The office area of the Little Paw Idol Agency was filled with a restlessness that differed from the usual Monday routine.
The sound of clicking keyboards was sparser than usual, replaced by the rising and falling murmurs of whispers.
Several curious and suggestive glances darted toward the closed door of the manager’s office from time to time.
“Hey, hey, hey, have you heard?”
A young employee wearing black-framed glasses leaned mysteriously toward a colleague’s ear.
“Xiao Yu eloped with our main pillar, Chiai!”
the female colleague being questioned was applying lipstick.
Her hand jerked at the news, nearly smearing it.
She rolled her eyes irritably.
“Huh? Which third-rate gossip tabloid did you get that from this time? Can you be a little more reliable?”
“What do you mean, gossip?!”
The man in glasses felt he held exclusive intel.
“It’s the absolute truth! The colleagues in the planning and publicity departments on the first floor saw it with their own eyes! Just this afternoon, the two of them walked through the company gates hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, and chatting and laughing! The atmosphere was incredibly intimate!”
While the rumors in the office area were reaching a fever pitch, the atmosphere inside the manager’s office was like the sea before a storm — seemingly calm, but with turbulent undercurrents beneath the surface.
Manager Huang, a middle-aged man with a hairline that was cause for concern, was trying his best to plaster a kind and humble smile on his face.
He watched Kasahana Chiai, who sat on the leather sofa opposite him, leisurely swinging her feet.
Su Yuqing stood quietly behind and to the side of Chiai, her head lowered and eyes downcast, as if she were merely an insignificant background prop.
“Miss Chiai.”
Manager Huang rubbed his hands together, testing the waters with a cautious tone.
“About last night’s… uh, very important performance. I was wondering if it would be convenient to explain the reason you suddenly left without saying a word — “
Chiai stopped swinging her feet and lifted her glazed-colored eyes.
Her gaze was clear and innocent as she directly interrupted Manager Huang’s carefully chosen words.
“The reason is very simple, meow.”
“Because I heard from someone that after this performance ended, Sister Yuqing… would no longer be my Exclusive Manager.”
The moment those words left her mouth, the smile on Manager Huang’s face froze instantly.
Then, like a firecracker being lit, he slammed his hand on the desk and stood up.
“Which bastard said that?! Who is the bastard spreading such baseless rumors…!?”
His reaction was intense, carrying a frantic desperation and exasperation that suggested his true intentions had been exposed.
Chiai tilted her head slightly, her face displaying a well-timed touch of confusion and realization.
“So… it was just a rumor?”
She lightly patted her chest as if breathing a sigh of relief.
“Then it might be because I was so emotional when I heard the news… it was too hard to accept, so I acted on impulse… and behaved irrationally? Manager, you should — you can understand, right?”
“I understand! Of course I understand!”
Manager Huang scrambled to take the offered lifeline, his tone decisive.
“Rumors! This is absolutely someone maliciously spreading rumors to drive a wedge between us! I can represent all of Little Paw and solemnly guarantee this to you, Miss Chiai!”
As he spoke, he straightened his back, attempting to project authority and sincerity.
“From now on, unless we have your personal approval, Little Paw will absolutely, definitely never replace your Idol Manager! Please, rest assured on that point!”
“Mm-hmm~”
Chiai nodded with satisfaction, a sweet smile blooming on her face once more.
“That’s good then, that’s good. I like dealing with sensible people, meow.”
The atmosphere in the office seemed to have just softened.
“Hiss… but, Manager.”
A voice tinged with a bit of hesitation and difficulty chimed in perfectly at that moment.
It was Su Yuqing, who had remained silent until now.
She looked up, her face wearing a mix of confusion and helplessness.
Manager Huang’s heart tightened again.
He forced a smile and looked at her.
“Hmm? Su Yuqing, do you have something to add?”
Su Yuqing did not answer immediately.
Instead, she slowly and methodically pulled a printed sheet of paper from her folder and placed it gently on Manager Huang’s desk.
The words **Resignation Report** at the top, printed in bold black font, were exceptionally jarring.
“Manager, look.”
Su Yuqing’s fingertip pointed at the report.
Her tone was calm, even carrying a hint of an innocent reminder.
“Last night, didn’t you very clearly tell me to… ‘beat it’? You see~ on my end, I even have the Resignation Report ready~ I’m just waiting for your signature to make it official.”
