Room 206, Entrepreneurship Park.
Song Yuncheng sat at her workstation, her gaze fixed on the product information on the screen. She copied notes while dragging her mouse. Occasionally, she would pause, lost in thought as she studied the page layout.
Her long hair was tied in a simple ponytail. A stray strand brushed her cheek, trembling slightly with her movements.
A flippant voice came from behind her. "Hey, why haven't you left yet? Trying to scam me out of overtime pay?"
Song Yuncheng jumped in fright and instinctively stood up.
Thud!
Her head slammed into Chen Yansen's chin. She gasped in pain.
"You walk without making a sound? You scared me!" She glared at him. "Ouch, that hurts!"
"Are you deaf? My footsteps are heavy!" Chen Yansen frowned, a metallic taste filling his mouth. "Your head's as hard as a rock. Come check if I'm bleeding!"
Song Yuncheng tiptoed to look. A patch of blood seeped from his lips.
Realizing she had been distracted, she shrank back sheepishly. "It's just a little scratch. Are you alright?"
"Let me bite you, then you'll know," Chen Yansen retorted irritably.
"I...I won't." Song Yuncheng took a defensive step back, her demeanor shifting like a prickly wildcat.
"Ha! Who wants to kiss you?" Chen Yansen wiped his mouth with a tissue. He plopped into her chair and picked up her notebook. "Staying out this late, do you think my electricity bill grows on trees?"
"Categories: Home Furnishings, Food, Beauty, Digital Appliances..."
"Sorting Logic: Taobao.com Monthly Sales, This Site's Daily Sales..."
The notebook contents were Song Yuncheng's product selection logic, seemingly disorganized.
"Why are you, a UI designer, organizing all this?" Chen Yansen stared at her.
"I understand," she explained slowly, head down. "Although you hired me, my design skills are behind the third- and fourth-year students. I just want to learn more and take on more work."
"I'm not a boss who fires subordinates easily," Chen Yansen said, his tone softening slightly.
"I want to earn money through my own abilities." Song Yuncheng raised her head, her expression firm and stubborn.
Her face was bare, but her eyes were slightly red. A faint pink blush would rise to her cheeks whenever she was excited.
Chen Yansen wanted to laugh but held it in. He pointed to the stool next to him. "Sit here. I'll teach you the logic of product selection."
Song Yuncheng was stunned, her dazed look much cuter than usual.
"Do you want to learn?" Chen Yansen raised his voice.
"Oh, I'll learn." She obediently sat down, close to him.
Perhaps because they were so close, a faint fragrance filled the air.
Chen Yansen took a deep breath. "What shower gel do you use? It smells really good. I'll buy a bottle for my girlfriend later."
Song Yuncheng's heart skipped a beat. Her skin itched inexplicably. She bit her lip and changed the subject. "I'm ready. Teach me how to select products."
Chen Yansen smiled, not teasing her further. "Start with a specific category, like cosmetics. Don't look at basic monthly sales first. Instead, understand the brand's influence and market rating. Only then can you focus on specific products..."
He taught her several brand ranking methods, the popular categories for each season, and how to increase the average order value based on existing data.
As Song Yuncheng listened, her gaze unconsciously fell on Chen Yansen's face. His sharply defined features and slightly upturned, smiling lips made her heart soften.
If only he didn't have a girlfriend.
She was startled by her own thought. She shook her head vigorously and tried to concentrate.
"Tomorrow you'll try selecting products. Write down the product IDs to observe subsequent sales data. After a few months of practice, you'll be barely qualified." Chen Yansen cleared his throat and took a sip of water.
"Just barely qualified?" Song Yuncheng had listened for a long time, thinking this method would at least get her a category operations manager position.
"There's a lot more to it. I'll explain it slowly when I have time." Chen Yansen was dismissive. "To excel, you need to understand industry trends, brand distribution, even raw materials and manufacturing processes. Do you think you can learn in a few hours what others have accumulated over years?"
"Chen Yansen, thank you!" She looked directly at him.
Why does he know so much when we're about the same age? I really want to crack open his head and see.
"Now that you understand, write a job posting during your vacation. Recruit three product selection operations staff. You'll be responsible for training them."
"Okay, I'll send it to you as soon as possible."
"It's getting late. I'm going back to sleep." Chen Yansen glanced at the time and got up.
