80: Chapter 80 Eating

Zhang Qi and Manager Chen Danni walked side by side out of the Zhisheng Finance building, the sunlight hitting them both.

Manager Chen Danni carried the bag containing her mug and personal items, her steps so light that she didn't look like someone who had just quit a ten-year job.

"What shall we eat?" Zhang Qi tilted his head to look at her.

"You decide." Manager Chen Danni turned her face, her tone natural.

Zhang Qi pointed to the Financial Center building with the glass curtain wall across the street.

"There's a fusion restaurant over there. I saw it when I passed by last time. Let's go try it."

The two crossed the street and took the elevator directly to the thirty-seventh floor of the building.

The restaurant was named "Shiwei." The decor at the entrance was understated but full of quality—dark walnut wood paired with matte copper accents—it was clear at a glance that it wasn't a cheap place.

The hostess at the front desk saw the Patek Philippe on Zhang Qi's wrist, and her smile immediately brightened by three levels.

"Hello, sir. How many for dinner?"

"Three, a window seat."

"Very well, please this way."

The two were led to a round table and sat down.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was the core CBD area of Shenzhen, with high-rise buildings standing in clusters and traffic flowing like a loom.

Zhang Qi took the menu, flipped through two pages, and started ordering directly.

"Truffle Wagyu sashimi, black garlic roasted silver cod, foie gras teppanyaki fried rice, fish maw chicken soup, lobster bisque, and grilled Iberian black pork chop."

He paused for a moment and added two more.

"Also, one portion of black truffle baked lobster and one portion of abalone sauce braised sea cucumber."

"As for wine, let's open a bottle of champagne. Do you have any recommendations?"

The waiter gave a name and price, and Zhang Qi nodded.

"That one."

He closed the menu and handed it back.

The waiter trotted off to place the order.

Manager Chen Danni sat opposite him, her hands folded on the table, watching the casual way Zhang Qi ordered, the corners of her mouth curving slightly.

This man ordered eight dishes as smoothly as an ordinary person ordering three steamed dumplings and a bowl of mixed noodles at Shaxian.

Zhang Qi took out his phone, sent a message to Qian Mengsheng, and attached the restaurant's location.

"Come out for dinner, hurry up."

After sending the message, he placed his phone face down on the table and leaned back in his chair.

"Do you know the process for registering a company?"

Manager Chen Danni nodded, reflexively entering work mode.

"Registering a company isn't complicated. Name approval, submitting materials, receiving the license, engraving seals, opening a corporate account, and tax registration—the whole process can be finished in a week."

She paused and added, "But it depends on what type of company you want to start. Different business scopes require different qualifications."

"Mainly asset management, write the business scope a bit broader," Zhang Qi said.

"If we do other business later, we can just add it."

Manager Chen Danni quickly went through the process in her mind and said, "Okay, what should the registered capital be?"

"Ten million, let's say."

Manager Chen Danni's eyelids twitched, but she didn't ask further.

Ten million in registered capital, to the current Zhang Qi, was probably about the same as someone else registering a 50,000-yuan sole proprietorship.

"Who should be the legal representative?"

"You." Zhang Qi said it very casually.

Manager Chen Danni was stunned for a moment.

Write her as the legal representative?

This meant she would be the person legally responsible for the company externally.

Although legal representative doesn't equal owner, Manager Chen Danni knew very well the weight of this trust.

"...Okay." She nodded, her voice a little softer than before.

As they were chatting, the waiter began to serve the dishes.

The first dish served was truffle Wagyu sashimi.

A5-grade Wagyu was sliced thinly and laid on an ice platter, with a layer of thinly shaved black truffles sprinkled on top.

The marbling of the beef was evenly distributed, gleaming with a fatty luster under the lights, and the aroma of the black truffles spread as soon as it hit the table.

Next came the black garlic roasted silver cod.

The whole piece of cod was slow-roasted until the skin was slightly charred, the meat snow-white and tender, drizzled with a layer of black garlic sauce, with a circle of asparagus and roasted cherry tomatoes on the bottom of the plate.

