Chapter 432 If You Like Me, You Must Be Together
Yanjing.
Wanshan Company.
"Qiao Yiming, tell me clearly, where were you last night?"
On the phone , Shan Xuechun's questioning made Qiao Yiming feel uncomfortable.
He took the ice pack from his subordinate, gently applied it to his eye sockets, and said calmly, "Didn't I tell you that I was in the company all night."
"Do you dare to say that again?!"
"Okay, stop messing around. I have an important meeting to attend."
"Qiao Yiming..."
Before Shan Xuechun could finish her words, Qiao Yiming had already hung up the phone, frowned, sat in his chair, and tapped the table rhythmically with his fingers.
The office door was pushed open and his subordinate Shi Juntao walked in.
"Mr. Qiao."
"What's up?"
"Lao Zhou and Lao Wang just handed in their resignations to me."
"……What?"
Qiao Yiming's voice suddenly rose several degrees, "What's going on?"
"It seems that Qingzhou is poaching them..."
"Poach? I pay them a pretty good salary, how can Qing Zhou poach them? Play the emotional card?"
"That's not the case... I heard that Qingzhou offered a higher salary..."
Qiao Yiming slammed the table, "How much higher is higher?"
Everyone in the company knew that Qiao Yiming had a bad temper and a bit of a weird personality. When reporting to him, they had to report in detail. Previously, a female employee in her thirties was scolded and cried in public in the conference room just because she said words like "a lot" and "etc.".
"Double..." Shi Juntao felt a little sweaty, "Qingzhou will double our salary to recruit them back."
"double?"
Qiao Yiming smacked his lips. "Interesting, but Lao Wang and Lao Zhou are very capable, and they really deserve the price. Others probably won't be willing to spend such a huge price..."
“No.”
Shi Juntao interrupted, "As far as I know, they poached not only Lao Wang and Lao Zhou, but also many other people. They should have contacted them, and the salaries they offered are higher than ours."
"Is he crazy?"
Qiao Yiming looked incredulous, "Where does he get the confidence from?"
"More than that." Shi Juntao took out a document and handed it over. "In today's update of Qingzhou Weibo, the prices of most value-added services were reduced, and many free options were opened, which are more than ours... In addition, the fees for advertising and trending searches were also reduced a lot. Several advertisers that had previously agreed to a deal have all changed their minds today."
Qiao Yiming sat in his seat and thought quietly for a while.
"Lao Shi, what do you think?"
"It's a battle between trapped beasts. Qingzhou's capital shortage is a well-known problem. Where can Xu Cheng get money at this critical moment? Rely on his father? Unless he wants Xu Jianghe to go to jail, there is absolutely no other way."
"Then let's go on..."
Qiao Yiming felt his hands were a little cold, so he rubbed them together for a while and asked, "How do you think we should deal with this next?"
Technology is his strong point, but he is too immature when it comes to management.
"Boss Qiao, there's no need to be afraid. It's just a matter of one side gaining while the other loses. Qingzhou is only on its last legs now. The amount of funds we have is enough to crush them."
"Let's do as you say first."
Qiao Yiming thought it made sense, but he also felt something was wrong.
After all, his opponent this time is Xu Cheng, and he knows very well how incredible that boy is.
He couldn't help feeling annoyed. At this moment, his cell phone rang again. Qiao Yiming grabbed it impatiently and pressed the answer button.
"Are you done yet?"
On the other end of the phone, Shan Xuechun said with sobs.
"Qiao Yiming, I'm telling you, if you don't explain everything to me today, don't even think about going home..."
"Don't let you go home?"
Qiao Yiming smiled and said, "The house is mine. If anyone wants to get out of this house, it should be you. I tell you, Shan Xuechun, there are many women who want me, Qiao Yiming. Everything you have now was given by me. Similarly, I can make you lose it again."
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a long time before Shan Xuechun's gritted teeth spoke.
"Qiao Yiming, you are not a human being."
"Whatever you say."
Qiao Yiming hung up the phone, turned around and stood in front of the window.
He took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. Wisps of green smoke rose up. He looked out the window at the intersection in the imperial capital where traffic was heavy. His eyes seemed to travel all the way and finally stopped somewhere in the distance.
…
July.
Jinghai City.
Dessert shop.
"It's been a long time since I last saw Xia Yue."
Lin Wanzhou greeted Xia Yue with a smile.
"I didn't recognize you just now. I feel like your temperament has changed a lot."
"Is there?"
