Ning Qiuxiu couldn’t compete with Zhan Qingyue, so she felt resentful and imagined stabbing him in the back a hundred times.

However, she realized this might actually be a good thing.

After all, her room was in a mess because of Mrs. Ning.

If she didn’t return early, Mrs. Ning might make Zhan Qingyue come pick her up, and he might even have to stay overnight.

It seemed better to just return a day early.

Even though Zhan Qingyue was a terrible person with questionable methods, she didn’t lose much.

As the car slowly drove along the road, Ning Qiuxiu looked out at the neon lights and heard Zhan Qingyue say, “It seems one of your classmates is one of my employees.”

“You noticed that? You really are impressive,” she replied sarcastically.

Zhan Qingyue remembered a new employee at his company, which intrigued Ning Qiuxiu, who had planned to ignore him.

She said, “Your memory is amazing. It’s like a goldfish with ten thousand memory cells.”

Zhan Qingyue laughed at the comparison.

He found her anger quite entertaining.

Since meeting Ning Qiuxiu, he had developed a liking for seeing her get upset, which was unusual for him.

Zhan Qingyue explained, “He’s a top student and an overseas returnee. I saw his information and made a note of his face.”

Indeed, exceptional people always stand out.

This employee, Guo Nanpei, had been a top student and now stood out in Zhan Qingyue’s company.

Ning Qiuxiu sneered a bit.

If it weren’t for her current situation, she might actually admire Guo Nanpei.

Zhan Qingyue continued, “Is he the high-achiever your mother mentioned?”

Ning Qiuxiu admitted, “Yes, he is. Isn’t he outstanding?”

“Yes, very outstanding. Unfortunately, he’s under my management now.”

Ning Qiuxiu responded, “Don’t mess with him.”

Though she had no personal feelings for Guo Nanpei and thought he was a bit arrogant, she didn’t want Zhan Qingyue to mistreat him out of personal reasons.

Zhan Qingyue said, “I just think he has a lot of potential. I might have him work extra hours to improve his skills. What are you thinking?”

Ning Qiuxiu thought this was even worse than mistreatment.

Zhan Qingyue said, “I’m hurt that you think this way about me.”

Ning Qiuxiu was annoyed but quickly thought of a way to retaliate.

She said, “If you’re going to play games, I’m also very hurt.”

Zhan Qingyue agreed, “Alright, how about we call it even?”

Ning Qiuxiu said, “No, I think we should stay mad at each other for a few days.”

Zhan Qingyue was surprised but agreed, “Okay.”

They got home by 8 PM.

They went to their separate rooms, and Ning Qiuxiu called Mrs. Ning to arrange for her things to be sent over.

After the call, she received a message from Ning Wanwan.

[Ning Wanwan: Qiuxiu, I remember your fiancé isn’t this Zhan Qingyue. What happened? You never mentioned this change.]

Ning Wanwan was surprised because both Ning Qiuxiu and Mrs. Ning liked to show off.

Having such an outstanding boyfriend would usually be flaunted.

[Ning Qiuxiu: The fiancé was just a verbal agreement with the elders. It’s not official, so I haven’t mentioned it.]

Though Mrs. Ning loved to boast, she knew that her daughter was a big star and couldn’t reveal her relationship publicly, so she held back her desire to brag.

Ning Wanwan: “Today was hilarious. Feng Ting definitely came for you and Guan Nanpei, but you didn’t gain any advantage, and Guan Nanpei didn’t even pay attention to her.

She must be furious. It’s what she deserves. I never liked her in high school. I don’t know how Guan Nanpei could have been blind enough to like her.”

Ning Qiuxiu: “Maybe it’s a difference in male and female taste.”

Ning Wanwan: “By the way!!! Guan Nanpei asked for your WeChat. Should I give it to him?”

Ning Qiuqiu: “No.”

Ning Wanwan: “He said it’s not for personal reasons; it’s probably for work.”

Guan Nanpei, clearly concerned that Ning Qiuxiu might hold a grudge or resent him, was worried that Zhan Qingyue would cause him trouble.

Seeing this message, Ning Qiuxiu felt a pang of sympathy for Zhan Qingyue.

Even though she had no feelings for Guan Nanpei, being perceived like that was somewhat hurtful.

Ning Qiuxiu: “Tell him that Zhuosen is a company that values its talents.”

So what belongs to him will still be his, and hard work will be rewarded.

Guan Nanpei is smart, and he’ll understand from this message.

After finishing her chat with Ning Wanwan, Ning Qiuxiu opened her WeChat conversation with Zhan Qingyue, debating whether to apologize.

But it seemed… different in nature.

Zhan Qingyue had clearly set her up, which was a mean act.

Thinking of this, Ning Qiuxiu happily closed the chat window and continued their cold war.

On the afternoon of the sixth day of the New Year, Ning Qiuxiu had a small interview.

Her New Year’s greeting featuring Miaomiao had become popular, sparking interest among fans who were eager to see the dog.

The city’s animal protection association invited her for an interview with advertising purposes, hoping to leverage Miaomiao’s popularity to attract attention and promote animal welfare.

