Mu Nian and Bai Shijin walked into the company together, only to be spotted by Su Yi, who was wandering around the office.
“Brother Mu, Shijin, why did you two come in together?”
Su Yi loved a good piece of gossip. If she found out that Bai Shijin had stayed at his house for the night, there would be no living it down.
Before Bai Shijin could speak, Mu Nian quickly cut in, “Oh, we ran into each other on the way and came together.”
“What a coincidence.” Su Yi did not know whether to believe it or not, but she did not press further. Instead, she mysteriously pulled Bai Shijin and Mu Nian aside and whispered, “Let me tell you two some good news. This morning, President Qin received a call saying that the Duan Group cut their investment funds down to a third. Right now, President Qin’s project is not even worth as much as ours.”
This was engineered single-handedly by Bai Shijin, so he had anticipated it and did not react much.
Mu Nian frowned. “Where did you hear that? You cannot just spread rumors about things like this.”
“President Qin was throwing a tantrum in his office, and the sound of breaking things was heard by plenty of people. I went to investigate, and President Qin’s assistant told me. There is no mistake.” Su Yi crossed her arms and lifted her chin. “Now that his investment is practically pulled, even with the Duan family backing him, let us see if that Jiang Qiong still dares to look down his nose at people, ugh!”
Mu Nian rubbed his chin, feeling somewhat baffled. “The Duan family has so much money, why would they suddenly withdraw their investment?”
Bai Shijin chimed in, “Maybe they could not stand watching people abuse the Duan family’s backing to act recklessly.”
Just as he finished speaking, footsteps sounded from the stairwell.
Due to the angle of the spiral staircase, voices were heard before people came into view. Qin Kwon walked slowly downstairs wearing a brown suit. His eyes swept over Mu Nian and Su Yi, and taking advantage of his higher vantage point, he said leisurely, “President Mu, the quality of the people under you is quite concerning. Do you not know walls have ears? Discussing others so openly and brazenly?”
Bai Shijin’s brow furrowed as he looked up.
So Qin Kwon was the third person in the hallway photo.
That photo looked so harmonious, showing that the three of them had a good relationship back then. How had they turned into sworn enemies now?
Mu Nian curved his lips into a smile. “President Qin’s own backyard is on fire, yet you still have the time to worry about someone else’s? I have noted your reminder. Educating my subordinates is just a matter of a word or two, but your project, can it be saved with just a word or two?”
“Instead of having time to bicker with me, you had better spend it trying to lobby the Duan family to see if they can show mercy and retract their decision.”
Mu Nian’s eyes were full of mockery. He arched an eyebrow and led Su Yi and Bai Shijin out of Qin Kwon’s sight.
Inside the office, Su Yi’s laughter was unbridled. “Hahahahaha! President Qin looks like he is about to explode on the spot. Shijin, Shijin, did you see the veins popping on his forehead? Hahaha, I am dying! Who is having the best day? Oh, right, it is me.”
“Alright, Ms. Su, keep your voice down. Are you not afraid he will make a comeback and give you a hard time?” Mu Nian said.
“What do I have to be afraid of? I do not even work under him.”
Mu Nian shook his head helplessly. With a mountain of work left to do, he shooed the two of them out.
Bai Shijin reluctantly left the office. As soon as the door closed, Su Yi leaned over and sniffed his hair.
“What are you doing?”
Su Yi hummed with absolute confidence, “Shijin, you stayed at Brother Mu’s place last night, did you not?”
“How did you know?”
“You are a kid who really cannot handle being tested,” Su Yi laughed. “The shampoo you are using is the one I bought for Brother Mu. It leaves a long-lasting scent. Of course I could tell the moment I smelled it.”
Bai Shijin gave a perfunctory response, “You are amazing then.”
Su Yi’s gossiping soul burned furiously as she asked, “What is going on between you and Brother Mu? I saw Qinfan’s WeChat Moments post is still up, so they probably have not broken up. How did you two end up getting entangled in something ambiguous?”
Bai Shijin replied, “I could not get back to the dorm last night, so Brother Mu just sheltered me for the night. Do not let a second person hear you talking like this.”
“Tsk, night after night. Nights are so long.”
Su Yi started singing out of nowhere, her bizarre behavior making it impossible to guess what was running through her head.
Arriving at the photo studio, she shifted into a different mode. “Shijin, stop daydreaming. Come over and shoot the finalized look so the client can take a look.”
Bai Shijin stood silent.
Su Yi definitely had a dual personality, he was certain of it.
By the time Mu Nian finished his work, the photo studio session was already over. He took a circle around the room and, pretending to be casual, asked Su Yi, “Where is Shijin?”
Su Yi replied, “He had afternoon classes, so he clocked out and left. Seeing that you were busy, he did not bother you.”
Mu Nian felt a strange sense of desolation and softly let out an oh.
“Brother Mu, you came just in time. We took these shots of Shijin this morning. They have not been edited yet. Take a look and see which one is suitable to show the client.”
Mu Nian walked over as Su Yi scrolled the mouse to display them for him.
In the photos, Bai Shijin was wearing the suit he designed. The hem and shoulders fit impeccably, and no matter what pose he struck, he looked thoroughly alluring.
Mu Nian froze, his pupils contracting.
He had never felt this way before, the feeling of his own designs completely merging with the model himself.
Bai Shijin’s physique and face interpreted his designs to the absolute limit, leaving almost no flaws visible. These were unedited raw photos.
Seeing his boss’s brows slightly furrowed, Su Yi assumed he was about to start nitpicking again, so she whispered, “Brother Mu, Shijin is not a professional model, but his camera presence is already genuinely top-tier. I even think he does not lose to Jiang Qiong, so please spare him your critical eye.”
Mu Nian was unsatisfied with Su Yi’s evaluation. “Lose to Jiang Qiong? He is clearly surpassing Jiang Qiong.”
A trace of proud undertone was mixed into his casual tone.
Su Yi looked astonished. “Huh? Did I hear that wrong? You actually praised someone?”
“Alright, nothing left for you here. Knock off for the day. Selecting the photos is my job.” Mu Nian copied the photos onto a flash drive, planning to take his time admiring them back in his office.
A golden glow spilled through the office’s floor-to-ceiling windows. Mu Nian stared with wide eyes for half an hour, unable to pick the single best one.
He saved them to his phone, sent the whole batch to Bai Shijin, and asked which one he liked.
Bai Shijin replied almost instantly, so fast it made one suspect he had not even opened them to look.
[I like whatever one you like.]
That answered nothing.
Mu Nian replied: [I like all of them. Seeing these photos makes my inspiration soar.]
Not a Valley: [Do you like the photos, or do you like the person?]
Mu Nian’s fingertips trembled. If it were before last night, he would not have felt so nervous receiving this message from Bai Shijin.
Now that he clearly knew Bai Shijin’s sexual orientation, such ambiguous words made him extremely uneasy.
He let out a breath, his throat feeling as though it were blocked by something.
Bai Shijin was toxic.
It was clearly meant as a joke, so why was it so hard to reply?
He had a boyfriend he liked, so what on earth was he letting his mind wander about?
Mu Nian stared heavily at his phone screen and replied: [I like the presented effect.]
After hitting send, he flipped his phone face down on the desk, a strange, morally conflicting sensation washing over him.
He needed to stay away from Bai Shijin.
Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.