"Oh my god! It's so late, I guess I won't be able to go back." Song Yuncheng saw the computer showed 11:10 PM. She slapped her forehead and collapsed.
"Just stay here for the night." Chen Yansen pointed to the floor and joked.
"But I haven't showered yet." She lowered her head and muttered.
"You always sleep at my place. What if your boyfriend finds out and gives me trouble? After all, you said he could beat me ten times over." Chen Yansen refused directly.
"I don't have a boyfriend at all! Did you already know that, and that's why you keep making fun of me?" Song Yuncheng blushed, clenching her small fists.
"Huh? Really? But I have a girlfriend!" Chen Yansen waved and walked out without looking back.
"Boss, I'm your employee!" Song Yuncheng followed closely behind, pitifully.
In the end, the two still went into Room 0418 together.
After changing into slippers, Chen Yansen casually asked, "Do you want to shower first or should I?"
"Of course, you go first, boss." Song Yuncheng chuckled. She walked to the sofa and skillfully tidied up her temporary little nest.
Chen Yansen brushed his teeth and took a shower. Soon, he came out wrapped in a bath towel.
"Can't you put on your pajamas before coming out?" Song Yuncheng glanced at him, noticing his tall figure, broad back, narrow waist, long legs, and defined arm muscles. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke.
"This is my house! I can be naked if I want." Chen Yansen said disdainfully, then ripped off the bath towel.
She screamed and covered her face, turning her back. "Chen Yansen, believe it or not, I'll tell Mengjie."
"Tell her what? That you slept in my room in the middle of the night?" Chen Yansen, wearing only shorts, grinned wickedly.
"..."
Song Yuncheng was speechless.
Seeing she didn't dare turn around, Chen Yansen stepped forward and whispered in her ear, "I'm dressed. Turn around and see for yourself."
She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head.
"You still haven't answered me. What shower gel did you use? It smells nice." Chen Yansen put his hand on her waist, pressing close. "Send me the link tomorrow."
He knew when to stop. He withdrew his hand and turned to go back into his room.
Several minutes after he left, Song Yuncheng finally came to her senses, slumping onto the sofa, her face flushed crimson.
The image of his hand moving across her waist kept replaying in her mind, the touch like a branding iron.
Logically, she should have felt resistance. But she didn't.
She sat alone for a long time. When the clock struck midnight, she hurriedly ran to the bathroom.
The next day, Chen Yansen woke to find Song Yuncheng had already tidied the sofa and left early.
After his morning routine, he headed to the startup park. He had arranged to meet Wang Zihao to teach him SEO and ad placement techniques. They would launch the promotion plan as soon as the voting event ended.
Yesterday, he told Tang Qingshan he wanted to reach 100,000 DAU by year's end. This wasn't just talk. It was his next goal.
"Good morning, Brother Sen!"
"Good morning, boss!"
Several technicians greeted him. Chen Yansen nodded and went straight to his seat.
Song Yuncheng across from him was already working, her mouse clicking away.
Chen Yansen called out to Hu Yun from the data team. "Report yesterday's user numbers and sales."
"Brother Sen, on September 30th, our cumulative user registrations were 83,612. We had 59,184 new registrations yesterday. Yesterday's sales were 41,015.3 yuan, with 1,281 orders. Gross profit was 9,762.8 yuan..." Hu Yun stood up, deliberately shouting.
Nearly 10,000 yuan in gross profit for one day!
Over 1,000 orders!
"Thank you all for your hard work! This result is even stronger than I expected!" Chen Yansen clenched his fist. "Next goal: 10,000 orders per day! If we achieve that, everyone gets a raise!"
"Brother Sen is awesome!"
Everyone's faces lit up with joy. They echoed him with smiles. Judging from last month's overtime pay and bonuses, Chen Yansen was reliable.
Song Yuncheng looked at the composed and confident Chen Yansen. Her expression gradually became complicated.
A little while later, Wang Zihao arrived.
Chen Yansen led him into Room 208. The two talked about SEO optimization techniques all morning. Wang Zihao learned quickly, but seemed a little clumsy compared to his sister.
"Long-tail keywords, backlink building, page optimization... I've memorized them." Wang Zihao muttered to himself.
"No rush, take your time." Chen Yansen patted his shoulder. He picked up his teacup and walked back to Room 206.
Meanwhile, the cumulative number of registered users had just surpassed 100,000.