Zhou Tingzhao kept his return to the city quiet, telling only a few people. He silently came back to this city and silently completed his onboarding in the most prosperous area of downtown.

Everyone in the company had only heard that the CEO had poached a senior director from somewhere else. Beyond this, they knew nothing about this leader who had descended from the sky, so when Zhou Tingzhao appeared at the company, it caused quite a stir.

A message quickly spread through the gossip groups: “Help! The new director is a top-tier handsome guy!”

Zhou Tingzhao paid no mind to these things, but when he arrived, he encountered someone.

At eleven o’clock, somewhat late for normal office hours, the parking lot was nearly empty, so any slight movement was particularly noticeable.

A car parked in the diagonal space across from him, and a woman got out while talking on the phone. Zhou Tingzhao didn’t know what was said on the other end, but he heard her voice suddenly rise in volume: “Tonight already? Why doesn’t he just say it tonight then?”

Zhou Tingzhao locked his car and walked silently behind her, letting the stranger’s words go in one ear and out the other.

Her voice reached his ears again. She seemed somewhat impatient as she said, “I know, I’ll be there right away, walking at ten kilometers per hour now.”

Then she hung up the phone.

Zhou Tingzhao silently smirked. She claimed ten kilometers per hour, yet walking in high heels, she moved so steadily, maintaining her original pace.

As he passed by her, Zhou Tingzhao caught a whiff of fragrance. He had no expertise regarding perfumes and couldn’t say what scent it was, but he found it rather pleasant.

The elevator was about to close when the sound of high heels finally quickened somewhat. Zhou Tingzhao raised his hand to press the door open button and heard her say “thank you” as she entered.

She wore sunglasses. Zhou Tingzhao faintly saw half of her face in the elevator mirror before him. The exposed exquisite contours and full red lips completely outlined the image of a career woman in this metropolis.

He didn’t have a habit of judging strangers, but because of the slight sense of familiarity he detected from her, he inadvertently paid her more attention than usual.

Sang Ru’s eyes were hidden behind her sunglasses as she secretly glanced at this man, feeling strongly that he was extremely familiar, like someone she knew. But that person wore glasses and was quiet and reserved, somewhat different from the handsome man before her.

The phone rang again, interrupting certain thoughts that had inexplicably surfaced in Sang Ru’s mind. She answered with a quick “I’m here” before hanging up.

The elevator went directly to the sixteenth floor. Sang Ru walked out while removing her sunglasses.

Her profile swept past his eyes in just that fleeting instant, and Zhou Tingzhao suddenly froze.

When he came to his senses, he hurriedly stopped the closing elevator doors. Exiting the elevator, he found no one there, only the glass door at the entrance gently swaying before coming to a stop.

It seemed as if he had inadvertently caught just a reflection of the moon in water.

Zhou Tingzhao proceeded as planned to complete his onboarding, and the secretary led him to his office.

“Which company is on the sixteenth floor?” he asked.

The secretary replied, puzzled, “AOFEI, an advertising company.”

Zhou Tingzhao remained silent for a moment before saying, “I see.”

Xue Lu somehow learned of his return and asked if he wanted to have a meal together.

The words of refusal were on the tip of his tongue, but thinking of a certain person, Zhou Tingzhao changed his mind and said, “Let’s have a class reunion, invite everyone.”

Partners came for an unscheduled visit, making it impossible to get away. By the time he finally arrived, they had already eaten through the first round.

In the dim lights, every face appeared blurry, except for hers as she held the microphone.

Sang Ru was singing. He had never heard her sing before; it was beautiful. She seemed to put her heart into everything she did, making his untimely arrival all the more inappropriate as it disrupted her performance.

Zhou Tingzhao held up a wine glass to penalize himself for being late. Everyone around him joined in the teasing, and she looked over, too, with a questioning look in her eyes. His fingers trembled slightly, but no one noticed.

Sang Ru was very quiet. Compared to most people’s social networking, she only spoke with the friend beside her, quiet and beautiful.

Zhou Tingzhao was one of those social networkers, attending to former classmates whose names he could barely remember, while his peripheral vision was entirely devoted to monitoring her movements.

Amidst the drinking, he suddenly heard her exclamation and finally had a legitimate reason to look her way, just like everyone else.

She said, “We work in the same office building.”

Zhou Tingzhao was stunned for a few seconds, then smiled.

So she knew. So she remembered.

The formal reunion that had taken so much effort to arrange eventually had to end, no matter how much he wished otherwise. As the music stopped and people dispersed, Zhou Tingzhao stood by the roadside saying goodbye to one person after another until only she and Li Chenfei remained.

Sang Ru seemed not to have drunk any alcohol and was still clear-headed. Zhou Tingzhao had been made to drink quite a bit, and his alcohol tolerance wasn’t particularly good. The cold wind on the street made his head spin. He stood there watching her get into a taxi, then grow more and more distant.

