Chapter 789: Using Ying Chanxi as a Beast of Burden

On Tuesday, after finishing her morning run, Ying Chanxi immediately went to Times Tianjie, signed the lease agreement with the building manager, and secured a 300-square-meter office space on the tenth floor.

Adding the 50 square meters occupied by Zhao Rongjun's team, the total area amounted to 350 square meters.

Considering Zhao Rongjun's team still needed office space for the time being, Ying Chanxi decided to renovate in two phases.

First, she would finish the simplest office area, then design and renovate special-purpose spaces like the livestream studio.

Given that Chongran Culture currently planned to hire only a few people per department, Ying Chanxi temporarily abandoned the idea of giving each department its own office.

After all, departments like Legal Affairs and Finance had minimal current workload—there was no need to hire many people and create redundancy.

Two to three people per department would be more than sufficient.

Besides these, there were Business, Talent Agency, and Administrative departments.

None required many staff; for the Talent Agency, Ying Chanxi had originally planned not to hire anyone at all, since Xiao Wen was already enough.

The company currently had only three artists: Yan Zhusheng, who had almost no work, and whose main recent activity was on Douyin.

There was also Ruan Lin and another artist who had just signed recently, tasked with playing the male lead in "The Beginning"—both were currently managed by Xiao Wen.

The former still attended university; apart from Douyin-related tasks, she would only need Xiao Wen's support after "The Beginning" officially began filming.

So right now, the only artist Xiao Wen genuinely needed to manage was the male artist who had already flown over from Jingzhao City.

However, after discussing with Li Luo yesterday and confirming they would sign an MCN agency contract with Xu Yinghuan and Zhao Rongjun, Ying Chanxi realized one Xiao Wen might not be enough.

Especially when Li Luo casually mentioned that his two roommates seemed to be filming videos lately, Ying Chanxi's mind opened up.

A cultural and entertainment company relying solely on a few artists was clearly insufficient.

It wasn't that a few artists couldn't sustain the company's operations, but for Li Luo right now, if a company's costs were less than its returns, why not just form a personal studio?

After all, according to Ying Chanxi's plan, the company's future departments would total ten to twenty people; even if each salary was kept between three and eight thousand yuan, the annual cost would still be substantial.

Add office rent, daily operational expenses, reimbursements, and taxes, and the annual cost would reach three to four million yuan.

That meant, after deducting Li Luo's personal income from writing online novels and songs, could Chongran Culture generate at least five million yuan in revenue within a year to break even and maintain some profit?

Otherwise, starting this company would be pointless.

Fortunately, the current situation was still decent.

Ruan Lin's eight-million-yuan Douyin contract alone could already cover the company's entire year of operational costs.

If "The Beginning" also performed well, Ruan Lin and the male artist Bai Lixuan would both have high future advertising value.

But thinking of this, another issue troubled Ying Chanxi.

Ruan Lin was manageable—she was still a freshman; after finishing "The Beginning," she could just return to school.

If "The Great Patrol" TV series eventually began filming, and she could be given a decent role, a few months' break in between wouldn't matter.

But Bai Lixuan had already graduated from university—he had already come to Yuhang City.

All personnel for "The Beginning" were now assembled, and filming would officially begin in December.

But after filming ended, if no new drama was available, Bai Lixuan would have virtually nothing to do until "The Beginning" premiered.

At noon.

Ying Chanxi, Li Luo, and Xu Youyu had lunch together in the school cafeteria, and she brought up this issue at the table.

Li Luo laughed upon hearing this.

"Just contact Director Wang about this later," Li Luo said cheerfully, "Didn't he start his own director's studio? After 'The Beginning' wraps, he'll probably take on other scripts."

"Bai Lixuan was originally selected by him from Jingzhao City—they're familiar with each other; after 'The Beginning,' he'll be easy to work with."

"Getting him into Director Wang's crew later? That's effortless."

"Directors have their own circles—even if Director Wang's project isn't suitable for Bai Lixuan, he can still recommend him to other directors."

"After getting through the vacuum period before 'The Beginning' airs, once it's released, it won't be Bai Lixuan seeking out crews—he'll be the one they beg to join."

As Li Luo spoke, he casually picked up food and ate, delivering this with utter nonchalance.

After hearing this, Ying Chanxi suddenly understood.

When she'd been thinking about this in the morning, she'd focused entirely on internal company planning and forgotten the external network of connections.

"It's all Dad's fault for being useless," Ying Chanxi poked at her rice, muttering quietly, "I did think about Huayue Film and Television, but Dad's been relying entirely on your scripts for the past two years—they have no new TV dramas in development."

Li Luo: "... Don't you dare say that to Uncle Ying."

"I'm not that stupid," Ying Chanxi rolled her eyes, "I just think their company is useless now—if not for your high-quality scripts, wouldn't they be starving?"

Hearing this, Li Luo stroked his chin and pondered.

Honestly, without Li Luo in the previous life, Huayue Film and Television's situation probably wouldn't have been any better.

After all, in Li Luo's memory, his parents rarely discussed such matters with him during school, but after he graduated, he occasionally heard about Ying Zhicheng's situation over dinner.

It was never good.

At least not compared to a few years ago.

So Li Luo guessed that, without his intervention this life, Ying Zhicheng would follow the same path as the previous life—demoted from General Manager due to poor TV drama performance.

Considering Ying Zhicheng had previously mentioned the power struggle between major and second-largest shareholders on the board, Li Luo pieced together most of it.

Poor TV drama performance, combined with Yuan Wanqing's failed comeback, was enough to make Ying Zhicheng take the blame.

