Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Late night. Room 0418, Faculty Apartments.

Fresh from a shower, Song Yuncheng lay on her side on the sofa, her eyes fixed on Chen Yansen’s bedroom door as she replayed the events of the past two or three months in her mind.

"Chen Yansen, are you asleep?" Song Yuncheng suddenly asked.

"I am," Chen Yansen’s lazy voice drifted out from under the door.

"I want to know... you’ve put so much effort into training me. Is it because my abilities have finally met your standards, or is there another reason?" Song Yuncheng said, hesitating.

"It’s about half and half," Chen Yansen replied without a second thought.

"Then what’s the other half?" A blush immediately spread across Song Yuncheng’s fair, pale cheeks.

In the pitch-black living room, her breath caught in her throat, and the surroundings grew even quieter.

"Little girl, don’t ask questions you already know the answer to," Chen Yansen said, rolling over with a light, teasing chuckle.

"You... can’t you just be a good person for once?" Song Yuncheng’s face grew redder, her mind filled with images of Chen Yansen taking advantage of her.

"What good comes from being a good person?" Chen Yansen retorted.

Song Yuncheng fell silent. After a long while with no words, drowsiness gradually washed over her. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier until finally, her head tilted to the side, and she fell fast asleep.

Chen Yansen waited for a long time. Hearing no response, he sat up in frustration. ’She was the one who wanted to talk, and now she’s the one who’s gone quiet.’

He pulled open his door and, by the moonlight, saw what Song Yuncheng looked like now. Her eyes were shut tight, her breathing deep. One of her long, fair legs was exposed, and her lips were slightly pursed, glistening with a moist sheen.

"MWAH—"

Chen Yansen knelt down and planted a soft kiss on her lips. ’You owe me for this one,’ he thought to himself.

...

...

"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—! KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—!"

The next morning, Song Yuncheng was sound asleep when she vaguely heard someone knocking on the door.

She rubbed her eyes and subconsciously walked to the door. Just as she was about to open it, her mind snapped awake. This wasn’t her own dorm room; it was Chen Yansen’s.

’Who’s outside?’

Song Yuncheng’s hand froze in mid-air. All movement ceased, and even her breathing grew shallow. Peeking through the peephole, she saw Meng Jie.

’Crap!’

’If Meng Jie sees me in Chen Yansen’s room, there’s no way I’ll be able to explain this.’

"Who is it?!"

Chen Yansen shuffled into the living room in his slippers, his eyes heavy with sleep, and yelled toward the door.

"Chen Yansen, I brought you breakfast!" Meng Jie replied cheerfully.

Hearing Meng Jie’s voice, Chen Yansen didn’t seem flustered at all. He simply reached out to open the door.

Terrified, Song Yuncheng quickly grabbed his hand, shaking her head frantically.

"Don’t open it!" Song Yuncheng’s voice was as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz. Inwardly, she cursed, ’Chen Yansen, are you insane?!’

"We didn’t do anything. What the hell are you afraid of?!" Chen Yansen rolled his eyes and replied in a similar low voice.

"I... I’ll go hide in your room?" Song Yuncheng suggested.

"No! Meng Jie will definitely go into my room. Go hide in the bathroom." After a moment’s thought, Chen Yansen found a hiding spot for her.

Without time to think, Song Yuncheng grabbed her clothes and shoes and dove into the bathroom.

"CREAK—"

The front door slowly opened.

"Cafeteria Number Three has a new Zhou Lai Beef Soup place. I don’t know if it’s authentic, but I got some, and I also bought some soup dumplings."

Meng Jie strode in, carrying a food container.

"Oh, really? I’ll have to give it a try," Chen Yansen said with a smile, sniffing the fragrant aroma.

"I can tell you just woke up. Go brush your teeth and wash your face!" Meng Jie put down the container and started pushing Chen Yansen toward the bathroom.

"You eat first then, just leave half for me." Worried that Meng Jie would pull open the bathroom’s wooden door and discover Song Yuncheng inside, Chen Yansen smiled and coaxed her back to the sofa.

He then walked to the bathroom door, ready to go in and wash up. He turned the handle a few times, but it wouldn’t open.

’This idiot! Why did she lock the door from the inside?!’

Chen Yansen cursed inwardly.

"What’s wrong? Is the door broken?" Seeing this, Meng Jie got up to take a look.

