“When did you find out about this?” Zhu Yun asked.

“From the very beginning.”

“Did Li Xun come to you?”

“Why would he be the one to come to me?” Dong Siyang said, somewhat displeased. “Don’t you know who the boss is around here?”

“……”

Dong Siyang let out a cold laugh. “Did you really think I’d let someone who just got out of prison, with no credentials to show for himself, waltz into the company just like that? And then go months on end just eating without doing any work.” He leaned forward, propping his elbows on the desk, thumb pointed at himself, and said bluntly, “I came out of there myself. I know exactly what it’s like on the inside.”

Zhu Yun was so taken aback by his fierce expression that she couldn’t get a word out. Dong Siyang, seeing this, was quite pleased with himself. He leaned back into his leather executive chair. “I figured out your little scheme on the very first day. If you think you can hide things from me, keep dreaming.” He leisurely picked up his cup and slurped some tea, only to find it had gone cold, so he downed it in one gulp instead.

“More water, more water!”

Zhu Yun wordlessly refilled his cup with hot water, while Dong Siyang quietly watched her from behind.

He had indeed uncovered the tangled history between them on the very first day he met them. It was mainly because Fang Zhijing had quite a reputation by now, and since Li Xun’s case had involved prison time, the clues were easy enough to piece together.

The day after completing his investigation, he tracked down Li Xun, originally intending to probe him — if he caught him in a lie, he’d throw him out on the spot. But Li Xun had been completely candid, answering every question Dong Siyang asked without the slightest hesitation. The only trouble was that the story contained only men and no women, only the clash of blades with none of the passion of love and hatred. Li Xun said not a word about his deceased sister, nor was he willing to say much about Zhu Yun. There was only one description he gave of her, and Dong Siyang remembered it clearly —

“She overthinks things, and she’s naive and foolish at times, but she’s genuinely capable, and she has both perseverance and loyalty.”

Perseverance.

Loyalty.

As Zhu Yun poured the water, it dawned on her — the two of them had already talked it over long ago. To think she had been agonizing over how to explain the situation to Dong Siyang. A mild sense of helplessness began to spread through her, but before it could travel very far, a steadier feeling came and covered it over.

A final flash of life before the end. She was actually feeling like they were still twenty years old — her in charge of worrying, him in charge of handling everything.

Zhu Yun set the teacup squarely in front of Dong Siyang and asked, “So Director Dong has known about our history with Jili Company all along.”

Dong Siyang said languidly, “Obviously.”

“Then the fact that you kept Li Xun on means——”

Dong Siyang glanced at her sideways. “Stop trying to figure out a man’s thinking when there’s nothing to figure out. You won’t get there.”

Right. They were back to the perfectly normal state of wanting to grind her teeth every time she spoke to him.

Zhu Yun stopped wasting time. She put on a respectful expression and gave him a bow. “In that case, there’s no need to explain my situation either. I won’t disturb you any further. I’ll be going.”

Dong Siyang gave a wave of his hand.

“You’re dismissed.”

Not wanting to lay eyes on him for at least another half hour, Zhu Yun left the office to get some air. On the ground floor, she happened to run right into Zhang Fang and the others coming back from lunch outside. All the way along, Zhang Fang had been going on and on at Guo Shijie, while Zhao Teng shuffled along in his slippers, yawning as he strolled. Li Xun walked at the back.

Zhang Fang spotted Zhu Yun from a distance and called out cheerfully, “Hey, Team Leader Zhu!”

Li Xun looked up, and his gaze met Zhu Yun’s head-on. She happened to have something to say to him, so she grabbed him by the arm. “Come with me for a moment.”

Zhang Fang immediately objected, “Hey, hey! What’s going on?” He grabbed Li Xun’s other arm. “I still need him in a bit — isn’t there such a thing as first come, first served?”

Zhu Yun turned around. “What do you need him for?”

“Procurement.” Zhang Fang served as the company’s logistics manager, responsible for purchasing supplies on a regular basis. “He needs to help carry things.” Zhang Fang clapped Li Xun on the back. “A build like this shouldn’t go to waste. Can’t have him freeloading every day.”

Zhu Yun looked at Li Xun. Li Xun stood there with his usual nonchalance, letting people say whatever they wanted.

