Qiao Qingman slept exceptionally soundly that night.
The next day, warm sunlight streamed in. Bathed in the gentle morning glow, Qiao Qingman opened her eyes comfortably.
When she inadvertently glanced toward the balcony, she instantly sobered.
By reflex, Qiao Qingman raised her hand to touch her lips, then got out of bed to check the automatic sliding door. She found that the door she had closed the night before had not changed at all.
Even the strand of hair she had deliberately wedged inside had not fallen.
What did this mean? The male lead had not come?
No way. The male lead did not have a mission?
Then yesterday at the private club, Gu Qianshi appeared because of her social media post, sent her dessert, pulled her out of the restaurant, and even leaned so close to her. What had he been trying to do?
Qiao Qingman could not make sense of it no matter how she thought about it.
The most outrageous part was that if the male lead truly had no mission, would she not be back to square one overnight?
Feeling upset, Qiao Qingman retreated to the sofa at the side and sat down. She accidentally pressed a switch button, and the tightly closed balcony doors slid open to both sides.
The bright sunlight poured in.
Qiao Qingman raised her hand to block the light, feeling dejected as she thought, was she going to have to sneak into Rongjing Villa again tonight?
No—
A rapid knocking sound came at that moment.
“Come in.”
Qiao Qingman responded listlessly.
After receiving permission, Aunt Zhuang pushed the door open and said, “Miss, Chef Chen has arrived. He’s waiting downstairs.”
Chef Chen?
The chef that she was about to “pay a heavy sum” to hire?
Qiao Qingman: “……”
She had almost forgotten about this plotline.
After thinking for a moment, Qiao Qingman took out a cheque she had prepared in advance from the drawer, opened the door, and handed it to Aunt Zhuang. “Aunt Zhuang, let him leave. Pay him the full remuneration.”
Once the heavy sum was spent, this plotline would be considered complete.
Learning to cook? Impossible.
Aunt Zhuang froze, still somewhat confused. “You… you don’t need him to teach you cooking, Miss?”
Qiao Qingman: “……No need.”
Aunt Zhuang looked puzzled but did not dare ask more. She could only take the cheque downstairs.
After sending Aunt Zhuang off, Qiao Qingman washed up simply, changed into casual clothes, and went downstairs to have breakfast.
She then discovered that today’s breakfast was especially delicious.
The bitterness and frustration she had felt about the male lead not having a mission and her having to fight alone were instantly swept away.
“Aunt Zhuang, today’s breakfast is amazing,” Qiao Qingman said happily after finishing the last bite of her seagull omelet and drinking the milk in her cup.
“Miss is mistaken. Actually, today’s breakfast was entirely prepared by Mr. Chen,” Aunt Zhuang said somewhat helplessly.
She had originally planned to take this opportunity to properly learn some cooking skills from Mr. Chen. Who would have thought that her Miss would send him away without even meeting him?
Qiao Qingman paused slightly. “Mr. Chen?”
Immediately afterward, she saw a man dressed in standard chef attire walking over from the direction of the kitchen.
The man was tall with long legs. The white chef’s uniform made him look upright and sunny. When his clear and charming eyes fell on Qiao Qingman, they instantly brightened.
This was… Chen Leyan?
Chen Leyan stood with both hands behind his back, lips pressed tight, his posture straight and stiff.
Meeting the surprise in Qiao Qingman’s eyes, Chen Leyan seemed to take a deep breath and compose himself before saying, “Miss Qiao, good morning.”
Qiao Qingman was indeed astonished.
She had thought the person she was “paying heavily” to hire was merely an NPC with the title of “teacher.” She had not expected it to be Chen Leyan, who had always liked her in the novel.
“Why is it you?”
Qiao Qingman truly did not understand.
According to his character setting, Chen Leyan was at least a wealthy second-generation heir. He owned many high-end restaurants and was a bona fide diamond sweetheart.
No matter what, he should not have ended up as a mere “chef teacher” with nothing but a title.
Unless he had come because of her?
Right after that, Chen Leyan lowered his eyes in disappointment. His voice dropped a notch as he said, “I’m sorry, Miss Qiao. If my arrival has made you unhappy, then I’ll leave right now.”
“However, I cannot accept unearned money. Since Miss Qiao does not need me to teach her cooking, I cannot take this payment.”
As his words fell, Chen Leyan took out the cheque Aunt Zhuang had given him and placed it on the dining table.
His fingers gripped the cheque tightly. The curve of his lips was very flat, clearly suppressing something.
After a moment, Chen Leyan released his fingers, lifted his head, and met Qiao Qingman’s gaze.
In just an instant, he turned and left as if fleeing.
From the moment she heard Chen Leyan say he would “leave right now,” Qiao Qingman inexplicably felt that she might have hurt him unintentionally.
Qiao Qingman: “……”
Recalling the friend request she had ignored earlier, Qiao Qingman’s emotions churned within her.
Looking again at Chen Leyan’s lonely back, although Qiao Qingman knew very well that his “liking” for her was most likely influenced by the plot setting, her heart still felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Then the system reminded her: [Host, stop him quickly. If Chen Leyan doesn’t accept the money, then you haven’t completed the plot of ‘spending a heavy sum’ to hire a teacher.]
Qiao Qingman: “?”
Why didn’t you say so earlier!
Qiao Qingman quickly picked up the cheque and blocked Chen Leyan’s path.
“Mr. Chen, please take this check. I can’t let you make this trip for nothing.”