"It’s fine. The door’s probably just a little tight. I just need to use a bit of force," Chen Yansen said loudly, afraid Song Yuncheng wouldn’t hear him.

With a ’CLICK’!

The door swung open with a strange sound. Chen Yansen darted into the bathroom and shut the door behind him, the whole process taking less than a second.

"You have to make her leave!" Song Yuncheng was frantic. If Meng Jie found her, she wouldn’t believe the truth even if she told it.

"Don’t panic! After breakfast, I’ll walk her to the academic building. You can leave then," Chen Yansen reassured her in a low voice.

Perhaps because she had run in such a hurry, Song Yuncheng’s white T-shirt was askew. It was an old shirt with a stretched, curled collar, leaving the neckline wide open and revealing a striking, pale curve.

"Mm," Song Yuncheng mumbled in acknowledgment, but when she noticed Chen Yansen wasn’t moving, she snapped her head up and met his fixed gaze. Only then did she realize, and she hastily adjusted her clothes.

"Stop staring!" Song Yuncheng hissed, like an enraged little lioness.

"Chen Yansen, the soundproofing in your room isn’t very good. Why do I think I hear a girl’s voice?" Meng Jie, in the living room, had faintly heard some rustling. She didn’t think much of it and simply asked Chen Yansen.

"Probably because the floors are too thin," Chen Yansen said, wrapping his arm around Song Yuncheng’s waist as he casually made up an excuse.

"I didn’t realize the faculty apartments were so poorly built," Meng Jie nodded, not suspecting a thing.

"Chen Yansen, let go of me!" Song Yuncheng squirmed, trying to break free from his embrace, completely unaware that her struggles were only fanning the flames of his desire.

Chen Yansen lowered his head, kissing her jaw. His arms tightened around her as if trying to merge her into his own body.

Song Yuncheng didn’t dare make a sound and could only let Chen Yansen do as he pleased. It wasn’t until a pair of warm hands began to travel up from her stomach that she snapped back to her senses and desperately grabbed his arm.

"Senior, you smell so good," Chen Yansen whispered in her ear, his voice deep.

"You... I’m going to tell Meng Jie!" Song Yuncheng threw off his hand and said menacingly.

"Go ahead!" Chen Yansen grabbed the doorknob and made a move to open the bathroom door.

"Are you crazy?!" Song Yuncheng hastily stopped him.

"Give me a kiss, and I won’t open the door," Chen Yansen said with a wicked smile, tapping his own lips with a finger as he stated his condition.

"Open it if you have the guts! I don’t believe you’d dare!" Song Yuncheng glared at him, refusing to yield.

"CREAK—"

Before Song Yuncheng could react, the door was pulled halfway open, startling her into hiding behind it.

"Hmm, this lock is a little sticky. I’ll put some lubricant on it later and it should be fine." Chen Yansen stood in the doorway, pretending to inspect the doorframe while talking to Meng Jie.

"Never mind the door. Hurry up and wash your face. The beef soup is going to get cold," Meng Jie urged.

Chen Yansen nodded slightly and closed the door again.

"Be quick about it, or next time I’ll open the door all the way," Chen Yansen threatened.

"Please stop bullying me, okay?" Song Yuncheng clutched her clothes, huddled by the door, her eyes welling up with tears as she begged pitifully.

Chen Yansen’s heart softened. He raised a hand to wipe the tears from the corner of her eye, thinking to himself, ’Am I being too much of a bastard?’

’Bah, it’s not like I was ever a good person to begin with!’

Chen Yansen snorted, turned, and walked to the sink, finally starting to brush his teeth and wash his face.

’Song Yuncheng, just quit! You can’t do this job anymore. This dog of a boss, Chen Yansen, is even more ruthless than Zhou Bapi.’

’But don’t you like Chen Yansen? He’s tall and handsome, well-spoken, and has a brilliant mind for making money. If you stay with him, you’ll never have to struggle again.’

’Song Yuncheng, he’s a complete scumbag! His girlfriend is sitting right outside the door. Stop fantasizing!’

’For a guy as handsome and successful as him, what’s one extra girlfriend?’

Standing on the tiled floor, Song Yuncheng felt as if two people were fighting in her head, forcing her to make a choice.

Should she quit, or should she continue to let Chen Yansen bully her?

Song Yuncheng’s gaze gradually lost focus. She stood there in a daze, not even noticing when Chen Yansen finished washing up, pushed the door open, and left.

