Chapter 4

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“Oh, so you want to hook up with President Chi, huh? My dear, you’ve found the shortcut to life,” Ji Yun was preparing for a meeting when she received a call from Qiao Ziman. She thought it was something urgent, but instead, she was hit with this absurd joke early in the morning.

“Who wants to hook up with her!” Qiao Ziman ducked away from the cleaning lady’s gaze, moving to a corner, and hissed into the phone, “I said it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, who knew she’d take it seriously?”

Her voice grew softer, tinged with a bit of guilt she didn’t want to admit.

Ji Yun kept teasing, “Be honest, my dear, are you secretly into women?” Given Qiao Ziman’s looks and job status, there was no reason she should be constantly pressured into blind dates. Besides, there were plenty of men chasing her, yet she never seemed interested in any of them.

“Qiaoqiao, it’s the modern age now; liking the same sex is completely normal. Your girl gang will support you no matter what, or are you afraid your mom won’t approve?” Ji Yun speculated.

“Stop, stop, stop!” Qiao Ziman hurriedly interrupted her; this train of thought was even more off track than her supposed sexual orientation. “Do I really need to hide anything from you?”

“True, so…” Ji Yun’s gossipy curiosity was now unstoppable.

Qiao Ziman knew what was coming and explained first, “Dating gets in the way of making money.”

It wasn’t like she hadn’t dated in college; there was a pretty decent guy who was good-looking and had solid grades. He pursued her for half a semester, and she agreed. But that short-lived relationship only lasted three days, and before they even held hands, Qiao Ziman unilaterally ended it. The reasons? On one hand, she was too busy with work-study programs; on the other, she just didn’t feel anything.

No spark, no feelings.

“I feel even less for women!” Qiao Ziman added quickly, fearing her quirky friend might circle back to the topic of her sexual orientation.

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.

“I’m asking you to help me analyze this, can you take it seriously?” Qiao Ziman angrily walked to the window, opened it, and let in a gust of hot, stifling air, making her feel even more frustrated. “Do you think I’m beyond saving?”

Ji Yun cleared her throat but couldn’t resist teasing, “She asked you out, why did you refuse?” She analyzed, “First, if you had gone, you wouldn’t be the only one feeling awkward right now. Second, between making money and getting into a relationship, whether you choose to make money from a relationship or get into one with someone rich, you can’t lose.”

Gotta admit, that made a lot of sense.

Qiao Ziman was starting to feel a bit regretful.

“And look at how fated you two are! Almost had a one-night stand, then you meet again under different circumstances, and now she’s your boss. Even the plot of a novel wouldn’t be this exaggerated,” Ji Yun couldn’t help but laugh as she said this.

Qiao Ziman finally snapped out of it, gritting her teeth, “Bad friend! Is this really the time for jokes like this?”

“Alright, alright, calm down,” Ji Yun reassured her.

Qiao Ziman’s legs were starting to go numb from standing, so she stretched a bit, still feeling a bit worried, “Really?”

“Of course not.”

Qiao Ziman’s breath caught in her throat.

Ji Yun continued, “You flirted with her, then bragged about how you were just playing around. And you seriously believed she wouldn’t take it to heart? If you were her, wouldn’t you be mad? Not to mention, she was your driver and then you left her out in the cold, making her late.”

Just imagining the scene made Qiao Ziman feel like she was about to explode. Isn’t this classic scumbag behavior?

Ji Yun’s laughter rang through the phone, making Qiao Ziman’s ears ache. She finally realized she’d fallen for her friend’s trick again.

“We’re done, we’re done, we’re done!” she said, ready to hang up the phone.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait,” Ji Yun quickly composed herself. “Aren’t you the one who’s supposed to be fearless? Why are you chickening out now?”

“Who’s chickening out?” Qiao Ziman retorted, “It’s just awkward, we see each other all the time.”

Alright, time to cut her some slack. Ji Yun seriously reassured her, “Honestly, this isn’t a big deal. It’s all just a misunderstanding. Explain things clearly to her, treat her to a meal, and apologize. It’ll blow over. You think she’s going to hold a grudge?”

