"I messed up..." Qiao Guangyu cradled the hot green tea Quan Quan handed him, murmuring, "I actually said something like 'learn a bit more, big brother’ to the White Moonlight!"

Clearly, they had envisioned many scenarios of meeting the White Moonlight and practiced how to charmingly provoke his jealousy with the enticing aura of a green tea temptress. Their ultimate goal was to matchmake Huo Zhou and the White Moonlight, becoming the catalysts of their romance!

Who would've thought that on their first encounter, Qiao Guangyu would veer go astray, and to top it, he hadn't even recognized Bai Yu Guang! He felt like crying at his own stupidity!

Upon reflection, besides sharing the same face, there was nothing about him resembling Wu Yu. He couldn't possibly trigger the White Moonlight’s sense of crisis. There was simply no comparison between a rough guy like him and an elegant, fresh little prince. He had outshone Wu Yu completely. There was no need for Wu Yu to worry about Huo Zhou being snatched away by him, nor would he urgently seek to reconcile with Huo Zhou!

"You still realize you messed up," Quan Quan smirked coldly. "I thought you'd break into a celebration dance the moment you saw Wu Yu."

"...I messed up, Quan Quan QAQ."

If they weren't in the guest room outside Huo Zhou's office, Qiao Guangyu would've knelt down before Quan Quan.

Quan Quan: "..."

Half-supporting his forehead, Quan Quan waved weakly, "Forget it. Be more cautious in the future, and don't let accidents like today happen again. Wu Yu doesn't know much about you yet. I hope he won't notice your... uniqueness."

Qiao Guangyu felt much better and took another sip of the hot green tea, sighing, "Delicious. What tea is this? Is it also exclusively for White Moonlight?"

Quan Quan looked at him coldly, "Organic green tea, specially bought for you. It's meant to refresh your mind—hopefully it can boost your poor IQ a bit, so you don't ruin everything after enduring three years of hardship at the final hurdle."

Qiao Guangyu: "..."

Suddenly, Qiao Guangyu laughed, his eyes sparkling with amusement as he looked at Quan Quan.

Quan Quan was puzzled, "What are you looking at?"

"I'm looking at how good-looking you are," Qiao Guangyu said without thinking.

Quan Quan smirked.

"Alright, alright, I mean, I find you a bit peculiar," Qiao Guangyu patted the sofa next to him, inviting Quan Quan to sit beside him. "You're like a breath of fresh air in the world of secretaries. While others try their best to become the boss's confidant, you teach me how to be a good stand-in for the White Moonlight. Sometimes when I overthink, I wonder if you don't want Mr. Huo to fall in love with me, and don't want to see me with him?"

Quan Quan retorted, "Do you also want to be the boss's pillow?"

"Of course not," Qiao Guangyu immediately shook his head. "I don't love him, and I don't plan to live off him for the rest of my life."

Quan Quan spoke slowly, "What if he's willing to support you for the rest of your life?" He glanced deeply at Qiao Guangyu, "He's wealthy, has no bad habits, handsome, energetic, and can fulfill you in many ways."

Qiao Guangyu nodded as he listened, and casually replied, "If he's really that great, then you should go for him, Brother Quan."

Quan Quan: "..."

Qiao Guangyu: "..."

There was a somewhat awkward silence between them, as if their words didn't quite match up. They exchanged glances in silence, and finally, Quan Quan got up to refill his cup of green tea while Qiao Guangyu boredly flipped through a magazine on the sofa.

In the executive lounge of a big company, there were only economic journals, and Qiao Guangyu could barely understand them. He thought about taking out his phone to play games but then remembered he should maintain the image of ‘just realizing he's a stand-in’, feeling conflicted and anguished but holding back tears, so he dared not touch his phone.

As he flipped through the pages, he suddenly exclaimed. He had actually come across an interview with Wu Yu in the magazine.

Qiao Guangyu looked at the cover and realized it was the latest issue, released this month.

Wu Yu's interview was detailed, spanning several pages and accompanied by several casual photos of him, looking very relaxed and attractive.

The title of the interview was "The little Music Prince Transitions to Finance — Wu Family Plans to Sign Strategic Cooperation Agreement, Ventures into New Energy-Related Industries." Qiao Guangyu didn't understand the financial aspects, but he figured out from the interview that Wu Yu had studied music abroad but, upon returning to China, joined the Wu Group as an executive, giving up music.

He couldn't help but feel countless grievances. He particularly wanted to light a row of candles for himself. Simultaneously, he worried — would he need to study another subject like finance for his "extracurricular tutoring" in the future?

Therefore, when Huo Zhou spent the whole afternoon in his office and finally came out for some fresh air, upon pushing the door open, he saw a despondent Qiao Guangyu with a magazine spread open to Wu Yu's full-body photo.

Qiao Guangyu's almost tearful expression halted Huo Zhou's steps, and he couldn't quite untangle his own feelings. Driven by something, he walked up to Qiao Guangyu, picked up the magazine, tossed it aside, and then hugged Qiao Guangyu tightly.

As he held Qiao Guangyu tightly, he felt his empty heart being filled with something, calming his restlessness, bringing peace to his world.

Qiao Guangyu: "???"

Huo Zhou's "three-pointer" move came too quickly, and Qiao Guangyu barely had time to analyze Huo Zhou's emotional journey and figure out what expression to put on. He could only discreetly lift his head from Huo Zhou's embrace and shoot a pleading look to the all-knowing secretary Quan.

Quan Quan's expression was one of "you're hopeless," and he could barely maintain his poker face.

Fortunately, after years of collaboration, Qiao Guangyu and Quan Quan had developed a tacit understanding. Quan Quan mouthed something, and Qiao Guangyu knew what to do.

He gently pushed Huo Zhou away and pursed his lips, casting a pleading gaze, "I'm not feeling well today. Could the secretary please take me home?"

"Don't worry..." When Huo Zhou uttered these words, he felt somewhat surprised himself. It was almost unbelievable that his initial reaction upon seeing Wu Yu and Qiao Guangyu in the same space was to comfort Qiao Guangyu. Realizing this, he abruptly cut off the second part of his sentence, changing it to: "It's fine, you're tired today, rest early."

Qiao Guangyu casually left Huo Zhou's embrace, unaware of the hint of reluctance on Huo Zhou's face. He briskly walked towards Quan Quan, his steps getting faster and faster, almost revealing his excitement on his face.

Quan Quan: "..."

 

--

Author's note:

Qiao Guangyu: I have a lot to say...

Quan Quan: That should be me saying that.

Huo Zhou:?

Wu Yu: The photos in this magazine shoot are nice. I should do more interviews with them in the future.

 

Translator : DarNan