Substitute Bride to the Crippled Billionaire-Chapter 193 Noble Patron

Xia Xing maintained a faint smile and nodded slightly, "This is the department I’m managing."

The implication was clear—he was naturally aware of such matters.

"Actually..." Su Qingnuan chuckled faintly, "At first, I thought it was quite difficult, but yesterday I consulted with someone remarkable. Although it may not be perfect, making a preliminary version is definitely doable."

"Someone remarkable?" Xia Xing stared at her for a while, then suddenly smiled, "Ah, I almost forgot there’s such a person."

Seeing him listen so meaningfully, Su Qingnuan suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. She lowered her head and said, "Thank you for giving me this opportunity to showcase my abilities, Manager. You mentioned that if Xiaoxiao and I successfully complete this project, we can get promoted early."

"Hmm, then keep it up."

With that, Xia Xing carried his coffee and left the break room.

As soon as he left, Gu Xiaoxiao couldn’t wait to lean over.

"What’s going on? Who is the remarkable person? And did Manager Xia know someone was making things difficult for us? Why didn’t you just tell him directly?"

Shoving the clingy Gu Xiaoxiao off her, Su Qingnuan smiled helplessly, "You’re throwing out so many questions at once, which one should I answer first?"

Gu Xiaoxiao furrowed her brow, pondered for a moment, and quickly said, "Start with the remarkable person. When did you meet such a person? Why didn’t I know about it?"

"What remarkable person..." Su Qingnuan laughed lightly, "The one I mentioned is Mr. Fu. Haven’t you met him before?"

"...Oh, I actually forgot about that. Your Mr. Fu really is a genius." Gu Xiaoxiao marveled.

It was true that calling him a genius was not exaggerating. For some reason, hearing this made Su Qingnuan inexplicably proud, and she straightened her chest.

"The problem I initially found so hard to solve has become completely clear after his explanation. Don’t worry, Xiaoxiao, this promotion is as good as secured."

Gu Xiaoxiao nodded, relieved, and wrapped an arm around Su Qingnuan’s shoulder, "This is the best news I’ve heard in the past month."

"Enough flattery. Let’s get to work since we now have a clear direction."

"Alright."

With arms around each other’s shoulders, the two left the break room and took their computers to the office to focus on the project.

...

On his way back with coffee, Xia Xing encountered Hongjie, clad in a long dress and dressed flamboyantly.

"Manager Xia," Hongjie greeted him with a smile, her eyes soft, "You’re making coffee yourself again? Why didn’t you call me? I could help."

"Hongjie, we don’t belong to the same department," Xia Xing replied expressionlessly.

Her smile faltered for a moment, but Hongjie gritted her teeth and maintained it. "Even if we’re not in the same department, we can still help each other, right? After all, we’re part of the same company, the same collective."

"Not necessary." Xia Xing turned and walked toward his office. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

His cold attitude was like a knife slicing into Hongjie’s chest.

Obviously, he treated everyone with the same icy demeanor, but why... Why did he suddenly go to the break room to make coffee?

Why did he talk to that woman?

Flashing a trace of hatred in her eyes, Hongjie strode toward the R&D department.

Su Qingnuan was discussing with Gu Xiaoxiao how to add new functionalities to the existing system when the sound of clicking high heels suddenly came from behind.

They were in an office that the manager had specially arranged for them to quietly work on the project, a place that should have been unoccupied.

Puzzled, they turned their heads and caught sight of a scarlet figure.

Su Qingnuan froze for a moment, and just as she was about to speak, "Smack—"

The crisp sound shattered the quiet of the office.

Su Qingnuan tilted her head, staring blankly at the person in front of her.

"What are you doing?" Gu Xiaoxiao swiftly pushed Hongjie away and shouted angrily, "Are you crazy? Why would you hit someone?"

Rubbing her wrist, Hongjie sneered, "I warned you to stay away from him, but you insisted on not listening. Don’t blame me for being rude."

Him?

Thinking about the scene in the break room earlier, Su Qingnuan felt utterly wronged.

"Hongjie." Su Qingnuan spoke calmly, "Manager Xia and I are merely acquaintances who nod in passing. It’s not what you think."

"Acquaintances?" Hongjie’s eyes reddened as she yelled, "Acquaintances who seek you out every day?"

Her shouting drew curious glances from passersby around the office.

Gu Xiaoxiao hurriedly said, "What nonsense are you talking? Manager Xia just came for coffee, and Qingnuan was helping him out!"

"With so many people in the office, why ask her to help?" Hongjie pointed viciously at Su Qingnuan, gritting her teeth. "Su Qingnuan, I’m warning you—Xia Xing is mine. You’d better let go of any unrealistic ideas."

"..."

What is this mess?

Rubbing her stinging cheek, Su Qingnuan pulled Gu Xiaoxiao away and looked coldly at Hongjie.

"Hongjie, out of respect for your seniority, I addressed you as Hongjie. Manager Xia and I are innocent, and I’ve made that clear. If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do."

"Innocent? I’m telling you, you’d better hope I don’t find evidence. Otherwise..."

The pair of bloodshot eyes glimmered with malice.

"We’ve already explained it wasn’t true! Don’t you have a problem with your hearing?" Gu Xiaoxiao flared up, pointing at Hongjie in anger, "If you’re deaf, just go see a doctor! You’re seriously insane!"

Su Qingnuan hurriedly pressed down on Gu Xiaoxiao, whispering, "Xiaoxiao, calm down."

While she could restrain Gu Xiaoxiao’s temper, she couldn’t halt Hongjie’s furious charge.

The striking red figure dashed forward, swinging her hand at Gu Xiaoxiao’s face.

Seeing this, Su Qingnuan quickly stepped in to block her, inadvertently drawing Hongjie’s wrath upon herself as well.

Before they knew it, the three of them were locked in a scuffle.

The commotion drew a crowd of spectators, until the manager appeared and called for others to separate Gu Xiaoxiao and Hongjie.

Hongjie was restrained by a group of strong individuals but remained fiercely focused on Su Qingnuan.

"You wretched woman! This isn’t over!"

With that, she broke free with force, storming off in her high heels.

The manager’s livid gaze fell upon the two of them as he suppressed his anger, "You two, come with me."

Gu Xiaoxiao fixed her disheveled hair and followed Su Qingnuan into the office.

"No matter what the manager says, don’t talk. Got it?" Su Qingnuan instructed carefully, clutching her face.

Gu Xiaoxiao nodded with a sigh, "Got it. You handle this."

She admitted her eloquence was no match for Su Qingnuan’s.

Once inside, the manager sat in his chair and stared them down coldly.

"Explain. What happened?"

Su Qingnuan calmly recounted the series of events, concluding, "Manager, fighting at the office—I admit we were at fault. However, we weren’t the instigators; we were forced into it."

The manager sneered, "I haven’t even made my point, and here you are giving your defense."

"...It’s just that Hongjie appeared so abruptly, and we couldn’t avoid the altercation."

She released her hand, exposing her cheek, "This slap was Hongjie’s doing. Our actions were in self-defense."

"..."