She gave Zhang Fang a small smile. “Director Zhang flatters him too much. That build of his just looks passable on the surface — underneath he’s all bluster and no substance.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Zhang Fang also looked at Li Xun. Li Xun, stone-faced, stared back at Zhu Yun.

Behind them, Zhao Teng gave Zhang Fang a kick.

Zhang Fang turned back, annoyed. Zhao Teng said, “Just send them the shopping list and let them go buy it.”

Zhang Fang’s expression shifted in an instant, turning positively delighted.

“Well, well — after knowing me this long, you’re finally starting to appreciate how hard I work.”

Zhao Teng: “Idiot, hurry up!”

Zhang Fang thought Zhao Teng’s suggestion was a fine idea. He pulled out his phone and said to Zhu Yun, “I’ll send you the shopping list. Just head to the supermarket across the street. Remember to keep the receipt — no receipt, no reimbursement.”

Zhao Teng watched Zhang Fang send the message, then grabbed him by the collar and hauled him away. As he left, he happened to catch Zhu Yun’s eye, and gave her a smile full of meaning.

Li Xun brushed Zhu Yun’s hand aside and headed for the door. Zhu Yun followed close behind. “Did you tell Dong Siyang about what happened between us before?”

Li Xun walked ahead, his voice lazy. “‘What happened between us before’?” He glanced back at her sideways. Zhu Yun felt a flutter in her chest at that look and made a determined effort to steer the conversation back on course.

“I mean the business with Gao Jianhong and the others.”

Li Xun seemed to find that abrupt pivot amusing. A brief laugh escaped him, swallowed up by the honking of traffic on the street.

“I did.”

Li Xun lit a cigarette. The two of them stood at the intersection, waiting for the red light.

Zhu Yun said, “You could have at least mentioned it to me.”

Li Xun: “Whether I mentioned it or not, it didn’t change anything.”

Zhu Yun fell silent.

The light turned green. They crossed the street. The whole way, not a word passed between them, and the sound of car tires rolling over tiny pebbles as the vehicles started up behind them rang out with unusual clarity.

When they reached the other side, Li Xun stopped walking. Zhu Yun stopped alongside him. He took the cigarette from his lips and asked her, “What’s wrong?”

Zhu Yun: “What do you mean, what’s wrong?”

Li Xun looked at her quietly.

At first Zhu Yun held his gaze, then she looked away, and then — she didn’t know quite why — she looked back again. Through all of that back and forth, his expression hadn’t changed, but the words inside her had stopped being containable.

“Li Xun, whatever you ask me, I’ll tell you everything.”

Li Xun’s eyes held a trace of scorn. “It wasn’t you telling me — I had to figure it out myself.”

Zhu Yun: “You were able to figure it out because you’re good at it. I can’t figure things out the way you do. You have to tell me.”

Li Xun gave a cold huff. Zhu Yun said, “We need to communicate.”

Before the words left her mouth, Zhu Yun hadn’t thought much of them — just an ordinary opinion she was expressing. But the moment they were spoken, she felt immediately that something was off.

Something in Li Xun’s expression went distant too, just for a moment.

Was he also thinking of that memory?

An intersection. Traffic lights. A pair of stubborn, awkward people.

And that conversation.

— We need to communicate.

Zhu Yun’s thoughts scattered. What had that time been about again… Fu Yizhuo, she thought.

The same words spoken six years ago, and again six years later — as though they would never break free from this strange cycle.

What a peculiarly timeless subject between them.

The red light came on again, and the stream of cars came slowly to a halt.

Zhu Yun said quietly, “We can’t make the same mistakes we made before. You need to discuss things with me before you make decisions — and of course I’ll discuss things with you too.”

Li Xun stayed silent for so long that her voice grew quieter and quieter, all her momentum draining away. His lips pressed into a thin line. He hadn’t even touched the cigarette. He just kept looking at her.

Zhu Yun was well aware of his gaze — that look made her feel there was nowhere to hide. He wasn’t answering, and she couldn’t find her footing. What had begun as a conversation increasingly felt like an ordeal. There was one more thing she had genuinely wanted to say — demanding that he had to trust her — but by now her nerve had eroded too far, and the imperative on the tip of her tongue came out instead as a question —

“Do you still trust me?”

