The person who pushed open the door was none other than Engineer Wu, whom Qi Sui had been visiting frequently earlier. He awkwardly stuck half his head through the door crack, a piece of paper clutched in his hand, and asked quietly, "L...LEO, are you busy right now?"
Qi Sui turned around and sensibly sat to the side, motioning for Engineer Wu to come in first.
Engineer Wu felt something was off. He turned to close the door but felt a chill on the back of his neck.
Xiang Yu's misty eyes fixed on him. His voice was cold but not harsh. He simply reached out, took the paper from Engineer Wu's hand, glanced at it, and frowned.
"This doesn't look like my signature. Why didn't you find your deputy manager?"
The paper was a brief notice about 'Wu He's promotion to Marketing Planning Supervisor.'
Engineer Wu looked nervous. He had no problem with his work, but his old weakness—stage fright—made him lack confidence in important matters. Originally, this promotion wouldn't have fallen to him. But somehow, Qian Jin had taken three consecutive days off, and today was his third day of absence. Deputy Manager Kevin was very dissatisfied with this. He hadn't wanted a younger man to overshadow him anyway, and Qian Jin's recent aimless behavior only added to his discontent. Originally, the supervisor position should have gone to Kevin, but technically, Kevin was still an employee 'exiled' from headquarters, so the selection had to come from within the Planning Department itself. Since Qian Jin wasn't taking it seriously, Kevin was happy to choose someone with weaker management skills. That's how it landed on Engineer Wu.
Of course, before the promotion, the necessary assessments had been completed. Wu He had waited for this opportunity for a long time. It was only after hearing the rumors about Qian Jin within the company that he began to grasp the situation. He mustered the courage to recommend himself to Kevin. Although he didn't have Qian Jin's outstanding social skills or business volume, Wu He's diligent, serious, and proactive work attitude since joining the company was evident to all. Strictly speaking, he was no worse than Qian Jin.
Engineer Wu cleared his throat and said, "Kevin asked you to sign this; otherwise, I won't be able to find anyone else to sign after this."
"Mm." Xiang Yu didn't waste words. He raised his hand and signed his name. Midway, as if recalling something, he asked casually, "Go back and comfort Director Qian for me. It's not that he has a problem with his ability. It's just that the company now needs someone who can settle down and do things steadily to guide the general direction. He's too young to command respect."
"Oh, sure, no problem." Engineer Wu quickly agreed. He turned to leave but hesitated, glancing at Qi Sui, who sat calmly beside him, before slowly closing the door and leaving.
Qi Sui propped her head on her hand, her tone teasing: "Are you trying to twist the knife by having Engineer Wu say that to Qian Jin at a time like this?"
She hadn't expected it—this man, usually so serious and strict at work, could be quite scheming. First, he implied Qian Jin wasn't steady, then hinted that Qian Jin's rise to supervisor at such a young age was questionable. It was like killing with words.
Xiang Yu's expression didn't change. "I just wanted Director Qian not to give up and to strive further in his work."
Qi Sui smiled, her eyes curving into crescents. "Alright, alright. Supervisor Xiang is wise and principled."
The sight of her bright smile stirred something in Xiang Yu. He also propped his head on his hand, imitating her, and handed her the documents beside him, starting his first challenge. "Well then," he coughed, "Xiao Qi, help me organize the data from this part of the documents first."
Him calling her 'Xiao Qi' in that strange way made Qi Sui feel uneasy. She stood up and picked up the folder. Flipping through it casually, her unease became reality.
The two were now much more familiar, but at work, they were still superior and subordinate. And this hateful Xiang Yu, once he stepped into the office, transformed into the upright LEO, not giving her an ounce of leniency.
Qi Sui looked at the densely packed text on the documents—so small she could barely read it at a glance—and then at the numbers in the attached tables. They felt like ants crawling into her head.
She gritted her teeth.
But now she really was under his roof—she had to do it whether she liked it or not.
She felt like a poor, pitiful punching bag, tossed around in the hands of the hateful LEO demon, destined to be tormented to death.
She looked at Xiang Yu, sitting there with his cold, clear, upright demeanor, and she wished she could grab his beautiful dark green tie and yell into his ear.
And so she did.
She stepped forward, grabbed his impeccably styled tie that accentuated his chest muscles, and his indifferent face was suddenly pulled close to hers. If any other colleague saw this, it would be impossible to explain.
Fortunately, the clock on the wall showed that the hour hand had passed twelve. The entire 19th floor was quiet. Colleagues familiar with LEO knew he never ate lunch with anyone, and at this time, no one would disturb him.
"What, Ms. Qi, are you dissatisfied with my request? Are you rebelling?" His voice was a flat question, a frown on his face as if he strongly disliked Qi Sui's behavior.
But if he really disliked it, why didn't he grab her hand and make her let go? Instead, he just kept provoking her with his cold attitude.
Was he truly annoyed, or secretly delighted, waiting for her to do something even more severe?
His face was all seriousness, but what was really going on in his mind?
Qi Sui thought, she didn't understand him at all.
She studied every inch of Xiang Yu's face carefully. His skin was very fair—not like Qi Sui's thin pallor, but a naturally cool, pale complexion. Even the capillaries on his face weren't prominent; she rarely saw him blush.
But despite being such a fair man, up close, she could still see a few small brown spots on the bridge of his nose. Qi Sui looked as if she had discovered something new, because this was the second feature she had found on Xiang Yu's face—proof that he had half German blood in him.
His lips were thin, giving him a cold, indifferent look. But he had a plump, fleshy lip pearl. Logically, such a chubby feature would appear cute, but on Xiang Yu's face, it seemed naturally overshadowed by his sharpness and went unnoticed.
Qi Sui curiously reached out and gently rubbed that lip pearl. It felt just as she had imagined—tough yet dry.
At that moment, she didn't think much; she just felt Xiang Yu should use some lip balm.
Xiang Yu spoke vaguely, as if afraid to open his mouth wider, lest he disturb something. "Ms. Qi, are you sexually harassing me? Do you know the consequences of workplace harassment? Can you take responsibility?"
What did talking out of both sides of his mouth look like?
Qi Sui was seeing it now.
The man, while righteous indignantly accusing Qi Sui of harassing him, reached out and held her wrist, adopting a look of self-pity—except the mirror in question was Qi Sui herself.
Qi Sui smiled lightly. "Should I let go?"
Xiang Yu fell silent.
The usually sharp-tongued man was now quiet, like a duck with a mute voice. He just held her hand, not letting her go.
Qi Sui's thumb rubbed his lip pearl, as if she had lost interest in it, then slid down, slowly tracing Xiang Yu's chin.
He must be the type with thick hair—his stubble extended from the small hollow under his lip down to near his jaw. But he shaved cleanly, so aside from feeling prickly to the touch, it was hardly visible even at social distance.
Qi Sui praised him softly, "Supervisor Xiang, you dress so clean and handsome every day. Are you trying to seduce someone?" She put on a troubled expression. "Could it be that every unmarried colleague in this company is your target?"
Such words were usually said to beautiful female colleagues. In the eyes of those who said them, it seemed natural for women to use their looks to gain resources—that was the workplace rule.
But Xiang Yu was different.
As Qi Sui had once said, Xiang Yu was a man who could easily win others' affection without needing such 'womanly' tactics.
Saying this was like insulting him by comparing him to a woman.