modulation
After get off work, Qu Shiyao went to a low-key but luxurious coffee shop.
"Shiyao! Over here!" Gu Yanxi, who had been waiting there, immediately stood up and waved when he saw her.
Qu Shiyao strolled over, casually pulled out the chair opposite him, and sat down. She looked around, a mischievous smile spreading across her face.
"Hey, where's that inseparable female companion from yesterday? Did she hide away?"
"Don't talk nonsense," Gu Yanxi coughed lightly, then touched his nose somewhat awkwardly.
"Qingyi is just my friend. She has something to do today."
"Oh~" Qu Shiyao deliberately dragged out the last syllable, her eyes full of mockery.
Gu Yanxi felt his ears burning under her gaze and shook his head helplessly: "After all these years, how come your mouth has become more and more unforgiving? You have no sense of propriety at all."
"Hey! You can't say that!" Qu Shiyao shook her finger, defending herself earnestly.
"Humans evolve... oh no, they grow! Besides, what's wrong with me? I'm just concerned about my childhood friend's love life, okay? What, you really don't have any feelings for her at all?"
Gu Yanxi was caught off guard by her direct question, but the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up slightly, and his tone was somewhat reserved: "Well... it mainly depends on what she thinks."
Qu Shiyao wore a very serious expression, patted his shoulder, and said solemnly, "Comrade, the task is arduous and the road ahead is long! The revolution has not yet succeeded, and we still need to work hard!"
Gu Yanxi was made uncomfortable by her sudden change of expression, and didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "I haven't even started yet, how come you're acting like you already know the ending?"
"Don't you understand a woman's intuition?" Qu Shiyao raised an eyebrow, then naturally changed the subject.
"By the way, what would you like to drink? You're treating, right?"
"Of course it's on me." Gu Yanxi chuckled and pushed the exquisite menu in front of her.
"What would you like to drink? Anything is fine."
Qu Shiyao didn't even look at the menu and gave her criteria very decisively: "As long as it's not bitter, sweet and milky flavors are fine. You can add as much sugar as you like, thank you."
"You really haven't changed a bit in this hobby over the past ten years." Gu Yanxi smiled gently, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.
He called over a waiter and ordered drinks for the two of them.
While waiting, he asked with concern, "You should be working by now, right? Where are you working? What exactly do you do?"
"What? Does President Gu want me to switch jobs?" Qu Shiyao raised an eyebrow and a playful smile appeared on her lips.
"I do have that idea," Gu Yanxi said, a slight smile playing on her lips, a hint of mockery in her eyes.
"I'm afraid that if I manage to get you involved, people will say I gave you preferential treatment, which will affect your performance."
"Tsk!" Qu Shiyao waved her hand dismissively.
"I, Qu Shiyao, entered through the back door with honor and integrity. Why should I be afraid of what they'll say? If they're so capable, why don't they find their childhood friend to be their boss!"
"Hahaha..." Gu Yanxi was amused by her unreasonable yet confident remarks and laughed heartily. After a while, he stopped and shook his head helplessly.
"I really want to, but unfortunately the company has run into some trouble recently and the situation is not very stable. I'm afraid that inviting you over will only lead you into a trap."
"I know this!" The system popped up secretly, excitedly raising its little hand.
[It must be that domineering CEO dealing with potential love rivals! He's even targeting their small startup overseas!]
Qu Shiyao silently blocked out the system's noise in her mind.
This obvious reason doesn't require any system prompts.
She picked up the drink, which the waiter had just brought over and which was decorated with exquisite latte art, took a sip, looked up at Gu Yanxi, and her tone became slightly more serious:
"Yan Xi, think carefully, recently... or in your family, have you offended anyone in business? Especially someone of a high rank."
Gu Yanxi shook her head firmly: "I definitely don't have any. I've also asked my parents. Although there are bound to be some minor frictions in business, they are all normal competition between companies of the same level."
He frowned slightly, clearly perplexed by the current predicament.
"Do you know what the relationship is between Miss Shen, who was standing next to you yesterday, and Mr. Si?"
Qu Shiyao felt it necessary to make things clear, lest her seemingly "pure" childhood sweetheart end up not even knowing how he died.
"They were ex-boyfriends and girlfriends, right?" Gu Yanxi asked uncertainly.
After all, Qingyi had mentioned that she had an ex-boyfriend, and seeing their interaction yesterday further confirmed that the man was indeed Shen Qingyi's ex-boyfriend.
