75: Before Chapter 75

April 29, 2025, Tuesday, Sunny, 17 ~ 26°.

The continuous days of overcast and rain finally cleared up, and the sunlight outside the window was just right.

At eight fifty-five in the morning, Qiao Yichen and Liu Yanran walked into the company right on time together.

Just as Qiao Yichen sat down at his desk, Li Yong sauntered over, clutching half a steamed bun, still chewing.

"Morning, Boss, have you eaten yet?"

Qiao Yichen glanced at him: "Aren't you eating right now."

Li Yong chuckled and stuffed the rest of the bun into his mouth.

Shen Bowen poked his head out from behind the partition: "Boss, have the materials shot yesterday finished exporting?"

"I already sent them to post-production," Qiao Yichen said. "Once we finish shooting the shots for the new store today, they can start editing everything together."

He looked at Meng Zhi: "Is the photographer confirmed?"

Meng Zhi opened her notebook: "Confirmed. They will arrive directly at the first new store at ten."

Qiao Yichen checked the time—nine o'clock.

"Let's take the subway over," he stood up. "Go early and check out the store first."

...The four of them, with a clear objective, arrived at the first new store forty minutes later.

Just as the store clerk was about to greet them, Qiao Yichen spoke first: "I'm from Company Name. We have a filming task here today."

The clerk was momentarily stunned, then nodded: "Oh, oh, understood. We received the notice yesterday."

Qiao Yichen nodded, his gaze falling on the independent display area next to the counter—it was completely different from the last time he was here. The matte new packaging boxes were neatly stacked on the acrylic shelves, with the three main promotional products occupying one layer each, accompanied by palm-sized black price tags.

Walnut Crisp: 38 Yuan/Box (Originally 28 Yuan)

Mung Bean Cake: 42 Yuan/Box (Originally 30 Yuan)

Cloud Slice Cake: 45 Yuan/Box (Originally 32 Yuan)

"How have customers reacted since the new packaging was put on shelves?"

The clerk thought for a moment: "It's okay. Several customers picked them up and looked at them for a long time this morning."

Qiao Yichen nodded: "It just launched, keep a close eye on customer opinions about the new versus old packaging, and record any feedback promptly."

The clerk acknowledged.

At half-past ten, the photographer arrived. It was the same young man in work pants as yesterday. He walked around the store with his camera and began shooting—the sign outside the store entrance, the interior decoration, the display of the new packaging, the clerk's action of handing out samples, and the expressions of customers examining the gift boxes.

Li Yong assisted nearby, moving props and adjusting the reflector board. Shen Bowen took notes on the shots with a notepad. Meng Zhi added the clerk on WeChat for convenient follow-up feedback collection.

After shooting for over an hour, the photographer glanced at the material: "I think that's about it. Let's take a break. Should we shoot some mall environment shots this afternoon?"

Qiao Yichen nodded.

At noon, the four of them casually ate a bowl of noodles in the mall.

Returning to the store at one o'clock, the photographer shot the last few required scenes—the interplay of light and shadow as sunlight slanted in from the mall skylight, the panoramic view of the counter display, and the clerk's actions while organizing the new packaging.

At two-fifteen, all filming at the first store concluded.

They moved on to the second new store.

The interior design was similar to the first one, and the display area was already set up. The photographer toured inside and only captured a few key shots—close-ups of the new packaging and the clerk handing out samples. It took less than an hour in total to wrap everything up.

Qiao Yichen stood outside the store, observing the situation. Two young girls walked by, had already passed, but then turned back, pointing and saying a few words about the new packaging on the counter. Then they pushed the door open and came out carrying a paper bag printed with the logo.

He took out his phone and snapped a picture.

At four-thirty, all filming ended.

As the photographer packed up his equipment, Li Yong collapsed onto a chair in the mall's rest area: "I'm exhausted... I walked over ten thousand steps today."

Shen Bowen checked his phone: "I hit fifteen thousand."

Meng Zhi didn't say anything, but her heels did indeed hurt a bit.

Qiao Yichen leaned back against the chair, watching the crowd lining up at the bubble tea shop across the way: "Confirm with the channel side one last time tomorrow. If there are no issues, we can start promoting once the post-holiday materials are ready."

Meng Zhi immediately sat up straight: "I've compiled the list of influencers. I'll send it to you tonight."

Qiao Yichen nodded.

At five forty, they returned to the company.

Qiao Yichen paused briefly as he passed the conference room.

The door was closed, and looking through the glass, he could see seven or eight people sitting inside. Liu Yanran was standing in front of the display screen, holding a slide advancer. The screen was filled with dense charts. Her lips moved slightly; she was clearly explaining something.

Qiao Yichen stood for two seconds before continuing forward.

Back at his desk, he took out his phone to continue searching for channel users. Half an hour later, he sent a message to Liu Yanran: "Still in there?"

He waited ten minutes, no reply.

He sent another one: "What about dinner?"

Another ten minutes passed, still no reply.

After six o'clock, Li Yong and the others started leaving work one after another. Qiao Yichen didn't leave, leaning back in his chair scrolling through his phone.

Close to seven o'clock, his phone vibrated once.

Liu Yanran: "Just finished."

Qiao Yichen: "I'm at my desk."

The reply came quickly this time: "Come down."

