PSMD – Chapter 112

The surname “Tao” made Qiu Yang’s brow twitch.

Gu Lan was a little surprised, “Huh? Is he actually the company’s general manager?”

She looked at Qiu Yang but ultimately didn’t say the words she wanted to blurt out.

Honestly, this scene was a bit cheesy.

Kevin continued to relay information, “Yes, my friend told me. He heard someone among that group of people in black suits call him ‘Mr. Tao,’ so his last name must be Tao, right?” He glanced around, lowering his voice slightly, “My friend saw his face. He said he looks average, just tall and big.”

Gu Lan laughed upon hearing this, “Oh, is that so? Well, let’s disperse then. What’s the point of gathering around if he’s not a handsome guy?”

Qiu Yang pursed her lips, withdrawing her gaze. Kevin raised an eyebrow when he heard Gu Lan’s words, “Then am I a handsome guy?”

“Please share some of your confidence with me, bro,” Gu Lan retorted, then pulled Qiu Yang away from the crowd, leaving only their backs for Kevin, the ‘tool person’.

Only after they returned to the company corridor did Gu Lan breathe a sigh of relief. She turned her head, looking at Qiu Yang in confusion, “Xiao Qiu Jie, why aren’t you interested in this at all?”

“I saw that man two days ago. He waited downstairs for Qu Jie for quite a while, and finally, they left hand in hand. I thought they were already together back then,” Qiu Yang fabricated a reason. What she was thinking about wasn’t this.

Gu Lan’s eyes widened slightly, “Really?”

“Then what’s this whole scene about now?” She was a bit confused.

Qiu Yang pursed her lips, “I don’t know.”

She was currently pondering one thing: was this man named Tao related to Tao Sixian?

Qiu Yang didn’t know much about Tao Sixian’s family, but she knew the basics—

Tao Sixian’s family owned a company, her parents were alive, and she had an older brother.

Because of the illness incident before, she had suspected Qu Yan and Tao Sixian had private contact, and Qu Yan’s suspicion still remained. Adding this general manager named Tao, if he and Tao Sixian were indeed siblings, then everything seemed to make sense.

Qiu Yang was preoccupied. Gu Lan noticed this and didn’t try to keep her talking, returning to her own desk.

If she hadn’t known the man’s surname was Tao, Qiu Yang wouldn’t have connected him to Tao Sixian, because he wasn’t particularly good-looking, just tall with long legs, while Tao Sixian was clearly much more refined. The siblings had almost nothing in common.

But now that she knew his surname was Tao, the possibility of him being Tao Sixian’s brother immediately rose to 99%.

Qiu Yang sat at her desk, her mind in a whirl. She had several guesses, but she didn’t know which one was correct. This matter seemed much clearer, but in reality, it felt even more confusing.

Qu Yan returned to the office ten minutes before work started. She had a bright smile on her face and even handed out chocolates to everyone.

Qi Rong exclaimed, “Wow,” with a slightly exaggerated look, “Qu Jie, what kind of chocolate are you treating us to?”

“Just eat it,” Qu Yan gave her a playful glare, “Why so many questions?”

Qiu Yang looked at the exquisitely wrapped chocolate ball in front of her, pursed her lips, and smiled, joining in the teasing, “Qu Jie, when are you treating us to wedding candy next time?”

Qu Yan’s expression was natural, but she was much gentler towards Qiu Yang, “Still early, nothing is set in stone yet.” She paused, then looked around at the other colleagues in the office, “If that day really comes, I’ll set up a table for you all and put a sign on it that says ‘Slackers’.”

“We’re not slacking, Qu Jie, don’t accuse us wrongly.”

“Hahaha, Qu Jie, why don’t you write ‘Workers’ instead?”

Qiu Yang’s smile didn’t fade. She acted no different from her other colleagues, but as soon as Qu Yan returned to her seat, Qiu Yang’s smile disappeared.

She didn’t unwrap the exquisitely packaged chocolate ball but put it in her drawer.

Since she was moving to Shen Ningruo’s place over the weekend, she could start packing some things now. However, she wasn’t entirely sure if she would move everything at once, so Qiu Yang packed quite casually.

She was very good at organizing things. Before, Miao Yi saw a news report about someone who helped others organize and earned over ten thousand yuan a month, which made Miao Yi very envious. She said she wanted to go help people organize to earn money and even asked Qiu Yang to join her because Qiu Yang was better at it.

Unexpectedly, she got a reply from Qiu Yang: “I’m not short on money.”

Miao Yi: …My apologies.

When Shen Ningruo came back in the evening, she saw a suitcase placed on the bedroom floor. Inside, some clothes were neatly folded. These clothes were folded so perfectly that if they were displayed in a clothing store, no one would suspect they had been worn before.

“Xiao Yang,” Shen Ningruo exclaimed in admiration, “Although I traveled with you during the May Day holiday and saw your organizing skills, you fold things too neatly.”

Qiu Yang sat on the edge of the bed, thoroughly enjoying her praise, “Really? It’s very simple.”

Shen Ningruo cleared her throat and said with a smile, “If you were to say that in a humblebragging tone, it would be, ‘Oh, I don’t know why, but as soon as my girlfriend came home, she said I folded my clothes so neatly. I think it’s just average, right?'”

Qiu Yang’s eyes curved into a smile. She reached out, “Come here and hug me.”

“Coming.” Shen Ningruo walked up to Qiu Yang. She raised her hand and placed it on the back of Qiu Yang’s head, pulling her into her arms.

Qiu Yang remained seated, her face buried in Shen Ningruo’s clothes. She felt it wasn’t enough, so she simply unbuttoned two buttons of Shen Ningruo’s shirt before leaning back in.

