Chapter 10

The approaching Christmas atmosphere means the approaching pressure of the card surface incident, and Yue Qianling has no intention of thinking about how to celebrate the holiday.

The players' online condemnation hung over the entire project team like a cloud of sorrow, leaving everyone no time to breathe, as if they were facing the fate of the entire team falling apart.

But precisely because of this, no one cared about why Yue Qianling decided to come back to work two days after leaving her job, and no one mentioned the boss's opinions conveyed by the team leader in the group, perfectly avoiding the embarrassing situation she had expected.

These two days were also the best work experience Yue Qianling had ever had.

She only needed to draw seriously at her workstation. No one would chat with her, no unexpected meeting invitations, and even the team leader would not force everyone to have lunch together.

Only the chief artist did not come to check on the progress of the original artists before leaving get off work as usual. Now she would hang around Yue Qianling whenever she had nothing to do.

On the evening of the 21st, Yue Qianling successfully submitted the Christmas event card designs of the two male protagonists to the chief artist.

However, before the lead artist could submit the content to the main server, the lead planner hurried over to them with a laptop in his arm.

He didn't have any opening remarks. He just opened the picture on the main artist's computer, and after concentrating on confirming it several times, he immediately arranged to release the preview card again.

Judging from the attitude of the chief planner, there shouldn't be any problem, and we can make it in time for the opening ceremony tomorrow.

Everyone in the group breathed a sigh of relief to some extent, but no one was in a hurry to leave work. Instead, they waited in their seats for the official Weibo account to announce the newly revised card designs and to see the players' reactions, in order to gain a final peace of mind.

Only Yue Qianling hadn't eaten anything all day, so she just went downstairs to the convenience store with her cell phone.

At this moment, only the team leader opened his computer to check emails. From time to time, he looked at the night scene outside the window with a bit of panic in his eyes.

Everyone sitting here hoped that this tuning would get good feedback from players, but she couldn't show such expectations.

I even hope that players will continue to curse.

After all, the more satisfied the players are with Yue Qianling's redrawn card artwork, the more it slaps her in the face.

She would rather take the blame for this failure than endure such humiliation.

So after the game’s official Weibo account re-released the card preview, she immediately turned on her phone and stared at the screen.

In just a few minutes, many “?” appeared in the comment section.

Seeing this, she breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling that the stone that had been weighing on her heart for days had finally fallen.

It seems that the players are indeed dissatisfied with today's card appearance, and are even more angry, so they don't want to say anything and just send question marks.

That was exactly how things turned out for her.

The team leader's shoulders finally relaxed. He took a screenshot of the comment and sent it to the work group.

[Team Leader]: Well, I told you, it’s no use calling Qian Ling back.

[Team Leader]: This is not our art problem. Who knows what’s wrong with these players?

[Team Leader]: I’m sorry to trouble you to come back. Your boss might be disappointed in you this time.

Yue Qianling did not see the content she posted in the group in time, nor did she know the current public opinion among the players.

The convenience store was crowded at this time, and Yue Qianling was concentrating on scanning the shelves, searching for what she wanted to eat.

But those fast food products were really unappetizing. After choosing for a long time, she decided to go back to school and eat at her favorite restaurant.

Yue Qianling slowly returned to the company and was about to walk into the project team's office area when she felt her cell phone vibrating again, so she took it out to check.

More than ten minutes have passed since the team leader posted those messages in the group.

The continuous vibrations at this moment are because other colleagues also sent screenshots.

[Huang Jie]: It seems that things are not as you said?

In the picture, the public opinion in the comment section of the game's official Weibo account is very consistent.

The first most liked comment: Wouldn’t it have been better if this artist had been asked to draw the picture earlier? You just deserve to be scolded! We don’t want to cooperate with that previous artist anymore. We will go on a pay-per-click strike every time we see that style of painting.

The accompanying picture is a krypton bar worth more than 200,000 RMB.

The second most liked comment: So you guys came up with that thing a few days ago because you were itching to get scolded? ?

The accompanying picture is a krypton bar worth more than 100,000 RMB.

