TPW – Chapter 123 – Extra 4

“You told me about Director Liu’s private affairs—what was your purpose?” He didn’t believe Qin Xiaoman was simply sharing gossip. She wasn’t the type to waste her energy on meaningless things.

Sure enough—

“Director Xu, I’ve told you something so important. Don’t you think you should show some gratitude with action?” As expected, she had a request in mind.

Xu Haizhou: “…”

Gratitude? With all the shady things you’ve done, not slapping you is already showing you mercy—and you still want thanks?

“Did I force you to say it?” Xu Haizhou’s voice turned cold. His eyelashes trembled slightly, and his gaze darkened like a deep pool.

“Huh?” Qin Xiaoman was stunned, not expecting him to be so blunt and give her no face.

“But… I’ve already told you, at the very least—”

Before she could finish, Xu Haizhou sternly interrupted, “We, Anqiao, will no longer be taking this order. Anqiao is too small a temple to accommodate the likes of you. Please see yourself out. Oh, and kindly close the door on your way out.”

Qin Xiaoman: “…So full of yourself! Outrageous!”

She stomped her foot hard in anger and stormed out. She didn’t bother to close the door. The click clack of her high heels grew louder with each step, as if even the ants on the floor were too afraid to get in her way.

When Director Liu found out Xu Haizhou was unwilling to cooperate with Jinqiang Fashion, he was dumbfounded. He stood there stunned, not even noticing cigarette ash falling onto the top of his foot.

“For real? He really said that? Not even leaving a sliver of room?”

The cooperation with Anqiao Garment Factory had already been set by upper management. He was just sent over to negotiate for more favorable terms for their side before officially signing the contract.

Because the order quantity was large, Director Liu thought that a new factory like Anqiao wouldn’t dare to give it up, so he made outrageous demands, confident that Xu Haizhou wouldn’t refuse.

After all, even if Xu gave up the 10,000 yuan kickback, he’d still make a profit of 10,000 to 20,000 yuan, right? It wasn’t a loss-making deal, just slightly less profitable.

Not to mention, these past few days, he’d been treated to meals and drinks, and Xu Haizhou hadn’t once declined or complained. He even paid generously—clearly showing he really wanted to land this order.

Who would’ve thought, after all the effort, the deal would suddenly fall through? It made no sense. Was Xu really giving up the order?

Director Liu couldn’t believe it and had Qin Xiaoman drive him directly to Anqiao to meet Xu Haizhou in person.

But the result was the same.

Furious, Director Liu cursed him for being ungrateful. Xu Haizhou’s face darkened even more, and he coldly said to the pair, “Please see yourselves out.”

From the very first visit to Anqiao, Xu Haizhou had always treated him warmly—with good food, good drink, and a polite attitude. But now, it was like he had turned into a completely different person! That icy pressure radiating from him made Director Liu shiver.

He was not only angry—he was scared. He was scared that if he failed to secure this order, he’d be blamed by his superiors.

After all, the company didn’t belong to him; it was owned by his wife’s family. He was just there to earn a living. His use of power for personal gain was a secret not meant to be exposed. If this deal fell through, the company would definitely call Xu Haizhou for an explanation.

And if Xu Haizhou mentioned the 10,000 yuan kickback, not even his wife could protect him—let alone his in-laws, who despised corruption the most.

“Forget it, forget it. Director Xu, I didn’t expect you to be so firm. That’s my miscalculation.” He bowed his head in apparent regret, stayed silent for a while, then pulled out a cigarette—only for Xu Haizhou to stop him.

“No smoking in the factory.”

Director Liu: “…”

Suppressing his frustration, he stuffed the cigarette back into his pocket.

More silence followed. After a long pause, as if he were peeling off his own flesh, he finally said:  “How about this, I’ll cut the kickback. Five thousand. Half. That’s fair enough, right?”

Cutting it in half—that’s quite a “generous” move. Director Liu was confident that this level of concession would be enough. Don’t forget, this was a major order. If secured, not only would Jinqiang profit, but the new factory Anqiao would also gain significant benefits!

