Ever since the meeting concluded, Mr. Gu's expression hadn't improved.
The company staff could only sense Mr. Gu's bad mood, but didn't know why. They looked at each other, unsure of what to say.
Only Wen Ning and Assistant Lin, seeing through but not revealing, advised Mr. Gu to finish work early and go back to rest.
With the end of the year approaching, only the finance department and a few special departments worked hard. Mr. Gu could still go back to rest earlier.
After Mr. Gu returned home, he looked at the tightly shut door opposite him, his heart growing more dejected.
This girl was heartless.
In the evening, he cooked two dishes and served rice. After sitting down, he realized both dishes were Xia Qingtian's favorites, and he had instinctively cooked enough rice for two people.
Xia Qingtian had been busy on set recently, and he was used to eating alone. When he was busy, he often didn't even have time to eat. How could he make so many mistakes today?
Moreover, he himself had agreed to Xia Qingtian participating in the dating show. How could he… be so damn bothered?
Pushing the thought aside, Mr. Gu glanced at his phone while eating.
Since receiving Xia Qingtian's message at the meeting, informing him that she wouldn't be coming over for dinner and would spend the New Year at home, the girl hadn't contacted him again.
So, what was their relationship?
Food buddies?
This irritable feeling persisted until after dinner, when Xia Honglang suddenly called.
"Mobius?" Mr. Gu's throat felt a bit tight. "She… mentioned Mobius?"
"Yes, she mentioned him many times. Qingtian said he's Mr. Gu's special assistant?" Xia Honglang was still very worried, especially after Xia Qingtian mentioned bringing two peaches for Mobius after the meal. Xia Honglang felt it was even stranger.
"Is that so? Mentioned him many times…" Mr. Gu's lips curved into a subtle arc, then he cleared his throat and said, "Yes, there is such a person named Mobius. He… is very reliable, has strong work capabilities, is devoted and serious, a man worthy of trust."
Praising himself profusely, a blush spread across Mr. Gu's face, yet his tone remained calm and indifferent, as if stating an objective fact. This added a bit of credibility to his somewhat unconfident self-praise.
"Is… that so?" Xia Honglang, hearing Mr. Gu's words, was genuinely swayed. "Then I'm much more relieved."
"This child Qingtian has no ulterior motives since she was young. When she was three, she was abducted while shopping with her mother.
When she was five, during the parent-finding segment at the kindergarten sports meet, she found the wrong father.
At ten, she must have overheard something and insisted on taking the bus to school herself. As a result, she was late 12 times in a month and got lost three times. If her mother hadn't put a GPS tracker in the interlayer of her schoolbag out of worry, who knows where she might have wandered off to. Once, she took the bus so far out of the city that I thought she'd been kidnapped. Later, after she was found, I learned she'd taken the wrong bus and fallen asleep on it.
At thirteen, she injured her knee while dancing ballet, and afterwards, her knee would ache whenever it touched cold water. To save a puppy that had fallen into the water, she jumped into the winter lake. She jumped in, but the puppy, in its panic, learned to doggy paddle and swam away on its own, while she started drowning…"
If Xia Honglang were to recount Xia Qingtian's mishaps in detail, he could talk until dawn.
"Pfft." Mr. Gu knew that laughing out loud at this moment might be a bit impolite.
In fact, he was professional in this regard, unless he truly couldn't help himself.
Hearing Mr. Gu's laughter, Xia Honglang realized he had said a bit too much. "Cough, cough, in short… Qingtian is good in every way, except she's a bit dim-witted since childhood, no, she's too trusting of others, so I can't help but worry about her."
"As a parent, I hope Mr. Gu won't laugh at these concerns," Xia Honglang felt he should still defend his daughter a bit. "After all, Qingtian has many good qualities."
"Mr. Xia, please rest assured. Xia Qingtian has proven her excellence through her own abilities. Everyone at Gu's Entertainment likes her very much. Projects concerning her are always carefully considered before being accepted, ensuring they are beneficial to her development."
Mr. Gu was being quite honest about this.
"That's good, thank you Mr. Gu for taking care of her. After the New Year, I will definitely find time to visit with Qingtian to express my gratitude." Xia Honglang said with a slight smile.
Absolutely unnecessary!
If Xia Honglang brought Xia Qingtian, wouldn't his secret be revealed?
"Thank you for your kind offer, Mr. Xia, but I have to return to Kyoto this year and may not be back until later in the new year. I also have many projects. If there's a suitable time, I will definitely bring gifts to visit and thank you for your cooperation." Mr. Gu immediately declined politely.
Hearing Mr. Gu say that, Xia Honglang didn't insist further. Anyway, he had only called to know if that Mobius was reliable. With that in mind, he felt relieved.
It wasn't until the phone call ended that Xia Honglang suddenly realized.
Wait a minute, if Gu's Entertainment was taking such good care of Xia Qingtian, when would Xia Qingtian be able to leave the entertainment industry and inherit the Xia Corporation?
He still had that project reserved for Xia Qingtian!
However, it wasn't appropriate for Xia Honglang to call back now and tell Mr. Gu not to take care of Xia Qingtian. That would seem like he had a serious problem.
After much deliberation, Xia Honglang silently logged into his account and sent a message.
【Chairman of Xia Qingtian Haters Committee v: Will Xia Qingtian leave the entertainment industry next year? Xia Qingtian, hurry up and leave the entertainment industry!】
Immediately after sending this, Xia Honglang received a new private message.
【Xia Qingtian Haters Committee - Member 107: Chairman, we are planning several major protest activities after the New Year, and we need funds. What do you think about calling on Xia Qingtian's haters to organize a crowdfunding?】
Protest activities?
Xia Honglang thought this matter might have potential.
If there were protest activities, perhaps Xia Qingtian would be so discouraged that she would decide to quit the entertainment industry?
【Chairman of Xia Qingtian Haters Committee v: How much money is needed?】
【Xia Qingtian Haters Committee - Member 107: At least thirty to fifty thousand, maybe up to a hundred thousand…】
Only thirty to fifty thousand? Is that enough?
【Chairman of Xia Qingtian Haters Committee v: No need to crowdfund. I'll provide one hundred thousand. Find a few reliable people to plan it together, and then just submit the invoices to me for reimbursement.】
【Xia Qingtian Haters Committee - Member 107: !!! Chairman, you're awesome!】
Soon, Member 107 of the Xia Qingtian Haters Committee publicized the matter, rallying a group of Xia Qingtian's haters in the fastest time. Everyone was eager to get started.
Causing trouble with someone else's money, this was too damn awesome!