Yu Qiao Qiao's words didn't take root in Chen Yan's heart.

His very bones may harbor the chauvinism typical of Qindong men, who prefer to handle everything on their own and then simply let their women enjoy life.

So, he smiled and then denied again, "Qiao Qiao, don't worry about nothing. I'm really fine."

Yu Qiao Qiao still had her doubts, but seeing the earnest look on Chen Yan's face, she chose to somewhat believe him.

And so, the two of them continued their conversation as they walked toward Yu Qiao Qiao's home.

On the way, Chen Yan didn't share the issues he was facing, but he did talk about many amusing work-related anecdotes.

Yu Qiao Qiao was a great listener.

Her demure nature and dislike for contention were most apparent during conversations.

Because whenever Chen Yan spoke, she would close her mouth and listen, saying nothing more.

So, all along the way, it was almost entirely Chen Yan speaking and her listening.

This mode of communication was extremely comfortable for Chen Yan, who hadn't had casual chats with others in a long while.

By the time they completed their walk, he even felt his mood had lifted quite a bit.

Thus, as they neared parting, he actually felt somewhat reluctant to leave.

And maybe she sensed Chen Yan's lingering fondness.

When Chen Yan escorted Yu Qiao Qiao to her building, she glanced at him and with a slight blush, she whispered with her head lowered, "Chen, Chen Yan... do you want to come up and sit for a bit?"

"I have a gift I want to give, give to you..."

"A gift?" Upon hearing the word "gift", Chen Yan's first reaction was: Huh? Is giving New Year gifts early a trend now?

Why is Lu Man sending one, and now Yu Qiao Qiao too?

Nevertheless, having not received Lu Man's gift, Chen Yan did not hesitate upon hearing that Yu Qiao Qiao also had a gift for him; he decided to see what surprise this young lady had in store for him.

Following Yu Qiao Qiao upstairs.

Entering the small apartment he had lived in for over a month.

Opening the door, Chen Yan found that nothing had been moved; even his slippers and clothes still hung in their original spots, exactly as he left them the last time.

Strangely enough, Chen Yan felt a poke in his heart.

For a moment, he felt disoriented in time... as if he had just left this home for work in the morning, and now he was returning.

Yu Qiao Qiao didn't notice Chen Yan's momentary disconcertion. Seeing him enter, she quickly and obediently fetched his slippers, assisted him in changing, and then took his coat to hang it up.

Initially, Chen Yan didn't want to be pampered like this, but seeing Yu Qiao Qiao's determination, he stopped refusing and silently accepted the young lady's affection.

After changing Chen Yan's shoes and hanging up his coat, Yu Qiao Qiao then took off her own shoes and outerwear.

By this time, Chen Yan had already entered the house and started looking around.

Possibly because Chen Yan and Zhao Ying hadn't been living there for a while, the home... looked extraordinarily clean and tidy.

And indeed, as Chen Yan suspected, after a look around the bedroom, he found all his personal items still in their places, and the room layout unchanged.

Clearly, everything had been carefully organized and maintained by Yu Qiao Qiao...

Returning to the living room, Chen Yan, touched, softly asked Yu Qiao Qiao, "Have you... been waiting for me to come back all this time?"

Yu Qiao Qiao's big eyes met Chen Yan's as she replied in a small but matter-of-fact voice, "Yeah. Isn't this our home?"

Chen Yan: ......

Chen Yan was momentarily at a loss for words.

He felt a tightness in his heart.

Yu Qiao Qiao didn't perceive Chen Yan's emotions, her mind still fixated on the surprise for Chen Yan.

So she said a bit shyly to Chen Yan, "Chen Yan. You, you sit first. I'll get your gift."

Chen Yan was already in a sour mood, so he didn't feel like probing further and just hummed in agreement.

Then, he settled into the living room, his gaze following Yu Qiao Qiao as she headed to the bedroom.

The bedroom door shut, and shortly after, rustling sounds came from within.

After a while, Yu Qiao Qiao's voice drifted from the bedroom, "Chen, Chen Yan, could you come in for a moment?"

Chen Yan stood and walked to the bedroom.

Pushing the door open, he saw Yu Qiao Qiao dressed in a black short-sleeve T-shirt.

The shirt was somewhat oversized, revealing half of her alabaster shoulders and a deep valley.

