At 6:30 am the next day, Jian Yan got up and started preparing breakfast. Since she had been exchanging dishes with He Xiu these days, she spent more time and thought on the variety of dishes than usual. She not only had to pay attention to the taste but also ensure that the dishes were different every day.

  There were all kinds of neatly arranged vegetables and meat in the refrigerator, and a lot of them were brought by Lin Zhen yesterday. Jian Yan thought for a while and took out the steak, planning to fry it for herself.

  What else should she make? Standing in front of the refrigerator, she thought for a moment. There were lettuce, lotus root, sweet potato, tomato, and some chicken wings that Lin Zhen had brought her yesterday...

  It was too late to make soup. She might as well stew sweet potato and ginkgo nut syrup and make cola chicken wings.

  After deciding on the menu for lunch, she took out the ingredients one by one. The syrup needed to be stewed for about an hour. Starting to cook now, it would be just in time by the time she went out. She raised the corners of her lips in a smile, tied up her hair, and began to peel the ginkgo nuts.

  While Jian Yan was busy in the kitchen, He Xiu was also in the kitchen preparing lunch. The fragrant smell of braised pork with white radish attracted the aunt in the kitchen to run over and take a look.

  "Eldest Young Master, you're up so early to cook?" The aunt was a bit surprised. It was one thing that he had cooked pork rib soup late at night the day before yesterday, but now he was up early in the morning to cook meat?

  He Xiu checked the heat on the stove, turned his head, and smiled at the aunt. "Yeah, I've been bringing my own lunch to the company these days."

  The aunt said, "If you're not used to the food in the company cafeteria, I can cook whatever you like for you. Look, you got up so early. Why don't you rest a bit more?"

  He Xiu said, "It's okay. I'm only making one dish, and it won't take long. You can go about your business."

  The aunt took another look at the meat cooking in the pot, nodded, and said, "Well, if you need anything, just call me."

  "Okay."

  At noon, Jian Yan carried her lunch box to the cafeteria for a meal. As expected, she saw He Xiu at their usual table. She walked over and was able to greet him naturally, "Good afternoon, Manager He."

  He Xiu tilted his head slightly and smiled at her, "Good afternoon."

  As a cartoonist, Jian Yan had an in-depth study of human faces. Perhaps the angle was just right, but her heart actually skipped a beat.

  It was just like when she was stunned by the handsomeness of the male protagonist in her own drawings sometimes.

  She coughed dryly and sat down on the chair, "Did you make braised pork with white radish today?"

  "Yeah, this is one of my specialties." After he finished speaking, he paused for a moment and added two more words, "One of them."

  Jian Yan laughed and opened her lunch box, "You didn't make soup today, but I just happened to make sweet potato and ginkgo nut syrup."

  When she opened the lid, the syrup was still steaming, and a trace of sweet smell filled the air. "It looks quite tempting."

  Jian Yan said, "I can also guarantee the taste. After all, this is also one of my specialties, one of them."

  The corners of He Xiu's mouth unconsciously turned up, giving people an illusion that he was even sweeter than the syrup in the bowl.

  Jian Yan subtly averted her gaze and opened another box, "These are cola chicken wings. My friend managed to grab them from the supermarket yesterday with great difficulty."

  When she placed the lunch box in the middle of the table, she couldn't help but think that since He Xiu had only made one dish and she had made two, she had won today, right?

  ...

  Wait a minute, Jian Yan. How could you really think that you two were here for a cooking competition!

  Jian Yan felt like slapping her forehead. It was all Lin Zhen's fault.

  He Xiu noticed that her expression seemed a bit off and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

  "Nothing." Jian Yan quickly shook her head. "Let's eat. Food gets cold quickly in winter."

  "Okay."

  Many colleagues having lunch in the cafeteria looked enviously at the dishes on their table... But they just looked. After a while, finally, a bolder colleague walked over with her tray, "Manager He, Jian Yan, can you spare some for me?"

  He Xiu turned his head to look at the tray she was holding and said to her, "There's no such thing as a free lunch. If you want to eat, you have to exchange one of your dishes for it."

  "..." The colleague looked at him desperately. After a moment, she said, "Is the stewed taro and chicken in the cafeteria okay?"

  "Pfft." Jian Yan couldn't help laughing. In the end, she still gave this colleague a piece of cola chicken wing. Unexpectedly, the colleague really exchanged a piece of stewed taro and chicken for it, making Jian Yan not know whether to laugh or cry.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Jian Yan still finished this pleasant lunch within the planned time. While tidying up her lunch box, she said to He Xiu, "Thank you for the treat, Manager He."

  "Thank you for your treat too." He Xiu raised the corners of his lips and smiled at her.

  Jian Yan: "..."

  Why was her attention always on Manager He's face today?

  She thought she must be eager to draw a male character. She would draw a male protagonist when she got home today.

  However, she didn't get her wish because in the evening, Lin Zhen invited everyone in the studio to a dinner party.

  Currently, there were a total of five cartoonists in Zhenguo Studio, all of whom were developing quite well. So, there were also many newcomers who came because of their reputation. Lin Zhen called everyone out for a dinner party this time because she had signed two new members.

  "You don't know how much those two little girls like you. When they heard they were going to have dinner with you tonight, they were so excited that they almost fainted," Lin Zhen said to Jian Yan, who was sitting in the passenger seat, while driving.

  The corner of Jian Yan's mouth twitched, "You're exaggerating too much..."

  "Not at all. After all, they grew up reading your comics."

  "..." I've only been drawing comics for five years. I don't deserve such an honor. It's you, Director Lin, who's amazing. You've been in the industry for ten years. How many new talents have you discovered?

