“You should be thanking the heavens I don’t hold grudges against you.”
Shen An lifted her jade foot and gave it a light squeeze.
Hiss.
Zhao Qingyu winced in pain, pouting coquettishly. “Lighter!”
“I’ve already been as light as I can, my lady.”
Shen An sighed. “When will I get to enjoy being waited on for once?”
Zhao Qingyu covered her mouth and snickered. “You owe me this. I’m not forcing you.”
“It’s like strong-arm sales, I get it.”
“Can you shut your mouth already!” Zhao Qingyu got annoyed just hearing it. “Massage properly and no more talking.”
Shen An wisely shut his mouth and continued focusing on the foot massage.
He set aside his teasing for the moment and kneaded the acupoints that tended to get fatigued in daily life, helping her relax.
After rubbing for a good while, he massaged his own wrists and smiled. “Service complete. Are you satisfied, dear customer?”
Zhao Qingyu was so comfortable she was on the verge of falling asleep. If Shen An hadn’t spoken up, she might have drifted off for a nice afternoon nap.
She sat up lazily, stretching and showing off her alluring curves.
Her tight, off-shoulder top wrapped around her jade neck, and the cutout at her chest directly exposed a glimpse of her fair skin, elevating her sexy allure even further.
Even a casual glance could spark all sorts of amorous thoughts.
Shen An slowly withdrew his gaze and said softly, “Do you still want me to paint your nails? It’s getting late. I need to head back to the office.”
Zhao Qingyu wasn’t willing to let him leave so easily. She grabbed his arm and said playfully, “What’s the rush?”
“I still need to go over and assign some work tasks.”
Shen An replied grumpily.
Yes, with the Freshman Welcome Gala approaching, the office’s workload had grown increasingly heavy.
First, they had to collect the schedules of every department member’s classes and compile them for easier daily staffing arrangements for upcoming events.
Second, they had to fulfill the office’s supervisory and urging role, such as reporting on each department’s daily work—especially the Performance Groups’ preparations for their programs.
Progress updates, issues encountered, even budget expenditures—all of it fell under the office’s purview.
In summary, it was all about relaying information up and down: dabbling in everything, managing a bit of it all.
The office’s duties were thus tedious and mundane, yet indispensable.
Originally, the structure called for recruiting enough office members each year to match the number of departments, so at least one office member could be stationed in each.
But this year, due to Zhao Qingyu’s arbitrary decision, the entire office department had nearly been disbanded.
Now, only Shen An and two others remained, handling four departments and seven groups. The pressure was immense; each person had to oversee three or four departments just to scrape by.
Shen An hadn’t known any of this at first. It was only after officially joining that he learned the specifics.
He’d been so scared he’d wanted to quit on the spot.
This was even more exhausting than the Life Department’s constant hauling and lifting.
However, Zhao Qingyu hadn’t been entirely malicious. She’d left some leeway for Shen An, like having each department select one person to act as a temporary office supervisor.
She’d also had the department presidents pitch in to lighten the office’s load.
Of course, these seemingly considerate measures had nothing to do with Shen An, as that had been her plan all along.
In her vision, the office didn’t really need to exist; the departments could manage themselves.
For instance, before Shen An joined, she’d had Qi Taili take on the role, along with some veteran members from other departments acting as temporary office staff.
Even so, with the office still in place now, a massive workload still landed on their heads—on Shen An and the other two.
Especially Shen An; he was practically the linchpin keeping the Art Troupe running, no exaggeration.
For now, things weren’t too hectic yet…
But once they ramped up, Shen An figured he’d have to split his sleep time in half just to keep up.
He was hurrying back now to assign tasks for the Freshman Welcome Gala setup and discuss future work coordination.
Faced with Shen An’s undisguised “complaint,” Zhao Qingyu felt a twinge of guilt.
At first, she’d made him her secretary purely because she saw him as Xu Yijing’s man, using him as a workhorse to torment him.
But things were different now…
He was her man, with no connection to Xu Yijing anymore.
So Zhao Qingyu had to take responsibility for her past impulsiveness and bow her head a little in front of Shen An.
“Aww, don’t worry. Taili should already be over there.”
Zhao Qingyu shook Shen An’s hand, her tone placating.
“Senior Sister Qi?”
Shen An raised an eyebrow.
“Mm, before you two arrived, I already told Taili.”
