Jiang Xiaoyi had no idea what had happened up on the top floor. Even though she’d played it so casually and nonchalantly on the phone with Ye Zhen, she couldn’t muster any energy for the rest of the afternoon. Fortunately, the afternoon was mostly spent on organizing project files—relatively mechanical work that didn’t require much thinking.

Ye Zhen’s assistant did come down to the floor, saying that to thank Jiang Xiaoyi for her guidance before, and since he happened to be free this afternoon, he wanted to help her out and also ask her a few career-related questions.

Jiang Xiaoyi had scheduled meetings with several early-stage startup studios that afternoon, and her time was packed solid; it wasn’t until just before the end of the workday that she finally saw off the last group of visitors.

Feeling a bit tired, and wanting to shift her mood, she casually pulled out her phone and scrolled through her social media feed.

That’s when she saw Dan Hui’s “relationship announcement.”

Without any flowery text or explanation, Dan Hui had simply posted two photos, plain and simple—the first showed a man’s and a woman’s hands intertwined; the second revealed their faces, Dan Hui as gentle and refined as ever, with the girl beside him leaning shyly against his shoulder.

In a single day, both Ye Zhen and Dan Hui had entered relationships.

It would be a lie to say Jiang Xiaoyi wasn’t shocked—after all, not long ago, in another timeline, Dan Hui had confessed to her with such restrained, heartfelt emotion…

But comparison brought clarity, and Jiang Xiaoyi realized clearly that her reaction to learning about Dan Hui’s relationship and her reaction to learning about Ye Zhen’s relationship were completely different.

Ye Zhen’s relationship made her feel pain and distress. Dan Hui’s didn’t.

To her, Ye Zhen really was fundamentally different.

Jiang Xiaoyi had always been carefree, never really thinking deeply about it—only now did she finally realize, and it was already too late.

Ye Zhen already had a girlfriend. She didn’t even get the chance to work up the courage to try.

Jiang Xiaoyi pressed her lips together and opened the Fire Extinguisher Club’s work chat group, which she’d joined during her part-time stint there—sure enough, it was already buzzing with talk about Dan Hui and his new girlfriend—

“Senior, your girlfriend looks really familiar—isn’t she… isn’t she from the Zong family, the ones who run the supermarket chain? I’ve noticed you keep calling her little Zong…”

“You’re only just figuring that out now? Yeah, she’s the Zong family’s youngest daughter—our boss only attracts top-tier wealthy beauties, what did you expect.”

“Wow! Congratulations, congratulations! What a perfect match!”

“Of course they’re perfectly matched, so well-suited to each other. Now that our President Dan has partnered up with Ruiyi, the whole situation for the Fire Extinguisher Club has completely opened up—so many investors want to work with us now, plenty of people want to open Fire Extinguisher Club franchise locations too, and quite a few cultural and creative industrial parks have come knocking looking for new partnerships. It’s all thanks to our President Dan being so capable!”

“Exactly! Way better than those second-generation heirs who just inherit the family business! Our boss built this from the ground up himself, and right at the crest of the wave, he pulled off this partnership with a big company like Ruiyi—and I heard our future boss lady was so impressed by this offline themed store idea that’s how they got to know each other, one thing led to another, and they ended up connecting on a deeper level.”

……

The rest of the messages were mostly congratulatory emojis and confetti stickers—Jiang Xiaoyi didn’t have much energy left to keep reading.

She suddenly realized that what Ye Zhen had said might have been right.

Why had Dan Hui, in the parallel timeline, confessed to her? It was because she’d been the accomplished President Jiang back then—someone Dan Hui inwardly recognized as a match for his own status. But back in the present, now that she was once again the ordinary Jiang Xiaoyi, with absent parents and an ordinary family, no house or car, Dan Hui simply no longer had those same feelings for her.

Human affection was like a scale, and in the end, what tipped it involved far too many calculated factors—perhaps it was a matter of growing up, but everything had stopped being so purely simple.

Jiang Xiaoyi still believed Dan Hui was a good person—but he really was a practical good person. Of course, in the adult world, that in itself was already commendable.

She posted her congratulations in the group too, but couldn’t help feeling somewhat deflated inside.

