Xu Zhu sat cross-legged on the floor, his laptop by his feet, surrounded by various chocolates, most of which had already been opened.
Whistling, he picked up a heart-shaped box of chocolates, compared it to the images and information on the laptop screen, and then added his own notes at the end of the entry.
"Ding dong—" The alarm rang.
"Yangshu, you've lost your keys," Xu Zhu grumbled as he stepped on the gap between the boxes and headed to the front door. "Yiran sister... Ranyi brother, please, just use your keys next time!"
Yi Peiran was dressed in men's clothing today, a simple white T-shirt and shorts, with a fresh face, no lipstick, no eye shadow. He lived just across the hall and came over with his slippers.
"Hey," Yi Peiran strolled over the snacks scattered all over the floor and into the living room, "are you launching a sale? What's all this?"
"Chocolate," Xu Zhu sat back down, pointing to several boxes closest to him, "I still need these, take the rest."
Yi Peiran collapsed onto the sofa, legs stretched out, and wrapped his neck, watching Xu Zhu work busily. He yawned and said, "No good, I'm on a diet recently."
Xu Zhu glanced at his skinny legs, feeling doubtful.
"Just got a new ad," Yi Peiran continued, "I have to wear a qipao."
"Umm" Xu Zhu responded, but after waiting for a while without hearing further details, he casually asked, "What ad?"
"A public service announcement," Yi Peiran said, "it's for your company."
Bingyou? Xu Zhu stopped typing and turned to look at him. "Which platform?" he asked.
Yi Peiran raised the corners of his mouth and said, "Subway station passage."
"Our city's?"
"Our city's," confirmed Xu Zhuo.
Xu Zhuo completely let go of the work in his hands, straightened up and faced him, sizing him up for a while, but found no trace of joking. He furrowed his brow and asked, "Have you made up your mind?"
Yi Peiran shrugged, smiling. "Come on, don't be so pessimistic, so as not to spoil your good mood."
Pessimistic? Your courage doesn't mean the problem doesn't exist. Xu Zhuo thought to himself, but, there will be such a day, and short pain is better than long pain. He never liked to meddle in other people's lives, so he turned back to pick up his notebook and continued working, asking, "Why am I in a good mood?"
"You're whistling and still not in a good mood?" Yi Peiran absentmindedly scraped the nail polish residue on his nails, "Is work going smoothly?"
"Just finished a busy period recently, I guess it's been fairly smooth sailing," Xu Zhuo said. Lai Mei Te eventually continued to cooperate with them, and the advertising effect seemed to be good so far. Although there were some hiccups in the other projects, none of them turned into major problems.
"I remember you said you offended President Byungyu last time, but things turned out okay."
Xu Zhuo didn't answer immediately. He opened the box in his hand, took out a piece of chocolate, tore open the dark gray packaging, took a small bite of the milk-colored ball, then spat it out with a "phew." This thing was completely out of line with its cold and minimalistic packaging, it was sickeningly sweet inside, and it was their most expensive one.
"He's not as terrifying as the rumors outside," he said, wiping his mouth. He threw the remaining half of the chocolate directly into the trash. "It's just...”
His mind suddenly went blank. Just what? Just a bit timid, and very concerned about his image. As long as he didn't expose his secrets, he probably wouldn't use his power to retaliate against him. At least he was still safe and sound for now, and hadn't been fired.
"Yeah?" Yi Peiran saw that he didn't continue and prompted him.
"President Du, well," Xu Zhuo said, "He's a pretty upright person, not a tyrant."
Yi Peiran immediately turned his head left and right, looking around.
Xu Zhuo was puzzled, "What are you looking for?"
"Nothing," he said innocently. "I'm just making sure that President Du isn't hiding anywhere with all the flattery you've been giving him."
"Get lost!" Xu Zhuo said.
Yi Peiran chuckled, "I'm going to the Byungyu studio to shoot tomorrow. Will you be there? 9:30 in the morning."
That's about the time he's going to work, Xu Zhuo asked, "Are you going straight from home?"
Yi Peiran nodded.
"Okay, I'll come with you."
