Chapter 9

Xia Jun: [I replaced the floor cleaner they use to scrub the toilets with peanut oil. Let them all slip and fall!]

Zhou Jingcheng: "...?"

He turned his head slightly and looked toward the restroom.

Cries of "Ow, damn it," "Fuck, that hurts," and "Get off me" kept coming from inside. A bunch of people were piled together like rolled-up jianbing pancakes at a breakfast stand.

So this was how they were waging a business war against him?

Zhou Jingcheng laughed. He locked his phone and strode toward one of the culprits.

Shi Jihan was grinning without the slightest restraint as Malice Points kept chiming in his ear.

[Holy shit, money's falling from the sky!]

He had gained 13.75 points in just that short while.

Just as he was laughing, a shadow fell over him.

He looked up and met the eyes of the one handing out all that money.

Zhou Jingcheng braced both hands against the back of Shi Jihan's chair and looked down at him, as though seeing him for the first time.

Under the close scrutiny of those inky-black eyes, Shi Jihan felt guilty for once.

"Ahem." He cleared his throat and sat up straighter, looking a little uncomfortable. "Well, aren't you going to check out the samples with Brother Huai and the others?"

"I have a dedicated fitting coordination team. They need to earn their salaries." Zhou Jingcheng's gaze was drawn to the sketches on his desk. "What are these?"

Shi Jihan showed no embarrassment whatsoever. He shook the few abstract sketches in his hand. "Designs I made for the concept theme. Look at this: a lobster-tail tuxedo, the perfect fusion of two long tails. It'll bounce when you walk, really springy. Then look at this, a squid scarf. I'm planning to hollow out the middle and put a pin holder there..."

Zhou Jingcheng stared at those octopus tentacles that looked as though they had been run over by a car, and an idea came to him.

They had sent him smashed cucumber, hadn't they? Then he would send Shi Bochuan a grand gift too.

He said, "Not trendy enough. Not bold enough. Your designs are too conservative."

Yan Bo had just walked in and nearly dropped the laptop in his hands.

Too conservative??

Even Paris Sauerkraut House couldn't design something this bizarre.

Sometimes he really wanted these bosses to take a look at their own brains.

But Shi Jihan was intrigued. "I'd love to hear the details."

Zhou Jingcheng's face did not change as he got up to no good. He picked up a pen and began drawing. "Your thematic concept is 'deconstructing food culture,' right? In that case, you can expand it in multiple directions. For example, an instant noodle jumpsuit, a croissant fishbone dress, a cabbage-roll sweater, a five-kernel mooncake handbag..."

Holding the sketch Zhou Jingcheng called a croissant fishbone dress, Shi Jihan's eyes sparkled. "Great idea. Give me more!"

A whole series of looks could be sorted out now. He refused to believe he wouldn't make the hot search and rake in Malice Points when the time came!

Watching Zhou Jingcheng calmly and confidently sketch away with smooth, flowing movements, Yan Bo's curiosity was piqued. After all, he was the head of a top entertainment group. His fashion sense surely couldn't be bad. Had Yan Bo simply failed to understand their avant-garde fashion concepts?

Then he quietly leaned over and saw the drawing in Shi Jihan's hand.

—It was an unidentified lump that looked suspiciously like a piece of burnt toast stuck to the sole of a shoe.

Yan Bo: "..."

A croissant fishbone dress?!

"Yan Bo." Shi Jihan pulled his swivel chair over in front of him, his tone brimming with enthusiasm. "Quick, send the new sketches to our contractor."

Yan Bo: "...Okay."

The contractor who received the new sketches sat in silence with him across the screen for a long time. They both felt a little sympathy and pity for each other.

[Contractor: ...You're saying this was another boss's idea?]

[Yan Bo: Hahaha, yes.]

[Contractor: A crouching dragon and a fledgling phoenix.]

With those two working together, the fashion world would be plunged into an eternal night.

Zhou Jingcheng focused on the sketchbook. The contours of his profile were sharply defined, and a few strands of his gelled black hair had fallen loose. His lashes were lowered, and there was a smile at the corner of his lips. He was clearly in a good mood.

He was using the same pose he used for shooting posters to scribble strange symbols onto the crust of the five-kernel mooncake, completely immersed in his art and oblivious to the world around him.

After finishing the last stroke, he thoughtfully reminded Shi Jihan, "This collection must be released under your and your brother's names. Better yet, add Team Leader Shen. The three of you should appear neatly together on the big screen at the fashion show so everyone can admire your one-of-a-kind designs."

Shi Jihan shook his head. "How could I possibly accept that? Don't worry, I'll definitely add your name. I'm not someone who hogs the credit."

Zhou Jingcheng pulled out a tissue to wipe the graphite dust from his hands. Smiling with elegant composure, he sincerely declined. "That won't be necessary. I'm a rather modest, low-key person. I don't like showing off."

Zero-Zero-Zero looked like it had seen a ghost. [The Qidian male lead knows how to write the words 'low-key'?]

Shi Jihan said, [What do you know? It's like receiving red envelopes during the holidays. You say, 'Oh my, I couldn't possibly,' but really, you want to stick your hand into your relatives' pockets and pull out even more.]

Zero-Zero-Zero: [So that's how it is. Host, your brain really works better than mine. Then we definitely need to credit the source of inspiration.]

Shi Jihan felt that Lurdan was quite perceptive. He patted his chest and gave Zhou Jingcheng a look that said, "I understand everything." "I get it all. Don't worry."

