While working on incubating the parallel-timeline manga project, Ye Zhen also asked the Chuyuan studio head for every paper and academic work he had written on parallel timelines and the multiverse during his school years, so he could study them himself.
Now that he had re-engaged with Chuyuan studio, Jiang Xiaoyi also redirected a large portion of her energy from the themed store toward this project with Ye Zhen. To get the parallel-timeline manga launched as soon as possible, the two of them were either working overtime at Ruiyi or discussing things together back at the villa.
Ye Zhen had once thoroughly disliked bringing work home, but now, oddly enough, he found he didn’t mind it at all — especially every time Jiang Xiaoyi showered him with praise for his work—
“Ye Zhen, you already finished writing the proposal? I just looked it over — it’s so thorough, and the formatting looks great too!”
“Ye Zhen, you’re honestly the most capable assistant I’ve ever met, hahaha! You’ve already finished negotiating with the platforms, and you even got such great terms for Chuyuan!”
“Wow, did you put together this reader psychology survey and the story-development recommendations too? I can’t believe it — you barely knew anything about the two-dimensional entertainment industry before, and now you can write something this professional?”
Ye Zhen accepted Jiang Xiaoyi’s praise with a smile.
Please. Who did she think he was? This was just assistant work, just picking up a new field — what could possibly stump him?
“Originally this would’ve taken three months to launch, but I’ve already accelerated the whole process. It should be ready to go live next month.”
Inside, Ye Zhen was brimming with pride, but his tone stayed cool and modest. “This is just my usual level of efficiency at work. It’s nothing special.”
Under his relentless self-cramming, Ye Zhen developed a whole new understanding of the entertainment industry. By now, he handled Jiang Xiaoyi’s questions about industry planning with practiced ease, and once she’d asked him a few times, she couldn’t stop — practically turning into a question-machine every day. With this better option right in front of her, Jiang Xiaoyi, sure enough, stopped bringing up Jiang Lin at all.
Ye Zhen found this thoroughly satisfying.
Him, losing to Jiang Lin in a head-to-head? Not a chance.
**
“Ye Zhen, there’s a celebration party tonight, don’t forget to come. The admin department just sent out the notice — Director Jiang wants to celebrate and announce some good news. Everyone’s required to attend.”
Wang Yani’s voice pulled Ye Zhen’s thoughts back to the present. He blinked for a moment, then almost laughed to himself — was Jiang Xiaoyi planning to surprise him? Sure, the Chuyuan project was about to launch smoothly, but there was really no need to throw a celebration party this early. He was talented, sure, but there was no need to make such a big fuss about it…
Still, since Jiang Xiaoyi had gone to the trouble, he supposed he could indulge her.
Ye Zhen smiled. “Alright, got it. I’ll be there on time tonight.”
Since he was going to be the star of tonight’s celebration party, wearing this suit he already had on felt a little too plain. Ye Zhen thought it over and decided to use his lunch break to go home and change into something more formal — Jiang Xiaoyi was throwing him a celebration party, after all; this practically counted as a company team-building event, and there would surely be a photographer there. As the face of Ruiyi, he ought to be responsible for the company’s image.
**
Jiang Xiaoyi felt that, whether it was the Chuyuan project or the rest of Ruiyi’s work, things were finally falling into place. The most successful venture by far had been the Fire Extinguishing Club’s offline themed store — under her and Dan Hui’s joint efforts, the store’s net operating profit in its first month had already exceeded their original projections by tenfold!
Because of the Chuyuan matter, Jiang Xiaoyi and Dan Hui’s dinner plans had been repeatedly postponed. But now, looking over the themed store’s performance figures, Jiang Xiaoyi suddenly had an idea—
“Senior, why don’t we throw a celebration party tonight? It’s been a while since Ruiyi did any team-building — let’s invite the Fire Extinguishing Club staff too, and have a lawn barbecue party this evening. We could just use the star hotel in our Ruiyi Cultural Creative Park — there’s a private lawn there that belongs exclusively to Ruiyi, facing the lake.”
“Of course, no problem — really, if anything, I should be the one throwing you a celebration.”
