The CEO's office is usually on the top floor of a building.
This is to convey a sense of looking down from above.
Also, the top floor is quieter and has better natural light.
Moreover, the CEO's office is typically located in the easternmost room, symbolizing auspicious beginnings and vitality.
The Lan Ye Beauty Club follows this same pattern.
When Chu Yazhi was the financial vice president at Dashen Real Estate headquarters, the CEO of the beauty club was a core member of the Lan family.
This morning.
After the three Lan family members handed over the beauty club to Li Qianfan, they immediately reassigned the club's core team.
Of course, the club's basic structure remained intact.
Whoever took over the club could promote new core team members from the existing staff and the club would function normally.
The clientele of a beauty club is primarily women.
However, when Li Qianfan entered the club's lobby, the receptionists at the door did not stop him. Instead, they bowed politely and said, "Welcome!"
The last word, "lin," was spoken with a rising inflection, sounding crisp and charming.
Good training.
Li Qianfan glanced at the leg of the receptionist on the left, silently admiring her, and walked into the lobby.
After a few steps, he heard a light laugh from behind him: "Xiao Xia, did you see that? The way he was looking at me was so lecherous. Hmph, if he wasn't so young, I'd have hit on him."
Damn it.
Who was lecherous?
Who was young!?
That was pure admiration!
Li Qianfan was taken aback, cursed silently, and looked into the lobby.
The lobby was quite crowded.
Mostly young women, with a considerable number of mature women.
And a few mature female customers winked at him after seeing Li Qianfan.
Li Qianfan felt that if he shouted, "I don't want to work hard anymore," he would immediately be surrounded by aunties.
Alas.
Being young and handsome brought these inherent troubles.
Floor 12.
The lights in the corridor were bright, but it was silent and empty, with no one around.
While a beauty club isn't a bar, it's still prime time from dusk till midnight.
It seemed that the executives working here were all busy downstairs.
He arrived at the door of the easternmost room and pushed it open.
The room was dark, and he couldn't see anything.
"Did I go to the wrong room?"
As Li Qianfan paused, suddenly!
About seven or eight meters in front of the door, at a height of over a meter, four glowing green characters appeared.
They were like ghost fire, incredibly clear, and swayed slowly from side to side.
The two characters on the left were Qianfan.
The two characters on the right were Dedicated.
Li Qianfan was a bit dumbfounded—
There were four more characters.
Still incredibly clear, "Qianfan Dedicated," were above the previous four characters, also quite compact.
Li Qianfan understood.
Chu Yazhi was at her desk, with her back to the door.
She had deliberately turned off the lights and drawn the curtains, making Li Qianfan see these words in the dark.
Words—
What was so great about words!?
However, they could indeed provoke endless imagination.
Just as Li Qianfan was about to "imagine freely," he thought of Chu Yazhi's character and her actual age.
The ripple in his heart quickly disappeared.
There was only an indescribable—
What?
Was it disdain, or contempt?
In any case, the passionate feeling vanished instantly, and he felt a discomfort in his stomach.
However, considering the woman's current predicament, he sighed inwardly, stepped inside, and closed the door casually.
Without turning on the lights.
He wanted to see what this woman was up to.
If she thought that Master Qianfan would be infatuated with being "dedicated," she was greatly mistaken.
The ghost fire disappeared.
Candlelight flickered to life on the reception desk.
A thin candle with a small flame, barely illuminating the desk.
On the desk were four dishes and one soup, a bottle of baijiu, two wine glasses, an ashtray, and cigarettes.
The ghost fire reappeared.
This meant Chu Yazhi was behind the candlelight.
As the ghost fire flickered in and out of existence, Chu Yazhi tiptoed silently over, embraced Li Qianfan's left arm, and led him to the sofa, where they sat down.
She knelt in front of the sofa, removed his shoes, and then brought over a basin of hot water that had been prepared long ago.
Silently, she washed Li Qianfan's hands and feet.
Li Qianfan remained silent, examining the four dishes and one soup on the desk.
Two meat dishes and two vegetarian dishes, with sea cucumber and abalone soup.
The cigarettes were "Hua Zi," and the wine was "Tai Zi."
After wiping Li Qianfan's hands and feet dry, Chu Yazhi moved the basin aside and leaned against his legs, saying, "Master, shall I have a couple of drinks with you?"
"Alright."
Li Qianfan had no objections to her having a couple of drinks with him.
"I've spent most of the day and have a basic understanding of the club's situation."
After clinking glasses with Li Qianfan and taking a sip, Chu Yazhi began to discuss business.
