"The way I cut the fish is a knife technique I often use for lancet fish," I said, "though I wouldn't have guessed that Zhou Hanzhi would actually remember it."
The next morning, Lin Xixi went out of her way to bring me breakfast at the office. "Sister Nanxu," she beamed, "you really know what you're doing. Madam Zhou invited me to a floral arrangement salon with her tonight. I'm so happy!"
It was entirely expected. I figured the reason Zhou Hanzhi had handed over that twenty-thousand-yuan reward so readily must have had something to do with this as well.
I reminded her, "Madam Zhou's absolute favorite flowers are Damask roses."
Lin Xixi's eyes lit up with understanding. "I'll go get ready right away," she said gratefully.
See? As long as the goal is the same, exes and current partners alike can get along like old friends.
Wuling, however, was having a hard time digesting it. "Maybe I'm just petty," she muttered, "but if I were in your shoes, I could never be that generous."
I rolled my eyes at her dramatically. "Who was it that said reputation and pride are worth nothing, and cold, hard cash is the only thing that's real?"
Wuling threw her arm around me. "Xuxu, stop working so hard and go on a date! If all else fails, even a hookup would do."
She had no shame at all.
Yet not long after, I actually did receive an invitation. It was from Yandong.
"Free tonight? A pretty good mystery movie just came out at the theater. Want to go together?"
I didn't have much interest in it, but remembering Wuling's mortified expression, I changed my mind. I didn't want Wuling to think I was abandoning my self-respect just for the sake of the studio.
So I asked Yandong, "What time?"
Yandong immediately sent a voice message: "Eight o'clock tonight, I'll come pick you up."
His bright, cheerful tone felt a bit out of place against the desolate winter scenery. Calmly gazing out the window at the nearly bare branches, I sent back a thumbs-up emoji to signal my agreement.
The moment the workday ended, Wuling dragged me toward the elevators, insisting she had to buy me a drink. Panicking, I stopped her. "Sorry, I already have plans tonight."
Wuling's jaw dropped. "Who? Professor Yan?"
I nodded, and I could distinctly feel Wuling heave a sigh of relief. "Way to go, Xuxu! Oh, and don't forget protection."
The moment her voice trailed off, an exclamation echoed from behind me. I turned around to see Lin Xixi covering her mouth in embarrassment as she looked right at us. It was normal for a sheltered young woman to make a fuss over nothing.
The three of us got into the elevator, each harboring our own thoughts.
As luck would have it, Yandong was already waiting downstairs. The chill in Jinggang after the beginning of winter was even sharper, and he was simply dressed in a khaki shearling-collar wool jacket over a black turtleneck sweater, looking scholarly yet freezing. He was rubbing his hands together—oddly comical, for some reason.
"Isn't that Professor Yan?" Lin Xixi exclaimed, as if discovering a new continent. "So he's the one who had a date with Sister Nanxu tonight."
Hearing the commotion, Yandong strode quickly toward us. He glanced at me and asked, "The temperature dropped. Aren't you going to freeze wearing so little?"
"I'm all right." I looked at the tip of Yandong's nose, which had turned a bit red from the cold, and asked, "Have you been waiting long?"
"No, I just got here."
Hearing this, Lin Xixi covered her mouth and giggled. "Professor Yan is certainly very thoughtful."
Chapter 35: Keeping a Distance
Inside the cinema, Yandong looked down at the couple's seats in front of us and scratched his head awkwardly. "I'm sorry, I didn't know..."
Our seats were right in the middle, and by then, every seat around us was occupied by couples.
Feigning composure, I said, "The movie's about to start. Let's sit down."
Yandong sat upright on the very edge of his seat, as if terrified of making the slightest overstep.
I saw it all, but my heart felt as though it had been filled with seawater—bitter and astringent. Actually, I had pulled such "foolish stunts" myself before. The only difference was that Yandong's was unintentional, whereas mine from a few years ago had been entirely deliberate.
I had purposely chosen a horror movie, intentionally burying myself in Zhou Hanzhi's arms whenever the plot got too scary. All I wanted was for that aloof, desireless Buddha to secretly let his mortal heart stir for me.
Yet until the movie ended, Zhou Hanzhi never crossed the line by so much as an inch, maintaining his detached and lofty demeanor the entire time.
Thinking about it now, it simply meant the person was wrong.
Lost in thought, I suddenly felt a warmth on my fingertips. Glancing down, I realized that as I reached for my hot drink, my hand had accidentally brushed against the back of Yandong's.
He paused slightly, a flash of astonishment crossing his eyes when he looked over.
Before I could explain, the vibration of my phone in my bag cut me off. I seized the opportunity to step out of the screening room.
Still, when I saw the caller ID, I blanked for a moment. The call was actually from Zhou Hanzhi. He probably had some more instructions for me.
