Zhan Qingyuan had some work issues to discuss with Zhan Qingyue, so he casually walked to his brother’s office.

Recently, Zhan Qingyue had taken on the role of project deputy manager, and Zhan Qingyuan had finally understood why their father had easily let him go—because the project deputy manager position was a total mess.

When Zhan Qingyue had just graduated, their father had given him this role to train him.

Zhan Qingyuan, not knowing how troublesome this position was, found out the hard way.

Zhan Qingyue, however, was very familiar with the challenges of this role.

Zhan Qingyuan regretted taking the position almost immediately.

It was a demanding role that tested personal ability, vision, and planning skills. Being new to the job made it even more exhausting.

The previous person left many things unresolved, causing Zhan Qingyuan to be busier than ever, flying around like a taxi, sometimes taking three flights a day and getting only four hours of sleep.

But this busyness had helped him get out of his previous rut and improved his mood significantly.

As he entered Zhan Qingyue’s office, he happened to see Zhan Qingyue holding a book.

“‘Smart Men Should Read Women’s Psychology’? What’s this, bro? When did you become interested in women’s psychology?”

Zhan Qingyue set the book aside and said, “Is that a problem?”

“Not at all! Your interests are quite unique, hahaha. Did you run into some difficult female clients?”

Zhan Qingyue succinctly replied, “Your sister-in-law.”

“…Sister-in-law?” Zhan Qingyuan was stunned.

Wasn’t that… Ning Qiuxiu?

Did Ning Qiuxiu need studying? Isn’t she easy to see through?

Well, maybe not immediately clear, but certainly not at the research level.

Zhan Qingyuan’s curiosity was piqued.

He put aside his original reason for visiting and asked, “What happened with her?”

“Nothing much,” Zhan Qingyue said, not wanting to discuss Ning Qiuxiu further. “What do you need?”

So stingy, Zhan Qingyuan thought, but he kept his curiosity to himself to avoid being criticized by his brother.

He focused on solving work-related matters.

The two brothers held a small meeting, and despite earlier speculation about power struggles when Zhan Qingyue took over Zhaosen, the two seemed to be working harmoniously together.

This was a surprise to many, as it defied expectations of conflict and rivalry.

Instead of the anticipated brotherly conflict, their cooperation seemed to be enhancing Zhaosen’s standing in the industry.

There were even rumors that they might overhaul the company’s internal structure this year, though it was unclear how true that was.

The meeting lasted half an hour, and Zhan Qingyuan showed no sign of leaving.

Seeing that his brother was hesitating to speak, Zhan Qingyue said, “Eat more bananas.”

“?” Zhan Qingyuan didn’t get the reference.

Zhan Qingyue, feeling “generous,” explained, “They help with digestion.”

“…” Zhan Qingyuan understood that his brother was suggesting he should deal with his digestive issues and not be like a constipation case.

Though slightly embarrassed by the indirectness, his curiosity got the better of him.

He closed his eyes and boldly asked, “What’s going on with you and my sister-in-law?”

“Are you very concerned?”

“Not quite,” Zhan Qingyuan tried to suppress his gossiping instincts and put on a concerned expression. “I’m just worried about you guys.”

“How so?” Zhan Qingyue looked at him. “Are you hoping something happens to us?”

“No, no, of course not,” Zhan Qingyuan said, though he had complicated feelings about Ning Qiuxiu.

If he could, he wouldn’t want her to be his sister-in-law, but he wouldn’t go so far as to wish ill on her.

He added, “I’m just curious, yes, just curious.”

Zhan Qingyue, in a good mood today, decided to indulge his curiosity.

He lazily leaned back in his chair and said, “I don’t really understand her. I want to study the art of charming women.”

“Pfft!”

Zhan Qingyuan nearly choked on his own saliva.

His brother charming women?

Zhan Qingyuan couldn’t even imagine what that would look like.

His brother seemed only good at setting people up or confronting them, and he had never seen him charm anyone.

Ning Qiuxiu must have earned this special treatment in some past life.

Zhan Qingyuan felt quite frustrated.

His brother had limited experience with women, with almost zero skills in charming them.

