As Qin He applied makeup to her eyes, her phone rang several times.
She picked it up and glanced at it. Several people had sent her messages.
Lu Mingxi: Little kitty, you still have this skill? [Image]
Qin He looked at the image. It was her work ID from the funeral home.
She typed: Are you secretly investigating me?
Lu Mingxi: No, I saved it from the internet. Don't wrongly accuse me!
Qin He couldn't be bothered with him and opened Shen Yilin's message.
Shen Yilin: Sister! Someone online has exposed your profession and is slandering you!
Qin He raised an eyebrow slightly, already understanding the situation.
Xu Wanwan's message was more direct, a string of over a dozen voice messages, each over a minute long.
Qin He opened one and heard Xu Wanwan's fierce scolding: "Those idiots who say you curse people, I'll f***ing—"
Qin He quietly closed WeChat, her mind made up.
She opened Weibo and saw the trending topic.
After scrolling through a few posts, she noticed that Shen Yilin's solitary struggle was evident in all recent posts.
As Qin He's assistant, Shen Yilin had been verified as "Diligent Little He's Assistant" when he posted videos for her on Weibo. He was attacked by a group of people, and although he fought back one by one, he was ultimately overwhelmed.
Qin He chuckled, feeling a mix of gratitude and concern.
She continued scrolling down and saw posts claiming she taught people how to do makeup for the dead, possibly engaging in dark magic to curse people, and other such accusations.
Someone had even Photoshopped fake private chat logs, claiming she asked fans for their birthdates.
Qin He watched as the situation escalated to ridiculous proportions, wondering if she should explain.
She refreshed the page, and a new Weibo post at the top of the trending topics caught her eye: Gu Qichen?
Qin He's eyes widened.
Gu Qichen had posted on Weibo: Embalmer, a lonely and noble profession.
Below it were some images, all related to the profession, providing a clearer understanding of it.
Gu Qichen's post was not only detailed but also explained the purpose of this profession.
To give the deceased their final dignity, to allow grieving families to see their loved ones as they once were.
Those who needed an embalmer were often victims of accidental deaths, some with fragmented bodies, transported in pieces.
Seeing such scenes would be unbearable for the parents and partners of the deceased.
Qin He smiled. She hadn't expected Gu Qichen to understand this profession so deeply.
She refreshed again, and another Weibo post popped up.
Lu Mingxi: Instead of saying Qin He is an embalmer who teaches makeup, why not say she's an excellent makeup artist who applies makeup to the deceased? Doesn't that sound instantly noble?
Ming Chi: My cousin's profession is noble. Please do not insult it. Rumors stop with the wise.
Gu Qichen's post naturally garnered likes and reposts from his acquaintances at Gu Corporation.
Ming Chi, a king in the entertainment industry, had many celebrities following suit and reposting, vindicating embalmers.
Qin He raised her eyebrows. In the span of an afternoon, though she, the person involved, hadn't said anything, the tide of public opinion had already turned.
Those who had slandered her went silent. Some, after understanding, came to apologize, while others remained quiet.
However, a small faction still insisted on their points.
"The reasoning is sound, but I still feel it's unlucky. Regardless, I'm unfollowing Diligent Little He."
"Even if the profession is noble, it doesn't make her noble. I think when she was doing beauty and wellness tutorials, she should have first told us she's an embalmer who does makeup for dead people every day!"
Qin He, for the first time, posted on Weibo: Those who feel unlucky can unfollow, but I am proud of my profession.
After posting, she thought of Gu Qichen.
He had actually stepped forward to speak up for her—
Qin He quietly clicked on Gu Qichen's Weibo and discovered it was his first personal account.
She recalled how she had been in a bad mood when she arrived at the United Department today and had impatiently said it had nothing to do with him.
Qin He silently clicked the follow button.
Not long after, Gu Qichen followed her back.
Qin He felt a little embarrassed. Uncharacteristically, she made herself a cup of coffee, telling herself it was a reciprocal gesture, and went to Gu Qichen's office.
The office was empty except for him.
The door was ajar. Qin He knocked. The door creaked open—
Qin He stood at the doorway, holding a cup of coffee.
Gu Qichen looked up: "Is something the matter?"
Qin He cleared her throat: "I made you a cup of coffee. Have some to stay alert."
She walked to Gu Qichen's desk and placed the coffee beside him.
Gu Qichen stared at the cup: "Thank you."
Qin He's gaze had already fallen on Gu Qichen's screen, her eyes widening.
On the screen, two beauties of different styles were bound by ropes, their exposed bodies staring at the screen.
A large heading read: Please choose a tool to subdue the beauties!
Below were several buttons: a small whip, a small candle, a small—
Qin He: "..."
Gu Qichen turned his head and fell silent upon seeing the pop-up advertisement on his computer.
"This is... a personal preference for something sensual. It's okay if it's a bit quirky. I'll be leaving now," Qin He said with a nervous laugh, her words tumbling out and making her feel even more awkward.
Gu Qichen's temples throbbed. He had indeed visited many related websites when he was researching the embalmer profession.
"I don't have that hobby!" Gu Qichen's voice was low, and if one listened closely, a hint of gritted teeth could be detected.
Qin He was already planning her escape: "Yes, yes, yes."
She was somewhat trembling. She had lost her memory and didn't know how she had spent the past two years—
Seeing the questioning gaze, Qin He, trying to appear composed but failing, quickly left.
Gu Qichen stared at the computer, lost in thought.
Yu Jing pushed the door open: "Mr. Gu, the project team is progressing smoothly. Here is the report."
He placed the file down and then noticed how extremely cold Gu Qichen's expression was.
"Mr. Gu?"
"It's nothing." Gu Qichen silently closed the pop-up ad, his fingers tapping a line of code to scan for viruses.
Qin He must have misunderstood!
Gu Qichen gritted his teeth.
Yu Jing noticed the coffee on the desk: "Mr. Gu, your coffee has gone cold. Would you like me to get you another one?"
"No need."
Gu Qichen's slender hand grasped the cup. There was only a slight warmth remaining.
The cup was made of glass and had a small white heart charm attached.
It was very cute.
...
Evening, Qin Residence.
Qin He lay on the living room sofa, idly scrolling through her phone.
Now that her mother was not at home, she was alone in the large Qin residence, with no one to talk to.
Flipping through Weibo, Qin He saw that Gu Qichen's post from earlier had been reposted by several official media outlets, with captions vindicating embalmers.
It stated that those who found embalmers terrifying were truly ignorant and superstitious!
After finishing her scroll, Qin He found that her Weibo had received many private messages.
She opened them and scanned through. Many media outlets wanted to invite her for an interview about embalming.
With the uproar on Weibo, this profession had become a hot topic for a while.
Qin He politely declined them all, when a message popped up on WeChat.
Lu Mingxi: Little kitty, want to do an interview on my family's show?
The Lu family had invested in several popular and well-known shows in the country. Qin He thought about it. It was indeed an opportunity to let everyone understand the profession thoroughly while it was a hot topic.
It would also be a way to vindicate her colleagues who were also embalmers.
Lu Mingxi: Little kitty, it's better to keep business within the family. I heard quite a few shows want to invite you, you can't go to someone else's!
Qin He chuckled and typed: I'll come to your show. Just arrange the time for me.