“True.”

Maybe she was just overreacting, and who knows, the person might have already forgotten who she is.

Qiao Ziman, already carefree by nature, felt completely relieved after Ji Yun’s advice. After hanging up, she slipped back to her workstation and returned to her enthusiastic work mode. As Qiao Ziman was intently sketching, an irritating male voice suddenly came from behind, “Little Qiao, busy?”

Without even turning around, Qiao Ziman knew it was Liu Dahai.

The whole company knew the two of them didn’t get along, yet Liu Dahai insisted on pretending otherwise, always dropping by to call her “sister” with fake affection. In an industry focused on creativity, interruptions during work were especially frustrating for Qiao Ziman, and having her creative flow disrupted halfway through made her furious.

The anger shot straight to her head, and she was about to explode. She whipped her chair around and shot back, “Are we that close?”

“A Bi Luo Chun come to life, how unlucky.” Qiao Ziman was truly witnessing the diversity of species.

“Spit it out if you’ve got something to say, don’t just hang around here. Stop being an eyesore.”

Liu Dahai was a bit chubby, with squinty eyes, and always had a sycophantic smile plastered on his face, which only made him seem incredibly insincere. He didn’t get angry, “You’re still as fiery as ever, Little Qiao. If your skills matched your temper, your promotion application wouldn’t have been rejected.”

This happened just a few days ago. Right after Ji Yun gave her a heads-up, Liu Dahai made his move. Somehow, he managed to get the senior manager of the planning department to vote for him. Not only that, but he also sabotaged her work behind the scenes, blocking several of her projects.

Everyone has a temper, and for someone as easily angered as Qiao Ziman, she snapped back, “You know I have a bad temper, and you still dare to provoke me? Have you been a sycophant for so long that you’ve developed a masochistic streak?”

Liu Dahai’s face stiffened, his smile frozen awkwardly, his mouth twitching as he struggled to find words but failed. Bored with his provocation, Qiao Ziman decided to ignore Liu Dahai and turned back to her work, but out of the corner of her eye, she noticed an unmistakable figure at the doorway.

When did President Chi get here?

Qiao Ziman forced out an awkward smile, thinking, Great, she caught me being confrontational again. My impression score must have dropped to the eighteenth level of hell by now.

Chi Yin’s face remained emotionless as she said, “Come with me,” and then turned to walk away.

The lack of a formal address but clear direction made Qiao Ziman’s heart tighten. Still, she thought she couldn’t show fear in front of Liu Dahai, so she calmly replied, “Oh,” and followed with her head held high.

Today, Chi Yin was wearing a fitted black dress, which, compared to the sultry outfit from their first meeting, looked more formal. Over her shoulders, she draped a matching silk jacket adorned with silver chains. Qiao Ziman recognized the brand—it was a high-end Italian luxury label, with even the cheapest items costing six figures.

Qiao Ziman felt that Chi Yin’s already formidable aura was amplified several times by the expensive outfit. Even the sound of her high heels clicking on the marble floor made Qiao Ziman nervous, and she began to mentally prepare her explanation.

The two of them entered the office one after the other. Chi Yin: “Please, have a seat.”

Qiao Ziman obediently complied, sitting stiffly on the edge of the sofa. Chi Yin began attending to her work and the office suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

What’s going on? Qiao Ziman wondered.

Chi Yin took a few calls, still showing no intention of addressing Qiao Ziman.

Qiao Ziman, having prepared herself, finally spoke up, “President Chi, I…”

Chi Yin calmly interrupted, “Please wait a moment.”

Qiao Ziman swallowed back all the words she had prepared.

Knock knock.

Chi Yin: “Come in.”

Someone came in with a stack of documents that had piled up over the past few days. Feeling a bit bored, Qiao Ziman discreetly observed Chi Yin out of the corner of her eye. The woman had her long curly hair neatly tucked behind her ear, revealing a sharp, well-defined profile. Her eyes were cold and piercing. She handled her work with swift precision, always pointing out the oversights concisely.

