Summer is here, and the weather is hot.

Everyone changed out of their long sleeves and into cool short sleeves, enjoying the summer heat.

It was also during this season that high school seniors in China marched onto the battlefield of the college entrance examination, and everyone cheered them on that day.

May they achieve top marks in their exams and have a bright future.

For them, this two-day exam was a life-changing event that could determine their entire future. Everyone was on high alert, not daring to make the slightest mistake.

As the exam bell rang, accompanied by a mechanical female voice, the three most arduous years of my academic career came to an end.

These three years have been tough, but looking back, they will probably become some of the most beautiful memories.

That year, they ran exercises together; that year, they read aloud together in the morning; that year, they attended classes together…

The sound of cicadas chirping fills the air. While such a sound may be annoying, it is also a beautiful symbol of summer.

But on such an important day, Qi Jiu sat in her office, looking at the Western faces in front of her, and felt a sudden headache.

What did she say? Luckily, she got the letter of introduction, otherwise she really wouldn't have had time to deal with all this trouble.

A smile slowly crept up her lips as she looked at the person opposite her, raised an eyebrow, and spoke with a relaxed tone.

“Say what you just said again.”

The man opposite me wasn't handsome; although his features were deep-set, he inexplicably gave off a sense of repulsion. I had a feeling... he wasn't a good person.

The man smiled, and looking at his big white teeth made you want to punch him.

That smile is so smug!

"What we mean is that the China branch was only recently established. Although it is now operating normally, it has not been as long as our branch."

Now that we are in trouble, your China branch certainly cannot stand idly by. We are one, so let's not be so strict about dividing the work.”

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiu understood what the guy meant.

It's just that their branch ran into trouble and wants the China branch to clean up their mess. All this talk about being one entity is just brainwashing.

But how come she hadn't heard that the L country branch had run into trouble? Wasn't everything fine before?

She admitted that the L country branch was indeed established earlier than the China branch and was more mature in its operations, but there was no reason for them to rob Peter to pay Paul. On the contrary, she always felt that he was covering something up.

"The L country branch has run into problems and trouble. Does headquarters know about this? We only follow the instructions of headquarters."

At this moment, Wang De, the real representative of the China branch, stood beside Qi Jiu, looking at the person opposite him. He no longer knew what words to use to describe his current feelings.

Anxious? Afraid? Or... just watching the show?

He didn't know that what he did know was... the representative of this L country branch might be in for a rough time. Even though his colleague was a paratrooper,... that guy had a lot of power!

When 'headquarters' was mentioned, Evert's expression changed, and even his deputy lowered his head.

The girl noticed their subtle actions. She looked down at the slightly cold coffee on the table and glanced at Wang De beside her.

"This coffee has gone cold. I don't like coffee that goes from hot to cold."

Wang De pulled out a handkerchief from somewhere and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Looking at Qi Jiu's stunning profile, he no longer had time to appreciate her beauty; he was now too intimidated by her subtle yet terrifying aura to even breathe.

"Okay, I'll get you a fresh cup of hot coffee right away. Please wait a moment."

Wang De held his coffee cup, as if some wandering ghost was chasing him from behind. Even though the cup was full of coffee, he didn't care and let the coffee spill onto his hands.

When they arrived at the tea room, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

As if bewitched, Qi Jiu's words kept echoing in his mind.

The coffee's gone cold? It's clearly the representative of Country L who's in trouble!

They want a fresh cup of coffee? This is clearly an attempt to replace the representative from Country L!

And yet, that Evert is still foolishly strutting around, not even knowing who he's targeting. He won't even know how he died. Moron! Brain-dead!

Evert: "..."

Meanwhile, in the office, Evert cleared his throat and laughed easily.

"Do we need to report such a trivial matter to headquarters? Those people at headquarters are so busy, how could they have time to care about our branch offices?"

Besides, even if we report this to headquarters, they'll protect our branch in L country. Your branch will still have to patch up the loopholes for us.

It was clearly a big deal, but in his words, making a mistake was as if it were perfectly normal.

Qi Jiu laughed, amused by his antics.

If the branch offices have such great decision-making power, what is the point of having a headquarters?

He doesn't have much power, but he thinks a lot.

"That won't do. As the representative, I only follow orders from headquarters. No matter how much you explain this, it won't be as effective as a notification from headquarters."

Wang De returned with the coffee. Qi Jiu looked at the coffee with latte art and raised her eyebrows in surprise.

They even have such skills! These Xingyue people are all truly talented.

Evert looked at the person in front of him and couldn't understand him. His smug look was gone, and his brows were furrowed so deeply they could have trapped a fly.

"Why can't you understand? This matter is very simple and doesn't even need to be reported to headquarters! As long as your branch provides some funds to fill the gaps in our branch's operations, everything will be resolved!"

Evert tried to say something to the person in front of him, but seeing that the person was sipping coffee and not listening at all, he became even more annoyed.

"Are you even listening to me?!" Ignoring someone can really make you furious, just like Evert is right now.

The person across from me was only focused on drinking coffee and didn't listen to a word.

I'm just saying, what's so great about this coffee?! Have you never had coffee before or what?!

Qi Jiu looked up at the person opposite her, whose forehead veins were bulging with anger, and said with great nonchalance, "No."

Evert: "..."

What the hell?! Say that again, you bastard!

"you!"

The girl pursed her lips and looked at him expressionlessly. "No matter how much you try to persuade me now, it's useless. I'll say it again: give me the notification from headquarters, and I'll give you the funds."

Evert choked, grabbed the contract from the table, and huffed and puffed angrily.

"One muscle!"

After saying that, he left with his deputy.

The office suddenly fell silent. The girl looked at Wang De, her slender fingers tapping lightly on the table.

"Wang De, you are all representatives selected by headquarters, and you've already met with people from headquarters. Who do you think is suitable to be the representative for the L country branch?"