But what Xu Haizhou said next completely shattered his assumptions: “If you had said that earlier, I might have agreed. But now… Director Liu, if you want this order signed, you won’t be getting a single cent in kickbacks.”

“You…”

Director Liu stared at him in disbelief, pointing at him with a trembling hand. “You’re serious about this…”

“If you can’t accept that, then please leave.” With that, he gestured toward the office door.

After days of back-and-forth, Xu Haizhou’s patience had worn thin. He’d rather not earn this money.

“Then… three thousand? That should be okay, right? Xiao Xu, don’t push your luck!” He tried to scare him with his authority again.

But Xu Haizhou wasn’t buying it anymore. He had once lowered himself for this order, and it had taught him a lesson: Whether buying or selling, never lower your stance too much.

Doing so not only invites contempt but also makes you vulnerable to manipulation. If he had approached this deal with a “do your best and let it be” attitude, he wouldn’t have been strung along by Director Liu for so many days.

A lesson learned the hard way—never again.

“Please leave.” Still just those two words.

Director Liu took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to curse, “Two thousand?”

“One thousand?”

“Director Xu! At least let me make something! Otherwise, we can’t work together!” He turned dramatically, pretending to leave.

Xu Haizhou didn’t even look up. He continued writing at his desk. “Anqiao is a small temple. Please leave.”

Director Liu: “…”

In the end, even though his pride was trampled, Director Liu had no choice but to let Xu Haizhou sign the deal—without taking a single cent in kickbacks.

Once the contract was signed, Director Liu was so furious he nearly pounded his chest in regret.

Trying to steal a chicken, only to end up losing the rice—he was livid!

He stormed out of the office without looking back.

Qin Xiaoman followed but stopped at the door. She turned back to look at Xu Haizhou, twirled her hair flirtatiously, and gave him a wink.

“Director Xu, I did you quite a big favor, didn’t I? You…”

Xu Haizhou didn’t even lift his eyelids: “Get out.”

Qin Xiaoman: “…”

Meanwhile, Director Liu was fuming in his hotel room, throwing whatever was within reach onto the floor—regardless of how much he’d have to pay the hotel later for damages.

Qin Xiaoman used the excuse of going out to buy dinner and snuck away.

Thinking about how she had tried to seduce that brick wall of a man, Xu Haizhou, and got nothing for her efforts—not only losing face but also gaining no advantage—she was furious and felt it was all a waste.

So, she took the car keys and drove back to Anqiao.

If she couldn’t get to Xu Haizhou, maybe she could try Li Hongjun instead?

He might hold a low position, but he was still a manager. Plus, he was young and decent-looking—certainly better than Director Liu’s pig-faced mug.

Besides, Li Hongjun’s girlfriend looked plain, and her style couldn’t compare to hers.

Li Hongjun was more socially adept than Xu Haizhou. He had a sweet tongue and a cheerful personality—he might actually like someone like her.

As the car just drove into Anqiao Garment Factory, the security guards, already familiar with her, assumed she was here to discuss another order. They didn’t ask much and let her through.

Once inside, she headed straight for Li Hongjun’s office. But before she could get there, a young supervisor from the workshop stopped her. “Secretary Qin, didn’t we already finalize the order? Why are you here again?”

“Yes, the order is signed. But there are a few additional notes I forgot to pass on to your factory director and Manager Li. Director Liu specifically asked me to come by before we head back to Yun City. Don’t waste my time.”

The young supervisor frowned slightly. After a moment of thought, he didn’t find anything suspicious. This woman, although somewhat inappropriate, was indeed Director Liu’s secretary. Her reasoning checked out.

“Our director and Manager Li are in a meeting right now. If you have anything to discuss, please wait here.”

A meeting? At this hour? How boring.

She wandered around the factory floor aimlessly a few times and finally ended up in front of the office.

Next to Xu Haizhou’s office was Anqiao’s Design Department. The door was open. As she approached, she saw only a young man inside—he looked about twenty-four or twenty-five. His youthful face didn’t ring any bells for Qin Xiaoman.