The next morning, the doorbell rang before 9 o'clock, and Xu Zhuo reluctantly opened the door for him. There stood a charming woman in a French style, wearing a polka dot high-waisted dress, with a bobbed haircut, red lips, and wearing shallow flat shoes.
"Bonjour," said the beautiful woman with a smile.
Xu Zhuo slung his bag over his shoulder and asked, "I thought it was a cheongsam?"
"We have to wear them too."
"Wait for me to get something," Xu Zhuo suddenly remembered and ran back to the living room, coming out with a stuffed cloth bag.
"What's this?" Yi Peiran asked.
"The leftover chocolate from yesterday," Xu Zhuo changed his shoes, backed up and closed the door, "Let's go, don't be late."
They arrived at Byungyu five minutes before 9:30, ready to go straight to the studio. He informed his subordinates and arranged the morning tasks in the group chat, and then privately reminded a few people of some important matters.
The lobby on the first floor was crowded with people waiting for the elevator, and the two of them lined up at the back of the line.
"So many people," Yi Peiran murmured, holding Xu Zhuo's arm. He was half a head shorter than the other, tall and slim, with fair skin and red lips, emitting an air of charm.
"Boss!" someone called out from the front of the line. Xu Zhuo looked over the heads of the people and saw Luo Yuanshan waving at him, so he waved back.
"Take a look at the location," Xu Zhuo said to Yi Peiran, running to Luo Yuanshan's side and handing her two boxes of chocolate, "Take these up and distribute them to everyone."
Luo Yuanshan took them and winked at him, teasing, "Sister-in-law is a real beauty."
Xu Zhuo didn't know how many times he had been misunderstood, when Yi Peiran wore women's clothes next to him in college, he would be called sister-in-law, and he didn't bother to explain. He simply replied, "Just friends. The elevator is here, you go in."
Luo Yuanshan clearly didn't believe him, smiling like an aunt as she squeezed into the elevator, and Xu Zhuo returned to his position, only to see Yi Peiran smiling at him with a twisted mouth.
Xu Zhuo said, "Are your facial muscles twitching, Ranran?"
Yi Peiran hooked his arm, teasing, "I didn't expect your company to have so many beauties, eyeing that one just now?"
Xu Zhuo was teased twice in a minute, feeling very helpless. "She's my subordinate."
"So what if she's your subordinate," Yi Peiran pouted, "If you're planning to get married within three years, shouldn't you at least start dating instead of staying single?"
"I have to establish myself in the company first," Xu Zhuo said, "It also depends on fate."
Yi Peiran sniffed, obviously not agreeing with his point of view. They waited for almost ten minutes before finally taking the elevator and arriving at the photo studio. The scene was almost set, and the project leader briefed them on the situation before Yi Peiran went to find the costume designer.
Half of the people on the scene were employees of Byungyu. Although Xu Zhuo hadn't seen much of them, he still had to maintain good relationships with his colleagues. He took out the chocolate to distribute to everyone. These chocolates were high-end products from an international brand, and people in their line of work often received samples from clients. Their colleagues understood this, so no one was being polite.
"What flavor is this box?" asked a female colleague, pointing to a small, delicate dark blue box.
"It seems to be milk," Xu Zhuo recalled, it was the one he didn't like, "Sickeningly sweet."
"In that case, I don't want it."
Everybody laughed and picked and chose around Xu Zhuo, but the dark blue box in his hand remained untouched.
"What are these many people doing?"
A mature woman's voice came from behind, and everyone turned around to see, instantly falling silent. Awkwardly, they didn't know whether to continue unwrapping or not, and dared not look at the newcomer.
Several senior executives in suits and other accompanying staff came, with the expressionless Mr. Du in the middle.
The person asking the question was a woman in her forties, exuding a strong, confident aura, with a friendly demeanor. She smiled slightly and said, "What good news do you have to share with us?"
Indeed, it was to share, but it was mostly already shared. Xu Zhuo felt that there was nothing else except...
He also smiled and said, "Chocolates from a client," everyone's eyes immediately focused on him, "If Mr. Du doesn't mind, I have a box here."
He took a few steps forward, handed it to Mr. Du, and added, "It's very sweet."