Everyone in the Group is a Main Character, Except Me Who's the Villain

198: Chapter 198 Gu Qinghe’s Boyfriend?As a woman thrust into office and forced to contend with a pack of seasoned business foxes in such a large conglomerate, Nangong Ling was truly exhausted.

Seeking potential outside help was completely reasonable.

However, ordinary people either lacked the ability or their loyalty couldn’t be guaranteed, leaving her in a difficult position.

Now that Fang Ming had shown his capability and disrupted Shangguan Hong’s plans, Shangguan Hong certainly wouldn’t let him off. The enemy of an enemy is a friend, and she felt this was an opportunity granted by the heavens.

Fang Ming, however, was unaware of this, as he had already arrived in Yang City.

His flight was at 2:20, arriving around 4:30. He didn’t go to Gu Qinghe’s company immediately, but first found a hotel near her rental apartment to drop off his luggage.

At 5:30 PM, the sunlight was still intense.

Third Floor, Jinsheng Building Materials Market, No. 12 Qinghua Road, Linjiang District, Yang City.

Gu Qinghe sat at her workstation, eyes fixed on the computer screen and fingers tapping the keyboard, but her mind was completely elsewhere.

From 4:00 PM until now, she had checked her phone no less than ten times.

[Gu Bai]: ”Sis, Brother Ming is coming over today and said he’d pick you up from work. I gave him your company address.”

[Gu Bai]: ”He’ll arrive in Yang City around 4:30. Don’t work overtime today; come home early.”

This was the chat log between her and her younger brother.

She had replied with a ”Got it,” then placed her phone face down on the desk and hadn’t looked at it since, yet she remained on edge.

”He’s coming to pick me up from work??” That was her first reaction upon seeing the message.

To be honest, her feelings were a bit complicated.

Last time, she had already troubled him enough by going to Chengdu to sign the contract with Tiansheng Building Materials. Not much time had passed, and now he was making a special trip from Chengdu just because of her and her brother’s situation.

It was over a thousand kilometers away. Setting aside the airfare, what about the time? The energy? Didn’t he have other things to attend to?

And it was one thing to come help, but he was actually coming to pick her up from work in person??

”Sigh...” She sighed softly and rubbed her temples.

Although she felt a bit embarrassed, for some reason, there was actually a tiny bit of... anticipation?

As soon as the thought surfaced, she startled herself: What was she anticipating? He was just here to help, not specifically to see her.

Gu Qinghe shook her head, trying to dismiss the strange thought, but the more she tried, the more it persisted.

She recalled the first time she saw Fang Ming, and the scene of him carrying her to the hospital. Even though they had only met once, there was just... an indescribable feeling.

”Sister Gu?”

A head popped over from the adjacent workstation. It was a young intern named Li Man.

Gu Qinghe snapped out of it. ”Ah? What is it?”

”What are you daydreaming about?” Li Man looked at her with a grin. ”Is something going on?”

”What do you mean? Don’t talk nonsense.” Gu Qinghe turned away and continued typing.

Li Man leaned in and lowered her voice. ”I just saw you smile at your phone three times. Still not admitting it?”

”When did I smile?” Gu Qinghe’s face flushed slightly.

”You did, you did, I saw it.” Li Man winked. ”Is your boyfriend coming?”

”No,” Gu Qinghe quickly denied. ”It’s just an ordinary friend coming from out of town. He might stop by the company later.”

As she spoke, there was a hint of unnaturalness in her tone that she didn’t even notice.

”Oh...” Li Man intentionally dragged out her words. ”A friend! From out of town! And he might come to the company??”

”I bet this friend is definitely a guy, right??”

”That’s enough.” Gu Qinghe glared at her, her ears turning slightly red.

Li Man chuckled and retreated, leaving behind one last comment: ”Sister Gu, you’re blushing!”

Gu Qinghe ignored her and looked back down at her screen. But after a few keystrokes, she picked up her phone again to check the time.

5:40. Twenty minutes left.

In a small company like this, overtime was common. However, since Gu Qinghe had secured a large contract for the company during her last trip to Chengdu, she had certain privileges.

As time passed and reached 5:55, Gu Qinghe suddenly thought of something. She quickly pulled a makeup mirror from her drawer and opened it.

