Dou Xun's girlfriend was named Fan Jiajia. She was a girl with a neat and fresh appearance, her hair tied in a ponytail. She probably knew she got in through connections, so she seemed a bit reserved. When she came to the company to report for duty, she was so nervous she didn't know where to put her hands and feet.

Gu Qingzhou briefly glanced at her resume and found that she had indeed studied design, just as Dou Xun had said. He asked a few questions as per procedure, then led Fan Jiajia to the outer office. He rapped his knuckles on a desk and said to the people working, "This is the company's new intern. We'll add a spot for her here later. The male colleagues, please lend a hand."

When interns first arrive, they are usually assigned a mentor. However, few people were willing to take on this task. After all, rookies were hard to teach, and they didn't have enough time in their line of work. Who had the spare time to guide a newcomer?

Li Si'ao hesitantly spoke up, "Manager, who would be a good person to train the newcomer?"

Gu Qingzhou's gaze swept over each of them. He didn't answer, but instead asked Li Si'ao back, "Who do you think is suitable?"

The few male designers who were already married didn't say anything. Mentoring a young girl was a good thing, but it would require approval from the tigress at home. Female employees like Fang Qia weren't skilled enough yet and didn't have the ability to take on an apprentice. After passing the buck around, it unexpectedly landed on Jiang Xu.

Li Si'ao had the same idea. Hearing this, he asked tentatively, "How about Jiang Xu? I think he's quite suitable."

The right age, the right looks. If these two got together, maybe sparks would fly.

Jiang Xu hadn't gotten involved at all. Upon hearing this, he immediately refused, "No, I don't know how to teach an apprentice. She's a nice young girl, don't let me ruin her. Better find someone more reliable."

Jiang Xu had no other skills, but he was a pro at leading people astray. Back then, Gu Qingzhou had such good grades, consistently ranking first in class. The head teacher practically worshipped him like a Buddha. But later, after spending time tutoring Jiang Xu, his mock exam scores were dragged down to the bottom of the class.

When the head teacher saw the grade rankings, his face turned pale. Holding a large tea mug, he gave Jiang Xu a thumbs-up in front of the whole class, stating bluntly that Jiang Xu was the student he admired most in his life, bar none. "You're amazing, Jiang Xu, you're amazing! You managed to drag the class's number one all the way down to second to last. There are over forty people between them! I'm just baffled, how did you do it?! How did you do it?!"

Jiang Xu didn't know how he did it either. Maybe his slacker vibes were too strong, and he accidentally infected the top student?

After that, whenever Gu Qingzhou tried to tutor him again, Jiang Xu wouldn't listen. The second to last student explaining problems to the last place student? Forget it.

At that time, the two were still in a relationship. Jiang Xu, the school tyrant who skipped class and fought every day, had a rare moment of clarity. He felt he couldn't affect Gu Qingzhou's studies, so he directly requested from the head teacher to sit alone next to the most dangerous spot—the teacher's podium. Otherwise, while other couples who tutored each other both got into Qinghua and Peking Universities, the two of them would have had to drop out of school to become manual laborers.

Jiang Xu shamelessly thought that he hadn't been that much of a scumbag back then; he had made a tiny little sacrifice for Gu Qingzhou. Just as he was feeling moved by his own actions, a somewhat cold voice by his ear pulled him back to reality.

Gu Qingzhou directly and selectively ignored Li Si'ao's suggestion. "Have Fang Qia train Fan Jiajia. They're both girls, so it's more convenient. Li Si'ao, you can help out on the side. If anything comes up, you can find me."

After speaking, Gu Qingzhou left, leaving Fang Qia with a dumbfounded expression. Fan Jiajia bowed to everyone embarrassedly and said, "Hello everyone, I'm Fan Jiajia. You can just call me Jiajia. If there's anything I don't understand, please guide me."

Jiang Xu just found it strange. After all, it seemed the company wasn't recruiting. Where did this intern come from? Still, he got up and followed Li Si'ao to help move the desk. When he returned, he saw that Fang Qia and Fan Jiajia were already chatting away. He didn't know if it was about celebrity chasing or cosmetics, but in any case, the atmosphere was lively.

