My girlfriend isn't as cute as me.

Wang Yuting held a bowl of soup, and the aroma wafted towards her even before her lips touched it.

She slowly sipped the hot soup, savoring the freshness of the ingredients and the rich flavor of the broth spreading across her tongue.

This soup wasn't the kind of instant soup Wang Yuting bought when she was lazy—the kind you just boil in water for eight minutes, tear open, and pour out. It was the result of Lin Jiu's careful consideration. He took into account that the cola chicken wings and fish-flavored eggplant were quite oily, and the hand-shredded cabbage and stir-fried potato shreds were both sour and spicy; they needed a light yet flavorful soup to go with them.

Every little detail was carefully calculated and adjusted by Lin Jiu after considering Wang Yuting's needs.

Besides the happiness of satisfying one's appetite, it also allows one to feel the gentleness of Lin Jiu's cooking.

Wang Yuting asked, "Jiujiu, did you ever work in a restaurant before?"

Lin Jiu shook her head. "No."

"Eh..." Wang Yuting was a little surprised, "Did someone teach you that?"

"No."

Lin Jiu shook his head again.

Wang Yuting's eyes widened as she looked at all the delicious food on the table. She never expected that Lin Jiu had taught herself to cook all of this.

"Apart from the soup, these are all things I'm making for the first time... no, not entirely the first time." Lin Jiu didn't know how to explain. He couldn't very well tell Wang Yuting that he had constructed a kitchen in his mind and then prepared the ingredients and seasonings in it. He had repeatedly imagined and practiced in the virtual kitchen until he was completely confident before actually cooking, could he?

Who would believe something like that?

No, others might not believe it, but Wang Yuting will definitely believe it.

Her trust in Lin Jiu was completely unreasonable, just like Lin Jiu's memory ability, which defied common sense.

"..."

Wang Yuting put down her bowl without realizing it.

Lin Jiu's heart jumped instantly. He asked with some concern, "What's wrong? Don't worry, I've carefully memorized the ingredient combinations, and I've repeatedly checked that there's no problem when adding the seasonings. I definitely won't get an upset stomach."

"No, that's not it..."

Wang Yuting shook her head, her eyes slightly red. She bit her chopsticks and murmured, "I wonder if I'm dreaming. My favorite boy is living with me, and he's cooking such delicious food for me. Before you came to my house, I hadn't eaten such homely food in so long. When my dad called to ask how I was doing here, I didn't know how to answer. I didn't want them to think I was useless, and I didn't want to go back home looking so pathetic... I..."

As Wang Yuting spoke, she gradually became somewhat incoherent.

She didn't want to go to work at all. She was afraid that when she got home from get off work, Lin Jiu would be gone, and she would have to go back to that zombie-like life. Just thinking about it filled her with boundless panic.

Lin Jiu stood up.

He walked into the kitchen and heard a gurgling sound coming from inside.

"drink."

Lin Jiu placed the glass in front of Wang Yuting; it contained a black liquid that was still bubbling.

Wang Yuting was taken aback for a moment, then obediently picked up the cold glass under Lin Jiu's unquestionable gaze. Before she could even take a sip, the unique, sweet aroma stimulated her nasal cavity, and her throat bobbed as she subconsciously took a small sip.

"Drink it down!"

Lin Jiu's tone was unusually firm.

Wang Yuting's shoulders trembled slightly, and she obediently did as she was told, letting the carbonated drink flow down her throat.

As the cold liquid rushed into her throat, she could almost hear the bubbles popping.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Wang Yuting choked, felt a stinging sensation in her throat, and her eyes felt hot.

"Good, very energetic!" Lin Jiu smiled, gently patted Wang Yuting on the back, then took the cup from her hand and downed the remaining half of the cola in one gulp.

"Well!"

Lin Jiu couldn't help but shudder and let out a long breath.

The person who invented this drink must hate summer and sadness.