In the underground parking garage, Liu Yanran was leaning back in the driver's seat with her eyes closed.

When Qiao Yichen opened the passenger door and sat in, she opened her eyes and glanced at him.

"That tired?"

Liu Yanran didn't answer and started the car.

The car pulled out of the garage and merged into the evening rush hour traffic.

"How is your side going?" she suddenly asked.

Qiao Yichen leaned back in his seat, looking out the window: "We finished shooting both new stores today. The new packaging is up. We can launch as soon as the post-holiday materials are ready."

Liu Yanran hummed in acknowledgment.

"And the channels?"

"Finalizing tomorrow."

Liu Yanran didn't ask further.

When the car stopped at a red light at an intersection, Qiao Yichen turned his head to look at her—she gripped the steering wheel, her gaze fixed ahead, unmistakable fatigue showing in her eyes.

"The Li Quan project, any progress today?"

Liu Yanran paused for a beat: "We spent the whole day deconstructing the framework and re-analyzing the user persona."

The light turned green, and she stepped on the accelerator.

Qiao Yichen listened but didn't interrupt.

The car turned into a small road and stopped in front of a small eatery.

Liu Yanran turned off the engine, her hands still resting on the steering wheel, not moving immediately.

Qiao Yichen watched her.

The streetlights outside cast faint shadows on her face. Her eyes were closed, her eyelashes drooping slightly, as if she didn't even have the energy to unbuckle her seatbelt.

After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and pushed the door open to get out.

The two ordered a few dishes and didn't talk much.

Qiao Yichen served her a mouthful of food with his chopsticks, and she lowered her head to eat it. He then poured her a bowl of soup and pushed it over; she drank that too.

When they came out after eating, the sky was completely dark.

Liu Yanran dropped him off at the entrance of his residential complex.

"Get some rest early," Qiao Yichen said.

"Mm," Liu Yanran leaned back in the driver's seat, her voice slightly hoarse. "Then I'm heading back."

Qiao Yichen nodded and pushed the door open to get out.

He stood on the roadside, watching the taillights of the white Audi disappear into the night before turning to walk toward the complex.

...April 30, 2025, Wednesday, Sunny, 18 ~ 27°.

Nine-thirty in the morning, the small conference room.

Meng Zhi pushed the printed spreadsheet in front of Qiao Yichen.

"I selected three influencers, plus local promotion on Dianping."

Qiao Yichen looked down—

Influencer A: Local lifestyle category, 120k followers, quoted price 8,000. Specializes in exploring old shops, video style leans towards heartwarming.

Influencer B: Food review category, 80k followers, quoted price 6,000. Data is authentic, high fan interaction rate.

Influencer C: Store check-in category, 150k followers, quoted price 12,000. Primarily young female audience, aesthetic quality of visuals is high.

Dianping Local Promotion: 8,000.

After reading, Qiao Yichen nodded: "The prices are acceptable."

Meng Zhi was momentarily surprised, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

Li Yong teased from the side: "Oh, Meng Zhi can handle things independently now."

Meng Zhi glared at him, her earlobes turning slightly red.

Qiao Yichen pushed the spreadsheet back: "Let's go with these few. You guys follow up on the rest."

Meng Zhi nodded and put the spreadsheet away.

At three in the afternoon, Qiao Yichen stood at the end of the hallway, watching the conference room door open once again.

Several people filed out, all wearing the numb expression characteristic of long meetings.

Liu Yanran was the last one out, holding her laptop and a stack of documents.

She saw Qiao Yichen and paused.

"Finished being busy?"

"Phase one is finished being busy," Liu Yanran walked up to him. "Tomorrow is the holiday, I can finally rest for a day."

Qiao Yichen looked at her, paused for two seconds: "What are your plans for tomorrow?"

"Going back to my parents' place," Liu Yanran said. "We agreed long ago, I have to go back on the 1st."

Qiao Yichen nodded: "What about the day after tomorrow?"

Liu Yanran glanced at him: "I'll be back on the 2nd."

"Great, then I'll tell Lin Wei and the others that we'll have dinner together on the 2nd."

Liu Yanran nodded and walked toward the office holding her documents. After taking a couple of steps, she turned back:

"Is your project all done?"

"Yeah," Qiao Yichen said. "The materials and channels are both ready; we're just waiting for post-holiday deployment."

Liu Yanran nodded and continued walking forward.

Qiao Yichen stood in the hallway, watching her back disappear behind the office door.

Four in the afternoon, his phone vibrated once.

Lin Wei: "Qiao Yichen Qiao Yichen, the women's clothing window went live today, right?"

Qiao Yichen replied: "Yes, today is the first day."

Lin Wei: "Can you check the data on your end? Help me keep an eye on the conversions."

Qiao Yichen: "I can, I'll log into the backend to check."

Lin Wei: "Perfect."

He opened his computer, logged into the channel backend, and found the deployment data for that women's clothing window—impressions, clicks, click-through rate, all indicators started normally.

He took a screenshot, planning to send it to Lin Wei later tonight once there were initial conversions.

The sunlight outside gradually slanted westward. On the last working afternoon before the May Day Holiday, the office was filled with an absent-minded atmosphere.

Some people were already starting to tidy their desks, while others were quietly discussing their holiday arrangements.