As Zhou Mi requested, Zhang Lian dropped her off at the subway entrance, reminding her to be careful before driving away.

Close to half past ten, Zhou Mi arrived at Jiuli Building. While swiping her elevator card, she encountered a designer from the creative department of her company. Though they weren’t familiar with each other and had only met a few times at the company, he quickly recognized her.

Zhou Mi didn’t know his specific name, so she just nodded and said good morning.

The young man was around her age, wearing a cotton-linen shirt with slightly curly flaxen brown hair. His appearance and outfit looked scholarly, and his smile still retained a somewhat shy, youthful campus feel. “We’re in the same group,” he said.

Zhou Mi looked at him with slight surprise.

He explained: “Enmei.”

Zhou Mi realized and matched him with his name in the group: “Augus? Did you make those posters?”

The young man curved his lips: “Yes.”

Zhou Mi sincerely praised him: “That’s impressive.”

The young man’s eyebrow tails drooped slightly, somewhat helplessly: “Too bad the client doesn’t think so. They rejected everything and asked for a complete redo.”

The “social disaster” alarm rang shrilly in Zhou Mi’s mind. She immediately closed her mouth tight and managed a smile that was awkward yet polite.

Fortunately, the elevator had reached the tenth floor. The young man let her exit first, following behind.

Before they parted ways after entering the office, the young man suddenly introduced himself: “My real name is Jiang Shi.”

Zhou Mi glanced back, nodded, and replied seriously: “Okay, Jiang Shi. I’m Zhou Mi.”

Jiang Shi smiled again, with an expression that boys typically show after missing a basketball shot: “I know you’re Zhou Mi. I just called you that in the elevator,” he then added frankly: “You’re so cute.”

Zhou Mi was stunned for a moment, embarrassment rising from her ears.

Do people at the GG company all like to speak so directly?

Zhou Mi walked toward her workstation, puzzled. Her leader, Ye Yan, was grimacing at a small round mirror, checking if her mouth was clean. Sensing a shadow flashing by behind her, she glanced sideways and realized it was Zhou Mi.

She turned her face completely, exclaiming, “Mi, you came in so late today.”

Zhou Mi, who had just put down her canvas bag, paused, her expression and voice both lowering: “I’m sorry, I was held up by something this morning.”

Ye Yan glanced at her: “I’m not scolding you, just surprised.”

She then took out a thin white peach-scented mouth spray, opened her mouth wide, and sprayed it haphazardly, instructing with unclear speech: “Go buy a few coffees later, people from the media company are coming over.”

The air was filled with a strong mint and peach scent, somewhat pungent. Zhou Mi looked back and asked: “Do you need them now?”

“Yes, these bastards will probably arrive in about ten minutes,” Ye Yan began meticulously applying lip balm. “Why else do you think I’m fussing about? After buying them, put them directly in the meeting room.”

Zhou Mi stood up and asked for details: “Alright, Starbucks or Costa?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Ye Yan said. “Just get six cups, keep the receipt, and I’ll help you expense it later.”

Zhou Mi nodded: “Mm.”

After putting on her work badge, Zhou Mi gripped her phone and quickly went downstairs.

To save time, Zhou Mi chose the Starbucks closest to the building.

The coffee shops near the office buildings were full from morning till night. Different from yet similar to the small eateries next to schools, from lively atmosphere to quiet elegance, it was an upgrade in mentality, yet still confined within the group.

There was a long line at the ordering counter. Zhou Mi hurried over to secure a spot, trying to minimize the distance between herself and the person in front of her, afraid someone might squeeze in.

She checked the time on her phone and anxiously scanned around.

Her gaze suddenly froze as she spotted Zhang Lian by the floor-to-ceiling window.

The man was sitting at a forty-five-degree angle to her, so she could only see most of his profile.

He was conversing with two Westerners. One male and one female, both in formal attire, with blonde hair and blue eyes, approximately in their forties.

His demeanor and presence were not at all inferior to those across from him.

The three sat around a round table, the atmosphere relaxed and natural. It was evident from everyone’s expressions, especially the lady wearing a smoke-gray A-line skirt. In the brief span of a few dozen seconds, crow’s feet had appeared at least five times at the corners of her eyes, her pleasure mixed with undisguised admiration.

At the adjacent table were two fashionable and exquisite young women. The one with her back to them kept turning her head to steal glances at Zhang Lian at her companion’s prompting, then turning back to share a smile.

Even sitting off to one side, he seemed skilled at making himself the center of the scene. All his body language appeared precisely calculated… No, it should be more like a chip program long integrated into his brain.

The blonde lady received a phone call and walked aside. Only then did Zhang Lian pick up his coffee cup and take a sip.