I pinched the bridge of my nose before answering, using a polite tone. "President Zhou, is something the matter so late?"
It wasn't even that late—just turned nine.
The man's light cough came through the earpiece, followed immediately by a sneer. "Isn't Manager Meng the model worker who always catches the last subway home? How is tonight any different?"
I sighed, cutting straight to the point. "What are your instructions, President Zhou?"
"Instructions is a bit much. I just wanted to trouble Manager Meng to set up a plug-in for me on WeChat."
So it was about work after all.
I straightened my attitude and asked, "What kind?"
"Something like a couple's space. A place where two people can share photos and videos."
His voice was steady, as if he were talking about the most ordinary thing in the world. But I, on this end of the phone, suddenly found myself unable to reply.
A couple's space—that had once been one of the one hundred little couple things I had promised to do with him. At the time, I had thought existing social space layouts were rigid and required too many paid features, so I had stubbornly insisted on building a unique, exclusive couple's space just for Zhou Hanzhi and me.
And now, he was going to use it on Lin Xixi.
My emotions were inexplicably torn in two. For a moment, I didn't know whether to praise Zhou Hanzhi for being such a devoted boyfriend or bluntly curse him out as a bastard.
After a moment of deliberation, I chalked his behavior up to coincidence. The past was like smoke; with all his heavy responsibilities, how could Zhou Hanzhi possibly remember the trivial details I used to talk about?
I heard myself ask, "What style does President Zhou want?"
Without a moment's hesitation, Zhou Hanzhi replied, "Dreamy and romantic."
It was an exact match for Lin Xixi's lines—clearly customized just for her.
"Why didn't Manager Meng ask what it's for?"
I let out a scoff. "Did I even need to ask? It's obvious."
Zhou Hanzhi's tone was flat. "Manager Meng is as sharp as ever."
"You flatter me."
Task received, I was about to hang up when I heard Zhou Hanzhi add, "Right, keep this matter strictly confidential. Deal directly with me regarding the specific details."
Ha! Look at that—not only was Zhou Hanzhi plagiarizing my idea, but he was also planning to manufacture a surprise for Lin Xixi. A capitalist's money really wasn't easy to earn.
"Understood," I replied. "I'll do as President Zhou says."
With that, I hung up.
By now, I had zero desire to watch a movie.
The next afternoon, Zhou Hanzhi asked about my progress on WeChat. After I sent him a screenshot, it took a long time before he replied: "Come over to Rongyu later. We'll discuss it in person."
He was taking it quite seriously.
I had no choice but to find an excuse to leave right at the end of the workday. In the president's office, I ran into Zeng Zhi again.
"I was wondering why President Zhou suddenly canceled his evening plans," Zeng Zhi said. "Turns out he has a date with my sister-in-law."
He used the wrong title again. But wait—Zhou Hanzhi had an event scheduled for tonight?
It seemed he really had gone to great lengths just to pull off this surprise for Lin Xixi.
After entering the office, Zhou Hanzhi was still working. Not daring to disturb him, I sat alone by the coffee table, writing code while I waited.
"How's the progress?"
A low, deep voice pressed against my ear. I looked up, ready to answer, only to find that at some point Zhou Hanzhi had come over to stand right beside me, leaning down close.
We were so close I could even see the stubble he had just shaved. The crisp, sharp scent of soap enveloped me, making my heart flutter.
"I've sent both versions to your email."
Zhou Hanzhi showed no intention of moving away. "Open them up and let me see."
I had no choice but to bite the bullet and open the webpage.
After looking through it, Zhou Hanzhi wasn't satisfied. "Too tacky."
I had used the dreamy pink that Lin Xixi liked. Certain that Lin Xixi would be happy with it, I carefully suggested, "Would you like to hear Manager Lin's opinion?"
"No need," Zhou Hanzhi replied firmly, pointing at a few button plug-ins. "Here, and here—change them to other colors."
The financial backer was making demands; what could I say? I could only obey.
Yet when I showed it to him again for review, he frowned slightly. "How about changing it to a gradient?"
What he described was similar to my very first version. If I hadn't known about Zhou Hanzhi's picky nature from the start, I would have suspected he was just deliberately making things difficult for me.
Fortunately, my technical skills were solid, but by the time I finished dealing with all of this, it was pitch black outside.
"If President Zhou has no other instructions, I'll take my leave."
"It's this late. I'll drive you."
I guessed he probably wanted to go check on Lin Xixi along the way. But considering the sensitive relationship between us, I found an excuse for myself: "I still need to head back to the office."
I saw Zhou Hanzhi's hand, gripping the car keys, pause.
Walking out of Rongyu, I let out a soft breath. Unclenching my palms, I found they were coated in a thin layer of sweat. I figured it must be because Zhou Hanzhi was so open and unconcerned that he had never thought about keeping his distance from me.
