So It Turns Out You’re a Fox Spirit (GL) - Chapter 9
Leader of the design department.
The employees, all with panda eyes from exhaustion, still had to muster every ounce of energy to keep working. Everyone had stayed up late working overtime until dawn the night before. By comparison, Le Xiaoyao being drunk at that time was absolutely unforgivable!
So, to atone for that, from today on, she would work hard!
“Qin An, send the initial design proposal we discussed yesterday to my office…” Le Xiaoyao didn’t explain why she had left work early the day before, didn’t explain why she hadn’t answered calls, and didn’t explain why she was only showing up now. She knew that explanations wouldn’t make up for anything—only a waste of time. Instead of wasting time, it was better to dive straight into work and get into the right state of mind.
Le Xiaoyao quickly flipped through the proposal in her hand. As the lead designer of the project, she was more than familiar with every detail. The current proposal followed the design concept and style from the past two years. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, but it was nothing more than drawing squares and circles within the same framework—absolutely no breakthrough, no departure from the old paradigm!
“You finally came! Do you know…”
“All design teams need to convene for a discussion immediately.” Le Xiaoyao cut off Zhou Yi’s words, her tone urgent.
“Everyone’s busy drafting the first version.”
Le Xiaoyao lifted the proposal in her hand. “This plan has problems. If we keep going down the wrong direction, it’ll be completely counterproductive!”
The proposal had been built off the successful cases of the past two years—essentially tweaks on the designs that she had created. Zhou Yi hadn’t expected all of their hard work overnight to be dismissed in one sentence. “Even though you didn’t attend the discussion yesterday, this proposal is based heavily on your original ideas…”
The implication was clear: if there was a problem with the proposal, then the problem lay with her.
Disagreements in the design department were normal. Le Xiaoyao didn’t have the time to argue back and forth with Zhou Yi, so she simply said: “I apologize for not staying to attend the meeting yesterday, but there are a few points I have to make clear right now.”
An impromptu discussion meeting.
Before beginning, Le Xiaoyao apologized for her behavior: “Before we start, I need to apologize to everyone. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to last night’s meeting. I’m sorry for being late today and for making everyone worry.”
“As for this design proposal, I want to say a few things. I’m touched that everyone referenced my opinions and extended our consistent style—it’s been done very well…”
Xu Xuan, knowing the design department had been overloaded with work recently, had come personally to encourage morale. To her surprise, she found the office empty. The head of the copywriting department explained that the design team was in a meeting.
President Xu’s sudden appearance in the small meeting room left everyone startled, scrambling to give up their seats. When Le Xiaoyao saw Xu Xuan enter, she immediately paused her words.
Xu Xuan sat directly across from her, wearing a kind smile. “Go on.”
This president seemed far too invested in the design department, showing up every few days for meetings. Though Le Xiaoyao was a little nervous under her gaze, the moment she spoke about work, she was fearless again.
“…We’re doing commercial design. The most basic requirement is to satisfy the client’s needs. But has anyone thought about why Donghai, after two years of cooperation, suddenly decided to open the project to bidding? Think about it—when we hand them a proposal that’s nearly identical to the past ones, will Donghai feel impressed? From their perspective, they invest 30 million annually in design fees. If 30 million doesn’t buy them something fresh and eye-catching, is it worth it? Now that they’ve chosen to invite competition, they want new bl00d. So where’s our breakthrough? It should be in freshness, in innovation, in impact! Therefore, this proposal, with its excessive inheritance but insufficient development, is not what Donghai wants—nor is it what we want!”
Xu Xuan was the first to applaud, and soon the room filled with applause.
After the meeting, Xu Xuan asked Le Xiaoyao to stay behind. Normally, she was an unremarkable employee, but today she had sparked Xu Xuan’s interest. She had even privately checked her background: five years at the company, still only a lead designer. With her potential, she should have risen far higher. “You have good ideas…”
“President Xu, what I said doesn’t mean I agree with the bidding arrangement. I just think there are areas where we’re not doing enough.”
“Usually you seem silly and absentminded, but you’ve got some real nerve. You’re talented. Still, if you cut down on emotional thinking, you’d develop even further.”
With the boss’s personal critique, Le Xiaoyao couldn’t refute. But honestly—not every woman wanted to become a career powerhouse! She never deliberately chased after bigger achievements. A simple life, doing the work she loved—that was enough for her.
“President Xu, I’ll get back to work now.”
By six in the evening, night had already fallen.
“Xiaoyao… want to go grab skewers tonight?”
“I’m working overtime… and not in the mood…”
Huang Chenchen had only been away on a business trip for a few days, and now she came back acting all sentimental? “Don’t be like that~ girl, I’ve got so much to ask you. Didn’t realize there was something between you and Zhou Yi…”
“Go, go, I’m busy… Hanging up.” Le Xiaoyao ended the call in frustration. Honestly, how did that woman have such endless energy? Running around chasing news never wore her out! Why wasn’t she an entertainment reporter with all that nosiness…
In all the years she’d known her, Huang Chenchen had never seen Le Xiaoyao work overtime. Today must’ve been a once-in-a-lifetime event. Hanging up, she frowned and muttered to herself: “Is my girl turning into a career woman? No way…”
Le Xiaoyao didn’t think of herself as sentimental, but lately she’d been oddly gloomy. Work troubles aside, the real reason was that she kept thinking of Fu Jin—again and again. She couldn’t stop wondering what had happened that night when she’d been drunk. She couldn’t stop herself from wanting to find an excuse to see her…
After a shower, she lay in bed, clutching her new phone. Inside it was Fu Jin’s number, which she’d gotten from Young Master Zhou.
She stared at the string of unfamiliar digits until they were etched into her memory. Before she realized it, she had actually dialed the number…
Le Xiaoyao wasn’t the only one feeling troubled.
Fu Jin preferred quiet. Autumn nights lacked the noise of summer; in her apartment, the only sound was the clacking of the keyboard. The silence soon felt like suffocation. She glanced at the screen—at some point, her thesis draft had turned into a string of gibberish. She closed the laptop.
Outside, the leaves swayed in the wind. Only when she cracked open the window did she hear the faint rustle. The apartment’s soundproofing was excellent—that was why she had chosen this place. She turned on the TV, just to have some background noise. But the heaviness in her chest remained… what to do? She picked up her phone. Should she call? Her baseball jacket was still at Le Xiaoyao’s place, and she had promised to treat her to dinner.
She hesitated, but then a familiar expression flashed in her mind—that nonchalant look on a certain someone’s face. Didn’t she also have clothes sitting at Le Xiaoyao’s? And that woman hadn’t returned them all this time. Should she be the one to make the first move? Absolutely not.
Just as she was about to set her phone down, it suddenly vibrated in her hand. Looking at the screen: Le Xiaoyao.
She stared at the phone, thinking: I’ll pick up after the sixth ring.
On the other end, Le Xiaoyao had no idea how proud and stubborn Fu Jin was. She hadn’t even thought through what she wanted to say before dialing. Each ring made her more uneasy. By the time it reached five and a half rings, she panicked and hung up.
“…Would it kill you to let it ring one more time?” Fu Jin muttered, looking at the red missed-call notification. Her heart felt strangely empty. Should she call back? Should she wait ten minutes and then call? Or wait to see if another call came in?
“Does this woman seriously not return missed calls?”
“Does this woman seriously not call again?”
And so, both of them remained silent.