After sending the text message, Zhou Mi spent what should have been a nerve-wracking morning in meditative calmness.

Colleagues arrived one after another, and she greeted them as usual.

Ao Xing didn’t have fixed working hours, and some people came in the afternoon. But as an intern, she was relatively cautious, basically following a nine-to-seven work schedule, which earned her the nickname “Civil Service Akang” from her leader.

Zhou Mi’s leader was called Ye Yan, with a thin build, her waist like a thin slice when viewed from the side, a faithful follower of the BM style. She was mainly responsible for some fast-moving consumer goods projects. The tasks assigned to Zhou Mi were simple but tedious: researching materials, organizing files, translating content, and even sending and receiving express deliveries, fulfilling the nature of odd jobs to the fullest.

Near noon, Ye Yan gathered people in the group chat, asking whether to go out to eat or order takeout.

Zhou Mi usually observed others’ reactions before following suit.

To the outside world, she was a follower of the crowd. Following the crowd meant less chance of making mistakes, which was also why she studied Chinese but didn’t work as a copywriter. Creative work required inspiration and originality, but she didn’t particularly like unpredictable variables.

Zhang Lian was the only deviation.

Right, Zhang Lian. Zhou Mi lifted her phone from the desk. The man hadn’t come to the company yet, nor had he given her any feedback.

Switching from the text message interface back to the group, the chat history showed that the lunch companions were planning to raid 7-11 today.

Zhou Mi quickly replied with an “OK.”

The three people went downstairs together. Ye Yan was already pre-selecting what to eat in the takeout app. The other person with them was another AE named Tao Ziyi, who loved to wear high ponytails or bun hairstyles. She was also a city beauty, wearing small suits one after another, never repeating, with a style more OL (office lady) than Ye Yan’s.

Zhou Mi picked a rice ball and a box of yogurt. Looking back, Tao Ziyi was already carrying a bowl of instant noodles to the window.

Ye Yan preferred salads, always enjoying green leafy vegetables and free-range chicken as if they were delicacies.

Zhou Mi somewhat envied her self-discipline; it was indeed challenging to join the world of XS sizes.

She seemed to envy Zhou Mi as well, casually asking: “What do you eat to grow like that, with such big breasts?”

Zhou Mi’s feet, which had been dangling randomly at the edge of the high stool, stopped, and she replied: “It should be genetic.”

“Anyway—” Tao Ziyi slurped a mouthful of noodles, smothering a laugh: “It’s not from eating vegetables.”

Ye Yan pretended to be angry and nudged her arm. Zhou Mi also laughed along.

Without realizing it, as she was sucking the yogurt box flat, Zhou Mi’s phone rang in her pocket. She took it out and glanced at it, and her relaxed nerves immediately tensed up.

Perhaps because the ringtone was too lively, both women beside her looked over.

Zhou Mi instinctively raised her phone higher, avoiding their inquiring eyes, and slid back to the ground with a reddened face: “I’ll go outside to take this call.”

Her reaction was too obvious. Since she hadn’t started dealing with clients yet, what kind of call would make her so nervous? It most likely involved an important member of the opposite sex.

Ye Yan and Tao Ziyi almost simultaneously let out an “Oh—”, winking at her suggestively.

Zhou Mi smiled awkwardly and ran to the door in two quick steps. The sun was at its zenith, and she squinted as she pressed accept.

The other end cut straight to the point, confirming her identity: “Zhou Mi?”

“Mm.” She responded, successfully connecting.

The man then confirmed the situation: “You’re pregnant?”

Her heart beat like a malfunctioning pocket watch, causing her voice to tremble slightly: “You saw it?”

It was strange how confessing the truth made her so anxious. She straightened her neck: “It was you and me, during the team building.”

There was silence for two seconds, then a question: “Are you sure?”

A thin anger instantly made Zhou Mi’s face flush like blood: “Who else besides you? I’m not a plant that can self-pollinate.”

Perhaps hearing that she was getting angry, or perhaps finding her wording amusing, the man’s tone became more moderate, taking on a soothing quality: “Calm down first.”

Then he asked: “Where are you now, at the company?”

Zhou Mi replied: “Mm, came down for lunch.”

Zhang Lian said, “I’m still with a client. Take some time off this afternoon. I’ll find you when I’m done.”

Zhou Mi was taken aback: “Find me for what?” Wouldn’t an MD suddenly looking for an intern be too conspicuous?

Zhang Lian sounded methodical and non-negotiable: “Two-thirty, I’ll wait for you in the B1 parking lot.”

