Chapter 444 - 230: A Special Method of Enhancing Appearance

After spending a few days with Gu Pan, Qi Sheng headed back home.

Coincidentally, Pop Mart had also completed its preliminary planning and was ready to move.

The administrative staff sent to Chengdu in advance had already rented subsidized housing for the other employees.

This sort of treatment was a heartwarming gesture for the many employees who were making the move.

It was only upon arriving in Chengdu that the Pop Mart employees truly grasped the terrifying extent of their big boss’s power.

The company’s office was located in a property owned by the boss himself.

Following such a powerful boss, their futures were naturally bound to be bright.

The Pop Mart employees were happy.

But the employees at Shengxuan Real Estate couldn’t help but feel a little dejected.

This was especially true for the sales department staff.

The bulk of their income came from sales commissions.

With Pop Mart moving in, they had rented two entire floors in one go.

The occupancy rate of Shengxuan Financial Center subsequently shot up to 100%.

Seeing their property fully leased, Zhou Huaiping naturally didn’t want to just rest on his laurels.

"Boss, now that Shengxuan Financial Center is fully occupied, shouldn’t we consider acquiring another property?"

"Which of your eyes told you I still have money?"

Qi Sheng gestured for Tang Qian to pour Zhou Huaiping a cup of tea.

While it wasn’t a top-grade Pu’er, it was still Niu Langkeng Cinnamon tea, which cost over ten thousand a pound.

"Heh heh, everyone in the group knows you control the investment rights for Jinshi Capital."

"You could have Jinshi Capital acquire a relatively high-quality property, and then we could help manage and operate it."

Zhou Huaiping rubbed his hands together, revealing what was truly on his mind.

"You have some nice ideas, but Jinshi Capital’s ammunition can’t be used carelessly."

Qi Sheng shook his head with a smile, dismissing Zhou Huaiping’s idea.

His time in the Capital City had been carefree.

But Lu Fang, the professional manager, had been so busy her feet hadn’t touched the ground.

Besides completing the two investments Qi Sheng had assigned to her—

investing 200 million US Dollars each into Zhuangyu Catering and Banyan Tree Group at a 2 billion US Dollar valuation—

she had also been flying all over the place, investigating promising startup projects.

As for the remaining 400 million US Dollars, it was just sitting in Jinshi Capital’s account.

Naturally, quite a few people had their eyes on this sum.

The most impatient of them all was none other than Yuan Li.

Although Lu Fang had hinted to Yuan Li that the money was earmarked for Spicy King,

even Lu Fang couldn’t guarantee when it would actually be invested.

"After Spicy King’s B-round financing, I’ll have Yuan Li purchase a separate office building to facilitate their future expansion. You’ll be in charge of management and operations then."

Qi Sheng thought for a moment before assigning Zhou Huaiping a task.

"Keep an eye on office buildings for sale on the market recently. The total price should be kept within one billion."

"Understood."

Having received a satisfactory answer, Zhou Huaiping was naturally put at ease.

He downed the tea in his cup and hurried off to find a suitable high-quality property.

Speak of the devil.

Yuan Li knocked impatiently on the door and rushed in as soon as she heard a reply.

"Boss, you’re finally back! When do you think we should start the B-round financing?"

Yuan Li looked at Qi Sheng with immense anticipation.

"Have a seat first. Qianqian, pour President Yuan a cup of tea."

Qi Sheng waved his hand with a smile, calming the restless Yuan Li.

"How did your talks with President Su and President He go?"

"Not too smoothly. They both feel a valuation of 5 billion US Dollars is acceptable."

"But a 10 billion US Dollar valuation is just too outrageous."

Yuan Li sighed, her mood sinking a little.

"At the very least, we should wait until the branches in the four first-tier cities have all opened before we discuss financing again."

Qi Sheng understood Yuan Li’s thirst for capital, but he didn’t want to attract unnecessary criticism.

