Chapter 11: Corporate Collaboration

“The Qin family? Which Qin family? Oh, I remember now—the one whose engagement was called off by the Jiang family a few years ago, isn’t it?”
“Called off? I recall people saying the two families ended the engagement amicably.”
Gu Xunan, sitting across, let out a derisive laugh. “That was just the official story. The eldest daughter of the Qin family is so beautiful—there’s no way Jiang Anqi would have backed out if he’d had his way. And as for the Qin family, always eager to climb into high society, it wouldn’t be easy for them to agree to breaking off an engagement.”
Lu Qianan tightened his grip on his phone, his voice hoarse. “Go on.”
“I don’t really know the details,” Gu Xunan admitted. “But at that time, Jiang Anqi—the regular patron of every private club—was nowhere to be seen for quite a while. Rumor had it he’d been seriously injured. Not long after, the elder members of the Jiang family announced the engagement was off. That’s all I know. But I do have a friend who’s pretty close to Jiang Anqi. Want me to ask for you?”
“Please, do.”
When Qin Miaoyu woke up that morning, aside from a slight headache, she remembered nothing of the previous night.
She went to the living room for a drink of water and found Lu Qianan already busy in the kitchen with breakfast. She glanced at the clock on the wall—it was only half past six.
“You’re up early,” she remarked.
The counter was crowded with all sorts of food, and Qin Miaoyu was certain the fridge had been empty of these things before.
Lu Qianan hadn’t expected her to wake so soon. He watched anxiously as she approached the counter; if only he’d unwrapped everything first!
Sure enough, when Qin Miaoyu spotted the luxurious fruit, she turned to him with obvious surprise in her voice.
“Lu Qianan, why did you buy such expensive fruit?”
She was sure, judging by the labels, that these fruits were well beyond what Lu Qianan could afford.
He forced a smile. “I didn’t buy them. The company’s President Qi thought I’ve worked myself to the bone for the company. His housekeeper happened to buy too much fruit, so he sent some over.”
Qin Miaoyu’s gaze remained suspicious. “At this hour of the morning?”
“Yes,” Lu Qianan replied, turning back to the breakfast preparations. “Maybe he knew his wife had suffered a great grievance and was feeling troubled, so he wanted something to occupy her until everything’s cleared up.”

“Your boss seems to love his wife very much,” Qin Miaoyu said with a sigh.
Lu Qianan’s hand hesitated over the vegetables, then a slow smile curved his lips. “Not just very much—he loves her dearly.”
As soon as Qin Miaoyu arrived at the office, she heard their company had secured Anhe’s new car launch project.
“There’s bound to be a meeting today. Everyone’s eager to take charge of this one. Director Li, who usually shows little interest in projects, wants to handle it himself this time. If the company supports him, he’ll probably get it.”
Qin Miaoyu wasn’t especially interested. She and Director Li had some friction, but who took on the project was the company’s business. As a low-level employee, she had no say in such matters.
The meeting was scheduled for ten in the morning. Besides their own staff, Anhe had sent representatives as well.
In her position, Qin Miaoyu was there as a mere observer and was seated at the far end, which meant she had to pass by the two Anhe representatives.
When her eyes met the striking female representative from Anhe, the woman smiled warmly and nodded.
Though puzzled, Qin Miaoyu returned the courtesy with a polite smile before taking her seat.
The meeting began, and Qin Miaoyu let her mind wander until Director Li’s angry voice caught her attention.
“I earned my role as director through ability. Why am I not suitable?”
She looked up, curious, toward the head of the table, where Director Li was sitting, his expression anything but pleasant.
Then the female representative from Anhe—the one who had smiled at her—spoke in a calm, firm voice. “One of the reasons we chose your company is the success of that new car launch you did for Tengyue. We were always inclined towards Designer Lin Ling.”
Director Li protested, “But apart from that one launch, Lin Ling’s other exhibition designs are mediocre. If you want reliability, I’m the better choice. Surely Anhe looked into all of our work before deciding to collaborate with us?”
“Of course,” the representative replied. “And from our investigation, we found that Designer Lin Ling’s style suits our needs for this launch. Director Li, your ornate designs are not what Anhe is looking for.”
She paused, and Qin Miaoyu noticed the woman’s gaze linger on her.

“Moreover, President Qi has made it clear he does not want you to lead this project. Even if Designer Lin Ling is not suitable, the project could be assigned to any other designer at your firm—but never to you, Director Li.”
“You—!”
The female representative frowned at Director Li’s pointed finger. “If your company insists on having you in charge, our collaboration ends here.”
Qin Miaoyu enjoyed the spectacle, and the smile lingered on her lips as she left the meeting room.
She ran into the Anhe representative again in the corridor.
The woman was speaking with the company’s general manager, but when she saw Qin Miaoyu, she greeted her with the same warm smile before returning to her conversation.
Qin Miaoyu was left baffled, unable to make sense of it, and returned to her office.
Director Li, arriving just after her, had also witnessed Anhe’s representative being unusually friendly to Qin Miaoyu.
He knew this woman was one of President Qi’s most capable assistants, yet she treated Qin Miaoyu differently. Remembering the car supposedly owned by President Qi, he wondered—could Qin Miaoyu’s husband be President Qi of Anhe?
That would explain why President Qi refused to let him handle the project.
He and President Qi had never crossed paths, and even when he’d attended social gatherings with his wife, he’d always been careful not to offend anyone. So, thinking it over, he concluded that President Qi was favoring Qin Miaoyu to retaliate against him—surely the most plausible explanation.
Realizing this, he regretted having offered Qin Miaoyu a ride home that day and silently resented her for causing him to offend President Qi. Otherwise, the project would have been his, and with Anhe’s car launch under his belt, he could have smoothly joined his father-in-law’s company.
After finalizing arrangements with the general manager, Anhe’s two representatives returned to their headquarters.
The female representative went straight to the top floor and knocked on the door of the president’s office.
A cool voice sounded from within. “Enter.”