Chapter 20

He confirmed the main door, confirmed the elevator, confirmed the hallway.

Absolutely certain that he hadn’t gotten the wrong place this time, Bai Ying knocked twice on the familiar office door before pushing it open upon hearing Qin Juanshu’s voice from inside.

A chair had already been placed opposite the desk. Qin Juanshu gestured for him to sit. “Didn’t I tell you not to rush? Look at you, sweating all over. Wipe it off.”

Only then did Bai Ying notice the beads of sweat on his forehead. He wasn’t sure if they were from running or from the cold sweat of embarrassment. He handed over the contract with one hand and took the handkerchief Qin Juanshu offered with the other, then sat down in the prepared chair.

Qin Juanshu only skimmed the contract casually before setting it aside. The desk was unusually clean, completely different from its usual state piled high with documents. Bai Ying found it a bit strange, but then he heard Qin Juanshu ask, “You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

Bai Ying nodded. He planned to grab a meal at Minghong’s cafeteria later. One of the perks of their broke company being acquired by a big group was access to the large company’s cafeteria. They often missed the open hours due to overtime and had to order takeout, but today he could just barely make it…

Then Bai Ying watched in a daze as Qin Juanshu pulled a takeout bag from under the desk. The cloth bag bore the logo of a major hotel—hotels did takeout too? Qin Juanshu took out a wooden lunch box, opened it, and placed it on the cleared desk: two meats, two veggies, one soup. The rice grains were glistening and plump. Sliced fruit was laid out on a bed of ice shavings. There was one box he didn’t open, telling Bai Ying it was ice cream for dessert afterward, or he could store it in the office fridge if he didn’t want it.

Bai Ying accepted the rice bowl handed to him personally by Qin Juanshu with a mix of awe and trepidation.

Wasn’t there some kind of mistake? All he’d negotiated that morning was a perfectly ordinary contract!

Qin Juanshu added, “In the future, if you can’t make it to the cafeteria, come to my office. Cut back on takeout—it’s not healthy.”

In truth, Bai Ying hadn’t ordered takeout in a long time because Tan Ming brought him packed meals every few days that could just be heated in the microwave. Today, he’d forgotten to grab it in his rush out the door, so he’d planned to finish work quickly and head to the cafeteria.

Clutching the lunch box, Bai Ying hesitated about whether to start eating. “President Qin, do you have something to discuss with me?”

It couldn’t be that he’d been called to the office just to be fed, right?

Qin Juanshu’s main goal really was to feed him. Before, he hadn’t understood why those little couples were so mushy even over meals, but after experiencing the satisfaction of feeding Bai Ying once, he got it all.

That said, there was one thing he did need to tell Bai Ying about.

“Eat first,” Qin Juanshu said. “It’s not a big deal. Just listen.”

Bai Ying picked up his chopsticks. The food would get cold if he didn’t eat soon!

“Tomorrow, you’re coming with me on a business trip to the Capital City. Nine a.m. flight—no need to wake up too early. Leave at seven, and I’ll pick you up at your place,” Qin Juanshu said.

So soon. Bai Ying’s eyes widened slightly as he hurriedly swallowed a mouthful of rice. “Is it some really important deal?”

“You could say that.” Qin Juanshu tapped the desk lightly with his knuckle—a habit when he was thinking. “The Zhong Family is hosting a banquet tomorrow night. It’ll draw a lot of social elites, including plenty from the entertainment industry. We might not close any deals this time, but it’s crucial for repositioning Zhonghe. I looked into Zhonghe’s business since it started. Over half of the recent projects are from the entertainment circle, but they’ve only handled promo for short dramas and web series—nothing substantial.”

Bai Ying thought to himself that their skills were just at that level anyway…

But Qin Juanshu felt it wasn’t just about skills; the old Zhonghe lacked connections. A studio only needed one or two capable people—the rest just had to be competent enough not to screw up.

