"What? Is our Director Xia afraid?"
Seeing Xia Yuqing's face change, Xue Mei's attitude became even more arrogant, her face filled with triumph.
"In the end, you're just a pretty vase who relies on men for a living. Now that the boss doesn't want you anymore, let's see how arrogant you can be."
"Enough!"
Xia Yuqing could no longer stand her mockery and couldn't help but roar.
"I said, Deputy Director Xue, have you finished your work?"
"I find you have an astonishing talent for meddling in other people's business. Why are you so interested in other people's personal matters?"
"I am your leader now. You're not doing your job during work hours and instead are here gossiping. I think you don't want your bonus this month."
Xia Yuqing was no longer the timid, obedient girl from the factory who was bad at arguing. Her temper now was no less fierce than Xue Mei's.
Xue Mei was rendered speechless by the retort, her face turning red as she stood in place.
The usually quiet Xia Yuqing was surprisingly so assertive today, instantly making her a joke in the eyes of her colleagues.
"Hmph, what's so great about that? We'll see."
"When you no longer have CEO Song's support, I'll see how arrogant you can be."
After speaking, Xue Mei turned and returned to her workstation.
Seeing this, the surrounding colleagues also quickly dispersed, returning to their own workstations to avoid being caught in the crossfire of their argument.
Song Qiao, due to the alcohol, slept until eight or nine in the morning.
Recalling his drunken state last night, he couldn't help but pat his forehead, feeling a surge of regret.
"What is all this."
"My thousand-cup-not-fall drinking capacity, and yesterday I got so thoroughly drunk."
After a simple wash-up, just as he was about to drive to the company, Yuan Jianan's call came in.
"Song Qiao, I'm planning to go to your company today. Can you give me a ride? Our studio's car is in for maintenance."
Song Qiao shook his still groggy head and didn't think much of it.
"No problem. Wait for me at the rightmost intersection of your road. I'll be there in ten minutes."
After speaking, Song Qiao hastily hung up the phone.
He didn't know if his wife had calmed down yet. He wanted to rush to the company as soon as possible to comfort her.
...
After picking up Yuan Jianan, Song Qiao saw that she hadn't eaten breakfast. They found a roadside breakfast shop to grab a bite. Coincidentally, Xue Mei, who was passing by, saw them. With her narrow-mindedness, she immediately made some assumptions, which led to her sarcastic remarks to Xia Yuqing.
"Song Qiao, this is the design draft I stayed up all night to make. Take a look and see if there's anything you think needs improvement."
As soon as they got out of the car and entered the company, Yuan Jianan eagerly took out a stack of documents from her bag and handed them to Song Qiao.
"Jianan, thank you for your hard work." Song Qiao was touched, surprised that she was so dedicated to his company's affairs.
Yuan Jianan smiled and waved her hand, saying, "This is nothing. For us designers, working overtime through the night is the norm. Besides, I only stayed up a little late last night."
Song Qiao didn't stand on ceremony and began to carefully review Yuan Jianan's draft.
As he read, he asked Yuan Jianan for clarification on any issues he didn't understand, and Yuan Jianan patiently answered all his questions.
"Good morning, Ms. Xia."
As they were talking, Xia Yuqing happened to walk down from upstairs and witnessed this scene.
"Good morning, Ms. Yuan."
Xia Yuqing hesitated for a moment and nodded unnaturally in response.
Song Qiao hadn't returned home all night, and Xue Mei had said she saw them together early in the morning. This made her feel a flicker of misunderstanding again.
She cast a resentful glance at Song Qiao, wanting to question her husband about where he went last night, but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to say it.
Yesterday, she was the one who had stubbornly ignored her husband, and the consequences today were her own doing.
Thinking of this, Xia Yuqing's nose began to sting again. Holding back tears, she glanced at Song Qiao.
"I have something to attend to. You and Ms. Yuan chat first."
With that, she turned and fled upstairs as if escaping, avoiding them both.
Seeing this, Song Qiao didn't think much of it, merely assuming that his wife still needed time to get over yesterday's incident. He continued to discuss the design proposal with Yuan Jianan.
"Yo, now you've seen it with your own eyes. Do you know I wasn't lying to you?"
As soon as Xia Yuqing reached the second floor, Xue Mei suddenly appeared from somewhere, launching into another round of sarcastic taunts.
"Xue Mei, you've taken unauthorized breaks twice today. Your bonus this month is canceled."
Xia Yuqing coldly glared at her, ignoring her mockery, and directly played her trump card.
"You..."
Xue Mei was furious and wanted to rush forward to retort. But for some reason, her eyes suddenly rolled, and a mischievous smile appeared.
"What's so great about that? You'll regret it sooner or later."
...
Downstairs, after reviewing all the design drafts, Song Qiao nodded in satisfaction and returned them to Yuan Jianan, smiling as he said:
"Jianan, I am very satisfied with your designs. We will officially sign the contract today, and all future product packaging and design series will be handled by your studio."
"As for the cost, I will pay you the highest market price."
"Ah, how can that be? We're not a well-known studio. We don't need that much. And with so many designs, what if we can't handle it?"
Yuan Jianan was stunned and quickly waved her hands, about to refuse.
"What's there to worry about? I have great faith in your potential."
Song Qiao patted her shoulder, signaling her to relax.
Yuan Jianan still hesitated, saying with some uncertainty:
"Then let's try it first. If you're not satisfied with anything later, please tell me immediately."
Although she felt anxious, she really wanted to take on this project with her own abilities.
After all, "Xiang Piaopiao" was becoming more and more famous, and in a few years, it would likely become a national sensation.
At that time, trademark designers like them would also see their value skyrocket due to the product's popularity.
This kind of achievement, stemming from famous designs, was a dream pursued by Yuan Jianan.
Now that Song Qiao had given her this opportunity, she couldn't help but feel grateful from the bottom of her heart.
"Of course. I'm very strict. I definitely won't hesitate to give you feedback because of our relationship."
Song Qiao laughed heartily, joking with Yuan Jianan.
Hearing him say this, Yuan Jianan finally felt at ease. Although she really wanted to take on this order, she absolutely did not want it to be because Song Qiao was helping her out of consideration for their old classmate relationship.