"Fat宅快乐水" (a popular Chinese beverage) brings everyone the simplest and purest joy.

Lin Jiu put down her cup and asked, "Do you still feel like you're dreaming?"

Wang Yuting puffed out her cheeks slightly, lowered her head to avoid looking at him, and whispered, "Drinking cola like this doesn't taste good at all."

"But you're happy, aren't you?"

"Well……"

Wang Yuting nodded noncommittally.

To be honest, when Lin Jiu scolded her, she felt like an electric current was coursing through her body, a tingling, numb sensation. It wasn't a bad feeling; it was an incredible feeling, and she unexpectedly wanted to experience it again.

"I'll wait for you to come home, don't worry."

Lin Jiu gently patted Wang Yuting's head and said earnestly, "Next time your father calls, I'll make you proud, elated, and happy to say—I'm doing great!" He paused, then seemed to realize something and shook his head. "No, what I just said was wrong. It's not just a day or two, but..."

Under Wang Yuting's expectant gaze, Lin Jiu smiled slightly, a warm smile that made even the sunlight seem transparent.

"May your life be filled with warmth and happiness."

Chapter Thirty: Everyone, listen to my announcement!

"Good morning, supervisor."

"Ah."

"Good afternoon, Manager Wang."

"good afternoon."

Wang Yuting nodded slightly and calmly greeted the people around her.

After clocking in and taking the elevator to the fourth floor of the mall, before entering her office, she habitually checks whether employees in the brand stores are playing on their phones, whether any staff are smiling and serving customers at the store entrance, and whether anyone is fooling around or laughing. If she finds anyone secretly drinking milk tea or eating, she will issue a fine without hesitation.

Simply put, there are two types of shopping mall operation models.

One type involves simply renting out storefronts to various brands, with the shopping mall not managing them and only collecting rent each month.

Another approach is centralized management. The shopping mall recruits brand stores, which are then managed by floor managers, supervisors, and managers. Each month, the mall organizes various activities to increase overall revenue through operational methods. Brand store staff are required to obey the mall management's instructions; otherwise, they may face fines, dismissal, cancellation of activities, or even contract termination.

The shopping mall where Wang Yuting works operates under the latter model, making her a minor leader with some power.

In addition, Wang Yuting is tall, slim-waisted, long-legged, and has an extraordinary temperament. She is decisive and capable in her work, and when customers complain about merchants, she always resolves the issues from a neutral perspective, never taking sides. Over time, practically no one on the fourth floor of the mall dared to disobey her.

Of course, Wang Yuting also encountered a few special cases at the beginning; nothing is ever smooth sailing.

Every shopping mall, every floor, has a few unruly merchants—these troublemakers are impossible to get rid of. These seasoned veterans don't care about performance at all, and regional managers are helpless against them, or rather, they simply don't want to manage them. They'd rather spend time managing them than focusing on other revenue-generating stores. This is precisely why they become so arrogant, sometimes even daring to openly defy the mall manager's legitimate company arrangements.

Some new managers are young people fresh out of school, clueless and easily swayed by these deadbeats, causing endless trouble and leaving them frustrated and helpless. School is a microcosm of society, but teachers don't specifically teach you how to navigate interpersonal relationships.

Wang Yuting also encountered some troublemakers at the beginning, with some even threatening her to be careful when she left work and watch where she was going.

At the same age of eighteen, some are capable and accomplished, both in public and in the kitchen. They are both scholarly and athletic, equally adept at both offense and defense, with a bright future ahead. Others, however, choose to be decadent, slacking off, laughing and joking, and lacking any sense of responsibility.

Wang Yuting's approach at the time was very simple.

Cancel all of the brand's activities for the next three months, limit the quantity of goods they can purchase, and require that employees of that brand be called upon to answer questions during every morning meeting; if they cannot answer, they must stand next to them until the meeting ends. This position is not one that everyone can accept; there are a total of 66 brands on the fourth floor of the mall, and each brand has at least a store manager and three or more regular employees.