A group of people gathered around the desk, not daring to breathe loudly. Qiao Ziman also felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. Half an hour passed, then another half an hour. Waves of people came and went, then came again.

How long is she going to make me wait? She’s doing this on purpose, right? Qiao Ziman’s frustration grew, and whatever nervousness she had completely evaporated. She stood up and called out with a bit of force, “President Chi!”

Chi Yin paused her writing and looked over at her, a hint of a smile in her eyes. “Sorry for the wait.”

Qiao Ziman was momentarily dazzled by that soft smile, and most of her anger dissipated. She pulled out the draft she had prepared earlier and started, “President Chi, I wanted to explain what happened before.”

“Is it related to work?” A slightly stern voice interrupted Qiao Ziman, and she looked up in shock. Chi Yin’s expression had returned to its usual coldness, as if that smile earlier had been her imagination.

Qiao Ziman rubbed her eyes, “. . . no.”

Chi Yin glanced at her watch, her gaze growing even colder. “This is work time.”

“Okay.” Qiao Ziman swallowed her words back down.

“Qiao Ziman?” Chi Yin called out to her.

“Hmm?” Qiao Ziman was a bit dazed and confused.

Chi Yin pulled out a stack of drafts from the drawer, and Qiao Ziman recognized them as the designs she had submitted to the client. Yesterday, Qiao Ziman had communicated with the client, and they were very satisfied with her design. All that was left was the company executives’ approval.

Qiao Ziman was a bit puzzled and asked, “President Chi, is there an issue?”

Chi Yin handed her the drafts and calmly said, “It needs revisions.”

Qiao Ziman frowned, “Why?”

She had spent three months pouring her heart and soul into this project, from researching to designing scenes and characters. She was confident it was perfect. Taking her work seriously, Qiao Ziman looked Chi Yin directly in the eyes, without flinching, “Give me a reason.”

Chi Yin didn’t rush to explain. She took out a thermos from her bag, unscrewed the lid, and took a sip of water.

…This person is so weird, using a thermos in the middle of summer.

Chi Yin, speaking to herself, said, “It can hold ice water too.”

Qiao Ziman’s face flushed with embarrassment, having her thoughts seen through. She raised her voice, “Who asked you about that?”

Chi Yin’s lips barely curved into a smile, but in the next instant, as their eyes met, the smile vanished. She said seriously, “I’ve heard about you, Qiao Ziman. You switched careers midway and still managed to advance to the top of your field through hard work, but is this really the extent of your ability?”

“In the field of concept art, the most critical skill is sensitivity to color. Even slight deviations can drastically change the conveyed atmosphere. I’ve marked a few areas with color discrepancies. Rework them, considering the character’s development.” Chi Yin’s tone softened, “I believe in you. But if you can’t do it, that’s okay; the client is willing to accept some flaws.”

Naturally competitive, Qiao Ziman snapped, “Who said I can’t?” She snatched the drafts and immediately began revising them after leaving Chi Yin’s office.

In no time, the morning had flown by. Qiao Ziman stretched at her desk, ready to take a breather. As she zoned out, it suddenly dawned on her—had she just been manipulated? What was all that ‘I believe in you’ talk? Wasn’t it just empty praise? This President Chi was no ordinary person.

Just then, Chi Yin and the HR manager walked over. The HR manager clapped their hands, “Everyone, please pause your work. We have an announcement to make.”

Everyone turned their attention to them. The HR manager continued, “President Chi is still getting familiar with the company and needs a capable employee who knows the company well to assist her. Secretary Gao, who usually works with President Wang, is on leave for her wedding, so President Chi plans to temporarily select someone from among you elite employees to serve as her assistant.”

Everyone seemed eager; after all, this was a great opportunity to get noticed by the leadership. But Qiao Ziman didn’t see it that way. This woman was trouble, and Qiao Ziman had no intention of getting involved.

But Chi Yin’s gaze lingered on her.

Chi Yin even walked right up to her, tapping the table with her fingers. “It’s you, Qiao Ziman.”