It was just after ten at night, yet why did it feel so cold?

Zhou Tingzhao, half-dazed and half-awake, stood woodenly in place, his gaze seemingly glued to the car that was taking her away.

But suddenly the car turned around. Zhou Tingzhao frowned and rubbed his temples, then saw that he truly hadn’t been mistaken. The car stopped in front of him, the window lowered to reveal the brilliant face of the person he had been thinking of, and she said, “Coming?”

Zhou Tingzhao had drunk too much alcohol, and his steps were somewhat unsteady, though he still appeared conscious. “Where to?” he asked.

“I’ll give you a ride,” Sang Ru said. “Isn’t our class monitor drunk?”

Zhou Tingzhao saw complete candor in her eyes and, fearing that any hesitation might make her leave for good, silently opened the car door, sat in the back seat, and turned to her, saying, “Thank you.”

“Where do you live?”

Zhou Tingzhao gave an address, and Sang Ru suddenly fell silent, seemingly wanting to speak but stopping herself. He asked, “Is there a problem?”

Sang Ru shook her head. “No, we’re heading in the same direction. Let’s take Chenfei home first.”

Getting to spend more time with her was more than Zhou Tingzhao could ask for. “Alright,” he said.

Li Chenfei, sitting in the front passenger seat, was drowsy. When they reached her home and she was about to get out, she finally noticed there was someone else in the back.

Her drunkenness dissipated by half in an instant. She looked back and forth between the two of them as if watching a show. “Be careful on your way home,” she said.

“I know. You get home safely, too.”

“No problem, it’s just a few steps from here.”

Sang Ru looked at her speechlessly, turning back only after Li Chenfei’s silhouette had disappeared from view. She suddenly realized there was an intense gaze beside her. She looked over and met Zhou Tingzhao’s profound eyes.

Her heart skipped a beat or two. Sang Ru told the driver to continue and casually asked, “What are you looking at?”

Zhou Tingzhao blinked a few times, his movements slow, displaying a certain harmlessness that contrasted with his formal suit and leather shoes. He offered no explanation for his staring that had begun at some unknown point. Sang Ru waited for an answer, but instead felt a weight on her shoulder.

Sang Ru had no experience being particularly close with men and instinctively wanted to move away, but his head seemed completely without resistance, sliding an inch closer as she moved.

He appeared to be asleep; he must have been spacing out earlier.

Sang Ru didn’t move away again and even found a position that would likely make him more comfortable. She thought to herself, This is only because he’s handsome.

The car stopped, but he hadn’t woken up. Sang Ru patted Zhou Tingzhao’s face, and the person who had been leaning on her shoulder suddenly sat upright. There were loose strands of hair on his forehead, revealing the sexiness and, somehow, cuteness of a mature man.

Sang Ru felt something wasn’t quite right with herself and attributed this feeling to being attracted to his good looks.

“We’re here,” Sang Ru reminded him.

Having slept for a while, Zhou Tingzhao seemed to have sobered up a bit. He said, “Sorry, thank you.”

He didn’t clarify what he was sorry for or what he was thanking her for, and Sang Ru didn’t mind either, casually responding, “It’s nothing.”

The driver then asked, “Do you need to go somewhere else?”

Sang Ru replied, “No, we’re both getting off here. Thank you, driver. How much is it?”

“68.”

“Alright.”

However, before Sang Ru could open the payment scan interface, she heard a “beep” followed by “Alipay payment received, six hundred and eighty yuan—”

Sang Ru: …

She turned to look at the person beside her, seeing him still holding his phone, looking somewhat dazed.

The driver laughed. “Why did you add an extra zero?”

Sang Ru immediately asked, “Can it be refunded?”

“Yes,” the driver said, taking down his navigation phone to return the money.

“No need.”

Sang Ru:?

The driver also froze. “Huh?”

The drunk—well, a wealthy drunk—repeated, “No need.”

Sang Ru immediately covered his mouth and smiled at the driver, saying, “He’s drunk and not thinking clearly. Please return the extra amount to that account.”

Zhou Tingzhao was still a bit confused. To be honest, although leaning on her shoulder had been somewhat deliberate, he had blacked out afterward and didn’t remember adding an extra digit to the fare, but he did remember the scent of her hand.

Similar to her perfume, somewhat sweet, somewhat clear, with the warmth of her palm covering his mouth. Zhou Tingzhao uncomfortably moved his head slightly, his lips brushing against her palm.

So close.

But Sang Ru suddenly withdrew her hand, and seeing that the extra money had been refunded, she hurriedly got out of the car.

Zhou Tingzhao followed her out, his nerves unusually slow today, only now realizing they had the same destination.

The warm street lights shone indiscriminately, casting a soft glow over both of them.

Zhou Tingzhao asked slowly, “You live here too?”

Sang Ru shook her head and pointed across the street, saying, “I live across from you.”