Li Si'ao said, "Move Fan Jiajia's desk further away. One Fang Qia is already noisy enough. The two of them together are worse than five thousand ducks."

After saying that, he moved the desk directly opposite Jiang Xu. There was a partition in between, so it wouldn't be awkward during normal work.

Jiang Xu rolled his eyes. "You're really something."

During the lunch break, everyone went out to eat. Jiang Xu was too lazy to move, so he sat at his desk playing a game while waiting for his takeout. Then he noticed that Fan Jiajia hadn't left either. Just as he was about to ask her something, he saw Dou Xun walk in from outside.

It was already this late. He couldn't be here to ask Li Si'ao to revise a design. It was eighty percent likely he was here for Gu Qingzhou.

Jiang Xu glanced over and then looked away, not paying it any mind. Unexpectedly, Dou Xun walked straight to Fan Jiajia's desk, leaned on it, and started talking to her. Every word of their conversation carried over.

Dou Xun asked, "Hey, how do you feel about your first day at the company?"

Fan Jiajia was a little embarrassed. "It's great, but I've troubled you too much."

Dou Xun said dismissively, "What's there to be afraid of? I'm very familiar with your Manager Gu. Arranging for one person is a piece of cake. But speaking of which, how are you going to thank me? A meal is a must, right?"

Jiang Xu heard this and thought to himself, 'This guy is a real scumbag, not just an ordinary one.' He was leading Gu Qingzhou on while using his connections to pick up girls. He couldn't stand listening anymore, so he got up and went to the hallway to smoke.

He had been slumped over his desk, so at first glance, it looked like no one was there. His sudden movement startled Fan Jiajia. Dou Xun, however, had no reaction, merely sizing Jiang Xu up with an unreadable expression before looking away and continuing to talk to her.

Jiang Xu was a veteran smoker, having started in middle school. But he wasn't addicted; he simply liked the feeling of breathing out clouds of smoke, and it was a way to kill time. He leaned his back against the hallway wall and peeked inside. He saw Dou Xun with his arm around Fan Jiajia's shoulder, whispering something to her. They looked very intimate. 'These two are outrageously bold,' he thought.

Just as he was pondering this, the cigarette in his mouth was suddenly snatched away.

Jiang Xu came back to his senses and looked up to see Gu Qingzhou standing in front of him at some unknown point. Gu Qingzhou's fingertips were holding the very cigarette he had just been smoking. Jiang Xu subconsciously glanced into the office, then straightened up to block his view.

Gu Qingzhou's voice was, as usual, cold when he spoke. Despite the hot weather, his white shirt was buttoned all the way to the collar, giving him an ascetic and strict air. His eyes seemed to be constantly searching for others' faults. "Do you know that smoking is not allowed in the company?"

Jiang Xu was unconcerned. With one hand in his pocket, he replied perfunctorily, "I had a craving. Couldn't help it."

Gu Qingzhou extinguished the cigarette butt on the trash can. "Next time you need to smoke, you can go to the restroom."

Jiang Xu found it hard to understand his logic and said incredulously, "I'm going for a smoke, not to eat shit. Why would I go to the restroom?"

Wouldn't it fucking stink?

Gu Qingzhou hit him where it hurt. "If you don't want to be fined, then just obediently go to the restroom."

After saying this, he walked straight past him towards the office. Jiang Xu was silent for a second, then, as if he suddenly realized something, he reflexively grabbed Gu Qingzhou's hand and yanked him back. "Wait!"

That shameless couple inside hasn't left yet!

Gu Qingzhou didn't understand why Jiang Xu was reacting so strongly. He subconsciously glanced at the hand gripping his own and frowned imperceptibly, trying to pull away, only to be pushed against the wall by Jiang Xu.

A crack finally appeared in Gu Qingzhou's usually icy expression, replaced by indignant anger. Seeing that no one was around, he hissed in a low voice, "Jiang Xu!"

