Adjacent to the headquarters buildings of Shanhuo Engine and Gua Pi Video, the buildings were connected by corridors between them, covering a total area of 38,000 square meters. Due to the large floor area, the entire region appeared majestic and grand.
The "unicorn’s" level was achieved...
At the front desk on the first floor, a pretty girl wearing a fitted gray long shirt and skinny jeans was sitting there, humming a tune and scrolling through short videos on her phone.
Most young internet companies didn’t strictly enforce dress codes, and the usual work atmosphere was relatively relaxed. The only thing that might be criticized was the endless overtime.
Even when passing by Douyin’s building at midnight, one could still see it brightly lit inside. ByteDance had managed to become so competitive, and one could only say that those squatting on toilets and scrolling through short videos on their phones had a responsibility.
Of course, being at the front desk didn’t require being so competitive, so Wu Lili had a bit of free time to slack off.
Lost in a video she was watching, Wu Lili was suddenly tapped on the back, and then heard a deliberately serious voice, "Wu Lili, what are you doing?"
The girl named Wu Lili was scared at first, but when she turned around and saw it was another girl, with exquisite makeup and even more beautiful features, she breathed a sigh of relief and couldn’t help but give her a light smack.
"Xu Lingyue, you’re wicked, imitating Sister Zhang’s voice so accurately... Weren’t those guests friends of President Qiu? Did you already finish seeing them off?"
"President Qiu went down to pick them up himself, so there’s nothing left for me."
The beautiful girl named Xu Lingyue shrugged and explained, trying to grab Wu Lili’s phone again, "Hehe, who told you to slack off and admire handsome guys? Let me take a look and see which hottie has mesmerized you!"
"He’s not a hottie, although he does look quite similar. I’ve seen photos of him in swimwear leaked online, and he’s got abs... And guess what he actually does?"
Wu Lili covered her phone, speaking mysteriously.
"What does he do?"
Though Xu Lingyue wasn’t so interested in these internet celebrities, chatting required reciprocity, and as a newcomer at her job, she was adapting to these rules. So she pretended to be very interested.
"He’s a young entrepreneur, a self-made billionaire..."
"Really?"
Upon hearing Wu Lili’s description, Xu Lingyue couldn’t help but laugh, "Lili, aren’t you a ByteDance employee? Do you actually believe that stuff? Don’t you know that online personas are often made up?"
"Oh, this one’s different. Take a look at his videos yourself."
Wu Lili was evidently deeply infatuated and couldn’t tolerate Xu Lingyue speaking so dismissively about her "idol," so she immediately handed her phone to Xu Lingyue and started explaining rapidly while showing her the account.
"See, he’s only uploaded three videos in total, and already has millions of followers... Plus, he mentioned he would never do product placements, and the videos are just to share a bit of his life and give out some small benefits to everyone..."
Xu Lingyue was initially indifferent, but when she saw the name and part of the profile, she was startled.
"Zhou Wang? Is that really his name?"
"Uh-huh, and he’s only in his twenties... Oh, right, he’s from Yunan Province, just like you!"
Hearing Wu Lili’s words, Xu Lingyue remembered some hearsay from her circles back in school, and she couldn’t help but pick up Wu Lili’s phone to check for herself.
Upon seeing that familiar yet unfamiliar face, all doubts vanished for Xu Lingyue. He was indeed... the Zhou Wang she knew.
Her memories drifted back, and in a blur, Xu Lingyue was transported to her middle school days, at the former Jing City Seventh Middle School. Among the boys who used to lean on the fourth-floor corridor and whistle or shout at her during recess, there seemed to be that same face.
Of course, Xu Lingyue wasn’t particularly close to Zhou Wang, and she couldn’t quite recall if among all the love letters she received during middle school, there was one from Zhou Wang.
Her impression of Zhou Wang was probably of a classmate who did well academically, had a lively personality, and was slightly handsome. In fact, if Zhou Wang didn’t have these small charms, she might not have remembered him at all.
Back in middle school, with her beautiful face, slim figure, and knack for makeup and wearing little dresses, Xu Lingyue was one of the "class flowers" who drew endless attention.
Xu Lingyue once thought she would always be the "female protagonist," until she was admitted to Beidou’s Communication University. It was then she realized that her looks, which she once prided herself on, weren’t particularly outstanding in an academy filled with beauties.
After all, during middle school, her competition was just two hundred girls across six classes. At the Communication University, that number multiplied tenfold, and within the vast expanse of Beidou, she became more and more ordinary.
Of course, it couldn’t be denied that Xu Lingyue still had good qualities, with countless boys pursuing her. But her standards were set high from the beginning, leading to a current situation of neither reaching the high nor willing to settle for less.
Despite graduating from a prestigious university, finding a dream job in a city like Beidou with just a bachelor’s degree was not easy. Being able to get hired as the front desk for Douyin was already the result of her utmost effort.
But the job was quite good, interacting with all sorts of people every day, many from higher social strata. Xu Lingyue always had a premonition that maybe her "prince charming" would appear here...