Chapter 3 Chapter 3 He chuckled, "You're planning to starve your boyfriend to death..."

Taking the elevator directly to the twelfth floor, Song Jing carried the person to the doorstep and put him down.

Xu Zhixi's door has a six-digit combination lock, and he doesn't know the combination.

However, a slightly tipsy woman forgot about this. After landing on the ground, she leaned against the wall and looked up at him: "Are you tired?"

She thought Song Jing was tired of holding her and took a break.

It took Song Jing a few seconds to understand what she meant. Looking at her unfocused eyes, he said in a low voice with a hint of mischievous smile: "You want me to hold you and open the door, huh?"

Open the door?

Xu Zhixi seemed to finally remember something, turned around, and saw the combination lock on the door.

The man's voice beside her continued, "Or maybe your girlfriend is finally going to tell her boyfriend the password to her house, so that I can carry you home in one go."

Xu Zhixi closed his eyes in annoyance, said nothing, and stood up to enter the password.

However, due to the alcohol, he was not very successful in entering the password, and failed twice. A man's faint laughter came from behind him. Xu Zhixi covered his burning face and suddenly wanted to drive him away.

Fortunately, the third time finally succeeded.

Xu Zhixi pushed open the door and walked into the house, turned on the light, and sat in the entrance to change her shoes. After changing her shoes, she suddenly realized that the person behind her had not followed her in.

She looked up in confusion and saw him standing outside the door motionless.

"Go to bed early." He handed her the bag in his hand.

Xu Zhixi took the bag in a daze. The wine slowed his thinking and he asked, "Aren't you coming in?"

The smile in Song Jing's eyes gradually faded, and he looked at her with a serious expression: "Hmm?"

Thinking he didn't hear clearly, Xu Zhixi said again: "What are you doing standing at the door? Aren't you going to come in?"

"Are you really going to let me in?"

Xu Zhixi looked puzzled.

"It's too late to let me in just to have a cup of tea."

Xu Zhixi suddenly realized it, his cheeks flushed: "I told you to drink some water."

After she finished speaking, she turned and walked inside.

The effects of the alcohol were still lingering, so Xu Zhixi poured himself a glass of warm water to sober up. When he heard the door close behind him, he thought he had left, and suddenly felt a little empty in his heart.

Song Jing has been by her side since she joined Hertz.

Although they are not as close as other couples after being together, and sometimes even make her feel that being in love is just a dream, she has become accustomed to his existence.

Compared to the climaxes and ups and downs of the 8 o'clock dramas about the rich and powerful, she still prefers this kind of long-lasting relationship.

After meeting Song Jing, this idea became even more certain.

A rich person might be sentimental, but she doesn't have the courage to take a chance on such a possibility.

As an ordinary person, it is better to take the civil service exam to turn your life around.

"It's been a week since we last met. Don't you want to hug your boyfriend?"

Suddenly, a man's low and smiling voice sounded behind her. Xu Zhixi was stunned. Just as she was about to turn around, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind and held her in his arms.

The warm chest pressed against her back, the heat slowly spreading, feeling like it was almost burning her.

There were only the two of them in the room, and the air seemed to be stagnant and heating up. Xu Zhixi felt inexplicably nervous, not only because they were alone, but also because of what he had just said.

"Why did you drink today?" As he spoke, his breath sprayed on her neck, making the skin hot and itchy.

Xu Zhixi's heartbeat quickened, and she couldn't help but shrink and push his arm: "I want to go wash up."

He didn't move, but asked, "Are you sober?"

Xu Zhixi retorted: "I'm not drunk."

"Well, not drunk."

His words sounded more like connivance, and Xu Zhixi became more and more annoyed. It was rare for her to call him by his name seriously: "Song Jing, let go."

Song Jing chuckled softly; his name sounded strangely beautiful coming out of her mouth.

But he didn't let her go completely. Instead, he held her shoulders and asked her to turn towards him. His big hand stroked the back of her head, and with an undeniable tenderness, he pressed her into his arms again.

Now they were hugging face to face, and they could clearly feel each other's warmth and heartbeat, which made Xu Zhixi less nervous and even a little tender.

Song Jing actually doesn't talk much. He often has an expressionless face in the company, looking as if he is keeping people at a distance. In the words of his colleagues, he has a poker face.

But when you talk to him, you'll find that he's very polite, but this politeness is filled with alienation.

Perhaps because they hadn't seen each other for a while, Xu Zhixi felt that he was talking a lot and laughing a lot today.