Being well-matched.

Those four words felt like a mountain pressing down on Jiang Xiaoyi’s chest. Ye Zhen had found someone well-matched to him, Dan Hui had found someone well-matched to him—as for herself, forget about being anywhere near Ye Zhen’s league, even compared to Dan Hui, she was worlds apart.

If even Dan Hui wouldn’t choose her, how could she possibly still hope for Ye Zhen?

Jiang Xiaoyi’s mood sank straight to the bottom.

But fortunately, there was work—keeping busy really was the best medicine for distracting herself and self-soothing.

After handling several projects back to back, the rest of the day, thankfully, passed in an unremarkable way. Just before the end of the workday, Jiang Xiaoyi was stopped by Li Gonggong—

“Little Jiang, how about we grab dinner together tonight?”

Jiang Xiaoyi was about to decline when Li Gonggong quickly added: “It’s not a cheap noodle shop, don’t worry! This time it’s the Hyatt! I’ll treat you to the Chinese restaurant at the Hyatt—their roast duck is fantastic! I’ve already reserved a duck!”

Jiang Xiaoyi hadn’t wanted to go, but Li Gonggong, trying to “prove his innocence,” even pulled out the reservation confirmation text: “Last time Director Ye went through the old project archives and pointed out a lot of issues, requiring the person in charge to make corrections. As you know, quite a few of those projects were actually done by you—I just signed off as your supervisor. According to the records, I’m listed as the person responsible, but if I actually have to make the corrections myself, I don’t really know the specifics. This puts me in a bit of a tough spot—how about we grab dinner and go over the projects properly together?”

Once work came up, Jiang Xiaoyi found it a bit hard to refuse. To be fair, ever since getting thoroughly disciplined by Ye Zhen and the new system, Li Gonggong had been pushed toward good behavior—every morning now, he covered breakfast for the whole department, provided all kinds of office snacks, and had even handed out beauty spa vouchers to everyone, one each.

“Alright then.”

**

Only, Jiang Xiaoyi hadn’t expected that she’d still underestimated Li You’ai’s character.

This time, they really had made a reservation at the Hyatt for roast duck—but as Jiang Xiaoyi looked at Li Yongjian sitting across from her, she shot Li You’ai an utterly deadpan look.

“Come, come, eat up.” Li You’ai played the perfect host, using the serving chopsticks to enthusiastically pile food onto Jiang Xiaoyi’s plate, explaining as he did, “It’s like this—of course we need to talk about work, but once that’s done, you young people can chat a bit too.”

“Ever since our Yongjian met you last time, he hasn’t been able to eat or sleep properly. He just finished up a small business deal, and he’s been wanting to see you. Plus he’s a distinguished Hyatt member, you know—we get a discount eating at the Hyatt Chinese restaurant, and he was even able to reserve the roast duck ahead of time…”

Jiang Xiaoyi realized she really had set her expectations for Li You’ai too high—even having reformed somewhat, Li Gonggong’s underlying nature was so deeply corrupted that reforming him properly was going to be extremely difficult; the new system alone could only neutralize so much of the poison still in him.

A “distinguished Hyatt member,” of all things…

Who isn’t a “distinguished member” of something these days? Jiang Xiaoyi silently grumbled to herself—she herself was a “distinguished” paying member of every major streaming site out there!

Li Yongjian, apparently having been given the cold shoulder by Jiang Xiaoyi before, was noticeably more self-aware this time around: “Little Jiang, I’ve done some thinking this time. I don’t care about other external conditions—I just want to settle down properly with someone. If you don’t find me too off-putting, why don’t we get to know each other and see how it goes?”

Li Yongjian put on an enthusiastic display of self-promotion: “I might not seem to have obvious strengths at first glance, but the more time you spend with me, you’ll find I’ve got plenty of good qualities—I’m family-oriented, frugal, I don’t mess around with other women, would never flirt with anyone else, I’m attentive and considerate, I even keep track of exactly which day the supermarket has sales on what—I’m really good at managing a household. And I’ll look after you in every way—wherever you go, whatever happens to you that day, I’ll be there caring for you meticulously…”

Frugal was just another word for stingy.