Half of Zhou Jingcheng's worries were immediately put to rest. "I'll buy you a hot search too. Such brilliant ideas must not be buried."

Let them go up there and embarrass themselves.

A hot search!

Shi Jihan and Zero-Zero-Zero's eyes lit up in unison, bursting with enthusiasm.

He said, [How could merely crediting the source of inspiration be enough? I want Qidian Bro's name bolded, enlarged, and placed right in the center, scrolling for a full five minutes!]

Qidian Bro, a wonderful big-spending benefactor!

Both sides were extremely satisfied with these business negotiations. Shi Jihan even lifted his distinguished ass slightly as he escorted Zhou Jingcheng out of the office, intending to walk him all the way to the sample room.

"Come, come, this way. Oh, President Zhou, watch your step. Is it too far? Honestly, this road has no sense at all. How could it make you walk on it with your own feet?"

His little mouth kept chattering the whole way.

Zhou Jingcheng felt that something was off. The short guy's gaze was far too fervent. If Zhou Jingcheng had been made of white phosphorus, he would have caught fire by now.

He said, "Aren't you going to explain the sketch details to them?"

He meant the contractor.

Shi Jihan shook his head repeatedly. "No need, no need. Let her calm down for a bit. After all, such genius designs take time to process."

In reality, the constant "+0.05" and "+0.13" Malice Point alerts in his ear made him think it would be better to keep quiet. After all, this was the only contractor willing to take on their commission.

Apparently, Zhou Jingcheng also thought those designs were too genius. He remained silent, feeling only a trace of pity for the contractor.

Designers were paid far too little. After all, their wages didn't include compensation for emotional distress.

By the time they reached the sample room, things there had already wrapped up. Aside from Shi Jihan, the little good-for-nothing, everyone on the project team was highly capable. The samples only needed slight adjustments according to the models' measurements; no major revisions were necessary.

With the work done, Zhou Jingcheng was about to leave when Shi Bochuan, who seemed hesitant to speak, stopped him.

"President Zhou, do you have time tonight?" Shi Bochuan said sincerely. "Let me treat you to something good."

Something good?

Shi Jihan said to Zero-Zero-Zero, [I know this scene. It's called belated affection being cheaper than grass.]

Zhou Jingcheng raised a brow slightly and looked over with a half-smile, as though he had heard something utterly absurd. After a pause, he said, "Sure. Then Tianxi Hotel. I hear their mandarin fish is quite good. What do you think, President Shi?"

Shi Bochuan's heart skipped a beat. He remembered Xia Jun's menu, which they had snatched away, and its specialty seemed to be dragon-whisker mandarin fish.

Avoiding Zhou Jingcheng's eyes, he stared at the blank white wall opposite him and muttered, "Probably. I don't know that much about it."

"That's fine. I do," Zhou Jingcheng said. "Then let's go now."

Shi Bochuan nodded and reached out to grab Shen Qinghuai. "Fine. A-Huai, you too..." Come with me.

He grabbed nothing.

Shen Qinghuai had already retreated three meters away. Hearing him, he took another two steps back. "President Shi, these samples still need adjustments. I'll stay late tonight to catch up on the progress. I'm sorry, but I won't be able to attend the dinner with President Zhou."

A question mark slowly appeared over Shi Bochuan's head. "No, you?"

Shen Qinghuai looked at the sky, then the ground, anywhere but him. "I'm volunteering to work overtime. I don't need to be paid. I hope President Shi will give me this opportunity."

Shi Bochuan felt absurdly bewildered. Huh? My wife??

Didn't we say we'd share hardships and joys together?

Shen Qinghuai indicated that he had never said he would abandon the work. Under the admiring gazes of the employees, who were all thinking, "Team Leader Shen is so earnest, responsible, great, and selfless," he turned and resolutely entered the project team's office.

Shi Bochuan: "Then Third Brother..."

"Huh? What did you say? How could this happen! Wait for me, I'll be right there!" After urgently finishing the call, Shi Jihan spoke at breakneck speed. "Brother, hurry up and go entertain them. I've got something to handle here, so I'm leaving first!"

Shi Bochuan watched his rapidly vanishing back, then turned to Zhou Jingcheng and asked in disbelief, "Did I see that right? He ran off after answering a phone call he made with his fingers?"

Zhou Jingcheng also looked in the direction Shi Jihan had disappeared and sighed. "What a talent."

Fortunately, he hadn't entered the market.

Shi Jihan was smug over escaping disaster, but before long, he could no longer smile.

Ever since the smashed cucumber had successfully worked and made Zhou Jingcheng throw himself back into their arms, President Shi and Team Leader Shen had become thoughtful, then thoughtful again, and started trying to assign more work to Shi Jihan, such as producing the fashion show's promotional video.

The system diligently began updating the main quest again.

[ Ding. Task issued: Promote the fashion show in reverse and lower its class. Reward: Malice Points +20. ]

[ Ding. Task issued: Sow discord between the company's two factions. Reward: Malice Points +15. ]

[ This task is a derivative task of the long-term task "Fashion Show Hot Search." Please complete it as soon as possible. Failure to complete it will likewise be considered failure of the long-term task. ]

Shi Jihan's resentment was greater than a ghost's.

He had gotten up too early and seen Qing Dynasty remnants reemerge into the world, starting to play that whole guilt-by-association game on him.