Both Ying Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing clearly understood this—otherwise, if some random punk had stolen their two precious daughters, Ying Zhicheng would have already struck back hard.

"I signed the building lease today, and I'm preparing to start renovation, plus hiring, keeping up with Douyin, and 'The Beginning' starts filming next month..." Ying Chanxi said, then suddenly slumped onto the table and sighed, "Starting a company is so exhausting."

"Is it?" Li Luo laughed, unable to resist teasing Ying Chanxi, "I feel like I'm pretty relaxed."

Ying Chanxi glared at him at once.

Xu Youyu beside them chuckled: "How can you say that? Xixi still has classes—she's probably going crazy with all this."

"Hire a few people in soon," Li Luo said. "As CEO of a company, you can't do everything yourself—you need to learn to delegate tasks to your staff."

"Got it," Ying Chanxi nodded. "I plan to hire two administrative and finance staff first to help with renovation, then give Xiao Wen an assistant to handle Douyin and 'The Beginning' follow-ups."

"Good, as long as you have a plan," Li Luo nodded, then turned to Xu Youyu, "Shall we go see the cat later?"

"Go ahead, do you have class this afternoon?" Xu Youyu asked. "What about Xixi?"

"I won't go," Ying Chanxi shook her head. "I have to handle renovation matters this afternoon and meet with some applicants. You two go—take a few photos of Ju Bao for me."

"OK." Xu Youyu made a gesture indicating it was fine.

After finishing the meal, Ying Chanxi hurried off to continue her busy work.

Li Luo accompanied Xu Youyu toward Qingxi Dormitory, soon arriving at the neighboring dorm building. He asked the dorm supervisor for the key, then opened the door to the small storage room in the underground garage.

"It's grown another round," Li Luo peered through the cage door, watching the four little ones playing, and chuckled. "I remember last time I came, they were only palm-sized. Now they're much bigger than my hand."

"Cats grow fast," Xu Youyu gazed into the cage, his expression softening. He extended a finger to tease A Li, who had pressed close to the gate. "Missed me?"

"Meow~"

The kitten's cry was high-pitched and delicate, impossibly cute.

Of the four kittens, A Li was the most lively, scrambling all over inside the cage.

Seeing this, Li Luo laughed and teased, "Learn from your cat. Look at it—so full of energy. Why won't you exercise more?"

"If you can't speak sense, say less." Xu Youyu rolled his eyes, then insisted, "Pets resemble their owners. Once it moves with me to the villa, it'll become as lazy as I am."

"We'll see," Li Luo chuckled, continuing to observe the other kittens.

His own black kitten, Bai Ji, mostly claimed the most comfortable spot in the center of the cage. Occasionally it would stretch, stroll around, then return there.

The silver-white Cotton Candy was relatively more active, but not as energetic as A Li—never running wildly, just circling around the black kitten.

Then, after circling, it would plop right onto Bai Ji's back, snuggling against it to sleep.

Sometimes, when A Li grew tired from roaming, it would squeeze in with the others. The three kittens curled up together, a sight deeply soothing.

As for Ju Bao… it always lay curled in the corner, fast asleep. Li Luo took several photos but never saw it open its eyes.

"Why does Ju Bao sleep so much?" Li Luo asked, puzzled. "It feels like it's your true favorite."

"Don't talk nonsense," Xu Youyu chuckled. "Xixi's always busy outside. It's normal for her to sleep more when tired."

"I feel like you're hinting at something."

"I'm not."

As they chatted, they opened the cage and lifted out the kittens, letting them wander within the storage room.

Once freed, Ju Bao finally showed some energy, constantly chasing after Bai Ji's tail.

"It seems Ju Bao really likes Bai Ji," Xu Youyu observed, crouching beside them. "Cotton Candy does too."

"Your A Li's vanished," Li Luo noted, watching A Li sprint wildly through the storage room, circling once before returning—only to bump into Bai Ji and dash off again.

"Maybe I should just take credit for A Li's exercise," Xu Youyu sighed. "Consider it interest payment to you."

"Dream on," Li Luo snorted. "You'd better just come jogging with me every morning like usual."

When Xu Youyu failed to negotiate, he huffed and kicked Li Luo.

As they petted the kittens and chatted, Xu Youyu casually mentioned the kittens' condition: "They'll finish their third vaccine next week. After that, one rabies shot, and they can go home."

"What date are we moving to the villa? I'll tell the person in charge here to come pick them up."

"By then they'll be about three months old. We need to socialize them properly, or they'll grow up unfriendly."

"No rush," Li Luo said, stroking Bai Ji's black head. "Isn't my birthday the 21st? Let's move that day, then invite Uncle and Auntie over for dinner to celebrate. The kittens can wait a couple more days before we bring them home."

"Hmm… waiting two more days to bring them home is fine, but shouldn't we reconsider the moving date?" Xu Youyu raised an eyebrow. "What if we move on the 20th?"

"Huh? Why?" Li Luo asked, puzzled.

"You've waited this long for your birthday, and you just want to have dinner and call it a day?" Xu Youyu rolled her eyes. "That's too boring."

"So what's your idea?" Li Luo asked, curious, then suspiciously added, "You didn't make another new Monopoly, did you?"

"Are you underestimating my creativity and imagination?"

"Then it's a new version of Snakes and Ladders?"

"Get lost." Xu Youyu shot him an irritated look, then added, "Anyway, we move on the 20th, have dinner that night, and celebrate your birthday properly the next day."

Since Xu Youyu had said that, Li Luo didn't object. He nodded in agreement: "Alright, I'll tell Butler Liu to arrange the moving company in advance."

"It's settled then," Xu Youyu said with a smile, looking genuinely excited—no one knew what surprise she had planned.