Leng Qian took his phone and went straight upstairs to his study. Gu Ying was sitting at the table, typing on the keyboard, seemingly doing nothing.

"Sir, the phone."

Leng Qian walked over and handed it to Gu Ying. Gu Ying looked up and asked, "Whose is this?"

"Miss Lian's."

Leng Qian spoke with considerable respect, even towards Lian Chuchu. Because he was unsure of Gu Ying's intentions, he always kept in mind that Gu Ying and Lian Chuchu were in a romantic relationship.

Gu Ying frowned subconsciously, took the phone, waved for Leng Qian to leave, and then put the phone to her ear.

"neat."

Lian Chuchu felt wronged. "Brother Gu Ying, sob sob, I miss you so much! You never come to see me. I'm so sad right now, sob sob sob."

Gu Ying's lips curled into a cold smile. Now that she knew Nan Zhi was her, even Chu Chu was of no use to her.

"I've been too busy lately, it's my fault, don't cry."

Even as Chu Chu continued to sob softly, she spoke in a coquettish tone:

"Brother Gu Ying, can I come to your house? You have no idea what I've suffered these past few days, sob sob. That Nan Zhi thinks she's the president of the association and only knows how to bully me. Now, my new drama that I just got accepted has been ruined because of an author named Nanmu Youzhi, sob sob. The world is deliberately making things difficult for me. You have no idea how much I've suffered."

Her rant included Nan Zhi's name, which immediately made Gu Ying raise an eyebrow. Now, as long as Nan Zhi is well, Gu Ying would think it's good no matter who she bullies.

Moreover, seeing Chu Chu say that, Gu Ying couldn't help but feel a surge of anger in her eyes. Chu Chu had targeted Nan Zhi quite a bit, and perhaps it was time to teach her a lesson.

"What happened? Did Nanzhi bully you again? Here's what we'll do: let's meet in the city, and you can tell me all about it. Don't worry, Brother Guying will stand up for you."

Gu Ying's lips curled into a sarcastic smile, but her words were incredibly gentle, making Lian Chuchu's heart flutter. Wouldn't this be even better? Let Gu Ying teach Nan Zhi a good lesson. Lian Chuchu had always known that Gu Ying disliked Nan Zhi. From all her past actions and signs, she could tell that with Gu Ying's help, Nan Zhi probably wouldn't fare much better.

So Lian Chuchu went to the private restaurant in the city that Gu Ying had mentioned.

The moment Lian Chuchu saw Gu Ying, she almost rushed over, but Leng Qian, who was standing next to Gu Ying, blocked her way.

Only then did Lian Chuchu realize that there was another person present.

She bit her lower lip, looking aggrieved. "Brother Gu Ying, who is he?"

Gu Ying smiled slightly, gestured for Leng Qian to step aside, and spoke to Lian Chuchu:

"This is Leng Qian. You haven't met him before, so don't worry about him. Sit down first, and tell Brother Gu Ying what you want to eat. I'll eat with you."

Lian Chuchu was touched and looked at Gu Ying with teary eyes. Then she sniffed and said, "I'll eat whatever you eat."

Gu Ying nodded slightly. "You said Nan Zhi bullied you again? She's the president of the association. What happened?"

Mentioning Nan Zhi reminded Lian Chuchu that she had come to complain, so she embellished her story and recounted the events, such as how Nan Zhi deliberately targeted her and prevented her from passing, and how she wouldn't have been able to join the association if it weren't for her own abilities.

That's blatant lying.

Gu Ying frowned as he listened. Based on his understanding of Nan Zhi, she was not the kind of person who would use her position to settle personal scores. Gu Ying also knew how much of what Chu Chu said could be trusted.

"Oh, that's really going too far."

Finally, Gu Ying made a symbolic sigh.

Lian Chuchu nodded in agreement, "Yes, although I really want to be friends with Nan, she always seems to have ill intentions towards me, and I'm really sad."

At this point, Lian Chuchu's eyes darted around, "If it weren't for Brother Qi Hao constantly comforting me, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to hold on much longer."

Gu Ying's eyes flickered slightly. Qi Hao? He had never heard of this person, nor had he ever paid attention to Lian Chuchu's private life.

"Who is Qi Hao?"

Gu Ying asked a question, and Lian Chuchu was overjoyed, thinking that Gu Ying was jealous. So she looked up with a smile on her face and simply talked about her friendship with Qi Hao.

"Brother Qi Hao is very good to me. He treats me like a younger sister. Whenever Junior Nan bullies me, Brother Qi Hao always stands up for me. So he is really a great person."

Looking up at Gu Ying's expression, and seeing his indifferent expression, Lian Chuchu quickly explained:

"Brother Gu Ying, actually there's nothing between me and Brother Qi Hao. I just treat him like a brother. You know, my brother really doesn't like me. Now that I have Brother Qi Hao by my side, I feel very happy, and..."

At this point, she glanced at Gu Ying, bit her lip, and said, "You've never been there for me. If it weren't for Brother Qi Hao, I would have done something drastic long ago."

Finally, he also took the opportunity to complain about Gu Ying, who had clearly been scheming.

An unreadable light flashed in Gu Ying's eyes, then she smiled.

"It was my fault. I will make it up to you. Just tell me what you want."

Lian Chuchu shook her head. "I don't want anything, Brother Gu Ying. I just want to know... when do you plan to get engaged to me?"

After she finished speaking, her face flushed red with embarrassment. She lowered her head, looking extremely shy. Gu Ying's sarcastic gaze fell on her, and disdain flashed in his eyes.

"Wait a little longer, until I'm done with this busy period."

Hearing Gu Ying say that, Lian Chuchu was overjoyed and excited, but she didn't show it on her face at all. Instead, she glanced at Gu Ying shyly, which was very endearing.

Unfortunately, Gu Ying never bought into that. How could he not know what Chu Chu was thinking? She was only thinking about becoming the matriarch of the Gu family. Ha, that was just wishful thinking.

After Lian Chuchu left, Gu Ying exuded a gloomy aura. "Go investigate this Qi Hao."

Leng Qian nodded, "Okay."

"Also, I remember that Lian Chuchu's mother is in S City. Go find her, bring her back, and treat her to good food and drink."

Faced with Gu Ying's request, Leng Qian had no ulterior motives and simply focused on doing his job well.

...

On weekends, as the president, Nanzhi naturally goes to the association to guide the new designers.

Lu Chao was also kept behind by Nan Zhi, essentially as an advisor. He didn't need to do anything; he just needed to provide some guidance to the designers.

"Nanzhi, good morning."

As soon as An Ran arrived, she excitedly greeted Nan Zhi. Nan Zhi glanced at Cheng Yi following behind her and smiled, "You two are quite diligent."

An Ran chuckled, "The early bird catches the worm."

Nanzhi nodded, and soon the others arrived as well.

They each sat in their own seats.

The group assignments were also determined by drawing lots.

An Ran and Cheng Yi were also destined to be paired together.

Before they could even be happy, they heard that Lian Chuchu was also in their group.

safely:"……"

Cheng Yi: "..."

Nan Zhi: "..." What a coincidence! Her original intention was to properly nurture An Ran and Cheng Yi.