105: Chapter 105 Trajectory

The car drove for about fifteen minutes and stopped at the surface parking lot of the Changjiang International Center.

Jiang Chen turned off the engine and unbuckled his seatbelt.

Shen Xi got out of the passenger seat, closing the door very gently.

She looked up.

The glass curtain wall of the sixty-eight-story building reflected a cold light in the afternoon sun, like a sharp sword piercing straight into the CBD skyline.

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"This is..."

She turned her head and looked at Jiang Chen.

She didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear.

"Chenxing Capital's office area," Jiang Chen twirled the car keys on his fingertip. "Let's go, let's head up and take a look."

He didn't wait for her answer and turned to walk toward the lobby.

Shen Xi followed him at a steady pace.

Linear light strips were embedded in the dark gray stone walls of the elevator lobby.

The elevator doors were mirrored stainless steel, polished so brightly they could reflect silhouettes.

Shen Xi saw herself in the reflection of the doors.

A white linen shirt, coffee-colored high-waisted wide-leg trousers; her makeup was appropriate, but a layer of exhaustion that even foundation couldn't hide was tucked away in her eyes.

She pursed her lips and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

Jiang Chen pressed the button for the thirty-seventh floor.

As the elevator rose, he looked straight ahead, standing there quietly.

This silence made Shen Xi feel comfortable.

It wasn't a deliberate silence, but a kind of ease that didn't require making conversation.

Ding.

The thirty-seventh floor had arrived.

The corridor was covered in dark gray carpet, which swallowed the sound of footsteps completely.

The low hum of the central air conditioning was the only sound on this floor.

Turning left, Jiang Chen took out an access card and tapped it against the sensor. A green light flickered, and he pushed open the glass door, leading the way inside.

Shen Xi followed behind.

Then she stopped.

Five hundred square meters.

It seemed endless at a glance.

But it wasn't the area she noticed.

It was the texture.

The floor was covered with dark gray wool carpet; the moment she stepped on it, a thick and slightly elastic sensation traveled up from the soles of her shoes.

The walls were light beige, but not latex paint; they were finished with lime-based plaster imported from Italy, with a very subtle texture on the surface that showed a breathing-like change of light and shadow under the illumination.

The light strips on the ceiling weren't ordinary LEDs, but 4000K color temperature COB strips with a color rendering index close to natural light. When the light fell on the skin, even the skin texture seemed to improve.

Fully furnished delivery.

But this wasn't any "fully furnished delivery standard" she had ever seen.

She had seen this standard on the executive floors of Plaza 66, on the top floors of super Grade-A office buildings in Lujiazui, and in places where the daily rent exceeded twenty yuan per square meter.

And here.

She turned around and looked at Jiang Chen.

He leaned against the doorframe, hands in his pockets.

The sunlight hit him from the side, carving distinct contours of light and shadow on his face.

"Rented?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt the question was redundant.

"Bought," Jiang Chen said softly.

Shen Xi paused. "Paid in full?"

"In full."

She took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly.

Five hundred square meters, the heart of the CBD, a front-line river view, and this level of furnishing.

She did the math in her head, and the resulting figure kept her silent for two seconds.

"...Impressive."

In the end, she only said those two words.

She truly didn't know what to say.

Jiang ChenHe smiled，No explanation.

He just stood there naturally, waiting for her to digest the information.

Shen Xi turned back to face the floor-to-ceiling window again.

And then, she was truly struck.

The entire wall was glass.

Looking down from the thirty-seventh floor, the Yangtze River spread out before her eyes, as vast as a sea.

The afternoon sun spilled onto the river's surface, shattering into countless pieces of molten gold.

The ships on the river were reduced to slowly moving silhouettes, trailing long white wakes.

The city skyline on the opposite bank loomed through the mist, building upon building, stretching to the end of her vision.

She had seen many offices with river views.

But the height of the thirty-seventh floor was different.

This height was just enough to clear the obstructions of all the buildings in front, leaving the river fully spread out beneath her feet without any hindrance.

It was as if a viewing platform had been privately claimed.

She stood by the window, motionless, for a long time.

Then she spoke; her voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.

"President Jiang, give me one month, and I will make this place into a company worthy of this window."

Jiang Chen looked at her back.

Her shoulder line was straight, her neck slender; she stood like a tree with roots buried deep.

He smiled.

It wasn't a polite smile, but the kind of smile that said, "I knew I wasn't wrong about her."

Shen Xi turned back from the window.

The sunlight gilded a warm golden outline on her shoulders. Her expression had recovered from the shock, replaced by a professional focus.

"Has the decoration style been decided?"

"Not yet."

Jiang Chen straightened up from the doorframe and walked in.

His leather shoes stepped on the wool carpet, and even the sound of his footsteps was consumed.

"You are the first person to come in and see it; you decide."

Shen Xi did not refuse.

She began to walk slowly through the space, her gaze sweeping from the ceiling to the walls, and from the walls to the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Walking to the east side, she crouched down to feel the material of the carpet, and as she stood up, her fingers brushed across the wall.

"This foundation is too good."

Her tone had switched from exclamation to analysis.

"The carpet is New Zealand wool, over 1200 grams in weight; the feel underfoot is on the same level as a five-star hotel's executive lounge."

"The walls are lime-based plaster—it breathes, so it won't peel during the rainy season or crack during the dry season. The color rendering index of the light strips should be over 95; staying under this light all day won't tire the eyes."

She stood still in the center of the space and turned around.

"But Chenxing Capital cannot follow the decoration path of traditional financial institutions."

Jiang Chen walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, leaned his back against the glass, and folded his arms.

"How so?"

"Traditional financial companies come in two types. One is the 'Old Money' style—mahogany desks, leather sofas, crystal chandeliers—practically desperate to make clients smell the money the moment they walk in."

"The other is the tech-minimalist style—white walls, glass, metal—as cold as an operating room, telling you that this is what 'high-end' feels like."

She lowered her hands.

"Chenxing can use neither of these."

"Why?"

"Because Chenxing does business intelligence and investment decision support; it's not a financial institution that opens its doors to welcome guests."

Shen Xi took a step forward.

"Your core assets are information, judgment, and the ability to see opportunities one step ahead of others. This place isn't for receiving clients; it's for thinking, analyzing, and making decisions."

Her gaze swept across the entire five hundred square meters.

"It should be like a command center, but not an ordinary one. It should be a command center where people are willing to stay for over ten hours."

Jiang Chen looked at her, something more in his gaze.

It wasn't scrutiny, but a kind of attracted focus.

"What do you think should be done?"

Shen Xi raised her hand and pointed to the river outside the floor-to-ceiling window.

"The 'Chen' in Chenxing means time, and 'Xing' means direction. What you do is lock onto the right direction at the right point in time. Therefore, the theme of this space should be—Trajectory."