Chapter 30: I Suppose I Can Bring Myself to Attend Just This Once (Bonus Chapter for Recommendation Votes)

The summer sun shone generously upon the earth—a perfect time to escape the concrete jungle and head toward the azure sea.

Xie Mingxiao, the project lead for the "Intellect" team, lived up to expectations. Following a democratic vote, he successfully designated a picturesque island in the south as the sanctuary for this year's team-building retreat.

As soon as the news was officially announced in the core project group, "The Intellect Strike Force," the chat was instantly flooded with a barrage of "Ahhh," "So happy," and "I'm tearing up!" emojis and messages.

Xie Mingxiao happily dropped a PDF itinerary into the group and followed it with a long voice message, his excitement barely contained: "Brothers and sisters, thanks to CEO He, our team-building trip this year will last three days and two nights at a five-star seaside villa. Seafood feasts, boat fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving, beach motorbikes... the company is covering everything! I've also arranged a bonfire party and a BBQ feast for the evening, with plenty of drinks. How’s that? Pretty generous, right?"

[Lin Xiaoyu: The island! The villa! The bonfire! Xie, you are my god!]
[Zhang Zhiwei: Finally, I can say goodbye to bugs for a while. I’m going to lie on the beach until the end of time!]
[Front-end - Li Xiang: Camera ready, memory card cleared!]
[QA - Wang Lei: +10086, already looking forward to it!]
[Algorithm - Shen Weiwei: Received. I will remember to bring my laptop.]

Xie Mingxiao had an outgoing, cheerful personality and lacked the airs of a typical boss. He could just as easily drape an arm over the shoulders of the team's tech gurus to discuss problems as he could crack jokes with the interns. Everyone found him easy to get along with, feeling comfortable enough to voice their complaints or ideas directly, and even occasionally teasing him back.

However, this relaxed and pleasant atmosphere automatically switched channels whenever it came to Lu Qiuyi.

Aside from a few colleagues around her age, like the bubbly Lin Xiaoyu, most team members still instinctively maintained a sense of respect and distance toward this special project assistant who had been "parachuted" in from the Executive Office and was rumored to be highly valued by CEO He. She always carried an indescribable elite aura, and her frequent appearances in the CEO's office led people to subconsciously view her as "one of them," creating a barrier.

In truth, those who had interacted with her more knew that Lu Qiuyi had a good temper—she was actually quite down-to-earth.

In contrast, Xie Mingxiao usually smiled like a Maitreya Buddha, but if a project fell behind or a serious bug appeared, he could be thunderous, his spit flying all the way to the third row of monitors. Yet, who could blame him when he had such a sturdy, reliable, and non-threatening round face? His natural affinity was maxed out, leaving Lu Qiuyi to gaze at his popularity with envy.

Combined with her short tenure and the fact that most of her energy was consumed by dealing with He Jingyue and the messy affairs of the Lu family, she wasn't truly close with the core members of the project team. This team-building trip was undoubtedly an excellent chance to break the ice. Lu Qiuyi had already secretly decided: she had to go.

After lunch in the cafeteria, on the way back to the office with Lin Xiaoyu, Lin hooked her arm and asked, "Sister Qiuyi, you’re definitely coming to the team-building, right?"

"Of course," Lu Qiuyi nodded firmly. "How could I miss out on something this good?"

Lin Xiaoyu suddenly clutched her stomach. "Ouch, I think I ate too much. I need to hit the restroom. Want to come, Sister Qiuyi?"

Lu Qiuyi happened to want to touch up her makeup. "Sure, let's go."

As the two walked toward the restroom, chatting and laughing, they turned a quiet corner and heard two male voices whispering in the corner, their tone laced with playfulness and banter.

One voice said, "...I think it's a long shot. We'll probably need 'CEO He 2.0' to ask if we want a chance of getting it approved."

*CEO He 2.0? What the hell?*

Lu Qiuyi’s footsteps faltered instinctively, and her heart sank with an ominous feeling.