Not messing around with other women was because no woman would flirt with him in the first place.

Looking after you in every way probably meant an unhealthy need for control!

Even though she and Ye Zhen weren’t remotely well-matched, Jiang Xiaoyi still felt that, however unimpressive she might be, she certainly hadn’t fallen so far as to settle down with Li Yongjian.

Just as she was about to gently decline, Li Yongjian barreled on ahead—

“You’re not young anymore either, and neither am I. I won’t hold that against you. Let’s just live our lives together—I can take you out to a nice restaurant once a week. Look, let’s not waste any more time—I already treated you to the Hyatt today. If you agree to be with me, this meal is on me. If you don’t agree, we’ll have to split the bill—so just give me an answer today, one word, yes or no…”

“No.”

Jiang Xiaoyi hadn’t expected that before she could even open her mouth, someone else had already given the answer for her.

She looked up, following the voice, and found it was Ye Zhen. He looked somewhat windswept, as if he’d just rushed over, still dressed in a very formal suit, but looking as though he’d been running, his face flushed slightly, his voice carrying the faint breathlessness of someone who’d just sprinted.

The man glanced at Jiang Xiaoyi, then turned his gaze to Li You’ai and Li Yongjian: “This meal is on me, already paid for. Jiang Xiaoyi is not going to be with you. You’d best stop pestering her.”

Having said his piece, Ye Zhen didn’t give Jiang Xiaoyi any chance to speak, simply grabbing her hand and pulling her away from the restaurant.

It wasn’t until five minutes later, when Ye Zhen had brought Jiang Xiaoyi down to the lobby of the Hyatt, that she still felt somewhat dazed.

“Did something happen with one of my projects? You look like you were in such a rush.”

“Of course I was in a rush.”

Ye Zhen’s voice was low. He glanced at Jiang Xiaoyi a couple of times, and finally, as if he couldn’t hold it in any longer: “Didn’t you say you had no interest in dating? Then why are you out here meeting Li You’ai’s nephew?”

Ye Zhen seemed to hold a grudge against Li You’ai’s nephew by extension, and was rather displeased: “What could Li You’ai’s nephew possibly be worth? Look at him—he looks old for his age, he’s shorter than me, and I bet he’s balding already, another couple years and he’ll be going bald at the temples. And his physique—forget abs, having no gut at all would already be an achievement.”

“Coming from the same stock as Li You’ai, his character is bound to be even worse. Did Li You’ai force you into this blind date? If Li You’ai bothers you again, I really will fire him. You need to tell me.”

Jiang Xiaoyi had been feeling gloomy all day, and looking at Ye Zhen now, she suddenly felt a bit petulant.

Ye Zhen was already dating someone himself—why was he still meddling in who she went on blind dates with?

What business was it of his?

“It’s my off-hours time right now. Honestly, I don’t need to report to you on everything I do, including who I make friends with, or who I might date or marry in the future—you don’t need to worry about all that either. I definitely won’t end up with Li You’ai’s nephew, but regardless, I’ll eventually find someone well-matched to me…”

Ever since returning from the parallel timeline, Ye Zhen had often felt like he was holding himself back. He’d been treating Jiang Xiaoyi well through every clumsy method he could think of, yet also didn’t want to put too much pressure on her—because if Jiang Xiaoyi didn’t like him, he didn’t want to confess so abruptly that Jiang Xiaoyi, out of awkwardness or some other reason, chose to leave Ruiyi altogether. Even if he got rejected, Ye Zhen felt that being able to see her at work every day was itself a tremendous stroke of luck.

But hearing her going on now about being “well-matched” like this genuinely infuriated Ye Zhen—it reminded him just as much of how she’d so carelessly offered her blessing when she thought he and Xu Mengting were together, which had also irritated him to no end—

“Can’t dating and building a career happen at the same time? And when it comes to being well-matched, you won’t even consider me—am I not good enough for you? I used to treat you badly, sure, but I’ve changed all of that! I’m even nearly done with the male-virtue training course! Sure, time and space have changed, but aren’t I still holding myself to the standards of proper male virtue? What exactly haven’t I done well?”

