226: Chapter 226 Qin Yi comforts Xu Qian and wins her over with afternoon tea

"Brother!" Qin Xiaoyue's eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but cry out in surprise. At the same time, Xu Qian also parted her red lips in astonishment, her gaze fixed on Qin Yi, who had just entered the room. Bright smiles blossomed on both of their faces simultaneously.

Qin Xiaoyue quickly walked up to Qin Yi, took his hand, and shook it while acting spoiled, "Brother, you didn't even tell me in advance that you were coming!"

"If I told you in advance, how could I surprise you? And as for the 'good deeds' you've done yourself, surely you haven't forgotten them so quickly?!"

Hearing this, Qin Xiaoyue immediately let go of Qin Yi's hand, gave a sheepish smile, and quickly circled behind Xu Qian. Like a good little girl, she took Sister Qianqian's arm and pleaded for mercy, "Sister Qianqian, look at my brother. Even though you aren't Life Qi anymore, he still won't let it go... You should tell him off~"

Xu Qian stood to the side, watching this scene with a smile, and teased, "Alright now, your brother is just teasing you. Would he really bully you?"

Liu Yan, who was standing nearby, was stunned on the spot, momentarily at a loss for what to do.

She looked at Qin Yi awkwardly, her expression shifting like a color palette. After a moment, she forced a sliver of a smile and said in a deliberately delicate voice, "Oh my, so you're the boss? Honestly, you were just playing with me, how mean~"

Hearing this, Qin Yi couldn't help but feel a wave of disgust in his heart, and he even got goosebumps. Looking at her acting all coy, he was speechless.

"Uh, yes, I am the boss. And you are?" Qin Yi asked casually as he walked toward Xu Qian.

Liu Yan cleared her throat, put on a serious expression, and introduced herself, "Hello, Boss. My name is Liu Yan, a former colleague of Xiao Yue's from her previous company and a dance streamer on the Moyin Platform. My ID is XXXXX. From now on, I'm your employee, so please look after me~"

Qin Yi thought for a moment and then nodded in response, "Oh, so you're the internet celebrity streamer with over three million fans that Xiao Yue mentioned, right?"

"Hehe, Boss, you actually know me." Hearing this, Liu Yan immediately beamed with joy and continued, "Actually, you even gifted me a five-clawed golden dragon in my livestream room before. I followed you and even sent you a private message, but you were probably too busy and never saw it." She became more animated as she spoke, her face filled with pride and infatuation.

"Ahem~" Qin Yi coughed lightly, glancing at Xu Qian beside him while signaling Liu Yan with his eyes to stop talking.

Liu Yan was naturally not stupid and immediately took the hint to shut up. She gave an awkward smile and then said, "Well, Boss, I'll leave you to chat. I'll head outside first. Just call me if you need anything..." With that, she turned and quickly retreated from the conference room. However, before leaving, she didn't forget to steal a few more glances at Qin Yi, thinking to herself: The boss is so young, really handsome and wealthy. No way, I don't care if you have a girlfriend or not, I must find a way to get close to him!

...

Qin Yi glanced sideways at Qin Xiaoyue, his eyes carrying a hidden signal. Qin Xiaoyue received the look and coughed lightly to hide her awkwardness. "Um, I'm going out too, you guys talk..." Before her voice could even fade, she had already slipped out like a startled fawn.

At this moment, only Qin Yi and Xu Qian were left in the large conference room. Xu Qian didn't speak immediately. Her eyes held a trace of complex emotion, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only managed to force a small smile for Qin Yi—a smile that hid a bit of helplessness and uncertainty.

"Ouch," Qin Yi deliberately pretended to be exhausted, stretching his arms as he slowly walked behind Xu Qian and gently wrapped his arms around her waist. His voice sounded low and tender in her ear, "What's wrong? Are you Life Qi?"

The corners of Xu Qian's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a bitter and helpless smile. She raised her hand to gently stroke the back of Qin Yi's hand on her waist and shook her head slightly, whispering, "No, you're overthinking it. I've just been interviewing all morning and I'm indeed a bit tired."

Qin Yi gently turned Xu Qian around to face him, his gaze locking onto her eyes, his voice full of intimacy: "Still trying to lie to me? Could I really not tell the difference between tiredness and Life Qi? It's all that girl Xiao Yue's fault. If I hadn't seen her staying up all night, I'd suspect she did it on purpose."

Hearing Qin Yi intentionally scold Qin Xiaoyue in front of her, Xu Qian finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, but she quickly regained her composure and said softly, "Really, I'm not. I was just a bit surprised. Thinking about it carefully, it's all quite wonderful. Perhaps this is just the fate between you and her?"