Well, aside from Xu Haizhou and Li Hongjun, she hadn’t interacted with anyone else here.

She stepped into the design department. The young man was rummaging hastily through papers on his desk. After a minute or two, he grabbed a folder and rushed into the meeting room next door.

Before leaving, he shot a glance at Qin Xiaoman, but since he was in a hurry to deliver the documents, he didn’t have time to engage with her. He just gave her a passing shout and then shut the office door behind him.

Once he left, Qin Xiaoman confirmed the nameplate on the door, turned the handle, and walked in.

Soon after, someone from outside noticed her action and asked curiously, “Eh? What’s she doing in there? That’s the factory director’s wife’s office!”

“No idea. Lao Fang, go in and check. Don’t let her mess with anything.” The documents in the design department were all confidential.

Lao Fang muttered, “This woman again, what nonsense is she up to this time? I’ll go tell her to come out.”

Fortunately, Qin Xiaoman didn’t seem to be up to anything shady. The supervisor called out, and she came out immediately. She then stood by the meeting room door, waiting for Li Hongjun.

When the meeting ended, Li Hongjun and Xu Haizhou walked out. Seeing Qin Xiaoman, Li Hongjun rubbed his eyes in disbelief. “What are you doing here? Wasn’t the order already signed? Why haven’t you left?”

The surrounding staff slowly dispersed and returned to their workstations. Only Li Hongjun and Xu Haizhou remained at the door.

“No rush.” Qin Xiaoman looked at the two men with an unabashed gaze. “Are you free tonight? Let’s celebrate our successful collaboration. My treat.”

What collaboration? That’s a contract with Jin Qiang’s branch office!

Xu Haizhou didn’t even glance at her and walked straight into his office.

Li Hongjun scratched his head awkwardly. “Uh, no thanks, no thanks. My girlfriend’s been upset with me lately. I don’t even dare talk to other female colleagues, haha. See you, see you.”

He hurried back to his office. Just as he closed the door, Qin Xiaoman pushed it open and came in.

“Secretary Qin, do you still need something?” Even Li Hongjun was starting to get irritated. This woman just didn’t seem to understand boundaries.

“Nothing really. Just curious—what do you usually do here? Say, if I quit my job, could I come work at your factory too? I heard from your employees that Anqiao has great benefits.”

Li Hongjun forced a stiff smile. “Hehe, well, once you quit, you can come apply. We hire based on ability.”

“Oh, I’ve definitely got the skills! Five years of experience—driving, making tea, organizing documents…” She winked playfully and walked closer. “I can do everything.”

Li Hongjun noticed the shrinking distance between them and stammered, “Uh… that’s… that’s great…”

Then somehow, she shifted the conversation to Zhou Yinghua. She started badmouthing her, saying how she didn’t understand her boyfriend at all, how hard Li Hongjun worked at the factory, and how unreasonable it was that she wouldn’t even let him accept a dinner invitation from a collaborator. She rattled on, sounding quite considerate on the surface.

But something felt off. The more Li Hongjun listened, the more uncomfortable he got.

After seven or eight minutes of this, Qin Xiaoman couldn’t hold back anymore and, imitating the way she had tried to seduce Xu Haizhou, began making a move on him.

The result?

Not only did she fail, she got cursed out!

“What the f*ck! Are you out of your damn mind? Your boobs are practically hanging out—are you trying to be seductive or what?! Get the hell away from me! I told you I have a girlfriend—why are you still clinging to me? Are you insane?!”

Qin Xiaoman had never experienced being ignored and insulted by two men within three days. She stared in disbelief, wanting to say something, but Li Hongjun cut her off with a fresh wave of high-intensity, curse-laden insults.

Even someone as thick-skinned as Qin Xiaoman couldn’t take it. She turned, patted the dust off her palms, and stormed off furiously.

“Peh! Idiot! I’m never coming to your stupid factory again!”

After the she-devil left, Li Hongjun rubbed his chest where she had touched him, still shaken.

“F*ck! Reeking of perfume!”