“That good-for-nothing senior of yours confessed to you in the parallel timeline, and even though you had no interest in him, didn’t you still seriously consider whether to give him a chance, whether to try dating him?”

“So why is it that with me, there’s nothing—you just hand me a friend card and say I’m your good friend…”

Ye Zhen seemed to have been holding back a whole storm of grievances. Jiang Xiaoyi’s mind, however, went completely blank—she stared at Ye Zhen’s face as if none of what he was saying was registering, only catching the sight of his lips moving up and down as he vented.

The lobby of the Hyatt, bustling with people coming and going, was hardly a good place for this kind of conversation, yet Jiang Xiaoyi’s heart suddenly began pounding hard and fast.

She even found it a little hard to breathe: “You’re saying you have feelings for me…”

“I like you. Is there a problem with that?”

Ye Zhen pressed his lips together—he was clearly saying the words of a confession, yet somehow it came across more like he was here to collect a debt.

“And don’t give me that nonsense about only considering me a good friend. Who I like is none of your business.”

Jiang Xiaoyi was so shocked she couldn’t even get words out, only managing to stammer: “But weren’t you with Xu Mengting…”

“There’s nothing going on between me and Xu Mengting. She’s my distant cousin.” Ye Zhen’s tone was low. “And instead of asking, you went right ahead and practically wished us a hundred years of happiness.”

“A normal woman, seeing that, if she had any feelings for me at all, wouldn’t she press for details—how did this happen, what’s the relationship, how long have you known each other, is it even real? Instead, you didn’t care about any of that—you just went straight to congratulating me.”

“……”

Ye Zhen was the one who hadn’t clarified things himself, and somehow it had become Jiang Xiaoyi’s fault: “You could have clarified it yourself…”

“If you had no interest in me, and I still explained myself, wouldn’t that just look pathetic and self-deprecating?” Ye Zhen’s tone was sulky. “I have my pride too. If you really do only see me as a good friend, and I still stubbornly persist and confess to you when you have no interest, I might not even get to keep the friendship.”

Jiang Xiaoyi’s heart raced: “So now you…”

“If you’re genuinely devoted to your career and don’t want to date, then I respect that, and I’ll keep being your good friend and wait for the day you do want to date, without putting any pressure on you. But now, hearing you talk about focusing on your career, and then watching Li You’ai easily lure you out for a blind date anyway—I might as well go for broke.”

As he said this, even the usually composed and unruffled Ye Zhen showed a hint of nervousness on his face: “Anyway, that’s how it is. If you’re looking for someone well-matched, you could consider me too—or if not, never mind. As for me liking you, well, that’s my own business, you don’t need to worry about it and it’s not something you can control.”

“……” Jiang Xiaoyi genuinely didn’t know how to respond. “Are you seriously confessing to me right now?”

“Mm.”

Shouldn’t a confession involve one party pursuing the other, yearning for their affection? Shouldn’t the posture be humble? How was Ye Zhen being so brazen about this…

Because he was so brazen about it, Jiang Xiaoyi hadn’t even registered that this was a confession, and just stood there somewhat dumbfounded, staring at Ye Zhen.

She still couldn’t quite believe this was real, and asked, a bit dazedly: “But it doesn’t seem like you and I are all that well-matched…”

“How are we not well-matched?”

“I have an eight-pack, a healthy lifestyle and sleep schedule, I don’t smoke or drink, I cook excellently, I’m attentive and considerate, I know how to peel crawfish, I have a proper, respectable job, decent income, a clean family background, both parents living, no hereditary illnesses in the family, no bad habits, I’m pure and untouched—where exactly am I not well-matched to you?”

Jiang Xiaoyi was left somewhat stunned.

Because in her view, the reason she and Ye Zhen weren’t well-matched was that she, plainly and simply, would be marrying above her station relative to him. Yet she hadn’t expected that in Ye Zhen’s mind, hearing the phrase “well-matched,” what he was thinking was where he himself might fall short of being good enough for Jiang Xiaoyi.

The bitter lemon juice in Jiang Xiaoyi’s heart suddenly seemed to have honey stirred into it—what had once been hard to swallow, bitter and sour, was now, softened by the honey, transformed into something sweet and tangy, a refreshing, satisfying drink.

