Li Si'ao and the others were responsible for the Huaji Hotel project and had temporarily created a WeChat group, into which Jiang Xu had also been pulled. This young master, Dou Xun, seemed quite easygoing but was actually very difficult to please. When asked what design style he liked, he just said "whatever," but after they produced several samples, he was dissatisfied with all of them, yet he couldn't say what exactly he was dissatisfied with.

The team had revised this set of drawings back and forth countless times, and their heads were aching. Li Si'ao had been slogging away for over half a month and, in the end, really couldn't take it anymore, so he had Jiang Xu take on the main responsibility of communicating with Dou Xun.

The client's money isn't easy to earn, especially for such a huge project. Jiang Xu had long understood this principle and maintained a rather Zen-like attitude. He only made some minor changes to the drawings and then sat at his computer browsing for furniture online.

Li Si'ao was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open. "Are your sample drawings done? Hurry up and send them to him, so we don't have to stay up all night making changes later."

Jiang Xu took a sip of water and said without turning his head, "Ah Sao, you're really pathetic. Look on the bright side, maybe it'll pass on the first try."

"Pah," Li Si'ao probably wanted to curse, but afraid that Gu Qingzhou, who was in his office, would hear, he barely managed to hold it back. He lowered his voice and said, "Do you really think that young master is easy to please? If it weren't for the high commission on this project, I would've quit long ago."

Jiang Xu didn't say anything, just compiled the sample drawings into a file and sent it to Fan Jiajia. The latter heard her phone chime and subconsciously glanced at it, then hesitantly reminded him, "Designer Jiang, you sent it to the wrong person. The Huaji project should be sent to Mr. Dou."

Jiang Xu popped a lollipop into his mouth and said calmly, "It's fine, just help me ask him if he's satisfied with the sample drawings. In the future, if you want to complete your apprenticeship, communicating with clients is a required course."

Hearing this, Fan Jiajia had no suspicions and obediently did as she was told. Li Si'ao frowned, not wanting an intern to handle such a task lest Dou Xun think them unprofessional. Just as he was about to say something, Fan Jiajia's pleasantly surprised voice suddenly rang out: "Designer Jiang, Mr. Dou said he's quite satisfied and told us to just proceed with the 3D renderings for the next phase."

Jiang Xu seemed to have anticipated this answer and wasn't surprised at all. Li Si'ao, on the other hand, looked like he'd seen a ghost. He copied the sample drawings over to have a look and found that Jiang Xu hadn't changed much at all. He asked in disbelief, "It passed just like that?"

Jiang Xu nodded and snapped his fingers. "Could there be any problem when the great beauty Fan takes charge?"

When she heard him mention Dou Xun, Fan Jiajia's ears turned slightly red. She sat down to continue her work without saying anything. Meanwhile, Fang Qia heard Jiang Xu call Fan Jiajia a beauty, subconsciously glanced at him, and then unhappily pressed her lips together.

Just then, someone from the water delivery company came to deliver a water jug. Usually, a few of the male colleagues would help install it. However, while someone installed the one in the breakroom, no one dared to go into the manager's office.

Seeing them pushing the responsibility onto each other, Jiang Xu tossed his mouse aside, pulled back his chair, and stood up. Without a word, he picked up the water jug and went in. Gu Qingzhou was working and probably didn't expect him to come in so suddenly. He was stunned for a moment and unconsciously twirled the fountain pen in his hand.

Jiang Xu closed the door behind him. Seeing Gu Qingzhou staring at him, he leaned against the door and said, "Stop staring. I'm here to change the water for you, old man."

At this, Gu Qingzhou's lips curled into a sarcastic smile, likely thinking the sun had risen from the west. He got up, tossed his pen aside, and walked to a spot a few steps away from Jiang Xu. Watching him deftly replace the water jug, he then eyed the white plastic stick by his mouth and asked, "What are you eating?"

The company had a rule against eating snacks during work hours, and Gu Qingzhou would never pass up any opportunity to make Jiang Xu go bankrupt.

But obviously, Jiang Xu misunderstood Gu Qingzhou's meaning. Hearing his question, he took the strawberry-flavored lollipop out of his mouth to show him. "A lollipop. What, you want some?"

He remembered that Gu Qingzhou seemed to be quite fond of sweets.

Hearing this, Gu Qingzhou seemed to laugh out of anger. He leaned leisurely against the edge of the desk and patted a stack of blue folders beside him. "Jiang Xu, don't say I'm targeting you. Eating snacks during work hours is subject to a fine. You couldn't possibly be unaware of that, could you?"

