Chapter 39 Biting "Isn't it true that you have to use your mouth to coax someone?"...

However, plans did not keep up with changes.

"Minister Kim, is this your cooperation proposal?"

Shu Qing stared speechlessly at the hastily written Word document in front of her—Xie Heng did know Jin Wanli after all; he really did write a Word document and then came to her. The title alone took up a quarter of the document, and as for the specific content, it was practically nonexistent. There was no plan to be expected; he slyly wrote "Leave it to the contractor to do."

Jin Wanli was in the wrong, but he was very confident: "What's wrong? I've already clearly written down the terms of cooperation, and I've also written down the 'channels,' and the payment, isn't it right here? 'Two thousand yuan for each cured,' what's wrong with that?"

Shu Qing took a deep breath and told herself: This is a protected animal. Don't judge it by human standards. Be patient!

She asked in a friendly tone, "Didn't Professor Xie give you a proper cooperation proposal for reference?"

“I gave it to you,” Jin Wanli said, “but I feel that’s not my responsibility; it’s your job.”

Shu Qing couldn't take it anymore.

"Okay, I'll assume you're just a client looking to make money, and let's talk this over." Shu Qing pulled out her phone and showed him the recent quotes from several advertisers. "Here, take a look. Five thousand yuan per video, that's the lowest price! Even if you're the official company, I can offer a discount, I'd accept two thousand yuan, but this... to cure one?"

“I still don’t think Niannian is completely cured. I’ve filmed five or six videos of her.” She rolled her eyes at Jin Wanli. “Earning two thousand yuan from you is really not easy.”

Jin Wanli glared: "You—"

"Also, you have to tell me how many monsters we need to deal with, and what kind of help you can offer." Taking advantage of Jin Wanli's ignorance of these things, Shu Qing subtly steered the conversation in the direction she wanted. "For example, the characteristics and abilities of the monsters. Before, it was Xiao Hong... oh no, Jiu Su who told me. Now he's going to go on missions with you. Who should I ask?"

"Those are the ones brought back from the headquarters of Huiyao Group, there are dozens of them." Jin Wanli took the bait as expected and said nonchalantly, "Go ask Xiao Xie, or if that doesn't work, ask him to give you access. The information is all on the internal network of the Super Management Bureau."

Shu Qing gave a small cheer in her heart: The plan worked!

That's the permission she wanted.

With that, she stopped tormenting Jin Wanli and urged him to send a message to Xie Heng requesting access, while also asking for Xie Heng's contact information.

"Alright, I'll handle the design and stuff. As for the quote, you can go back and discuss the budget with your director." Shu Qingyi tried to bargain with him meaningfully. "If you feel uncomfortable asking, just wait for me to write a proposal when I get back. Sigh, I'm really impressed that you actually managed to get money with just this Word document. You're something else."

Jin Wanli was furious at her sharp retorts, experiencing firsthand the power of workplace manipulation. However, due to Jiu Su's intimidating presence and the regulations of the Super Management Bureau, he had no choice but to swallow his anger and vowed that he would never again be tempted to touch such complicated and troublesome things as "projects" or "plans"!

After arguing with Jin Wanli, Shu Qing returned home in a pleasant mood. She added Xie Heng's contact information, relayed her conversation with Jin Wanli that day, and asked him for permission to access the information.

Xie Heng agreed, but told her, "After the incident at Huiyao Group, the Supernatural Management Bureau has strengthened its monitoring of supernatural biological data. I can't grant you access directly right now; I need to go through the application process. You can ask me any questions before the application is approved."

Okay, Shu Qing suppressed her impatience, took a few pictures of her three little monsters, and also asked some questions about how to take care of them.

She found an opportunity and asked casually, "Since monsters exist, isn't reincarnation and such things not entirely impossible?"

Xie Heng's "typing" cursor blinked for a moment. He said, "Extraordinary beings are real species that objectively exist and coexist with people. Reincarnation is what people hope for, but the matter of life and death is unknowable. If you are willing to believe in it, then it is not wrong to believe that it exists."

A very philosophical answer.

Shu Qingxin said: So that means that objectively, this mechanism still doesn't exist?

She politely thanked him for the answer, spaced out for a while, then plugged in her graphics tablet and began sketching storyboards.

She had had a vague idea for this project with Jin Wanli for a long time, but because she didn't know what Jin Wanli wanted to make it, she never thought about it in detail. Now she can put it into practice.

She wanted to create a series of short dramas called "Monster Encyclopedia," referencing the encyclopedia system in games. The ancient Chinese classic "Classic of Mountains and Seas" describes how strange and exotic creatures eat and what they are used for; her encyclopedia would describe what little monsters eat and how they live.

It just so happens that this project is perfect for their studio's opening, with official approval and the title of Jin Wanli, the strongest monster, as a selling point. She feels very hopeful!

Shu Qing started drawing, and the first monster she chose was the auspicious bird that brings wealth. The reason was simple: it was lucky, and people liked its special abilities. Regardless of age or gender, "changing one's luck" was always a hot topic.

Even if a group of people forward "receive good luck", wouldn't that open up a new situation?

Inspired by Jiu Su's cheating at blind boxes by carrying Fa Cai's feathers, she first filmed the auspicious bird's abilities; then she filmed their feeding interactions with Fa Cai, mainly highlighting their cuteness; she also planned to ask Qi Yun to film the auspicious bird kept by the Qi Group to show its daily home-keeping and house-protecting effects.

There are also a few auspicious birds raised by the Huiyao Group in the Supermarket Management Bureau. Perfect, let's help them speed up the adoption process.

She was so focused on her work that she wrote so quickly that she didn't even notice Jiu Su had returned until he brought her some snacks.