Shen Ningruo’s belly was warm, her skin smooth, and there was a faint fragrance. Qiu Yang’s nose couldn’t help but rub against it, and she heard Shen Ningruo’s voice from above, “…It tickles.”

Qiu Yang chuckled and kissed her again before slightly raising her head to meet Shen Ningruo’s downward gaze, “I made a new discovery today.”

“What is it?” Shen Ningruo’s eyes were gentle, filled with endless patience.

Since being with Qiu Yang, their interactions had become more natural, but their affection had also grown.

Shen Ningruo had never experienced this feeling before. She personally felt her love for Qiu Yang increasing day by day, not decreasing.

“It’s just…” Qiu Yang pursed her lips, her brows furrowing, “Qu Yan and Tao Sixian’s brother are now a couple.”

Shen Ningruo was startled, “She has a brother?”

“I thought she turned out the way she is now because everyone in her family’s graves had grass ten meters high.”

Qiu Yang said seriously, “Regarding Qu Yan’s previous relationships, I actually know a bit about them. In these four years, besides this one, she’s dated two others, but… she wasn’t very satisfied with their conditions. I can understand, because Qu Yan herself is very capable, while those two exes were quite ordinary. She herself felt they weren’t good enough for her.”

“What does Tao Sixian’s family do?”

“They own a company, I think it’s a clothing company, I’m not very sure.”

“Then what you just said, can’t it be directly interpreted as…”

“She just looked down on them because they didn’t have money.”

“Yes,” Qiu Yang blinked, “That’s pretty much what it means.”

“Then Tao Sixian’s brother’s conditions must be quite good, so it’s not surprising she’d take a liking to him,” Shen Ningruo looked at Qiu Yang, her expression becoming serious, “I’ll make a guess. She probably used your information as leverage, revealing it to Tao Sixian, and the return she demanded was Tao Sixian’s brother.”

Qiu Yang lowered her eyelids, and the arms wrapped around Shen Ningruo also dropped, releasing Shen Ningruo. She sighed softly, “Is it possible that Tao Sixian was the one who initiated it?”

“There’s not much difference between the two.”

“True.”

Shen Ningruo narrowed her eyes, “The key question is, we don’t know what Tao Sixian wants your information for.”

Qiu Yang was equally bewildered, “I don’t know either.”

Pingzi swaggered in at this moment. It felt the atmosphere was a bit off, so it wanted to go out again.

Qiu Yang looked at it, her eyes lighting up, “I remember now.”

“Remember what?”

“Tao Sixian’s family background is indeed quite good, but her family doesn’t value her much, and she herself really wants to build a career.”

“Around the Qingming Festival, she came to me to talk about Pingzi. She wanted to turn Pingzi into an internet celebrity cat.”

Suddenly, everything clicked for Qiu Yang, “I don’t think she came to me because she liked me. And before that, she had never visited. That time was only because Pingzi’s videos went viral online, she saw a business opportunity, and she couldn’t wait to come find me.”

Shen Ningruo was stunned for a moment. She bit her lip, maintaining eye contact with Qiu Yang.

They absolutely had to figure out what kind of relationship and interaction Qu Yan and Tao Sixian currently had.

Qiu Yang tilted her head, looking at her phone. Her throat moved, and she looked at Shen Ningruo again, “I… I’ll ask her out for dinner this weekend.”

“I’m worried.”

“It’s okay, you’ll be nearby too.” Qiu Yang picked up her phone, “I’ll try fishing for information.”

She had blocked Tao Sixian’s contact information. She unblocked the number from her blacklist, then hesitated for a moment before tapping the dial button.

“Hello?” Tao Sixian’s voice sounded very surprised, “Yangyang, why are you calling me?”

Her tone was as if they hadn’t broken up, and as if things hadn’t become so awkward between them.

Shen Ningruo’s fists quietly clenched.

Qiu Yang patted her hand with her other hand, then said calmly, “I’ve figured it out.”

“Figured what out?”

“I should live a better life.”

“What’s going on? Did you break up with that Shen person?” Tao Sixian sounded a bit confused.

Or rather, gloating.

Qiu Yang looked at Shen Ningruo’s displeased face, which was about to explode, coughed, and ignored Tao Sixian’s question, speaking on her own, “Pingzi has the potential to become an internet celebrity cat. I can cooperate with you.”

Tao Sixian was clearly stunned for several seconds before saying with unconcealed delight, “Really? Don’t lie to me.”

She then began to earnestly lecture Qiu Yang, “I told you long ago, and it doesn’t harm the cat. When businesses look for Pingzi to collaborate, you won’t have to pay a single cent for cat food, canned food, or cat toys. They’ll cover it all. Besides that, you can also make money. Why wouldn’t you?”

Listening to Tao Sixian talk now made Qiu Yang feel a bit nauseous. She gained a few more layers of “understanding” about Tao Sixian.

Turning a cat into an internet celebrity isn’t that difficult in today’s world. As long as the cat is cute enough—no, it doesn’t even need to be that cute itself, the humans outside the frame will make it appear cute. Add some money to boost traffic, and more people will see it, leading to more attention. With a little more patience and time, businesses will notice the traffic and come knocking, achieving the goal of making money.

Some owners, blinded by greed, won’t care if the products are unregulated or what effect they have on pets. As long as the business pays well, they will advertise and encourage fans to buy.

Clearly, Tao Sixian was one of those heartless people.

When she first got Pingzi, she wasn’t very good to it. Could she really be expected to be much better to Pingzi now that she thought it could make money?

Impossible. Even if she acted like it, it would just be a pretense.

“Let’s have dinner this weekend,” Qiu Yang didn’t want to listen to her anymore and said directly.

Tao Sixian readily agreed, “Okay.”