"Alright now, there you go again, always overthinking things. I heard from Xiao Yue that you originally wanted to recruit Su Mo? But she wasn't willing herself, and no one can force her. It's better that she's not here anyway, to save everyone from the awkwardness," Qin Yi comforted her softly.

Xu Qian felt a wave of unease in her heart and asked cautiously, "Then, did you want to keep her, or did you not want to?"

The image of Su Mo squatting in a corner sobbing silently suddenly flashed through Qin Yi's mind. His expression stiffened slightly, and he remained silent for a moment before responding, "To be honest, I'm not sure myself. I might have kept her, or I might not have..." He looked up at Xu Qian, his eyes questioning, "If I had decided to keep her, would you be Life Qi or disappointed?"

Xu Qian smiled, gripped Qin Yi's hand tightly, and shook her head. "No. If you were willing to keep her, I not only won't be Life Qi, but I'll actually feel relieved. It would prove that I didn't misjudge you, Young Master Qin. You really are a man of sentiment and loyalty. Of course, if you didn't keep her, I wouldn't be disappointed either. After all, feelings are selfish, and no one wants their man to have any entanglements with an ex or other women..."

"Haha, Qianqian, it seems you really have the potential to be a leader; you've covered both sides of the argument," Qin Yi teased, then tilted his head to kiss Xu Qian's lips lightly.

Xu Qian hurriedly pushed him away, her eyes glancing nervously toward the conference room door, her cheeks flushing slightly. She whispered shyly, "This is so embarrassing. There are people everywhere outside, aren't you afraid of being seen..."

"Haha, what's there to be afraid of? The company is mine, and you are mine too. Do I need to care what others think?" Qin Yi laughed dismissively. He pulled over a chair and sat down, propping his legs directly up on the conference table in a relaxed manner.

Xu Qian gently placed her hand on Qin Yi's shoulder and massaged it softly, asking in a delicate voice, "Did you drink at noon? Are you in a bad mood? Or was it business?"

Qin Yi closed his eyes slightly, enjoying Xu Qian's tenderness, and replied softly, "Old Third from my dorm is back. We had a small gathering at Uncle Jin's barbecue shop at noon. I didn't drink much."

"Uncle Jin? Who is that?" Xu Qian asked curiously, her hands never stopping their movement.

Qin Yi opened his eyes, a trace of nostalgia flashing through them. "Oh, Uncle Jin. He's the owner of a barbecue shop on the food street behind Modu University. I used to eat at his place all the time when I was in school, and we became close over time, so I usually just call him Uncle Jin affectionately. Right, I haven't taken you there yet. I must take you to try it sometime."

Xu Qian smiled and nodded, "Sure. If it's a place you go to often, the food must be quite good."

At that moment, Qin Yi suddenly slapped his forehead. "Oh right, I almost forgot to tell you the good news. I asked Dean Liu Changshan from the college. The minimum admission score for Metallic Materials Engineering in Wannan this year is 625. Your brother's score is definitely high enough, so don't worry."

Hearing this, a look of surprise and joy appeared on Xu Qian's face. "Really? That's wonderful! I'll tell him the good news right away."

"No rush," Qin Yi nodded with a smile and continued, "Also, there's something else I wanted to tell you. I'm planning to hold a special recruitment fair at the school. For the media company, you and Xiao Yue should put together a list of what positions are needed, the requirements, and how many people we need, then send me a table."

Xu Qian responded seriously, "Okay. We've already recruited 45 people this morning. However, I feel we're still lacking some company operations talent with management experience. For the school's special recruitment fair, I don't think we should limit it to just recent graduates. We could also consider previous graduates with work experience. We might find even better talent that way."

Qin Yi nodded approvingly after hearing this. "Hmm, that's a good idea. I'll suggest to the school that both recent and previous graduates can submit their resumes."

While the two were chatting happily, Qin Yi's phone suddenly rang. He sat up straight, pulled out his phone, and saw it was a call from President Xu.

When Qin Yi answered the phone, a familiar smile naturally appeared on his face. He didn't avoid Xu Qian and spoke directly into the phone, "Hello, President Xu."

President Xu's hearty laughter came from the other end of the line, "Haha, Mr. Qin, I'm not disturbing your rest, am I?"

"Not at all. Has President Xu come to Modu?" Qin Yi asked casually, while tilting his head slightly to signal to Xu Qian that it was a call from an acquaintance.

"Yes, yes. I just reported to the branch office, and I thought I'd better hurry over and deliver the card to Mr. Qin myself." President Xu's voice carried a hint of eagerness.

