Chapter 9

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

Zhou Jingcheng: "...?"

He glanced back toward the restroom.

Cries of "Ow, damn it," "Fuck, that hurts," and "Get off me" kept ringing out from inside. A group of people had piled up like jianbing pancakes rolled together at a breakfast stall.

So this was how they were waging corporate warfare against him?

Zhou Jingcheng laughed. Locking his phone, he strode toward one of the culprits.

Shi Jihan was listening to the Malice Points notifications constantly chiming by his ear, grinning without the slightest restraint.

Damn, money was falling from the sky!

He had gained 13.75 points in just that short while.

As he laughed, a shadow fell over him.

He looked up and met the person throwing money at him.

Zhou Jingcheng braced both hands against the back of the chair and looked down at him as though meeting him for the first time.

Under the close scrutiny of those ink-black eyes, Shi Jihan rarely felt guilty.

"Ahem." He cleared his throat and sat up straighter, somewhat awkward. "Well, aren't you going to check out the sample pieces with Brother Huai and the others?"

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

Shi Jihan showed no embarrassment at all. 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 wobble as you walk, really springy. And this one, a squid scarf. I'm planning to leave the middle hollow and put a pin backing in there..."

Zhou Jingcheng stared at the few 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, had they? Then he would send Shi Bochuan a grand gift as well.

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

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

Too conservative??

Not even Paris Sauerkraut House could come up with something this bizarre.

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

But Shi Jihan was intrigued. "I'm all ears."

Zhou Jingcheng kept a straight face as he set about doing evil. Picking up a pen, he began to draw. "Your theme is 'deconstructing food culture,' right? In that case, you can expand it in multiple directions. For example, instant-noodle jumpsuits, croissant fishbone dresses, cabbage-roll sweaters, five-nut mooncake handbags..."

Holding the sketch that supposedly depicted a croissant fishbone dress, Shi Jihan's eyes sparkled. "Great idea. Give me more!"

An entire collection of looks would be taken care of. He refused to believe he would not make the hot search and rack up Malice Points when the time came!

Watching Zhou Jingcheng draw with such composed ease, his movements fluid and graceful, Yan Bo's curiosity was piqued. After all, he was the head of a top entertainment group, so his fashion sense could not be bad. Could it be that Yan Bo simply did not understand their avant-garde fashion concepts?

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

—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 tugged his swivel chair over to him, his tone fervent. "Quick, send the new sketches to our contractor."

Yan Bo: "...All right."

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

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

[Yan Bo: Hahaha, yes.]

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

Put those two together, and the fashion world would be plunged into endless darkness.

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

Using the sort of pose one would use for a magazine cover shoot, he was drawing bizarre symbols on the crust of a five-nut mooncake, completely immersed in his art and oblivious to the world.

After finishing the final stroke, he thoughtfully instructed Shi Jihan, "This collection must be released under your and your brother's names. It would be even better if you added Team Leader Shen. The three of you should appear 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 take all the credit? Don't worry, I'll definitely add your name. I'm not someone who steals credit."

Zhou Jingcheng pulled out a tissue and wiped the pencil dust from his hands. Smiling with graceful propriety, he declined with complete sincerity. "There's no need. I'm rather humble and low-key. I don't like drawing attention."

000 looked as though it had seen a ghost. [The male lead from Dianjia Bro knows how to write the words 'low-key'?]

Shi Jihan said, [What do you know? It's like receiving red envelopes during Lunar New Year. You say, 'Oh my, I couldn't possibly,' but really, you wish you could stick your hand into your relatives' pockets and pull out a little more.]

000: [So that's how it is. Host, your brain really works well. Then we'll definitely label the source of inspiration.]

Shi Jihan felt that Lurdan was quite sharp. 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 worry was finally put to rest. "I'll buy you a hot search too. Such a good idea cannot be buried."

So they could go up there and embarrass themselves.

A hot search!

Shi Jihan and 000's eyes lit up in unison, bursting with enthusiasm.

He said, [Just labeling the source of inspiration isn't enough. I'll put Dianjia Bro's name in bold, make it huge, place it right in the center, and have it scroll for five whole minutes!]

Dianjia Bro, you generous benefactor!

Both sides were extremely satisfied with this business discussion. Shi Jihan even lifted his noble backside slightly to escort Zhou Jingcheng out of the office, intending to see him all the way to the sample room.

"Come, come, this way. Oh, President Zhou, watch your step. It's too far, isn't it? Honestly, this path has no manners. How could it make you walk on it with your own feet?"

His little mouth chattered nonstop the whole way.

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

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

He meant the contractor.

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

In truth, the constant "+0.05" and "+0.13" Malice Points notifications ringing beside his ear made him feel it was better to keep quiet. After all, this was the only contractor willing to take their commission.

Apparently, Zhou Jingcheng also thought those designs were too genius. He said nothing, merely feeling a touch of pity for the contractor.

Designers' salaries were still too low. After all, they did not include compensation for emotional distress.

By the time they reached the sample room, things were already finished. Everyone in the project team except useless little Shi Jihan was highly competent. The sample pieces only needed minor adjustments based on the models' figures, with no major changes required.

With the work done, Zhou Jingcheng planned to leave, only to be stopped by Shi Bochuan, who seemed to want to say something.

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

Something good?

Shi Jihan said to 000, [I know this scene. It's called belated affection being cheaper than grass.]

Zhou Jingcheng raised a brow and looked over with a half-smile, as though he had heard something utterly ridiculous. 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 jolted. He remembered Xia Jun's menu, which they had snatched away, and its signature dish seemed to have been dragon-whisker mandarin fish.

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

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

Shi Bochuan nodded and reached for Shen Qinghuai. "All right, Ah-Huai, you can come too..." Come with me.

He grabbed nothing.

Shen Qinghuai had already retreated more than three meters away. Hearing this, he took another two steps back. "President Shi, these sample pieces still need adjusting. I'll stay late tonight to catch up on the schedule. I'm sorry, but I can't attend your dinner with President Zhou."

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

Shen Qinghuai looked at the sky and 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 found it absurd. Huh? Wife??

Had they not agreed to share hardships and blessings together?

Shen Qinghuai indicated that he had never said he would not handle the work. Under the employees' admiring gazes that said, "Team Leader Shen is such a serious, responsible, great, selfless person," he turned and resolutely walked into the project team's office.

Shi Bochuan said, "Then Third Brother..."

"Huh? What did you say? How could this happen! Wait for me, I'll be right there!" Shi Jihan finished speaking urgently into the phone, then rattled off, "Brother, hurry up and go entertain President Zhou. I have something to deal with, so I'm leaving first!"

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

Zhou Jingcheng also gazed in the direction Shi Jihan had disappeared, sighing. "What a talent."

Fortunately, he had not entered the market.

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

Ever since the smashed cucumber had successfully worked and brought Zhou Jingcheng back into their embrace, President Shi and Team Leader Shen had become thoughtful and then even more thoughtful, attempting to assign more work to Shi Jihan, such as producing the fashion show's promotional video.

The system diligently began updating the main storyline again.

[Ding, mission issued: Publicize the fashion show in reverse and lower its prestige. Reward: Malice Points +20]

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

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

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

He had gotten up too early and witnessed remnants of the Qing dynasty returning to the world, starting to play that whole collective-punishment game on him.