Chen Leyan frowned deeply and took a step back, still refusing. “I can’t accept it. I didn’t teach you how to cook. I can’t take it!”
Qiao Qingman: “……”
So she had to actually learn to cook, was that it?
In order to complete the plot mission, Qiao Qingman steeled herself. “Fine. F-fine then. You can teach me how to cook.”
It seemed Chen Leyan had not expected such a sudden turn of events. Excitement he could not suppress tinged his brows and eyes. “R-really?”
Qiao Qingman felt even more conflicted inside.
She nodded helplessly. “……Really.”
Unlike Qiao Qingman’s helplessness, in the president’s office of the Gu Corporation.
Gu Qianshi, who had had a “nightmare,” had been somewhat absent-minded since arriving at the company that morning.
His poor sleep quality the previous night directly resulted in a splitting headache after only a few hours of work.
He had even accidentally signed one of the documents requiring his signature with the character “Qiao.”
Fortunately, he noticed it in time. Before the secretary standing beside him could see, he tore off the unsigned page in one swift motion.
“You may go out first. I need to review this document again.”
Gu Qianshi spoke with a cold expression.
Although Secretary Shen was inwardly puzzled, he still replied calmly and obediently on the surface, “Yes, Boss.”
After the secretary left, Gu Qianshi unfolded the crumpled sheet of paper and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.
Qiao? Qiao what?
Qiao Qingman?
How could he have written that character?
Gu Qianshi’s expression froze slightly. As if thinking of something, he picked up the phone on his desk and walked out of the president’s office with hurried steps.
Seeing Secretary Shen following him toward the elevator, Gu Qianshi stopped him. “Stay at the company. If anything comes up, call me.”
The elevator doors then closed, leaving Secretary Shen standing there in confusion.
What was wrong with his boss? Where was he going?
Not bringing him along? Was he about to fall out of favor?
In reality, the place Gu Qianshi was going to was truly not suitable for bringing his secretary.
Not only his secretary, he did not even bring any bodyguards.
When the elevator reached the first floor, Gu Qianshi walked toward the parking lot outside the office building, got into his car, started the engine, and drove off.
Today, he had to settle the matter of Qiao Qingman once and for all.
When Gu Qianshi arrived at the Qiao family villa, not far behind his car, in the passenger seat of an ordinary sedan, a man made a phone call.
Soon, Secretary Jiang received the call.
After hanging up, Secretary Jiang pushed open the door and walked into a meeting room inside the private club. Ignoring several senior executives who were nervously reporting their work, he stepped forward under the heavy, oppressive atmosphere in the room and approached the center of the conference table, leaning down to whisper in Gu Qingshan’s ear.
Perhaps it was something particularly important. The man, whose gaze had been sharp and imposing just a minute earlier, paused slightly.
A ripple stirred in the depths of his indifferent eyes.
Gu Qingshan raised his pale, slender fingers and lightly tapped on the table. In the silence of the meeting room, which was so still it felt almost cold, the sound echoed again and again, as if striking directly against the hearts of the executives present.
Each of them lowered their heads slightly, their expressions tense.
Had someone angered their boss again?
After a moment, the tapping stopped. Gu Qingshan’s even, emotionless voice reached the ears of the executives.
“That will be all.”
He then stood up from his chair and strode out.
*
Cooking was truly painful for Qiao Qingman. On top of that, she was preoccupied with the kissing mission that had to be completed before midnight. She stood absent-mindedly beside Chen Leyan.
She listened as he gently and patiently explained the steps and precautions for cooking.
“Miss Qiao, cooking comes second. Safety is the most important thing,” Chen Leyan said while stir-frying.
“Oh, oh,” Qiao Qingman responded casually.
Before she finished speaking, a drop of hot oil splashed onto her hand.
“Hiss—” Qiao Qingman felt a sharp pain on the back of her hand and let out a soft cry.
Chen Leyan, who had already been tense because it was his first time being alone with Qiao Qingman, stiffened.
Hearing her cry unexpectedly, he immediately turned on the faucet and reached out to take her hand to rinse it under cold water. But just as his fingers were about to touch the back of her hand, he cautiously curled them back.
His eyes were filled with concern as he urged, “Quick, rinse it under cold water.”
He then hurried out of the kitchen and, not long after, returned with adhesive bandages, cotton swabs, and iodine solution that he had taken from Aunt Zhuang.
“I… can I help you dress the wound?” Chen Leyan stared intently at the back of Qiao Qingman’s hand, hesitating as he spoke.
Qiao Qingman, who had only been splashed by a single drop of hot oil and would have been fine even without rinsing it, saw Chen Leyan’s anxious attempt to quietly take care of her. Her emotions were complicated.
“…It’s fine, I…” she began.
Before she could finish, Aunt Zhuang’s voice sounded from outside the kitchen door. “Miss, a Mr. Gu says he would like to see you.”
Mr. Gu?
Gu… Gu Qianshi?
No way. Why was he here?
Wasn’t he supposed to not come looking for her in broad daylight?
Surprised and curious, Qiao Qingman walked toward the door.
Just as she was about to reach it, a suppressed “hiss—” from a man came from behind her.
It was followed by the crisp sound of something falling onto the floor.
Qiao Qingman immediately stopped and turned around, only to see Chen Leyan holding the back of his hand with a pained expression.
She asked anxiously, “What happened? Are you okay?”
She did not notice that as Chen Leyan lowered his eyes, a trace of gloom flickered through them, only to be quickly concealed.