The foie gras teppanyaki fried rice was served in a black stone pot, the rice grains coated in foie gras fat so that each grain was distinct, dotted with golden scrambled eggs, still sizzling at the bottom of the stone pot.

The fish maw chicken soup was served in a white porcelain jar, and as soon as the lid was lifted, a rich aroma of chicken soup wafted out.

The soup was clear, the fish maw stewed until soft and transparent, and the chicken was tender enough to fall off the bone.

The lobster bisque was prepared in a Western style, with a few drops of truffle oil and a pinch of chives dotted on the thick orange soup base.

The grilled Iberian black pork chop was sliced thick and plated, the surface grilled with charred, fragrant lines, accompanied by a small dish of sea salt and ground black pepper.

The black truffle baked lobster was a whole Boston lobster cut in half, covered with cheese and black truffle bits, baked until the surface was golden and bubbly.

Finally, the abalone sauce braised sea cucumber was served, with six heads of sea cucumber lying in the abalone sauce, dark brown and oily, clearly stewed for a long time.

Eight dishes plus a bottle of top-tier champagne filled the entire round table.

Manager Chen Danni looked at the table full of food, her eyes sweeping over the price tags.

She didn't say anything, just picked up the water glass in front of her and took a sip.

After following Zhang Qi, she had slowly started to adapt to this level of consumption.

Although her heart would still have a moment of trance—after all, a week ago, she was still that financial manager who had embezzled public funds and was frantic with worry.

"Should we eat first or wait for Qian Mengsheng?" Manager Chen Danni asked.

"Let's wait a moment, she should be here soon."

In the office area of Zhisheng Finance.

When Qian Mengsheng saw the WeChat message, she was staring blankly at a report in front of her computer.

She opened the location, which was a restaurant on the 37th floor of the building opposite.

Qian Mengsheng looked up and scanned the office area.

Manager Chen Danni's office door was open, and it was empty inside.

The "Analysis Department Manager" nameplate on the desk was still in its place, with a computer that hadn't been turned off next to it.

No one was sitting in that chair anymore.

Qian Mengsheng withdrew her gaze and turned off the computer screen.

In the past, if she wanted to leave early, she had to report to the supervisor first, get the supervisor's approval, then apply to Manager Chen Danni, and only leave after Manager Chen Danni nodded.

And now?

The supervisor was still sitting at their workstation, but the person who managed her was no longer there.

Qian Mengsheng stood up, picked up the bag on the table, and walked toward the door without looking back.

When passing the supervisor's workstation, the other person looked up at her.

"Qian Mengsheng, where are you going?"

"I have something to do, leaving first."

The supervisor opened their mouth, but before they could say anything, Qian Mengsheng had already pushed open the glass door.

She left very decisively.

It wasn't because she had become bolder.

It was because her obsession with this job had faded a lot.

Su Ran had quit.

Manager Chen Danni had also quit.

Two women, who in her eyes were both better than her, had all left their respective positions, all revolving around the same man.

She sat in this office every day typing on her keyboard, taking home a little over ten thousand a month.

Su Ran didn't have to do anything, receiving fifty thousand in pocket money every month, living in a luxury apartment worth over five million.

Manager Chen Danni had also quit to follow Zhang Qi.

Comparing it like this, what was the point of her working overtime here until nine o'clock?

Qian Mengsheng walked into the elevator and pressed the button for the first floor.

The elevator door closed, and she glanced at her reflection in the stainless steel door panel.

Milky white knit sweater, dark gray high-waisted trousers, nude pink pointed-toe high heels.

Long hair tied in a low ponytail, loose strands hanging by her ears.

Delicate features, fair skin, a face full of collagen, looking pretty even in the blurry reflection.

She was no worse than Su Ran.

Nor was she worse than Manager Chen Danni.

Qian Mengsheng took a deep breath, walked out of the building, and headed toward the financial center across the street.

The elevator opened on the 37th floor.

As soon as Qian Mengsheng came out, she smelled the aroma of food wafting from the restaurant.

The hostess led her to the window seat.

The first thing Qian Mengsheng saw was the table full of dishes.

Eight dishes, each exquisite, with careful plating.

