MWCBTC Chapter 9: Do You Have Something to Say?
Qin Shen was the kind of person who easily forgot things, especially when he got busy. With the company recently launching a new project, he quickly tossed aside the order he’d given to make things difficult for Qiao Chen—more accurately, he completely forgot about Qiao Chen’s existence.
It wasn’t until he received the results of the character design competition that Qin Shen remembered that person.
Qin Shen stared at the character design displayed on his computer screen. From head to toe, from strands of hair to eyelashes, from body proportions to outfit design—every detail exuded perfection and refinement.
The art style was also very unique and eye-catching.
The new project at Qin Shen’s company was a romance-themed game. Since the target audience was primarily women, the requirements for the character design and overall art style were extremely high—the characters had to be attractive, first and foremost.
Qin Shen had even negotiated a collaboration with a VR company, planning to first release the game on mobile and eventually roll out a fully immersive VR version.
Deep Alley Studio was taking this project very seriously, pouring in a lot of money and effort. That included seeking breakthroughs in 3D modeling and illustration by moving away from their long-time star artists and instead scouting for newer, more visually refined illustrators—whether rookies or veterans.
They didn’t limit themselves to internal staff, instead casting a wide net internationally through artist platforms, disregarding age, background, gender, or profession—only skill mattered.
And in this global talent search, a few exceptional entries stood out.
The one before him now was especially impressive—both amateurs and professionals could immediately see its quality.
The artwork was stunning. Every detail down to the individual strands of hair was meticulous. The body proportions, the entirely original clothing design—it was clear that the artist not only had strong fundamental skills, but also knowledge in other design fields. A rare all-rounder with high potential, someone any game company would fight to hire.
It was so good that even as a contest submission, it already met the standards to be directly implemented into the game.
Moreover, Qin Shen found the artwork vaguely familiar. He realized he’d seen a draft version of it before—back then, it hadn’t been as breathtaking.
But what made him frown now was the name signed on the artwork.
Li Xue’er.
She was one of Deep Alley’s silver-tier illustrators.
Why silver-tier? Because her work was above average but fell short of the truly gifted—mediocre in a way, stuck in the middle, neither here nor there.
For her to suddenly produce something this stunning was… suspicious.
That said, the style did somewhat resemble her previous work, making it hard to say definitively whether she drew it or not.
But Qin Shen was certain: this piece was not hers.
Because this was Qiao Chen’s work.
Living under the same roof—even if they avoided face-to-face interaction—some things inevitably slipped through.
Like the time on the weekend when Qiao Chen was sketching at the dining table.
Qin Shen hadn’t meant to look—he’d just been heading to the kitchen for a drink and caught a glance.
He hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but now, seeing this final version, the memory resurfaced.
After pondering over the illustration for a while, Qin Shen told Wang Sifan, “This one. Choose this design. But don’t make the results public yet.”
“Why?” Wang Sifan asked, confused.
“No reason. Just do as I said,” Qin Shen replied. He didn’t want to explain further. He planned to ask Qiao Chen about it when he got home that night—to figure out what was really going on before making a decision.
…
…
At 8 PM sharp, Qin Shen arrived home and sat on the sofa, waiting for Qiao Chen.
Deep Alley’s work hours were 10 AM to 6 PM, not including voluntary overtime.
Qin Shen didn’t expect to wait until 10 PM.
After a month of non-stop overtime, Qiao Chen looked exhausted as he opened the front door and stepped inside.
He was tired, as usual—but tonight, it was worse. Not just physically, but mentally as well. It was hard to even put into words.
He went to the fridge for a cold drink to clear his head—but then he saw Qin Shen sitting on the sofa.
They hadn’t faced each other like this in a while. Qiao Chen paused, slightly stunned, then nodded as a greeting before changing direction and heading for the stairs.
Might as well go straight to his room—no need to risk a fight, he thought.
But just as he took one step, Qin Shen’s voice rang out behind him: “Wait.”
Qiao Chen stopped and turned back. “What is it?” he asked.
“Do you have something you want to say to me?” Qin Shen asked.
The question hit Qiao Chen right in the heart. Of course he did.
A month ago, when Qiao Chen joined the company, he hadn’t known it was Qin Shen’s.
When he found out, he’d thought about quitting. He didn’t want his work life entangled with Qin Shen on top of everything else. It was already suffocating. But for various reasons, he hadn’t managed to resign—and so began a difficult month.
Qiao Chen wasn’t naïve—he knew some companies gave new employees a hard time—but this level of harshness seemed excessive.
After discovering Qin Shen was the boss, everything made sense.
Still, Qiao Chen endured it all. Never complained, even once.
Until today—when his work was stolen.
Half a month ago, his team leader (also an illustrator) gave him a task: draw a handsome male character.
It was Qiao Chen’s first real assignment since joining the company, and he’d put his heart into it.
But today, he found out the team leader had submitted his artwork as part of the company's new game project.
Naturally, he was furious.
He filed complaints with Operations and the Art Department, but got nowhere.
So when Qin Shen asked him that question, Qiao Chen almost blurted out everything.
Almost—but not quite.
Qin Shen was the CEO of Deep Alley—if anyone could solve this, it’d be him.
But Qin Shen hated him so much—would he really help? Maybe he was just waiting to watch Qiao Chen fall flat on his face.
Qiao Chen hated making a fool of himself. So he swallowed all his frustration and shook his head.
“No,” he said.
Qin Shen was clearly unsatisfied with that answer. He frowned. “I’ll ask you again. Do you have something to say?”
Qiao Chen hadn’t expected him to press again. The emotions he’d been holding back almost spilled over.
But he held it in.
He pressed his lips together, then shook his head more firmly and said with finality, “No.”
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