Chapter 155: Red Lips and Night Passion, Liang Xue's Inner Thoughts

The Blizzard team was getting a new leader.

The most bewildered person was Chang Song. The very first thing that happened upon his return to Shengxin was a promotion—a pleasant and astonishing surprise.

However, as a veteran employee of the Blizzard team, there was no problem whatsoever with him taking on the role of team manager. The other members raised no objections either, and the handover was completed smoothly and swiftly.

...

Over at the finance department, Liang Xue reported for duty.

Her position was assistant to the deputy director of the finance department, effectively replacing Zhang Long to understand and coordinate operations within the department. All things considered, this post was by no means lower than that of the investment department's team manager. Her salary might not be substantial for the time being, but the room for future promotion was absolute, positioning her as a red-hot favorite closely tied to the board of directors.

As a long-time employee of Shengxin, Liang Xue was quite familiar with several faces in the finance department. Her onboarding, work arrangements, and other details proceeded without a hitch; no one gave her a hard time.

What a joke. Zhang Long had just assumed office and had not yet officially flexed his authority; nobody wanted to bring trouble upon themselves at a time like this.

Work while you learn.

This would be the core trajectory of Liang Xue's future work. She needed to pass the Certified Public Accountant exams and master all sectors of finance. Serving as Zhang Long's assistant was both relaxed and stressful, for after all, Shengxin did not belong solely to Zhang Long at present—there were still major shareholders above him.

Regardless of whether she could ultimately help secure complete control over Shengxin in the future, Liang Xue shifting her career path toward finance held tremendous value. Zhang Long needed someone he could trust relatively and completely.

Liang Xue was at the very top of that sequence.

As for Luo Man, it was not that Zhang Long did not trust her, but rather that Luo Man's personality abhorred tranquility. Years of domestic pressure had suppressed her inner impulses, and she intended to join her cousin at the travel agency to pioneer a tourism career in the future, wishing to travel across the country and the world. She was unwilling to remain mediocre.

Luo Man might not harbor excessively high pursuits for material life—having enough to eat, warm clothes, and sufficient funds was enough for her—yet in other aspects, especially spiritual needs, she refused to be fettered.

In a word, Liang Xue's pursuit was quiet stability, whereas Luo Man's pursuit was venturing outward to fulfill herself.

One remained at home, while the other ranged abroad.

"It feels like a dream."

Inside Zhang Long's office, Liang Xue lightly bit her red lips, her gaze complex as she looked at Zhang Long. "I never imagined I would one day return to Shengxin, let alone that I would actually become your assistant. From now on, you're my boss."

"Director Zhang, Director Long."

Zhang Long sweatdropped slightly, knowing that no matter how composed Liang Xue's disposition was, she still found it a bit difficult to process. Still, a few days of getting used to it would suffice, and once the period of friction was over, everything would fall into place.

The two of them did not say much else; matters of romance could be discussed over the weekend.

Have a midnight snack, and everything would flow smoothly.

...

Chen Yingjun, an analyst at Hongze.

He barely qualified as a gold-medal analyst. This time, he had also followed the migrating contingent to Shengxin. After all, Qian Caiying and Ling Zhiqing had been running Hongze for half a year; naturally, they still retained some loyal subordinate generals whom they brought along when settling into Shengxin.

Well, to be fair, even if he hadn't been brought along, Ling Yushan would have made things difficult for him back at Hongze, forcing him to jump ship anyway.

Therefore, setting aside other departments, arranging placements for Qian Caiying and Ling Zhiqing's people was their own prerogative, while Chen Yingjun ended up in the analyst department under Zhang Long's jurisdiction.

With this addition, Shengxin now boasted six gold-medal analysts, and any unwanted clients could be handed over to Chen Yingjun.

"Teacher Chen, please sit here."

Within the analyst department, internal forms of address universally favored the title "Teacher," reserving the designation of "Director" exclusively for the head among the six.

As for addressing Zhang Long, it was Director Zhang.

"Much better than Hongze."

Chen Yingjun surveyed the Shengxin analyst department like a curious child. It was exceptionally spacious, with generously sized workstations for each teacher. On the left side of every desk, two computer screens glowed and flickered, exuding a mysterious aura.

An analyst's job was actually quite simple: each person had to screen three promising stocks every day before leaving work and submit them to the director for compiling the stock recommendation report.

