His Beloved Treasure

Qin Mu laughed in exasperation, thought about it for a moment, then smiled humbly before seriously asking, ”Xiaomei, are you just sour grapes because you can’t have them?”

Xiaomei...

Wen Runuan...

Qin Mu saw Xiaomei finally quiet down, raised her hand to put an arm around Xiaomei’s shoulder, and patted her lightly.

Xiaomei, feeling wronged, was on the verge of tears. ”Do you really think no one wants me? Tons of men stand in line wishing they could take a bite out of me!”

”Are you referring to Zhao Huai wanting to share a bed with you after becoming ’bros’ with you?”

Qin Mu asked again.

Xiaomei...

”Whoa! What’s going on here?”

Wen Runuan was stunned too.

”Specifically, there was a man who said he wanted to date me, but after a while, we somehow became ’bros’ instead.”

This time, Xiaomei wasn’t upset—she shook her head regretfully.

”If you’re looking for a boyfriend, I can help! I’ve got plenty of charming young men on hand.”

Wen Runuan quickly chimed in with a righteous offer.

Xiaomei was so delighted she was about to cry, looking at her in disbelief.

”Forget it! I’m afraid if she gets a boyfriend, she’ll slack off and start neglecting her work for me.”

Qin Mu tightened her arm around Xiaomei’s shoulder again, genuinely worried this silly girl might lose track of what she’s supposed to be doing.

”You’re sabotaging Xiaomei like this! You’ve already got kids and a family—can’t you at least let Xiaomei find a man to keep her warm at night?” Wen Runuan joked.

”Exactly! Going to work every day with bite marks all over, making all the single people in the office a hot mess with nowhere to vent—boss, don’t you think this is your fault?”

Qin Mu...

Well, it’s true—none of their studio staff seemed to be in proper relationships...

Should they arrange a social mixer or something?

They can’t just stay surrounded by drawing papers and fabrics all the time, right?

In the evening, Qin Mu and Mu Qingxin headed out for dinner together, but halfway there, Mu Qingxin ran into a couple of her male classmates and ended up going with them instead.

Qin Mu had no choice but to go to the dinner alone.

This time, Li Man had booked a small, quiet private room.

When Qin Mu arrived, Li Man immediately poured her a cup of tea and said as she sat down, ”We’ll be adding someone to our party soon.”

”It’s not going to be Li Yu, is it?”

Qin Mu asked, already having a hunch in her heart.

”It’s him! Can you do me a favor? Just sit here properly and don’t take any of what I say to heart.”

Li Man spoke as she pushed the cup of tea closer to her. When Qin Mu accepted the tea, she reminded Li Man, ”I’m not sure how much I can take.”

”I understand!”

Li Man smiled gratefully.

”Actually, you don’t need to worry. I won’t humiliate you. I’m just going to torment Li Yu.”

Torment Li Yu?

Qin Mu raised her eyes to look at Li Man. After a conflicted moment, she steadied herself but couldn’t help thinking—among this group, Li Man might be the only one who could openly talk about tormenting Li Yu.

Sure enough, Li Yu walked in after pushing the door open but paused in visible surprise when he saw Qin Mu.

”Come in!”

Li Man glanced at him and casually hollered.

Li Yu looked back at Li Man briefly, then walked over and sat down between the two women. He turned to Qin Mu with a smile, ”Why are you here with her?”

Before Qin Mu could respond, Li Man had already jumped in, ”Don’t you know? Mrs. Mu and I are good friends now.”

Qin Mu didn’t refute it. Li Yu glanced at Qin Mu, whose expression conveyed an odd mix of restraint and indifference. It was evident she didn’t care much for the situation but wasn’t particularly annoyed by it either. He ignored Li Man and grabbed the teapot to pour himself some tea. ”Have you ordered the food?”

”Yes. All your favorites.”

As his long-time younger sister, Li Man seemed to know his preferences thoroughly.

Li Yu said nothing, only pulling out a cigarette from his pack and holding it at his lips before looking for his lighter.

But before he could find it, Li Man had already produced her own lighter and lit it for him.

Qin Mu stayed quiet, but she couldn’t help noticing how Li Man seemed to know every small detail of Li Yu’s behavior.

Li Yu froze for a moment, then lowered his gaze.

Qin Mu suddenly remembered the times she had quarrelled with Mu Yichen.

Was it because of family dynamics that they couldn’t stay together?

Qin Mu speculated about why Li Yu didn’t reciprocate Li Man’s feelings.

She couldn’t believe that Li Yu genuinely disliked Li Man. Li Man had plenty of good qualities, and when Li Yu entered the room, he only glanced at Li Man once before intentionally avoiding eye contact—an avoidance that hinted at fear or reluctance. After all, he was patiently ’enjoying’ being tormented by her.

”JY’s advertisements should start airing on major TV channels soon, right?”

Li Yu took a puff of his cigarette, settled his emotions, then smiled and asked Qin Mu.

”Yes! That’s right!”

Qin Mu replied.

”I’ve got a feeling your boutique’s going to get swamped with customers right away.”

Li Man joined the conversation cheerfully.

”I share that concern, which is why we’ve already implemented purchase limits early in the month.”

Qin Mu nodded in agreement and explained.

”Wow! Coming up with purchase limits—that’s so you! But a lot of big international brands seem to do the same thing.”

”Yeah! Otherwise, our studio’s designers would be worked to the bone, and the factory wouldn’t be able to keep up.”

”Why not hire more workers? As far as I know, Mu seems to have developed a lot of properties—you’ll definitely have the resources. Also, if your ads are out and you’re only keeping a single store in Rongcheng, isn’t that a waste?”

Li Man shared her thoughts and then posed her doubts.

”We don’t do unprofitable business, but what we aim for is boutique customization, not just earning through quantity.”

Qin Mu held her tea cup and shared her business philosophy.

”Wow, that reminds me of several century-old brands whose owners seemed to have the same mindset as you.”

”They’re probably stricter than me, though my mentor had a similarly strong personality.”

Qin Mu felt she had a fairly decent temper.

”Are you talking about JY himself? I’ve heard that except for high-profile shows, he doesn’t make public appearances anymore.”

”So many responsibilities have fallen on the shoulders of our studio staff.”