Chapter Eleven: The Secret of the Door Lock 1

  "Manager! Qiqi has replied. Do you want to see her?" Zhang Haoran was holding the revised manuscript, ready to send it to the production department, but saw Musi Xue hurrying back from the finance room.

  "Did she agree to work for our company?"

  "Uh-huh. Very satisfied with our company."

  "Let's reschedule, I want to give her a good first impression."

  Zhang Haoran shook his head as he looked at Muxi Xue's back: The beautiful manager has a big headache.

  Yes, who wouldn't get a headache from looking at those company accounts? He's wise, only doing what he likes and not doing what he doesn't like.

  Muxi Xue sat on the sofa in her office, taking a big gulp of iced water: could she handle this manager position? Today there was an issue with the design department, tomorrow it would be the network department, the day after tomorrow it would be the factory, and the day after that it would be financial problems... too many things needed to be handled by herself.

  More often it was those 'watching and writing' passionate and scorching eyes, always appearing and disappearing in front of her, unable to shake off...

  ——————&&&——————&&&——————

  Qiqi stood nervously beside the desk, anxiously waiting for the boy who had just walked away.

  She could only call him a boy, and he looked younger than her, without any air of leadership.

  Zhang Haoran walked in: "Qiqi! The manager said she wants to leave a good first impression on you. So, we won't meet today."

  "Is that so? Does that mean I don't have much hope of staying with the company?" Qi Qi asked with a forced smile.

  "How could it be? Our manager is really nice. For example, that day she invited me for a drink..."

  Would you like a drink? Bragging, are you? Qi Qi thought to herself, she wasn't new to working here, which manager would invite such an unorthodox employee for a drink.

  "It's true! And I puked on someone else's clothes. That person asked me to compensate for the clothes. I told my manager to deduct it slowly from my salary, you know what the manager said?"

  "What did you say?"

  "What the company wants is a designer, not a money-losing person or a PR man. I'll pay for the clothes, you just need to design real clothing."

  "Really?"

  "Hmm, I don't believe it either. But she continued, 'You're so talented, are you afraid of not having money for a suit? I only recognize talent, not people!'"

  Qiqi's eyes widened in shock, she didn't dare believe her own ears.

  "Don't be skeptical. With your educational background, let's not say it's our company, at least it's our design department that can't even get a single rod, which company would hire you as a designer? It's just that our manager only recognizes talent and doesn't care about education, as long as you perform well in this fashion week, becoming the design director here is also possible."

  Qiqi nodded silently, and upon hearing "Director", she shook her head desperately: "I'm already very satisfied with being a designer."

  What Qiqi said was true. When she saw the email sent by Vickie, she couldn't believe her eyes. She thought that in her lifetime, she would never forget those two simple lines: Dear Qiqi, hello! Your work "Return" has been shortlisted for our company's entries in Fashion Week, and we hope you can come to our company for an interview on April 21st. We will do our best to make it convenient for you.

  To her, those words shone like gold, with wings like a golden phoenix, dancing around her.

  Jingqiu walked in and saw Zhang Haoran chatting enthusiastically with the new female student. After politely smiling at Qiqi, she sat back down in her own seat.

  Qiqi's gaze followed Jingqiu: She was so elegant and had such a good temperament. When could she have such a temperament herself?

  "Jing Qiu! Come over and chat with Qi Qi, you girls have more to talk about when you're together."

  Jing Qiu smiled: "You're so enthusiastic, I'm afraid of getting in your way."

  "Don't be fooled by her appearance, Qiqi. I was deceived by her looks when I first came here and thought she was as good as her name suggested. But who knew she..."

  "How am I?"

  "You're just like a little witch!"

  "You're so silly, I'm not going crazy? Aren't you tired of being annoyed by him every day? QiQi! Don't mind him, let's talk about fabrics instead?"

  "Alright, alright."

  Zhang Haoran also thinks that the topic of Jingqiu is good, they should prepare well for this work, the manager gave them such a good platform, if they can't grasp it, then they are too incompetent.

  "Do you know? This time we don't have to worry about the supply of materials, as long as it's related to our work, our manager will definitely lend us a helping hand."

  "Really?" Qi Qi couldn't believe it either. Although she wasn't a professional, she knew that domestic fashion design had always been bottlenecked by fabrics. Foreign designers designed with inspiration, while domestic designers designed based on fabrics.

  Actually, Qiqi's common sense is a bit outdated. The domestic fabric market is not as bad as she thought. Although there is still some distance from Western countries, it has improved a lot compared to the past and can basically meet the needs of designers.

  Pei Yichen comes to the seaside every evening and won't leave until 23:00. No matter how hard Yi Ge tries to persuade him, in Yi Ge's eyes, Pei Yichen's behavior is no different from playing with fire.

  Since meeting Mu Si Xue at Ruyi Villa, Pei Yi Chen has been thinking a lot.

  Ten years of fleeting time flowed through his life like water, and he counted the joys that these years brought him, only to find that they were too few. Even in the moment when he achieved fame, that joy was mixed with a little anxiety and guilt.

  All happy times were almost spent with Xian'er. Although they didn't spend much time together, happiness always surrounded them.

  Even on poor days, she and her sister would be happy for two or three days just by eating a meal of dumplings. Although the hardships of life often left them at a loss, they had also experienced happiness.

