Chapter 30 : Was the last meeting pleasant? (1/2)

Sang Miao felt like she had become degenerate.

She used to be able to sleep anywhere.

She used to adapt quickly to any environment, good or bad, and now she found herself quickly adapting to the good as well.

Naturally, after this, if she could live better, she would.

She did the math, renting a place long-term just for the occasional overtime nap wasn’t worth it, and having a ready-made option wasn’t bad.

What he said made sense.

Like him, she would only occasionally stay over due to overtime.

They wouldn’t disturb each other, and might not even run into each other more than twice.

Sang Miao quickly made a decision: “Then it’s a deal, when I work overtime really late, save a room for me.”

Meng Peisheng’s lips curved slightly: “Not just one, you can choose.”

Sang Miao put away the contract, looked at the card in her hand for a few seconds, then solemnly placed it in her bag.

Over this period, she could feel it too

Meng Peisheng was truly a generous person.

If he treated her, a contractual wife, this well, she couldn’t imagine what he’d be like with someone he truly cared about.

But she didn’t plan to recklessly use the card.

His generosity was his own business, and taking it back was just a matter of a single sentence.

Besides, she didn’t have extravagant spending habits in the first place.

Maybe it was the past few years that gave her this kind of habit, whether it was hoarding supplies or having multiple safe living bases, all of it gave her more peace of mind.

Having one more card in hand truly added a sense of security.

She suddenly didn’t feel poor anymore.

Every item she received had to be planned for carefully and thoroughly prepared.

Sometimes, she would even come back empty-handed; that was the kind of environment it had been.

And these kinds of unexpected joys could bring immense satisfaction.

It was Tuesday today.

Back at the villa, only the two of them were at the dinner table, a rare occurrence.

On weekdays, Meng Peisheng usually came back very late.

Only on weekends would he sometimes return before dinner, and at that time, Meng Xici would also be at home.

Today, they seemed to have chatted quite a bit.

During dinner, he brought up her registering a company with her cousin.

“Since you registered a company, I assume it’s not just for this one game.

What are your plans afterward?” Meng Peisheng seemed unusually patient today, casually chatting with her.

Sang Miao was happy to talk to him about this: “Planning to start with visual effects.

We’re currently in development.

Xinghe has gained a pretty good reputation in the industry over the past two years, so recruiting for this project should be easier.”

Meng Peisheng thought for a moment: “Besides games, are you also interested in film and animation?”

He seemed to know a lot.

Sang Miao replied: “Yeah, right now we’re focusing on games, but once the team is more mature, those areas will naturally be included in future collaborations.”

“But there’s no rush.

I’ve only just started looking at office spaces.”

Building a tech team like this isn’t easy, talent is everything, and hard to come by.

Staying at the cutting edge of technology takes time and training.

Sang Miao understood this well, so she wasn’t in a hurry.

For now, game development was the focus.

“Want me to keep an eye out for you?”

Sang Miao looked up at him, a bit surprised inside, but didn’t show it on her face.

She had a lot on her plate recently and would love to have a reliable assistant.

“Sure.

I need to find one close to where Shen Xingxia is, that would be more convenient.”

The issue is that the area is the financial center, prosperous for years, and rent isn’t cheap.

Most of the buildings are already leased by companies, with a pretty low vacancy rate.

“But the rent can’t be too high, and it doesn’t need to be that big,” Sang Miao said with a smile.

Meng Peisheng had already finished eating, set down his chopsticks, and continued chatting with her lazily: “Okay, if something suitable comes up, I’ll take you to see it.”

…

Although he said he’d help keep an eye out, Sang Miao didn’t just hand everything off.

These past two days, while brainstorming concept art, she also browsed online for potential office spaces.

Most listings were from agents.

Finding a suitable one wasn’t easy, and she figured she’d have to go scout the area herself.

The game project hadn’t been officially named yet, it was just using a code name for now.

The concept art wasn’t like casually drawing illustrations.

Besides aligning with the world-building, she also had to consider game mechanics and whether the engine could realistically support it.

Fortunately, this was just the early planning stage, so going through several drafts was normal.

On Friday afternoon, she received a call from Uncle Zhou, saying there was a pretty good venue, and if she was free today, she could come over and take a look.

“That was quick, thank you, Uncle Zhou, I’ll head over now.”

Sang Miao put aside what she was doing, grabbed her car keys, and drove out.

Sang Miao followed the GPS to the address sent by Uncle Zhou and parked her car.

On her way to find the place, she also searched the surrounding area.

This road had quite a few Western-style mansions, giving off a somewhat chic atmosphere.

There were mostly cafes, bookstores, designer brands, and new tech companies around.

Arriving here, the vibe didn’t feel like work, more like a place to spend a leisurely afternoon.

She didn’t expect an office-like place.

Uncle Zhou said the space wasn’t very big, located along the edge of the road.

He also left her the landlord’s number, so it seemed someone on his side was already waiting for her there.