Dan Hui’s voice was as gentle as ever, still carrying that natural warmth and good temper, never overly assertive. Like the quiet nourishment of spring rain, in response to Jiang Xiaoyi’s suggestion, he quietly and supportively handled all the preparations without a word, just as he had with the themed store.
The two of them agreed immediately, and that was how the celebration party came together.
By the time evening arrived for the party, Jiang Xiaoyi discovered that Dan Hui had already arranged everything — catering, a lawn band, and even a few small tents set up to resemble the Fire Extinguishing Club themed store, decorated all around with soft, gentle string lights. He’d arranged everything, making the celebration feel more like a gathering of friends, without too much of a work atmosphere — relaxed, with no sense of pressure.
Sure enough, this format put everyone instantly at ease. In the cool early-summer evening breeze, the young people who had built friendships during the themed-store collaboration quickly hit it off together.
Jiang Xiaoyi stood alongside a casually dressed Dan Hui, chatting about old memories from school and looking forward to more offline exploration opportunities together, feeling genuinely happy.
Jiang Xiaoyi disliked the old workplace habit of forcing everyone to attend after-hours gatherings, so this lawn celebration wasn’t mandatory either — employees with personal matters were free to go handle them. As the event got underway, Jiang Xiaoyi hadn’t arranged for anyone to take attendance, and hadn’t even noticed that Ye Zhen still hadn’t arrived, until—
Until Jiang Xiaoyi spotted Ye Zhen, dressed in a full, expensive suit, walking toward her with a solemn expression, as though attending a corporate merger signing ceremony.
Dan Hui had just briefly stepped away to take a phone call, so Jiang Xiaoyi found herself alone, staring dumbfounded as Ye Zhen strode toward her like he was walking a runway.
Though the evening was indeed cooler, tonight was a barbecue — between the heat from the grills and the natural warmth of the early-summer weather, everyone else at the party had dressed in T-shirts and short sleeves. Ye Zhen, however…
“Why are you wearing so many layers?” Jiang Xiaoyi was stunned. “And so formal, too — no meetings this afternoon, right? Did you go on a blind date or something?”
Ye Zhen looked visibly uncomfortable, pressing his lips together, dodging the question. “Is it really that formal?”
Yes… not just formal, but rather grand… Grand enough that Jiang Xiaoyi almost mistook tonight for Ye Zhen’s engagement ceremony rather than a celebration party…
Fortunately, Ye Zhen didn’t give her a chance to respond. He cleared his throat. “Men, you know, should dress formally. There are occasions where dress code matters. Supporting characters can wear whatever, no one’s paying attention — but as the main event, you have to be mindful.”
What was he talking about, “main event”?
Jiang Xiaoyi didn’t quite follow, but she clearly noticed Ye Zhen’s cheeks flushed slightly from wearing too much, and in the setting evening sun, this normally aloof man’s neck looked like it was about to break out in a sweat.
“Aren’t you hot?”
Jiang Xiaoyi had been about to urge Ye Zhen to take off his jacket, but to her surprise, he shook his head calmly. “Not hot. Not hot at all. I think it’s just right.” He said, unfazed, “It’s early summer, sure, but Rong City has a big temperature swing between day and night.”
This phone call Dan Hui was taking was about franchise inquiries for the Fire Extinguishing Club. Ever since the themed store had taken off, franchise requests had been coming in nonstop, and as part of the demand for expanding the business, Dan Hui was interested too — so after apologizing to Jiang Xiaoyi, he walked off to a quieter, more private spot to take the call.
Jiang Xiaoyi hadn’t planned the celebration’s schedule too rigidly — she’d mainly just wanted everyone to gather and celebrate together.
Dressed in his formal suit, holding himself with great restraint, Ye Zhen showed no intention of joining the other young employees. He stood beside Jiang Xiaoyi as though waiting for something.
After a while, seemingly unable to hold back any longer, he cleared his throat. “Isn’t this a celebration party? When does the recognition part start?”
The man added, offhandedly, “Not that I’m in a rush, but since it is a celebration, it’s probably best to get to the main point sooner rather than later.”
Jiang Xiaoyi thought this over and found it reasonable. She glanced over and saw Dan Hui had finished his call and was walking back toward the lawn. Checking the time, she figured it was about right.
