Huayu 2005: Chat groups are full of real celebrities

Chapter 42 Ex-Boyfriend Arrives! Rental Apartment Turns into a Battleground

The slight relief she had just felt was instantly pushed back down.

However, with the previous song as a foundation, the collaboration between the two became much smoother.

The pace of "Goodbye" is much faster.

In some places, Jiangbei doesn't even need to say much; just a frown or a gesture is enough for Liu Yifei to know whether the sentence should be spoken softly or the ending should be shortened.

Once, after she finished singing a line, she subconsciously stopped and looked towards Jiangbei.

Jiang Bei was about to speak when she laughed first:

"I know, we need to loosen it a bit more here, right?"

Jiang Bei raised an eyebrow:

"Great, you're even answering first now."

Liu Yifei gave a soft hum, a hint of smugness in her eyes:

"It's also because you taught me well."

Jiangbei was delighted:

"I like hearing that. Say it twice more."

"Record it and use it as your phone ringtone."

Liu Yifei ignored him and continued reading the lyrics, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly.

And so, a song was practiced piece by piece, then put back together, and then pieced back together again.

By noon, the general direction of "Goodbye" was pretty much finalized.

Although she's not quite ready to go straight to the recording studio yet, at least she's found the knack. Once she gets back, she just needs to practice a bit more, and she'll be pretty close to perfect.

After finishing her business, Liu Yifei didn't rush to leave. Instead, she made a phone call and asked her assistant to bring up lunch.

Before long, two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and two bowls of rice appeared at the door.

Compared to the heavy oil and salt, filling boxed lunches at Chang'an Noodle Restaurant, this lunch is clearly a level above.

Jiangbei opened the lunchbox, and the aroma alone made him feel more alert. He couldn't help but sigh:

"Rich people are just different."

"It's the same meal, but the difference is so huge."

Liu Yifei picked up a piece of vegetable and replied slowly and deliberately:

"You can do it too!"

Jiang Bei nodded, looking very serious:

"Then I'll have to work hard."

"Strive to upgrade from Chang'an Noodle Shop to the same boxed lunch as the Fairy Sister as soon as possible."

Liu Yifei's eyes crinkled with amusement at his words. Just as she was about to speak, a knock came at the door.

Jiang Bei thought his assistant had left something behind, so he put down his chopsticks and got up to open the door.

The door opened.

He froze on the spot.

There was a woman standing outside the door.

Long hair, a white dress, exquisite makeup, and a handbag in her hand. Her eyebrows and eyes were similar to what I remembered, only now she looked more mature and meticulously made-up than she did in college.

What truly stunned Jiang Bei was not her current appearance.

Instead, the moment the door opened, my mind went blank for a second, as if something had been violently ripped open.

A sweltering summer night.

Downstairs in the boys' dormitory building.

The original owner, holding a guitar, was covered in sweat and sang with deep emotion.

The upstairs window suddenly opened with a "whoosh".

A basin of foot-washing water was poured over his head.

The person and the guitar were soaked to the bone.

The girl upstairs had a cold face and didn't bother to say a single extra word.

The memories left behind by the previous incarnation surged up like a tide in an instant.

Jiang Bei stood at the door, his lips twitching slightly.

Qin Lan.

It was her.

"How did you end up here?"

Jiang Bei asked a question subconsciously.

As soon as he said it, he realized it was unnecessary.

Asking this question now is tantamount to self-destruction.

Qin Lan stood at the door, not in a hurry to come in, her tone quite natural:

"Didn't you want to register a company?"

"What? You're not welcome?"

She waved the burger and soda in her hand, as if she were just passing by delivering takeout.

Jiang Bei's mind went blank for a moment.

It wasn't because of what she said.

Because of--

He finally realized what was happening.

This is not some kind of "ex suddenly showing up" situation.

This is that bastard Ruan Fei, who airdropped a "black history groundbreaking point" for him.

All he wants now is to go back and disassemble that guy's keyboard and shove it into his mouth.

But on the surface, we still need to maintain stability.

He even stepped aside slightly, his tone unusually calm:

"Of course you're welcome. Come in and have a seat."

After saying that, he took the plastic bag and ushered the person into the house.

The movements were so practiced that it was as if nothing had happened.

Only he himself knows—

The back molars are already clenched.

The moment the door closed, the air inside the room changed instantly.

Qin Lan looked up and stopped in her tracks.

A person was sitting on the sofa.

Wearing a white T-shirt, jeans, and her hair casually tied up, she was holding chopsticks in her hand.

She's actually a currently popular ancient costume goddess—

Liu Yifei.

She happened to look up at that moment.

Their eyes met for a second in mid-air.

The air seemed to have been paused.

"Liu...Liu Yifei?"

Qin Lan spoke first, her voice pausing noticeably.

It's not that she's never seen a celebrity before.

I never expected to see it in a place like this.

I never expected it to be like this—

In a boy's rented room.

There was a half-eaten meal on the table.

The atmosphere was so clean... it was almost too ambiguous.