When she held a senior position at Dashen Real Estate, she had visited the club multiple times for beauty treatments or audits.
She was well-acquainted with the club's operational methods, financial status, and even its core structure.
When the Lan family withdrew over a dozen core team members, there wasn't enough time to sabotage anything.
If the Lan family had stopped there, with Chu Yazhi's capabilities, she could have gotten the new core team running normally within three days.
Unfortunately—
Although Chu Yazhi could sit in the CEO's office and call any department, with the department heads responding promptly, none of them took her orders seriously!
Even.
The four dishes, one soup, wine, and cigarettes were all purchased by Chu Yazhi out of her own pocket.
"Also, I think I saw Lan Min."
Chu Yazhi said, "Master, if you don't act as my backer, I can only sit in the office and be a mascot. Moreover, when I was out buying wine, I overheard some customers on the phone saying they would come here tomorrow morning to bid on the club."
"Yes."
Li Qianfan nodded. "Lan Yeming is secretly in charge of auctioning the club. Lan Min is responsible for the specific work. They think I won't pay attention to you, but they don't dare to take the club back. So, they are using an auction to sell the club cheaply, converting it into cash for you. This is to force you to leave the provincial capital voluntarily. After all, your family of four embarrassed the Lan family. It's understandable that they are secretly causing trouble to vent their anger."
Chu Yazhi said, "But their actions go against your intentions."
Li Qianfan replied indifferently, "That's why I came tonight."
Chu Yazhi smiled and said nothing further, picking up a spoon to ladle a bowl of soup for Li Qianfan.
After taking a sip of soup, Li Qianfan said, "Chu Yazhi, I suggest you return to your hometown in Tianhu. I can help you auction the club normally, and you can take all the proceeds. Once you return to Tianhu, with the care of your father and brother, and with your abilities, it will be easy for you to start a small company, find an honest middle-aged man to marry, and begin a new life."
Chu Yazhi asked, "Master, have you ever heard this saying?"
"To persuade a prostitute to become virtuous, or to drag a virtuous woman into disrepute."
This is what men love to do—
Li Qianfan was somewhat angered.
Was he that kind of man!?
Besides, Chu Yazhi wasn't a prostitute.
"I will either die outside, or I will stay by your side."
Chu Yazhi said in a low voice, "These are the two choices my brother, Chu Linfeng, told me before he left. These two choices were the final decision he and the Chu family reached after a morning of negotiation."
Due to Lan Yunhai's actions, not only the Lan family of Tiandong was disgraced, but the Chu family of Tianhu was also.
"Master, no matter what, I, Chu Yazhi, am considered a woman from a prestigious family, and I still have some pride."
Chu Yazhi pursed her lips and continued, "If the Chu family of Tianhu were willing to accept me, I wouldn't heartlessly abandon Lan Yunhai and consider myself a dog. My greatest wish now is to survive."
She was telling the truth.
Li Qianfan could see that his impression of her had slightly improved.
"After Murong Mingyuan was defeated, why did she still dare to glare at you?"
Chu Yazhi continued, "When Murong He left Yufeng Villa this morning, he made it very clear to her. Regardless of whether you accept her or not, she is still a daughter of the Murong family of Sijiu. In other words, she has a fallback."
She looked at Li Qianfan with a misty gaze of self-mockery, "I dare say, even if I were ten years younger, I would have a fallback."
No one could be ten years younger.
Therefore, Chu Yazhi had no fallback!
Either die, or cling to Li Qianfan.
"I also know that even if I were as young as Murong Mingyuan, you wouldn't want me."
Chu Yazhi lit a cigarette for Li Qianfan and said, "But you can treat me as a pet."
Li Qianfan immediately became unhappy.
Just as he was about to reprimand her, advising her to have some self-respect, he saw tears streaming down her face.
She said in a low voice, "You can come to the club to amuse me when you're bored. Or, when you encounter financial or marketing problems in your work and need someone to help, I can also provide some assistance. In short, if you can't bear to see me die, then make outsiders mistakenly believe that I am your woman."
Her words were as humble as dust.
Li Qianfan thought seriously and said, "For now, you should manage the club well. When my wife's business grows bigger one day, you might find your use."
Chu Yazhi was overjoyed—
She had finally moved Li Qianfan with her humility.
And exchanged her desperate desire for survival.
"Master, it's not dirty here."
Chu Yazhi's left index finger pointed to her deliberately painted red lips, her eyes shining brightly.
Under the dim lamp,
The woman's lips looked exceptionally delicate, like a flower about to bloom.