We moved to Golden Courtyard

"I should thank you for making an excuse for me."

Liu Qi covered her mouth and chuckled softly. In the end… she still liked him…

She sat down next to her, patted the seat beside her, and said, "Sit next to me. What kind of impression do you make by sitting across from me? Isn't this a date between the two of us? Be a little more considerate."

Xu Qi's mouth was half open when she suddenly felt time reversing, as if she had returned to the days when she was teased by this older sister in ancient costume back in ET.

He swallowed subconsciously, suddenly unsure who had invited whom to this meal.

1219, It's Liu Qi's turn now.

He sat obediently beside Liu Qi, the faint scent of jasmine emanating from the woman lingering in his nostrils, making him feel comfortable.

Today, Liu Qi is still dressed in that pink ancient dress.

The wide, overlapping collar of the Hanfu exposed her bare shoulders, which seemed to go unnoticed by the other person.

Beneath the strapless bodice lay Liu Qi's perfectly round and jade-like heart.

Xu Qi withdrew his gaze and absentmindedly ordered some dishes. He even forgot what he had ordered, his mind filled with the beautiful woman beside him.

It wasn't that Xu Qi lacked self-control; it was just that in the current situation, he didn't know whether he needed to suppress himself, after all, it was Liu Qi, not someone else.

As several appetizers were served, Liu Qi noticed the waiter leaving and moved slightly closer to Xu Qi.

Their arms were outstretched and pressed together.

It seems a bit too close...

"Minister Xu mentioned a new Alahato project, what is it?"

Xu Qi composed himself.

"There are two considerations now. One is to strike while the iron is hot and release another work similar to Seed. The other is to return to the UC storyline."

It also continues the storyline and influence of the older generation of Alahatto.

Liu Qi nodded; she had the same two considerations.

The commercial projects that Alahato is currently involved in—the production of Makers—are at best small-scale. They are basically projects given to young people to practice on.

But relying on something like this to continue Seed's success is definitely not a respectable approach.

Have you ever thought about making a second season?

Xu Qi pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

"When this project was first launched, we never had this idea. If we were to force a second season, I'm not sure if we could write it well."

Fans will certainly like it, but if the second season is poorly written, it won't be good at all.

Liu Qi smiled.

Clearly, Xu Qi's thoughts once again coincided with hers.

"I've realized I'm liking you more and more."

Xu Qi was stunned.

He began to doubt whether the teacher Liu Qi he had seen yesterday was real.

"What? Is that strange?"

Her fair fingers touched Xu Qi's arm, and with just a light press, she could feel the explosive power in his muscles.

Liu Qi subconsciously licked her lips.

"Fool, I've already set my sights on you, so I'm completely under your thumb. Now that you're back, you've softened up in front of me and are even willing to chase after me..."

How could I resist the advances of a man I like? Sometimes I feel like I'm pretty pathetic; you just beckon me, and I obediently offer myself up.

Liu Qi leaned forward slightly, her warm and soft body pressing against Xu Qi, making it difficult for Xu Qi to breathe.

His eyes darted around, and for the first time, he didn't know where to look.

I had no choice but to stare intently at the potato salad on the table!

"Teacher Liu... Teacher Liu Qi..."

"Huh? Didn't you say yourself that you wanted me to change my mind and pursue you?"

I had no idea things would turn out this way!

At this moment, Liu Qi was almost half-lying on Xu Qi, her eyes full of teasing intent—so you see, she still prefers younger men.

"Let's talk about the new project first. If I think it's good..."

Liu Qi leaned close to Xu Qi's ear and gently bit it. She could feel that the other person's whole body trembled slightly, but he was trying his best to suppress himself.

"Why are you so tense? Do you feel guilty for what you did to me before, and now you're making amends? But it's fine, if I think you're good, then I'll just wipe the slate clean of my resentment towards you."

Xu Qi sighed inwardly.

I'm definitely not good at dealing with older women.

······

"that's it?"

"That's...that's all..."

At this moment, in the company cafeteria, Rita nodded slightly, while Li Sushang and Su Shana, sitting opposite her, both lowered their heads timidly.

The food on the plate hadn't been touched at all... There was no way around it, Rita, the general affairs manager, or rather, Secretary Rita, was just too imposing right now.

"Okay, you guys go ahead and eat. I'll be going now."

The two said "Take care" and only breathed a sigh of relief when Rita was a little further away.

"Shangshang, do you think... Minister Xu sent it this time...?"

Li Sushang shook her head; she didn't want to comment on the affairs of the people in their courtyard.

On the other side, Rita didn't rush to find Xu Qi directly. Instead, she went to Bronya's office on the top floor and walked in expressionlessly.

This left Bronya, who was taking a break from watching anime, looking completely puzzled.

Is this little vixen no longer pretending? So arrogant now?