He quickly took off his jacket and rushed to the bathroom to wash it. Thankfully, it was a sunny day—hopefully it would dry before sunset!

In late April, the “Heavenly Voice Singing Cup” group singing competition, organized by the Education Department of Lian City, kicked off with great enthusiasm!

The competition was targeted at primary and secondary schools, and Third Elementary School—where Qiao An studied—was bustling with preparation.

The school required two teams from lower grades and two from upper grades. The event was taken very seriously. The music teacher carefully selected good-looking and melodious students for focused training.

Naturally, Qiao An was selected, placed right in the front row for the choir performance of “Song of the Seven Sons.” It was said that winners would even receive prizes!

The selected students were thrilled and eagerly shared the good news with their parents when they got home, along with the teacher’s requirements.

When Qiao Lu went to pick up her son, he started chattering as soon as he stepped out of the school gates. On the way, he teased the baby in the stroller while talking excitedly with his mom:

“Teacher said that if we win, we’ll get to perform again during the Children’s Day celebration in front of the whole school! First graders, second graders, even the big brothers and sisters from sixth grade will all get to see us perform!”

Qiao An’s time living collectively only lasted three or four months, but he remained enthusiastic about communal life. Especially after starting elementary school, he discovered that there weren’t just three grades—there were six!

The tall older boys and girls in the upper grades were so tall! The difference between them and first graders like himself was enormous. In Qiao An’s eyes, they were like gods.

He yearned to grow tall like those older kids so he could be admired and envied by the younger students!

“Do we need to buy any props?” Qiao Lu asked after he finished squealing with excitement.

Qiao An nodded eagerly. “There are props, Mama. The teacher said we also need makeup. You know, the powder you always put on your face. Can boys wear it too?”

“Of course. Boys can wear makeup too. So, what kind of props do you need?” Qiao Lu smiled as she ruffled her son’s short hair, which had gotten much stiffer than before and wasn’t so soft to the touch anymore.

Qiao An waved his arms and legs in excitement. “The music teacher said we have to wear a white shirt and blue pants, and white sneakers!”

That was easy. The one thing their home wasn’t short on was clothes. Qiao Lu was confident that no child in the school had more clothes than Qiao An.

The wardrobe in the kids’ room was stuffed to the brim, and they’d even added an extra standing closet in the living room just to store Qiao An’s and Qiaoqiao’s clothes. There simply wasn’t anywhere else to put them.

What did that mean? The house was too small. They needed a bigger one!

Qiao Lu glanced down at Qiao An’s feet. “An’an, your white sneakers are all dirty. That won’t look good on stage.”

They were comfortable shoes. Except for rainy days, he wore them almost every day.

Qiao An lowered his head and looked at his “white” sneakers. Oh—now they should really be called gray sneakers.

“Can’t we just wash them and they’ll be clean again?” he asked innocently.

“Who’s going to wash them?” Qiao Lu chuckled, scratching his chin.

The little guy hesitated for two seconds, then pointed at Qiao Lu. “Um… Mama will wash them?”

At home, Qiao Lu usually did the laundry. Sometimes, when Xu Haizhou came home early, she’d ask him to wash clothes too—especially the thick winter ones, which were basically always his job.

“These shoes are hard to clean. We bought them for you last Children’s Day, right? It’s been a year already. Let’s just get a new pair.”

“But that’s a bit wasteful. These shoes aren’t broken yet, I can still wear them. I can wear them for another year—or even two.” Qiao An was such a thrifty little guy, even more careful with money than his mom.

Any other kid would be eager for their parents to buy new shoes.

“Alright then, we’ll set them aside for now. When Dad has time, he can give them a good scrub. Come on, son, it’s been a while since we went shopping. Let’s not go home yet. Mama will take you to the department store to buy shoes and we can pick up some snacks on the way back.”

Qiao Lu didn’t want to admit it, but the real reason was that she was too lazy to clean the shoes.

“Okay~”

The two of them—one big, one small—pushed the baby stroller through the department store. Along the way, many people curiously stared at Qiaoqiao’s stroller. It had safety straps and a canopy, perfect for blocking the sun or rain. Many young moms and pregnant women stopped to ask where it was bought and how much it cost.