He could act like that, but I certainly didn't want to look for trouble.
So early the next morning, I politely informed Zhou Hanzhi that I had accidentally caught a cold and could only report my progress to him online.
Zhou Hanzhi didn't reply all day.
That night, in the empty office, I clutched a hot water bag and happily tapped away at my code. Suddenly, the chime at the front door rang. I looked up, and my heart skipped a beat. Zhou Hanzhi had actually come.
I cleared my throat, pointed toward Lin Xixi's office, and said, "Manager Lin has already left."
Zhou Hanzhi walked closer, placed a few boxes of medicine on the desk in front of me, and said, "I came to see Manager Meng."
I looked down. The medicine boxes were clearly labeled as cold granules.
Chapter 36: An Excuse
I never expected Zhou Hanzhi to come all the way here late at night just to deliver medicine to me. For a moment, I was a bit dazed and felt a slight twinge of guilt.
On second thought, though, the meager bit of affection between us wasn't enough to make our esteemed President Zhou run such an errand. I figured it probably had something to do with the couple's space.
Looking at the coding page I had been working on so enthusiastically, a nameless wave of irritation rose in my chest.
I softly thanked him, deliberately steering clear of the topic, and said politely, "I haven't finished pulling my code yet, so I won't see President Zhou out."
Directly showing him the door.
Zhou Hanzhi paused slightly. He didn't move from his spot, his gaze sweeping over the hot water bag in my hands as he asked in confusion, "Didn't you turn on the heater?"
Heater? Did he think this was the Rongyu Group? In an old office building like ours, you were lucky if they installed a central air conditioner; there was no such thing as a heater.
I forced a smile. "I'm not cold."
Without a word, Zhou Hanzhi did the unexpected—he grabbed the office chair from the side and sat down.
Guessing he wouldn't leave tonight unless I produced a result, I switched over to the couple's space page and asked, "Does President Zhou see anything else that needs changing?"
Zhou Hanzhi rolled his office chair closer to me, glanced at it for a few seconds, and said, "The saturation isn't high enough."
A familiar line.
Unsurprised, I answered briskly, "Give me ten minutes."
With an affirmative hum, Zhou Hanzhi shifted his gaze to the small bookshelf nearby. The next second, the man's slender, well-proportioned fingers landed on one of the books.
I heard him ask, "When did you get into mystery novels?"
I glanced over and realized Zhou Hanzhi was holding the mystery book Yandong had given me. I had flipped through it a few times when I was stressed, but having no idea how Zhou Hanzhi had deduced that I had become a mystery fan, I could only stall. "The content is good. The plot is quite brilliant."
"Oh."
When conversation fails, half a sentence is too many. Knowing when to shut up, I went back to focusing intently on modifying the page.
Deep into the night, neither of us spoke again. In the spacious office, the only sounds were the clacking of the keyboard and the occasional turning of a page. Lively yet eerie.
After a while, I finally finished the task and asked, "President Zhou, how does this look?"
"Let me see."
Zhou Hanzhi moved his office chair, instantly narrowing the distance between us.
The moment I clicked the mouse, there was a sudden *pop*. The overhead lights went out instantly, and the monitor screen went black right along with them.
I sighed. "The breaker probably tripped. I'll go take a look."
I reminded Zhou Hanzhi to scoot over to the side. With that, I went to stand up, but accidentally pressed my palm flat against the back of the man's broad hand.
I hurriedly pulled my hand back, but in an instant, my left hand was caught and firmly gripped by Zhou Hanzhi.
His slender fingers closed over mine, his pads pressing tightly against the back of my hand with no gap in between. His palm was burning hot, forming a sharp contrast with my ice-cold fingertips. It scorched my cheeks red and made even my breathing shallow.
In the dimness, I watched the man's Adam's apple bob.
We were simply too close.
Embarrassed, I tried to shrink back, but a second later, Zhou Hanzhi pulled my entire body straight into his arms.
The man tightly gripped both my hands and familiarly guided them around his waist. Through a thin layer of fabric, I could faintly feel the firm, clear lines of his waist.
The sharp scent of soap suddenly carried a trace of inexplicable aggression.
Panicking, I called out Zhou Hanzhi's name, injecting a hint of warning into my voice.
"Your hands are too cold," he said, his voice husky, as if stating the most ordinary fact in the world. "Warm them up."
"There's no need."
Turning a deaf ear, Zhou Hanzhi not only refused to let go, but pulled me even tighter. "Xuxu, be good."
My heart pounded, and a tingling sensation raced from the base of my brain all the way down to my tailbone, draining the strength right out of my struggle.
