with the products, but she did not stop talking. “How come you are not curious about what CEO Xia is thinking? Think about it, she is a huge company. Even if they could not find a suitable host in the company, could they not afford someone more professional? Why specifically choose an unknown like you?”
Sang Ying muttered to herself, paying no attention to Ding Han’s words.
“How many Ogas chase you at school? There is no lack of rich second generations,” Ding Han chattered on. “You need to be more confident. Your looks are in the top three among female Alphas on our school’s forum.”
Sang Ying put down the eyebrow pencil and sighed. “Are you hungry?”
“Hungry.”
“Then let us hurry. It is not early, and it is quite far to get back to school from here. We should finish by nine.”
Ding Han shut her mouth. Sang Ying was a person who took her work seriously; at school, she only knew how to study hard and ignore the world outside. She had the same attitude toward work.
By nine o’clock, Ding Han was famished. “Ying-er, I cannot do it anymore. Let us come back tomorrow, I need to refuel.”
Sang Ying was also feeling hungry. She rubbed her tired eyes, left the warehouse, and turned off the lights. Outside was a bright, beautiful, and spacious living room.
At the entryway, she heard the sound of a passcode being entered. The door opened, and Xia Tingwang walked in, followed by Zhuang Yan, who was carrying two bags.
“I knew you two had not left yet.” Xia Tingwang walked over to the table with the sound of her high heels. “I bought you dinner.”
Zhuang Yan placed the bags on the table and took out the dishes one by one; four dishes and one soup were neatly arranged.
“Come over,” Xia Tingwang said. “It is still hot.”
The aroma of the food filled Sang Ying’s nose. She watched Xia Tingwang sitting under the chandelier, the bright, unrestrained light shining on her exquisite makeup, making it impossible to look away.
Sang Ying walked over and sat opposite Xia Tingwang, while Ding Han followed and sat next to her.
The dishes today were simpler than yesterday’s, homestyle stir-fries. Sang Ying unwrapped her chopsticks and, before eating, asked, “Have you eaten, CEO Xia?”
Xia Tingwang nodded to indicate she had. Only then did Sang Ying dare to pick up a piece of wood ear mushroom; it was crisp and fresh.
Ding Han was not as quiet as Sang Ying. If Xia Tingwang had not been there, she would have shoveled the food into her mouth in one go. Bearing in mind that the CEO was sitting right across from her, she consciously slowed her pace.
Even though they were just home-cooked stir-fries, they were so delicious that Ding Han felt like biting her own tongue.
Both of them were genuinely hungry, and Sang Ying was someone who hated waste; the four dishes and one soup were wiped clean by the two of them.
Sang Ying cleaned up the table. When she looked up, she found Xia Tingwang staring straight at her. Her heart skipped a beat; not knowing what to say, she wiped the table mechanically, but for some reason, she thought of what Ding Han had said earlier.
Why specifically choose an unknown like you?
Previously, in work mode, Sang Ying would not have thought too much about it. But now that she was off the clock and her stomach was full, her mind began to wander.
Even though Xia Tingwang was wearing a bite-suppressant ring and could not smell her pheromones, she was, after all, an Oga, and a beautiful one at that. For such an Oga to be this good to her, it was difficult for Sang Ying, as an Alpha, not to have other thoughts.
“Let us go,” Xia Tingwang stood up. “I will take you back to school.”
Sang Ying did not say anything. It was quite far from here to the school, nearly an hour’s drive, and there was no need for Xia Tingwang to go to such lengths.
Zhuang Yan drove on the way back, with Ding Han in the passenger seat and Sang Ying and Xia Tingwang sitting side-by-side in the back. Sang Ying’s mind was a mess.
“Can you sing?” Xia Tingwang suddenly asked.
Sang Ying turned her head. Xia Tingwang was looking at her, clearly expecting an answer. She thought for a moment and nodded. “I do not know many songs.”
“Mm, just sing anything you know.”
“Now?” Sang Ying was caught off guard by the request.
Xia Tingwang looked at her. “Is there a problem?”
Sang Ying could only say that her singing was on-key, but she only knew two or three songs. Singing in front of outsiders was an experience she had never had before, and she was a bit too shy to do it.
Although they were business partners, Xia Tingwang was her boss, and they had only known each other for two days.
They were not close at all, so Xia Tingwang’s request was a bit strange, if not downright abrupt.
“Any song will do, whichever you are good at.” Xia Tingwang seemed to sense her hesitation and added, “Do not mind the two of them. Just pretend they do not exist.”
Sang Ying shook her head. “I am sorry, CEO Xia, I cannot sing.”
There were too many people, and she really could not bring herself to open her mouth to sing.
To be rejected twice in a single day, Xia Tingwang’s good mood was dampened. She stopped speaking, and a solemn, cold atmosphere settled over her.
By the time they reached the school, Xia Tingwang had not said another word. It was not until they got out of the car that she looked at Sang Ying through the window.
This person is great in every way, but her personality is just too blunt.
Xia Tingwang felt a bit annoyed. When in her life had she ever been rejected? Especially being rejected twice in the same day, how ungrateful.
Whatever. Still, since the girl’s voice was special, Xia Tingwang could tolerate Sang Ying’s stubbornness for the sake of that uniqueness.