Zhao Qingyu said softly, “So even if you’re a bit late getting back, it’s fine. She’ll pass on the instructions to the other two members.”
“Aren’t you abusing your position for personal gain?”
Shen An’s lips curved slightly. “Planning to use public resources for private use?”
Zhao Qingyu’s expression soured, and she let out a light hum. “What do you mean ‘using public resources for private use’? Aren’t you my direct secretary?”
“Yes…”
“Then that’s that.”
Zhao Qingyu crossed her arms, declaring with perfect righteousness, “Your primary role is as my direct secretary. Only secondarily are you a member of the office.”
“So you need to fulfill your duties to me first. Got it?”
“Does painting nails count as one of those duties?” Shen An asked, genuinely puzzled.
“Of… course it does!”
Zhao Qingyu doubled down, flatly refusing to admit she was abusing her authority for personal gain.
“Sigh, you’ll be the death of me someday.”
Shen An said, sounding utterly dejected.
“Cheer up. I believe in you.”
“Heh, any chance for some actual encouragement?”
“Awoo awoo awoo.”
Zhao Qingyu mimicked Shen An’s earlier howl, just like a silly little puppy trying to please its master.
Shen An: ?
“Don’t get too greedy.” Zhao Qingyu turned her head away, a touch of shyness in her voice.
Heh…
What kind of “actual encouragement” was that?
Shen An let out a scoffing chuckle and turned to leave.
Zhao Qingyu hurriedly lifted one long leg and hooked it around his waist. “Don’t gooo. Help me finish painting them first—it’ll be quick.”
“I don’t know how.”
“I’ll teach you.”
“I…”
Shen An nodded helplessly. “Alright, but if I mess up at work later because of this, you’ll have to cut me some slack.”
“That depends on how well you do.”
Zhao Qingyu’s willfulness always emerged so casually, and it was utterly selfish, dictated entirely by her whims.
On closer inspection, most upright people would see this as pure caprice.
It could even breed resentment.
Not only that, she rarely interacted with regular troupe members, always maintaining a cool, aloof demeanor.
She wasn’t much for discussion either, preferring to make decisions on her own judgment.
Her choice of this out-of-the-way room as her personal rest room was a perfect example.
From the troupe leader’s perspective, it was undeniably negligent.
Yet she also had sides that made her incredibly popular and commanding. At the very least, she fearlessly fought for fair treatment for the art troupe’s members.
She was fiercely protective of her people too. Whenever the art troupe clashed with other departments—right or wrong—Zhao Qingyu would be the first to step up and back them.
These contradictory traits made her reputation in the art troupe just as divided.
She was like stinky tofu: reeking on the outside but heavenly within, impossible to judge outright.
Shen An didn’t overthink it. To him, Zhao Qingyu was just a willful little girl who lacked a sense of security and didn’t know how to express her softer side.
Since she struggled to show vulnerability, she simply pretended to cast it aside, wrapping herself in the persona of an all-powerful, tough leader.
At least that way, she earned respect instead of becoming a spineless yes-man.
Whether she was a good troupe leader or not, whether she was truly competent—none of that really factored into Shen An’s considerations.
He didn’t want her to be too mature or independent, either.
The more mature someone was, the fewer openings they had.
Her occasional selfish whims came hand-in-hand with moments of coquettishness and fragility, which never failed to give Shen An a deep sense of satisfaction.
Perhaps only those on the opposing side would hate that kind of willfulness.
“Fine, fine, fine. You’re like my personal debt collector.”
Shen An affectionately ruffled her silky hair and settled down leisurely.
“Heehee~”
Zhao Qingyu flashed a triumphant little smile and lifted her dainty foot, placing it primly in front of Shen An.
“What are you grinning at like a fool? Where are the tools?”
Shen An said softly.
“Huh?”
“No tools? Should I just use spit to paint them on?”
“Ew, gross!”
Zhao Qingyu shoved him in disgust, then stood up and strode over to the nearby cabinet on those long, pale legs of hers. She gathered all the nail-painting supplies and laid them out, one by one, right in front of Shen An.
Shen An blinked. “You came prepared.”
“Of course. I usually do them myself.”
Zhao Qingyu arched her elegant brows proudly.
Mm, Shen An liked that she painted them herself.
It meant he was one of the very few—perhaps the only one besides her—who could freely cradle her jade-like feet and toy with them.
That sense of exclusivity was always a delight.
For men or women alike.