  Now, he has money, fame, and status, but happiness is gone, disappeared, and can't be found in his life. In all these years, he has never truly been happy, and I believe my sister isn't much better off than him.

  Five years ago, his sister had already left Xiazhi North. At that time, he also wanted to go find her and be with her, but he didn't have the courage, he didn't know how to face her, face the one he had once hurt.

  Unexpectedly, five years later, heaven brought them together again. He wanted to make a bet, even if it cost him his life, just to see Xian'er smile. He loved her and had always been loving her.

  He wanted to help her regain her memories, he wanted to keep her away from pain and suffering, and accept her punishment and judgment. That night, he saw that her eyes were filled with suspicion, unease, and even more fear. It must have been the blank memory that hurt her heart...

  He comes here every day until he closes. He believes that as long as he waits patiently, he will definitely wait for her, because she likes the sea.

  The waves gently lapped at the shore, their elegant and slow movements rising and falling like the surging of emotions. The sea breeze passed through Pei Yichen's body, a hint of chilliness seeping into his injured calf, and he couldn't help but shiver... It was so cold, just like that endless night.

  That deep and unending thought tormented him in that endless night, corroding his already battered heart like opium. He couldn't bear it.

  "Whoa!" The shattered glass sparkled in his eyes.

  That piercing sound once again cut through his ears, clear and refreshing as water...

  How good it would be if he had died that night!

  Why? Why let him linger on in this world?

  Why must he experience the pain of guilt and longing?

  Huang Xing Yu sat on the tatami, feeling uneasy. He had been under Li Ping An for four years, when did Li Ping An ever invite him to dinner? What could be the matter? He thought back and forth but couldn't figure out a reason. No need to waste brain cells, come what may, he would just have to go with the flow.

  Li Ping'an pushed open the door and came in: "Have you been waiting anxiously?"

  "It's nothing, just over ten minutes."

  "Just about to go out, received a call and was delayed. Have you ordered?"

  "Let's have a drink together when you arrive."

  "I recommend the sesame noodles, Dongbei-style fresh abalone and pheasant fish sashimi from this restaurant. They're signature dishes and I think they're quite good. You can take care of the rest. Just the two of us, order whatever you like."

  Huang Xing Yu didn't have the mood to order dishes, and since he wasn't treating, he casually pointed at two: "Director! You asked me out alone, what's going on?"

  "Uh-huh. I wanted to talk to you about something personal. It's quiet here, a good place to talk."

  "What's the matter? As long as I can do it, isn't it just a word from you? Why bother with anything else?"

  "Xing Yu ah! After all these years in Weicheng, I only believe in you."

  "Director, you're too kind. In Weicheng, wasn't I relying on you? Without you, how could I have achieved what I am today?"

  The waiter brought two cold dishes, and Li Ping'an picked up his chopsticks: "Let's eat while we chat."

  "Director, I saw that new little girl today."

  "What's your first impression?"

  "Not great. I heard Manager Mu didn't even say hello."

  "She might have forgotten. What's your take on her work? That new Kiki."

  "Director! Haven't you also seen her work? Why are you asking me?"

  "I'd like to ask for your opinion, let's talk about it, speak frankly."

  "Better than others. Just by looking at her appearance, it's hard to imagine that she has a good idea about evening dresses."

  "Have you seen her resume?"

  Nothing!

  "I took a look. I studied finance and accounting."

  Huang Xing's mouthful of food almost fell out: "Not a science major?"

  "Hmm. Having heard this from you, what are your thoughts?"

  "She hasn't systematically studied fashion design, what can she do in the future?"

  "I don't think so."

  Huang Xingyu didn't understand.

  "People like this are either born for it or just accidentally stumbled upon it once."

  "I think she belongs to the former."

  "What?"

  "Easy does it, you're splashing me in the face."

  Huang Xing smiled awkwardly: "Really?"

  "You're too young and inexperienced."

  "Director, you said it yourself, I haven't seen much of the world."

  "This isn't the time for you to be modest. I have an idea..."

  The waiter came to lay the tablecloth, Li Pingan didn't continue speaking. After the waiter left, he lowered his voice: "I have an idea. You, being in the same office as them, have a chance to copy her design draft."

  "She is a webcaster, can't you just download it directly from the company's webpage? Only you and the manager have this permission..."

  "This......" Li Pingan also hated himself, if he could have kept a low profile earlier, would he still need to invite Huang Xingyu out for dinner now?: "After confirming the entries that day, all other works were returned to the authors' email addresses and deleted immediately."

  "So soon?"

  "Why don't you just ask QiQi directly?"

  "What's the big deal? With my status... I just want to take another look at her design. You know, those drafts online I almost didn't read any of them. If I hadn't seen her resume, you'd have to ask me to take a second look!"

  Huang Xing looked at Li Ping'an with a puzzled expression.

  "I didn't say that, did I? People like that are either geniuses or idiots. Don't you get it? She hasn't received systematic education, so her design concepts aren't constrained, no rules or frameworks, she should have design ideas that we can't think of."

  "Is that so? Director, you're really clever... I'll definitely find a chance to copy it."

  Li Ping let out a sigh of relief, and finally managed to muddle through.