Why? Because I was happy to finally see you, or because work was going smoothly and I felt happy.

A few minutes later, Song Jing let her go. Seeing her look embarrassed with her eyes downcast, he asked in a low voice, "Will you dare to let me in in the middle of the night next time?"

"Why not?" Xu Zhixi looked him in the eye, nervous but emboldened by the drunkenness, "I let my boyfriend into the house. He's not a mistress who's shameful to others."

Song Jing narrowed his eyes.

What I saw was the girl's fair face. Perhaps because of drinking, her cheeks were rosier than usual.

I am also bolder.

Xu Zhixi's heartbeat was disturbed by his stare, and he couldn't help but look away: "You..."

Just as she uttered a syllable, the man's warm breath suddenly approached. Xu Zhixi's heart tightened, and the rest of the words were choked in her throat, and her fingers unconsciously clenched her clothes.

Just when his lips were only two fingers away from her, Xu Zhixi couldn't bear it anymore and pushed him away.

"I...I'm going to wash up."

Xu Zhixi turned around to run, but someone grabbed his wrist and forced him to turn back.

Bumping into his bottomless eyes again, Xu Zhixi's eyes flickered slightly and she bit her lip: "I'm going to wash up."

He pulled her in front of him, no more than a fist's distance away, looked down at her flushed face, and said in a low, hoarse voice: "When can we kiss?"

Xu Zhixi hadn't expected him to speak so bluntly. Her head suddenly felt hot, and she instinctively struggled to free herself from his hand, but failed. She didn't know what to say for a long moment, and finally managed a few bland words: "I don't know."

"Huh?" He chuckled, "You're planning on starving your boyfriend to death."

“…”

"Can you give me a deadline?"

How do you give a deadline for something like this?

Xu Zhixi seriously suspected that he was making fun of her. She tried to break free again, but this time he didn't use much force, and she easily freed her hand.

"I can't give it to you." She immediately took a step back and quickly turned away, with a hint of "righteous indignation" in her voice.

Watching the girl hurriedly escape into the bathroom, Song Jing smiled and lightly twisted his fingertips, which seemed to still faintly retain her body temperature and fragrance.

The phone rang suddenly. He took out his phone, glanced at it, then immediately stopped smiling and turned to walk towards the balcony.

…

Because he had been drinking, Xu Zhixi took a much longer time to shower. It took him almost an hour to come out of the bathroom, and the slight drunkenness he felt also dissipated while he was washing.

The living room was very quiet. Xu Zhixi thought Song Jing should have left, but found that he had fallen asleep leaning against the sofa.

The main light in the living room was on, bathing Song Jing's handsome face in a bright glow. He lowered his head slightly, his features sharply defined by the light. His brows were deep, his nose was high, and with his eyes closed, his emotions were unrecognizable, yet a faint aura of cool nobility lingered about him.

He is really special.

It's not just because of looks.

Good-looking looks are all alike, but his natural elegance is hard not to notice.

When he was parachuted into Hertz's customer service department two months ago, single female colleagues from various departments circulated his photos crazily in the group chat, threatening that they would let him handle any difficult female clients in the future, and that he would definitely get twice the result with half the effort.

Faced with such a "great" face, even the most angry female customer would calm down a little.

However, this idea was shattered within a few days. The new deputy director had a cold exterior and an even colder heart. Not only did he react indifferently to the overtures of the company's partner, Mr. Jiang, but outside of work, he hardly even spoke to anyone else. So everyone decided that instead of having him fawn over clients, he might as well be assigned to move ice in the cellar.

Originally, those single girls who were eager to make a move did not want to put their efforts into the cold butt, but after knowing this situation, they gradually lost interest and at most they would gossip occasionally.

If people in the company knew that Song Jing not only actively pursued her but also succeeded, Xu Zhixi couldn't imagine how much of a commotion it would cause.

She secretly suppressed the thoughts in her mind and wanted to wake Song Jing up directly, but considering that he must be very tired after returning from a business trip, she didn't have the heart to do it, so she returned to the bedroom and took a blanket to gently cover him.

For fear that he would wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to see the surroundings clearly, Xu Zhixi left a desk lamp for him and put a note under the lamp, telling him to go to the second bedroom to rest when he woke up.

After doing all this, she went back to her bedroom to sleep with peace of mind.

I don’t know if it was because of the alcohol or because Song Jing was outside, but Xu Zhixi fell asleep almost as soon as he hit the bed, and woke up on time the next day to the sound of the alarm clock.

