Three days later, Qin Lie boarded a flight to Xi’an alone.

Before takeoff, he glanced at his phone and saw a WeChat message from Chen Xi.

Qin Lie opened it to find the final draft of the tenth character design.

He lowered his gaze, looking at the character Chen Xi had stubbornly insisted on completing according to her vision.

It had no impressive three-dimensional proportions, no eye-catching makeup or styling, yet at first glance, it struck him with tremendous impact.

It was a kind of self that emanated from deep within, carrying an indescribable and elusive sense of mystery.

It made people want to know more about the woman in the image, to explore her more deeply.

Sunlight streamed through the small window beside him, falling on his phone screen and adding a dazzling filter to the image.

Qin Lie stared at the screen for a long time, then suddenly curved his lips slightly.

Without a word, he directly transferred the remaining design fee to Chen Xi.

The note read four characters: “Completed, thank you for your hard work.”

After a while, Chen Xi sent back a WeChat message.

“No need, use it to offset the renovation deposit. I’ll return the remaining hundred thousand by year’s end.”

Qin Lie was stunned for a moment before realizing what Chen Xi meant by the renovation deposit.

He said nothing and silently put away his phone.

Wang Danyang arrived an hour earlier than Qin Lie and waited for him directly at the airport.

Standing at the arrival gate, he watched Qin Lie’s tall figure appear in the crowd, walking toward him at an unhurried pace.

The cold white fluorescent lights in the hall cast their glow on Qin Lie, adding another layer of noble distance to his already aloof demeanor.

But regardless, he had appeared.

During the two years Qin Lie was away, Wang Danyang had sat in his former position and finally understood how solid a man’s shoulders needed to be to lead a team through waters full of hidden reefs and treacherous rapids.

How strong one needed to be to remain composed and confident through one crisis after another, both internal and external.

For some unknown reason, Wang Danyang suddenly felt so moved that his nose stung.

Having lived this long, he was experiencing the profound emotion of loss and recovery through another man.

He waved at Qin Lie, and when Qin Lie walked step by step to stand before him, he suddenly clenched his fist and punched him hard on the shoulder.

“You damn… walked so slowly.”

Then he hooked his arm around Qin Lie’s neck and led him toward the parking garage.

After taking a few steps, Wang Danyang suddenly said, “It’s so good that you could come.”

Qin Lie smiled and said nothing.

The two walked to the parking garage, where Qin Lie immediately spotted his former driver, Xiao Song.

Wang Danyang smiled and said, “When Xiao Song heard you were coming, he insisted on coming with me.”

Seeing Qin Lie, Xiao Song hurried over with quick steps.

“President Qin.”

There was a trace of excitement in his voice.

Qin Lie smiled at him, “Long time no see.”

Xiao Song suppressed his surging emotions, his expression nearly breaking.

The three got into the car and drove out of Xianyang Airport.

Approaching noon, there were few vehicles on the airport highway.

The sun blazed overhead, and outside the windows stretched a vast expanse of sky and clouds.

Sitting in the back seat, Qin Lie watched the groves of trees rapidly retreating outside the window.

Behind the lush green groves lay expanses of open fields.

For no particular reason, he thought of Dunhuang’s endless Gobi Desert, which under the blazing sun and clear sky possessed a vastness and openness found nowhere else.

Even the air seemed filled with a carefree flavor.

The scenery outside suddenly seemed somewhat bland and tasteless. Qin Lie withdrew his gaze and glanced down at his phone.

No messages.

He put away his phone, thinking that at this time, the three people next door were probably still busy, likely having lunch at the shop.

When he realized what he was thinking about, Qin Lie felt somewhat dazed, wondering which nerve of his had misfired.

As he was slightly lost in thought, Wang Danyang in the passenger seat turned around and asked enthusiastically, “Old Qin, what do you want to eat for lunch?”

Qin Lie: “Whatever.”

Wang Danyang laughed, “I knew you’d say ‘whatever.'”

He turned to Xiao Song and said, “Let’s go to that Chang’an food stall in Xiaozhai.”

After speaking, he turned back to Qin Lie with a smile, “Do you remember this restaurant? We ate there last time we came to Xi’an.”

Qin Lie was momentarily stunned, then remembered there was indeed such an occasion.

