Chapter 8 Awake State

Such a time bomb has an almost zero chance of not causing trouble, so Ling Wei felt her warning was perfectly justified.

Qu Chen was clearly unaware of the inside story. His face darkened, and his cold gaze, filled with pressure, fell upon Ling Wei.

Ling Wei wasn't afraid. She pointed at him and complained to Qu Mingyuan, "Boss, look at him! I think I need to add another requirement: this person is not allowed to do anything bad to me! Look at the way he looks at me, so wicked!"

Qu Chen sneered: "You really think you're something special. Even without me doing anything underhanded, it's questionable whether you'll even make it into the preliminary rounds."

Ling Wei continued munching on her apple, her tone relaxed: "No need to worry. No matter what, my chances of advancing are still higher than some people's."

She suddenly gave a sinister smile, "In the show, competition between contestants should be allowed, right?"

"What do you want to do?" Qu Chen's eyes suddenly turned cold.

Ling Wei smiled innocently, "Easy, bro, how can there be no competition in a competition?"

Of course, it's not like you can't use underhanded tricks.

Qu Chen understood the implication in her words and coldly warned, "You dare to try..."

"Xiao Chen." A calm voice rang out, cutting off the threat.

Qu Chen's Adam's apple bobbed, he swallowed the rest of his words, snorted coldly, and as if he had thought of something, his expression calmed down, and he turned and left.

But that back view, no matter how you look at it, seemed to be brewing something.

With a single glance from Qu Mingyuan, Secretary Sun understood immediately and followed him out.

With only the two of them left in the ward, the air instantly became quiet, filled with a subtle awkwardness.

Ling Wei began to feel uncomfortable all over.

Now, this person is sitting upright on the hospital bed, and even the neat hospital gown cannot hide her upright and dignified demeanor. However, her mind is uncontrollably replaying the scene in the car, and the earth-shattering words she uttered when she got out of the car: "Our relationship is over, ex-boyfriend."

This is absolutely a social disaster scene.

She was so embarrassed that she wanted to dig a hole on the spot and plunge into the hospital's sewers to never see the light of day again.

The other person was the head of a large-scale project in charge of local cultural affairs, a project she was eager to participate in. And what had she done to herself... to drag him along to do crafts...?

"Miss Ling."

"Here!" Ling Wei straightened her back reflexively.

There was no way around it; Qu Mingyuan's aura was too strong after he regained consciousness, perfectly matching the composed director in the news.

"I can do my part to help with your grandmother's medical expenses."

Ling Wei's eyes lit up, and she nodded like a chick pecking at rice: "Okay, okay..."

No, no, you can't accept a favor without doing it for nothing. If Grandma knew she had accepted such a big favor for no reason, she would definitely hit her with a broom handle!

She immediately shook her head vigorously, repeatedly saying, "No, no! Really, no!"

But... that's Grandma.

She's been working so hard these days, isn't it all so that her grandmother can have peace of mind while she's in the hospital?

Ling Wei stood frozen in place, her CPU completely overheated, and she was in a dazed state, caught in a battle between heaven and man.

Qu Mingyuan chuckled softly as he watched her freeze in place.

Without the influence of medication, the laughter was clear and gentle, echoing softly in the quiet ward.

He didn't say anything more, but simply picked up a folder from the bedside table and handed it to him: "Take a look at this first."

Ling Wei took it and saw that it was an application form for the "Qinghe Cultural Talent Special Assistance Fund," which was a formal channel established by the province to support cultural talents in impoverished areas.

"I've reviewed your basic information, and you meet the application requirements." Qu Mingyuan's tone was calm, without any hint of charity.

Ling Wei's eyes lit up instantly: "Thank you, leaders!! Thank you for the government's good policies! I will definitely continue to work hard, actively give back to society, and never let down this trust and expectation..."

Her words were resounding, and only after she finished speaking did she suddenly realize that this was not an awards ceremony, nor was she a student representative.

It's all because I received scholarships and grants every year in college. As a representative, I had to thank the school leaders. At the request of my counselor, I rehearsed the process too many times, and muscle memory just popped up unintentionally.

A smile flickered across Qu Mingyuan's eyes as he threw out another bait: "In addition, the top three teams in this project's group performance will receive substantial prize money."

Ling Wei's eyes shone like electrified light bulbs: "I will try my best!"

She looked at the man on the hospital bed, whose eyes were tired but still handsome. As they were talking, his phone vibrated several times, but he turned it off without making a sound.

He was so busy, yet he still remembered her grandmother's medical expenses and pointed her in the right direction.

For some reason, Ling Wei's nose felt a little sore. She childishly raised her fist to her ear and solemnly declared, "Don't worry, boss! I will definitely make this event a success!! The buzz will far exceed your expectations!"

Qu Mingyuan chuckled. This girl, just when he thought she had matured a bit, suddenly showed such a childish appearance again.

"Just fill out the form and hand it to Secretary Sun."

"Okay!" Ling Wei nodded vigorously, turned around to go back to fill out the form, took two steps but then awkwardly turned back, lowered her head and muttered quickly, "I'm sorry, I bit your lip yesterday."

Then he took off running and disappeared.

Qu Mingyuan was taken aback upon hearing this.

Is your lip ulcer?

He subconsciously raised his hand, his fingertips lightly touching his lips, and sure enough, he felt a slight but distinct stinging pain in the lower left corner.

So, despite this ambiguous wound, he handled his work, listened to reports, and met with no fewer than ten people... and no one even reminded him?

Director Qu, whose emotions were usually as stable as a Kapibala, had a rare hint of annoyance flash across his eyes.

The chaotic scene inside the car last night kept replaying in my mind: the girl who started boldly but became flustered and nervous at the last moment, closing her eyes and recklessly biting me...

Qu Mingyuan closed his eyes, slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, got out of bed and washed his face with cold water.

At this moment, Secretary Sun also returned.

"Director, we've found a lead on Miss Ling's phone. Young Master Chen... volunteered to retrieve it." Secretary Sun said with a worried expression. "Do you think we should intervene?"

Qu Mingyuan rubbed his temples: "Intervene? Can you stop him?"

Secretary Sun remained silent. Indeed, that young master could enter and exit various firewalls as if they were empty.

“Then…” he awaited further instructions.

Qu Mingyuan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Keep an eye on him, and also on Miss Ling..."

He thought for a moment and added, "If anything happens, report directly to me."

Secretary Sun: Oh wow? Another person has been added.

A hint of hesitation flashed across his face.

Qu Mingyuan glanced at him indifferently.

Secretary Sun suddenly realized: the leader's plans were far-reaching; how could he possibly fathom them! He had to trust the leader!

"Received!" Secretary Sun straightened his back and said in a loud voice.

Qu Mingyuan: "..."

Suddenly, I remembered Ling Wei's loud "Here!" from earlier.

Secretary Sun: "..."

What was the reason behind the leader's sudden, gentle smile? Although his smiling face was indeed pleasing to the eye, something about it made him uneasy...

It must be the secretary's warning radar that went off.

No, I have to seriously emphasize this to the makeup artist and photographer in the publicity department again: when you appear on camera with the leaders in the future, make sure to make them look as composed and mature as possible, and make sure to seal this outstanding good looks under an old-fashioned and dignified image.

If she really gains popularity based on her looks and becomes some kind of internet celebrity, then that would be troublesome.