Perhaps sensing something, he suddenly glanced in Zhou Mi’s direction. Zhou Mi quickly lowered her eyelids, pretending to look at her phone, and moved inward a small step, using other customers as cover.

When the person in front finished ordering and left the line, Zhou Mi quickly moved forward.

After a moment, she dared to observe Zhang Lian again.

Unexpectedly, he was still looking leisurely in her direction, as if waiting patiently.

Zhou Mi’s eyes immediately darted away. She stiffly stared at the back of the person in front of her for two seconds, then shifted her gaze back inconspicuously.

This time, she saw Zhang Lian with a smile already curling on his lips. He was still paying attention to her, even tilting his head slightly, as if puzzled.

Zhou Mi managed a halfhearted smile, barely passing as a remote greeting.

At this moment, the foreign woman returned to her seat, and Zhang Lian finally withdrew his gaze, switching to a standard business smile.

It was cherry blossom season, and various pastel-colored limited edition cups were vying for attention in the display window, attracting many girls to stop and watch.

Zhou Mi was naturally among them. While waiting for her order to be prepared, she lingered in front of the shelf for quite a while.

When the counter clerk called “Ms. Zhou,” she hurried over, received three paper bags, and carefully carried them out of the store.

Passing by the glass wall, she couldn’t help but glance inside again. Zhang Lian was still sitting there prominently, chatting and laughing.

—

On her way back, Zhou Mi walked between sunlight and shadows, her emotions as empty and light as bubbles, yet densely entangled, refracting all sorts of chaotic colors.

Ever since joining Aoxing, she had been particularly conscious of Zhang Lian because of their intimate relationship that had lasted for a year.

Now they had advanced into another kind of more difficult-to-describe bond due to various accidents and coincidences, and what she thought was one-sided attention seemed to have some trend toward developing in both directions.

Just now at Starbucks, this was the intuition she had.

Very impractical, but existing.

How strange…

The ding of the elevator pulled the distracted Zhou Mi back. She paused, gathered her thoughts, and walked toward the company.

Five people were already sitting in the meeting room specified by Ye Yan, with Ye Yan among them, smiling charmingly as she made small talk. Zhou Mi hurriedly arranged the coffees on the table and greeted everyone.

Walking out of the meeting room with the empty paper bags, Zhou Mi finally let out a slow breath.

But before she had gone two steps, her heart tightened again. She saw Zhang Lian walking unhurriedly toward his office in the corridor.

Why was he even more omnipresent than before?

To avoid a “chance encounter,” Zhou Mi no longer moved forward. Only after the man’s back of head had completely disappeared into the doorframe did Zhou Mi lower her head and walk to her workstation.

Throughout the entire day, Zhou Mi was wrapped in a vague sense of restlessness, like being entangled in completely transparent fishing line, making it difficult to move freely.

She couldn’t concentrate on work, couldn’t nap at noon despite resting her head on the desk, and even the long-anticipated visit to the shooting location would occasionally send her mind wandering.

Was it because she wasn’t adapting to her new identity?

Zhou Mi scratched her head inwardly.

After seven in the evening, Zhou Mi threw away her takeout box and returned to open her computer WeChat, only to receive a message from Zhang Lian, concise with just three words: When leave?

His ID and avatar immediately jumped to the top of her friend list, conspicuously eye-catching.

Zhou Mi was so frightened that she quickly closed the window, afraid that her neighboring colleague might accidentally glimpse it.

Then she picked up her phone and solemnly reminded him: Don’t send me messages on WeChat in the future.

Zhang Lian:?

Zhou Mi: Contact me by text message. I’m afraid WeChat might be accidentally discovered by colleagues.

Zhang Lian: I don’t have such concerns.

Zhou Mi couldn’t help but curse: You have a private office, of course you don’t need to worry.

Zhang Lian pretended to suddenly realize: Oh, right.

Zhou Mi: …

She replied with three [knife] emoticons.

Zhang Lian: What does that mean, a personal threat?

Zhang Lian: How did our company hire such a potentially violent offender?

Zhou Mi: Yes, so you’d better watch out. This potential violent offender will be sharing a room with you for three months.

Zhang Lian: I’m looking forward to it.

Zhou Mi: “…”

She directly flipped her phone face down on the table.

After reviewing the DailyAlert she had just completed, Zhou Mi sent it to Ye Yan’s email.

After a while, Zhang Lian’s message came again. He still unrepentantly used WeChat, asking the same question: When leave?

He was doing this on purpose.

Zhou Mi lightly gritted her teeth and replied, “I’m taking the subway,” and then silently did something audacious.

It could be said that it was her highlight moment since joining Aoxing, her first achievement, worthy of being stamped and imprinted in her life event book: [Fearless! First person to block the boss!]

