Chapter 27: Sister, You're the One Being Naughty!

“Sixteenth floor, the 240-square-meter unit.”

Lu Liang did not believe in feng shui, but he did not question it either.

He simply thought that the unit was already partitioned and had several desks, so he could move in with just a suitcase.

For a long time to come, this company would remain a shell company, so it was fine to keep things simple for now.

“The daily rent is 3 yuan per square meter, including property management fees, for one year. Three months’ deposit and three months’ rent in advance. Xiao Liu, go get the contract.”

The usual rent was 4.5 yuan per square meter, but Meng Changkun, using his charm, gave Lu Liang a one-third discount.

“Brother Kun, you’ve helped me so much, just rent it to me at the normal price.”

Lu Liang spoke seriously. Friendship was about mutual benefit, not taking advantage of others.

He could accept Meng Changkun’s help, but he would not accept such a blatant gift.

Meng Changkun hesitated, but seeing Lu Liang’s eyes, he suddenly smiled, “Alright, then 4.5 yuan it is.”

He finally understood why he admired Lu Liang so much.

He knew boundaries and when to advance or retreat. Even if their financial standings were vastly different, he never felt inferior.

That quality was rare indeed.

At 135 yuan per square meter per month for 240 square meters, the monthly rent was 32,400 yuan. With three months’ deposit and three months’ rent in advance, Lu Liang paid 194,400 yuan.

After completing the lease contract, Liu Jun helped Lu Liang fill out the company registration forms. Lu Liang provided the information, and Liu handled the process.

“The company will be called Tianxing Capital, with a subscribed capital of six million yuan, fully paid.”

Lu Liang thought to keep one million yuan as working capital, which should suffice for the short term.

Though there were many nuances between subscribed and paid-in capital, his mind was not on the company now, so he registered the full paid capital to avoid future supplementary payments.

“Assistant Liu, I’m counting on you for this. Brother Kun, I’ll be going now.”

At five in the afternoon, Lu Liang took his leave from Meng Changkun and returned home with Li Manli.

Li Manli, without a care for appearances, flopped onto the sofa and let out a loud, triumphant sigh: “Finally back.”

She had accompanied Lu Liang for tennis in the morning but had been utterly useless the rest of the day.

She didn’t understand the conversation between Lu Liang and Meng Changkun and couldn’t help, so all she could do was awkwardly chat with Zhou Xiaoqi.

Lu Liang sat beside her, and Li Manli naturally rested her head on his thigh, looking up at him: “I’m hungry.”

Her eating habits were always hearty, but since she had lunch with Lu Liang’s friends, she had been holding back.

The result was a hungry stomach.

“What do you want to eat?”

Lu Liang browsed through the materials Liu Jun had provided, along with notes on the new company registration.

Once the business documents were in, he’d need to hire at least two people: an accountant and a receptionist to ensure daily operations, which mainly meant opening and closing the office, paying bills, and perhaps cleaning if motivated.

“I want Hainan chicken rice.” Li Manli scrolled through her phone, too lazy to go out and wanting to order delivery.

“Order one for me too,” Lu Liang said, picking up his phone and transferring her fifty thousand yuan.

Li Manli saw the transfer notification and straightened up in surprise. “What’s going on?”

Lu Liang pulled her into a hug. “You said work wasn’t going well, so I found you a new job.”

“What job?” Li Manli wriggled her shoulders and nestled comfortably in Lu Liang’s arms.

“Look at this big place. What kind of staff are we missing?” Lu Liang looked around the spacious living room.

“Isn’t this too soon?” Li Manli’s eyes widened, unable to imagine such a sudden surprise.

Before she could speak, Lu Liang tapped her on the head. “What are you thinking? Are we missing a housekeeper?”

With 434 square meters, four bedrooms, and two living rooms, living alone felt a bit lonely to him.

A few days ago, if it weren’t for Zhang Qian staying over for several days, he wouldn’t have known what to eat.

So he had been thinking about hiring a housekeeper, who could also hire a cook to handle daily chores.

Coincidentally, Li Manli was here.