Wang Danyang: “I miss that Northwest trip of ours. We played for half a month – it was really enjoyable. We should do it again sometime when we have the chance.”

Qin Lie nodded and looked out the window.

That Northwest trip had been a company team-building event, touring a large circuit through Gansu, Qinghai, and Shaanxi.

Qin Lie had quite liked Xi’an at the time.

Half an hour later, the car entered Xi’an’s city center.

The street scenes outside the car window gradually took on a distinctive flavor, and even the blazing sun seemed less aggressive.

Sunlight filtered through the towering French plane trees lining both sides of the road, as if adding a nostalgic filter.

The car drove past a section of gray ancient city wall, with high-rise buildings across the street, yet it didn’t feel jarring to the eye.

This was probably the charm of an ancient city – new and old mixed without any sense of discord.

Any random corner could make you feel the accumulation of time.

Qin Lie watched the street scenes outside the car window, always with a trace of absent-mindedness.

The gaming expo officially began in the afternoon. After lunch, the three headed straight to the exhibition center in Baqiao District.

The China International Gaming and Animation Expo was held every summer, and this was its fifth year.

The previous edition was held in Guangzhou, and this year’s venue was Xi’an.

Although this domestically organized international gaming and animation expo still had some gap in scale compared to veteran exhibitions like the Cologne International Gaming Expo, its development speed was already quite remarkable.

All of China’s top game development companies would compete to bring their latest works for promotion and publicity.

Many foreign game manufacturers and players would also come to participate.

As one of China’s premier gaming companies, Dawn, despite its less favorable development situation in recent years, still held significant influence, with its booth in the most prominent position.

A massive LCD screen was playing character preview videos for Tunnel version 3.0.

Several models hired by the company, dressed as classic characters from Tunnel, were doing runway shows in front of the booth with full presence.

Young cosers in bizarre and colorful outfits lingered around the booth.

Players and media crowded in front of the LCD screen, watching the character trailers for Tunnel 3.0 with great interest.

There were also people asking various questions, keeping the staff busy but organized.

Gradually, all the Dawn employees at the booth froze, then became extremely excited.

They saw Qin Lie walking beside Wang Danyang.

Someone timidly called out, “President Qin.”

Then came more voices – excited, sighing, surprised.

Qin Lie walked to the front of the booth and simply said, “Keep busy.”

Just two simple words, but they seemed like a stabilizing force.

Everyone immediately returned to their organized tasks.

Occasionally, they exchanged incredulous glances with each other.

Management from other nearby booths who recognized Qin Lie were also surprised.

Soon, posts appeared on Weibo.

Someone said they’d seen Dawn’s former president, the man who created Dawn’s legend.

The post quickly gained traction, with all kinds of speculation.

Some die-hard Tunnel fans began discussing online.

Someone even uploaded the Tunnel 3.0 character preview video to Weibo.

Veteran players were stirred up, saying they saw shadows of Tunnel’s glorious days.

Wang Danyang stood beside Qin Lie with his hands in his pockets, saying with some emotion, “It really is different.”

Qin Lie looked at the crowded booth and casually asked, “What’s different?”

Wang Danyang: “With you here, the 3.0 promotion is a success.”

Qin Lie said flatly, “No need for promotion. 3.0 will be popular.”

Wang Danyang smiled, “I believe you.”

Qin Lie: “You should believe in yourself.”

Wang Danyang looked at Qin Lie’s expressionless profile and suddenly felt he was somehow different from when they’d met in Dunhuang last time.

He couldn’t say exactly what was different, but something was.

The feeling was as if the light around him had somehow returned without notice.

Wang Danyang: “Old Qin…”

Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly noticed the atmosphere around them seemed a bit off.

The crowd gathered in front of Dawn’s booth had somehow multiplied.

Dense layers of people, three deep all around.

Qin Lie also sensed something unusual and frowned slightly, looking toward the growing crowd in front of the booth.

The focus of attention wasn’t the new character preview video, but a model in front of the booth wearing a tight black leather outfit, ten-centimeter stiletto boots, with a serpentine waist and impressive bust.

Many people were holding up phones to photograph the female model, while others whispered among themselves with ambiguous smiles.

