"Going back?" Huo Rou glanced at the bruise on his chin again and turned to leave.
Qin Ningyi noticed that every time she spoke to him, she kept glancing at his chin.
He reached up and touched it. It did hurt a bit. In the mirror that morning, he had seen a bruise there.
Memories of Huo Rou's fight last night flashed through his mind. He smiled knowingly, looking at Huo Rou with an unreadable expression.
"What's wrong?" Huo Rou had been regretting her impulsiveness from yesterday and really didn't want to talk to him now.
"Leaving so soon?" Qin Ningyi angled his bruised chin towards Huo Rou, his gaze lingering.
Brother Yang called out in a flurry, "Director Huo, you're going back to catch the mole right away? It just so happens that we're all working overtime today. This is simply fate."
He wanted to see the action unfold!
The sooner the better. It was best to settle this today.
A dark glint appeared in Huo Rou's eyes, making Qin Ningyi a little worried. He spoke up, offering his help, "I'll investigate."
"Just manage your own employees. That's enough," Huo Rou cast a casual glance at him and led An'an away.
As soon as they stepped out of Qin Ningyi's private elevator, they heard a commotion.
"Why should I get off? She was the last one to get on, and the elevator is overweight because of her!" a man's voice protested indignantly.
"You're the heaviest, so who else but you should get off?" Those around defended the woman who had boarded last, all urging the heaviest person to exit the elevator.
"I'm also in a hurry to get upstairs to submit documents. You see, she doesn't seem to be in any rush. What's wrong with waiting a moment?"
The man was unconvinced. Even if he was the heaviest, shouldn't there be a principle of 'first come, first served' when the elevator was overweight? He had entered first, yet now he was being asked to get off. Why should he?
Wang Wanrou's soft, almost pitiful voice chimed in, "I'm so sorry for causing everyone to argue. But big brother, I'm really in a hurry to get upstairs. I don't weigh that much either. Can you just let it go?"
The man became even more agitated and refused.
The elevator doors remained stuck, emitting an alarm.
Qin Ningyi saw that it was Wang Wanrou causing trouble again and was even more annoyed. He had just warned her.
Huo Rou looked at Wang Wanrou's delicate, weak expression and remembered when she had gone to Qin's house to find An'an. Wang Wanrou had offered An'an the sweet dishes she had made. After An'an coldly refused, in a place where Su Nianzhu couldn't see, she had even wanted to pinch him!
If she had pinched An'an then, and An'an had cried out in pain and stood up, knocking over the dish in her hand, then whoever got hurt would have been blamed on An'an for being disobedient.
She had been so furious that she had gone over and ruined her dish.
And now, the same expression! So annoying.
Huo Rou walked to the elevator door and hooked Wang Wanrou with the handle of her umbrella. The sudden force caused Wang Wanrou to stumble out of the elevator.
The elevator alarm stopped, and the doors closed normally.
Wang Wanrou's slender high heel lost its balance, and she fell to the ground.
"Are you alright?" Huang Yin passed by, squatted down to help her up, but she slapped his hand away.
Wang Wanrou's eyes welled up with tears. "Don't pretend to be concerned. You've always wished I would make a fool of myself, and now you're acting so nice to me in front of everyone."
From behind Huang Yin, Qin Feiwu stepped forward, her expression also displeased. "She has always tolerated you, and yet you're still trying to smear her. Wang Wanrou, I warned you, behave yourself."
Wang Wanrou didn't care about her warnings. She had the thing Qin Feiwu valued most now, so what was there to fear?
She slowly stood up. She didn't dare to look at Huo Rou's stern face and shifted to the side, feeling safer as she continued, "Sister Qin, Zhou Wu will arrive in two days. You should go back and prepare."
That light remark choked all of Qin Feiwu's words.
Wang Wanrou, in her high heels, swaggered away. She knew that Zhou Wu was a huge draw for Qin Feiwu and a great opportunity for the brand 'wan'.
Without her, Zhou Wu wouldn't have returned to China, nor would he have been willing to try domestic brands.
Qin Feiwu watched Wang Wanrou's retreating back with a look of disgust, as if she had swallowed a fly. After a long moment of calm, she turned to Huo Rou.
"I'm sorry, A'rou. I apologize on behalf of my mother. She was instigated by Wang Wanrou, which is why she took An'an home without informing you."
"She has a good heart, she's just easily swayed and tends to believe what others say." Qin Feiwu felt extremely embarrassed. It wasn't the first time her mother had been foolish, but this time she had hurt Ningyi again and frightened Huo Rou.
"It's alright. I can see that she genuinely likes An'an." Huo Rou's expression was calm, as if she didn't mind. She wouldn't let such a thing happen again.
Seeing that her expression was normal, Qin Feiwu breathed a sigh of relief and then brought up Wang Wanrou's situation.
"I'm sorry, but I can only keep her here for an internship. She knows Zhou Wu, and Zhou Wu is returning to China. She convinced Zhou Wu to come to our company in two days to try on our new collection for next season." Qin Feiwu's expression was conflicted. "wan needs an opportunity like this."
Huo Rou listened. The name sounded strangely familiar.
"Zhou Wu?" she asked. "That model from Country M?"
Qin Feiwu, thinking Huo Rou had no knowledge of the fashion industry, was about to introduce Zhou Wu. However, Huo Rou's question hit the mark.
"Yes! The one from Country M." Qin Feiwu's tone became somewhat excited as she spoke of him. "He went to Country M with his mother to develop his career when he was young. Over ten years ago, he became famous as the model for a genius designer in a design competition."
"He's the muse for our designers!" Qin Feiwu clearly wanted to collaborate with Zhou Wu. When she spoke of a muse, her eyes were full of creative desire.
Huo Rou, however, frowned. Zhou Wu must be middle-aged by now, right? Could such an arrogant person still be a muse?
What was wrong with people nowadays? They got so excited about collaborating with him, weren't they afraid of being driven mad by his incessant chatter?
Huo Rou looked at Qin Feiwu's excited and yearning expression. She wasn't sure whether to say something.
But An'an, standing beside them, also looked forward to it, listening to Qin Feiwu's excited words. Perhaps she should say something. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
"Actually, don't get your hopes up too high."
Huo Rou chose her words carefully. "Zhou Wu is quite ordinary... It's not worth it to endure all the humiliation and mistreatment for him."
"It's worth it, A'rou, you don't understand." Qin Feiwu began to explain Zhou Wu's glorious history to Huo Rou. "Zhou Wu collaborated with a niche designer brand in Country M before. As soon as the promotional images were released, the pre-sale sold out in an instant. That brand is now internationally recognized."
"We need an opportunity like this for wan to go international." Qin Feiwu looked at Huo Rou with an apologetic expression. "I won't let her bother you, and Wang Rong will come to Yu Chang City to pick her up soon."
Huo Rou sighed inwardly, silently calculating. She absolutely had to avoid appearing at Qin Corporation the day after tomorrow. She did not want to experience being dominated by that noisy person again.