“It was brought over from Hong Kong by a friend. Sorry!” she explained. Indeed, it wasn’t a domestic product—rare and unavailable in the local market.

The moment they heard it was from Hong Kong, the moms left in disappointment.

Qiao An curiously asked, “Mama, why does everyone like Qiaoqiao’s stroller so much?”

Qiao Lu replied, “Maybe because it’s not sold here, and it’s their first time seeing one, so they think it’s really cool.”

Qiao An: “Oh, then how did you buy it, Mama?”

As they entered the shoes and clothing section of the department store, Qiao Lu picked out shoes for him while answering, “It was your sister Yu Fan’s ex-boyfriend who helped me buy it.”

“Ex-boyfriend?” Qiao An didn’t quite understand the term. After thinking for a bit, he guessed, “Was he a very rich boyfriend?”

Qiao Lu burst out laughing. “You got half of it right. He is rich, but he’s no longer the boyfriend. He’s her former boyfriend—they broke up. Now they’re just regular friends. Got it?”

Qiao An nodded seriously and looked up at her. “It’s a bit complicated… but I kind of get it.”

“Mhm. Here, try on this pair to see if the size fits.” Qiao Lu handed him a pair of sleek white sneakers.

Qiao An took them, sat down on a small stool, took off his old shoes, and slowly slipped his feet into the new sneakers. He struggled a bit, and Qiao Lu gave him a little push to help get them on.

She asked, “Are they too small?”

Wiggling his toes inside, Qiao An nodded. “Yeah, Mama, they’re kind of tight.”

Qiao Lu raised an eyebrow in surprise. Last year this size fit him just right. “Your feet grew this fast? Okay, let’s try a bigger size.”

Today, Qiaoqiao was especially energetic and in her babbling phase—constantly making noise. To keep her quiet, Qiao Lu gave her a clean shoe to play with.

Qiaoqiao had never played with shoes before. She held the little leather shoe curiously, inspecting it. At one point, she even tried to bite it, but Qiao Lu, quick as lightning, snatched it away and scolded her sharply: “You’ll eat anything, you little foodie! Here, take this pacifier!”

She pulled a pacifier from her pocket and popped it into Qiaoqiao’s mouth. That finally calmed her down. While sucking on it, she waved the little shoe around, kicking her legs and wiggling her bum in the stroller.

There were only one or two styles of white sneakers. After confirming the size and paying, they planned to head over to the food section. As Qiao Lu glanced around, she suddenly noticed a new arrival in the clothing area. From a distance, it looked quite nice.

Out of curiosity, she walked over and flipped through the rack. The more she looked at the design, the more familiar it felt.

Finally, her heart skipped a beat in shock. “Wait a minute… Isn’t this my design? What’s going on—it looks exactly like it.”

Thinking she was mistaken, Qiao Lu took the dress down for a closer look. Not only was the style identical, but even the small details she had specifically marked were exactly the same!

A sales assistant noticed her and came over.

“Looking for something? You can try on the jackets, but not the dresses, okay?”
In 1986, department store staff were much more polite than in the ‘60s and ‘70s—especially when they saw customers dressed in expensive clothes. Their attitude became even better.

Taking a closer look, the sales assistant gasped and covered her mouth. “Ah, it’s you—Boss Qiao!”

Qiao Lu turned toward the voice. It turned out to be a frequent customer of her store, Purple Dragonfly. The woman came from a wealthy family and stopped by the store every month after payday—sometimes buying, sometimes just browsing. Over time, she and Qiao Lu had gotten familiar with each other.

“What a coincidence.” She greeted her with a smile.

“Not a coincidence. I work here every day,” the sales assistant replied with a chuckle, then glanced curiously at the dress in Qiao Lu’s hand. “Do you like this dress? Doesn’t your family run a clothing business?”