Her hair in the mirror looked a bit messy; the ponytail she tied this morning had loosened, with a few stray strands falling by her ears. She pursed her lips; the lipstick she applied in the morning was almost gone.

She hurriedly fished a cushion compact and lipstick out of her bag. She gave her face a few light taps in front of the mirror and applied a thin layer of dusty rose lipstick. Only then did she nod in satisfaction.

Just as she put the items back, a colleague’s voice came from behind her.

”Sister Gu, Manager Qian wants to see you in his office.”

Hearing this, Gu Qinghe’s heart skipped a beat.

But she didn’t have time to overthink. She quickly tidied her things and went to the manager’s office.

”Manager Qian!!”

Qian Dayong, in his mid-thirties, was the deputy manager of the sales department who had arrived less than a month ago. He was on the heavier side, his shirt buttons strained, and his hair was slicked back with gel.

Seeing Gu Qinghe enter, a rather uncomfortable smile appeared on his face.

”Qinghe, I heard you’ve been leaving work right on time lately?”

”Yes, Manager Qian.” Gu Qinghe nodded, her tone polite yet distant. ”I’ve had some things to take care of at home recently!!”

Qian Dayong sat in his chair, his gaze sliding down from Gu Qinghe’s face before pulling back.

”It’s about your brother, right? Need some help? I know quite a few people in Yang City. If you need anything, just say the word.”

Gu Qinghe quickly declined. ”No, thank you. It’s just a family matter; I can handle it myself.”

”Since it’s a family matter, I won’t press you about leaving on time every day. However, don’t be in such a hurry to leave today.”

Qian Dayong said calmly, ”I know a new Cantonese restaurant that opened in the south of the city. It has a nice atmosphere and great food. I’ve made an appointment with Manager Wang there, and you need to accompany us!”

”I can’t, Manager Qian. I really have something to do at home.”

”Gu Qinghe, you’re being difficult now.” The smile on Qian Dayong’s face faded. ”In the past, when I invited you to dinner, you’d make excuses to decline. Now that I’ve scheduled a client meeting, you’re going to refuse that too?”

Gu Qinghe looked at him and calmly countered, ”My time after work is my own. Why can’t I refuse?”

”You...”

Qian Dayong was momentarily speechless, his expression souring.

But he soon forced another smile and lowered his voice. ”Qinghe, honestly, you’re so beautiful. Isn’t it exhausting squeezing onto the bus for work every day? If you ask me, you don’t need to work so hard. As long as you’re with me, I guarantee you’ll have a car to pick you up and drop you off. You can pick any contract from the sales department you want, and the bonuses will be endless. It’s much better than the dead-end salary you’re getting now.”

Gu Qinghe’s face turned cold. ”Manager Qian, please show some self-respect. I’ve already told you that I’m not interested in you. If you continue like this, I’ll have no choice but to report this to the boss.”

”Gu Qinghe!” Qian Dayong’s face darkened completely as he slammed his hand on the desk. ”Who do you think you are? To be honest, the boss is my brother-in-law. You want to report me? What exactly can you report?”

”That I invited you to dinner? That I care about you? Let’s see who he believes.”

After saying that, he gave Gu Qinghe a cold look. ”Give you an inch and you take a mile. I’ve seen plenty of women like you. What’s with the act of being so pure and lofty? Follow me and you’ll have everything. If you don’t, believe it or not, I’ll have you packing your bags and getting out of here tomorrow!!”

Driven to a breaking point by Gu Qinghe’s attitude, Qian Dayong hysterically vented his true thoughts.

Gu Qinghe clenched her fists, staring at his greasy face. Her chest heaved, but she couldn’t say a single word.

Although she didn’t want to admit it, Qian Dayong was right.

No matter what, she was just an employee. Whether she could continue working here depended on his word. Offending Qian Dayong would lead to no good end.

But... it was just a job. If she lost it, so be it. As a woman who had raised her brother alone and had almost cracked Zhu Dahai’s head open with a wine bottle, Gu Qinghe wasn’t someone who compromised easily.

Knock, knock, knock.

Just as Gu Qinghe was about to confront Qian Dayong head-on, three soft knocks came from the direction of the already open glass door.

”Qinghe, there’s a handsome guy named Fang at the door looking for you.”