Thursday, 4:15 p.m.
Zhao Xinyi was laughing.
Not politely. Not awkwardly. Laughing — that open, glowing kind that made people turn their heads. And she wasn't alone.
Across from her at the glass coffee bar in the office lounge was Liu Zemin — the charming, annoyingly attractive marketing director from the Shanghai branch. Just flown in for a week. All confidence, dimples, and perfect timing.
And Zhou Yichen saw all of it.
From the corridor, he stood frozen — holding a folder he no longer remembered why he needed. He watched Yiyi smile, touch her hair, and laugh again when Zemin leaned in and said something too quietly.
He hated it.
He hated how much he noticed her laughing.He hated how Zemin looked at her like she was art.And most of all, he hated that he'd lost the right to be annoyed by any of it.
Still, when she passed him later that afternoon with a "Hey, boss," he couldn't help it.
"You're getting friendly with Liu," he said flatly.
She raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"Didn't realize you were so impressed by imported charm."
Her expression darkened. "Wow. That sounded a lot like jealousy, and I know you're too emotionally stunted for that, so what was that, exactly?"
He clenched his jaw. "I just think you're smarter than falling for the first guy who compliments your pitch."
Her voice was ice. "You don't get to be jealous, Zhou Yichen. You don't even get to pretend to care unless you plan on doing something about it."
Silence. His hands were fists. Hers were shaking.
She stepped closer — angry, beautiful, and somehow completely vulnerable beneath it all.
"Because if you don't want me," she said, voice low, "then let someone else try."
And just like that, she walked away.
This time, he didn't stop her.
But his chest felt like it was collapsing.
Later That Night
He stared at his phone again.Typed:
"I do care. More than I want to."
Deleted it.
Typed:
"I'm sorry. You were right. Again."
Deleted that too.
He threw the phone down, leaned back, and whispered to the ceiling:
"I want you. I just don't know how yet."