However, they were all exes, so he didn't take them to heart.
"Have you investigated her ex-boyfriend's background and behavior?" Qu Shiyao continued to ask questions.
Gu Yanxi's relaxed expression finally turned serious after hearing Qu Shiyao's repeated reminders.
He sat up straight: "I've only been back in the country for a few days, and there are still many things to sort out. But I remember your conversation yesterday; was he your boss?"
"That's right!" Qu Shiyao sighed deeply, her expression complex, a mixture of helplessness, annoyance, and a hint of pride.
"It's so cliché, the domineering CEO falling in love with me actually happened to me."
The system felt that if the host wasn't in a public place, he would definitely be making another narcissistic statement.
In Gu Yanxi's eyes, she looked completely improper.
"I'm telling the truth!" When Qu Shiyao saw that he didn't believe her, she immediately covered her chest as if she had suffered a great injury.
Gu Yanxi watched her exaggerated performance and was speechless.
Finally, Qu Shiyao's expression turned serious: "My boss is Si Cheng, the president of CAQ Group. I heard he has a very strong business sense and has grown CAQ to its current size in just a few years."
"However, his reputation seems to be a bit bad when it comes to relationships. And that Miss Shen Qingyi is his first love and his white moonlight."
As if sensing something, Qu Shiyao subconsciously glanced out the window.
A black luxury car with sleek, hard lines was silently parked in the shadows not far across the street.
The car windows were tinted dark, but she was almost certain that the person sitting inside was Si Cheng.
Qu Shiyao instantly felt goosebumps.
Isn't this just a stalker?!
What merit or ability does Qu Shiyao possess to experience being targeted by a domineering and perverted CEO in her lifetime?
It made her want to go to the construction site to buy more goods, and if she found herself being followed again, she would just throw bricks at her!
Gu Yanxi didn't react much when he first heard about CAQ Group, but after confirming that Shen Qingyi was Si Cheng's white moonlight, his brows furrowed tightly.
"Then what about that domineering CEO who... fell in love with you? What's that all about?" Gu Yanxi wasn't used to using such words and asked hesitantly.
"Well..." Qu Shiyao stroked her chin, carefully choosing her words, trying to simplify the process as much as possible.
"In short, this CEO Si has a bad habit of finding stand-ins. Some time ago, he suddenly set his sights on me and insisted that I be the stand-in for his white moonlight."
She paused, picked up her drink, took another sip, and unconsciously frowned slightly. She felt that although the drink tasted good, it seemed to lack something.
"Of course, how could a principled and principled modern woman like me possibly agree to such an unreasonable request? I refused him firmly and righteously at the time!"
"Maybe my rejection was too cool, too dazzling, and I accidentally dazzled him, and then he fell completely in love with me!" She shrugged, looking like she was helpless.
As Gu Yanxi listened to this bizarre plot development, her expression changed from confusion to bewilderment.
He looked at Qu Shiyao, and Qu Shiyao returned his gaze with an innocent and sincere look.
The two looked at each other in silence.
Actually, what Qu Shiyao said wasn't wrong, but she overlooked some small details about the domineering CEO's rebirth.
In Gu Yanxi's view, his first suspicion was not that President Si had a problem with his brain, but whether his childhood playmate was hiding some unspeakable and complicated past.
After all, how can someone's feelings jump from seeking a substitute to falling in love with the original owner? What untold story happened in between?
"Anyway, to sum it all up," Qu Shiyao spread her hands, crossed her legs, and resumed her usual nonchalant manner.
“I have a boyfriend now and have no interest in him at all, but he still haunts me and keeps pursuing me.”
Gu Yanxi felt that her logic was a bit hard to grasp: "But is there any necessary connection between him liking you and him wanting to ruin my company?"
"Why haven't you been in contact with me?" Qu Shiyao looked at him with a 'why haven't you figured it out yet' look, her spoon unconsciously stirring the remaining drink in her cup.
"You're getting so close to his ex-girlfriend and the one he's always been with; it seems like you have a very close relationship. At the same time, you're my childhood sweetheart."
"With the double buff, in his paranoid mind, aren't you the number one obstacle that needs to be eliminated? If not you, who else should he target?"
Gu Yanxi still found it hard to understand.
How could someone who built a company to such a scale in just ten years be so obsessed with love? Or even like an illogical fanatic?
