60: Chapter 60 But... what's the price?

Qian Mengsheng pushed open the glass door of the Analysis Department manager's office with the feeling of someone heading to a funeral.

She kept her head down, her hands clutching the hem of her knit sweater, like a quail waiting for its sentence.

For the past half-day, her mind had been filled with images of Zhang Qi and Su Ran rolling around in bed, and the industry analysis report she had written was complete nonsense.

Given Manager Chen Danni's usual temper, she probably already had a termination letter ready for her.

"Sister Danni, about that report of mine…" Qian Mengsheng's voice was shaky as she prepared to admit her fault first in hopes of leniency.

"Sit."

Manager Chen Danni's voice came from behind the large desk, unexpectedly calm and even carrying a rare hint of gentleness.

Qian Mengsheng froze.

She looked up, staring in disbelief at the iron-fisted female devil before her.

Manager Chen Danni pointed to the leather swivel chair across the desk.

"I called you here this time, not for work-related matters, so there is no need to be so nervous."

Not talking about work.

These four words coming from Manager Chen Danni were more shocking than the sun rising in the west.

Qian Mengsheng's brain couldn't quite process it, but the heart that had been pounding in her throat finally settled down halfway.

She carefully pulled out the chair and sat down, perching on the edge of the leather seat.

Manager Chen Danni leaned back in her executive chair, her gaze calmly sizing up the girl in front of her.

To be honest, Qian Mengsheng was truly beautiful—youthful, radiant, with a face full of collagen and a very voluptuous figure.

In the past, she never would have wasted time chatting with a subordinate about personal relationships.

But the situation was different now; she urgently needed to pry Zhang Qi's background out of this girl.

"Mengsheng, have you and Zhang Qi been in touch lately?" Manager Chen Danni asked directly, her tone casual as if just making small talk.

Upon hearing that familiar name, Qian Mengsheng's shoulders slumped slightly.

The anxiety on her face was instantly replaced by an irrepressible gloom.

"Uh… yes, we have," Qian Mengsheng answered truthfully, her voice low.

Having spent so many years climbing the corporate ladder, Manager Chen Danni was an expert at reading people.

Seeing Qian Mengsheng looking like a wilted eggplant, she immediately knew there was definitely a story between the two of them.

She didn't rush to press for details, instead standing up and walking to the water dispenser nearby, pouring a cup of warm water and handing it to Qian Mengsheng.

"Drink some water first and relax."

Qian Mengsheng took the paper cup, feeling flattered.

Manager Chen Danni wore a high-quality silk white shirt, her ear-length hair cut in a crisp, professional style, radiating the intellectual charm and authority of a mature woman.

Qian Mengsheng was dressed in a form-fitting knit sweater paired with a pencil skirt, looking youthful and stylish, with a touch of a young woman's charm.

Two stunning beauties with completely different styles sat facing each other, a faint scent of perfume drifting in the air.

After chatting about a few more casual topics, Qian Mengsheng's tense nerves finally relaxed completely.

Manager Chen Danni felt the timing was right, so she crossed her hands on the desk and leaned forward slightly.

"Mengsheng, judging by your expression, I'm afraid you might have feelings for Zhang Qi, don't you?"

This sentence was like a needle, accurately piercing Qian Mengsheng's weak spot.

Her cheeks instantly flushed bright red, while her eyes uncontrollably welled up with sadness and grievance.

She kept her head down, mumbling, her hands gripping the rim of the paper cup tightly, unable to form a complete sentence.

"It's okay." Manager Chen Danni's voice was soft, carrying the alluring tone of a supportive older sister.

"We are just chatting today. Tell me the situation; maybe I can offer you some advice."

Qian Mengsheng was, after all, a young girl with little experience in the world.

In the workplace, when an usually aloof superior suddenly lowers their guard to care about your private life, it is very easy to fall under the illusion of being valued and recognized.

Moreover, she had been bottling up too much grievance and frustration over the past few days and had long wanted someone to confide in.

Her mind was also a bit muddled.

Manager Chen Danni was a workaholic who hadn't even held a man's hand in all her years at the company; how could she possibly know anything about giving advice on dating?

But in Qian Mengsheng's eyes, her manager was omnipotent.

She took a deep breath and let her guard down completely.

"Actually, it's just that…"

Qian Mengsheng bit her lip and spilled everything that had happened over the past few days, pouring it all out like beans from a bamboo tube.

From Zhang Qi taking her to eat Japanese cuisine worth over twenty thousand, to gifting her an LV bag worth over twenty thousand.

To her bringing her best friend, Su Ran, along to test him out of modesty, only for it to backfire and have Su Ran steal him away.

And finally, to Zhang Qi buying the top-floor luxury mansion at Yunduan No. 1 for 5.3 million in full payment, and directly keeping Su Ran as his mistress…

Manager Chen Danni sat behind the desk, maintaining a calm listening posture on the surface.

But inside, her heart was already surging with tumultuous waves.

She had originally thought that Zhang Qi buying a house in full today was already shocking enough, but she hadn't expected that he had bought another one in full just two days prior.

