Upon arriving at Chang Qingchuan's office, Gu Susu saw him looking at a contract on his desk. She cleared her throat, "Chief Chang, did you need me for something?"
Chang Qingchuan looked up and gestured to the chair in front of his desk. "Sit down. You've been taking a lot of leave lately, are you alright? Are you feeling unwell, or is Xiao Xingxing having issues?"
"Xiao Xingxing is fine. I just had a slight cold, but I'm all better now," Gu Susu replied as she sat down.
"If you're not feeling well, you should rest for a few more days. No need to rush back to work," Chang Qingchuan said with concern.
Gu Susu smiled. Staying in that house for even one more day felt like torture; she'd rather be at work, keeping busy.
"I'm really fine, see?" Gu Susu leaned forward, across the desk, so he could clearly see how energetic she looked.
Chang Qingchuan picked up the contract from his desk and gently patted her head like an older brother. "It's good that you're fine. Now, come take a look at this contract."
Gu Susu looked at the contract curiously. "What contract is it?"
"After Donna was apprehended, she confessed everything. She stole your designs and sold them to Yi Mei's chief designer. Yi Mei can't deny it, but they gained an advantage with their launch. Headquarters feels that suing them would be a waste of time. The best approach now is to license this series to Yi Mei, allowing them to handle the market and sales."
As Gu Susu listened, she carefully read through the contract. Yi Mei was giving up six months of sales profits, which was a rather good deal.
"Headquarters' consideration is reasonable. Is there anything else I need to do?"
Chang Qingchuan nodded. "The brand for this series is still ours, Mi Shang. They will be responsible for production, promotion, and sales. To ensure our brand reputation, we'll need your help to follow up at the factory for the quality of the first batch of fashion items, as well as the display and theme design in major department stores. The company hopes you can participate in these aspects to prevent any slip-ups or tricks from Yi Mei."
Gu Susu understood his meaning. "I can do that. This series was my design, like my child. I don't want any more problems to arise, and I'm willing to cooperate with Yi Mei to follow up on the subsequent matters."
"Alright, take this copy of the contract. I'll have someone give you the contact information for Yi Mei's representative shortly. Starting tomorrow, you'll go directly to the factory to oversee their production line. If you need any assistance, feel free to tell me."
"No problem." Gu Susu put away the contract. Seeing that there was nothing else, she stood up, ready to leave his office.
Chang Qingchuan suddenly called out to her, "Susu, wait a moment."
"What is it?"
Chang Qingchuan looked at her. "You look a bit worn out. You still need to pay more attention to resting. After you check on things at the factory tomorrow, you don't need to come to the office. Go back and rest early."
"Okay, I'll take care of myself." A touch of warmth spread through Gu Susu's heart, and she smiled at him.
Chang Qingchuan then looked at her wrist. When she picked up the contract, he had noticed a bruise there. "How did you injure your hand?"
"Oh." Gu Susu quickly pulled her sleeve down to cover the bruise. "Xiao Xingxing hit me with his toy while we were playing. It's nothing serious."
Chang Qingchuan didn't ask further. He took a small bottle of universal balm from his desk drawer, stood up, and handed it to her. "You'll be working on the computer today, won't you? Take this and apply some. Otherwise, your wrist will hurt when you type."
Gu Susu had no reason to refuse. She took it and was about to say thank you when Chang Qingchuan gently grasped her bruised wrist. "Never mind, don't leave yet. Let me apply it for you. This is quite effective for bruises and sprains. I always keep it in my office in case of minor accidents."
Gu Susu knew his concern was innocent, but she still felt it wasn't quite right for him to apply it personally. She tried to pull her hand back. "Thank you, Senior Brother. I can apply it myself..."
"What are you two doing in the office!"
Startled by the voice, both Gu Susu and Chang Qingchuan jumped. Chang Qingchuan looked at the woman who had pushed the door open and immediately let go.
Gu Susu found the woman entering the office unfamiliar. She clearly wasn't a colleague from the design department, and she hadn't encountered her in the company before. Gu Susu wondered which department she belonged to.
"You've misunderstood. Chief Chang and I were discussing work..."
Before Gu Susu could finish speaking, the woman rushed forward and slapped her.
She couldn't dodge it and took the full force of the slap. The side of her face instantly stung.
"Huo Jin!" Chang Qingchuan shouted, but it was too late. He forcefully pulled the woman, Huo Jin, aside.
Gu Susu covered her face and looked at the two of them, realizing their relationship was more than casual.
After Huo Jin pushed open the office door, she had barged in without closing it. Colleagues from the design department had gathered at the doorway, curious about what was happening inside.
Gu Susu tightly clutched the small bottle of universal balm, her expression calm. She knew that the more she explained, the more complicated the misunderstanding would become, and she just wanted to leave quickly.
"Don't leave! If you don't clarify this situation today, you're not leaving!" Huo Jin struggled to break free from Chang Qingchuan's grip and shouted, "What! You dare to hook up with my boyfriend but not dare to face me directly!"
Gu Susu turned to her. "I think you've misunderstood. I haven't stolen your boyfriend."
"Misunderstood? I just came in and saw you holding hands. What were you doing? Do you think I'm an idiot? You have to hold hands to discuss work!" Huo Jin sneered. She had long heard whispers from others that a new designer had joined Mi Shang, that she was Chang Qingchuan's junior, and that their relationship was unusual.
At first, she hadn't paid much attention to these rumors. However, lately, she had felt Chang Qingchuan was often distracted when they were together. Today, she had a sudden impulse to visit the company unexpectedly, only to see them holding hands.
"Aren't you being ridiculous? Are you done with this scene?" Chang Qingchuan yelled as he forcefully held Huo Jin, then immediately softened his tone and said to Gu Susu, "You go back to work first. I'll handle this."
Gu Susu immediately turned and left Chang Qingchuan's office. Facing the varied gazes of the colleagues at the doorway, she pretended not to see them. She had nothing going on with Chang Qingchuan; she was absolutely innocent, so why should she care about what others thought?
Zhuang Ying, upon learning that something had happened in Chang Qingchuan's office, also rushed over. She managed to squeeze to the front entrance and could roughly grasp what had happened from the periphery.
When she saw Gu Susu walking out calmly, with the colleagues at the door parting to make way, she quickly went up to her and asked, "Sister Susu, are you alright? What happened?"
"I'm fine." Gu Susu felt the pain in her face had subsided slightly. She smiled and said, "Chief Chang's girlfriend misunderstood. Let's go back to work."
As soon as she finished speaking, the door to Chang Qingchuan's office was slammed shut heavily.