Chapter Thirty-Three: Are You the Devil?

The next day.

At nine in the morning, Xu Bu Nian personally drove Chen Qi and Manager Zhao to the KUKU Company.

The car was silent; nobody spoke, not even music played.

Xu Bu Nian, behind the wheel, glanced at Chen Qi in the rearview mirror from time to time. Chen Qi sat alone in the back, seemingly lost in thought, and worry and unease were written all over Xu Bu Nian’s face.

Even Manager Zhao, seated in the passenger seat, kept looking back at Chen Qi every so often, each time with an anxious expression, as if he wanted to speak but couldn’t find the words.

He was nearly driven mad!

That morning, as soon as Chen Qi arrived at the office, he instructed them to head to the KUKU Company, without explaining why. When getting into the car, Manager Zhao had nervously inquired about the advertisement, but Chen Qi only said he’d had some inspiration and needed a bit more time to refine it, mentioning that he had to confirm some data with the manufacturer before deciding whether the slogan could be used.

Wasn’t this a joke? Forget the fact that he hadn’t produced a brilliant copy yet—time was tight, so if he came up with something good later, even just explaining it verbally would be acceptable. But to go to the client with only a vague spark of inspiration and no concrete idea? Wasn’t that just a bit too reckless?

Besides, hadn’t the manufacturer already provided all the necessary data? What else was there to confirm?

Manager Zhao was as anxious as a cat on hot bricks, unable to sit comfortably. Yet, with Chen Qi apparently deep in contemplation, he didn’t dare disturb him, not even raising his voice for fear of scaring away whatever inspiration Chen Qi might have.

Failing to present what the client wanted was already embarrassing enough. If Chen Qi met the KUKU representatives and couldn’t offer even a specific idea, how could Manager Zhao show his face? As far as he knew, Red Apricot Advertising would be at KUKU all day!

Losing face in front of industry peers was more painful than death.

To make matters worse, the general manager—he couldn’t fathom how—actually had the guts to go along with Chen Qi’s unpredictable ways, despite knowing nothing about the situation.

“Ah…” Manager Zhao sighed deeply, nearly at his wit’s end, feeling more and more out of place in this mad world.

If things like this happened a few more times, his heart might not be able to take it.

In the back seat, Chen Qi, feigning deep thought, struggled to keep from bursting out laughing.

He saw clearly how uncomfortable Manager Zhao was.

It wasn’t due to a lack of trust that he hadn’t told them the details of the advertisement. The main reason was that he wanted to meet KUKU’s people and get familiar with them, laying groundwork for potential future collaborations.

KUKU was a major client in advertising. Since he intended to stir things up in the entertainment industry, whether producing shows or filming dramas, there would always be opportunities to work together.

For example, seeking sponsorship.

If he’d told Manager Zhao and Xu Bu Nian outright about the advertisement, he wouldn’t have had a good reason to tag along to KUKU. The essence of the ad was just a single phrase—his presence was almost irrelevant.

In such an important setting, with such a major client, he absolutely had to make his presence known.

So, he let them stew in anxiety for a while.

With several stops along the way, it was nearly half past ten when the trio finally arrived at the KUKU Company.

“How is it?” As soon as they got out of the car, Manager Zhao looked at Chen Qi nervously.

He hadn’t been nervous before—if Chen Qi had nothing, it wouldn’t have surprised him. But now, standing outside KUKU’s building, he was terrified, dreading that Chen Qi would shake his head and say there was no solution.

No exaggeration—his heart was about to leap out of his chest.

This fear of the unknown was terrifying!

Seeing him so tense, Chen Qi, for reasons unknown even to himself, shook his head lightly, his expression grave.

Manager Zhao’s eyes widened in shock, nearly forgetting to breathe.

He shook his head?

He actually shook his head?

He’d suffered over an hour of agony since arriving at work, and now Chen Qi shook his head at him?

Not only Manager Zhao—Xu Bu Nian, seeing the gesture, drew in a sharp breath, feeling unsettled.

To shake your head now… isn’t it a bit late? I just finished calling the person in charge!

Are you the devil?

But just as they were about to be frightened out of their wits by Chen Qi’s gesture, he suddenly broke into a carefree laugh.

“Just kidding, just kidding,” he quickly said.

He only meant to lighten the tense atmosphere—who could have guessed they’d be so scared?

“Oh—” Manager Zhao slapped his forehead, breathing heavily, feeling as though he’d survived a disaster.

Xu Bu Nian let out a long sigh, looking at Chen Qi in exasperation.

This young man…

“Brother, this is really not the time for jokes, okay? You could kill someone!” Manager Zhao said, almost beside himself.

Chen Qi couldn’t stop laughing.

“So, what’s really going on?” Manager Zhao pressed.

Chen Qi replied, “If KUKU’s data is correct, this advertisement is likely still following the blueprint.”

Manager Zhao’s eyes lit up, though he looked half skeptical.

Xu Bu Nian was equally unsure, uncertain whether Chen Qi was telling the truth.

“You’re serious?” Manager Zhao asked.

He was honestly afraid Chen Qi was joking again.

But Chen Qi nodded seriously. “It shouldn’t be a big problem.”

Manager Zhao and Xu Bu Nian exchanged glances, each seeing undisguised astonishment in the other’s eyes.

This outcome… was entirely unexpected.

Had he really thought of something good?

In that instant, both their expressions shifted quickly to seriousness.

“Let’s hear it,” Manager Zhao said cautiously, glancing around.

“Let me keep it under wraps for now. Just trust me,” Chen Qi replied, wary on someone else’s turf.

“Mr. Xu, did you get in touch with the person in charge?”

Xu Bu Nian gave him a deep look before nodding, “Just finished the call. They’re still discussing ad details with Red Apricot, so it’ll be a while. He said we should go up first.”

“Then let’s go,” Chen Qi urged.

Xu Bu Nian glanced at him again, then, gritting his teeth, led the way into KUKU’s office building.

Manager Zhao followed, shaking his head, barely restraining his curiosity.

He had no idea what karmic debt he’d accumulated in a past life to deserve such torment.

At that moment, their hearts were all in chaos.

They’d been prepared to accept the worst outcome, but with just one sentence, Chen Qi rekindled a spark of hope that had long since died within them.