Invitations to the Zhong Family banquet weren’t easy to come by. Countless small companies scrambled for even one. Qin Juanshu wanted to give Zhonghe as much of a boost as possible, so that even if he himself…

He didn’t want to dwell on that possibility, but he had to consider it.

Even if Bai Ying ended up not being with him in the end, at least Bai Ying would be at a good company with a promising future.

“But I’ve never been to a banquet before,” Bai Ying said awkwardly. “Is there anything I need to prepare?”

All his knowledge of banquets came from TV dramas: clinking glasses, elegant gowns and hairstyles, men and women dancing gracefully in glittering halls. Was it really okay for him to go along?

“Leave everything to me,” Qin Juanshu reassured him. “Every guest at the banquet should have a companion. You just need to stay by my side.”

Bai Ying agreed, though he still had one lingering doubt: shouldn’t the companion for such an event be a female date? He didn’t quite get it, but since it was the boss’s order, he didn’t say anything.

He focused on eating the special lunch Qin Juanshu had provided. Damn, as expected from the boss’s meal—it was so good… He wondered if there’d be food at the banquet. Could you even eat at those high-end events?

Utterly clueless about what a banquet among the wealthy elite was really like, Bai Ying arrived in the Capital City with Qin Juanshu that very afternoon.

It wasn’t Bai Ying’s first time in the Capital City—he’d been on business trips a few times before. This time was for work too, though he had zero idea what the work actually entailed. The roads in the Capital City were straight and orderly, very different from Shen City. The temperatures were similar, so no extra layers were needed after landing, but the air felt drier.

Qin Juanshu was actually quite low-key in private and rarely extravagant. After exiting the airport, the driver—who had arrived the night before—took him and Bai Ying to a hotel partnered with Minghong. Qin Juanshu had booked two adjacent deluxe king rooms.

His private life could be simple, but the banquet required putting on a show.

Qin Juanshu had plenty of outfits for such events, but Bai Ying needed one. Shortly after dropping their luggage, Qin Juanshu took Bai Ying shopping for formalwear.

He booked out the entire store, with over thirty staff attending to just two customers. Bai Ying stood bewildered by the racks, not daring to ask the price of the clothes they were trying on him.

“It’s too late for custom tailoring, so we have to buy off-the-rack,” Qin Juanshu said.

Bai Ying worked in advertising, so even if he couldn’t afford luxury goods, he recognized the names and could guess the prices. He felt sweat breaking out again. “President Qin, this probably can’t be expensed, right?”

He was just there to be arm candy at the banquet—a rental would have sufficed!

“It’s on my personal account, nothing to do with the company,” Qin Juanshu said. “Also, outside of work, just call me by name.”

The sales staff exchanged glances, fully convinced they understood the relationship between these two.

The big boss and his little lover, of course!

Though the little lover was exceptionally good-looking, and this boss was more handsome than most they’d seen.

Bai Ying felt like they weren’t trying on clothes but stacks of cash.

Damn capitalist—might as well just throw money at me. Who spends this much on a single outfit…? If Qin Juanshu kept snakes, would he house them in ultra-luxury glass enclosures…? Under the onslaught of wealth, Bai Ying’s thoughts grew chaotic.

Sensing Bai Ying was getting tired, Qin Juanshu stopped the try-ons and selected the outfit for the evening banquet based on memory.

If not for worrying about Bai Ying’s mental burden, he would have bought everything—Bai Ying looked good in anything with his figure and face.

Qin Juanshu didn’t have the clothes packaged either; the banquet was imminent, so they could change here.

A saleswoman led them to the changing room. Qin Juanshu waited outside, but soon Bai Ying poked his head out, clutching a pile of shirts, looking helpless. “I don’t know how to use this.”

Sorry, he was a worldly-inexperienced snake!

The saleswoman suggested, “Sir, would you like me to call a male colleague to assist?”

Before Bai Ying could nod, another voice cut in from the side.

“No need,” Qin Juanshu stood up. “I’ll handle it.”