Xia Qingtian confirmed, mobius let out a shallow smile.
Li Xiaoxiao glanced at Xia Qingtian, then at mobius, patted Xia Qingtian’s shoulder, and gave her a look that clearly said "Don't worry, I understand it all." She then made an excuse and left. Before leaving, she winked and gave a thumbs-up to mobius when he wasn’t looking, then grabbed her purchases and vanished like a gust of wind.
Seeing Li Xiaoxiao like that, Xia Qingtian could only shake her head speechlessly.
“Did I interrupt you?” mobius asked.
“No, I was just wandering around. What about you? Are you working around here?” Xia Qingtian asked, looking at mobius.
“Yes, this mall is under Gu Corporation. Mr. Gu… Mr. Gu wanted the quarterly report for this mall, so I came over,” mobius replied.
“Don’t you usually just need to click a mouse to send those quarterly reports?” Xia Qingtian, who had interned at Xia Corporation for the summer, knew some things. “Did you have to come in person?”
“In principle, yes, but… Mr. Gu asked me to do it this way, he probably has his reasons.” mobius smiled subtly.
He wasn’t going to tell Xia Qingtian that there were problems with the mall’s financial statements and that there were shenanigans among the higher-ups, requiring his personal attention.
“Hmm… capitalists.” Xia Qingtian narrowed her eyes, seeming to understand something.
Seeing that Xia Qingtian’s misunderstanding of "Mr. Gu" was deepening, mobius wanted to explain. However, he heard hurried footsteps behind him.
The two senior executives he had just fired, along with several management personnel who had their salaries reduced, were rushing towards him, sweating profusely, seemingly wanting to beg him.
There was nothing more to be said about this matter. If these parasites weren't dealt with, not only would this mall go bankrupt in three years, but it would also mysteriously incur enormous debts. While it wouldn’t drag Gu Corporation down, it would certainly cripple them and take years to recover.
Seeing these people again now, it was already his mercy that he hadn't made them disappear from this world completely.
What else could they beg for?
Moreover, Xia Qingtian was still nearby. If they blurted out anything that revealed his identity, it would be of no benefit to him.
With this thought, mobius suddenly grabbed Xia Qingtian’s hand.
“?!” Xia Qingtian, whose hand was suddenly grabbed, hadn’t even had time to react when she heard mobius say a single word next to her: “Run!”
Xia Qingtian was incredibly grateful that it was the last day of military training, and she had changed into comfortable sports shoes at school before coming out with Li Xiaoxiao.
This made her agile when running, and she kept up with mobius’s pace without any pressure.
These nimble legs allowed her to feel the wind on her face again after a long time.
The two ran out of the mall and all the way to the fountain in a park near the commercial district before they stopped.
Panting heavily, Xia Qingtian held one hand on her knee, while the other was still held in mobius’s palm.
At this moment, Xia Qingtian felt mobius’s palm was very warm, just like that embrace in the early morning.
She was momentarily lost in thought.
“Sorry.” mobius followed Xia Qingtian’s gaze to his own hand, then let go and gave a dry laugh. “It was a moment of urgency.”
“Are you sure Mr. Gu just asked you to get the quarterly financial reports?” Xia Qingtian looked at mobius.
If it was just to get the reports, there wouldn’t have been any need to run like this.
“In fact, there were a few minor issues, but it’s not convenient to talk about them,” mobius said with an apologetic smile.
“Capitalists, I get it.” Xia Qingtian nodded with a subtle look in her eyes.
mobius felt that "Mr. Gu" in Xia Qingtian’s mind was probably too black to be cleaned up, and he felt a headache coming on.
This was not his intention.
But if he explained rashly at this moment, it would probably only make things worse. mobius could only curve his lips into a strained smile.
In Xia Qingtian’s eyes, this smile took on another meaning.
It must be very hard for mobius to make a living under that business genius.
“Occasionally… exercising isn’t bad either,” Xia Qingtian raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
“I’ll treat you to ice cream,” mobius pointed to a cheerfully colored pink and white ice cream stall not far away.
“Sure,” Xia Qingtian readily agreed.
The two ordered two different ice cream scoops, and after eating them, they fell silent.
As expected, one shouldn’t have high expectations for ice cream stalls in parks.
“How’s yours…?” mobius asked, looking at Xia Qingtian.
“Hmm… you don’t usually come here, do you?” Xia Qingtian didn’t directly answer mobius’s question but instead asked him, “Is this your first time buying ice cream here?”
“Yes,” mobius nodded. Normally, he wouldn’t have to run away so disheveled, nor would he have to treat a young girl to ice cream.
“Then you must have ordered the worst flavor here,” Xia Qingtian looked at her own ice cream with a complex expression. “Mine is probably the second worst.”
mobius immediately recalled the dialogue from their first meeting at the coffee shop downstairs from Gu Corporation, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Seeing this, Xia Qingtian also started to laugh.
With their laughter, the ice cream, rich with artificial flavors and sweeteners, didn't taste as bad.
After eating ice cream, mobius received a phone call and bid farewell to Xia Qingtian.
Xia Qingtian politely declined mobius’s offer to escort her home and went straight to the city library.
As he got into the car, mobius couldn’t help but chuckle softly as he thought about the park.
He then looked at his hand, the soft touch still lingering.
His dull and monotonous life, falling into the cycle of days, seemed to have been disturbed by a thrown stone, and the ripples it created brought about infinite unknowns and surprises.
The future seemed to be veiled in a layer of mystery, giving him anticipation once more.
“Mr. Gu, you seem to be in a good mood?” his personal assistant sitting next to him asked.
“What is it?” mobius asked him.
“Nothing, it’s just… I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile like this,” the assistant said.
“Is that so?” mobius responded with an inscrutable tone, then took out his phone and started discussing work matters with his assistant.
Seeing mobius return to his most familiar self, the assistant immediately devoted himself wholeheartedly to his work. Only when the car stopped in front of the company did he secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
“The matter of Xia Qingtian’s contract should be expedited,” mobius said.
“Wen Ning’s flight back to the country is today. She should be able to contact Miss Xia within two days at the latest,” the assistant replied.
“Okay,” mobius replied, then stepped out of the car with his long strides.
Meanwhile, Xia Qingtian, who was at the library, received a text message on her phone. The sender identified themselves as Wen Ning, an agent from Gu Corporation Entertainment, and informed her to meet at the Yuecheng Recording Studio in the new district tomorrow morning at ten o'clock sharp.
Seeing this message, Xia Qingtian couldn't believe her eyes.
Wen Ning, actually contacting her personally!