Who should I spend Christmas with?
I've already promised Chen Qin, and it's unlikely to change. As for Yu You asking me so suddenly, she must have plans too, and it doesn't seem right to refuse her.
As for An Shiyu, while refusing wouldn't be a huge deal, Christmas day is her birthday. Since she extended the invitation herself...
Or maybe I should just skip all of them and spend the day with Chen Hai.
"Hmm." Ye Shuang thought about it. Wouldn't it be better to go ask Chen Qin?
If I just change the timing a bit, she'd probably understand, right?
"But I always seem to let her down." Ye Shuang fell silent, lost in thought. He habitually felt his pocket and pulled out a piece of candy—since quitting smoking, he always kept a few candies in his pocket for when the craving hit.
Once you've smoked, the addiction stays with you for life, let alone for someone like him who smoked for over a decade.
"No, I can't let Chen Qin down." Ye Shuang murmured to himself. It's probably better to refuse Yu You and An Shiyu, right?
But...
"Heh, I can't believe I'm stressing over something like this." Ye Shuang gave a self-deprecating smile and shook his head, which made Kou Kou, who wasn't far away, glance over a couple of times.
Has Manager Ye run into some trouble today?
"Hmm..." Ye Shuang's pen unconsciously scratched on the paper before he slowly pulled it back.
This is the only way.
Ye Shuang picked up his phone and replied to both Bai Yuyou and An Shiyu.
To Bai Yuyou — Ye Shuang: I'm free in the morning. What's up?
To An Shiyu — Ye Shuang: I should be free around noon.
As for the afternoon and evening, that would be Chen Qin's time.
Ye Shuang interlaced his fingers on the desk, continuing to ponder. This seemed like the best solution.
The best, and also the worst.
Ye Shuang never thought he'd become a master of time management one day.
A cold sweat broke out.
Just then, his phone rang again. Ye Shuang glanced at it—
Tao Xiaotao: Brother Ye, are you free on Christmas day?
Ye Shuang: "..."
Then his phone vibrated again.
Zhixia: Teacher Ye, we're planning a party on Christmas day. Do you have time to join?
Ye Shuang fell into deep thought once more: "..."
Silence is golden.
...
...
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was mid-month.
In mid-December, a cold front swept south, and the people of Haizhu City practically changed into warm winter clothes overnight.
Ye Shuang was no exception. Even bundled in a thick coat, he could still feel the chill when walking outside.
"This weather is brutal." Ye Shuang muttered in his office. Just yesterday the temperature had risen enough for short sleeves, and now suddenly it's down to puffer jackets, with no warning at all.
"I told you it was getting colder, I warned you." Chen Qin sat across from him, smiling. She was also dressed warmly, no longer in a fitted silk dress, but in a dignified white wool coat and beige trousers.
"Who knew it would drop from 20 degrees to 4 degrees?" Ye Shuang was a bit helpless.
Chen Qin asked, "Did you buy Yu You some warm clothes?"
"I did." Ye Shuang described, "She's wearing a lot."
"How much is 'a lot'?"
"Probably looks like the Michelin Man."
Ye Shuang's description was vivid, making Chen Qin understand immediately.
Ye Shuang rubbed his hands. Even with the office's constant temperature, he still hadn't warmed up.
Noticing this, Chen Qin reached out and gently took his hands in hers. Her palms were very warm, instantly heating up Ye Shuang's hands.
"Hehe." Chen Qin chuckled, looking pleased.
Feeling the delicate touch of her hands, Ye Shuang said, "Your hands are quite warm."
"Other parts of me are warm too. Want to try?" Chen Qin pulled down her collar slightly, revealing her woolly-clad "slimes."
As she spoke, her face flushed, she placed Ye Shuang's hand right on the "slimes."
"You can just keep it there, no moving around."
Ye Shuang slowly averted his gaze.
"Eek, I said no groping!"
