Ethan Sheng Xi leaned back in his chair, eyes fixed on the security footage playing on his ultra-wide office monitor. The clock above his head read 11:48 PM. Most of his staff had gone home hours ago. The city outside glittered with neon and nightlife—but inside, the 58th floor of XTech Dynasty Corp's headquarters was silent.
Except for her.
There she was again—the girl with tired eyes, sweeping the marble floors with quiet precision. Her name wasn't in the system. Cleaners were usually outsourced by third-party janitorial services, and they rotated often. But this girl… she had been showing up for almost a month now, always alone, always working late into the night.
She never noticed the cameras. Never looked up. She moved silently, like a shadow in the light.
Ethan didn't understand why he kept watching.
Perhaps it was her eyes, how they seemed to carry a sadness too old for her age. Or maybe it was the way she paused for a moment every night at the large glass wall that overlooked the city, standing still like she was searching for something far beyond the lights.
That night, something in him clicked.
"Find out who she is," he instructed his assistant the next morning, sliding his tablet across the glass table.
"Sir?" his assistant blinked. "You mean the cleaner?"
"Yes," Ethan said sharply, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I want her name. Her story. Everything. And don't let her know."
The day had been rough. Leah woke up at 5:00 AM after barely four hours of sleep. Her youngest sibling, Ran, had cried through the night with a fever, and Leah had spent hours sponging his body and calming him down.
After dropping her siblings at school, she rushed to the café, tied her hair into a neat ponytail, and threw on her apron. Three hours of smiling at customers, making lattes, and standing on sore feet. Then a quick lunch break—no, she couldn't afford one today. She used the money to buy cough syrup for Ran.
Next stop: the restaurant. The manager yelled at her for arriving three minutes late. A customer spilled soup on her uniform, and she had to serve tables soaked and embarrassed. But she didn't complain. She never did.
By the time she arrived at the towering glass building of XTech Dynasty, it was already dark. She scanned in with her ID card and entered through the side entrance—like she always did.
As she cleaned the 58th floor, she felt it again—that strange feeling. As if someone was watching her.
She glanced at the glass walls. No one. Just her reflection.
"Maybe I'm going crazy," she muttered to herself and got back to scrubbing.
The next day, Ethan's assistant returned with a file. Slim. Simple.
Name: Leah Xuan
Age: 19
Status: Contract Cleaner (Part-time)
Education: Graduated high school with top scores; declined university offer due to financial issues
Family: Mother (disabled), three siblings
Jobs: Café barista, waitress, and night cleaner
Income: 500,000 Yuan annually
Address: Hongxia District, South Shanghai
Ethan read every word twice. His eyes lingered on the part about her declining university. A top student… and she had given it all up for her family.
That night, he didn't go home.
Instead, he waited in his office, watching the clock. At 10:32 PM, she arrived—exhausted but focused. She tied a scarf around her nose and mouth, pulled out her cleaning gloves, and began mopping the hall.
This time, Ethan stepped out of his office.
Leah was wiping down the glass wall when she heard the soft click of polished shoes on marble. She turned—startled—and saw a tall man in a navy suit standing a few feet away, hands in his pockets.
Her heart skipped.
He looked like he belonged on a magazine cover—flawless skin, piercing eyes, clean-cut jawline. He didn't speak for a moment. Just stared at her.
"I'm sorry, sir," she bowed quickly. "I didn't mean to disturb—"
"You're not disturbing anything," he interrupted. His voice was calm, deep. Smooth. "You clean this floor every night?"
Leah nodded slowly. "Yes, sir."
Ethan tilted his head slightly. "What's your name?"
She hesitated. Why was a man in a tailored suit asking for her name?
"…Leah. Leah Xuan."
"I'm Ethan," he said. No titles. No 'CEO Sheng Xi.' Just Ethan.
She blinked. Ethan? She'd heard that name. Wasn't that the founder of the company?
Her eyes widened. "You're—"
"Yeah," he gave a slight smile. "I own the place."
Leah immediately straightened. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I didn't mean—"
"Relax," he cut in gently. "You haven't done anything wrong."
There was an awkward silence. Ethan studied her up close now. The way her hair stuck slightly to her forehead with sweat. The way her hands trembled, probably from fatigue. Her eyes had dark circles, and her shoes were worn out. But she stood with quiet dignity.
"How long have you been working here?"
"A month, sir."
"And you do two other jobs?"
She blinked. "How do you—?"
"I read your file."
She stepped back slightly. "Why would you…?"
"Curiosity," he said simply. "You clean floors in a billion-yuan tech tower at night… and still look out the window like you're dreaming of something bigger."
Her eyes lowered. "That's… just habit."
Ethan didn't press further. Instead, he walked to the glass wall and looked out. "You know, I used to clean computers at an internet café when I was sixteen."
Leah looked at him with surprise.
He nodded. "Started from nothing. Just like you."
And then, without another word, he left.
Leah stood frozen for a moment. What just happened?
The next morning, she woke up wondering if she had imagined it all. But when she got to her shift at the café, the cashier handed her a paper bag.
"Guy in a black car dropped this off for you."
Inside was a fresh sandwich, fruit juice, and a note:
"Don't skip lunch. – E."
Her heart skipped.
Who was this man?
And why did she feel like her world was about to change?