“Mr. Gong, our three-way cooperation with the tourism and media platforms has been finalized. The three travel routes cover suburban lakes, mountain scenic areas, and urban parks. The planning documents for the three shooting projects have already been sent to your email. Please review whether they can be adopted.”
Just like countless busy mornings in the past, Qiao Xi walked briskly behind Gong Nanxing into the office. As usual, he was fiddling with that dark concoction at the coffee machine. Having learned her lesson from last time, Qiao Xi did not dare taste it again under any circumstances, leaving Gong Nanxing accustomed to drinking his bitter water alone every day. For some reason, however, he poured two full cups today.
“I looked over the suburban lake one last night. I have notified the new media department to go shoot there today. The photographer is still Aidan. First, go grab one of our company’s insulated mugs for me, and then go supervise them to make sure they bring everything on the checklist.”
“Understood. But Mr. Gong, we need to shoot a video according to the script this time. Aside from your friend Aidan, do we need to arrange another videographer who specializes in short films?”
While speaking, Qiao Xi unpacked a brand-new black insulated mug from the wet bar storage cabinet, which was an unreleased product from Mountain.
While personally pouring ice cubes and coffee into the insulated mug, Gong Nanxing replied offhandedly, “No need, just bring the director who wrote the script. Aidan shot plenty of short films back in school; he only shoots photos now purely out of laziness.”
Jesus! Mr. Gong truly lived up to his name as a devil! Not only did he work himself to the bone finishing arrangements by last night, but today he was even helping a friend expand his future career path along the way. How did that saying go? Gong Nanxing does not keep idle people around.
“Alright, Mr. Gong, I understand. I am heading down to supervise the loading right now.” Qiao Xi wiped the sweat from her brow. Staying with this man for another second would make her instinctively look for extra tasks to do. To avoid living the life of an overworked beast of burden, she decided it was best to slip away early.
“By the way, Assistant Qiao, ride in my car later. Once their side is pretty much ready, notify me in advance to head down.” Gong Nanxing tightened the insulated bottle in his hand and then casually took a sip from the other cup.
Qiao Xi’s half-turned body froze completely upon hearing his words: “Mr. Gong, are you going as well today?”
“Right. It is the first video of the three-way collaboration, so I will go oversee it to ensure they understand the standard for future shoots. Anything else?”
As if she would dare have anything else! Qiao Xi frantically shook her head and waved her hands, saying there was nothing else at all, before hurrying toward the elevator. She could only imagine what expression her colleagues in other departments would wear when they heard that the Great Demon King Gong himself was personally taking charge of supervision.
Sure enough, once Gong Nanxing’s name was dropped, the colleagues sped up their loading speed by at least threefold. For the first time, Qiao Xi felt that going out on field work could be this effortless. Seeing that everything was packed and ready, Qiao Xi made an internal call asking Gong Nanxing to come down, while she waited in the first-floor elevator lobby. When the doors chimed open, she watched Gong Nanxing shove the aforementioned insulated mug into her arms before walking out while typing away on his phone without missing a beat.
How strange! Mr. Gong usually avoided typing whenever a phone call would do. Why were his fingers flying across the keyboard right now as if they were about to take off? Not daring to pry into Gong Nanxing’s phone, Qiao Xi could only quietly watch him chat all the way to the car. Just as her hand touched the door handle, Gong Nanxing finally lifted his head and spoke his first words of the morning.
“Sit in the back, Assistant Qiao.”
That did not seem quite right… It was one thing for her boss to prefer driving himself, but why would he make an assistant sit in the back? Was someone planning to assassinate Mr. Gong today, making her sit in the boss’s seat as a human shield?
“Get in the car quickly, we still need to pick someone up.”
If he had mentioned that earlier, she would not have had a mini heart attack! Hearing this, Qiao Xi put away her chaotic thoughts and climbed into the rear row. Gong Nanxing navigated his eye-catching Bentley through a few turns before stopping smoothly at a subway station entrance. The next second, a tall, tanned figure bolted out of the station like a gust of wind. Ah, picking up the little calf—was this considered normal or abnormal?
Qiao Xi’s radar was beeping wildly. The little calf smiled brightly, opened the car door, hopped inside, and clutched that same old school bag.
“Older brother, Sister Qiao Xi! Hello!”
“Good mor-ning.”
“Good morning!”
“…Speak slower.”
“Good, mor, ning!”
This exchange did not delay Director Gong from steering the vehicle around, but it left Qiao Xi in the back seat utterly dazed. Good heavens, the little calf had not just found himself a job; he had practically signed himself up to serve an exalted father figure!