“Everyone, thank you for gathering here today. Besides being a little extra team-building, this is also a celebration — celebrating a small achievement Ruiyi has reached in exploring a new business model…”
Jiang Xiaoyi walked to the center of the crowd and took the microphone, looking out at the employees who had fought alongside her these past weeks, feeling deeply moved, a mix of emotions welling up inside.
Ye Zhen stood among the crowd, his usually cool features now softened, watching Jiang Xiaoyi with focused eyes, the corners of his lips curving into the faintest smile, as if waiting eagerly for her next words.
So even someone as much of a workaholic-boss as Ye Zhen had taken notice of her success with the themed store!
Encouraged inwardly, Jiang Xiaoyi paused, then slightly raised her voice. “So today, the person we most need to thank is…”
Ye Zhen smiled, as though he’d finally arrived at the moment he’d been waiting for, taking a small step forward.
“Dan Hui!”
After a brief pause, Jiang Xiaoyi turned to look at her senior, speaking with genuine sincerity. “Ruiyi’s themed store wouldn’t have achieved what it has today without my senior, Dan Hui, giving his full support and trust to what was, at the very beginning, barely even a rough proposal from me. It was also him who took all my chaotic ideas and turned them into something actionable — including overseeing and coordinating every bit of the rapid renovation work for the themed store…”
The employees around them broke into spontaneous applause, and amid the enthusiastic clapping, Dan Hui shook his head, looking a little bashful.
Jiang Xiaoyi handed the microphone over to Dan Hui and welcomed him up. As she turned to walk back into the crowd, she noticed that Ye Zhen, who had just a moment ago been smiling encouragingly at her, now wore an expression that seemed to have frosted over completely.
“Ye Zhen? Are you okay? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
Jiang Xiaoyi was a little concerned — otherwise, why would he have tried to walk out of the crowd right when she was speaking? Though he had since stopped in his tracks, he still stood apart from everyone else, towering above the crowd, his face turned toward Dan Hui, watching him deliver his acceptance speech with an unreadable expression.
Jiang Xiaoyi asked again, “Are you overheating from wearing so much?”
This time, Ye Zhen finally turned his head, looking at her with a flat expression. “No, I’m quite cold.” ?
It’s this hot out and he’s wearing this much and he’s cold?
“Do you have a fever?”
“No.”
“Then where are you cold?”
Ye Zhen said coldly, “My heart is cold.”???
He pointed toward Dan Hui, who stood in the middle of the crowd, warmly bantering with everyone. “So the celebration is for him?”
Jiang Xiaoyi was a little confused. “Yes, what’s wrong with that?”
“He’s your senior? The one who runs the Fire Extinguishing Club?”
“That’s right.” Jiang Xiaoyi spoke of her senior with clear pride. “You looked down on the themed store idea at first — thought it would fail. Honestly, I wasn’t that confident either at the time, since I’d never run something like this before. Thankfully my senior supported me the whole way through, trusted me unconditionally, and put in a huge amount of coordinated work — that’s the only reason we’ve had this success today.”
Ye Zhen looked openly displeased. “You’re Director Jiang now. With so many employees at Ruiyi, which of them doesn’t trust you and support your work? Why is it only him who’s so special? That parallel-timeline manga project — didn’t I support that too?”
“That’s different. All of you are my employees. But my senior isn’t — he doesn’t even know how Ruiyi operates, and yet he still believed in me…”
Ye Zhen was furious. So apparently being an employee had become some kind of original sin now — did that mean the exhausting overtime he’d put in for the project was just supposed to be his job, no credit due?
Having found himself in an employee’s shoes after their body-swap, Ye Zhen only now realized how infuriating it was to be on the receiving end of things he’d once taken completely for granted as a boss.
“That parallel-timeline project — if I hadn’t been working overtime, there’s no way it would have moved this fast. I’ve given up every bit of my free time for an entire week straight, focusing entirely on this project, and I…”
Ye Zhen didn’t usually like to fish for credit, but he felt it necessary to report on the time he’d invested in the Chuyuan studio project.
But before he could finish, Jiang Xiaoyi cut him off with earnest reassurance. “Okay, okay, I know, I know. I used to be an employee too, I understand your effort and hard work. I’ll definitely give you a nice year-end bonus for this project.”
