Becoming a Confidence Coach to an Arrogant Director - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Director Gu and Director Xiu

“Xiu… Xiu… Xiu… Xiu…”

Yuan Yishan’s internal mechanism was stuck, like an old radio with no signal. Her dark A.I. pupils blinked at the smiling fox-like eyes in front of her.

The elegant and poised Director Xiu, after hearing Yuan Yishan’s mechanical electronic voice repeat “Xiu, Xiu, Xiu” countless times, finally showed a hint of displeasure on her naturally smiling face.

Yuan Yishan watched this subtle emotional shift, as well as Director Xiu’s twitching temple. She was incredibly anxious, and the central nervous system in her electronic brain frantically pressed the F5 refresh button on the control panel.

However, it was no use.

Soon, the rapid clicking of keyboards from the other employees stopped. They gathered in groups of two and three to watch the show.

At this moment, Director Xiu’s face, from her nose up, was smiling. Only her naturally curved lips showed a clear twitch.

It was evident that she was barely maintaining her last shred of elegance after exercising extreme self-control.

The office was noisy, and Yuan Yishan’s entire A.I. brain was on the verge of crashing.

At this moment, she felt the despair of a drowning person who couldn’t reach a life preserver. Before losing consciousness, she held on to one single thought.

Gu Jin will come. She will definitely take me away…

The moment her body lost all connection to the outside world, someone used a gentle arm to support her shoulder. In just a second, the furiously spinning “loading” icon in her electronic brain came to a complete stop.

The darkness in front of her gradually dissipated, and Yuan Yishan regained consciousness. The moment she realized the person holding her was her user, she felt as if she had made it to the light.

Her thoughts were still very fragile, and she could only barely make out her surroundings.

Director Gu dragged her heavy body and held her in her arms, her sharp gaze sweeping across the room.

“Everyone, back to work!”

The employees obediently returned to their seats, leaving only the three of them.

Ji Xiu collected her emotions, and her voice became filled with her usual warmth and closeness.

“Senior Sister, what’s wrong with Yishan?”

Gu Jin didn’t speak. Just a single look was enough to instantly freeze the person in front of her.

Yuan Yishan had a moment to recover, and her consciousness gradually became clearer. She gently tugged at the clothes of the person holding her, her A.I. eyes signaling not to get into a direct conflict with this person.

Director Gu lowered her gaze. The eyes that had been as cold as ice instantly melted into a gentle spring river.

“Can you walk?”

Yuan Yishan blinked.

Gu Jin used some force and pulled her closer to herself.

Yuan Yishan’s body was too heavy, and the soft part of Gu Jin’s body was being squashed. Director Gu’s thin frame, with a determined and stubborn posture, barely managed to keep them both from falling.

During their brief physical contact, Yuan Yishan’s internal mechanisms finally recovered a little. Her A.I. body slowly straightened up.

She and Director Gu exchanged a look.

The silent understanding, the gentleness in Gu Jin’s eyes, was a breadth of kindness and tolerance that Ji Xiu had never seen before.

At this moment, Director Xiu’s heart was filled with jealousy. The hatred of unrequited love made her want to destroy Yuan Yishan, but her advantage in status and position quickly made her overcome that imbalance. She reined in her emotions, covering her inner turmoil with her ever-present smile.

“Go to the office and wait for me.”

Gu Jin, seeing that Yuan Yishan was better, sent her to the office.

Yuan Yishan hesitated and didn’t want to leave. But with just a look from Director Gu, she didn’t persist and obediently headed toward the office.

After seeing her walk away, Gu Jin’s gaze returned to Ji Xiu. Her tone was calm and cold.

“Shall we go for a walk?”

“Yes, Senior Sister!”

…

At a coffee shop downstairs, they each had a cup of Americano latte, but neither drank.

“I’ve enjoyed working with you all these years. But other than that, I have no other feelings for you. Do you know that?”

Hearing this, Ji Xiu’s smiling lips maintained a beautiful curve, and a subtle flicker of evasion crossed her eyes.

She knew Gu Jin was direct, but she didn’t expect her to be this direct. She was at a loss for words.

She lowered her head, staring silently at the latte art in her coffee cup without answering.

Just then, a faint accusation dropped into the silence.

“The prototype draft leak, was that your doing?”

Ji Xiu now managed to compose herself well. She stirred the latte art in her cup with her spoon, intentionally or not.

At this point, there was nothing left to hide about her unrequited love.

She then met Gu Jin’s gaze, her charming eyes filled with the resigned and unbothered smile of a mature woman. Her words were a mix of helplessness and regret.

“Sigh! I guess I lost to this intern. I worked so hard for so long, thinking I could use this opportunity to build a good relationship with Senior Sister! But I didn’t even get a chance to show my feelings before this little girl got ahead of me.”

Gu Jin looked at her.