Seeing that he was still completely confused, Qu Shiyao decided to try a different approach to guide him:
"Let's make a hypothetical scenario: Shen Qingyi is your ex-girlfriend, someone you once deeply loved. Years after your breakup, you meet again, only to discover that she's now in a relationship with someone else, and they're very much in love. What would you do?"
Upon hearing this question, Gu Yanxi lowered her head and thought about it seriously for a while, then raised her head, her eyes clear but with a hint of confusion:
"First of all, why did we break up? Was there something I did wrong that disappointed her?"
Qu Shiyao: "..." Help! She forgot that the person in front of her might be a hidden love-obsessed trainee!
System: [...] Its logic is all messed up. They haven't even become boyfriend and girlfriend yet, and it's already starting to reflect on its own problems?
Seeing Qu Shiyao's speechless expression, Gu Yanxi realized he had gone off-topic and awkwardly touched his nose.
"Uh... I mean, hypothetically, just hypothetically. If she was really happy back then, then I... I would choose to wish her well."
As he spoke, a slight pang of pain actually rose in his heart, but he quickly suppressed it.
After all, relationships that are forced rarely end well.
“Very good, that's normal human thinking.” Qu Shiyao nodded, then changed the subject.
"Now, try to put yourself in the shoes of a madman. It's that kind of extreme thinking like 'If I can't have her, no one else can either,' and 'Anyone who gets close to her will die.'"
"How could I possibly relate to that?" Gu Yanxi chuckled, feeling that the request was too much to ask.
"Isn't that settled?" Qu Shiyao spread her hands, drawing a conclusion:
"You simply can't understand their thought process because they often do things illogically, driven entirely by their distorted preferences and possessiveness."
"Therefore, it's not feasible to analyze why he's targeting you using normal business competition thinking."
Gu Yanxi seemed to have finally grasped the crux of the problem.
As he was pondering a solution, he looked up and saw that Qu Shiyao had asked the waiter for an iced cola at some point, and was carefully pouring the cola into her half-empty, milky-white drink.
[Host! Stop! What kind of culinary disaster are you making now?!] The system screamed in her mind.
"Stop making noise! I'm doing a great flavor innovation and fusion!" Qu Shiyao kept pouring in the cola and then carefully stirred it with a spoon.
Soon, the liquid in the glass turned into an indescribable dark brown color, bubbling with tiny bubbles.
"Shiyao, what are you doing?" Gu Yanxi stared in disbelief as the once-normal drink began to turn strange.
"Hmm? A secondary creative idea!" Qu Shiyao looked up, her face full of self-assurance.
Looking at his masterpiece, he was about to pick it up and take a bite, but the soul-stirring impact from last time was too strong.
She hesitated for a few seconds, then her eyes lit up. She pushed the cup towards Gu Yanxi, revealing what she thought was a very reliable smile:
"Yan Xi, as my friend of many years, you're in luck today! Come, try my specially blended 'Sky City'!"
Gu Yanxi stared at the dark liquid in front of him, which was bubbling with ominous bubbles. His Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily, and for the first time, a crack appeared on his usually gentle and refined face. His expression gradually stiffened.
"Uh... thank you for your kindness, but I'm on a sugar control diet lately and don't have much of an appetite right now." He glanced absently at the scenery outside the window, avoiding looking at the drink.
"Oh, that's a pity." Qu Shiyao took the cup back with a hint of regret, looked at her creation, and finally scooped up a little bit with a spoon and carefully put it into her mouth.
The next second—
Gu Yanxi and the system watched as Qu Shiyao's face visibly changed from normal white to an eerie bluish-black, and then turned deathly pale, completely bloodless.
Qu Shiyao abruptly put down her spoon, her whole body trembling as if her bones had been removed. She swayed and stood up, leaning on the table for support. Her eyes were vacant, her voice weak and unsteady, as if she were about to pass away at any moment.
"It's getting late... I... I think I should... I should go back..."
Seeing that she could barely speak, Gu Yanxi dared not let her go back by herself.
Without hesitation, and disregarding her objections, he half-supported and half-forced her to head straight for the nearest hospital.
The power of this innovative beverage seems to be far beyond our imagination!
After they left, a tall figure strode in, his voice deep and commanding: "Don't bother cleaning up this table, especially that cup, I'll buy it."
The waiter's hand, holding the dishcloth, froze in mid-air, staring blankly at the imposing stranger: "...?"
Sir, what are you up to?
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