So this was how Ye Zhen actually thought about it.

He wasn’t like Dan Hui—he had never once cared about Jiang Xiaoyi’s family background.

“So give me an answer—since you already consider me a good friend, why not try being with me?”

As he said this, Ye Zhen clearly looked nervous too, yet his expression was open and sincere.

Seeing that Jiang Xiaoyi hadn’t answered, the man grew visibly restless and impatient, clearing his throat awkwardly: “You know, a man’s youth is precious, and I’m not getting any younger either—a few more years and my value will only depreciate further. If you think I’m decent enough, even just barely worth a try, then you might as well try now—after all, the years only add up, and I’ll only get less appealing with each one. Better to seize the moment while you can still have me at my absolute prime.”

“Besides, when a man’s already being this brave, why is a woman like you still hesitating…”

Even though Jiang Xiaoyi found Ye Zhen’s sudden inner monologue rather astonishing and made her tense and flustered, still, this logic of his sounded almost…

Jiang Xiaoyi was the type to want to change the subject the moment she got nervous, and she immediately muttered: “What kind of twisted logic is that, men ‘depreciating’—you’re still so young, even a few years from now at thirty, you’d still be a prime bachelor. If anything, my time is the more precious one here, okay…”

“In that timeline, you kept telling me every day to study proper male virtue. Now that my mind’s been poisoned by male virtue teachings, what’s wrong with thinking this way?”

“……”

“Do you agree or not?”

Was this really the behavior of a virtuous, proper man? What kind of man trained in proper virtue is this shameless, forcing the issue like this?

Jiang Xiaoyi’s mind was a tangled mess. The instant Ye Zhen confessed, her inner reaction had undeniably shifted from shock to elation—but soon after, that was joined by a mix of complicated emotions: hurt, confusion, and unease, all tangled together.

Did Ye Zhen really like her?

And besides, if she agreed to be with him just like this, wasn’t the whole process a bit too simple?

Jiang Xiaoyi couldn’t help voicing her doubts: “Your confession sounds pretty urgent, but it’s not like you’ve ever properly courted me before.”

At that, Ye Zhen’s face immediately took on an expression of pure exasperation: “I haven’t pursued you? Wasn’t it obvious enough?”

“?”

The man looked genuinely aggravated. He rubbed his temples, and after a moment to compose himself, continued, forcing his emotions back under control: “I specially arranged a private single dormitory just for you, helped you move, had security cameras installed for you, claimed I couldn’t find a dance partner just to get you to come to the gala with me, deliberately made up excuses to give you jewelry, constantly found reasons to discuss projects together with you, helped you deal with Li You’ai, backed you up—I did all of this, and you’re telling me I never pursued you.”

“The single dormitory was specifically arranged just for me…”

“Of course. If you don’t believe me, go ask around—see if any other coworker managed to get that kind of dormitory, at that price. And if you go check your neighbors’ rooms, you’ll see whether their dorms are actually move-in ready like yours, whether the furnishings and appliances match what you have.”

At this point, Ye Zhen was getting a bit worked up: “And what exactly has the administrative director been doing? Wasn’t my hinting obvious enough? What I meant was, whoever ends up receiving the benefit needs to make sure they realize who actually gave it to them.”

“The administrative director definitely made sure I realized who gave me that benefit…”

Ye Zhen’s expression turned to one of speechlessness: “So this guy’s been stealing credit that belongs to me. I’m firing him the moment we get back.”

“So when you were helping me move, you already had feelings for me back then…”

Having already confessed, Ye Zhen was now entirely at ease about it, and he nodded: “Of course. Otherwise, do you think I’d personally help a friend move?”

“I thought it was because you’d studied proper male virtue and had become kind-hearted…”

But before Jiang Xiaoyi could finish, Ye Zhen cut her off: “Jiang Xiaoyi, do you really think all my changes were because I studied proper male virtue?”

“Proper male virtue couldn’t have made me into a better person.”

The man’s eyes were serious and focused, fixed on Jiang Xiaoyi, and he continued, slowly and firmly, word by word—

“It’s liking you that made me a better person.”