The following comments are basically the same.

Obviously, the question marks sent by players in the first few minutes were simply expressing the meaning of "Since you have cards of this level, what were you doing crazy in the past few days?"

Later, someone published a detailed idea and attached his own krypton bar, and was pushed to the front row.

So when Yue Qianling scrolled over and saw what the team leader said, she was completely confused.

Anyone with a little bit of common sense would know that if the kryptonians really want to curse, they wouldn't just send a question mark.

While she was thinking about what was wrong with this team leader's brain, she sent a simple "?"

Then the group fell into deathly silence, and no one spoke anymore.

That “?” stayed at the bottom of the screen, like a slap mark on the team leader’s face.

A few minutes later, someone noticed that there was one less person in the group.

Huang Jie quietly approached Yue Qianling who was packing up to leave and whispered, "Yin Qin has left the group."

Yin Qin is the team leader.

In fact, in terms of position, she, Yue Qianling and Huang Jie are all original artists of the same level, but she has the longest experience. The company set up such a team leader for the convenience of management. She usually collects and organizes some information and shares the trivial work.

In the past, everyone regarded her as a senior and called her “team leader” out of respect, which did not mean that they really had to follow her lead.

So when Yue Qianling found out that she had left the group, she didn't feel anything. She didn't like joining this kind of group in the first place.

"Oh, it's better to return it." She put away her things and met Yin Qin's gaze when she looked up. It was difficult for her to maintain her expression. She glared at her angrily while holding her bag, then turned and left.

What's wrong.

Yue Qianling picked up the phone and said to Huang Jie, "Then I'll go back to school first."

"It's still early." Huang Jie held her back and said, "I'll treat you to dinner to celebrate your return to work. How about that?"

Yue Qianling thought about it, smiled and said yes.

She found that as long as Yin Qin didn't force the group together, she would be happy to have dinner with these girls.

Huang Jie called a few colleagues to go downstairs with her.

There were not many restaurants downstairs, and it was the time when the surrounding Internet companies were getting off work, so they looked for several restaurants before they found one with seats.

This restaurant, which combines Chinese and Western elements, has a youthful décor and a relaxed atmosphere. There are several long tables in the hall that can accommodate twenty people. It is the most popular dining spot for office workers in the area.

Now there was only one table near the door that was unoccupied. Just as they sat down, they heard the greeting voice at the door again.

Yue Qianling had her back to the door, didn't look back, just lowered her head and played with her cell phone.

Huang Jie, who was sitting opposite her, suddenly waved her hand.

"Yi Hong! Are you guys coming here to eat too?"

"Yes, we looked for a long time and all the seats were full. Is this your department's dinner party?"

"It's not a party, just a few colleagues eating together, how about you?"

"So do we."

"Hey, why don't you come over and sit with us?" Huang Jie looked around, "There are no other empty tables."

"Um..." Yi Hong asked his colleagues for their opinions. Everyone nodded, so he said, "Sorry to bother you then."

"We are all colleagues, why be polite?"

Yue Qianling didn't know who the "Yi Hong" Huang Jie was referring to, but judging from her tone, he should be a colleague she didn't know.

Hearing the footsteps of several people approaching, although Yue Qianling didn't know these people, she planned to say hello politely.

When she looked up, she saw that Gu Xun was also among the group of people.

Under the dim and ambiguous light of the restaurant, he lowered his eyes, walked past a few empty stools, and stood directly opposite Yue Qianling, stretching his legs to create a gap between the chair and the table.

The moment he sat down, Yue Qianling's heart was in suspense.

When he sat down, he looked up and their eyes met as expected.

Gu Xun raised his eyebrows, with a hint of surprise in his eyes, but not to the point where he needed to ask a question.

He just nodded and turned to look at the menu on the desktop.

Only Yue Qianling was still immersed in her private joy. She couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth, so she had to lower her head to look at the menu.

“These are the original artists from our project team.”

Huang Jie was sitting next to Gu Xun and introduced him to Yi Hong through him, "You must have met him before, right?"

