They chatted about a couple of off-topic things, and once she saw his mood settle, Qiuyun steered the conversation back to business.
"I was serious about borrowing money earlier—it wasn't just to cheer you up. After all, the ancient-world expansion pack has half a month of my hard work in it. How could I sit back and watch our company fall right before dawn breaks?"
Qiuyun added considerately, "I just made a bit of money recently, and I should see it by the end of the year. If ninety thousand isn't enough to get us through to then, I'll take on some freelance work on the side. And if that's still not enough, I'll go borrow from the madams and young ladies—I'll make sure our company goes public!"
Seeing Pei Cizhou keep his jaw tight and stay silent, Qiuyun sensed the severity of the situation. Her expression turned serious. "So, President Pei, how much were you thinking of borrowing?"
Can the company even last another month?
After a brief silence, he spoke in a small voice: "Two thousand."
Qiuyun hesitated. "Two thousand... million!?"
"Cough." Pei Cizhou's voice got even quieter. "Two thousand—yuan. I'm borrowing next week's living expenses from you."
For some reason, the room felt a little colder.
Qiuyun slowly straightened up, arms crossed, looking down with an air of disdain at the young man in the chair, who was so embarrassed he'd turned his head away, eyes darting everywhere but at her.
"Two. Thousand. Yuan."
She savored each syllable. "You dragged company growth and dynasty culture into a two-thousand-yuan loan? Didn't realize Young Master Pei had such a sense of humor."
Pei Cizhou's ears flushed slightly. He made excuses: "Who told you to push the milk tea over without even hearing the amount? I didn't see any sincerity from you about working together, so I brought up the game just to get under your skin."
Hah.
Hah hah.
She'd almost forgotten—this brat was just that difficult by nature.
His voice trailed off. "Besides, you definitely weren't listening carefully when I argued with Sun Guoping. Didn't I say the company can last until February next year? And what I said later wasn't a lie—I really can't borrow money from anyone..."
Qiuyun took a deep breath, then without another word, returned to her seat and ate in silence.
Pei Cizhou, realizing he'd annoyed her, finally quieted down and ate the rest of the meal peacefully alongside her.
When the meal was done, Qiuyun packed up the food containers and stood to leave, and only then did he clear his throat and speak up. "Um..."
"Your WeChat QR code." Qiuyun cut straight to the point.
He quickly pulled out his phone and opened it.
—Ding~
Qiuyun transferred the money with one hand. "Borrowing you five thousand. Once the company turns a profit, you pay me back ten thousand."
Glancing at her cute little profile picture, Pei Cizhou suppressed the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth and agreed immediately. "Sure, no problem."
Phew.
Qiuyun desperately needed some air.
That kid was infuriating.
-
That afternoon.
Every colleague in the art department noticed something different about President Pei.
Sure, President Pei was young and baby-faced, but at work he was decisive and uncompromising, throwing himself into tasks with relentless drive—no one had ever thought of him as someone barely past high school.
But this afternoon, something was off. Everyone felt like President Pei was... falling for someone?
Or rather, slipping back into the giddy, youthful flutter of his actual age?
A sharp-eyed colleague noticed that President Pei kept sneaking glances at Chief Artist Qiu. The moment she seemed about to notice, he'd snap his back straight, sit up proper, and type away at his code or dive into discussion with coworkers—only to sneak another look a moment later.
Sneaky as a little mouse.
Break time.
Qiuyun, Meimei, and Sister Zhu were having afternoon tea out on the balcony.
"This matcha cake is so good—light and fresh, not too sweet." Meimei, another sweets lover, had spotted the little desserts on the chief artist's screen corner during video conferences and instantly sensed a kindred spirit.
"So good." Qiuyun closed her eyes in enjoyment, a little regretful she'd downed her milk tea too fast at lunch—it would've paired perfectly with this.
Sister Zhu sipped her Americano. "Must be nice to be young with a fast metabolism. I eat one slice and it sits heavy in my stomach for days."
Meimei grinned. "I've gotta eat my fill now while I still can."
Qiuyun savored another bite. "Great—then I'll happily take Sister Zhu's slice off her hands."
"You two really aren't scared of gaining weight!"
The three chatted and laughed, when Meimei suddenly gave Sister Zhu a wink. Through the reflection in the glass window, Sister Zhu caught it and gave Meimei a knowing look.
"?" Qiuyun was curious. "What? What's going on?"
Meimei leaned in, nudging her with a shoulder. "Haven't you noticed? We all say it behind your back—President Pei likes you."
"Cough, cough, cough!!!"
Qiuyun's eyes went wide with shock. "What makes you say that?"
That little menace's behavior from the moment they met was anything but charming.
Him, liking her?
Less likely than winning the lottery jackpot or the sun rising in the west!
"See for yourself." Meimei gestured. "He's snuck glances at you like five times this afternoon."
"..."
Qiuyun calmed down, then calmly scooped a bite of cake into her mouth.
"Whoa, look at that cool composure!" Meimei gave her a thumbs-up. "I mean, President Pei's face is better than any celebrity's! You can stay this calm? Have you seen someone even better than him?"
Sister Zhu chuckled. "Can't you tell from her face that there's a story behind this?"
Qiuyun shot her an approving look.
"Just at lunch, President Pei offended me in the office," she said. "Now he's scared I'll slack off, and even more scared I won't hand over the money to keep the company alive next February."
Hah.
That Little Devil.
If he hadn't heard her mention a new income stream that would pay out by year's end to save the company, would he have caved that fast afterward?
Qiuyun narrowed her eyes.
She was already planning how to bleed him dry next year.
"What?" Meimei pouted in disappointment. "There I was hoping for a cute office crush, and it's just a capitalist's save-the-company strategy."
Without drawing attention, Qiuyun slipped the spoon into her mouth, took a quick bite, and set it back on the plate. "No need to correct anyone, though," she said casually. "If President Pei hears about it, that's fine too."
She shrugged. "I've been annoyed with him lately, so if he finds out and backs off a little, that's fewer headaches for me."
At that, Sister Zhu and Meimei exchanged a look.
Since Chief Artist Qiu had taken office, everyone agreed she wasn't just skilled at her job—she had incredible emotional intelligence. She treated everyone with warmth and grace.
She was smooth, savvy, and tactful; decisions were made with a smile, worded so perfectly you couldn't find a single flaw.
This was the first time...
They'd heard Chief Artist Qiu speak so sharply about anyone, let alone her own boss and client.
Whether it was because President Pei caught wind of the balcony whispers, or because he realized Chief Artist Qiu hadn't actually stayed mad at him, by the second half of the day he seemed noticeably back to normal.
Meimei shared the news in the group chat with the other girls, and everyone remarked: Strong magnets repel each other.
In an afternoon buried under flurries of paper, Qiuyun worked until her younger sister got out of school. She packed up, briefed the team on next half-month's tasks, and waved goodbye to everyone.
When President Pei only gave Chief Artist Qiu the same quick nod he gave everyone else, Meimei finally let go of the fleeting idea she'd had.