Qin Yi smiled and said, "That's very kind of you, President Xu. I'm currently at the Hongtian Bund Center T3 Office Building, 13th floor. You know the place, right?"

"I know, I know. I should be there in about twenty minutes. Shall we see each other then?" President Xu's tone was full of anticipation.

"Alright, I look forward to your arrival, President Xu."

The call ended, and Xu Qian asked curiously, "Who is this President Xu? You sound like you're quite familiar with him." Her hands continued to massage Qin Yi's shoulders.

"President Xu? He's the president of the Jingnan branch of China Merchants Bank. He's coming to deliver a card to me," Qin Yi said in a flat tone, as if speaking of a trivial matter.

Xu Qian's hands stopped moving, her eyes widened in disbelief, and she exclaimed, "Young Master Qin, you're truly amazing! A branch president coming all the way from Jingnan just to deliver a card to you? How did you manage that?"

Qin Yi waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing. People are all about mutual benefit. I deposit and process transactions at his bank, which is good for him, so naturally, he has to show some enthusiasm. Otherwise, if I were to deposit elsewhere, wouldn't he lose a major client?"

Xu Qian nodded in understanding, "Hmm, that makes sense."

Qin Yi stopped smiling and said seriously, "Well, enough about that. When I came in just now, I saw quite a few people outside. Have they all been recruited already?" He looked toward the door, seemingly trying to see the situation outside through the glass.

"Yes, almost half of them are Xiao Yue's former colleagues. She conscripted them to stay and help out," Xu Qian explained.

Qin Yi laughed heartily upon hearing this, "Haha, great! Then order some afternoon tea for everyone. Although the company isn't officially established yet, consider today their first day on the job. All the benefits and compensation they deserve should be provided!"

Xu Qian nodded in agreement, "Okay! Oh, by the way, the people from the renovation company will be coming later. Why don't you listen to their renovation plans with us? The sooner we finalize it, the sooner we can officially open. Otherwise, with so many people recruited, where to put them will be a problem."

"Sure. Since I'm free anyway, I'll listen in."

Subsequently, Xu Qian ordered fifty teas and small snacks on a food delivery app. The shop wasn't far away, just on the floor below the T3 Office Building.

After waiting for about ten minutes, the elevator doors opened with a 'ding.' Two delivery drivers walked out, each carrying two heavy bags. One of them shouted loudly to the crowd in the office hall, "Hello, is this the place that ordered Starbucks?"

Hearing the commotion, Xu Qian immediately walked out of the conference room and greeted them with a smile, "Yes, that's us." Then, she said to everyone, "Everyone, come and help take these. The boss ordered afternoon tea for everyone!"

Hearing this, the employees gathered around to help take the bags from the delivery drivers, their faces filled with joy.

At the same time, Qin Yi also walked out of the conference room. Xu Qian naturally took Qin Yi's arm and introduced him to everyone, "Let me introduce you all. This is the boss of our Yiqian Media Company—Mr. Qin Yi. Everyone, please welcome him with applause!"

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone burst into applause, and a flash of goodwill appeared in their eyes as they looked at Qin Yi. Among them, several pretty girls couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow~ Boss! You're so handsome!"

"Yeah, the boss is so young!" Bursts of discussion came from the crowd.

Qin Yi looked at everyone with a smile and raised his hand to signal for silence. Then, he began to speak slowly, his voice low and magnetic.

"Hello everyone, my name is Qin Yi. First of all, thank you for joining Yiqian Media. I heard from General Manager Xu that most of you are Xiao Yue's former colleagues. This is good; it's a great start. Additionally, the contract issues you were worried about before, I've already arranged for someone to handle them. From now on, you can work at Yiqian Media with peace of mind. Our company will definitely not pull any shady tricks with contracts."

Hearing Qin Yi's promise, everyone cheered and applauded again.

When the applause died down, Qin Yi continued, "However, our company isn't officially established yet. The overall planning, development direction, and so on haven't been sorted out yet. But please rest assured, within two weeks at the latest, the company will have everything in order. At the same time, I hope everyone can brainstorm together—for instance, about working hours, benefits and compensation, office equipment, and even your own future development plans. You can all put forward your own ideas and suggestions. During the renovation period, while there's nothing specific to do, feel free to express yourselves. Whatever ideas or needs you have, just ask. I'm a young person just like you. I'm not just making empty promises here; remember, the company is not short on money! As long as it's an idea or suggestion that benefits the company's development or your personal growth, feel free to bring it up! I will do my absolute best to satisfy you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the employees began to discuss among themselves, their faces beaming with excitement and anticipation.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "Long live the boss!"

Everyone chimed in, and for a moment, applause and cheers rose one after another.

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