The person in front of her looked at her with a calm expression, her relaxed tone containing a hint of self-mockery.

“It’s so frustrating! I was thinking of setting a trap for the little girl to make her quit, but it backfired. Not only did that kid see through it, but even Senior Sister saw right through me. I guess I really have no chance now, do I?”

Gu Jin gave her a cold look, not knowing what to say.

In contrast, Ji Xiu seemed open-minded and at ease.

“So what can I do? I’ll just have to wish you well!”

Gu Jin was concerned about the matter, not the person. Her attitude remained firm when she spoke.

“She and I are just colleagues. You shouldn’t have done those things because of this.”

Ji Xiu’s face was still smiling, and her attitude was sincere.

“It was a moment of foolishness, Senior Sister. I’ll apologize to Yishan later.”

“You should know that even without anyone else, we would only be good work partners.”

Ji Xiu didn’t reply immediately.

Gu Jin was silent for a few seconds before speaking.

“I’m not blaming you. I just don’t want our relationship to involve other innocent people.”

When Ji Xiu heard the words “innocent people,” the corner of her mouth curled into a subtle, almost unnoticeable arc.

She felt that she had indeed been too hasty and underestimated the power of this “green tea.” And for a prey like Gu Jin, who was unobtainable, a long-term goal seemed more meaningful.

“I understand, Senior Sister.”

Gu Jin didn’t say anything more. She slightly lowered her eyes, her gaze also resting on the latte art in her cup.

In the early days of the company, when they worked together, they would often meet at coffee shops. One would draw, the other would code, and they would sit for an entire afternoon.

Their tacit cooperation was what allowed the technical department to grow from nothing to what it was today. Even though Ji Xiu had been abroad for years, whenever something happened at work, she was always the first to rush to the front line. Even this time, when Liao Shu led everyone to quit, she came all the way from so far away.

From the perspective of a work partner or a long-time friend, Gu Jin was grateful for everything she had done. But gratitude was not love. The two were fundamentally different. Therefore, no matter what, she had to make this clear to her and not let her continue down the wrong path…

“You’ll meet someone better.”

Gu Jin had very little experience with romance, and her words of comfort were meager. Although she was trying to be caring and supportive, her words sounded cold.

Ji Xiu didn’t reply immediately. She was silent for a few seconds, then changed the subject entirely.

“Senior Sister, I’m going back tomorrow. Back abroad.”

Gu Jin nodded slightly. She didn’t try to make her stay, but she silently wished her well in her heart.

“It’s our last night. Can we have dinner together?”

Gu Jin paused for a second, then nodded in agreement.

…

In the director’s office, Yuan Yishan’s recently recovered A.I. program paced back and forth along the side of the sofa until the door opened. The moment Director Gu walked in, safe and sound, her heart finally settled back into her A.I. body.

“How was it? Did it go well?”

“Mhm. She’s going back abroad tomorrow. We’re having dinner tonight.”

“Having dinner together? No! You can’t go out with her!”

Yuan Yishan didn’t know why, but whenever she remembered the incident with the electric motorcycle that night, she became incredibly anxious.

Gu Jin was a little bewildered by her intense reaction but still explained patiently.

“She’s going back tomorrow. It’s just dinner.”

“But…”

Yuan Yishan hesitated. Gu Jin was still injured, so it was probably better not to tell her about the motorcycle incident yet. She could just be extra careful herself. It was just dinner, after all.

Because of her worry, Yuan Yishan’s compromise was filled with a lot of nagging.

“Okay, then. I’ll wait for you in the car. Keep your phone with you and make sure it’s on at all times. If there’s any problem, call me, okay?”

Gu Jin listened to her strange words, not understanding what she was being so dramatic about, but she still gave a cold “mhm” in the end.

Getting a positive response, Morale Booster Yuan became unusually obedient. Her A.I. electronic brain, which had just crashed, started working again. She was contemplating whether she should pretend to be a waiter and sneak into the dinner party. What if she got caught…

Gu Jin saw that her mind was elsewhere and remembered her strange behavior in the office earlier.

“What was that just now?”

Yuan Yishan’s thoughts were brought back online. She paused for two seconds before answering truthfully.

“Oh, I was trying to look something up. I had too many internal windows running at once, and it crashed. She just happened to walk over, and in a moment of panic, I tried to activate the ‘act cute’ program, but it didn’t even run!”

Gu Jin: “‘Act cute’ program?”

Morale Booster Yuan, seeing her user was curious, proudly began to explain.

“This ‘act cute’ program is like a cheat code that came with my system after I crossed over. Its function is very powerful, especially for programmers. As soon as I activate it, my sweet electronic voice comes on, and those guys will be so flustered they won’t know up from down.”

“At first, I wasn’t used to it, but the more I use it, the better I get. It’s really a great tool!”

Gu Jin: …