The black truffles on the Wagyu sashimi were still giving off an aroma, the cheese on the baked lobster was steaming, and the sauce on the abalone sauce braised sea cucumber was so rich and glossy that one could see their reflection in it.

Then her gaze fell on the bill folder on the edge of the table.

The bill was not closed, revealing the bolded number at the bottom.

16,800 yuan.

Qian Mengsheng's footsteps faltered.

Sixteen thousand eight hundred.

The price of this meal was more than her monthly salary.

She worked overtime until 9 PM every day, typing reports in front of the computer until her eyes were sore, taking home a little over ten thousand a month.

Zhang Qi was sitting here, casually ordering a few dishes, spending what amounted to her one and a half months of income.

This gap—it wasn't that she didn't know, but when she saw it with her own eyes, the feeling still felt like a basin of cold water poured over her.

"Mengsheng, sit."

Zhang Qi's voice came from across the table, his tone casual and natural, the same tone as when he used to call her over to check reports at the company.

Qian Mengsheng snapped back to reality, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

Her seat was directly opposite Zhang Qi, with Manager Chen Danni on her right.

Scanning with her peripheral vision, Manager Chen Danni was wearing a white silk shirt today, the collar slightly open, her short hair neat, her posture upright.

The expression on her face was calm and indifferent, showing no emotional fluctuation from having just quit a ten-year job.

Qian Mengsheng silently withdrew her gaze.

"I'm planning to start a company and let Sister Danni be the general manager. Are you interested in working with me too?"

Zhang Qi spoke, his tone very ordinary, much like asking her if she wanted to order takeout together at noon.

Qian Mengsheng was stunned.

Start a company?

Let her work with him too?

Her mind spun quickly.

Zhang Qi's current net worth, conservatively estimated, was tens of millions.

Buying a Porsche in full, buying an apartment in full, and a casual meal costing ten thousand.

When a person like this starts a company, no matter what they do, the starting point won't be low.

And what did following Zhang Qi mean?

It meant seeing him every day.

It meant she wouldn't have to look at Su Ran showing off her luxury mansion or Manager Chen Danni quitting to follow him with envy through WeChat and Moments anymore.

She could also stand by his side.

"Okay."

These two words escaped her lips.

So fast that even she hadn't reacted yet.

After Qian Mengsheng finished speaking, her fingers subconsciously gripped the fabric of her skirt.

She used to be the kind of person who would overthink for a long time.

When facing Zhang Qi's interest, her first reaction was to push her best friend Su Ran forward, because she was afraid of seeming too proactive, too money-grubbing, and too cheap.

She was a bit literary, and deep down, she always had a bit of arrogance.

Feeling that she shouldn't try to please a man for money.

But now—

Her mindset had changed a bit.

Manager Chen Danni, sitting opposite, paused slightly with the water glass in her hand.

She turned her head and looked at Qian Mengsheng.

Her gaze was a bit surprised, but carried a hint of scrutiny.

Manager Chen Danni knew Qian Mengsheng quite well.

Although she had expressed her interest in Zhang Qi in the office last time, she had also expressed her inner conflict.

Agreeing so decisively today was truly surprising.

Qian Mengsheng felt Manager Chen Danni's gaze.

That feeling of being seen through made her a bit uncomfortable, her ears heating up slightly, and she subconsciously lowered her head.

Zhang Qi looked at Manager Chen Danni, then at Qian Mengsheng.

Manager Chen Danni sat there, her white shirt buttoned to the second button, revealing a section of her fair neck, her short hair neat and capable, her features cold and exquisite, her temperament exuding the composure polished by ten years in the workplace.

A thirty-year-old woman, carrying a kind of mature charm about her.

Qian Mengsheng sat beside her, the neckline of her milky white knit sweater slightly open, revealing her slender neck, a low ponytail hanging by her shoulder, a slight blush still lingering on her cheeks from lowering her head just now.

A young girl in her early twenties, full of collagen and girlishness from head to toe.

Two women, one mature and steady, one youthful and vibrant.

Sitting on his left and right opposite him, each with her own beauty.

Zhang Qi smiled and picked up his glass.

"Let's eat, let's eat. After we're done, help me get the company matters prepared."