He was self-taught in setting traps and confronting others.

Moreover, Zhan Qingyue was a bit too smart for his own good.

Sometimes, being overly intelligent backfires, especially in understanding people.

Since taking over the company at a young age, he had been dealing with various individuals, analyzing their thoughts and intentions, almost like building a function list in his mind to assess their true intentions.

As a result, he tended to overanalyze ordinary people.

Especially with women, who can be quite changeable.

Overanalyzing them often led to confusion.

“I have to get back to work,” Zhan Qingyue said, tired of his brother’s teasing and dismissively showing him the door.

“Wait, wait,” Zhan Qingyuan said. “Brother, I’m quite experienced with matters of the heart. You’d be better off trusting me than a book.”

Zhan Qingyue thought of how Zhan Qingyuan had left home for love and was tempted to comment, but he realized that before Zhan Qingyuan’s issues arose, he had indeed frequented many romantic settings.

He had met all sorts of women and, before his problems, had lived the life of a playboy, living up to the “flower prince” image, only to be undone by Ji Weilang.

So, he decided to listen to what Zhan Qingyuan had to say.

“First of all, don’t overcomplicate women. They are actually quite easy to please. Even the most assertive woman cannot resist a compliment.”

“Compliments?” Zhan Qingyue thought of his gentle approach and firmly said, “It doesn’t work.”

“That’s because you’re not complimenting her right.”

Just then, the HR manager, Martha, came over to get Zhan Qingyue’s signature.

Martha, a long-time employee at Zhuo Sen, had just celebrated her 40th birthday.

She was very assertive and, due to her role in HR, was not very smooth and often offended people.

Behind her back, everyone called her “Old Witch.”

She was indeed hard to deal with and wouldn’t even spare the CEO’s face when angry.

Recently, the company had been focusing on cultural development.

Martha, having attended a corporate coaching training, was very focused on cultural reform and had proposed a series of demands, including workplace exercises, inspirational songs during breaks, and weekend hiking activities.

Of course, this had met resistance from various departments.

Zhan Qingyue was also troubled by this.

He did not support such initiatives, as he believed they only motivated employees temporarily without real effect.

However, Martha was insistent on corporate culture development, leading to a lot of recent discord.

Moreover, since the person in question was a female employee, Zhan Qingyue, known for his gentlemanly conduct in the presence of unfamiliar women, was reluctant to embarrass her.

Seeing her made Zhan Qingyue feel a bit of a headache and he gave Zhan Qingyuan a look, implying, “You handle this.”

Zhan Qingyuan nodded in agreement.

“Martha, long time no see,” Zhan Qingyuan greeted Martha before she could say anything.

Martha saw another Zhan family member present and nodded to him, saying, “Mr. Zhan.”

Zhan Qingyuan feigned surprise and said, “Martha, have you changed your makeup recently?”

“No,” Martha replied, touching her face in confusion. “Why?”

“Your complexion looks so much better. When you walked in, I almost didn’t recognize you and thought you were a new staff member from another department.”

Zhan Qingyue thought, “…”

Could you be any less subtle with your flattery?

And your insincerity is so obvious.

Anyone with a bit of self-awareness would see through this.

However, Martha was not easily fooled.

Although she recognized the flattery, she was pleased and shyly smiled, saying, “Oh, Mr. Zhan, you’re exaggerating. I’ve been staring at a computer all day and thought I’d turn into an old hag. But the chairman still isn’t satisfied with my proposal and hasn’t approved it yet.”

“That’s going too far, Martha,” Zhan Qingyuan said with a serious face.

Martha’s expression changed, thinking he was going to side with Zhan Qingyue, but then Zhan Qingyuan continued, “If you’re a yellow-faced woman, then our entire company must be yellow-faced.”

Zhan Qingyue thought, “…”

Could you have a bit of dignity?

Martha, flattered by the compliments, was now in high spirits.

She happily had Zhan Qingyue sign the documents and briefly mentioned her proposal before leaving, completely losing the previous aggressiveness.