Whether one found them by studying the broader market or by referencing and translating ideas from online forums and stock chat rooms was entirely up to the individual.

The rest of the time was spent studying and maintaining the major clients under one's own name, most of whom were problematic clients.

Those poorly maintained by the trading department, those suffering losses, those coming in to make a scene—the gold-medal analyst department functioned essentially as the company's crisis-management unit, which made it highly important.

Much like Chen Youwei previously, whose account was later handed over to Gold-Medal Analyst Xu Linfeng, and who was now dead.

Aside from a few stocks still trapped in the account, there were no surplus funds remaining; everything had been cashed out.

"Old Chen really does have a massive temper."

Xu Linfeng stood before Zhang Long with an awkward smile, offering a brief summary regarding the maintenance of Chen Youwei. Naturally, he disclosed what ought to be told about the specific situation, and Zhang Long did not dwell on it unduly. Every teacher had their own channels, though whether such news was true or false remained hard to say.

Xu Linfeng had not forced Chen Youwei to sell off Tanhai Energy; at most, he had merely lured and intimidated him.

While underhanded, it was not a violation of the rules.

"Let's put Old Chen aside for now."

Zhang Long was communicating with each gold-medal analyst to understand the status of their major clients. Only by mastering past transactions and client personalities could one better formulate rescue and subsequent maintenance policies. This would be his primary focus over the next few days.

As for providing the daily basic stock recommendation report to the investment department, that was actually quite simple: screen out some stocks experiencing minor losses or minor gains each day and promote them as seen fit.

Occasionally, include a massively profitable stock to chase glory.

...

Equity restructuring took time.

Although Zhang Long, Qian Caiying, and Ling Zhiqing had moved into Shengxin and paid half of the entry capital, all procedural modifications would essentially stretch until the end of the month. That didn't matter much, nor would any problems arise.

Both Old Zhu and Director Xu gave their support, and the major shareholder also ceded a portion of equity to the trio of Zhang Long. Coupled with the status of Qian Caiying and Ling Zhiqing, the restructuring encountered no obstacles.

Comparatively speaking, entering Zhang Shangyu's Tianhong Venture Capital was much simpler: pay the money and secure the rights.

Ten million in capital, securing a 25% stake!

"Call me President Long from now on."

On Friday afternoon at the Tianhong premises, Zhang Long took time out of his schedule to drop by for a routine meeting. However, since Zhang Shangyu was already addressed as President Zhang within Tianhong, having Zhang Long go by President Zhang as well would result in identical pronunciations, inevitably causing confusion. It was much simpler to just go by President Long.

That worked out quite nicely; President Long sounded far more imposing.

The brief meeting was straightforward. The project funds for the milk tea shop had already been approved, and the corresponding professional manager had assumed office. The meeting served primarily to brief the various bosses on the situation.

At the very least, the bosses needed to know where the five million had gone and when they could expect returns to materialize.

Gao Shunnian, a professional investment manager.

His position at Tianhong was director of the investment department. He was the person who had jumped ship carrying the milk tea shop project. Judging by his physiognomy, he looked shrewd and capable, and there were no negative returns hovering above his head.

Zhang Long still trusted his own golden finger; as long as no negative numbers appeared, it meant the person was usable.

Whether they would turn a profit remained to be seen, but at the very least, there were no hidden pitfalls.

The general manager of Tianhong was Zhang Shangyu. Normally, he didn't manage Tianhong's affairs and merely held the title nominally, with daily operations supervised primarily by Deputy General Manager Yang Qingshuang. Zhang Long, Ding Junchen, Nie Yun, and the others also held respective titles, along with independent offices and assistants at Tianhong.

These assistants or secretaries served to replace Zhang Long and the others in exercising supervision at Tianhong, acting essentially as informants.

Through a headhunter, Zhang Long had hired someone with experience as an investment banking assistant to hold down the fort at Tianhong, and things were turning out decently.

Both her resume and qualifications were quite acceptable.

Normally, whatever transpired at Tianhong would be reported to Zhang Long, and for major matters, Zhang Long would come over to Tianhong in person—after all, the majority of his time still needed to be anchored at Shengxin.

The more enterprises one operated, the busier one became.

...

"Mom, you sign it."

On Saturday morning, Zhang Long drove to Hongkou in the Northern District. The day before, he had completed the transfer procedures with the original landlord of the rented home where Luo's family lived and the landlord of the commercial shop. Parting with 7 million for the two properties, Zhang Long had bought them outright.

