Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 219 - 215: One Yard to One Yard

Chapter 219: Chapter 215: One Yard to One Yard

Sun Wen had left.

With him, half of the company left too.

Chen Rui arrived early at the company but didn’t go into the office; instead, he sat in Sun Wen’s position, watching the company entrance expressionlessly, waiting for the employees to come.

Nine ten had already passed, and including him, only six people showed up.

There were no usual greetings, no whispers; the other five people didn’t speak, sitting in their own places looking at each other, not understanding what had happened.

The silence in the air made one feel somewhat oppressed.

Chen Rui slightly turned his head stiffly, his gaze sweeping over the faces of those who remained; after a long silence, his body suddenly slumped, as if deboned, weakly leaning against the chair back, his gaze drifting around and finally landed on Qin Guanglin’s spot.

Two chief artists, one colorist, one editor, two assistants, and one copywriter, none had come.

If this had happened half a year ago, he might have managed to keep the company afloat, but now, with the business already expanded, there were five ongoing series yet to be concluded.

It was too late to hire new staff, and the only option was to outsource the work, but outsourcing could mean unreliable quality, profits, and follow-up work...

This strike was a stab in his heart.

The other people, seeing Chen Rui’s somewhat defeated expression, felt even more uneasy. After exchanging glances, they finally couldn’t hold back, "Boss..."

"Sorry, I’m late."

Qin Guanglin, wearing a cap, entered the company with his voice, shook his umbrella off, set it aside, clocked in with a beep, then turned around to look, catching Chen Rui gawking.

"You...uh..." Chen Rui’s voice was hoarse as he started speaking, pausing to cough lightly before continuing, "Why did you come?"

"I came to work," Qin Guanglin smiled, "Otherwise, how would I get paid?"

He hadn’t expected Sun Wen to act so quickly and decisively, with no room for discussion, just up and left, only making a call to him the night before departure.

After receiving Sun Wen’s call last night, he pondered for only a moment before deciding to come to work as usual, something he had considered well in advance. Whether or not the company could survive was Chen Rui’s concern; his duty was just to have a clear conscience.

Hearing this, Chen Rui was stunned again, "You and Sun Wen..."

"Classmates, friends." Qin Guanglin shrugged, already sitting at his desk and organizing his things while opening his bag, "But not superior and subordinate, nor business partners." He paused, lifted his head to the still seated Chen Rui, "Um...should I still come to work?" As he spoke, his gaze swept over the now quiet and empty office space, the usual bustling area now bare, and the familiar faces all gone, which made him silently sigh inwardly.

It looked like it was going to be busy.

"..."

Chen Rui’s eyes gradually lit up as he stared seriously at Qin Guanglin for a moment, then turned his head to glance at the other five sitting at their desks and pursed his lips.

"Work!"

He said it decisively, suddenly standing up, swinging his hand, "To work!"

Chen Rui strode away from Sun Wen’s position, walked up close to Qin Guanglin, opened his mouth but said nothing, placed his hand on his shoulder and pressed lightly, then turned back to the office.

He didn’t ask why Qin didn’t leave with Sun Wen or why he came back to work. Now that Qin was in the company, nothing else mattered.

Moments later, Chen Rui reemerged, carrying a stack of materials and a drawing board, starting to organize where Jiang Lingling used to sit.

Qin Guanglin alone was worth Sun Wen and another painter, even adding Yu Le; the two of them working together could very possibly keep the company going.

A single tree cannot make a forest, but now there were two, willing and needing to strive together.

"It’s going to be tough."

After arranging the desk and files, Chen Rui grabbed a portion and put them on Qin Guanglin’s desk, "These two series update twice a week, each two episodes, along with the one you were originally handling..."

Qin Guanglin listened attentively, nodding occasionally.

At the end of his speech, Chen Rui paused for a while, looked seriously at Qin Guanglin, and said, "Two months, just struggle for two more months, and we’ll get through this."

"Okay, don’t worry."

Qin Guanglin accepted, sorted the files on the desk, "If there’s nothing else, I’ll get to work."

Being responsible for three different manga styles, completing the drafting, paneling, and coloring largely on his own, and then adding some other minor projects, it indeed was hard work.

But... the pay should at least triple, he trusted Chen Rui’s character.

Fair labor deserves fair pay, and that’s only fair.

"Don’t rush, let’s have a meeting first."

Chen Rui stood up, clapped his hands, and sat at the large table nearby, inviting everyone to sit around. He did not condemn Sun Wen’s actions, just repeated what had happened and what was to be done next, and readjusted the division of responsibilities.

At the end of the meeting, Chen Rui stood up and bowed deeply.

"In the coming period, thank you for your hard work."

Those who can share adversity are true partners.

...

Late, nine o’clock.

Qin Guanglin finished his day’s work, declined Chen Rui’s invitation for a late night meal, and went down to the company with him. Insisting, he rode with Chen Rui back home.

"Why are you still wearing a hat?" Chen Rui, worn out from the day, finally relaxed sitting in the car and asked casually.

"Got a small injury, it’s not very presentable."

Qin Guanglin didn’t hide it, removing his hat in the passenger seat to show him the side of his head. He held the hat in his hand and didn’t put it back on. Keeping it on was stifling and bad for the wound, and after work, there was no need to wear it.

"What happened? Did you get into a fight during the National Day holiday?"

"It’s a long story, let’s not talk about it."

"It’s about a woman." Chen Rui asserted, "Isn’t it?"

"Sort of." Qin Guanglin smiled, indeed it had something to do with Teacher He.

Chen Rui drove in silence, smoothly navigating the road until the next red light when he glanced at Qin Guanglin and said pensively, "Sun Wen..."

"He approached me." Qin Guanglin didn’t wait for him to finish and nodded, "It was quite a while ago... I owe you an apology."

"No need, I understand." Chen Rui shook his head.

A buddy and a boss, between them, Qin Guanglin not joining Sun Wen in betrayal was already enough; there truly was no need for apologies.

"Why didn’t you join him?" This was what Chen Rui had been wanting to ask since morning.

"Why should I join him?"

"Being your own boss is always better than working for someone else," Chen Rui remarked as the light turned green and he slowly started the car, focusing on the road ahead. "He wouldn’t be foolish enough to ask you to work for him. He must have talked about partnership when he approached you."

"Being a boss is indeed better than working for someone."

Qin Guanglin played with the hat in his hands, unconcerned, "But not in that way. If he had chosen a different approach to start his own business, I might have agreed."

"Your values are upright; it’s hard to imagine you two are close friends."

"Friends are friends, business is business, they shouldn’t be mixed. Actually, he..." Qin Guanglin paused and shook his head, "If there was a choice, who would want to be back-stabbed and cursed?"

"Is that so?"

"It’s all driven by life."

The car whisked through the night, smoothly traveling the road, quickly arriving at South Fly Road.

"Is this the place?"

"Yes, you can stop here." Qin Guanglin got out of the car after it stopped and turned to say thanks.

"Don’t." Chen Rui shook his head, "I should be thanking you."

"One thing at a time."

"Well, thank you for coming back."