Actually, Xu Haizhou and his wife had been thinking of supplying goods to the department store for a while now. Xu Haizhou even approached their manager, but unfortunately, the leader was old and hadn’t yet shifted his mindset. He said that no matter how trendy the styles or how good the quality was, they only accepted goods from state-owned enterprises. So the deal was never closed—otherwise, Purple Dragonfly clothes would’ve been seen here too.

Qiao Lu frowned slightly, stroking the fabric. “Not really. I just think this dress is quite… unique. I haven’t seen it before.”

The sales assistant smiled knowingly and explained, “It’s from Hongye Garment Factory. It arrived just a couple of days ago—selling like hotcakes! Boss Qiao, you really have a sharp eye. Picked it out in one glance.”

Qiao Lu: “…”

She forced a polite smile, her lips twitching slightly. “I feel like I’ve seen this design somewhere before.”

The sales assistant shook her head in confusion. “Seen it? These days, don’t all dresses look pretty similar? It’s normal to have that impression. But this one has really rich details—looks even better on than in your hands. I even kept one for myself. Want to buy it?”

Qiao Lu chuckled. “I sell clothes myself. Why would I buy one?”

With that, she slipped the dress back onto the hanger and hung it up.

The sales assistant nodded. Seeing that she wasn’t interested in buying, she politely took her leave. “Feel free to look around. I’ll go attend to other customers.”

“Sure.”

Qiao Lu wasn’t in the mood to buy food anymore either. After leaving the department store, she didn’t go home. Instead, she took the child to the factory and went straight to the design department office.

Inside the office, only the two newly hired university graduate designers were still drawing at that hour. Both had passed the interview just last month. Qiao Lu had assigned each of them four autumn design drafts to be submitted within a month. They were rushing to meet the deadline—if the work was good, they’d be kept on.

The benefits here were great, and the boss was warm and friendly, unlike many private employers who acted smug and overbearing. It was a comfortable environment, so they really wanted to stay.

Seeing Qiao Lu, the two stood up and greeted her, “Director.”

Qiao Lu nodded with a smile, pushed the stroller to the window, and went straight to her desk to look for something.

Meanwhile, Qiao An slipped into the office next door and knocked.

Xu Haizhou called out, “Come in.”

The little guy tiptoed in like a sneaky mouse. Xu Haizhou was still busy and didn’t even have time to look up before the small figure darted into his arms like the wind.

Startled, Xu Haizhou’s mind immediately flashed to the face of the crazy woman Qin Xiaoman. Then, realizing it was his own little one, he couldn’t help but laugh helplessly. That madwoman had really made him jumpy lately.

He ruffled his son’s hair. “Why are you here? Just got out of school? Didn’t even drop off your bag at home?”

Qiao An snuggled happily into his father’s arms, laughing brightly. “Daddy! I’m going to participate in the city’s group singing competition! Mommy took me to the department store to buy white shoes, and then she brought me and my sister here to see you!”

Xu Haizhou raised his eyebrows in surprise and kissed his son’s soft cheek. “Your sister’s here too? Where is she?”

The boy pointed toward the wall. “She’s over there with mommy. She just fell asleep in the stroller.”

“Asleep already?” Xu Haizhou had wanted to tease his daughter a bit. “Never mind. Let’s go see your mommy.”

Back in the design department, Qiao Lu was in a panic. The two junior designers nervously joined her in searching everywhere.

“Where’s my design draft? The one I finished last week—it’s missing!”

“Missing? How could it be missing? Director, where did you put it?”

“I don’t know—on the desk! I haven’t touched it. I’ve been working from home lately and haven’t even been here. How could it disappear?”

“Could it have been blown off by the wind? Let’s look around.”

The weather had been fluctuating lately, causing colds to spread. The office was often ventilated. Could the wind have blown it away?

But the office was small—where could it have gone? Even if it blew out the door, other staff would’ve seen it and returned it. No one would hide it on purpose… right?

“Nothing. We’ve looked everywhere. It’s just not here.”

Qiao Lu searched thoroughly but came up empty. And as luck would have it, only one design was missing—the very one she had just seen in the department store!

What are the odds? Coincidences like this do exist, sure—but happening now like this? Too suspicious.

Something’s off!