Qiao Xi waved and greeted the little calf back. Gong Nanxing glanced through the rearview mirror and spoke up: “Assistant Qiao, hand the insulated mug to him.”
Huh? Was this meant for the calf to drink? She had assumed Mr. Gong prepared it for Aidan. Since it was her boss’s property, Qiao Xi naturally complied. However, handing such bitter stuff to the little calf left her wondering what on earth Mr. Gong was thinking…
“Older brother? For me?”
“Drink it, so your eyes will not swell up from tiredness during the shoot.”
Gong Nanxing still maintained his cold, all-business expression. The next second, as the little calf unscrewed the insulated bottle, a rich aroma of coffee instantly filled the entire car.
“Ah! So bitter!”
The moment the little calf took his first gulp, his already dark complexion instantly darkened a few more shades from pure bitterness. Qiao Xi saw Gong Nanxing’s triumphant, sneaky smile clear as day in the rearview mirror. As expected, he had gone through all that trouble to pack coffee in an insulated mug just to torture the little calf with bitterness. Wait a minute—he clearly knew this stuff tasted like death, yet he tricked people into drinking it every day!
“Older brother! You are laughing at me again!” The little calf’s eyebrows scrunched into an upside-down V shape. Only then did Gong Nanxing pack away his gloating expression amidst the gap of waiting at a red light.
“Here, add these so it won’t be bitter. Drink up.”
Pulling a packet of syrup and a creamer pod from his pocket, Gong Nanxing successfully achieved his petty scheme and resumed his usual demeanor. Witnessing the entire process left Qiao Xi’s head spinning with question marks. So syrup and milk had been available all along, and this heartless jerk had never once provided them for her? How could a human being be so devoid of basic decency? In the back seat, Qiao Xi took several deep, heavy breaths to calm the urge to strangle Gong Nanxing from behind.
“Mmm, much better!”
Dumping everything into the insulated mug, the little calf mustered the courage to take another sip. After finishing, he smacked his lips, deciding this was finally fit for human consumption.
“Take the mug back to school when you are done. It is a new product, you cannot buy it anywhere else.”
“Thank you, older brother!”
Now she finally understood what tricks this man had up his sleeve. Qiao Xi’s sharp eyes missed none of Mr. Gong’s smug satisfaction every time the little calf called him older brother. Most likely, being the youngest at home and playing the younger brother his whole life, he was now experiencing his first taste of being an older brother outside, and his tail was practically raised to the sky. Look at him—usually wearing a frosty expression that rejected all human connection, but two cries of “older brother” completely revealed his true colors. Tsk, men.
“Assistant Qiao, go over the schedule with the calf. I am driving.”
Perhaps sensing the disdainful gaze beaming at him from the back, Gong Nanxing snapped Qiao Xi out of her daydreaming reverie. Putting on her professional, ready-for-work expression, she pulled out today’s shooting script from her briefcase and handed a copy to the calf.
Stretching his neck through the gap between the front seats, the little calf listened to the arrangements while circling and marking notes on the script. After a moment, he raised a question regarding the wardrobe: “Do we really need to wear so many layers just to play near the water?”
The suggested outfit concept featured an outdoor shell jacket paired with a button-down shirt and a chic neck scarf, designed to project an effortless transition from the urban environment straight into nature. Put that way by the little calf, however, it did indeed sound a bit overly bundled for a water-side scene where models usually wore lighter attire.
“Tell me what you want to change it to. I will go talk to the styling team later.”
Though he was driving, Gong Nanxing took full charge of addressing the issue—surprising her by sparing her the trouble of arguing with the stylists. Qiao Xi was thoroughly satisfied with this outcome, and her grievances toward Mr. Gong instantly dissipated by a fraction.
“If the jacket is the product we are showcasing, we can keep it. I can just wear a white tank top underneath and jeans on the bottom. Keeping it simple will make the jacket stand out more.”
“Assistant Qiao, connect to the walkie-talkie. Tell them right now to pull out those clothes.”
That was what you called efficiency.
Twenty minutes later, upon arriving at the destination, the location photography crew immediately began setting up scenes and measuring light. A stylist grabbed the little calf and started fussing over his hair. With the outfit adjusted according to the calf’s suggestion, he stepped up and took his position by the scenery. Gong Nanxing revealed a satisfied smile, then pressed down on Aidan’s hand just as the photographer reached for his script, saying in a voice audible only to the two of them:
“No script?”