This was simply treating money like nothing.

What made her heart race the most was Zhang Qi's attitude toward women.

The former "simp" who would give his heart and soul to his girlfriend was gone.

In his place was a cold, decisive, and transactional scumbag.

Just be obedient, and you get fifty thousand in pocket money every month, with the mansion transferred to your name after five years.

This straightforward and crude method of keeping a mistress was full of the feeling of a capitalist's "dimensional strike."

Manager Chen Danni couldn't help but mutter to herself.

She hadn't expected Zhang Qi to have changed so much.

Not only was he no longer a simp, but he had actually become a scumbag, now openly keeping a mistress.

Her hands under the table clenched involuntarily.

Thinking of her own current situation.

She still had a huge hole of five million waiting to be filled.

If Zhang Qi's current style of doing things was like this—no talk of feelings, only transactions.

Then his attitude toward her hope for his help wasn't that he didn't see it, but that he was pretending not to.

It wasn't that he couldn't come up with these five million.

It was that he felt she hadn't offered the corresponding bargaining chip.

If you looked at it that way.

Did she also have to be like that Su Ran?

Completely set aside her dignity, proactively offer herself up to please him, and even be kept by him?

He could give a mistress he was keeping a five-million-dollar house.

If she were also kept by him, he would probably be willing to spend five million to fill her hole.

In Manager Chen Danni's mind, the playful and aggressive look Zhang Qi had given her in the bank's VIP room today surfaced uncontrollably.

An indescribable sense of shame and a strange heat suddenly rushed from the soles of Manager Chen Danni's feet straight to the top of her head.

Her originally cold and fair cheeks turned rosy at a speed visible to the naked eye, and even her slender neck flushed with a layer of pink.

Qian Mengsheng, sitting opposite her, was eagerly waiting for her manager to offer some advice.

But after waiting for a long time, she discovered that not only was Manager Chen Danni not speaking, but her face was as red as a ripe Apple, and her eyes had become somewhat unfocused.

"Sister Danni?"

Qian Mengsheng called out tentatively, suddenly feeling a wave of panic for no reason.

She suddenly remembered that the feeling Manager Chen Danni was giving her right now was exactly the same as the way Su Ran looked at Zhang Qi when she first saw him in the restaurant—eyes lingering, casting flirtatious glances.

But as soon as this thought popped up, Qian Mengsheng extinguished it herself.

How could that be?

Sister Danni was a famously cold ice queen, a high-achieving career woman with high standards.

She usually bossed Zhang Qi around; how could she possibly fancy Zhang Qi, let alone fight her for a man?

It must be because work has been too tiring lately and her mental state isn't good, Qian Mengsheng comforted herself.

Manager Chen Danni was pulled back to reality by Qian Mengsheng's call.

She snapped back, realizing that she had actually lost her composure in front of a subordinate just now.

She quickly coughed to cover up the panic in her eyes and forced herself to put on her manager's airs.

"A situation like yours is indeed quite tricky."

Manager Chen Danni shook her head, feigning helplessness.

"You can't force matters of the heart. Since he has already made his choice, I don't have any good advice for now."

The light in Qian Mengsheng's eyes instantly dimmed.

Even the omnipotent Sister Danni had no way out; it seemed she was really in a difficult spot.

"I see…" Qian Mengsheng lowered her head, her voice full of disappointment.

"You go back to work first." Manager Chen Danni desperately needed some time alone and promptly issued an order to leave.

"Put the emotional matters aside for now, finish the report at hand, and if I come up with any good ideas later, I'll let you know."

"Alright then…"

Qian Mengsheng sighed, and with a heart full of disappointment and grievance, stood up and left the office.

The glass door closed again.

In the spacious manager's office, only Manager Chen Danni remained.

The central air conditioning was blowing cold air, but Manager Chen Danni felt the temperature in the room rising steadily.

She slumped into the large executive chair, her legs crossing weakly.

Her once-impenetrable psychological defenses began to collapse on a large scale after learning about Zhang Qi's style of conduct.

She didn't want to go to prison.

She didn't want to lose all the decency she currently possessed.

Five million.

As long as she could get those five million, she could wipe the accounts clean and return to being that aloof department manager.

But, what about the price?

Did she really have to act like a cheap gold digger, knock on Zhang Qi's door, and proactively take off her clothes to please him?

To serve her former subordinate?

In Manager Chen Danni's mind, various absurd and highly shocking images surfaced involuntarily.

Herself being pressed by Zhang Qi onto that sofa that once belonged to her.

Zhang Qi looking at her with that condescending gaze, as if sizing up a commodity with a price tag.

This intense contrast in status and the extreme sense of humiliation did not make her feel disgusted; instead, it produced a strange, shudder-inducing heat in her body.

She felt her breathing become rapid, her chest feeling tight.

Manager Chen Danni reached out with a trembling hand, touching the collar of her silk white shirt.

Her fingertips applied force, undoing the top button.

The collar opened slightly, revealing a flash of breathtaking whiteness, as well as that deep, alluring cleavage.

She tilted her head back, leaning against the chair, her breathing becoming somewhat ragged.