Chapter Seven: Allure Corporation

After bidding farewell to the director, Ling Tian packed up his things simply and hailed a taxi at the entrance of the welfare institute, heading toward Mu Qingcheng's company, Qingcheng Group in Yunhai City.

On the way, Ling Tian gazed out the window at the trees rushing past, contemplating his plans. One of his main reasons for returning to Yunhai City alone was to cultivate. To do so, he needed considerable cultivation resources. In this world, where spiritual energy was scarce, searching for resources on his own would waste not only a great deal of time but also a tremendous amount of effort.

As a martial arts cultivator whose path required abundant resources, spiritual energy was crucial. Perhaps he could truly cultivate to the ultimate realm, ascend to heaven, traverse the earth, even attain immortality—though these were mere legends, Ling Tian wanted to try and see if he could reach such heights.

About half an hour later, the taxi stopped in front of a minimalist building.

—

With assets totaling over three billion and annual sales reaching over one billion, Qingcheng Group was not ranked among the elite in a city teeming with wealthy tycoons. Yet its reputation was immense, not merely because it grew at a rate exceeding thirty percent each year, but because its president was the youngest—and most beautiful—female CEO in Yunhai City.

Ling Tian paid the fare and got out, then called Mu Qingcheng.

“I don’t want the staff to know about our relationship, so to avoid suspicion, I won’t come down myself. I’ll arrange for someone to guide you through the onboarding,” Mu Qingcheng said when she answered, her tone somewhat cold, though a hint of excitement lingered beneath.

Ling Tian shrugged nonchalantly, mentally noting that, as a pharmaceutical group, this would be his chance to gather rare medicinal herbs.

Soon, a beautiful young woman in a professional suit stepped out of the building, her high heels clicking, her walk seductive. When she saw Ling Tian, a look of disdain flashed across her face. The woman thought, The president arranged this personally; must be some sort of connection, but since he’s only assigned to an ordinary post in the general department, the relationship can’t be deep.

At first, the woman considered seducing the young man if he was close to the president.

“Are you Ling Tian?” she asked, neither warmly nor coldly, standing before him.

Ling Tian nodded. “Yes, I’m here to report for duty.” His tone was calm, and his gaze lingered on her for only a moment. Such flirtatious women held no interest for him.

“I’m Wang Ling, the HR manager. Follow me,” she said after sizing him up. Aside from his masculine looks, his attire was ordinary—not worth seducing.

He followed Wang Ling into the building, filled out a form in the HR department, and completed his onboarding. Ling Tian had intended to learn more about the company, but before he could even get comfortable, Wang Ling took him to the general department to report.

Within Qingcheng Group, the general department was second only to the business department, with a large staff and myriad responsibilities. Anything other departments didn’t want to do, or found troublesome, was usually dumped on the general department.

As Ling Tian entered, more than fifty people stood up—not to look at him, but to stare hungrily at Wang Ling, the beautiful HR manager, as she enjoyed her ice cream.

Wang Ling basked in the attention, but when her gaze landed on Ling Tian, she snorted lightly. Pretending to be aloof? From the moment they met until now, this guy hadn’t looked at her properly—not normal. In both figure and looks, she was outstanding in Qingcheng Group, of course except for the president.

“This is my business card. If you need anything, you can call me—my private number is on it,” Wang Ling said, determined to prove her charm by giving Ling Tian her personal phone number. She planned to teach him a lesson when he called her that evening for a date, daring to ignore her.

The general department staff looked at Ling Tian with envy and resentment. This newcomer was lucky—getting Wang Ling’s private number? Based on experience, if Wang Ling took the initiative to give someone her number, the night was sure to be memorable. Her skills in bed were infamous, said to bring men to ecstasy.

Ling Tian accepted the card out of politeness, pretended to put it in his pocket, and, when no one was watching, casually tossed it behind him. Like a paper plane, it flew straight into a trash bin five meters away. He felt nothing for such self-centered women.

Seeing him take the card made Wang Ling even more disdainful. She snorted. Just pretending to be aloof? Wait until you call me—I’ll make you regret it.

“I’m free tonight. Don’t forget to call me,” she said, lingering by Ling Tian’s side and blowing warm breath in his ear, the gesture highly suggestive.

Wang Ling left the general department with satisfaction. Passing by the trash bin, she noticed a rose-colored card—her exclusive personal business card. Picking it up, her expression turned cold. She rarely gave out such cards, and had only just given one. Could it be that she wasn’t attractive? At that moment, Wang Ling’s pride was deeply wounded. She had planned to humiliate Ling Tian when he called, but he clearly had no intention of calling, and had even thrown her card away.

Qingcheng Group’s general department.

Zhang Ming, the manager, was a middle-aged man in his forties, amiable and enthusiastic. He warmly guided Ling Tian around the department, introducing him to colleagues.

Finally, Zhang Ming brought Ling Tian to the manager’s office. After settling in, he asked, “Xiao Tian, which team do you want to join? Here are each team’s details.” He handed Ling Tian a report listing every sub-department’s work and staff.

Ling Tian glanced through it, finally settling on the public relations team. “I’ll take this one,” he said.

Zhang Ming was stunned. “Are you sure? The public relations team isn’t simple. It’s mainly external work—the details are written clearly... I think you should train in another department first. It’s for your own good.”

Ling Tian smiled. “Thank you for your concern, Manager. I’m not familiar with the others, but I know how to deal with people outside.”

Zhang Ming opened his mouth several times, but finally said, “The public relations team deals with all sorts of people, so its staff is quite diverse. I’m worried you might not be able to handle it.”

“If others can, so can I,” Ling Tian replied with a smile.

“Just be careful. Newcomers are easily bullied,” Zhang Ming advised, seeing Ling Tian’s determination. He didn’t object further; after all, the public relations team was the best place for growth.

Zhang Ming made a call, asking the public relations supervisor to come to the office.

Soon, the supervisor arrived—a shrewd, capable man in his thirties.

“Xue Kun, this is Ling Tian, our new colleague. He’ll be working in your department—look after him,” Zhang Ming instructed.

“Manager, leave him to me,” Xue Kun said with a smile, then led Ling Tian out of the office.

The public relations team’s office wasn’t in the main hall, but in a separate area, due to its chaotic staff composition, to avoid disrupting other departments.

“Ling Tian, there are no vacancies in any of the PR sub-teams right now, so you’re free to move about. Get familiar with each group, and we’ll assign you later,” Xue Kun said, introducing Ling Tian to the team leaders and members before returning to his office.

Xue Kun had heard from HR that Ling Tian was a special appointment, so he let Ling Tian choose his own position, expecting he wouldn’t last long and would leave on his own.

In this new environment, Ling Tian wandered about, spotted a vacant seat by the window, and walked straight over.

No sooner had Ling Tian sat down than trouble arrived.

A burly man with a tiger tattoo on his arm approached, followed by several subordinates.

“Hello, I’m Wang Yong,” he said, extending his right hand for a handshake with Ling Tian.