The crowd had not yet recovered from the shock that Qiao Ci was the boss behind the scenes, only to learn that she was also the pioneer of holographic games. Now, they were directly force-fed a dose of public affection.
They were overwhelmed, unable to process it all.
Qi Che proposed to Qiao Ci, but they dared not make a fuss, as they were not familiar with Qiao Ci.
She was the one who paid their salaries. What if their boisterousness displeased her, and she stopped paying them?
Especially since Qiao Ci had proposed the initial plan for the holographic game. Several core members had seen that plan. It could be said that without that plan, the game "Encounter" could not have been created.
Yun Wanwan and Yu Shu looked at Qi Che and Qiao Ci with complicated expressions.
Yun Wanwan's eyes were filled with unwillingness, while Yu Shu's held a faint disappointment, which she quickly concealed as if it were just an illusion.
Qiao Ci looked at Qi Che, the man who had transformed from a naive high school student to one capable of handling affairs independently.
For five years, he had remained devoted to her, in this life and in countless previous ones.
"Okay," Qiao Ci heard her own voice, warm and firm.
Qi Che knew Qiao Ci would agree, but he didn't expect to feel so excited upon hearing her "okay."
The girl he had loved for five years had agreed to marry him.
He placed the meticulously prepared ring on Qiao Ci's ring finger, then gently kissed her hand.
"Thank you for staying with me for so long."
"For the rest of our lives, please continue to love me."
Qiao Ci met the man's deep black eyes, her own eyes curving as she replied, "Okay."
The crowd watched as the usually aloof, indifferent, confident, and powerful man knelt on one knee before Qiao Ci, as if gazing upon his goddess.
So humble, yet so devoted.
The spacious private room fell silent, no one daring to speak, fearing they might disturb them.
Qi Che stood up, kissed Qiao Ci's forehead, and his clear voice, tinged with huskiness, declared, "I love you."
Immediately after, cheers erupted from the crowd.
"Marriage, marriage! Haha, we can eat Brother Che's wedding candies."
"Congratulations to Brother Che for winning the beauty!"
"It should be said, congratulations to our boss lady for acquiring a loyal puppy, haha~"
"How dare you say that about Brother Che? Do you not want to work here anymore?"
"Get lost! Didn't you see Brother Che smiling with satisfaction after I said that?"
The entire room was filled with excitement. Qi Che pulled Qiao Ci back to their seats.
Late at night, Xiao Shaozi, in celebration of the host's beloved offspring successfully proposing, had cleaned the entire house.
Hearing footsteps outside the door, before anyone could even produce a key to open it, Xiao Shaozi ran over and lifted its front paws to twist the doorknob.
Qi Che and Qiao Ci exchanged a smile, then Qi Che patted Xiao Shaozi's dog head. Xiao Shaozi immediately became excited, jumping around but maintaining enough sense not to damage any furniture.
Qi Che found Qiao Ci more perfect in every way. Even the husky she had adopted was so unique, as if it had become sentient.
Qi Che lay in bed after showering, his emotions still unsettled, his mind fixated on giving Qiao Ci a grand wedding...
"Knock, knock, knock."
A knock sounded at the door. He quickly got up to open it, wondering why Qiao Ci was looking for him so late.
Upon seeing Qiao Ci in pajamas, holding a pillow, he asked somewhat bewilderedly, "A Ci?"
Qiao Ci, as a matter of course, walked past him into the room, placed her pillow next to his, and stated righteously, "Sleep."
She had been starved for five years, not even getting a proper hug. A definite demerit!
Now that it was official, it had to happen!
???
Qi Che's heart suddenly pounded faster, his gaze darting away. "Um, after we get married..."
At this point, Qiao Ci had already nestled into the covers, looking at him and urging, "Sleep quickly, I'm sleepy."
Qi Che: ...
He repeatedly reminded himself not to cross any lines before they got their marriage certificate. Nervously, with his feet out of sync, he walked to the bedside and lay down right on the edge of the bed.
Then, a soft hand reached out and pulled him over, and immediately a warm, soft body snuggled into his embrace.
Feeling the long-awaited embrace, Qiao Ci closed her eyes contentedly.
Watching Qiao Ci quickly fall asleep, Qi Che's tense emotions gradually calmed, his eyes filled with unfathomable doting and tenderness.
Xiao Shaozi, meanwhile, was snoring loudly on its pale yellow sofa, filling the room. It was simply too tired. Fortunately, it didn't have hands, otherwise, the cooking duties would likely have fallen to it too.
Thankfully, the room's soundproofing was quite good. Otherwise, given the host's personality, she would definitely have made it sleep by the door, woo woo woo...
*
"What? Why am I being fired?" Yun Wanwan arrived at the studio first thing in the morning, only to find a blank resignation letter on her desk.
Zheng Ping looked at Yun Wanwan and said, "Don't you know the reason yourself?"
"You were being passive-aggressive in front of Brother Che's girlfriend. While I knew you had feelings for Brother Che, you were self-aware enough not to show it too obviously. But the moment Brother Che's girlfriend appeared, you lost it..."
"Sigh, I reminded you when you joined the studio... You should seek employment elsewhere."
Yun Wanwan was furious. The studio was on the verge of taking off, and she was being fired. What was this supposed to mean?
Holographic games were only in their initial stages of widespread adoption. Their development would surely be even brighter in the future.
In fact, after going home last night, she regretted what she had said. She came to work today with a sense of unease, and indeed, trouble had arisen.
However, her protests were useless. If she refused, the company would forcibly terminate her employment, and she would receive what was due to her according to the labor contract.
Rather than that, it was better to resign with her dignity intact.
Yu Shu observed with her eyes focused on her nose and her nose on her mouth. Her slight feelings for Qi Che had completely vanished, and she no longer dared to entertain them.
Later, when holographic games were fully launched, Qi Che, as their initial developer, became known to everyone. Countless investors wanted to collaborate with him, including Qiao's father.
Once holographic games were released, they utterly crushed existing games, leaving nothing but dregs. The future of gaming belonged to holographic games, and others lacked this technology. Only Qi Che's studio possessed it.
In an instant, Qi Che became a sought-after commodity.
One day, as Qiao Xu returned home, he was summoned to the study by Qiao's father.
Because Qiao Xu and Qiao Ci were close, Qiao's father, considering Qiao Ci's achievement as the top scorer in the college entrance examination, had not interfered. He had wanted Qiao Xu to coax Qiao Ci back.
Who would have thought he was so useless? For so many years, Qiao Ci hadn't even returned home, yet he had repeatedly gone to the imperial capital, desperate.
Qiao's father was deeply displeased, and his attitude towards Qiao Xu was very cold.
"Dad, what's wrong?" Qiao Xu asked eagerly, noticing Qiao's father's improved demeanor.
Qiao's father felt a bit embarrassed about what he was about to say. After taking a sip of tea, he asked, "Do you still have contact with Qiao Ci?"
"Dad, isn't that a silly question? I went to the imperial capital just a few days ago."