"It's true."
"Hmm... maybe this is the change caused by going to college. When you first went to college, I also felt that ."
“Even more beautiful.”
Lin Wanzhou boldly touched Xia Yue's face.
Xia Yue blushed and then leaned over to whisper in Lin Wanzhou's ear.
"You're also...bigger."
"Tsk. "
Lin Wanzhou pretended not to care and hummed, but she was actually very happy in her heart.
It seems that my efforts during this time have paid off. Although I always feel strange and uncomfortable when Xu Cheng replenishes my magic, at least I can see the results now, and all the hardships I have endured are worth it.
The boss brought the dishes they ordered, including coconut milk sago, sugar-coated dumplings, and small glutinous rice balls.
Through the floor-to-ceiling window, you can see a table of exquisite food and two beautiful girls. The steps are covered with moss and a cat is curled up in the corner. The scene is simple and delicate.
"Xia Yue, do you have a boyfriend at school?" After taking a bite of the glutinous rice balls, Lin Wanzhou couldn't help but gossip, "It's already been a semester, you should have a boy you like, right?"
"No more..." Xia Yue denied embarrassedly, "There are more girls in our school, and the remaining boys are more..."
"Comparing what?"
"It's more feminine. Let me tell you, last time I went to a fruit store to buy some fruit, there was a boy next to me saying to his girlfriend 'I want a peach', it gave me goose bumps."
Xia Yue imitated the boy's tone, and Lin Wanzhou covered her mouth and laughed so hard that her body shook.
“There really are boys like this.”
"It's not manly at all, I don't like it."
"Really?" Lin Wanzhou blinked, "Then that guy didn't seem to be very manly before."
"Congee~"
Xia Yue gave her a reproachful look, and Lin Wanzhou covered her mouth embarrassedly, then narrowed her eyes into crescent shapes.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned him."
Xia Yue lowered her head, tasted the sweet water in the bowl, then held her chin with a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.
"Everyone has a moment that attracts others. Qiao Yiming is very timid and cowardly. He doesn't look like a manly boy, but I always remember that when I was in kindergarten, I was bullied and cried by a fat boy in the class. Qiao Yiming rushed up to fight with him without saying a word. Although he was defeated and was beaten badly, and his parents were even called in the end, no boy in the class dared to bully me after that day. From that day on, he became my hero. You know that feeling, right?"
Xia Yue glanced at Lin Wanzhou, and the girl nodded slightly.
There were countless helpless moments, and Xu Cheng stood by her side like her hero, supporting her through it all.
So she was very clear about the feeling that Xia Yue was talking about.
“Perhaps it was because of this feeling that I pursued it so persistently, but finally hit a wall.”
"Xia Yue..."
Seeing that Xia Yue's eyes were gradually becoming moist, Lin Wanzhou nervously held her hand.
"It's okay, porridge."
Xia Yue forced a smile and waved her hand as if it didn't matter.
"It's all in the past. I was just telling you about these old things. Oh, I heard about Qiao Yiming and Xu Cheng. Aren't they from the same company? What caused them to be like this?"
Lin Wanzhou thought about it.
"Xu Cheng told me that some people's personalities are always hidden. Many of them will never show their true colors in their entire lives, so they will live their entire lives as such. But there are a small number of them who, once they have something, these things will be exposed, and they will become a completely different person. He said that Qiao Yiming is such a person, and he feels particularly strange to him."
Xia Yue thought about Lin Wanzhou's words very seriously.
"That's true. Qiao Yiming changed a lot during that period. He also changed in high school, but that was just his deliberate alienation, which made me feel a little sad. But after he went to college, that change really made me feel unfamiliar. Sometimes when I was around him, I felt creepy and cold in my heart."
"Stop talking about this guy. He doesn't deserve you."
Lin Wanzhou was afraid that Xia Yue would be sad again if he continued talking, so he considerately tried to change the subject, but Xia Yue just shook her head.
"It's okay, Zhou Zhou. I've gradually let go of these things."
"Well, just forget it as soon as possible."
"Actually, I envy you so much."
"Envy me?"
" Since the first day I met you in elementary school, I noticed the class monitor next to you."
Xia Yue narrated.
She, Xu Cheng and Lin Wanzhou were in the same class in elementary school and were separated after junior high school.