Just as she was about to go next door to find Xu Haizhou, he appeared holding their son.

Smiling brightly, he asked, “Why didn’t you go home before bringing them here? Where’s Qiaoqiao?”

Qiao Lu didn’t have time to answer. She walked over quickly and asked, “Haizhou, one of my design drafts is missing from the office. Do you know where it went?”

“Missing? Let’s look around. Maybe it slipped into a corner.”

“No!” Qiao Lu took a deep breath and said, exasperated, “I just saw it in the clothing section of the department store!”

“The clothing section?” Xu Haizhou was stunned. He put Qiao An down and said seriously, “What’s going on?”

“I took An’an to the department store to buy shoes, and I saw a very familiar-looking dress. I picked it up and realized—it’s my design draft! A completed piece, with all the details! And now it’s on sale at the department store! I’m speechless.”

“The department store… That’s supplied by Hongye Garments, right? How did they get our design?” Hongye Garments was a competitor of Anqiao, but the two companies never had any dealings. How could they have her design?

“Could it be we have a mole here?” That was Qiao Lu’s first thought.

“A mole?” Xu Haizhou didn’t quite get it.

“Yes!” She’d seen it in TV dramas—someone goes undercover in a rival company to steal trade secrets!

A missing design draft, a finished product appearing in the department store… This was serious. It had to be investigated thoroughly!

Xu Haizhou nodded solemnly. “You go home first. I’ll look into it.”

Qiao Lu was annoyed at first, but when she saw the firmness in his gaze, she suddenly felt reassured. At least she wasn’t dealing with this alone. Having someone to share the burden with felt pretty good.

After calming down, the two junior designers stood frozen, completely stunned.

Qiao Lu exhaled. “It’s okay. You two keep working. Clock out when it’s time.”

Then she pushed the stroller, linked arms with Xu Haizhou, and left the office. “Have you eaten yet?”

Xu Haizhou held Qiao An’s hand and glanced into the stroller. Qiaoqiao was fast asleep, unaware that the father she’d been talking about all day was right beside her now.

He smiled and poked her cheek. “Not yet.”

Qiao Lu glanced at him and looked away. “Wanna grab a bite nearby before we come back and investigate?”

After all, filling the stomach came first. A few minutes wouldn’t make a difference.

“Sure. I’ll lock the door.” After locking it, he put an arm around his wife’s shoulders, smiling. “How was Qiaoqiao today? Was she well-behaved?”

Qiao Lu laughed. “Not bad. At lunch, she insisted on stealing my chicken leg. It was so spicy she cried. Probably won’t try stealing my food again.”

Thinking of her red, crying mouth from the chili, Xu Haizhou couldn’t help but laugh. “That kid never learns without a little pain. Always trying to snatch adult food.”

“Exactly. Probably takes after you.” Qiao Lu shot him a sideways glance, a teasing look in her eyes.

Xu Haizhou knew what she meant—she was mocking how he sometimes ignored his own food and insisted on eating hers instead.

Cough cough—but hey, that’s what you call romance, right?

The design theft was investigated for an hour, and they quickly narrowed down the suspect.

“Director Liu’s secretary?” Qiao Lu thought back carefully. “The one who bumped into you that time?”

Xu Haizhou: “Yes.”

“When did she go in? She was supposed to be discussing orders with you—why’d she go to the design department?”

Usually, no one besides the two designers would enter that room. They kept it locked when unoccupied.

“On the 23rd, during the meeting with Hongjun and the others. The door wasn’t locked, and she went in herself. Lao Li said he called her out immediately after, and she came right out. Didn’t stay long.”

Qiao Lu frowned, growing more uneasy. “How long was she in there? Exactly how quick is ‘quick’?”

Xu Haizhou replied, “One or two minutes.”

“One or two minutes…” That was enough time to take a design draft lying on the table.

“Haizhou, can you find her now? I’m pretty sure it’s her!”

The 23rd… That was eight days ago. In eight days, there was more than enough time to produce a batch of clothing.

“Alright. Go home and wait for news. I’ll handle this.”