  Lin Zhen: "..."

  She wasn't an excavator! And it wasn't ten years!

  When she drove Jian Yan to the private room for the dinner party, almost everyone else had already arrived. Since the two little girls were new members, they came the earliest and had been waiting in the private room for a while. When they saw Director Lin and a beautiful young lady come in, they were stunned for a moment and then asked uncertainly, "Could this be... Teacher Tangzhi?"

  Jian Yan nodded and greeted them, "Hello, I'm Tangzhi."

  "Ahhhhhhhh! It's really Teacher Tangzhi! So beautiful!"

  "Teacher, can you sign for us? We really love your comics!"

  "Yeah, I really loved your 'Magic Eden' when I was in high school!"

  Jian Yan: "..."

  Well, she believed what Lin Zhen said. :)

  After signing autographs for the two little fans, Lin Zhen also introduced these two new members to her, "They're seniors in university this year, both majoring in fine arts. They've created some short works during their time at school and are a fixed team."

  "I see." Jian Yan nodded. There were cartoonists like her who created works alone, and there were also those who worked in pairs like them, or even those who formed a team with more people.

  "Teacher Tangzhi, please give us more guidance in the future!"

  "I'm so excited to think that I'll be able to work with Teacher Tangzhi in the future!"

  Lin Zhen calmly poured a bucket of cold water on them, "Teacher Tangzhi can now work independently, so I've granted her permission to draw at home. You two have to stay in the studio."

  "..." The two girls froze simultaneously.

  Jian Yan said, "Although I'm not in the studio, You You and the others are still there. You can learn a lot from working with them."

  "Right, right." The two girls nodded in unison. "And the studio environment is really good. Look how generous our Director Lin is. She even reserved a private room at Tianxiaju for the dinner party!"

  Jian Yan said, "Oh, that's because You You and the others have posted photos on Weibo. It wouldn't be good if they were recognized."

  "..."

  Even so, Director Lin is still generous!

  After everyone arrived, Lin Zhen asked the waiter to start serving the dishes. You You had been rushing to finish her manuscript recently, so she came the latest and was punished to drink a glass of beverage.

  A group of cartoonists sat together and chatted freely. The atmosphere in the entire private room was harmonious and pleasant.

  "I thought of a name for a new martial arts school today, and it almost drove me crazy. It's so hard for someone who's bad at naming things," You You complained. Although she had given herself a very girly name, she drew wuxia comics. Her passionate and exciting stories of the martial arts world, combined with her unique and flowing painting style, had attracted a large number of fans.

  When Lin Zhen heard her say this, she took the initiative to offer suggestions, "Isn't the Five Herbs God Sect a good name? If not, then the Five Birds Saza Sect."

  Jian Yan: "..."

  She looked at You You and said to her, "Ignore her. She's gone crazy from playing games."

  Lin Zhen gave her a roll of her eyes, "Didn't you tell me to play games to fill the void in my heart?"

  Jian Yan: "..."

  I didn't expect the void in your heart to be so big. I'm sorry.

  You You said, "I haven't had time to go to the gym recently because I've been rushing to finish my manuscript. We even got a membership card, what a waste."

  The two new girls looked at them curiously, "Do you teachers usually go to the gym too? I thought your daily routine was just working overtime, working overtime, and working overtime."

  Jian Yan said, "Director Lin often educates us that the body is the foundation for working overtime. How can we have a good body for working overtime without working out?"

  The two girls: "..."

  Lin Zhen: "..."

  Was that what she said? She didn't think so.

  The group of them chatted and ate like this, and it was almost 9 o'clock before they left. Since almost everyone had manuscripts to work on, Lin Zhen, who originally wanted to go to a karaoke bar, had to let them go home.

  "You don't have many manuscripts recently. Come on, let's go to a karaoke bar together." She took Jian Yan's arm and was about to head to the KTV. Unexpectedly, Jian Yan also refused her, "I have to go to work tomorrow. You can go by yourself."

  Lin Zhen: "..."

  Although the sound of her heart breaking was louder than thunder, she still drove Jian Yan home. After getting home, Jian Yan took a shower first and then turned on the computer, planning to draw for a while.

  She logged into QQ as she usually did and found a message in the group that mentioned all members.

  Majiang: All members, the demo of the first episode of "Shang Ke" has been completed. I've uploaded it to the group's shared folder. Everyone, take a listen and give your opinions so that we can make revisions. The second episode will be out soon. Stay tuned ^_^

  This message was sent at around 6 o'clock. Jian Yan downloaded the file from the group's shared folder and replied in the group, "Sorry for seeing this so late. I'll listen to it now ^_^"

  Not long after she sent the message, Nan Si privately messaged her.

  Nan Si: Good evening, teacher :)

  Tangzhi: Good evening ^_^

  Nan Si: Did you just get home, teacher?

  Tangzhi: Yeah. There were two new members in Zhenguo Studio today, and we had a dinner party.

  Nan Si: Oh, that's nice.

  Tangzhi: It's not that nice :( The two new members are both senior students. They said they started reading my comics when they were in high school. Suddenly, I feel really old :(

  Nan Si: Hahahahahahaha

  Tangzhi: You're still laughing :(

  Nan Si: Some of my fans have been listening to my songs since they were at school, and now their kids can already play around. Thinking about it this way, I'm even older than you :(

  Tangzhi: I feel much better after you said that :)

  Nan Si: …

  Nan Si: Actually, it's a happy thing to have fans accompanying you for such a long time. In the future, there will be someone who will accompany you for a lifetime and grow old with you. Don't worry :)