Upon entering, Rita sat down on the sofa with a cold expression and said in a deliberately indifferent tone, "The CEO seems to be in a good mood, even watching anime and eating here."

Bronya examined the lunchbox in her hand, then glanced at Rita, her head full of question marks.

What do you want to do?

"Do you know that if you keep running this company any longer, it'll become Xu Qi's backyard?"

Bronya was even more puzzled—wasn't that right?

"It was my first day at work today, and I didn't see him. But I heard that he has already learned to abuse his power for personal gain and is taking female subordinates out to dinner by taking advantage of his position."

This time, Bronya's expression changed, and she almost thought that Rita was making a veiled attack.

Who did he bring with him?

"Liu Qi, we all know that."

Bronya knew, of course, that they had been working together to guard against this woman in ancient costume, but they had let their guard down as soon as Xu Qi returned to work!

Bronya immediately stood up and asked with a serious expression, "Where are they now?"

"We've booked a private room at the izakaya downstairs."

Bronya, who had played countless adult games, immediately stood up. She knew perfectly well what would happen when a man and woman who were attracted to each other entered a private room.

Are you going to eat?

"Then why did you contact me first? Shouldn't you have gone over there right away?!"

"What did we do in the past? The deed was done, and even if we didn't do anything, it was pretty much done."

Bronya's face turned ashen—it really was her fault for not keeping a close watch on her.

However, she quickly adjusted her mindset, sat down again, and said calmly, "It's a good thing to have another sister. Their courtyard has many people and is powerful, so let's consider it as expanding our strength."

Rita almost laughed out of anger.

"You should think more about what will happen in the future! Do you really intend to let him sleep with every woman in the company?"

Bronya waved her hand and leaned back in her chair.

"No, he wouldn't be interested."

Holy crap, that makes so much sense.

"It's better to guide than to block. We are familiar with Liu Qi. With her joining us, it can be considered as bringing in a strong ally."

Rita couldn't stand Bronya's lazy attitude; it seemed that as long as it wasn't in the game or outside of E.T., she was just too lazy to do anything!

"He needs to be taught a lesson."

What do you want?

“We’ll send everyone from our company, and also invite Durandal and her two sisters…it would be best to also invite Himeko and Theresa.”

Bronya's eyes lit up! She seemed to have become interested.

She stood up and said, "With so many people... what do you want to do?"

1220. How far have things progressed between you and Liu Qi?

Regardless of what Rita was discussing, Xu Qi felt that he was probably going to be devoured by Liu Qi, especially after he finished explaining his new project concept.

"Arahato, primarily focused on physical melee combat? I remember when Mr. Walter first proposed the Arahato concept, it was a mecha wielding a long sword."

However, due to market and other factors, things changed later...

"But things are different now."

Xu Qi produced paper and pen from somewhere and began to write and draw.

"Currently, in the field of mecha animation, Alahato is unique. So-called market factors and trends of the times are all dominated by us."

Whichever we say is good, then it's good.

"A monopoly? Interesting..."

Liu Qi's gaze toward Xu Qi had become increasingly aggressive.

"You always manage to give people a fresh perspective... So, what's the background of the story?"

"It could be set on Mars, a world that has also carried out a space colonization program, similar to the UC worldview. The colonists are of low status and suffer persecution from the Earth Federation."

"Do they have the Principality of Zeon?"

Xu Qi took a deep breath.

No.

As if she had made a connection to something, Liu Qi's expression began to change.

"I want to write the story of the new work from the perspective of a group of young children who are sent to the battlefield. As for the mecha in the new work, it will be called Barbatos."

"Minister Xu...you really are cruel."

Xu Qi's eyes dimmed as he spoke.

"During my time in Europe, I witnessed many things: children forced to go to war, and toddlers arbitrarily captured and taken into laboratories..."

There are far too many civilians who should not have been involved in the war.

My initial fascination with Alahatto stemmed from the series' core message: a yearning for peace, resistance against tyranny, and a vision for the future of children.

Even today, these traditions have been well preserved.

As I've said before, Alahatto isn't about robots fighting; the cool special effects and ingenious concepts are just icing on the cake.

These are the kernels that truly need to be preserved.

I think Mr. Walter thinks the same way.

Liu Qi rested her head on Xu Qi's shoulder, feeling a pang of regret—she really shouldn't have let Xu Qi talk about Alahato's new project; she should have thought of it earlier.

As the lead writer of Seed, how could Alahatto be just a boring robot war? Even a brief discussion of it is deeply moving.

But wouldn't that ruin the romantic atmosphere of the date?

Just as Liu Qi was troubled, Xu Qi hesitated for a moment, then suddenly said, "Let's not talk about these things anymore. Let's talk about you, Teacher Liu. I heard that you and Teacher Xiao had another argument while I was away?"