After struggling on the bed and staring at the ceiling for a few minutes, Xu Zhixi suddenly remembered Song Jing in the living room and quickly got up.

Xu Zhixi grabbed a coat and put it on, then walked out of the bedroom.

The living room was empty, so she went to knock on the door of the second bedroom.

After waiting for a moment, no one responded. Xu Zhixi hesitantly pushed the door open and found the room was as clean as before, with no sign of anyone having slept there.

Already gone?

Did he leave last night or this morning?

Maybe it was because of the alcohol she'd drunk the night before, but Xu Zhixi felt a bit hazy, as if she'd just dreamed. The house was so tidy and clean that she wondered if Song Jing had even been there last night.

However, this illusion disappeared when she passed by the living room again.

On the long table in the dining area, there were several breakfast items, steaming slightly, obviously they had just been set up not long ago.

Sandwiches, boiled eggs, warm soy milk and milk, and neatly cut kiwis.

So rich.

Xu Zhixi took out his cell phone and found a message from Song Jing a few minutes ago.

Song Jing: [Breakfast is on the table, don’t forget to eat.]

Xu Zhixi glanced at the sumptuous breakfast on the table, took a photo and sent it to her, replying: [So much. Have you eaten it?]

Song Jing: [I left hungry.]

Xu Zhixi: [Then why don’t you eat before leaving?]

Song Jing: [Is there ever a day when I don’t walk away hungry?]

How could he leave hungry every time?

Xu Zhixi's fingers quickly tapped out a rebuttal on the screen, but the moment a certain thought flashed through her mind, her cheeks suddenly felt hot. She pursed her lips, deleted the words in the dialog box, and retyped: [Rogue.]

He must be busy, so he didn't reply.

Xu Zhixi touched his cheek, posted the photo to his Moments, and then clicked on a news app to play the news. As a reasonably qualified civil servant, he didn't forget to listen to a few news reports while washing up.

Apart from Song Jing, no one else in the company knew that he was preparing for the exam, and Xu Zhixi didn't intend to let them know, so he never studied in the company, and the only time he could squeeze out to study was after get off work.

After breakfast, Xu Zhixi rushed to the company.

We drank until the early morning last night, so everyone was not in a good mood today and yawned a lot. Fortunately, there were no important projects, so we could slack off for a while.

It was already noon when Xu Zhixi finished typing the copy. Liao Keke came over and asked her what they were going to eat. Xu Zhixi didn't know, so she let her make the full decision.

"There's a new light food restaurant near the company. I think the environment is nice." Liao Keke checked the store information on her phone, then showed it to Xu Zhixi to take a look. "Why don't we go there for dinner? What do you think?"

Xu Zhixi took a look and thought it was pretty good: "Okay."

Liao Keke touched her waist and sighed, "I've gained a few pounds recently. I think I need to control my diet. I'll have to eat light meals for lunch from now on."

Xu Zhixi looked at her slender waist and said, "You've become very thin."

"Will you stay with me?"

“…”

"Forget it." Liao Keke looked at her slender back. Although thin, it was very beautiful. "You are just right like this. If you are any thinner, it will be unhealthy."

Xu Zhixi smiled and looked down at his phone.

She hadn't looked at her phone since she posted on her Moments. Many people had liked her post and left a few comments, the most eye-catching of which was Wang Zi's.

Wang Zi: Why do you eat so little? No wonder you're so thin. When I'm free, I'll take you to eat something better.

Xu Zhixi couldn't help but press his eyebrows, regretting that he had forgotten to block this person just now.

After much hesitation, she simply deleted the post.

Liao Keke didn't notice Xu Zhixi's strange behavior. She looked through the group messages and looked up at her with a wink: "Xiaoxi, have you heard? Teacher Gene is back from his business trip."

Of course Xu Zhixi knew, and he also knew that Song Jing had also been to the restaurant they went to last night.

I just don't know what he's going to do.

It could be a gathering of friends, or it could be a business meeting with a client. Looking at how the two of them interacted last night, Xu Zhixi felt it was more like the former.

Liao Keke: "Sometimes I feel that Gene is busier than the AD in their department, and he has more charisma."

Xu Zhixi put away his phone and smiled: "Everyone has different personalities. Besides, aren't we advertisers always this busy?"

"That's right." Liao Keke touched her flat belly and said pitifully, "Forget it, let's not talk about this. Let's go quickly. I'm starving."

