"Brother Chu, did you just make this stir-fried noodles?" With a face full of disbelief, Chu Shiyao asked in a very uncertain tone.

"Nonsense, what do you think I was doing just now? Alright, take your time eating, I'm going back to my room to sleep."

Chu Ge said with amusement and was about to turn and leave, but before he could take a step, Chu Shiyao grabbed his arm again.

"Brother Chu, the food you cook is just too delicious. I've never had such tasty stir-fried noodles before, but it seems there's not enough. Could you make some more?"

Chu Ge looked at the plate of stir-fried noodles in Chu Shiyao's hand and felt speechless. He had cooked according to his own portion, and yet Chu Shiyao still thought it was too little? Just how much can she eat?

But if she really ate that much and still maintained such a great figure, it would make all those chubby girls who gain weight just from drinking cold water really envious.

"Aren't you afraid you'll turn into a little chubby girl if you eat too much at night? That's it, there's no more. If it's not enough, there's nothing I can do."

Leaving a somewhat amusing comment, Chu Ge pulled out his arm and walked away.

"Brother Chu, can I come over for meals at your place in the future?" Just a few steps out, Chu Shiyao's voice came from behind.

"Sure, as long as it's not so late, feel free to come over whenever you want."

Chu Ge turned his head and said with a smile to Chu Shiyao, then returned to his room as she beamed with a joyful smile.

After sleeping until naturally waking up, Chu Ge ate at home and then went to the bus stop, but today Shu Lulu was nowhere in sight.

Previously, Shu Lulu always waited there for him, and he didn't feel right leaving immediately when the bus arrived. However, after waiting through two buses and still not seeing Shu Lulu, he checked the time and realized he would be late if he didn't leave soon. He sent Shu Lulu a text and got on the third bus.

After getting off the bus, Chu Ge first stopped by a supermarket near the company to buy some packed dried fruits before entering the Tianjiao Group building.

Even though he knew that the office people wouldn't necessarily spread the news from last night if he didn't buy the dried fruits, he had promised, and he intended to keep his word.

Upon entering the Operation Management Department office, everything was just as he expected. Though the colleagues' gazes at him had changed a bit, no one brought up what happened last night, and none called him "Young Master Chu." Instead, they greeted him with a smile, calling him "Vice Minister Chu." Except for Mo Xiaoran, everyone else helped themselves to a handful of dried fruits without any reservation.

Everything seemed orderly and proceeding as usual, but because everyone was too excited last night, almost no one except Chu Ge had a good night's sleep, so everyone wore a hint of fatigue on their faces.

Especially Feifei, even with makeup, her two prominent dark circles were still visible, and she unknowingly fell asleep on her desk.

Although Chu Ge noticed this, he didn't wake her up.

Firstly, because she didn't have any immediate work, and secondly, because Chu Ge wanted to keep a little distance from her.

Since Chu Ge ignored Feifei's napping at work, Ji Songtao, the actual department head, also chose to turn a blind eye.

However, just past eleven in the morning, just as it was almost lunchtime, the office door of the Operation Management Department was suddenly and unceremoniously pushed open.

A woman who looked around forty, somewhat plump, with some freckles on her face, wearing a black suit, walked in.

She was an unfamiliar face; no one in the company had seen her before, and everyone couldn't help but be startled.

"Call your person in charge out here." As soon as she walked in, Diao Qiuling spotted Feifei sleeping on the desk, and a gleam of triumph flashed in her eyes. She walked toward Feifei's desk, her face stern, and asked.

Chu Ge stood up, "Hello, I'm the vice minister here, Chu Ge. May I ask what this is about?"

"Chu Ge? Vice minister?"

Hearing this, Diao Qiuling was momentarily taken aback, looking Chu Ge up and down with a slightly puzzled gaze. But she quickly concealed this trace of strangeness, switched to a serious expression, and said in a stern voice, "Vice Minister Chu, is this how you lead a department? Employees sleeping during work hours, don't you see this?"

Chu Ge couldn't help but find it amusing. His employee sleeping, and as vice minister, he hadn't even said anything, so who was this random woman to meddle?

Amusing as it was, Chu Ge didn't show it. He signaled with his eyes to the girl beside Feifei to wake her up, courteously continuing, "Ma'am, may I ask who you are?"

Chu Ge was trying to speak reasonably, but Diao Qiuling gave him no face at all. Within a few exchanges, she walked over to Feifei's desk, and before the other girl could tell Feifei to get up, she slammed Feifei's desk with a "bang."

