Haicheng's mornings were always packed with traffic, the wage slaves rushing to work cramming the roads full.
Lu Xing had once been one of those wage slaves too—rushing off to part-time work on weekend mornings. But now, looking at commuters through the eyes of Xiao Yu, a Rich and Beautiful Woman CEO, he had a different thought.
A guilty thrill!
He was the boss now. He did not have to worry about being late, endure work pressure, or listen to some idiotic superior spout idiotic nonsense.
Going to work simply meant sitting comfortably in the car and waiting for the driver to take him to his destination.
How could one word—awesome—possibly cover it?
And Lu Xing had it even better than Xiao Yu. After all, he was not really the boss and did not need to consider whether the company would survive.
His only pressure was making sure no one realized he was a man.
Fifteen minutes later, the car drove into the underground parking garage of an office building. Once it stopped, Assistant Zhang hurried out again to open President Lu's door.
Though the luxury car's doors were automatic, she still went through the motions.
"President Xiao, this way."
"Mm."
Lu Xing got out in women's sneakers. Having already been baptized by Anne's sparkling little dress, he could now handle Xiao Yu's everyday dresses. The only thing he still resisted was high heels.
Those things were both ugly and uncomfortable, completely outside Lu Xing's aesthetic standards. Out of all the film and television works he had watched, the only time he had thought high heels looked good was on the female lead in Malèna.
He was the boss now. He could wear whatever he wanted.
Secretary Sun had already pressed the elevator button. Lu Xing had not waited long before the elevator arrived.
They took the elevator to the nineteenth floor. As soon as he stepped out, Lu Xing spotted Xiao Yu's company reception desk and the logo and words above it:
Ta Shan Investment Co., Ltd.
Without Xiao Yu needing to explain it, Lu Xing knew the company name came from the saying, "Stones from other hills may be used to polish jade." It suited the company's main business quite well.
"Good morning, President Xiao~"
The tall, sweet-looking receptionist had been eating breakfast. When she saw Lu Xing, she hurriedly greeted him with a smile.
"Morning."
Lu Xing gave a simple reply. Since he did not know her, he did not address her by name.
After entering the company, even more people greeted him. "Good morning, President Xiao," "Morning, President Xiao," "Morning, boss," and so on.
The company, with nearly two hundred employees, occupied an entire floor of the building, totaling more than a thousand square meters. There was another floor downstairs for the company gym and recreation room. The per-person space allocation was downright extravagant, carrying the grandeur of a major corporation.
It was Lu Xing's first time here, so he could not help taking a few extra looks at the employees and office layout.
But those few glances made the previously bustling office noticeably quieter. These workplace elites, graduates from various schools, were exceptionally sharp and immediately sensed something unusual in their boss's gaze.
It was as if she found the company's people somewhat displeasing and was about to lay off one or two people!
Not one or two people—one or two whole business teams!
"President Xiao, you—" Secretary Sun tried to ask.
"...Where's my office?"
Lu Xing took a few more looks before asking the secretary.
Sun Ying froze at the question before answering, "Your office? Yes, it's this way."
She started walking ahead to lead the way.
Lu Xing followed her and finally arrived at Xiao Yu's office.
It was over fifty square meters. The desk stood with its back to the floor-to-ceiling windows, while the bookshelves held some decorations and books. The other furnishings—a water dispenser, sofa, coffee machine, and so on—were nothing particularly special.
The main thing was the incredibly expansive view.
Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows was Haicheng's most prosperous Financial Center. Working in an environment like this, especially as the owner of an investment company, gave one an overwhelmingly strong sense of achievement and satisfaction!
At least, that was how Lu Xing felt after sitting in the boss's chair.
"Your company is really great!"
Lu Xing sent Xiao Yu a message and took a photo for her as well, telling her that he was already in the office.
Xiao Yu did not reply. She was probably in class.
Lu Xing admired the scenery for a while. The secretary brought in a cup of tea, set it down gently, then left again when President Xiao gave no instructions.
The secretary's office was right next door.
Only after she left did Lu Xing pick up the tea and stroll over to the window to drink it slowly.
It was not that he did not want to speak. He was afraid that if he did, the secretary would ask him about work. He was only a third-year university student, after all, and there was still quite a gap between him and a senior executive like Xiao Yu, who had worked for years.
They might have gotten along fairly well these past few days, but if he screwed up her business and damaged her image as CEO, she might very well turn on him.
"President Xiao."
A voice came from outside along with a light knock on the door.
"Come in," Lu Xing called out. Standing by the window, he watched the person push open the door. She was around forty, with short hair and a women's business suit, a smile on her face. Only when she saw him standing by the window drinking tea did she look slightly stunned.
"President Xiao, is now a convenient time? I'd like to brief you on personnel matters."
"Sure. Come in."
Lu Xing sat back down in the CEO's chair and checked his phone. Xiao Yu still had not replied, so he could only improvise.
"Here's the situation."
Du Yirong, the HR director, first handed him several documents before sitting across from him and explaining, "The securities investment department needs two people. I've conducted initial interviews with several candidates and selected some résumés for you to review, President."
Lu Xing had never held a proper job, only worked part-time. He did not really know how a two-hundred-person company recruited employees.
But from his understanding, surely the boss did not need to make decisions on ordinary hires?
Was it because the company was still small?
Two hundred people was not small at all. It counted as a mid-sized company, especially since Xiao Yu ran an investment firm.
"Could the securities investment department be especially important?"
While making his guess, Lu Xing opened the résumés.
The first résumé nearly blinded him:
"Zhao Anqi, female, twenty-eight years old. Bachelor's degree in computer science from Haicheng University of Finance, master's degree in computer science from Amebia University.
Internship experience: During her fourth year, she worked as a research assistant in the fixed-income department of Aneng Fund Management Co., Ltd. While pursuing her master's degree, she worked as a researcher at a foreign securities firm..."
Lu Xing himself was a computer science major. He knew that quite a few senior students changed careers after graduation, but he had never known this was how those who switched to finance did it.
"Expected monthly salary: 40,000. Expected annual salary: approximately 700,000, including performance bonuses, allowances, and project rewards."
Seeing that, Lu Xing nodded. Good, at least the annual salary had not reached one million.
He looked at the next one. A biology PhD, also with overseas study experience at a prestigious university, whose expected annual salary went straight to 1.2 million.
In other words, Xiao Yu would have to pay him 100,000 a month.
With a total of two hundred employees, the company's monthly salary expenses alone exceeded ten million.
No wonder she had said tens of millions was nothing to her. She could even directly give him a luxury home and a huge sum of money if he solved the exchange problem.
So she really was rich!
"Mm..."
After briefly reviewing several résumés, Lu Xing pretended to ponder for a moment before asking the HR director, "Is the hiring urgent? I'll decide tomorrow."
He could not tell which candidates were good, so he should leave the choice to Xiao Yu.
After all, choosing the wrong one could mean losses in the tens or even hundreds of thousands.
"Alright. We can contact them tomorrow and have them come back for second interviews. Will you personally interview them, President?"
"We'll talk about it tomorrow."
Lu Xing pushed the matter onto Xiao Yu as well.
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