Manager Huang looked at the Resignation Report, his eyelids twitching violently. He felt like he was being slowly strangled by an invisible rope held by these two young girls.
He almost ground his back teeth together as he squeezed out a smile that looked more painful than crying.
“Voided! I also represent Little Paw in announcing that Su Yuqing, you can continue working here! Everything I said before doesn’t count!”
He thought he was making a massive concession.
However, Su Yuqing slightly furrowed her elegant brows and let out a soft sigh, looking as if she had encountered a monumental problem.
“Sigh~ Manager, I’m truly grateful you feel that way. But — “
She dragged out the word, her gaze looking at Manager Huang with a hint of apology before quickly dropping again.
“To be honest, just this morning, the agency next door somehow got wind of this. They’ve already contacted me and offered… twice the salary, inviting me to work there with total sincerity.”
“So, in my opinion… for the sake of Chiai’s future development, and to ensure my small personal affairs don’t delay the company’s grand plans, you should… choose someone more capable for the heavy responsibility of Exclusive Manager…!”
“Su Yuqing!”
Manager Huang finally couldn’t hold it back.
He suddenly raised his volume, his finger trembling as he pointed at her.
“I’m warning you, don’t go too far! Over all these years, Little Paw has cultivated so many of your skills and gave you experience. Without the company’s platform, where would you be today?! Is money the only thing in your eyes…?! Do you have no sense of gratitude or career ideals left?!”
Faced with the manager’s rebuke, the helpless look on Su Yuqing’s face vanished instantly.
It was replaced by an extreme calm, even a bit of indifference that suggested she had seen through the world.
She gave a light laugh.
It was soft, but it pricked like a needle.
“Please, Manager.”
Su Yuqing looked directly into Manager Huang’s face, which was distorted with anger, and spoke every word with absolute clarity.
“I’m just a low-level worker. If I don’t keep my eyes on the money, what should I look at? Dreams powered by ‘love’?”
These words were the final straw that broke the camel’s back of Manager Huang’s logic.
His chest heaved violently in anger.
He grabbed the Resignation Report from the desk and roared.
“Fine! Fine! Su Yuqing, you’ve got guts! Then scram right now! I’ll approve your Resignation Report this instant! Effective immediately!”
With that, he reached for a pen.
“Okay.”
Su Yuqing answered crisply, without a shred of hesitation.
But almost the exact same second the words left her mouth —
“In that case, I’m leaving too.”
Chiai stood up gracefully from the sofa and patted away non-existent dust from her skirt.
Her tone was as casual as if she had decided to go downstairs to buy a cup of milk tea.
“Why… why is this happening again…!?”
Manager Huang’s hand, holding the pen, froze in mid-air.
The anger on his face was instantly replaced by sheer terror, and even his voice changed pitch.
After all, Chiai was the lifeblood of Little Paw.
If she left, Little Paw wouldn’t be far from total bankruptcy.
Chiai walked over to Su Yuqing’s side and naturally hooked her arm around Su Yuqing’s.
She then turned toward the deathly pale Manager Huang and delivered the fatal blow with her most innocent expression.
“Because I only recognize Sister Yuqing as my manager.”
She tilted her head, as if stating a truth as simple as the sun rising in the east.
“Wherever she goes, I go. If she goes next door, I’ll follow her there. It’s as simple as that, meow~”
The office fell into a deathly silence.
Manager Huang felt as if all his strength had been drained.
He slumped back into his executive chair, his face grey.
He looked at Chiai’s determined face, then at Su Yuqing’s expressionless but knowing eyes.
He finally understood that from the moment Chiai stepped into this office, this had been a game with a predetermined outcome.
Finally, he took several deep breaths before he managed to find his voice, which was filled with exhaustion and compromise.
“Fine. Su Yuqing.”
He practically squeezed the words through the gaps in his teeth.
“I announce… starting this month, your base salary… will double. Your year-end bonus and project commissions will be executed according to the company’s highest standards.”
A wave of joy exploded in Su Yuqing’s heart like fireworks, but on the surface, she only showed a perfectly timed, grateful smile.
“Great! Then I’ll take this opportunity to thank you, Manager, for your great kindness, and Little Paw for its dedicated cultivation~ In the future, Chiai and I will — “
“Work even harder to create value for Little Paw!”