[Music Recommendation: "A Sweet Smile" by Yu-Peng Chen (Genshin Impact OST) - available in Youtube or Spotify] ~ Please listen to it in a loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this chapter ~

"Pft! Ha-ha-ha-ha!" I couldn't help but laugh at Ms. Qian Yu's cuteness.

If I weren't mistaken, she would be somewhere in her 30's but she still acted very youthful and cheerful. I loved that about her. She gave off a comfortable feeling despite her being my superior since she was the Executive Producer.

"Y-you came with Senara? Are you two—" Ms. Qian Yu asked, looking confused but excited and expectant for some reason. "Did you two fell in love at first sight during the event?"

The laughter in my face vanished from her question, replaced by embarrassment instead. And deep inside, I was reluctant to answer, too. What was I supposed to say?

"Well, it's a long story but—"

"Yes, something like that," Kaiden answered for me.

'Wait a minute. Do I not have any say on this?'

"Oh right! You two should be around the same age and Senara is a very beautiful young lady. No wonder," she concluded. Then, whispering to me again, she said, "You better tell me all about it later, okay?"

Ms. Qian Yu was giggling all throughout. Was she gonna turn into another Hora and Crystal—a workmate version? Oh no. It seemed like I wouldn't escape the teasing even here at the workplace. Better brace myself again.

While we were discussing, the confident woman in red dress stood up, and greeted us. The shy girl followed in the same manner.

"Good afternoon, Kaiden and Senara. You can call me Ashley," the confident woman said as she bowed her head. She walked towards us and held out her hand for a shake. "Nice to meet the both of you."

I politely took her hand for the shake. Then, she offered her hand to Kaiden, much to our surprise. She probably didn't know that Kaiden hated touching. He wore his gloves today as usual but… I wasn't sure if he would be polite enough to take that hand or he'd be grumpy. During the last event, he at least shook hands with a few bosses, right?

Kaiden just stared at her hand and ignored it. So he wasn't planning on shaking it even for the sake of politeness it seemed. Seeing that, I decided to explain the situation a bit for the poor girl. She must had been shocked to be ignored like that.

"Ahm… Sorry, Ashley. He doesn't like touching. It's normal for him. Don't be too shocked."

"Oooh, I see," she quickly picked up. "But you're his girlfriend, right? So you two…"

Wow. She just had to ask that.

"I don't like touching other people, and my girlfriend is NOT other people—if that's what you mean," Kaiden answered in a strict tone.

Hearing that, I glanced over at him and saw his face was turning grumpy. Oh no. Ashley stepped on a landmine. Not wanting to have my day ruined, I pulled Kaiden's arm to get his attention.

"Kaiden, I think we should start the meeting now so we won't fall behind schedule," I whispered to him in a smile. Come on, smile, please work and calm Kaiden's anger.

To my luck, Kaiden's menacing aura was gone. Phew. I felt so relieved.

"You're right. I won't be taking much of your time then," Kaiden agreed. Turning to Ms. Qian Yu, he continued, "Please take care of her. I'll just be outside for a moment."

"Oh, you can stay here," Ms. Qian Yu tried to stop him. "Feel free to sit anywhere you like. I can't possibly have you wait outside!"

"No, it's fine. I have something to deal with as well."

"Are you sure?" I asked, worried. He'd be too bored outside.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he smiled to assure me, and patted my head.

After that, he left the room and we started the meeting. Ashley already introduced herself, while the shy girl who didn't get the chance to do the same earlier, greeted me again and said I could call her Rae, short for Rachel.

Ms. Qian Yu said that Rae had won many awards for being a screenwriter and she would be the one working closely with me for the script. On the other hand, Ashley was more like an apprentice. She worked on a couple of projects and her team allowed her to be with us to learn more from Rae—something she didn't expect seeing how she looked horrified after Ms. Qian Yu spilled the shocking news.

It was funny how the confident Ashley was suddenly placed under the care of the shy person, Rae. But for some reason, since I first took a look at the both of them, I had a great gut feeling that Rae was the better person. She might look shy and all that but she had these passion-filled eyes. I knew those eyes because it was the same as mine when I decided to take on writing as my future career.

A whole hour passed with just the four of us getting to know each other. Then another hour for Ms. Qian Yu's briefing on how things would go from that point onward. She also sent a draft of our schedule, and all other things we would need. It was amazing how hands-on and detailed she was. I really admired her work ethic.

After that, we were given a few minutes break before we proceeded to the next session which was an open Q&A for me. Rae was so diligent that she already read the book I wrote for Armageddon, but she had a few questions since she wanted to understand things in a more in-depth manner—something I agreed to. Of course, I wouldn't want anything misinterpreted just because I sucked at explaining them in the book. Despite all the praises I got from it, Kaiden did mention to me a couple of mistakes and flaws which I was thankful to learn about.

For the break, I just went to the cafeteria to get some iced coffee. Kaiden said he went to the President's office to check on a few things but he should be done in less than an hour. On my way back, I didn't notice that I had already finished the coffee even before I reached the 20th floor boardroom. So, I decided to stop by the restroom to freshen myself.

As I sat on the toilet bowl in one of the cubicles, I heard the person beside mine get out and went to the lavatory to wash her hands. Then, a girl with a familiar voice waltzed in from the door—it was Ashley. Her confident tone was so apparent, I couldn't miss it.

"Ms. Rae! You're there," she suddenly sounded so polite with her. I could still remember how she took all the spotlight by introducing herself to Kaiden and me, interrupting her.

"H-Hi, Ashley," Rae timidly greeted back.