Ning Qiuxiu and Qu Hua went with Miaomiao.

The protection association was different from what Ning Qiuxiu had imagined—it was almost like a zoo, housing various cats and dogs, and was quite lively.

Miaomiao was thrilled to see other furry friends and eagerly wanted to join them.

Ning Qiuxiu had to struggle to keep it from running off.

When Ning Qiuxiu arrived, the staff were feeding the animals.

They poured several bowls of dog food into a long trough, with dogs on one side and cats on the other.

The dogs, not as graceful as the cats, immediately rushed over and began eating, while growling at each other.

Miaomiao, even though it had already eaten before coming, was so eager to join the fun that it pushed its way into the group of dogs.

It tasted a bit of food and immediately spat it out— it was awful compared to what it usually ate.

However, the other dogs seemed to be enjoying it.

Miaomiao, with its limited brain capacity, didn’t notice that the food it was eating was the same as what the other dogs were eating.

Using its size advantage, it pushed aside a particularly content country dog and ate from the pile it had previously eaten from.

It spat it out again, disgusted.

The country dog, angry that Miaomiao not only pushed it aside but also wasted food, growled and showed signs of aggression.

Miaomiao, not fond of confrontations, immediately ran back to hide behind Ning Qiuxiu.

Ning Qiuxiu: “……”

Can’t you have a bit of dignity?

“Sorry, Teacher Ning,” said Xiao Hu, the staff member from the protection association, seeing Miaomiao’s picky eating. “The dog food here is a bit subpar. If your dog hasn’t eaten yet, we should have some leftover meat bones from lunch. I’ll have someone bring one over.”

“No need, no need. It’s just a bit of fuss. Miaomiao loves to be in the middle of things,” Ning Qiuxiu looked at the happy cats and dogs eating, and asked, “Do you keep all these cats and dogs yourself? Have you considered allowing people to adopt them?”

Even though the food for the animals was not the best, and could even be considered poor, the care they received made them all quite pretty and well-kept.

With many different breeds, Ning Qiuxiu didn’t believe that no one would want to adopt them.

Xiao Hu said a bit awkwardly, “We actually plan to use the advertisement from Ms. Ning to promote a charity sale.”

“A charity sale?” Qu Hua frowned and replied, “Mr. Xiao Hu, our contract didn’t mention this. If there are any issues with the proceeds from the sale, our artists could be held responsible or even face legal trouble.”

Charity sales and donations are similar, and artists are very cautious about charity work. If something goes wrong, it could look like fraud.

“No, no,” Xiao Hu quickly said, “All the funds from the sale will be used to help more animals. The funds will be transparent and publicly available. Although we are a private organization, we receive government funding and oversight, so there will be no issues. Mr. Qu, you can rest assured.”

Qu Hua relaxed when he heard the funds would be transparent and monitored by the government.

Xiao Hu added, “We were forced into this. Previously, we had adoption channels, but many adopters were impulsive. They didn’t take good care of the animals, leading to many cases of animals being returned or even abused. So, we decided not to give them away for free anymore. If people pay, they will value the animals more.”

That was indeed true.

However, Qu Hua still signed a supplementary agreement with them to avoid future problems.

By the time the interview was over and they went back, it was already evening.

Miao Miao, the silly dog, was playing wildly with the association’s dogs and refused to leave.

It lay on the ground with its four legs up, making everyone laugh and cry.

They eventually had to get help from the association’s staff to carry it into the car.

The silly dog didn’t succeed in being stubborn and began to get angry in the car, howling loudly.

Ning Qiuxiu was annoyed by the noise and lightly tapped its head, saying, “If you keep barking, I’ll let your dad deal with you when we get home.”

“……” This threat was very effective.

Miao Miao immediately sulked, curling up on the seat and not making a sound.

Ning Qiuxiu petted its head, “Why are you such a coward?”

Miao Miao looked at her with disdain, as if saying “like owner, like dog.”

Although Ning Qiuxiu knew Huskies naturally have a disdainful look, she couldn’t help but feel like she was being scorned by a dog.

==

When they got home, Ning Qiuxiu asked the housekeeper to bathe Miao Miao and went inside to find Zhan Qingyue sitting on the living room sofa, using a tablet.

She was about to greet him but then remembered they were giving each other the silent treatment.

So she forced herself to look aloof and ignored him.

“Ms. Ning, you’re back,” Jing Jing, who was about to leave, saw her come in and happily walked over to take her hand. “Guess where we went today?”

“……I won’t guess.” Ning Qiuxiu said coldly, not interested at all.

“Don’t be like that,” Jing Jing said, “Okay, I’ll tell you. We went to the newly completed building called ‘Little Waist.’ Mr. Zhan said he’s going to start an entertainment company and will lease the 28th floor of Little Waist. We went to check it out today. Wow, it’s high-end and beautiful, with an amazing view. Working there would be a real pleasure.”

Ning Qiuxiu knew about the Little Waist building.

It had been a hot topic before, touted as a landmark building with a superb location, offering a great view of the most bustling area in City A.

Ning Qiuxiu thought, “……This Zhan Qingyue must be doing this on purpose!”

Damn it, she really wanted to see it too.