It was undeniable: Yu Qiao Qiao had some of the most substantial curves Chen Yan had ever seen.

Though her frame seemed frail, her figure boasted defying contours.

The fullness just a hand's grasp away felt illicitly soft, like an addictive poison luring one's gaze.

Due to his busy workload and Yang Nuan having returned home, Chen Yan had been deprived of a certain joyful aspect of life.

So, the instant he saw Yu Qiao Qiao like this, he could feel his blood rising and lips drying out.

Just when Chen Yan was feeling itchy, something even more provocative happened.

Yu Qiao Qiao, with flushed face, pulled down her neckline a little, revealing chocolate tucked inside.

Then she tried her best to mimic Lu Man's style and tone, attempting to say something.

But perhaps due to nervousness, her imitation was stilted and disjointed, "Do you, want to eat, eat me..."

Halfway through realizing her words were not only wrong but incredibly suggestive, Yu Qiao Qiao became increasingly flustered, hastily trying to clarify, "Do you, do you want to have the chocolate first, or to have..."

Yu Qiao Qiao's words became more scrambled, and she was on the verge of tears.

Yet, she was oblivious to how mortally alluring to a man her innocent yet sultry demeanor could be, desiring to do something well yet always falling short-endearingly clumsy.

Thus, Chen Yan could no longer hold back.

He approached, wrapped his arms around Yu Qiao Qiao's slender waist, drew her into his chest, and dipped his head into that tender haven.

That haven was sweet, making Chen Yan feel like it was the best candied fruit in the world.

Feeling Chen Yan's affection, Yu Qiao Qiao shyly trembled all over.

But because it was Chen Yan, while embarrassed, she still made an effort and pushed forward her bosom, allowing Chen Yan to indulge more easily.

Garments shed one by one; the atmosphere in the room turned fervent.

In a moment, a question from Chen Yan rang out in the room, "By the way, Qiao Qiao. Why did you change into a black T-shirt? Aren't you cold?"

Yu Qiao Qiao replied softly, "Uh... I was afraid of getting chocolate on my clothes. So, so I changed."

Chen Yan: .....

That's really just like my Boss Qiao Qiao....

Chen Yan couldn't help but be amused and then... cherishing her even more.

Quiet filled the night....

The next morning, Chen Yan was woken by the playful sunlight.

He rubbed his bleary eyes and looked around.

Yu Qiao Qiao clung to him like a white octopus, using both her arms and legs.

Even after a night of battle, she didn't give off any unpleasant odor, but rather still had a faint ladylike fragrance reminiscent of Big White Rabbit toffee.

Her slightly chubby cheeks wore an expression of contentment and joy.

After over a year of care from Chen Yan, her facial features blossomed, losing much of the girl's immaturity and gaining much of a woman's allure.

This charm might be concealed by her personality when she was awake,

But in her sleep, it was unmistakably revealed.

So, Chen Yan, who worked hard all of last night, was once again tempted to pounce for a morning session...

.........

During this period, whenever Chen Yan saw any special product related to "constitution," he would buy it for Yu Qiao Qiao.

So without realizing it, Yu Qiao Qiao's constitution had also strengthened significantly, no longer frail as before, and now she could withstand Chen Yan's relentless surges.

Thus, last night's present carried on into the morning.

It wasn't until midday when Yu Qiao Qiao cried out "no more gifts, no more gifts, gifts make my butt hurt," that Chen Yan reluctantly ceased....

At noon, after having a meal at Yu Qiao Qiao's place, Chen Yan returned to the company feeling refreshed.

He thought the ancients with their emphasis on harmony of yin and yang really had a point.

Didn't his mood improve quite a bit after balancing it out?

.........

Meanwhile, at Yu Qiao Qiao's home.

After Chen Yan left, Yu Qiao Qiao diligently cleared away the dishes and cutlery.

Then, washing her hands and wiping them on her apron, she went back to her bedroom.

Situated at the desk, Yu Qiao Qiao opened a drawer and took out a plain yet tidy notebook.

She opened the notebook, which had a yellow sticky note tucked inside, with a string of numbers written on it.

This was the phone number the matron of the orphanage had given her, when she and Chen Yan had visited it together.