Just as she was about to call him outside the building, she saw Meng Peisheng and an unfamiliar middle-aged man walking toward her from a stone path nearby.

Her eyelashes fluttered slightly as she stepped forward.

“This is the landlord,” Meng Peisheng introduced the man beside him.

Sang Miao quickly hid her surprise.

Ignoring for the moment why he had come himself, she first greeted the landlord.

The landlord smiled kindly: “Hello, Mr. Meng has already explained everything to me.

Why don’t we go in and have a look?”

“Sure.”

The landlord led the way.

Sang Miao followed a step behind, walking next to Meng Peisheng, and asked softly, “Why did you come yourself?

Where’s Uncle Zhou?”

It was early spring.

Sang Miao wore a short gray woolen coat today, paired with a cream-colored turtleneck cashmere sweater, a long brown-toned skirt, and her slightly wavy long hair draped over her shoulders.

The overall look was a relaxed and casual British style.

Her bare face was fair and clean, with a touch of youthful charm.

“He had something else to take care of,” Meng Peisheng’s gaze rested on her fair side profile.

“Why, am I not allowed to come?”

Sang Miao: She didn’t say that.

Once inside, Sang Miao looked around.

Judging from the decor and layout, it seemed like the place used to be a studio or something similar, not a residential building.

It had a French vintage style.

The lighting on the first floor was excellent, with large floor-to-ceiling windows.

The landlord explained slowly, “This used to be a design studio.

They just moved recently, and I haven’t even had time to list it for rent online.”

No wonder she hadn’t seen this place before.

If she hadn’t come by in person, she wouldn’t have found it.

And no wonder it used to be a design studio, the decor had a lot of taste.

The first floor was completely open, and in the afternoon, sunlight streamed in through the large windows.

One part was designed as a reception area, while the other side had a bar and a tea corner.

“Upstairs is the office area.

If you think it’s suitable, you’ll even save on renovation time and costs.”

The two of them followed the landlord upstairs.

Both floors had modest balconies.

There were a total of four workrooms of various sizes and a resting area.

Just as the landlord said, it was ready to use.

All they needed to do was switch out the furniture and bring in computers and other equipment.

Sang Miao asked about a few other details, such as water and electricity usage.

The rent was also within a range she could accept.

After getting a general understanding, the landlord didn’t follow them the whole time and gave them space to think.

While Sang Miao was examining the interior details, Meng Peisheng spoke in a calm voice:

“Uncle Zhou already looked into the property’s situation beforehand.

You can rest assured.

What do you think?”

Sang Miao nodded, her beautiful eyes curved in a smile.

“The environment is great, and the layout fits perfectly.

Much better than what I could’ve found on my own.”

She didn’t dwell on it for long.

Since Uncle Zhou had already done the background check for her, there shouldn’t be any major issues with the property.

Besides, her cousin had already entrusted her to handle everything, so he wouldn’t have any objections.

Sang Miao wasn’t a perfectionist; this place was already quite suitable.

There was no need to keep looking for something better.

The landlord had brought the contract with him.

After a while, Sang Miao decided to sign a five-year lease.

After readily paying the deposit and a year’s rent, she took the keys and walked out of the building with Meng Peisheng.

The sun was slowly setting.

Sang Miao looked at him.

“I want to walk around the neighborhood before heading home.

Are you going back to the office?”

Meng Peisheng lifted his wrist.

The cuff of his white shirt revealed a bit of his watch, the obsidian dial and strap gave off an inexplicably restrained vibe.

He glanced at the time, his voice calm and clear: “No, not going to the office.

Let’s go back together.”

For some reason, Sang Miao subconsciously touched her left wrist.

She was wearing the watch he had given her.

She had worn it so often lately that it had become a habit.

She casually looked up at the sky.

It wasn’t quite rush hour yet.

It seemed like he was uncharacteristically free today, not in a hurry to get back to work.

The ginkgo trees on either side of the street had just begun to sprout tender green buds.

Since it was a weekday, the sidewalks weren’t crowded.

The two of them strolled down the road, occasionally chatting.

The street wasn’t very long.

They walked it in less than an hour.

Sang Miao wasn’t here to shop,

she just wanted to familiarize herself with the neighborhood.

So she didn’t enter any shops.

But during this slow walk, Meng Peisheng showed neither coldness nor impatience.

He didn’t check his watch, take calls, or show any signs of distraction or busyness.

She suddenly remembered that Ling Xi’s family café wasn’t far from here.

She figured she’d stop by and grab something to eat before heading home.

“I want to buy some coffee.

It’s that shop I mentioned before, the one owned by Meng Xici’s classmate.”

Meng Peisheng glanced at her, his voice as calm and clear as jade: “Mm, I remember.

Shall we head over?”

Sang Miao looked at the distance: “It’s a bit far.

Let’s drive, it’ll be faster.”

The Maybach was parked behind the building.

Meng Peisheng said, “Then let’s take your car.”

With that, he told the driver to go back first.

The two of them walked over to Sang Miao’s white car.