Xu Zhixi stood up and was about to say "OK" when a call suddenly came in on his cell phone.

It's Vicky from the Account Department.

Seeing her incoming call, Xu Zhixi subconsciously thought that Wang Zi had come again.

Xu Zhixi and Liao Keke gestured, took a deep breath, and answered the phone: "Sister Vicky."

"Come to conference room T3 now."

Want to have a meeting?

Xu Zhixi was stunned.

The response was delayed for a few seconds, and the other end frowned and asked, "Is it inconvenient?"

Xu Zhixi stood up, quickly cleared the table, and stuffed the necessary meeting materials into his canvas bag. "It's convenient. Come right over."

After hanging up the phone, Xu Zhixi rushed to the meeting room, completely forgetting Liao Keke who was waiting for her to eat. She suddenly realized what was happening when she reached the door. She turned around and quickly said, "Sorry, Keke, I have to go to the meeting. Go eat first, don't worry about me."

Liao Keke: “…”

Is she the most idle person in the whole company?

…

The conference room was downstairs, so Xu Zhixi didn't take the elevator and went down the stairs directly. When she arrived, there were already several people sitting inside, and others were pushing the door open one after another.

The brainstorming meeting originally scheduled for tomorrow had to be rescheduled due to unexpected events.

This project is the latest one that the company has taken over after Li Ji, an old domestic beauty brand - Hengmei. Although it has brand heritage support, it has gradually faded out of the public's sight and is difficult to sustain after being impacted by endless new cutting-edge products and overseas niche brands in recent years.

Until recently, a beauty blogger's review video of the brand unexpectedly became popular, and many netizens came to watch it. This old brand, which had been silent for many years, also became popular again.

However, without clear, positive brand guidance, even the slightest skepticism can easily lead netizens to follow the crowd. Add to that the covert incitement of competitors, and this resurgence could become a sharp sword piercing the brand. Already, a significant amount of negative voices are emerging on social media, impacting not only product sales but also the brand's image.

The brand naturally couldn't sit still, and after urgent communication between the two sides, the project team moved the strategy brainstorming meeting originally scheduled for tomorrow morning forward to today.

Almost everyone was there. Vicky cleared her throat and was about to speak when there was a sudden noise at the door and the door of the conference room was pushed open from the outside.

Xu Zhixi was busy looking at the brief that had just been printed out, and didn't pay much attention to who came in. It was not until she noticed that the air in the conference room suddenly stagnated and heard clear and powerful footsteps that she raised her head in confusion, and Song Jing's handsome face came into her sight.

He wore a gray shirt, the hem neatly tucked into his trousers, and stood tall and straight like a pine tree. His gaze merely glanced at the people present, and an invisible pressure quietly spread.

Even the company's big boss has never given everyone such a strong aura. A young leader should not give people such a feeling.

Xu Zhixi just took a look and immediately looked away, fearing that someone would discover his clues.

Vicky obviously didn't expect Song Jing to come over, and quickly stood up from the chair: "Gene, what are you..."

Song Jing raised his hand to signal her not to be restrained, his voice calm and steady: "I just happen to have half an hour free, so come and listen casually. You guys continue, pretend I don't exist."

He said he just came to listen, and he really just found a seat and sat down.

But how is it possible to not care about it?

Xu Zhixi didn't understand why Song Jing suddenly came here. Most of the time he was either in the office or on a business trip. He was considered the most difficult deputy director to contact in the company.

If he hadn't taken the initiative to extend the "olive branch" to her, she would never have taken the initiative to approach him in her life.

She couldn't help but look in his direction, and happened to meet the man's eyes like deep pools. Unlike the gentleness of last night, there was a bit more indifference and coldness. Xu Zhixi tightened her palms, pursed her lips, and avoided him without any expression.

As a senior AM with rich experience, Vicky was briefly surprised. Then she turned to look at the creative director and found that he looked like he knew Song Jing would appear. She knew that the two of them had already greeted each other.

Song Jing is not in charge of this project, but he has the best personal connections. There must be a reason for him to attend this meeting today.

She retracted her gaze and immediately regained her professional composure. She quickly reviewed the project background and the brand crisis, then spoke succinctly, "Time is running out. Our top priority now is to stop the bleeding and quickly quell the spread of negative public opinion. Secondly, we must follow the brand's requirements and create a clear, positive brand positioning that aligns with current mainstream aesthetics, as well as a communication path that can be quickly implemented."

The author has something to say:

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Starve to death old man [dog head]