Today, the Luo family had come to the agency precisely to sign the lease formalities, and after some deliberation, it was ultimately decided that Mother Luo would do the signing.

To be honest, Mother Luo still felt a bit embarrassed, seeing as Zhang Long had not yet married her daughter.

Still, to stand on ceremony at this point would be overly pretentious. The Luo family had already received a great deal of help and benevolence from Zhang Long. Since he was already half a son-in-law anyway, she accepted it.

The rent was paid by Zhang Long directly for about half a year; after six months, the Luo family would pay it themselves.

Mother Luo raised no objections to this.

Once the shop opened, there would be daily revenues; as long as the operations weren't too terrible, it was bound to turn a profit. The more she learned about the fruit and vegetable shop recently, the more stirred her emotions became. She hadn't expected that a small shop could generate such considerable daily turnover and earnings.

It was vastly superior to being a domestic helper or caregiver.

The shop Zhang Long bought for them was quite large, spanning two upper and lower levels—the ground floor for running the shop, and the second floor for office work or resting.

As for how to arrange it, professionals would handle the design.

None of this required the Luo family to worry; Zhang Long had already found designers and initiated the renovations. As for the rented apartment, it had also been cleaned up and was ready for moving at any time.

The Luo family could move piece by piece, or they could hire a moving company to transport everything over in a trip or two.

The fruit shop's grand opening was estimated to take place around May Day; with over a month remaining, there was no need to rush.

"Come on, Brother-in-law, eat more."

At the dinner table that evening, Zhang Long looked speechlessly at Luo Xin. This phrase had become the young girl's catchphrase; every time she ate a meal at the Luo family home, she would pile food onto his plate and tell him to eat more. Regardless of whether it was lunch or dinner, whenever Luo Xin was present, she would say it.

It was worth mentioning that recently, thanks to good food and drinks, Luo Xin's complexion had become much more ruddily healthy, and her frame was gradually filling out with flesh, full of youthful vigor and vitality.

Mother Luo was the same; her color was much better than when they had first met, and she would routinely eat more fruit as well.

The Luo family's overall quality of life had risen by several notches compared to before, and everyone's mindset was moving toward the positive.

"Husband, love me."

That night, after washing up and showering, Luo Man presented her red lips in the guest bedroom, stirred with passion. Zhang Long opened wide his index fingers and pressed straight down to ignite their passion; a brief parting is sweeter than a newlywed reunion.

Putting everything else aside, the fatigue accumulated from the past few days of busyness was swept away entirely, leaving both body and mind thoroughly clear.

More fitness and exercise—it was a rather good thing.

...

"What, you went back to Shengxin?"

In a certain apartment residence, Qin Miaotong looked at the serene Liang Xue with utter astonishment. Jumping ship from Hongze once more was not surprising, after all, their backer, President Qian, had left.

Yet President Qian had actually settled into Shengxin, and her best friend had jumped back there too—wasn't this a bit too fantastical?

The crucial point was that she had even shifted careers to join the finance department.

"Administrative work has no future."

Qin Miaotong's delicate face wrinkled slightly. "Although being a director's assistant sounds prestigious on paper, the monthly salary tops out at five or six thousand at most. How can that compare to leading a team in the marketing department and pulling in over ten thousand every month? Over the course of a year, that amounts to a significant gap in earnings."

"It's fine, it doesn't matter."

Liang Xue shook her head gently, choosing not to reveal the specific circumstances to her best friend; this assistant position was far from ordinary.

From now on, she belonged to Zhang Long.

"Why don't you come to Shengxin too?"

Liang Xue stated the purpose of her visit to her best friend today. "Shengxin is going to restart its trading department, and performance development will certainly be much stronger than Huifeng's. With a supreme expert personally holding down the fort, it's difficult not to produce results. Come over at the end of the month.

"Trust me, you'll make big money."

Starting next Monday, Zhang Long would officially assist the investment department in developing performance, and within a week, there would be obvious cumulative boosting effects. Conveniently, another week after that would mark the conclusion of March, allowing them to step onto the right track and start earning money come April.

If Qin Miaotong joined Shengxin's trading department, pulling in over ten thousand a month would be a non-issue, to say the least.

"I want to go into spot trading."