As a boss, this was actually a pretty sound response — it acknowledged Ye Zhen’s contribution and offered financial reward on top of it. And yet Ye Zhen felt not the slightest bit happier.
Jiang Xiaoyi, not noticing Ye Zhen’s shift in mood at all, turned to look at Dan Hui, who was mingling easily with Ruiyi’s staff, with an admiring gaze. “My senior really is popular wherever he goes — so personable, always so well-liked.”
Ye Zhen desperately wanted to argue back, but after thinking it over, found he really couldn’t.
After all, “personable” wasn’t exactly a quality the esteemed Ye Zhen possessed.
He glared at Dan Hui, who was chatting with a few young female Ruiyi employees, then glanced at Jiang Xiaoyi, remarking with feigned casualness, “Oh, he really is personable, isn’t he? Look, he’s hit it off so quickly with Little Zhang and Little Li from Admin — instant chemistry.”
Ye Zhen smiled. “From what I hear, Little Zhang and Little Li are actually pretty aloof — decent-looking, sure, but last time a guy from our department tried to get one of their WeChats, she wouldn’t give it to him. Your senior really does have charm, doesn’t he — quite the ladies’ man. Look at him, working his magic on Little Li and Little Zhang, and now he’s off charming Little Qin too. Truly a spring breeze blowing warmth across socialist lands. Your senior might just be what they call a modern-day master of balance — evenly distributing his warmth to every young woman around. What a touching kind of affection, really.”
It sounded, on the surface, like a compliment to Dan Hui’s charisma, but somehow it made Jiang Xiaoyi feel a little off.
Before she could respond, she heard Ye Zhen add, with an air of sudden understanding, “This must be what they call a ‘central air conditioning’ type of warm, sweet-talking man. What an apt description, really. Truly, he provides indiscriminate central heating — after warming up Little Zhang and Little Li, now he’s off delivering warmth to Little Qin. What a considerate, all-encompassing affection he shares so evenly among every young woman here.”
“…”
The sarcasm was flowing so smoothly by now that even Jiang Xiaoyi, slow as she could sometimes be, finally sensed the hostility Ye Zhen held toward Dan Hui.
But her senior didn’t even have any overlap with Ye Zhen at all — where could he possibly have offended him?
Thinking back on how her senior had looked after her in the past, Jiang Xiaoyi immediately felt a flash of displeasure. Who did Ye Zhen think he was, taking these sarcastic jabs at him?
“My senior, at the very least, lives simply and works hard — no matter which timeline he’s in, that never changes. Even though his family background is nothing compared to what yours used to be, he’s better off than most, and yet he’s never lived extravagantly. He’s frugal, doesn’t forget where he came from, and cares about the people who work for him — unlike certain people who, back when they were the boss, acted high and mighty and never cared what happened to anyone else, only caring about themselves.”
Ye Zhen was clearly stung by this and opened his eyes wide, about to retort.
Unfortunately, Jiang Xiaoyi didn’t give him the chance — right at that moment, Dan Hui finished his interaction with a few Ruiyi employees, apologized to the girls, and walked over to Jiang Xiaoyi with a smile. She stopped paying attention to Ye Zhen and smiled back, walking over to meet Dan Hui.
“Your Ruiyi employees are all really fun.” Dan Hui’s gaze was warm. “I never expected the little underclassman who always used to ask me for help would be able to hold her own like this now.”
Before Jiang Xiaoyi could respond, she heard a loud cough come from beside her and turned to look — Ye Zhen’s face was the picture of composure as he offered an utterly insincere apology. “Oh, sorry, something went down the wrong pipe.”
Jiang Xiaoyi paid it no mind and turned back to chat with Dan Hui. “I didn’t ask you for help that much. Weren’t you the one who used to help so many other underclassmen and women swipe their attendance cards? I was just tagging along to pad the numbers.”
Dan Hui raised an eyebrow. “Did I really help that many people swipe cards?” He pressed his lips together for a moment, looking at her. “Maybe I was just a soft touch back then. But out of all those underclassmen, you’re the only one I still remember.”
Dan Hui’s tone carried a certain wistful gentleness, his eyes holding a hint of deeper feeling. “Xiaoyi, actually, ever since college, I’ve…”
Jiang Xiaoyi still looked a little dazed, but beside them, Ye Zhen’s sharp instincts immediately snapped to full alert.