“See, it works well,” Zhan Qingyuan said proudly after Martha left. “Every woman, no matter what, is pleased with compliments about her appearance. Even if she has pimples all over her face, if you close your eyes and praise her features, she’ll still be happy.”

Zhan Qingyue recalled the last time Zhan Qingyuan said Ning Qiuxiu’s photos were misleading and that she used beauty filters in videos, which had made her upset.

There seemed to be some truth to this.

He realized he had rarely complimented Ning Qiuxiu.

“And if a girl is upset, even if it’s not your fault, it’s still your fault. Apologize and if that doesn’t help, buy her a gift. If you know what she likes, great; if not, luxury items or cosmetics are a safe bet.”

“No,” Zhan Qingyue said seriously, “there are times when gifts can go wrong.”

He then recounted the incident involving the lipstick gift.

Zhan Qingyuan, unable to hold back, pounded the table and laughed uncontrollably. “Brother, you’re hilarious! You actually asked another clueless straight guy to pick out gifts? It’s no wonder he got it wrong. Hahaha, this is killing me.”

Is it really that funny?

Zhan Qingyue gave Zhan Qingyuan a blank stare as he continued laughing without any sign of stopping.

With an expressionless voice, he said, “The performance targets for the project department in March need to be increased by 50%.”

“…”

Zhan Qingyuan was instantly silenced, quickly saying, “No, no, no, brother, I was wrong, please spare me.”

“So?” Zhan Qingyue raised an eyebrow. “How should I handle this?”

“You need to know that the best people to understand women are other women. Before you buy a gift, consult with other women—of course, not the silly ones like Jingjing. You need someone sophisticated. Their advice is always reliable.”

That does seem reasonable.

Zhan Qingyue mentally noted this down.

“Lastly,” Zhan Qingyuan said with a mischievous grin, “Brother, the most important thing is technique. There’s no problem that can’t be solved with another round in bed. If one round doesn’t solve it, try again. If it still doesn’t work, I have some ten-gigabyte technical videos I can send you for reference.”

“…”

They hadn’t even reached that stage yet—what technique was he talking about?

Zhan Qingyue looked at Zhan Qingyuan with a strange expression.

Zhan Qingyuan, realizing he might have crossed a line, said in disbelief, “No way, brother, don’t tell me you haven’t…”

With his secret exposed, Zhan Qingyue’s face remained expressionless. “Get lost.”

“Don’t, brother. Do you know why bed activities are called harmonious activities? It’s to keep life harmonious. Women need regular satisfaction; otherwise, their endocrine system gets out of balance, affecting their mood. No matter how much effort you put in, you can’t make them happy otherwise. That’s where conflicts come from.”

Zhan Qingyue found Zhan Qingyuan’s advice increasingly ridiculous, especially since they were in the office and it was working hours.

Zhan Qingyue’s face wasn’t thick enough for this, and he had already extracted the information he needed.

He told Zhan Qingyuan to leave without further ado.

Although the third piece of advice was absurd, the first two were worth trying.

After finishing her scenes, Ning Qiuxiu was exhausted and sore from the prolonged holiday laziness.

Even a bit of shooting left her feeling worn out.

On the ride back to the hotel, she slumped in her seat, took her phone from Xiao Chi, and saw a message from Zhan Qingyue.

【Black-hearted Onion: Jingjing sent me photos from your new drama today.】

【Black-hearted Onion: Almost didn’t recognize you; thought you were some 18-year-old high school student.】

【Black-hearted Onion: You look beautiful in the school uniform, Quixiu.】

Ning Qiuxiu: “…”

The new photos were probably the official styling photos released by the official Weibo account.

Jingjing, being a sycophant, would definitely send them to Zhan Qingyue.

But for Zhan Qingyue to compliment her was quite unprecedented.

When Zhan Qingyue got home after work, he received a reply from Ning Qiuxiu.

【Ning Qiuxiu: Your sudden sweetness—are you up to something?】

Zhan Qingyue smiled and replied, “Just my true feelings.”

Moments later, he received another message from Ning Qiuxiu, this time without text, just an emoji of a character holding a big heart, with the caption: “Here, for you.”

Was this… her way of saying she was happy?