At last he looked away, no longer watching her, his gaze drifting across the row of shops lining the street, his thoughts unreadable.

The light turned green again. Through this entire cycle of traffic, neither of them said another word. They stood there for a long while, and then finally Li Xun smiled. His voice was very soft, as though a single gust of wind would scatter it.

“Is that really the question for you to be asking me?”

Zhu Yun froze. Li Xun finished speaking and then strode off toward the supermarket.

That one rhetorical question gave Zhu Yun a strength she couldn’t quite name. She caught up with him in quick steps, her tone considerably lighter than before.

“Hey.”

Li Xun ignored her.

“Why are you walking so fast? You don’t even have the list.”

Li Xun stopped and looked at her coolly. Zhu Yun took out her phone.

“Let me have a look at what we need to buy.”

They arrived at the supermarket. Zhu Yun picked up a basket. Li Xun followed empty-handed.

In the household goods section, Zhu Yun went back and forth over the items on the list, hesitating. She was choosing hand soap. The soap at the office was highly alkaline and left her hands terribly dry afterward. The brand she used at home was much better, but the price was too steep.

“Stop dawdling.”

Li Xun had run out of patience. He reached over from behind and took one, dropping it straight into the basket. Zhu Yun looked — it was the expensive one.

Li Xun took Zhu Yun’s phone, scanned the list for about five seconds, and handed it back. He pulled every item on the list from the shelves, missing not a single one.

Zhu Yun watched the basket steadily fill up and said to Li Xun, “If you keep shopping like this, Zhang Fang is going to kill us when we get back.”

Li Xun said indifferently, “As if he could manage that.”

“……”

They paid — over two thousand. Zhu Yun silently swiped her card.

While the cashier was bagging the items, Li Xun had already walked out. Zhu Yun called after him as she stuffed everything into the plastic bags.

“Wait for me a minute!”

She hurried to catch up, bags hanging off every arm. “Give me a hand with these.”

Li Xun had both hands in his pockets and said placidly, “I’m all bluster and no substance. I couldn’t possibly manage.”

Zhu Yun: “……”

Back at the office, sure enough, Zhang Fang had the receipt in hand and was shaking from head to toe like he’d had a stroke.

“It’s over, it’s all over, life isn’t worth living anymore!” he bellowed at Zhu Yun and Li Xun. “What is wrong with you two?! Director Dong——” Zhang Fang rushed off to find Dong Siyang and file a complaint, and as he went he didn’t forget to warn everyone else: “Nobody touch those things! You’re all going to help me pack it up and return it later!”

Dong Siyang had just come out of the bathroom, cursing under his breath. “What in the hell is this toilet paper?” Zhang Fang walked straight into the line of fire, and Dong Siyang immediately sent a verbal punch flying his way.

“Is this sandpaper?! Do you enjoy scraping your backside?!”

Zhang Fang was sent flying by the blow and came crawling back.

“Director Dong! We don’t have enough money — if we don’t start saving, we’re going to be eating out of a tin can before long.”

Dong Siyang’s dark brows drew together tightly. Zhang Fang thrust the receipt at him in complaint.

“Director Dong, look at this — a few household supplies and those two spent over two thousand! Look at this one——” Zhang Fang jabbed at the receipt, “‘Scented room spray’ — five hundred for one bottle! Director Dong, please have a look!”

Dong Siyang took the receipt and scrutinized it. Zhu Yun sensed his temper rising point by point and quietly looked elsewhere.

By her calculations, what should follow was Dong Siyang’s keynote speech on the theme of “extravagant women.” But she waited and waited, and Dong Siyang still didn’t open his mouth. She stole a glance back — he wasn’t scowling as darkly as she’d expected. He walked over to Li Xun, placed the receipt on his desk, and asked in a short, pointed tone: “You’re going to pay this back?”

Li Xun picked up the receipt, swept it with an expressionless glance, and said with complete indifference, “Sure.”

Zhu Yun had a vague feeling that something was off about that exchange.

Pay it back? Pay back what?

Two days later, Zhu Yun finally understood what they had meant — the “Playboy” project was officially launching, and the person in charge was none other than Li Xun.