In other words, whether it's a morning meeting or an evening meeting, dozens of people will look up at you.

People's gazes can create psychological pressure, which is why we can sometimes sense others staring at us while walking down the street. Under this pressure, even some new managers will feel uneasy, let alone those who are usually carefree, irresponsible, and only know how to play around and waste their time, harboring low self-esteem.

After a week of this, these debtors proactively sought reconciliation with Wang Yuting, since complaints were useless. They wanted to talk to Wang Yuting through the regional manager, but as mentioned before, the regional manager had already given up on them; why would he risk offending a mall manager for their sake? As for their advice to be careful on the way home from get off work, that was just empty talk, something that might fool young people fresh out of school who hadn't yet experienced the harsh realities of life. Wang Yuting wasn't afraid of them at all.

If someone really was trying to rob her at night...

She will probably go to the police station to file a report, while those people will be taken to the hospital emergency room for treatment.

Wang Yuting has worked here for a year, and her prestige is even higher than Manager Zhang's. Those old hands are also very shrewd; they become obedient and well-behaved like good children when they see Wang Yuting, but when they see other supervisors, they continue to have that lazy, lazy look on their faces.

"Good morning, supervisor..." A young female store clerk bowed her head to greet Wang Yuting as she approached, then blinked blankly at her supervisor's expression. "Hey, Supervisor Wang, did you win the lottery?"

"No."

"Then why are you laughing so happily?"

"...Is there?"

Wang Yuting touched her face and glanced at the full-length mirror in the brand store before realizing that she had been smiling the whole time.

No wonder she'd gotten so many more stares than usual. Wang Yuting quickly suppressed her smile; she only showed her true self to Lin Jiu. In front of others, especially her staff, she always maintained the demeanor and presence of a manager, avoiding any impact on work-related matters.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

The saleswoman is in the prime of her youth, so it's natural for her to think about things in this way.

Wang Yuting subconsciously thought of Lin Jiu, and the smile she had managed to suppress suddenly bloomed again.

This gentle smile, which conveys a sense of reassurance, is like a peony in full bloom. Its beauty is so striking that the saleswoman's mind goes blank for a moment, and she even loses her composure, forgetting who she is.

In her mind, Manager Wang has always been a decisive and efficient professional woman who never procrastinates.

Once, the manager from the third floor came up to the fourth floor for a stroll, looking arrogant and pointing fingers at the fourth-floor employees, making irresponsible remarks. When Wang Yuting saw this, she directly confronted him, completely disregarding the fact that he was two levels above her in rank.

"Manager Sun, this is the fourth floor. I have my own management style, so I won't trouble you with that. By the way, Manager Sun, according to this year's quarterly report, the fourth floor has the highest revenue, and the third floor is second to last, only behind the sixth floor with twelve restaurants. If you have time to guide my sales staff here, Manager Sun, why don't you go back and think about how to increase revenue?"

Manager Wang is high-ranking.

Manager Wang is tough.

Manager Wang is tall and strong.

Wang Yuting originally had a chance to be promoted to director, but because of this incident, she offended the third floor and unintentionally hurt the sixth floor, so her promotion approval has not been processed. However, she doesn't mind. Rather than bowing and scraping to a manager who only knows how to go shopping and scold people all day, she would rather be a junior supervisor.

It was precisely because of Wang Yuting's humble yet assertive attitude that she gained many female admirers on the fourth floor.

This saleswoman is one of them.

She was used to seeing Manager Wang with a stern face, cold and aloof, handling all issues with indifference. This was the first time she had seen Manager Wang smile so sweetly, so girlishly, like a teenage girl.

"Cough cough."

Wang Yuting finally managed to suppress her longing for Lin Jiu and return to her usual work attitude.

"Focus on your work, don't gossip, and don't tell anyone."

"Yes, supervisor!"

After Wang Yuting walked into the office...

The saleswoman immediately took out her phone and opened WeChat.