He brought over a snack platter, with four kinds of snacks neatly arranged. It could sell for hundreds of dollars in the store. Shu Qing's mouth watered at first glance.

"Delicious!" Shu Qing forgot all about her work, took a bite of half a fried onion ring, and joked indistinctly, "Is this also a monster's superpower, being good at making delicious food?"

Jiu Su said coolly, "No. Besides me, have you ever seen any other snakes that are skilled in cooking?"

“Yes,” Shu Qing stuffed the other half of the onion ring into her mouth, “Does Bai Suzhen count? Legend has it that there is a beef soup that Bai Suzhen made for Xu Xian as her specialty.”

"..."

This is a really good example; a famous traitor among snakes.

Jiu Su glared at her, "Even food can't shut you up."

Shu Qing smiled and pulled him to sit down next to her. In their current home, there were either two chairs placed side by side or two-seater chairs; in short, there was no single seat available.

She showed Jiu Su her first draft of the storyboard and asked with great interest, "How is it?"

“Not bad,” Jiu Su said with a smile, “This ending is interesting. Is this the first video the studio plans to release?”

“Yes.” Shu Qing pointed to the last scene and said, “The first one I wanted to film was Fa Cai. At the end, I plan to have several auspicious birds in the shot together. Fa Cai is black, the one at the young lady’s house is white, and there are a few colorful ones in the Super Management Bureau… I wanted to make a nine-colored bird to ride the wave of metaphysical traffic, but unfortunately there aren’t that many. Do you know where I can get a few more?”

Jiu Su gave her a meaningful look.

Shu Qing blinked as she looked at him.

“Yes, of course I can get it.” Jiu Su suddenly moved closer to her, his beautiful face filling her entire field of vision. He asked with slight dissatisfaction, “Why didn’t you draw me in the first video?”

Shu Qing subconsciously leaned back and said guiltily, "Drawing you... isn't really appropriate."

Why is it inappropriate?

Shu Qing explained, "The auspicious bird is a species that everyone recognizes. People are more likely to be interested in things they only have a vague understanding of, but it won't work with completely unfamiliar things. This is a new studio, so it's easier to break into the market this way."

Jiu Su remained silent, but her lips were slightly pursed, clearly indicating that she was still not very happy.

Shu Qingren was completely numb. She nudged him and said, "This is work, serious business!"

Jiu Su remained silent. Helpless, Shu Qing pinched his cheek: "Don't be jealous for no reason."

If he gets jealous when he sees her discussing cooperation with Jin Wanli or asking Xie Heng for advice, that's understandable. He doesn't want to see his girlfriend in the same frame as other men; although his possessiveness is a bit strong, it's barely understandable.

But he didn't. He saw her talking about work with Jin Wanli and Xie Heng and didn't care at all. But when she drew the first monster, she drew Fa Cai but not him, and he became jealous. Why was that?

"Alright, alright." Shu Qing patted him and coaxed him sweetly, "I only drew it for work, you are my favorite little snake."

Jiu Su's ears turned red, but she pressed her advantage, "Is all you can do to coax people with your words?"

"You have to use your words to coax someone, right?" Shu Qing could tell he wanted a hug, and she secretly smiled to herself. She leaned over and gently pecked his lips at the corner of his mouth. "Is this okay?"

"!"

Jiu Su's ears turned bright red instantly, her light sandalwood eyes fixed on her lips, and her throat moved slightly.

Shu Qing blushed, pushed him away, and refused, saying, "No."

She had just eaten onion rings, which was really inappropriate. Although couples who have been together for a while don't need to worry about their image in front of each other, they hadn't even kissed yet, and they were still a long way from that stage. She couldn't accept it.

She ignored Jiu Su's obvious disappointment and glared at him fiercely, the meaning of which was very clear: Why did you have to fry onion rings of all things!

Jiu Su understood what she meant from that look. She tried her best to suppress her laughter, but Shu Qing pinched her a few times and she finally managed to hold it in and said with difficulty, "Sorry." But she still wanted to laugh, so she bit her lip and tried her best to suppress the corners of her mouth.

Shu Qing glared at him angrily, but then she couldn't hold back anymore, and the two of them burst into laughter, and the little bit of melancholy from before vanished.

After he finally finished laughing, he asked her, "I'll cook you something delicious, isn't there any other reward?"

Shu Qing smiled and touched his face, "What do you want?"

"I need a drop of your blood."

It was all for nothing; it turned out to be a serious matter. Shu Qing could only say, "Then I'll go to the hospital to pick it up tomorrow?"

Jiu Su leaned down, took her hand, and gently bit her fingertip with his snake fangs. It didn't hurt much; it was much better than having blood drawn from the capillaries during a hospital blood test. She only felt a slight coolness. She wondered if his teeth had some kind of toxin that numbed her senses.

She even had the energy to ask, "Hey, you have to fast to get blood drawn at the hospital, but I just ate something. Will that have any effect?"

Jiu Su shook her head, licking away the excess blood from her fingertip with the tip of her tongue. A cool, soft touch, carrying moisture, flowed through her body like a spring breeze, causing her to shiver slightly.

He looked up and asked again, "Your birthday is in a few days, isn't it?"

Shu Qing glanced at the calendar before realizing, "Oh, right."

Her birthday falls in mid-September, which falls on a holiday. When she was in school, her family remembered to celebrate it for her every year; but after she started working in H city, living alone and working overtime every day, she stopped celebrating it long ago, and her presence in the family became less and less noticeable each year, until this year she was completely forgotten.

This year she's free and can allocate her time as she pleases, so she can have a good day.

“But…” Shu Qing turned off the calendar and stared at Jiu Su with interest, “How did you know? I don’t remember telling you when my birthday is.”