Was this “central air conditioning” about to confess?
At that, Ye Zhen set down his cocktail glass, no longer bothering to keep up his fake cough.
There wasn’t much time to think it through, and it was right at that exact moment that Li You’ai, holding a glass of wine, sauntered up late, wearing a fawning smile, clearly intending to flatter his way into Jiang Xiaoyi’s good graces.
Ye Zhen sneered inwardly. This’ll do.
To keep with the atmosphere of the lawn party, all the tents and catering had been set up around the lake, and Jiang Xiaoyi and Dan Hui were standing close to the water’s edge, while Ye Zhen stood a bit further off, practically right at the lakeshore — meaning that to reach Jiang Xiaoyi, Li You’ai had to pass right by him.
Just as Li You’ai adjusted his expression into an ingratiating smile and walked past Ye Zhen, Ye Zhen shot his leg out at lightning speed, sending him tumbling headfirst into an unfortunate accident.
…
Dan Hui had been quietly aware of Jiang Xiaoyi ever since college, and now, meeting her again after so long apart, those once-vague feelings he’d had for her had suddenly become crystal clear to him. The two of them shared the same professional background, the same interests, endless things to talk about — and while Dan Hui was gentle by nature, he wasn’t a pushover either. He had originally planned to use the momentum of the themed store’s success as an opportunity to confess his feelings to Jiang Xiaoyi. But just as he opened his mouth and was about to reach the crucial part, the scene suddenly erupted into chaos.
Standing not far from Jiang Xiaoyi, the young man whose voice seemed to be having some trouble, and who — dressed head to toe in a full suit on such a hot day — was probably having some trouble regulating his body temperature too, suddenly cried out in alarm—
“Director Li fell in the water! He looks like he’s in trouble, someone come help him, quick!”
The spot where the man had fallen in was very close to the shore, and people quickly pulled him out of the lake — there was no real danger to his safety, but the scene descended into chaos all the same, completely shattering the mood from just moments before. The rare opportunity Dan Hui had finally found slipped away in an instant.
Sure enough, Jiang Xiaoyi no longer had the attention to spare for whatever he’d been about to say. Always concerned about her employees, she immediately hurried over to the lake to check on the injured man.
By the time she reached the water’s edge, she discovered the person who had fallen in was none other than Li You’ai.
Li You’ai hadn’t seen Jiang Xiaoyi in days and had come intending to flatter his way into her favor — only to end up losing face spectacularly in front of Director Jiang instead, humiliating himself for nothing.
Whose leg had that been, damn it?
Soaking wet, Li You’ai couldn’t help but cry out, trying to find Jiang Xiaoyi to demand justice. “Director Jiang! Someone stuck their leg out just now…”
Before he could even finish, a voice cut him off, righteous and stern—
“Director Li, being drenched sounds like ‘losing face’ — being drenched and unlucky besides, it’s a bad omen. Looking like this right now, you’re really being disrespectful toward Director Jiang. I suggest you disappear from her sight within the next five minutes.”
Water dripping from his hair, Li You’ai glared furiously. “Ye Zhen, you…”
Ye Zhen’s tone was the picture of innocence. “These are all things you personally taught me before, Director Li. I’m simply following your teachings.”
With Jiang Xiaoyi standing right there, Li You’ai couldn’t voice his anger, only glaring venomously at Ye Zhen a couple more times before, drenched and miserable, reluctantly slinking off to clean himself up.
Though the lawn celebration didn’t come to a halt over this small mishap, and the atmosphere quickly livened back up, Jiang Xiaoyi was soon surrounded by a crowd of young Ruiyi employees offering toasts, leaving her no more chances to be alone.
Wearing his full suit, Ye Zhen had to admit it really was quite hot — and yet, in this moment, watching Jiang Xiaoyi surrounded on all sides, and glancing over at Dan Hui, left standing awkward and dejected outside the circle of well-wishers, Ye Zhen only felt refreshed and pleased.
Hmph. As if.
Jiang Xiaoyi was Ruiyi’s heiress now, Director Jiang herself — was someone like Dan Hui, a small-time club owner, really worthy of her?!