After fooling around for a bit, there was a knock on the office door. Chen Qin zipped up her coat, her expression quickly returning to composure, though the blush on her cheeks seemed stubborn.
She first gave Ye Shuang a coquettish glance, then said, "Come in."
The assistant opened the door and said, "Manager Chen, Manager Xu is here."
"Let him in."
"Okay."
"Manager Chen, good morning... Huh?" Soon, Xu Yitian appeared in the office. He had just started speaking when he noticed Ye Shuang there.
"What a coincidence, Manager Ye, you're here too." Xu Yitian said with a strained smile, his tone even a bit sarcastic, "So happy to see you here."
Hearing this, Ye Shuang retorted,
"Oh? How happy exactly?"
Ye Shuang's question made Xu Yitian pause, momentarily at a loss for words. Chen Qin instead spoke up, asking Xu Yitian what the matter was.
"These are the several partnerships secured from the last event." Xu Yitian also handed the documents to Chen Qin.
"You could have had the assistant bring them over, no need to come yourself." Chen Qin remarked.
"These partnerships are quite important, it's more secure to deliver them personally."
Chen Qin began reviewing them. Seeing she was working, Ye Shuang stood up, "Manager Chen, I'll head back now."
"Alright, go ahead and get back to work." Chen Qin looked up and gave a faint smile.
Under Xu Yitian's gaze, Ye Shuang left the office.
Chen Qin spent a long time reviewing the documents. When she finally pinched the bridge of her nose and looked up, she realized Xu Yitian had been standing there the whole time. She apologized, "Sorry, Manager Xu, I got absorbed in reading. Perhaps you should go back and rest?"
"It's no trouble. Manager Chen is as beautiful as ever when focused on work." Xu Yitian said.
Hearing Xu Yitian compliment her like that, Chen Qin felt it was a bit odd, but didn't dwell on it. She just asked, "Manager Xu, was there anything else you wanted to discuss?"
"Oh, it's like this..." Xu Yitian began, "It's about Manager Ye."
"Manager Ye?"
"Yes... That new assistant he recently hired seems to enjoy wearing all sorts of strange outfits, like maid costumes, catgirl outfits... I was wondering if this might set a bad example for the other employees in the company?" Xu Yitian said.
Upon hearing this, Chen Qin's brows furrowed slightly.
Seeing her frown, Xu Yitian showed a satisfied expression. "This seems to be Manager Ye's preference... I didn't feel comfortable mentioning it to him directly."
Meanwhile, what Chen Qin was thinking was whether An Shiyu would catch a cold wearing so little.
I really should remind her.
"I'll go remind her. Thank you for your concern, Manager Xu." Chen Qin said.
"Not at all, not at all. I just happened to notice and wanted to ask about the situation." Xu Yitian also smiled.
Two people on completely different wavelengths had somehow managed a coherent conversation.
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
th】 【No prior gaming knowledge required】【The First Cultivation + Game Design Novel on the Platform】 In a world where the righteous path dominates and crushes the demonic sects, Lu Ze unlocks the "Son of the Demon Path" system. Killing righteous cultivators now grants him power-ups. Wait—deaths in illusions count too? As a former game designer, Lu Ze decides to give the cultivators of this world a little—no, a massive—shock... Sect Elders: "What is this 'Escape from the Demon Sect' game? Why have all our disciples abandoned cultivation to play it??" Elite Disciples: "You're saying... mastering 'Demon Slayer' can help us counter demonic schemes?" Reclusive Masters: "Why did I leave seclusion? Ask that backstabbing rat who ambushed me in 'Eternal Strife' yesterday!" Rogue Cultivators & Civilians: "'Immortal Abyss Action' is addictive! You can even earn spirit stones by loot-running..." Sect Prodigy: "My Dao heart is unshakable... except for that cursed black hammer." Royal Scions: "Can skins have stat boosts? I’ll pay 10,000 spirit stones for one!!" Sect Leader: "WHO IS CORRUPTING MY DISCIPLES?!!!"