A long time later, the cold feeling from her feet finally brought her back to her senses. Peeking through the crack in the door, she saw the living room was empty.

She tiptoed out of the bathroom. After confirming that both Chen Yansen and Meng Jie were gone, her legs gave way, and she collapsed onto the sofa.

...

...

On the second floor of the Innovation Park.

Chen Yansen was seated, with Zhang Wenbo, Xiang Pengfei, Zhuang Rui, Hu Yun, and Meng Xibo standing before him.

"The Meiters brand event on the 28th will determine whether FoxTao can stand out from the crowd of shopping guide e-commerce platforms. Let me be blunt: if any of you drops the ball on this, I’m docking your bonus for three months."

Chen Yansen said with a grave expression, giving them a serious warning.

"Brother Sen, don’t worry!" the group responded in unison.

"Bo Bo, Yifeng will send you the Q&A SOP from the Meiters Taobao store’s customer service this afternoon. You’ll be in charge of training our customer service. Even though 90% of the front-end sales pressure is on their end, we’ll definitely still have some users asking us questions. Things like fabric materials, types of down jackets, and fill power—you need to know more about this stuff than the customers themselves, understand?" Chen Yansen instructed Meng Xibo.

"No problem!" Meng Xibo replied seriously.

"Hu Yun, the data tracking and order monitoring have to be flawless. But then again, I’ve always been able to count on your work," Chen Yansen said, clapping Hu Yun on the shoulder with a smile of praise.

"Brother Sen, I’ll get you the demo prototype for the brand event this afternoon. I still need to adjust and optimize the layout and push notification logic," Zhuang Rui spoke up.

"Simplify the user flow as much as possible so they can get to the event page directly from the homepage. This event is crucial; we have to give it our all. Oh, and for the close button on the pop-up, add a direct link to the event page," Chen Yansen added.

’An ad link on the close button?’

Zhuang Rui froze, completely baffled. This was a dirty trick he had never even considered.

’Isn’t that way too shady?’

The men exchanged glances, shocked by Chen Yansen’s shamelessness.

"Get to work! What are you all staring at me for?! When we’re offering two models of down jackets and sweatshirts with a 90% commission rebate, do you really think users are going to complain about the experience?" Chen Yansen said irritably.

A Meiters sweatshirt, priced at 159 yuan, comes with a 143.1 yuan rebate, making the final price just 15.9 yuan!

A lightweight down jacket, priced at 299 yuan, comes with a 269.1 yuan rebate, making the final price a mere 29.9 yuan!

Perhaps a decade or so later, in a hyper-competitive e-commerce environment, this would be nothing special. But in 2010, a "super-divine" price of 10% of the original was enough to drive customers into a buying frenzy.

This involved the issue of perceived value. The customer’s actual payment is 299 yuan, so in their minds, the true value of the down jacket is 299 yuan. Being able to buy it for 29.9 yuan would only make them feel clever, like they’d scored a major bargain.

It’s like a smartphone worth 1999 yuan being sold for just 199 yuan. Even the most rational person would willingly jump into that consumer trap.

It wasn’t until ten-thirty that Song Yuncheng finally arrived. She was clutching a resignation letter, moving one hesitant step at a time toward her desk.

It landed with a soft *thud*!

The paper landed in front of Chen Yansen.

"Resigning? Are you sure about this?" Chen Yansen picked it up, raising an eyebrow as he looked calmly at Song Yuncheng.

Song Yuncheng didn’t say a word, merely giving a slight nod.

"RIIIIP—"

Without even looking at it, Chen Yansen casually tore the letter to shreds and tossed it in the trash. "Zhuang Rui is planning to create another version of the brand event page layout. Coordinate with him and get me the final proposal before the end of the day."

"Chen Yansen, I..." Song Yuncheng opened her mouth to speak, her voice hoarse.

"Want your pay docked?" Chen Yansen threatened with a smile, his eyes narrowed.

Song Yuncheng stared straight at him, finally letting out a long sigh. She picked up her laptop and walked over to Zhuang Rui.

Meanwhile, Chen Xu and Zhang Yifeng were inside the main warehouse at Meiters Headquarters, looking at mountains of inventory. The labels on the boxes showed that some of the goods had been produced as far back as 2007.

Only then did they understand why Chen Yansen dared to offer a 70% commission rate!