Yu Qiao Qiao still remembered the matron saying, if Chen Yan encountered insurmountable troubles, Yu Qiao Qiao could use this number to seek help.

She hadn't told anyone about this, not even Chen Yan.

Because she didn't really want to use it.

She recalled the matron's face and tone when handing over the note, not very pleasant, seemingly a bit angry with that "brother."

But... as a person of delicate thoughts, Yu Qiao Qiao could sense a trace of worry between Chen Yan's brows last night, despite his claims of having no troubles.

So, her fingers brushed the note, and her gaze gradually firmed.

She decided if Chen Yan truly encountered any unsolvable problem, she would make the call.

Although she didn't know what sort of person was on the other end of the phone,

But she trusted the matron: if the matron said this number could help Chen Yan, then it definitely would...

.........

After returning to the company, Chen Yan was engulfed in his hectic work once more.

The closer it got to the year-end, the more there was to do.

The continuing sales boom of "Wandering Planet," the popularity of "Creation Camp" and "Tomorrow's Star," the hype of "Battle of the Wastelands," it seemed like the Chen Group had entered a phase of rapid development.

And so, Chen Yan allowed himself no time to slack off.

Yesterday afternoon was his time to unwind due to his bad temper, but today he was back to leading the charge for the entire group.

But before he could settle down to deal with a few documents, his phone suddenly rang.

Chen Yan put the documents down and glanced at his phone—it was a call from Qin Ming.

Lately, Qin Ming had slowly but thoroughly straightened out the entire structure of Headline Company.

He had even personally visited Douyin's overseas branches to inspect and coordinate efforts.

It was his practicality that enabled Headline Technology to conclude the transition smoothly, with hardly any turbulence.

Although Chen Yan had early insight from the system evaluations that Qin Ming wouldn't falter, witnessing all this had still left him in awe and appreciation of Qin Ming's capabilities.

So, seeing the call from Qin Ming made Chen Yan's mood brighten.

He answered the call and cheerfully asked, "What's up, President Qin? You need something?"

Normally, Qin Ming, being astute, would have laughed and played along with Chen Yan's banter, bridging the gap between them.

But not this time.

His voice was somewhat constrained, "Brother Chen. I've received some bad news from a friend, Tencent is targeting us."

"They held an internal senior executive meeting a few days ago and discussed us."

"And today, Tencent's WXG group had an afternoon meeting where they decided to start blocking us."

"Start blocking?" Chen Yan's mood took an ugly turn.

He furrowed his brow and asked, "How so?"

Qin Ming said, "Details are sketchy. But from what I've heard, it includes, but is not limited to banning the sharing of our videos to WeChat and QQ, preventing our links from being opened in their apps, labeling our software as forbidden words, etc..."

Chen Yan's frown deepened at Qin Ming's words.

As the largest social media empire in the country, Tencent was an unavoidable hurdle for any internet company seeking traffic.

Chen Yan had seen reports from Headline before.

In the traffic pool of Douyin right now, about one-fourth came from shares on QQ and WeChat.

And this didn't even include users who saw videos on these social media platforms or heard about Douyin and came looking for the app.

So, if Tencent Group really imposed traffic restrictions on Headline, the entire traffic pool for Headline would take a significant hit.

At this critical juncture in contending with Slow Hand for the top spot in the short video track, it indeed wasn't good news...

Thinking this, Chen Yan unavoidably asked Qin Ming, "Do you have any countermeasures in mind?"

Since he made the call, Qin Ming clearly had some plans in mind, so he stated emphatically, "Throw money at it! If they won't give us traffic, then we'll use money to get it!"

"Our product is solid, and we have an excellent return on investment; throwing money at it won't lose us much."

"At such a critical time, we can't back down."

Qin Ming's suggestion wasn't a thoughtless one, but in fact, a very traditional approach.

Being blocked, it made more sense to bulldoze through with the simplest and most direct method rather than attempt to negotiate.

In business, it's not always the more tricks and schemes, the better—sometimes, a straightforward financial offensive is most king-like.

But the thought of going head-to-head financially with the trillion-yuan-valued Tencent made Chen Yan feel as if he had gone mad.

Thus, he turned his thoughts and decided to look for an insurance policy.

He cleared his throat and said, "Throwing money at the problem is possible... but let's run it through your sister's accounts."

Qin Ming: ???

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