'Fines, fines, fines. Is that all you know?'

Jiang Xu had been letting Gu Qingzhou have his way recently, originally wanting to keep the peace. But who knew the other party would keep pushing his luck. This couldn't go on.

Gu Qingzhou could give him a hard time, that was fine. But giving his money a hard time? That was not.

Jiang Xu remained silent, quietly sizing him up. A moment later, he bit down on the hard candy in his mouth with a crunch. Then he took a step forward, planting his hands on either side of Gu Qingzhou. His deliberately lowered voice, unlike his usual cheerful demeanor, carried a dangerous chill. Biting the lollipop stick, he asked nonchalantly, "A fine? How much?"

Gu Qingzhou hadn't expected him to advance so suddenly. He instinctively took a step back but was blocked by the desk, unable to move. He silently clenched his fists, then slowly relaxed them a moment later, but still found it hard to withstand the man's extremely aggressive aura. Meeting Jiang Xu's gaze, unwilling to lose ground, his expression turned cold and arrogant as his lips curled. "I'll deduct however much I say."

Hearing this, Jiang Xu faintly raised an eyebrow, a playful look on his face, as if he hadn't heard clearly. Even though he usually appeared perfectly respectable, the flash of malice on his face betrayed the fact that he was still the same bad seed from all those years ago. Without warning, he leaned in close to Gu Qingzhou. "What did you say? I can't hear you."

The two were so close they could feel the warmth of each other's breath. Gu Qingzhou instinctively closed his eyes and turned his head away, avoiding the tips of Jiang Xu's hair that faintly brushed against his cheek. He raised a hand to push him away, but whether it was because he was too weak or Jiang Xu's stance was too firm, he couldn't budge him.

Jiang Xu was wearing a pure black shirt today, which brought out a hint of his inherent rebelliousness. Even his smile held an ambiguous coldness. Yet, right by Gu Qingzhou's ear, he was crunching on a strawberry hard candy, the kind girls usually liked. The rustling, glassy sound made his ear itch, almost replacing the sound of his own heartbeat.

Jiang Xu had made up his mind to teach Gu Qingzhou a lesson. He silently countered his struggles, then wrapped an arm around his waist, forcefully pulling him into his embrace. With a half-smile, he said, "What are you pushing for? It's not like we haven't hugged before."

Jiang Xu didn't like men. Back when they were dating, he would only give Gu Qingzhou a perfunctory hug when asked.

Every mention of the past was like a knife twisting in Gu Qingzhou's heart, mocking his past foolishness. There was obvious anger in Gu Qingzhou's eyes, but upon hearing those words, it suddenly dissipated, like magma doused with cold water, inexplicably turning into a bone-chillingly cold pool. He struggled against the hold on his waist, only to be held even tighter.

Seeing that he wasn't speaking, Jiang Xu found it boring. He patted his pants pocket, took out another lollipop, tore open the plastic wrapper with his teeth, then grabbed Gu Qingzhou's chin and forcibly shoved the matching strawberry-flavored lollipop into his mouth.

Jiang Xu spoke by his ear, his breath smelling of strawberry. "I'm the kind of person who likes to drag others down with me. When you deduct my fine later, Manager Gu, don't you dare forget to include your share."

After speaking, he patted Gu Qingzhou's waist. Deciding it felt nice, he gave it two more brazen squeezes. His eyes deep and frivolous, he said, "I'm going to the hallway for a smoke later. The management is welcome to come inspect, hmm?"

If Gu Qingzhou dared to come, Jiang Xu would dare to shove a cigarette in his mouth. It proved that just as he could wrap Gu Qingzhou around his finger a few years ago, he still had ways to handle him now.

After speaking, Jiang Xu released the arm around his waist and turned to leave. The instant he closed the door, a stack of files came flying, hitting the door with a dull thud. The clattering sound startled the people outside.

Li Si'ao was stunned, watching dumbfounded as Jiang Xu walked out. "Did you go in there to change the water jug or to blow up a pillbox?"

Hearing this, Jiang Xu glanced back at the closed office door, then sat back down in his seat. He casually tossed the lollipop stick from his mouth into the trash can and said only one sentence: "Something big has happened."

Li Si'ao was stunned for a moment before reacting. "How big of a deal can it be? You just argued with the boss, right? If you're thick-skinned about it, it's not like he can fire you."

'Does harassing the boss count as a big deal?'