As they ate, the hotpot restaurant buzzed with noise, laughter, and the sharp clatter of chopsticks against bowls. The air was thick with steam and the scent of boiling broth—sour tomato, numbing mala, and rich bone stock. Meiling heaved a deep breath of steamy air.
"It's good to have you here with us finally," Xu Minjie said with wiggled eyebrows, nudging Li Meilin who smiled awkwardly. "What did you even forget upstairs?"
"Just a file," Li Meilin replied lightly, shrugging off the weight of the memory she wasn't ready to share.
Some of her teammates would probably believe her if she mentioned what she'd just seen but she wasn't really close to any of them to that extent. Also, Li Meilin avoided gossip because...what if the one she gossiped with became friends with their gossip victim and decided to spill all what she said?
Li Meilin shuddered at the thought of being bullied in the office or being ganged up against.
Anyway, she would enjoy herself. This was nice. She should spend more time off work.
"You went up after forgetting a file instead of just dealing with it tomorrow morning? Sounds like a workaholic behavior," Weiwen, the youngest team member teased, bringing Meilin out of her thoughts as she reached for the sliced beef tray.
The manager, Ren Shilin, was already halfway through a beer. His shirt sleeves were rolled up, his tie loose around his neck. As the head of the Marketing Department and guide of the Strategic Communications sub unit, he had a reputation for being both charming and invasive—often in the same breath.
Across the table, Li Meilin saw He Jiayi, the PR assistant, whisper something into another girl's ear. Both glanced at Meilin, then quickly looked away when they noticed she had caught them.
Minjie giggled. "I could hear them whisper you and Zhou Fan's names. I guess they were just saying," she leaned in with a faux-whisper, "you'll probably be the next one to get married in the team. To Zhou Fan, right?"
Her voice wasn't as low as Li Meilin would've appreciated because some of the chatter quietened and Meilin's heartbeat skipped. She glanced at He Jiayi with her beady, curious eyes. Her name truly suited her.
He Jiayi– quiet but observant.
The others tittered as Li Meilin chuckled in a silly manner, thinking of a polite way to tell them all to mind their own business. As if taking her silence to be an approval of the question, Xu Minjie gasped in excitement and cheered.
Some teammates clinked their glasses dramatically and that brought Meilin out of her daze.
'Of course Zhou Fan mentioned marriage once but...we were still dating then. That was three years ago and things have basically been normal between us. I like him but... I'd never force a man to tie himself to me.' She sighed mockingly at herself.
Li Meilin blinked. "Uhm? No, you've got it wrong. Actually—Zhou Fan and I aren't…"
"C'mon," another team member laughed. "You two always go for lunch together. And he often stops by your desk to chat while he should be working."
"I've seen him dropping flowers at her desk too. If that's not love, then I don't know what is." Weiwen sighed dreamily. Li Meilin almost broke the calm and innocent character she'd cultivated for so long by rolling her eyes but held in the urge. Weiwen always reads Webnovels and believes in fairytales.
Her life though, was far from those fairytales. Even though she'd been dating Zhou Fan for so long, their relationship basically revolved around the workplace and how she sometimes helped him finish up his work. Any moment from now, she would have to break off their relationship before it developed any further. Even a three years old child would be well developed and grown by now, talk less of their stunted parasitic relationship.
"Its's obvious something's going on between you both. You don't have to lie to us, Ms Li Meilin. Senior Zhao looks at you like he's already paid the dowry," another team member chimed in.
Li Meilin chuckled awkwardly and dipped a piece of lotus root into her broth to give herself something to do. "We're just colleagues. He helps me with logistics stuff sometimes."
"Sometimes," Xu Minjie said dryly, "is how it always starts. But Meilin, you should really keep a low profile if you guys aren't dating...or just want to keep it a secret. People notice everything in this company, especially when it's something as serious as you dating for marriage at a young age."
Xu Minjie's voice had that subtle note of warning Meilin had come to expect from her—always laced with politeness, never outright cruel though straight to the point. She looked out for her in her own straightforward way and Meilin nodded, smiling.
"I don't plan to attract unnecessary attention," Meilin replied with a soft smile, "I'm just focusing on building my career."
At that moment, Ren Shilin, who hadn't spoken since they all started eating, leaned over from the head of the table, his voice louder than necessary.
"So, Li Meilin," he said with a grin that didn't reach his eyes. "You're twenty-three, right?"
"Mm-hm."
"Planning to throw away your career early for love?" he asked, raising a brow. "Or are you just pretending to be the quiet type while Zhou Fan bankrolls your exit plan?"
The table quieted slightly, the only sound now being the broth bubbling between them and chatters from other tables.
Li Meilin took a calm sip of tea before answering, voice even. "What's meant to be will eventually happen… at the right time."
A few coworkers nodded in approval, though the unspoken tension lingered in the steam.
Ren Shilin snorted lightly, clearly hoping for a different reaction. "Romantic and diplomatic. Smart girl."
They went back to eating. Laughter resumed. Glasses clinked again. Yet Li Meilin felt it.
That unmistakable feeling she always had.
Like someone was watching her.
She glanced toward the back of the restaurant. A waiter passed. Two strangers stood near the kitchen, chatting but there were no familiar faces or lingering gazes.
Still, her pulse didn't settle. She turned her focus back to her bowl and sipped quietly.
~
The night continued with more drinks and chaotic energy. After the meal, someone suggested karaoke, and despite her instincts to decline, Li Meilin found herself walking into a private KTV room filled with neon lights and energy drinks.
A microphone was shoved in her hand before she could protest.
"Sing something sad!" someone shouted. "Ballads suit your voice!"
Li Meilin sang a soft, older Mandarin song her father used to hum while fixing things around their apartment when she was little. It wasn't particularly loud or showy, but the room quieted. Her voice wove through the room like silk, pure and delicate, almost haunting. Even after all these years that she'd been orphaned, Li Meilin still remembered the song.
It represented her unsettled heart. It was solemn and powerful at the same time, capable of moving one's heart.
When she finished, there was a brief pause before loud applause and teasing cheers resumed.
"Li Meilin! I didn't know you had that in you!"
"You're hiding talents!"
"Sing with Zhou Fan next time! Love duet!"
Li Meilin laughed gently, handing back the microphone. "I'm done for the night."
An hour later, the KTV session dissolved into drunken clumsiness and half-sung pop songs. Someone passed Meilin a fruit-flavored cocktail.
"Just one sip!" Minjie said, already flushed pink. "You'll sleep like a baby after."
Meilin hesitated—then took a small sip.
It tasted light and sweet. Too sweet.
She had never been much of a drinker.
By the time she stumbled into her apartment past midnight, her legs felt floaty, and the walls leaned just slightly. She peeled off her jacket and kicked off her shoes clumsily.
I only had one glass, she thought, falling onto her bed. How can my head feel this heavy…?
She stared up at the ceiling, her thoughts spinning and drifting like the fog on the city roads.
Zhou Fan… Sandra… Ren Shilin's words… Xu Minjie's warning.
Her world was small, yet the drama inside it was growing larger by the day.
Sighing, Li Meilin closed her eyes and hoped she'd wake up clear-headed.
But that night, her dreams were sharp and disjointed—flashes of lipstick-stained shirts, short skirts, elevator doors that never opened, and someone whispering her name from the shadows.