However, Qin Miaotong had her own thoughts. Both of them had studied finance, so naturally some of their classmates had branched into different financial sectors—some in stocks, some in futures, and others in spot foreign exchange. The most lucrative sector was foreign exchange spot trading, where the commissions were through the roof, yielding monthly incomes of one hundred thousand or more.

The stock market was currently in a bear market; working oneself to the bone in performance would yield at best tens of thousands at the top, making it far less appealing than spot trading.

"You won't regret coming to Shengxin."

Liang Xue rarely urged her best friend so strongly to follow her own ideas. Her gaze flashing, she spoke: "I won't say too much, but as long as you perform outstandingly in Shengxin's trading department, the position of trading department director will be highly probable. The director I serve is the one in charge of this sector.

"Even in spot trading, you need good performance to make big money, and the higher the position, the greater the risk.

"I don't need to spell out the fate of capitalization pools; you know it yourself. Think it over carefully."

Hearing this, Qin Miaotong's eyes flickered.

High salary versus high position—which one was better?

...

On Sunday afternoon, at the sprawling flat in Jinxiu Huating, this was the second time Liang Xue had come here. Zhang Long was still out socializing with friends and had not yet returned; he would be back by evening.

Upon entering, eyeing the low-luxury, high-end decoration and the spacious, premium layout of the flat, she sprang into action.

Cleaning the place, she transformed into a residential housekeeper.

Therefore, when Zhang Long returned from the outside at dusk to find the home impeccably clean and neat, with dinner nearly prepared, a deep sense of emotion stirred within his heart.

Liang Xue seemed even more diligent than Luo Man; bustling about for an entire afternoon in such a large house was quite tiring.

Which proved: being a full-time homemaker was no easy task.

Even if one thoroughly cleaned the house every two, three days, or once a week, it remained relatively exhausting. Add to that the daily chores of child-rearing, cooking, and the like, and overall, it was no less tiring than a man going out to work a regular job—everyone was weary.

"Whoa, it smells amazing."

In the open-plan kitchen, even though the range hood was of top-tier quality, the aromas of stir-frying and stewing drifted and diffused into the dining and living rooms, rich and savory.

"Wash your hands, time to eat."

Liang Xue finished stir-frying the last dish, and after washing his hands, Zhang Long took a seat at the dining table. Five dishes and one soup formed a lavish spread.

Overall, the flavors were somewhat lighter than what Luo Man cooked. As per usual, there were no staple carbohydrates—they only ate the dishes and soup.

No alcohol was served, yet a subtle romantic ambiance lingered.

"The Luo family situation has been settled."

After eating a few bites of food, Zhang Long let out a soft breath. "Once they finish moving, I'll explain everything that needs to be said to Luo Man. Whether it's a breakup or whatever else, I can't keep hiding it from her, even if the two of us haven't truly begun."

"No need, I'll go say it."

Liang Xue's movements paused slightly as she ate, her gaze lowering. "You don't need to show your face for this matter.

"At most, the two of us are currently in a stage of mutual affection without anything truly happening yet. I simply want to have a conversation with Luo Man; I haven't thought about anything else.

"At least I haven't thought about completely snatching you away from her side. We can figure out how things go down the road.

"I just want to bravely be myself for once."

Liang Xue's knot in her heart was that she had once had the opportunity to be together with him but missed it out of hesitation. Compared to whether she could be with Zhang Long, having a conversation with Luo Man and boldly admitting her affection for Zhang Long was evidently a more self-actualizing choice.

However, Zhang Long could actually guess Liang Xue's current mindset and hesitation—she had grown somewhat insecure.

Living in a luxury mansion and now becoming a director at Shengxin.

This sudden, soaring leap in status felt to Liang Xue like she was living in a dream, making her afraid to face real emotions anymore. She probably wouldn't lay everything bare when she went to talk to Luo Man.

"Sister Xue, don't overthink it."

After a moment of silence, Zhang Long spoke up. "Luo Man has her own plans and won't settle down for a few years.

"You are more suited for this than she is."

Liang Xue lowered her head in silence. If Luo Man knew that Zhang Long was no longer the Zhang Long of yesterday, would she still continue drifting outside? He didn't know; it was impossible to make an accurate assumption.

That was why she needed to have a conversation with Luo Man, to see whether Luo Man would choose to keep being herself or turn back.

Which weighed heavier: herself, or Zhang Long?