CHAPTER 162: CHAPTER 152: NO WONDER YOU’VE BEEN SINGLE FOR THIRTY YEARS WITH SUCH FEROCITY!

He Ye teased the receptionist all the way and walked up to Shen Yanchen’s office door. He knocked symbolically, then pushed open the door without waiting for an answer, whistling casually.

Seeing the two sitting at the small round table by the window, he smiled apologetically and said, "Busy?"

Despite saying that, he swaggered inside.

Shen Yanchen turned and glared at him, "Got nothing to do?"

He Ye smiled flatteringly, "Balancing work and rest!"

"Want me to send you on a polar expedition?"

He Ye laughed ingratiatingly, "Thank you very much." Then he turned to Gu Qimiao and smiled, "Little Miaomiao, are you getting used to working here?"

Gu Qimiao got goosebumps from his nickname, forcing a smile and nodded, "It’s been good..."

"Brother Chen is busy with work. If you have any problems, just come to me. My office is right across the hall, you..."

"Bang—" Even before He Ye could finish his sentence, Shen Yanchen tossed a magazine towards him. It barely missed He Ye’s head but ruffled his hair.

Gu Qimiao and He Ye had almost identical expressions. He Ye rubbed his head in fear, then straightened his hair and mumbled as he retreated towards the door, "No wonder you’ve been single for thirty years, with such a vicious temper!"

He said this deliberately for Gu Qimiao to hear, and sure enough, it didn’t go unnoticed by her. She hadn’t yet regained her composure when Shen Yanchen asked, "Where were we?"

Gu Qimiao quickly withdrew her gaze and pushed the photo towards him, still speaking cautiously, probably scared by how he threw the book at He Ye earlier, "Um... You said you wanted a close-up shot."

"What do you think?" Shen Yanchen’s gaze didn’t fall on the photo but boldly scrutinized Gu Qimiao.

Gu Qimiao picked up the photo, raised her head to speak, but met his intense gaze. She instantly felt uneasy and quickly looked away, speaking to the photo, "I also think a close-up is better."

Shen Yanchen answered absent-mindedly, "Alright, close-up it is."

He stared closely at her face, which had turned red again. When she stole a kiss, wasn’t her face thicker?

With the photo selection done and no topic to continue on, Gu Qimiao tidied up the photos on the desk, then stood up and said, "I’ll go back and continue painting."

Shen Yanchen nodded, watching her walk into the painting room, then stared at the painting room for a while before stepping inside.

She was engrossed in her painting, when suddenly his voice startled her and she trembled, "Is it hot in here?"

Gu Qimiao had just opened her mouth when he spoke directly, "The sun is shining in now, come out and paint."

"It’s fine, I’ll just close the curtains."

As the dignified boss of Sheng Han Group, he said, "It’s a waste of electricity to turn on the lights during the day, come outside."

Gu Qimiao never expected him to be so concerned about the electricity bill. As it was his domain, she complied silently, packing up and moving outside.

Shen Yanchen pushed a chair beside his place, gesturing for her to sit, "Come sit here."

Gu Qimiao’s heart pounded as she took her painting supplies and walked over.

He cleared some space on the desk for her, leaving just half a meter between them.

Initially awkward, Gu Qimiao soon forgot about personal feelings as he immediately delved into work, tapping away at the keyboard, while she focused on mixing colors and painting with dedication.

Unbeknownst to her, while she was focused, a certain guy was sneaking glances at her.

With her beside him, even a glance made work feel easier.

He didn’t know how many times he looked sideways, but eventually, their gazes met. She noticeably flinched, then pretended to look away casually.

Shen Yanchen didn’t plan to let it go, asking her, "What’s wrong?"

Gu Qimiao, caught in his gaze, pushed the painting towards him and stammered, "I... I wanted to ask if this color is alright..."

Shen Yanchen gazed at her, a subtle smile in his eyes, "You understand this better than me, you decide."

Gu Qimiao forced a smile, lowered her head, and continued painting, no longer daring to look around.

Only then did Shen Yanchen realize that she had such amusing little habits. Had he missed many of them before?

"Knock knock—"

"Come in."

The secretary entered, "Mr. Shen, Ms. Shen is looking for you."

Before the secretary could fully introduce, Xiaoxiao barged in. Knowing she was Shen Yanchen’s sister, the secretary left the office since Xiaoxiao had already entered.

"Gigi?! Why are you here?"

Gu Qimiao didn’t expect to see Xiaoxiao, instantly feeling quite embarrassed.

"I wondered why I haven’t seen you at the gallery recently. Professor Fang just said you were working elsewhere. So you’re with my brother?"

Gu Qimiao nodded and replied, "Yes, Mr. Shen commissioned some paintings."

"Why are you here?" Shen Yanchen didn’t bother with pleasantries, directly asking Xiaoxiao her purpose.

Xiaoxiao shifted her focus from Gu Qimiao to Shen Yanchen and immediately started massaging his back, whining, "Big brother, I’m out of money again."

Enjoying her affection, Shen Yanchen put down his pen and asked, "What did you spend it on this time?"