In fact, they have hardly ever met each other. Their Ninth Business Unit is completely like another company. Yi Hong and Huang Jie met while eating instant noodles in a convenience store a few days ago.

However, he had an impression of Yue Qianling, so he nodded vaguely and said, "I have seen him before."

Then he pointed to the people walking with him and said, "This is the development department of our business unit."

Everyone looked up and greeted each other. Yue Qianling found that several of her female colleagues were staring at Gu Xun. She felt a little uncomfortable and suddenly became restless.

But there was nothing she could do except sit there.

Fortunately, Gu Xun never looked up, and only occasionally spoke a few words to Yi Hong beside him, as if he didn't see the row of girls opposite him.

The narrow space under the table was not enough to accommodate his legs, so after ordering the dishes, he leaned back in his chair, bent one leg and put it on the horizontal railing under the table.

Since everyone was looking at him, and the law could not hold everyone responsible, Yue Qianling raised his eyes openly.

But Gu Xun didn't seem to notice the gazes of the girls around him. He was concentrating on looking at his phone with his head slightly tilted. The light above his head just made the outline of his profile even deeper.

At this distance and angle, Yue Qianling could clearly see the faint shadow cast by his thick eyelashes on his lower eyelids.

He is like a cartoon embedded in a noisy background, so beautiful that it seems unreal.

I don’t know how long I watched it.

Suddenly, he raised his eyes.

The two people's eyes met unexpectedly again.

Gu Xun's eyes were still calm, but Yue Qianling had a panicked look as if she was caught. She hurriedly looked away, grabbed her phone and randomly pressed keys to try to cover up the fact that she was peeking.

In the noisy environment, Yue Qianling could still clearly hear her own heartbeat.

What are you dancing for? !

It’s just a peek and getting caught, what’s the big deal? !

Try your best! Stop it!

After a while, she heard Yi Hong and Gu Xun whispering something, and then she came out of the cave with peace of mind.

Yue Qianling took another peek and finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he looked normal.

Besides being panic, I was more happy.

It turned out that her decision to come back to work was the right one. After only a few days, they were already eating at the same table.

Maybe they would go to the movies together in a while, and then she would definitely grab a seat next to him.

Thinking of this, Yue Qianling's gaze lingered on Yi Hong and Huang Jie, as if thinking about something.

The phone suddenly vibrated and someone in the group was talking.

[Camel]: I’m finally home. Do you want to eat chicken?

[Xiaomi]: I’m reading a book, wait a moment.

[Camel]: @NuomiXiaMahua@SchoolGrass, where are you two?

【School Prince】: I’m not free now.

【Glutinous Rice Dough Twist】: I am not free either, so I am having a dinner with my colleagues (*^▽^*)

[School Prince]: If you want to have a dinner party, then have a dinner party. What's the big deal?

【Glutinous Rice Dough Twist】: It’s none of your business (*^▽^*)

[Xiaomi]: 9494, why do you care so much? You are not her boyfriend.

【School Prince】:?

【Glutinous rice twisted dough sticks】：?

[Camel]: @NuomiXiaoMahua, didn’t you quit your job?

[Glutinous Rice Dough Sticks]: Another new employee!

[Camel]: Oh, new colleagues should have more dinners together. Okay, then I'll go pack my luggage first, and call me when you're ready to eat.

Yue Qianling put down her phone and looked up inadvertently, and saw Gu Xun also looking at his phone. He didn't know what he was thinking about, staring at the screen, and didn't look very happy.

New colleagues.

Gu Xun stared at these words, frowning for a long time.

Yue Qianling turned her gaze and looked at Yi Hong who was standing beside Gu Xun, and suddenly an idea came to her mind.

A greeting sounded behind me, and as other guests came in, a gust of cold wind blew in.

Yue Qianling immediately covered her mouth, turned her face away and coughed twice.

After a few seconds, the door was opened again by the departing guest, and Yue Qianling started coughing again.

Huang Jie was chatting with someone, and when she noticed Yue Qianling coughing, she immediately asked with concern: "What's wrong with you? Do you have a cold?"