Looking at the completely quiet and refreshed WeChat interface, Zhou Mi felt no remorse at all, and even wanted to send herself a “well done.”

Her emotions also suddenly reached an incredible calmness, like the stratosphere twenty thousand miles high, hearing no noise, vast and azure.

Finally able to concentrate on work.

It turned out it wasn’t her problem, but that she had a “ghost” in her heart. Once this “ghost” was completely removed, she could focus completely, becoming one with her work.

Around nine o’clock, Zhou Mi bent her hands back to stretch lazily, got up from her seat, and packed up to leave the company.

Walking in the bustling subway station, she almost got on the wrong train because her muscle memory was still for the route home. As she realized her mistake, she also began to miss her parents. With an aching nose, she studied the phone map for a while, finally determining the new route to Zhang Lian’s residence.

New Earth Manor.

Would someone who relies on the subway for transportation live in a place that looks like a high civilization from another galaxy?

Shouldn’t they be piloting a spaceship instead?

While self-mocking, Zhou Mi realized that indeed they wouldn’t, because from the nearest subway exit, it would still take nearly a kilometer of walking to reach the main gate of the Manor.

That morning, she had come here in Zhang Lian’s car, so she hadn’t realized how long this stretch of road was.

Zhou Mi gritted her teeth, lifted her legs to warm up and loosen her muscles, determined to run back as if exercising. She decided to get herself a bicycle or an electric scooter in a few days.

After a few steps, her phone suddenly rang in her pocket.

Zhou Mi took it out, glanced at the name, and felt somewhat reluctant to answer. But living under someone else’s roof, she still had to show some respect due to the owner, so she pressed the green button: “Hello.”

“Turn around,” the other end said, just two words, with no discernible emotion.

Zhou Mi blinked, turned around, and her pupils suddenly froze.

Zhang Lian’s car was parked near the exit by the roadside barrier, illuminated by neon lights from all directions, as if it had descended from the sky a second ago. She hadn’t noticed it at all.

“Come over,” the man’s voice mixed with rare impatience: “I’m about to get a parking ticket.”

Zhou Mi stood in place, her physical reaction suddenly sluggish, not knowing how to step forward for a moment.

The opposite side had a hint of laughing in extreme anger: “Move, will you, princess?”

This embarrassing yet somehow indulgent title immediately made Zhou Mi’s face and ears burn. She took a breath of cool night air, slightly averting her eyes, and slowly moved toward the car.

Zhang Lian ordered again in a military officer’s strict tone: “Too slow, run.”

“Do you have some kind of illness?” Zhou Mi directly hung up the call.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Zhang Lian, who had been rushing her all the way, wasn’t in a hurry to start the car. He turned his face and stared at her, scrutinizing with slight mischief.

Zhou Mi was tense all over, glaring at him unhappily: “Weren’t you about to get a parking ticket?”

Zhang Lian’s expression was calm and composed, his posture steady: “It’s not like I can’t afford the fine.”

Zhou Mi: “…”

After a quiet moment, Zhang Lian finally turned back, took out a brown paper bag from under the driver’s seat, and handed it to Zhou Mi in mid-air.

Zhou Mi pursed her lips, confused as she took it.

Zhang Lian said, “First day of cohabitation gift.”

Seeing the green logo, Zhou Mi vaguely guessed what it was. Her eyes widened slightly, and her heartbeat quickened, but she didn’t take it out or open it, just left it as it was on her lap.

Zhang Lian asked: “Why don’t you open it?”

Zhou Mi replied: “I know what it is.”

Zhang Lian glanced at her: “What?”

Zhou Mi guessed with certainty: “The cup I was looking at in Starbucks this morning?”

Zhang Lian suddenly laughed lightly: “You understand quite well.”

Zhou Mi snorted: “I can see through all your tactics.”

Zhang Lian softened his voice: “Not as deep as your tactics, blocking and blacklisting all in one go.”

Zhou Mi: “…”

Zhou Mi defended herself justifiably: “Isn’t it because you refused to coordinate and cooperate?”

Zhang Lian’s tone became lazy: “I coordinate with you, who coordinates with me?”

Zhou Mi fiddled with her fingers and muttered: “You could just not send me WeChat messages, didn’t you only send text messages before when we didn’t know each other?”

Zhang Lian’s words had a hidden meaning: “When we didn’t know each other, we did other things too. Want to implement everything according to the old rules?”

Zhou Mi choked, took out her phone, and operated it intensely with her head down: “Okay, okay, I’ll let you out of the blacklist right now, and put you at the top of my friends list with full honors.”

Zhang Lian smiled, said nothing more, turned the steering wheel with one hand, and drove back.