The other voice replied, "You really dared to give her that nickname! But honestly, Xie is like our caring big brother, while the other one... she’s beautiful, sure, but that aura—she’s a carbon copy of CEO He, hahaha."

Lu Qiuyi: !!!

*Who is being so mean? And who is like that poker-faced, icy, workaholic?*

Lu Qiuyi stepped out from around the corner, her face taut. "Are you two that bored? Discussing your superiors during work hours?"

Caught red-handed by the subject of their gossip, the two male employees were terrified and began stammering apologies. "Sorry, Assistant Lu, we were just talking nonsense, making a joke. Please don't take it to heart."

"A joke?" Lu Qiuyi mimicked the chillingly sarcastic tone of He Jingyue, looking them up and down. "Looking at your vitality, neither of you could take a single punch from me, but your tongues are certainly sharp. Gossiping behind people's backs like old ladies in a neighborhood—quite a bright future you two have, huh?"

She paused and forced a smile. "Oh, excuse me, I was just joking too. You wouldn't mind, would you?"

The two turned bright red and muttered, "N-no, we don't mind..."

Lu Qiuyi let out a cold huff and pulled the stunned Lin Xiaoyu away.

Once they were far away, Lin Xiaoyu finally snapped out of it and couldn't help but clap in amazement. "Sister Qiuyi, I didn't realize you were so good at roasting people!"

"Must be from being lectured by CEO He so much; it's rubbed off on me, hahaha."

Lu Qiuyi: ...

She gave Lin Xiaoyu a dark look, her eyes filled with the unspoken threat of "dare to say that again and see what happens."

Lin Xiaoyu immediately covered her mouth, blinking her eyes in a pleading gesture. "My mistake, sister, I said nothing. You were just super cool back there!"

Back at her desk, Lu Qiuyi grew more annoyed the more she thought about it. She didn't care about anything else, but those two actually called her "CEO He 2.0"! This was a massive insult to her personal charm. As a youthful, vibrant, and cheerful girl, how was she anything like that capitalist who kept a straight face all day and could freeze someone to death just by speaking?

Fu Yao rushed past her desk with a stack of thick documents, leaving a sentence behind like a gust of wind: "Oh, right, Assistant Lu, the final list for the team-building needs to be submitted to the Admin Department by the end of the day. I have an emergency meeting that clashes, so I can't make it. Could you please ask CEO He if he's joining the team-building this year? Thanks! I'll treat you to milk tea later!"

In past years, He Jingyue had never participated in such grassroots team-building activities, but it was protocol to ask out of respect.

Just as Lu Qiuyi opened her mouth to refuse, Fu Yao had already "whooshed" into the elevator that had just opened.

Lu Qiuyi: ...

*Help, why does this always fall on me?*

After clearing a few urgent emails, she took a deep breath, picked up a project funding application that needed He Jingyue’s signature, and walked toward the CEO's office with heavy steps.

"Knock, knock."

"Come in," came He Jingyue’s low, cold voice from inside.

Lu Qiuyi pushed the door open and walked to the large desk. "CEO He, this funding application needs your signature."

Taking advantage of the moment he lowered his eyes to browse the document, Lu Qiuyi mentioned it as casually as she could: "Oh, by the way, Special Assistant Fu asked me to ask you if you'll be participating in the project team's retreat this year?"

*Please don't come,* Lu Qiuyi prayed frantically.

"Special Assistant Fu said that in previous years, you were always busy with strategic deployments and didn't have time for these small events."

*So, please keep up that excellent tradition this year, I beg you!*

He Jingyue’s gaze lifted from the file, but he didn't answer immediately.

Lu Qiuyi couldn't help but press further: "CEO He, you aren't going, right?"

*Say no! Just say no!*

He Jingyue closed the signed document, handed it back to her, leaned back into his large leather chair, and crossed his hands on the table, watching her with a composed expression.

He spoke slowly: "So, you want me to go?"

Before Lu Qiuyi could react, he seemed to have made a very reluctant decision: "Fine. Considering the project team's recent performance, I will reluctantly participate this once."

Lu Qiuyi: ???

*Who wants you to go! I am the one person who least wants you to go!*