"A little bit." Yue Qianling frowned and coughed twice, "People were coming in and out, and the wind was blowing towards me. I couldn't stand it."

The voice came clearly into his ears, and Gu Xun's eyes suddenly fixed for a moment, then he raised his eyes and looked straight at Yue Qianling.

This was the second time her voice sounded familiar.

They were so familiar that they could hardly be two people.

Some small fragments emerged in my mind, and they almost matched exactly.

For example, having dinner with colleagues, Jiangcheng, alumni, similar voices...

He narrowed his eyes and clenched the phone tightly with his fingers without making a sound.

On the other side, Huang Jie looked at Yue Qianling and was about to say something when Yi Hong on the other side had already stood up.

"Why don't you come sit here with me?" He pulled out a chair and raised his chin towards Yue Qianling, "I have more clothes on."

Yue Qianling waved her hands quickly, "How can this be so embarrassing?"

"We are all colleagues." Yi Hong was already walking towards her. "Go ahead. It doesn't matter where I sit."

Yue Qianling said sorry, but he quickly stood up and walked towards his seat.

Suddenly, under the light, Yue Qianling watched Gu Xun's reaction with her peripheral vision, fearing that he would refuse her to sit next to him.

But he didn't say anything. Instead, he stared at her face. Even when their eyes met, he didn't show any intention of looking away.

Yue Qianling blushed in shame.

Fortunately, the lighting in the restaurant was dim, which managed to hide her tracks.

Gu Xun finally looked away.

At this moment, the background music switches to a lingering and romantic violin solo.

But the person opposite was Gu Xun, and Yue Qianling would never think that he fell in love with her just because of such a look.

Could it be that...

Countless thoughts flashed through Yue Qianling's mind.

Did he discover the real reason why I changed seats?

That's impossible. I just pretended very well.

Could it be that something else was exposed?

…

With all kinds of doubts in mind, Yue Qianling sat down next to Gu Xun tremblingly, pretending to be reserved and not looking at him.

Yu Guangzhong, however, was paying attention to Gu Xun's every move.

Her limited field of vision prevented her from clearly seeing what Gu Xun was doing. She only knew that he was looking down at the phone in front of him, tapping his fingers on the table, as if he was deep in thought.

The ordered dishes finally started to be served one after another, and the colleagues around us had already started chatting.

Huang Jie is always considerate of others. When she found out that Yue Qianling didn't have anything to drink, she immediately asked, "Would you like some wine?"

She reached over Gu Xun and handed him a glass of wine. "You've been pretty tired these past few days. Would you like to have a drink to relax?"

Yue Qianling glanced at the juice in front of the girls opposite her and quickly waved her hand, "I don't drink."

Huang Jie: "Then let's change to rice wine. Rice wine doesn't have much alcohol."

“No, no.” Yue Qianling still shook her head, “I’m allergic to alcohol. I can’t drink a drop of alcohol.”

Huang Jie always felt that something was wrong. Wasn’t it Yue Qianling who drank with her last year? Did she remember it wrong?

"Okay, drink your juice."

Huang Jie finally sat back.

Yue Qianling breathed a sigh of relief and secretly glanced at Gu Xun to see his reaction.

Unexpectedly, he suddenly turned sideways, looked at Yue Qianling, and asked, "Do you play games?"

"Yes." Yue Qianling kept smiling, "How can people from a game company not play games?"

Gu Xun's eyes darkened even more.

"What game?"

“I’ll play every game on the market.”

This is the truth. When it comes to games, Yue Qianling knows them all. "I've played almost all the games released by companies like Ubisoft, Blizzard, and Konami."

But Gu Xun did not show the appreciative expression that Yue Qianling had expected, but he sat up straighter, and his posture seemed less lazy.

"So," he stared at her and asked, "what about mobile games?"

"Mobile game?"

Yue Qianling’s mind quickly flashed back to what Chen Yin had said a few days ago: “People in the ninth business unit look down on mobile games.”

So, she said word by word: "I never play mobile games. They are too low-tech."