"At that time, everyone in the class thought that you and the class monitor would definitely get married when you grew up. Everyone believed in it, just like gravity and the rising and setting of the sun. It was already a subconscious thought. At that time, everyone was only in elementary school, and these ideas might have been very naive, but when I met you again in high school, I was surprised to find that the class monitor was still the same as before, and your relationship was as good as before. No matter what period it was, I never doubted that you would get married in the future."
"What's the matter with getting married or not..."
Lin Wanzhou's face turned red when she heard this, but Xia Yue excitedly held her hand tightly.
"Girls shouldn't be so reserved sometimes. Xu Cheng has been trying very hard to get closer to you. Sometimes he has taken ninety-nine steps, and you have to take that one step towards him, too."
"Xia Yue..."
"Zhou Zhou, you and Xu Cheng must stay together till the end."
There was a faint crystal-like glow in the corners of Xia Yue's eyes.
"From childhood sweethearts to a happy marriage, that is a dream I will never be able to fulfill in my lifetime."
Lin Wanzhou was stunned for a few seconds, but seeing Xia Yue's serious expression, he nodded solemnly.
"Don't worry, Xia Yue, we will definitely make it to the end."
Under the eaves, the cat has woken up from its dream, changed its posture, wagged its tail, and then curled up again, taking a nap like a ball of fur.
In the shop, Lin Wanzhou looked in a certain direction outside the window.
She had a hunch that her boy should be there right now.
Perhaps he didn't even realize how determined he was.
To be with him from childhood to the end of life.
Complete the longest journey together.
…
"Why would you... He's the only one who doesn't care. If he really wanted to settle accounts with you, you would have to be detained for a few days for provoking trouble."
Xu Cheng looked at Li Qiuyang helplessly.
"But thanks, Qiu Yang."
Li Qiuyang pushed Xu Cheng's hand away in disgust, "Don't try that on me, it sounds corny and disgusting to me."
"Eh? This bracelet on your hand?"
Xu Cheng thought he had seen it wrong, so he leaned down again and took a look at the boy's wrist.
"What's going on, Qiu Yang? Why are you wearing the bracelet?"
Li Qiuyang dodged and hid his bracelet as if it were a treasure, not letting Xu Cheng touch it.
"Why do you care so much?"
"Is it not enough to just ask? We are friends. If you confess, you will be treated leniently. If you resist, you will be treated severely. Tell the truth quickly."
Li Qiuyang glanced at him with disdain.
"Get lost, you are such a gossiper, how can you be like a big boss of a company? No one will believe me if I tell them."
"So what? It's best if no one believes me. You don't even know that I'm a celebrity in my school now. When I walk on the street, people pull me over to take pictures."
"Stop bothering me, I need to take a call."
Li Qiuyang took out his mobile phone, glanced at the notes, his expression suddenly became gentler, and his tone of voice became visibly heavier.
"Hello……"
"Oh, Xu Cheng and I are together."
"I see."
"It's okay. He has plenty of time. I'll go and accompany you first."
"I'll be there soon."
Under Xu Cheng's surprised gaze, Li Qiuyang hung up the phone and then returned to his previous carefree attitude.
"Well, I have something else to do. You can go for a walk by yourself."
"Who called?"
"It's none of your business."
"Could it be Guo Zining? Are you two together?"
Eyes met.
Xu Cheng still saw a positive answer from the expression that Li Qiuyang tried hard to conceal.
"Oh my god, you are really good, Li Qiuyang. You took Guo Zining down without making any noise. How did you do that? If you don't tell me, you can't leave today."
Xu Cheng kept dragging his feet, and Li Qiuyang became fed up with it. Finally, he had to confess the truth with a red face.
"On the night I beat up that kid Qiao Yiming, I got on the bus and passed by Guo Zining's city, and went straight to her school."
"She was very touched?"
"No, she's not in school. I waited until the evening for her to come back."
"And then you two went on a date?"
"No, I was at the entrance of her school, and I pulled her aside and asked her if she wanted to be together."
"She agreed?"
"No, she didn't say anything for a long time, so I thought boys should take the initiative, so I just kissed her."
"And she agreed to you?"
"No, then she called the police. I explained to the police for a long time and was almost taken into custody. In the end, she said that she had a conflict with my boyfriend, and the police left."
"And then?"
"Later I said that you and I were already pretending to be a couple, so we might as well just keep pretending, and then we ended up being together without knowing what was going on."
"hiss."
Xu Cheng took a deep breath, not knowing what Li Qiuyang was doing. After thinking it over, it seemed that only two words could express his feelings at the moment.
"Awesome."