Although the Jiang Family and Xu Yi would firmly support his investment decisions,

in the eyes of outsiders, it would look a bit too greedy.

Expecting a 10 billion US Dollar valuation based on just 21 stores in the Southwest Region...

...was something no one would be able to accept.

But if they waited for the stores in the four first-tier cities to open, the situation would naturally be different.

The number of stores would increase to 45, and monthly revenue would rise to around 500 million.

Monthly net profit would also approach 100 million.

At a 10 billion US Dollar valuation, the PE ratio would only be 56, which wasn’t unacceptable.

"Alright, I understand your concerns. I’ll wait a bit longer then."

Yuan Li stood up, looking a little embarrassed. Before leaving, she asked again.

"Boss, there’s hardly any office space left here at Shengxuan Financial Center."

"After the company’s next round of financing, should we think about moving to a new office?"

Qi Sheng nodded with a smile. "I’ve already instructed President Zhou. Once he finds a suitable property, the acquisition will be completed after Spicy King’s B-round financing."

"You mean, we’ll have our own headquarters building as early as the B-round?"

Yuan Li was overjoyed, not expecting Qi Sheng to be so extravagant.

With Spicy King’s profitability, acquiring a headquarters was just a matter of time.

But to have one during the B-round...

This was truly beyond Yuan Li’s expectations.

She had originally thought that after the company went public and had more fluid capital,

the plan to acquire a headquarters would then be put on the agenda.

"Spicy King’s performance is good, so it naturally deserves preferential treatment."

Qi Sheng offered Yuan Li a few words of encouragement and sent the elated woman on her way.

"Boss, you’re so amazing~"

After seeing Yuan Li out, Tang Qian returned and grabbed a cushion from the sofa.

She knelt under the large executive desk, looking up at her man with eyes full of adoration.

Qi Sheng continued to handle his documents, letting his little secretary perform her oral ministrations.

After Tang Qian finished drinking her "milk," she carefully cleaned him up.

Only then did she crawl out from under the desk and run to the restroom to wash up.

Watching Tang Qian’s departing figure, Qi Sheng thought of the system’s modification function.

Tang Qian’s looks were considered quite good among ordinary beauties.

Her score was 83, just two points away from the threshold for a "high-quality beauty."

[2,000,000 consumed. Tang Qian’s appearance score has been increased to 84!]

Qi Sheng nodded slightly and continued the upgrade without hesitation.

[10,000,000 consumed. Tang Qian’s appearance score has been increased to 85!]

[System Notification: Tang Qian’s girlfriend level has been upgraded to High-Quality Beauty!]

[Related rewards have been refreshed, but girlfriend level cannot be upgraded again!]

"Now that’s finally pleasing to the eye!"

Qi Sheng saw the C-Level girlfriend category completely disappear from his girlfriend list.

Tang Qian’s name had now entered the B-Level girlfriend group.

Qi Sheng wore the contented smile of someone whose obsessive-compulsive tendencies had just been satisfied.

The extra 5 million reward in his account was a nice little boost for Qi Sheng.

Starting next month, Tang Qian’s girlfriend level reward...

...would no longer be a mere 1 million, but 5 million!

This upgrade was an absolute steal.

...

In the communal restroom, after rinsing her mouth repeatedly,

she suddenly felt her face grow hot, and a dark, muddy substance even began to ooze out.

’What’s happening?’

Tang Qian was terrified and frantically started scrubbing her face.

She washed for a full half-hour, until her face was rubbed red.

Only then did Tang Qian lift her head and look in the mirror again.

"Is that me?"

Tang Qian looked at her reflection. The subtle changes in her facial features were almost imperceptible.

The most obvious difference seemed to be that her skin had lightened by a full shade.

It was like watching a video that had gone from high definition to ultra-high definition.

As the saying goes, a fair complexion hides a hundred flaws.

Besides, Tang Qian was already a beauty to begin with.

