Chapter 73: The Perfect Wingman
“Why do you want ti off?”
“To recover from my injury.”
“Not approved.”
“Why not?” Su Wanyu huffed indignantly.
Lu Liang retorted, “You teach using your mouth and hands, with maybe a little brainpower thrown in. What does that have to do with your injured leg?”
“It takes way more than ‘a little brainpower’!” Su Wanyu protested with a pout, then mumbled under her breath, “Still, it just doesn’t feel right.”
As Lu Liang’s foreign language tutor, she was practically a part-ti employee. Developing a workplace romance could negatively affect his reputation as her boss.
“If you’re that concerned about my reputation, how about teaching at my place?” Lu Liang teased, unable to resist ruffling her hair, much to her dismay.
“Stop ssing with my hair!” she exclaid. Her naturally wavy locks had once earned her the nickna “Curly,” leaving her with an irrational resentnt toward sleek straight hair.
Clutching her small backpack, Su Wanyu looked wary. “You’d better just co to the office. And no funny business during work hours.”
“We need boundaries. At work, I’m your Teacher Su, and you’re my Boss Lu. Oh, and don’t pick up tomorrow—I can get there on my own.”
Her tone was firm, her small face serious.
Su Wanyu didn’t want to negatively impact Lu Liang. If it ca to that, she’d rather quit the part-ti job altogether. “There are 17 lessons left. Don’t order any more from . If you still want to learn, I’ll teach you for free.”
Lu Liang sighed, feigning a pained expression. “Our relationship is so calculative—it hurts my heart.”
“Hmm~ Then endure the pain for now!”
She wrinkled her nose defiantly, unwilling to be fooled again. But when Lu Liang stayed silent for a long mont, she started to feel uneasy. Finally, she added, “It’s mainly because I’m preparing for the postgraduate exam next month and won’t have much ti.”
Lu Liang chuckled and patted her head. “Now I feel much better.”
“You scoundrel! You tricked again!”
Su Wanyu lunged at him in mock anger, but Lu Liang easily held her at bay with one hand on her forehead. “With those scrawny arms and legs, you think you can take on?”
Amid their laughter and teasing, they soon arrived near Yongfeng Building.
“Drop off at the corner,” Su Wanyu suddenly said, her tone firm.
Respecting her decision, Lu Liang complied, letting her out before heading to the building’s parking lot.
Instead of going to the office, he called Old ng to confirm he was in and then headed to the 17th floor.
The current office location had been arranged by ng Changkang, and since they were planning to relocate, it was only courteous to inform him.
Old ng was gracious, showing no dissatisfaction—he had expected it.
The 15th and 16th floors were ho to small companies worth only a few hundred thousand yuan. Tianxing Capital, with its 50-million-yuan registered capital, had clearly outgrown Yongfeng Building. ℞аŊ∅BĘ𝐬
“It’s a pity I won’t get to drop by for tea as often,” ng lanted.
“We’ll still be in Pudong—it’s just a short walk away,” Lu Liang reassured him.
“That’s true. Let know when you move, and I’ll gift you a fine tea set.”
“Thanks in advance, Brother Kun.”
After bidding ng farewell, Lu Liang returned to the office and saw Su Wanyu chatting with Chen Jinchun.
The two were of similar age, and since Chen had recruited Su online, they got along well.
They seed to be discussing how Su had injured her leg. Unlike last night, she didn’t bla “a certain soone” but claid it was just an accident.
“If you’d like, I can speak with Boss Lu for you. I’m sure you can continue tutoring,” Chen offered. She knew Su was renting a place to prepare for her exams and relied heavily on the extra inco.
Chen’s willingness to help stemd from her own experience—Tang Caidie had supported her when she first joined the company, so she wanted to pay it forward.
When Su saw Lu Liang approach, she quickly stood up with her crutch and reminded Chen, “Boss Lu.”
Lu Liang nodded slightly and asked her, “What happened to your leg?”
“Just a little sprain,” Su replied, turning her head to avoid further questions and any suspicion from Chen.
Lu Liang turned to Chen. “How’s the new office arrangent coming along?”
“Here are the leasing docunts. Tang Jie asked to hand them to you.” Chen picked up the file from the desk.
The property fee remained 28 yuan per square ter, but the rent had been reduced to 866,400 yuan—a 20% discount. Including all costs, the monthly expense ca to 972,800 yuan. The lease was set for three years with a “three months deposit, six months rent” paynt term, totaling 8.7552 million yuan.
Right then, Tang Caidie returned. Lu Liang waved her over. “Tang Jie, co into my office for a mont.”
The initial 10 million yuan he had allocated was nearly depleted. He planned to have Tang arrange another 24 million yuan from the bank and Industrial and Comrcial Bureau.
With that, their registered capital would increase to 40 million yuan, alleviating the need for further injections in the short term.
“Boss Lu has been unusually agreeable lately,” Chen muttered, finding it odd.
“Is he usually difficult?” Su asked, curious about Lu Liang’s image in his employees’ eyes.
“Depends on the situation. He’s quite magnanimous, but his sense of ti is... lacking.”
Chen couldn’t help but complain. “There’ve been tis he called at midnight for data he needed the next morning. I don’t have three heads and six arms—I had to pull all-nighters!”
“But if I nodded off at work the next day, he didn’t say anything about it.”
“Once, when Tang Jie was away on a business trip, it was just and him at the office. After work, he offered to drive ho, but I declined.”
“And then?” Su eagerly pressed for details.
Chen, annoyed, said, “Later, he saw waiting for the bus and just nodded before driving off.”
“That’s not bad at all,” Su said, inwardly delighted. Lu Liang’s image grew clearer in her mind—principled, efficient, and unconcerned with small matters. Most importantly, he only acted like a scoundrel with her, which filled her with sweet satisfaction.
“Well, I guess...” Chen hesitated, a bit vexed. She wasn’t unattractive, and Lu Liang’s indifference left her feeling slightly defeated.
“Miss Su, Boss Lu is calling for you,” Tang said, stepping out of the office.
Su entered, pulling open the blinds before setting up her teaching tools.
She shot Lu Liang a warning glare, as if to say, Your employees are outside—don’t you dare misbehave.
Lu Liang chuckled but made no inappropriate moves. Instead, he swapped the day’s teaching material from The Wall Street Journal to The Tokyo Tis.
The Tokyo Tis had both Japanese and English versions, published almost simultaneously, ensuring no delays. This way, while studying English, Lu Liang could also stay inford about Japan’s economic situation.
The potential increase in consumption tax was bound to face public backlash since its impact was direct and tangible.
Currently, with a 5% tax, a 100-yen pack of cigarettes cost 105 yen. If the tax increased to 10%, the price would rise to 110 yen.
Unlike China, where taxes were embedded in product prices and less noticeable, Japan’s approach made the financial burden clear.
Over the past 18 years, many proposals for consumption tax hikes had been made. Whether they’d be implented depended on public resistance and Japan’s economic condition.
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