Liu Yifei clearly had no idea that the woman in front of her was the "foot bath heroine" who was being talked about repeatedly as a joke in the group chat.

She simply nodded slightly: "Hello."

He was very polite, but his gaze had already drifted towards Jiangbei.

The meaning is very clear—

Could you explain?

Jiangbei felt a chill run down his spine.

He now has a misconception:

I wasn't starting a business; I was being caught in an exam with two life-threatening questions at the same time.

He coughed, forcing himself to remain calm:

Let me introduce myself.

He first pointed to Qin Lan:

"My classmate, Qin Lan, from the School of Economics and Management."

"Come help with company registration and finances."

He then looked at Qin Lan:

"Liu Yifei is my friend and also one of the company's shareholders."

He paused for a moment when he said the word "friend".

It's not heavy, but it's very deliberate.

The room was silent for two seconds, but the atmosphere didn't ease; instead, it became even more tense.

"oh."

Liu Yifei nodded, her expression unreadable, and simply continued eating with her head down.

But Jiangbei could sense it—

That one glance she gave me just now wasn't an indication that we "knew each other".

Yes, I've remembered it.

Qin Lan also said "Oh", stood still, glanced at the food on the table, then glanced at Jiang Bei, and finally slowly sat down.

Jiangbei was already cursing in his heart.

Something's not right here.

Something's really wrong.

Before Jiang Bei could speak, Liu Yifei had already put down her chopsticks, grabbed a tissue to wipe her mouth, and made a move to get up:

"So...you two can chat?"

"Please sit down."

Jiang Bei raised his hand to stop him, his tone casual:

"It happens to be about the company structure, you should listen to it too."

Liu Yifei was slightly taken aback, but didn't insist any further and sat back down.

Jiang Bei then turned to look at Qin Lan, already plotting how to get rid of this woman.

It's not that Qin Lan lacks ability.

On the contrary, precisely because she understands registration, bookkeeping, and has worked in an accounting firm, bringing her in would indeed save a lot of trouble.

But the problem is—

This woman's identity is too awkward.

That was the guy the original owner chased after with a guitar during college, and who ended up getting a basin of foot bath water in return.

Jiang Beiguang feels a toothache just thinking about having to see each other every day.

After a moment's hesitation, he simply raised the threshold:

"We're looking for a full-time employee."

"To put it bluntly, it's like being an administrative and financial manager; you have to be able to handle all sorts of miscellaneous tasks."

"Company registration, financial management, office space, renovation coordination... someone has to keep an eye on everything."

Jiang Bei paused deliberately after speaking.

In his memory, Qin Lan had been helping out at her sister's accounting firm after graduation.

Given this situation, it's highly unlikely that he'll be able to work full-time.

This was a good excuse to politely decline their request.

To everyone's surprise, Qin Lan didn't even hesitate and said directly:

"Ruan Fei has already told me that I can do it."

"Besides, my sister's business is in company registration and bookkeeping, so I'm familiar with a lot of things."

She looked at Jiang Bei, her tone unhurried:

"That will be just what I need to do."

Jiang Bei raised an eyebrow: "Would your sister agree?"

He paused, then added, "I mean, come here full-time."

Qin Lan smiled and answered decisively:

"Don't worry, I'll make my own decisions about my own affairs."

In short, he effectively blocked most of the reasons Jiangbei had prepared for his refusal.

Jiang Bei clicked his tongue inwardly.

Well, it seems I can't shake off this burden.

Since the gentle approach wasn't working, he decided to escalate the situation by making the tasks more difficult, hoping to persuade her to quit.

"Okay, then let me make the unpleasant points clear upfront."

Jiang Bei pushed the lunchbox on the table aside to make room, grabbed a piece of paper, picked up a pen, and began to write and draw:

"What I want to do is not a typical small company; the structure will be more complex."

"At the top are two floors—investment companies and venture capital firms."

"These two companies don't do the work directly; they're only responsible for coordinating equity, funds, and accounting."

The pen tip moves downwards.

"The company truly responsible for external operations is the cultural media company."

"At this stage, the media company will operate on a project-by-project basis. Ringtone collaborations, record deals, musicals, and the like will all be listed here first."

"We'll break it down further once the business gets going."

"Information technology will be spun off separately to develop blogging and internet projects; film and entertainment will also be separated into independent subsidiaries, each with its own accounting."

At this point, Jiang Bei raised his head, glanced at Qin Lan, and said calmly:

"All of these combined make it quite difficult."

He had thought that this kind of approach would at least make Qin Lan back down.

To everyone's surprise, Qin Lan not only didn't back down, but listened even more attentively.

She even subconsciously sat up straighter, her gaze falling on the paper, her eyes showing a clear increase in scrutiny and interest.

After Jiang Bei finished speaking, she looked up and smiled at him:

"fine."

"If there's anything I can't handle, I can ask my sister for help."

At this point, as if afraid Jiang Bei still had reservations, she deliberately added, "Free."

Jiangbei: "..."

Good guy.

The roads are all blocked.