"But if I invest in the business, the household finances might become a little tight."

"Aren’t I still working? The family has me. Oh, by the way, Old Ma told me today that my salary will increase by 50% this month. If I perform well, I might even get a share in the company and become a shareholder. My salary will only go higher—supporting the family is absolutely no problem."

Liang Jue’s face lit up with joy. "Really?"

"Yeah. Go for it, bro. This is your dream."

Her brother had stayed in this small city to support her, and she already felt deeply guilty. She didn’t want him to miss out on this rare opportunity as well.

The siblings discussed for a while. Afterward, Liang Jue went back to his room. Watching her brother’s retreating back, Liang Anya let out a sudden sigh, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

Sigh, she’d originally planned to resign to avoid Si Yuheng. But now? How could she possibly resign?

A household couldn’t have two people quitting their jobs at the same time, right?

Starting a business carries risks. If her brother’s business didn’t succeed, at least she’d have her salary to help out.

Then there’s Xiaoxiao. The expenses of raising a little baby are enormous. Domestic baby formula isn’t trustworthy, and they wouldn’t dare use it. New Zealand-imported formula costs hundreds per tin, with one tin barely lasting a week. Just the cost of formula each month was a few thousand. Not to mention future education expenses, medical expenses. Even kindergarten these days is ridiculously expensive. Even the most basic kindergartens cost five figures annually... Should all of this depend solely on their father’s savings?

How could she dare to resign?

For the first time in her life, Liang Anya felt a heavy weight pressing on her shoulders.

The next day, as soon as she arrived at work, Boss Ma approached her proactively. "Xiao Liang, so, did you sleep on it? Have you made up your mind?"

Liang Anya took a deep breath. "Yes, I’ve thought it through. I’m not resigning."

Boss Ma let out a sigh of relief. "Now that’s the right decision! Why resign when everything is going fine? You know how hard it is to find a job these days. Don’t think you’re special just because you studied abroad. Let me tell you, even PhDs and master’s graduates are wandering the streets looking for work!"

Liang Anya ignored Old Ma’s rambling and focused on the matter he mentioned yesterday. "So... Boss, about what you said over the phone last night about raising my salary—still valid, right?"

Boss Ma grinned. "Haha, sharp girl. You still remember, of course! I’ve already informed accounting. Your salary increase starts this month! Perform well, and there’ll be more raises in the future."

Only then did Liang Anya feel at ease.

"Alright, anything else? If not, get back to work, okay? Didn’t you just visit Golden Island Mansion yesterday to look at the layout of the units? Do this deal properly and don’t mess it up." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Liang Anya responded with a hum, slung her bag over her shoulder, and went to her seat to start working.

Boss Ma watched as she finally settled down and stopped insisting on resigning, letting out a sigh of relief.

A long-time loyal subordinate nearby leaned in, puzzled. "Boss, Liang Anya has decent skills for sure, but is it really necessary to give her such a big pay raise just to keep her? It’s not like she’s the only interior designer in our company."

"Of course, it’s necessary. Even if it means giving her a 100% raise, we have to keep her." Boss Ma shot his subordinate a look.

"Uh, Boss Ma isn’t... you know..." The subordinate smirked suggestively, giving him two thumbs up and tapping them together.

If Anya were the boss’s sweetheart, then no amount of pay raise would seem surprising.

"Nonsense! Stop imagining things! Remember that luxury deal we landed the other day?"

"Oh, oh, the one where the deposit alone was three hundred thousand? And the client’s apparently European, right?"

"Exactly. The client specifically requested that only Liang Anya handle it. If we manage this deal, the company could make a million or more. And think about it—big clients like this, do you think they own just one property? If they decide to expand here and assign more renovation projects to us... What if Anya resigns and we lose this major client?"

The subordinate, stunned, couldn’t help sneaking a glance at Liang Anya. "Oh, so that’s why. Tsk-tsk-tsk. Who would’ve thought Xiao Liang knew such a wealthy client..."

...

Not far away, Boss Ma and his subordinate whispered back and forth, full of admiration. Liang Anya heard none of it, already engrossed in her work.

She took out her digital camera, connected it to the computer, and began saving the photos of the property she had taken last night onto the hard drive. Just as she started sketching, the employee QQ chat tool on her screen suddenly flashed.

This was the corporate QQ account meant for work. The contacts were either colleagues or clients. Sometimes clients would message her directly if they had questions about the design or construction.

Absentmindedly, she clicked open the chat window and glanced at the message. Displayed was a single line of text:

"Is the design for my house underway?"

She jolted, nearly dropping her mouse.

It was Si Yuheng!

He had initiated a temporary conversation from the strangers’ list!

Perhaps annoyed by the lack of response, Si Yuheng promptly sent a nudge and followed with two words: "Dead yet?"

Her hands shook as she reluctantly replied, "How do you know my QQ?"

"Isn’t this your work-related QQ? Your boss gave it to me. I’m your client now. Don’t even think about deleting me. Add me as a contact. Quickly." Si Yuheng’s message came with a thinly veiled threat, as if he’d already guessed her intentions.

Her hand, which was just about to blacklist him, froze midway. In the end, she had no choice but to add him to her contacts.

After a long pause, she finally managed to type, "The house design is underway. Mr. Si, please be patient. I’ll send you draft samples once they’re ready. If you have specific requirements for the property, feel free to let me know anytime."

This was her professional tone for handling clients.

Within seconds, his reply appeared: "You’ll really follow my requests?"

Accompanied by a mischievous emoji with an annoyingly sly grin.

Damn it. Not only did this guy speak excellent Chinese, but even his typing was so fluent?

Weren’t foreigners supposed to be obsessed with Facebook, Twitter, or ICQ or whatever? How was he already this savvy with QQ?

He even sent her an emoji!

What the hell.

Frowning, Anya couldn’t shake the feeling that Si Yuheng was going to pester her endlessly on QQ. Swallowing her irritation, she typed, "Yes. We’ll do our best to accommodate clients’ requests."

"I need a King PLUS-size bed, so the bedroom must have enough space. I don’t like the bed being near the windows—it should be smack in the center. You should know these habits of mine, but I thought I’d remind you anyway."

Her face turned a shade of green as she typed, "Understood, Mr. Si."

"Additionally, the bathtub needs to be custom-made in a larger size. Ideally, it should be big enough for, let’s say, two people—if you catch my drift."

It took all her willpower to suppress the urge to move him to the blacklist. "Got it."