She graduated last June, worked six months in a factory, then two and a half months at Wanligong.

With only a high school education and no university degree, she clearly lacked the qualifications for a company job.

Lu Liang also didn’t want to mix personal relationships with the company, even if it was just a shell company now.

After much thought, the housekeeper position seemed most suitable for Li Manli.

“A housekeeper?” Li Manli frowned. She had thought Lu Liang wanted her to be the lady of the house.

She felt a bit reluctant because in her impression, housekeepers were usually middle-aged women in their forties or fifties.

Lu Liang laughed: “Who says a housekeeper can’t be young and beautiful? Have you seen those Japanese movies? They’re all about gorgeous ladies.”

Li Manli tilted her head, immediately distracted by the change of topic: “Are those movies even decent?”

“Sis, it’s you who’s questionable.”

Lu Liang pinched Li Manli’s chin, gazing at her pink lips, unable to resist the softness.

Li Manli narrowed her eyes, wrapping her fair arms around Lu Liang’s neck, responding in kind.

The red sun dipped westward, its afterglow spilling into the living room as their clothing gradually lessened on the sofa.

The orange light fell upon Li Manli’s pristine back, casting a golden glow. As time passed, fine beads of sweat appeared, intensifying the shimmer.

Suddenly, an untimely phone rang.

“Y-your phone… it’s ringing.”

Li Manli’s gaze was hazy, her words fragmented.

Lu Liang’s breath grew heavy as he glanced at the phone—no caller ID—and ignored it.

The call rang for 40 seconds each time, and the caller persistently called again every five minutes.

Until the third ring ended.

Lu Liang picked up the sofa blanket that had fallen to the floor and covered Li Manli and himself.

He took the phone and recognized the number faintly but didn’t think much and called back.

As soon as the call connected, an angry thunderous female voice blared: “When did you sell the house?”

“When did I sell it? I don’t think I owe you an explanation.” Lu Liang’s face darkened.

Months without contact, but he recognized the voice—it was his ex-wife, Lin Wenjing.

“Changed your number, sold the house, quit your job—what exactly are you trying to do?” Lin Wenjing raged.

At first, she tried calling Lu Liang’s old number, but it was disconnected.

So she went to Lu Liang’s home and former workplace but was met with closed doors.

She didn’t mind the change of ownership at home, but especially at Lu Liang’s company, where the leadership was initially polite to her.

However, the moment they heard Lu Liang’s name, they became explosive and promptly threw her out.

Later, a young girl chased after her and told her Lu Liang had resigned months ago.

Before leaving, he had given the boss a piece of his mind, so the boss held a grudge.

And gave her Lu Liang’s new number.

“What I do is none of your business.”

Lin Wenjing gritted her teeth and coldly demanded: “What about my things?”

“I called you back then, and you said you didn’t want them, so I threw everything away.”

Lu Liang smirked, his mood gradually calming. He touched Li Manli’s chin, teasing her like playing with a cat.

Li Manli held her breath, eavesdropping on the conversation, realizing the caller was Lu Liang’s ex-wife.

Suddenly she smiled mischievously and in a saccharine baby voice said, “Brother~ you’re so bad, you just have to get it on my face…”

Lu Liang was stunned; Lin Wenjing clearly heard it too.

Through the phone, Lu Liang heard Lin Wenjing’s breathing grow heavy.

“Lu! You’re unbelievable!” she growled and hung up abruptly.

Lu Liang sighed, recalling a few months ago when he called Lin Wenjing and heard a man’s voice.

Now it was payback. He thought he’d feel relieved, but instead, he felt melancholy.

After all, when they first married, Lu Liang had planned to care for her forever, to grow old together.

But now they were enemies.

“Brother Liang, I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

Li Manli pinched her earlobe, pleading pitifully for forgiveness.

From their conversation, it was clear their relationship was bad, so she wanted to help but only made things worse.

Lu Liang frowned: “Your mistake is saying it’s on the face when it’s clearly on the back.”

Li Manli was dazed, then suddenly exclaimed.

It didn’t sound like a reproach. She bit her lower lip and reached under the blanket: “How about we start over?”