I suddenly remembered those two years in that cold, harsh apartment, when Zhou Hanzhi would intimately cup my icy feet, carefully tucking them inside his coat, saying he wanted to use his own body heat to drive away the long winter nights for me.
Yet facts had told me that was nothing more than a man's excuse; what he really wanted was the late-night entanglements between us.
Just like this moment—dangerous and mesmerizing.
An abrupt phone ring jolted my thoughts back to reality. The caller ID clearly displayed three words: "Lin Xixi."
It hit me like a heavy hammer, smashing me right back into reality.
"President Zhou, Manager Lin is calling," I reminded him.
At the mention of Lin Xixi, Zhou Hanzhi's grip finally loosened slightly.
At that exact second, the overhead incandescent light miraculously flickered back on. Its blinding glare seemed capable of exposing every hidden obscurity and wretchedness lingering in the dark of night.
Lin Xixi's soft sobbing came through the earpiece. "Hanzhi, I'm not feeling very well right now. Can you come pick me up?"
Zhou Hanzhi pinched the bridge of his nose. After pausing for a moment, he said, "Send me your address."
The call ended, the man's expression hesitant, looking as though he had more to say.
Meeting his gaze, I said openly, "Go ahead. If you're too late, Manager Lin will get upset."
Looking as if he had just heard some absurd joke, Zhou Hanzhi's dark eyes churned with hidden currents.
Calmly, I asked, "Does President Zhou need anything else?"
The man let out a cold snort and strode away.
Night returned to its stillness, leaving only the night wind outside to tease the soon-to-wither branches.
The next morning, I unexpectedly received a call from a renovation worker wanting to schedule a time to install radiators for me.
Utterly baffled, I verified the details with the worker repeatedly before a memory of last night's scene flashed through my mind, and I immediately dialed Zhou Hanzhi's number.
On the other end, his voice was level. "Jinggang is too cold. I don't want anything delaying the project's progress."
The worker had told me that the cost for the radiator installation had already been paid—and it was quite a substantial sum.
"President Zhou is spending too much," I said, piecing my words together. "Our air conditioning isn't that bad."
"I merely want Xuxu to be more comfortable while she works. Why must Manager Meng flatly refuse?"
So, it was out of fear that Lin Xixi would be cold.
Since he had put it that way, I had to show a bit of sense. "Then let me thank President Zhou on everyone's behalf."
Hanging up, I let out a soft sigh. But the moment I turned around, I saw Lin Xixi standing behind me.
Our eyes met, and the skepticism in the young woman's eyes was written plain as day.
Taking the initiative to break the ice, she said, "Was Sister Nanxu on the phone with Hanzhi just now?"
I nodded. Seeing this, Lin Xixi's brow furrowed deeper.
She walked over, playing with the mug in her hands, and said, "To make sure I get along well with Madam Zhou, Hanzhi hasn't asked Sister Nanxu for few favors behind the scenes, has he?"
I didn't answer, waiting for her next sentence.
Sure enough, she immediately followed up with, "Sister Nanxu, did Hanzhi come to the company to find you last night?"
Her tone was probing yet certain.
Slightly surprised, I then heard Lin Xixi say, "Don't misunderstand, Sister Nanxu. I only happened to see the navigation history and found out Hanzhi had been here. But..."
She paused. "I suppose he must have come to ask Sister Nanxu to continue acting as a mediator between Madam Zhou and me?"
Look at her choice of words. Here I was, a wage earner getting paid to do a job, and I had suddenly become a high-principled peacemaker.
"Actually," I said evenly, "President Zhou came to arrange a surprise for you."
Lin Xixi raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
I had been worrying about how to explain the radiators to everyone, but now I had my answer.
"President Zhou came to discuss installing radiators in the studio," I met her gaze directly. "He was worried Manager Lin would be cold."
Lin Xixi's gloomy expression finally cleared up a bit. "Really? Hanzhi didn't even mention it to me."
"Well," I said flatly, "it's a surprise, after all."
Chapter 37: A Substitute
After listening to my explanation, Lin Xixi happily ran off to call Zhou Hanzhi.
Through the glass door, the young woman's sweet, modulated voice rose and fell, full of obvious joy—a stark contrast to how she had looked standing outside the pantry staring at me not long ago.
For some reason, I felt a sense of surviving a disaster. I was just glad things hadn't turned into a circus, which would only have slowed down my money-making speed.
Sure enough, the moment the couple's space was delivered to Zhou Hanzhi, our esteemed President Zhou decisively transferred another twenty thousand yuan to me.
Listening to the howling north wind outside the window, I called my uncle.
"I got my salary. Come by my place tomorrow; I want to buy Auntie a couple of new outfits."
My uncle had always doted on my aunt, so naturally, he wouldn't refuse anything related to getting her new clothes. We agreed to meet at the mall.
As luck would have it, not long after, Shen Hualan called.