"Ah!"

The sudden noise startled Feifei, making her sit up straight against the back of her chair, her eyes a bit blank, clearly scared out of her wits.

This time, Chu Ge finally furrowed his brows.

Seeing Chu Ge frown, Diao Qiuling became even more smug and snorted, "Don't recognize me? Funny! You're at least a leader at Tianjiao Film and Television company and don't even recognize me? Is this how you do your work? Call your head minister out. I don't have time to waste words with you."

Diao Qiuling's voice was loud, and her desk slamming had already alarmed Ji Songtao in the minister's room. As Ji Songtao walked out, he happened to hear her boastfully say this sentence.

As soon as he saw Diao Qiuling, Ji Songtao was momentarily stunned, then quickly put on a smooth smile and said, "Director Diao, what brings you here? Vice Minister Chu, let me introduce you; this is Diao Qiuling, the Director of the Film and Television Management Bureau of the city's broadcasting bureau."

Ji Songtao's intention with this remark was to smooth things over for Chu Ge, but to everyone's surprise, Chu Ge didn't acknowledge it at all. Instead, he furrowed his brow, walked over to Feifei, and asked with concern, "Feifei, can you hear me when I speak? Is your ear okay?"

Feifei was taken aback, glanced at Chu Ge, then at the even more grim-looking Diao Qiuling, quickly stood up, shook her head saying "I'm fine," while using her eyes to signal Chu Ge to not mind her and to deal with Diao Qiuling.

If Diao Qiuling was purely looking for trouble earlier, now seeing that Chu Ge wasn't paying her any mind, her anger truly flared up. She snorted again, "Chu Ge, Vice Minister Chu, I'm talking to you. Can't you hear me?"

Chu Ge blinked, turned to Diao Qiuling, and blinked blankly.

Seeing Chu Ge react this way, Diao Qiuling's initial anger turned into triumph. It seemed this kid, though slow to react, was evidently intimidated by her reputation.

Thinking about what Zhou Zhigao had promised her, Diao Qiuling felt even better.

As Zhou Zhigao's fan, in Diao Qiuling's view, just finding fault, dealing with an insignificant employee, and getting a private dinner with Zhou Zhigao was an incredibly good deal! If something more happened with Zhou Zhigao, just thinking about it made her a bit excited!

Although Chu Ge climbed from a small employee to a vice minister, it somewhat surprised Diao Qiuling, but she didn't consider it a difficult task. She believed that with her status, exerting even a little bit of pressure on Tianjiao Group to get this guy fired would be a piece of cake!

Chu Ge didn't say anything, making the office atmosphere seem strange. Even the always smooth Ji Songtao didn't say another word.

Diao Qiuling felt even better. She liked seeing others treat her with such respectful deference. She coughed once and continued arrogantly, "Comrade Chu Ge, I think I must solemnly remind you that your work attitude has a lot of problems! Even now, you're only concerned with the girls in the office. I suspect your lifestyle has a lot of problems too!"

Chu Ge blinked again, walking over to Diao Qiuling's side.

Just as Diao Qiuling thought Chu Ge was going to say something soft and admit his mistake, Chu Ge suddenly yelled into her ear without warning, "What? I can't hear you!"

This shout was so unexpected it made Diao Qiuling shiver, and the volume was enough to make her eardrums buzz.

When this scene unfolded before everyone, several girls nearly burst out laughing. None of them expected Chu Ge not only to stand up to Diao Qiuling but also to use this approach to deal with her.

Earlier, Diao Qiuling startled Feifei, and less than a minute later, Chu Ge gave her a taste of her own medicine.

And that shout was just so powerful!

Several girls and Lu Gang wanted to laugh but didn't dare; they could only turn their heads to the side, using shoulder-shaking coughs to express their desire to laugh.

Unlike the others, Feifei didn't feel like laughing; instead, she felt a warm current flowing through her heart, warming her from head to toe.

In her twenty-some years, she had never heard of a leader going to such lengths for a subordinate—not just refusing to curry favor with the superior but standing up for the subordinate without a moment's hesitation.

If before, Feifei thought having a laid-back leader like Ji Songtao was good enough, now she realized that compared to Chu Ge, Ji Songtao was nowhere near as good.

She had no doubt that if Chu Ge weren't here today, and instead, it was Ji Songtao or any other person handling the situation, none would act as Chu Ge did.

In the midst of the rising and falling coughing sounds, Diao Qiuling covered her buzzing ears, her face turning completely sullen.

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