Jiang Xu ignored him and glanced inside. Good, the two of them hadn't separated yet. He slammed one hand against the wall, blocking Gu Qingzhou's path, and said impatiently, turning his head, "What's the rush? Can't old classmates catch up?"

The two of them were too close. Gu Qingzhou could even smell the lingering scent of tobacco on Jiang Xu. Noticing the impatience in his tone, he unconsciously pressed his lips together. "Catch up? I don't think there's anything for us to catch up on. Move."

Jiang Xu didn't move. Gu Qingzhou was a person who put feelings above all else, as gullible as a fool. The moment he fell in love, his IQ would plummet. If he wasn't the one to suffer, who would be? And here he was, with the best of intentions, only to get the cold shoulder.

Jiang Xu had been feeling quite stifled recently and wanted to tease him. He deliberately spoke close to Gu Qingzhou's face, his voice low and somewhat seductive. "That's what you think. I don't feel that way. You may not have anything to catch up with me about, but I have things I want to catch up with you about. What should we do?"

Trapped in the crook of his arm, Gu Qingzhou couldn't get out. His breathing hitched for a moment, and he could even feel the light tickle of Jiang Xu's cool nose brushing against the side of his face. His body stiffened, and he helplessly closed his eyes, unable to say a word. At this moment, he looked rather pathetic.

Gu Qingzhou silently gritted his teeth. After a long moment, he managed to force out one word: "...Move."

So he would.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xu raised an eyebrow nonchalantly. He then grabbed Gu Qingzhou's shoulder, pulled him to the doorway, and pointed inside. "Fine, I'll move. But you'd better take a good look."

Your boyfriend is cheating on you right behind your back. Aren't you going to go up and slap him hard across the face?

The two of them had the powerful aura of people catching a cheater in the act, which even startled Dou Xun. He subconsciously looked up at the doorway, only to see both Gu Qingzhou and Jiang Xu outside. With a puzzled expression, he pointed at them and said, "What are you two... doing?"

Jiang Xu was pressed close behind Gu Qingzhou, one hand on his shoulder. From Dou Xun's perspective, the posture was a little too intimate.

Seeing this, Gu Qingzhou finally snapped out of his previous state. He glanced sideways at Jiang Xu, a strand of his hair having fallen from the earlier movement. "What did you want me to see?"

Dou Xun wasn't trying to hide his relationship with Fan Jiajia. Seeing Gu Qingzhou appear, he didn't show the slightest hint of guilt, not looking at all like someone caught cheating.

Seeing this, Jiang Xu paused. He finally realized belatedly that he might have misunderstood something. Because Gu Qingzhou was gay and never liked to get close to others, when Jiang Xu saw him being so intimate with Dou Xun, he had jumped to the conclusion that they were dating.

Facing Gu Qingzhou's less-than-friendly gaze, he couldn't help but fall into an awkward silence.

Damn it, what a screw-up.

A moment later, Jiang Xu nonchalantly raised his hand and looked down to pat the non-existent dust on Gu Qingzhou's shoulder. "Manager, look, that green plantain next to the water cooler is already a bit wilted. Shouldn't we replace it with a new one?"

Gu Qingzhou impassively pulled his hand off his shoulder. "...Are you going to pay for it?"

He knew best how to step on Jiang Xu's sore spot.

Jiang Xu thought, 'Other people come to work to earn money, why should I be the one to spend it?' Gu Qingzhou's temper was the same as before; the more you indulge him, the worse he gets. "That won't be necessary. Actually, just watering it should be enough. It might even survive."

After saying that, he patted his head and made an excuse to slip away. "Ah, I just remembered, my takeout is still downstairs. Manager, I'll go get it first. We can talk when I get back."

Dou Xun watched him leave, then turned to study Gu Qingzhou's expression. Recalling the unspeakable relationship the two once had, he wondered if old flames were about to be rekindled. "What kind of drama are you two putting on?"

Gu Qingzhou didn't speak. He pulled his gaze back from Jiang Xu's departing figure, then looked down at the shoulder he had touched. He paused for a second before patting it. "It's nothing."

The author has something to say:

Dou Xun: I hear someone wants to slap me hard across the face???

Jiang Xu: ...