"I just bought stuff... anyway, it’s all gone now." She pouted pitifully, "I don’t even have money for food. Look, am I not thinner?"

Shen Yanchen uncooperatively said, "I didn’t notice."

"Bro~ I know you’re the best to me."

Shen Yanchen let out a sigh, "How much?"

Xiaoxiao stopped what she was doing and held up one finger.

"A thousand?" guessed Shen Yanchen.

Xiaoxiao chuckled and corrected, "Add a zero..."

Ten thousand yuan was a small amount for Shen Yanchen, but ten thousand could accomplish a lot of things. Xiaoxiao was his beloved sister, so out of concern, he asked, "What are you going to do with it?"

Xiaoxiao glanced at Gu Qimiao and hesitantly said, "...Don’t worry about it!"

"I still need to know where my money is going, right?"

"Well... there’s a calligraphy and painting competition at school..."

"Oh? Let me call your teacher about it." Clearly, he saw through her lie instantly.

Xiaoxiao immediately admitted but still refused to explain, "Everyone has their little secrets, big bro. Just say whether you’ll give it or not. If you don’t, I’ll go to the second brother!"

"Safe trip."

"Big bro~"

Gu Qimiao, feeling soft-hearted, timidly said, "I have it here..."

Xiaoxiao immediately turned her head, "Gigi! You’re the best!"

Shen Yanchen frowned, realizing the future discipline problem. Gu Qimiao would definitely side with the child, and he’d be isolated.

Seeing Gu Qimiao get up to grab her wallet, Shen Yanchen pressed the intercom, and the secretary walked in, "Mr. Shen, any instructions?"

Shen Yanchen compromised, "Withdraw ten thousand yuan for her."

Upon hearing this, Xiaoxiao happily hopped away with the secretary.

Gu Qimiao came back, and Shen Yanchen said, "You should be on my side."

"...What?"

"Nothing."

At noon, Shen Yanchen wanted to take Gu Qimiao out for lunch. However, after receiving the money, Xiaoxiao returned to take Gu Qimiao away herself, leaving him alone again.

Mysteriously, Xiaoxiao took Gu Qimiao to a café across the company and ordered two steaks and some juices.

"What’s up, Xiaoxiao?"

Xiaoxiao scratched her head in embarrassment and asked, "Gigi, isn’t Mo Ming getting discharged today?"

Gu Qimiao blankly nodded.

Xiaoxiao continued, "I painted an oil painting for him. I just got the money to get it framed. I’ll pick it up later, and when you go to the hospital this afternoon, give it to him."

Then, she lowered her eyes and added, "...Just say you painted it."

Hearing this, Gu Qimiao frowned, "Xiaoxiao, if you really like him, avoiding it like this isn’t the solution. He won’t know how good you are to him, and moreover..."

"Gigi, I know... but he really hates me." Xiaoxiao’s eyes reddened as she spoke but stubbornly continued, "Actually, I went to his store once before, specifically checked a lot of information about cars online, but he ignored me. I bothered him for a bit, and he pushed me to the roadside, then told me to scram in front of his employees."

Gu Qimiao felt it was excessive, "How could he do that? Let’s not bother with him either!"

Xiaoxiao sniffed, her eyes red, and smiled at Gu Qimiao, "Gigi, do you have someone you like?"

Gu Qimiao froze, and before she could answer, Xiaoxiao continued, "I didn’t know what it meant to love someone before. Seeing classmates at school talk about how much they love someone, how they can’t let go, I thought it was exaggerated. But now I understand."

"I don’t even know why I feel this way about him. It’s so inexplicable. We’ve only met a few times, got rejected after confessing, and he’s constantly annoyed with me. But I still can’t help thinking about him. Sometimes, I think about him so much at night that I can’t sleep. I always feel he’s very lonely and want to be there for him."

Gu Qimiao remained silent. She couldn’t fully understand but knew what it felt like to like someone, even if you can’t be with them.

Shen Yanchen was that kind of existence for her.

"Gigi, it’s up to you this afternoon. Please don’t say it’s from me. I’m afraid he will tear it up..." Xiaoxiao said with self-deprecating laughter, even though the conclusion felt sad.

Gu Qimiao hesitated but nodded, unsure if it was the right thing. Putting herself in Xiaoxiao’s shoes, if Shen Yanchen treated her the same way, she would also cherish something she gave to him.

Xiaoxiao smiled, relieved, briefly explaining the plan for the afternoon, then casually asked, "Gigi, are you dating my brother?"

Gu Qimiao almost spat out her juice and quickly denied, "No! We’re just work partners!"

As Xiaoxiao stuffed food into her mouth, she muttered, "My brother doesn’t have a girlfriend. If you think he’s decent, you could try dating him. You don’t have a boyfriend anyway."

Gu Qimiao just laughed it off with an "Oh, really?"

Xiaoxiao pondered, "But it’s strange. My brother never got into the art scene, and now he’s into art."

"I heard it’s for the company’s anniversary."

"Anniversary? It’s not a milestone year; why make it so grand?" Then, feeling jealous, she added, "And he didn’t even ask me to paint! I’m so short on money!"