You wouldn't be thinking of moving in too, would you?

No wonder Xue Xiaodie panicked. When Xia Xiaobing asked how many bedrooms there were, the subtext was that she wanted to add another person.

However, President Xia simply smiled and said, "I was just asking. Even if there were empty rooms, Miss Tang wouldn't allow me to stay there, would she?"

Xue Xiaodie calmed down and nodded: "Of course, and there were only three bedrooms to begin with, so there are no empty rooms."

Xia Xiaobing leaned back in her chair and said leisurely, "So I would never even consider moving into Miss Tang's house. I'll just ask about the living experience there, and then I'll just rent one myself, isn't that fine?"

"You want to rent one?"

As soon as the question left her mouth, Xue Xiaodie realized that the other party could definitely afford to rent it.

Xia Xiaobing countered, "You don't think it's okay?"

Xue Xiaodie gently shook her head: "It's not that it can't be done, the problem is, wouldn't that be a little too strange? You've already moved once, to be next to Lu Zhe. Then Lu Zhe moved, and you move again, wouldn't that be too unnatural? How are you going to explain it to him?"

"It's very simple to explain. If Lu Zhe asks me, I'll say it's because I like him, so the second time I moved there was also because of him."

Xia Xiaobing spoke calmly and casually, as if she were just talking about what to eat today.

But Xue Xiaodie felt uneasy. The thought of CEO Xia, who was so fond of Lu Zhe's cleavage, saying such things was dangerous for the young woman. But upon closer reflection, she couldn't think of any other excuse.

After all, moving twice in a row and becoming neighbors makes their intentions all too obvious.

Xue Xiaodie asked helplessly, "Can you please stop? I can't explain this."

Xia Xiaobing: "There's no need to explain. Lu Zhe isn't stupid; he must have already guessed our intentions. But we haven't known each other for very long, and we haven't had much time to spend together, so he's still hesitating."

Xue Xiaodie: "But..."

Before she could ask, Xia Xiaobing interrupted, "Is there any other question?"

No wonder President Xia is acting this way now. After all, Miss Tang's ability to get ahead of her already served as a warning. She can't be too reserved, she can't be too elegant, otherwise the outcome will be tears streaming down her face, like receiving an invitation to Lu Zhe's wedding to someone else in the future.

Perhaps this is what is called involution—Xia Xiaobing thought to herself, and could only sigh inwardly.

Xue Xiaodie could no longer protest and could only say, "Okay, no problem."

Xia Xiaobing smiled and said, "Then let's discuss the second matter. Regarding your work, which is Xiao Qiu's anime character design, what are your thoughts now?"

————

Around 11 a.m., Xue Xiaodie returned to her workstation.

The company chairs were swivel office chairs, and as soon as she sat down, she turned to the boy next to her and asked in a low voice, "Are you working?"

“Yes,” Lu Zhe also turned halfway to look at her, “Were you talking with President Xia just now?”

Xue Xiaodie nodded: "Yes, we discussed some specific issues. For example, what kind of image should be designed for this AI called Xiaoqiu?"

Lu Zhe: "That's a bit... hard to say. Let's think about it slowly."

Xue Xiaodie: "I'll definitely think about it slowly. Anyway, President Xia has given me quite a bit of time. But I still don't have any clue, so I thought I'd ask you first, okay?"

When she said "Is it okay?", the girl blinked, displaying a charmingly mischievous and lively quality.

Lu Zhe: "Of course, but I don't really have any ideas."

Xue Xiaodie: "Didn't you spend your work recently chatting with Xiao Qiu? So you should be the person most familiar with her. Please think about it more... For example, the first question: do you think Xiao Qiu is a boy or a girl?"

Lu Zhe replied without hesitation, "Of course, it's a girl!"

Xue Xiaodie nodded, then asked, "Should it be a loli or a mature woman?"

Lu Zhe recalled Xiao Qiu's voice. It was rather neutral, gentle, and occasionally it would joke like a human...

He said somewhat uncertainly, "It shouldn't be a typical loli, nor should it be a traditional mature woman. I think it should be that age that's neither too young nor too old, and with a more androgynous personality."

Xue Xiaodie: "A tomboy?"

Lu Zhe slammed his hand on the table: "That's right, just like a tomboy."

Xue Xiaodie hesitated and said, "But if I were a tomboy, wouldn't... I wouldn't be very popular with anime and manga fans?"

Hearing this, Lu Zhe was taken aback: "What, did President Xia tell you that the main target audience is anime and manga fans?"

Xue Xiaodie pondered and said, "She didn't say that, but since we're going to draw anime characters, we definitely have to consider the preferences of users like those on Bilibili."

Lu Zhe: "Didn't President Xia have any specific requirements? Did she tell you who our main target audience is?"

Xue Xiaodie thought for a moment and shook her head slightly: "She really didn't tell me... She just told me not to think about the market yet, to talk to Xiao Qiu more first, and to imagine an image of her in my mind. Draw her, and then slowly revise it."

Lu Zhe nodded and said, "I understand. What President Xia means is that you should first accumulate direct experience. So asking me won't be of much use. Ask it instead."

After saying that, he picked up the small speaker from his desk and placed it next to Xue Xiaodie's graphics tablet.

The girl looked around, pointed to the small speaker, and asked, "So I'll chat with this thing at work?"

Lu Zhe: "Isn't this part of your job?"

Xue Xiaodie hesitated for a moment and said, "But I still want to... ask for your opinion first, because you talk to it the most. I can't be like you, chatting with an artificial intelligence all day long, and I don't have the time. President Xia's requirement is that I should be able to produce a draft within this week."

Lu Zhe: "Within this week? Is the timeframe that tight?"

Xue Xiaodie nodded.

Of course, Xia Xiaobing didn't actually impose this time limit. But compared to chatting with AI, the girl would much rather talk to him. Even just about work would be fine.

Lu Zhe pondered for a moment and said, "The image of artificial intelligence... I think we can refer to those VTubers. By the way, you know VTubers, right? They're streamers who wear anime/manga shells."

Xue Xiaodie nodded gently: "I know, but I haven't seen it much."

Lu Zhe shrugged: "I haven't watched much either, but I have seen some pictures posted by netizens. Those VTubers range from loli to mature woman, from scheming to innocent, all sorts of strange attributes and settings, and the competition is fierce."

Xue Xiaodie sighed softly, as if she had thought of something, "Involution really is everywhere..."

Lu Zhe: "Yeah, there are tons of characters with twin tails. These days, it's not easy to come up with something new."

————