When she went out to nightclubs, countless rich guys were willing to spend a fortune just to make her smile.

But within Qi Sheng’s group of girlfriends, Tang Qian had always been the one with the lowest self-esteem.

Now, her looks had finally reached the average for the group.

Just then, another female colleague she knew finished using the toilet and came to wash her hands.

Seeing the noticeably changed Tang Qian, she asked with some surprise.

"Secretary Tang, you look great today. What kind of skincare products are you using?"

"My skincare product is rather special. You can just go home and ask your boyfriends for it."

Tang Qian gave a suggestive wink, swaying her slender waist as she walked away in her high heels.

"Ask our boyfriends?"

The colleague froze for a long moment before understanding Tang Qian’s meaning, and her face instantly turned beet red.

"No wonder the boss likes Secretary Tang. What man doesn’t like a beautiful woman who’s so open?"

The female employee muttered under her breath, her eyes filled with envy.

Everyone in the company knew the two young secretaries were practically the boss’s wives.

They drove cars worth millions and lived in a luxury residential area like Renheng Riverside Bay.

Their monthly allowance was in the hundreds of thousands.

It was a heavenly life they could only dream of having.

’If you’re going to sleep with someone anyway, why not pick a man who’s handsome and generous?’

...

Back at her desk, Liu Shiwen was happily chatting in her group chats.

She casually glanced up at Tang Qian and suddenly froze.

"Qianqian, did you get plastic surgery?"

"Don’t be ridiculous. I just have a better complexion today."

"Don’t tell me... that ’face mask’ method you’re always talking about actually works?"

"What else? Can you think of any other reasonable explanation?"

"Heh heh, I always thought you were just being kinky to please our husband."

"Screw you! I’m so good to you, and this is what you think of me!"

The two women bantered playfully, and then Liu Shiwen found an opportunity to slip into the office.

Qi Sheng, who was reading documents, didn’t pay her much mind.

But soon, he realized something was off.

Liu Shiwen had also grabbed a cushion and knelt down under the executive desk.

She skillfully went through the motions of unbuckling his belt.

After she had copied Tang Qian’s method from start to finish,

she ran to the restroom to wash her face, only to find not the slightest change.

"This isn’t scientific at all!"

Liu Shiwen couldn’t figure it out. She even scrubbed her face forcefully.

Her reflection in the mirror was still very beautiful.

But it was nothing compared to the qualitative leap in Tang Qian’s appearance.

Returning to her workstation,

Liu Shiwen looked at Tang Qian’s smug selfies and could understand her mood.

It was no exaggeration to say she had gone from a wild pheasant to a phoenix overnight.

From a purely pragmatic perspective,

the improvement in Tang Qian’s looks was also a significant boost to their combined charm.

Tang Qian was already very adventurous, and now she was even more beautiful.

Maybe this would entice Qi Sheng to visit them more often.

When Qi Sheng came out of his office,

he happened to see his two little secretaries whispering, though he didn’t know what they were discussing.

’I spent over ten million on Tang Qian today.’

’Tonight, I’ll have to make her give a good performance.’

"What are you two talking about?"

"Dar— Boss, are you getting ready to leave for the day?"

Liu Shiwen almost had a slip of the tongue and called him "husband." Seeing an employee walk by, she quickly switched her form of address.

"Yes, you two can clock out as well."

Qi Sheng winked, quite mindful of his own image.

"Yes, Boss."

The two women understood instantly and began packing up their things excitedly.

Although they had received plenty of his "grace" during the trip to the Capital City,

women are creatures who are naturally skilled at palace intrigue.

A large family like theirs wasn’t much different from an ancient imperial palace.

The only difference was that they had a bit more freedom.

Materially, they were already very satisfied.

Their greatest spiritual pleasure came from competing to see who was more favored by Qi Sheng.

But no matter how they competed, the one who enjoyed it the most was undoubtedly Qi Sheng.