The model sensed something, too, her gaze uncertain as she looked toward another model nearby.

The other model shrugged at her, equally bewildered.

At this moment, a Dawn employee approached Qin Lie and Wang Danyang, handing over his phone.

Both looked down to see a post with a striking headline.

“Female Internet Celebrity’s Inappropriate Video Leaked, Chaotic Private Life…”

Below the headline were many photos with mosaics, but the scandalous nature was still apparent.

The employee explained in a low voice, “To achieve promotional effects, the company hired an internet celebrity with three million followers this time.”

He pointed to the model being surrounded by the crowd, “That’s her, Li Dahua.”

Wang Danyang frowned and said sternly, “How was this handled?”

The employee looked cautiously at Wang Danyang’s expression and asked carefully, “President Wang, what should we do now?”

Wang Danyang: “Get her off first, stop making a spectacle here.”

The employee looked toward Qin Lie, and seeing that he said nothing, hurried to the front of the booth and called down the bewildered model.

Wang Danyang beckoned another staff member over and instructed, “Quickly find another model to stabilize the situation.”

Just as he finished speaking, the model who had been called down suddenly held her head high and walked back to the front of the booth.

With a calm expression, she struck a commanding pose and returned to her position.

Wang Danyang became anxious and said to the nearby staff member, “What’s going on? Get her away quickly.”

Qin Lie suddenly spoke, “No need.”

Wang Danyang looked at Qin Lie incredulously and said anxiously, “Old Qin, at such an important occasion, we can’t let a disgraced internet celebrity ruin our company’s image!”

Qin Lie glanced at Li Dahua being surrounded by the crowd. The woman looked proud and defiant, her gaze commanding and unparalleled, her presence so strong it was explosive.

She had almost completely merged with the character she was cosplaying.

Strong and cold.

Only her slightly reddened eyes beneath the thick false eyelashes betrayed the inner turmoil in her heart.

Qin Lie: “Let her be.”

Wang Danyang: “But…”

Qin Lie looked toward a nearby staff member and asked flatly, “Who signed the model contracts?”

“Please wait a moment.”

The staff member hurried away, and after a while, another person came running over, looking completely frazzled.

“President Qin, I’m Li Guangwen from the Business Department. Our department was responsible for this exhibition, and our department signed the model contracts too.”

Qin Lie: “Did you investigate their backgrounds?”

Li Guangwen nodded repeatedly.

“We assessed the risks. These models had no negative records, and there were no scandals about them online. We never expected something like this to suddenly break…”

Li Guangwen said with a face ready to cry, “I’ll replace her right away.”

Qin Lie: “Not necessary for now.”

The girl stood in the crowd, unmoved, accepting blade-like gazes from all directions.

Those gazes – some contemptuous, some gossipy, some gloating – she met them all with disdainful arrogance.

She was already swaying on her feet, but bit her teeth and refused to exit in disgrace.

Wang Danyang: “Will this work?”

Qin Lie turned to look at him and said flatly, “You heard it too – these models have no criminal records.”

Wang Danyang: “This doesn’t count as a criminal record?”

Just as Qin Lie was about to speak, a voice came from nearby.

“President Qin’s side is quite lively.”

Qin Lie looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the CEO of Wanyou Software from the neighboring booth had somehow walked over, smiling at him with obvious schadenfreude.

Wanyou Software was an established gaming company.

Before the game Tunnel burst onto the scene, Wanyou’s “Journey to the West Unlimited” had always been the most popular online game in China.

Wanyou had pulled quite a few small stunts over the past two years, even poaching two modelers from Dawn at the beginning of the year. The relationship between the two companies had always been subtle.

Qin Lie looked toward Wanyou’s CEO and smiled, “Not bad.”

Wanyou’s CEO looked frivolously at the female internet celebrity stubbornly holding her ground in the crowd.

He smiled and said, “Isn’t President Qin going to replace the model? Are you determined to ride the wave of this scandal? Be careful not to get burned and damage Dawn’s image.”

Gossipy media had somehow surrounded them, eager to stir up trouble.

Qin Lie said in a calm tone, “She’s the victim. Why should she be replaced?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Li Dahua, who had been surrounded by the crowd, finally couldn’t hold back her tears, which burst forth like a dam breaking.