He seemed about to hang up, and Zhou Mi hurriedly stopped him: “How should I ask for leave?”

“Say you have school business,” he reminded her once more before disconnecting: “Two-thirty, don’t forget.”

—

Zhou Mi basked in the sun outside the door for a while, her body heating up due to restlessness.

She couldn’t guess Zhang Lian’s attitude at all, nor did she know what he planned to spend the afternoon doing with her. He was calm, almost excessively so.

But at least he was willing to face it together, right? With this thought, Zhou Mi immediately fell into the relief of having not misjudged someone after a disaster, then pitifully reddened her nose, her emotions unstable between joy and sorrow.

After her emotions stabilized somewhat, she set an alarm for 14:15 and returned to the store.

Sitting back by the floor-to-ceiling window, she predictably received teasing from her two colleagues, who nosily asked who it was.

Zhou Mi couldn’t answer well, picking what seemed like the most realistic response: “Just a guy I know from school.”

“In an ambiguous relationship, right?”

“Or just started dating. Anyway, not a boyfriend; you wouldn’t avoid taking calls around people if you’d been dating for a while.”

“Is he handsome?”

…

The two of them bombarded her with questions.

Zhou Mi could only smile awkwardly and nod.

Later, the topic somehow extended to males in the company. Ye Yan and Tao Ziyi, with their longer tenure, knew everyone’s temperament, appearance, and work abilities like the back of their hands.

They talked about Zhang Lian, saying he was the most exceptional one.

Tao Ziyi wistfully brushed her bangs, lamenting: “Too bad he has a girlfriend.”

Ye Yan followed up: “And she’s the daughter of VET phone’s owner.”

Bang! It was as if a crude clay pot had shattered on Zhou Mi’s head. Her perception and hearing were both impaired, and her colleagues’ conversation became muffled and distant.

Her soul seemed to float out of her body, watching herself smilingly participate in the conversation: “Really, that impressive?”

Tao Ziyi looked at her, her eyes curved into thin arcs: “Yeah, when I first came to Ao Xing two years ago, I was young and bold, wanting to hook up with him. Later, when I found out who his girlfriend was, I quickly backed off.”

Ye Yan exclaimed that she had no backbone, then clicked her tongue: “Otherwise, why do you think VET always lets us handle their account?”

Tao Ziyi said, “Wasn’t it said that he knew the second daughter even before he was headhunted back to China?”

“Such deep connections? Then they must have been together for many years, right?”

Tao Ziyi bit the straw of her iced coffee: “At least, that’s the version I heard.”

—

Zhou Mi returned to her workstation in disbelief, each step along the way feeling like walking on an endless sponge, soft and without solid footing.

Her chest felt tight, repeatedly squeezed by shame and resentment.

The beautiful story was shattered.

She had been deceived.

The details of their first meeting were crystal clear. After proposing to get a room with Zhang Lian and receiving his consent, she had hung on his neck, her finger pointing at his nose, mumbling with a trace of rationality still intact: “You’re single, right? I don’t want to sleep with someone who’s taken.”

He had nodded.

Only then did she pout her lips high, like a baby bird waiting to be fed, expecting to be nourished with affection by his exquisite lips.

After clenching her fist for quite a while, Zhou Mi picked up her phone, determined to send a text message to inquire about the truth. But when it came down to it, her ninja-like quality took over the emotional high ground again.

She closed the dialogue box and quickly switched away, turning instead to cancel the alarm she had set earlier.

Whether they met or not was no longer important.

The outcome was obvious.

Her fairy tale was a joke.

Her prince was a scumbag.

A mixture of emotions made it difficult for her to work normally. After flipping through some product information, Zhou Mi supported her cheek with one hand and began drinking water frantically.

She would go for tea one moment and to the bathroom the next, like a disoriented magnetic ball swinging back and forth in the company, enduring until the appointed time.

At two-thirty, no call came.

Zhang Lian had perhaps waited for her for a while. At forty minutes past, her phone lit up with his text: Where are you?

Dancing merrily on your grave, Zhou Mi cursed in her heart. But considering her internship wasn’t over yet and she was still within his power, she held back the anger that was about to burst through her scalp and stood him up rather politely: I’m not coming.

Zhang Lian called her.

Zhou Mi let out a long breath and answered.

He still took the initiative, his impeccable voice now sounding nauseating: “Couldn’t get time off?”

Zhou Mi forced herself to be calm: “No, I’ve just thought things through.”

“What have you thought through?” He couldn’t keep up with her capricious pace.

“Can I tell you by text?” Zhou Mi’s tone subtly revealed her discontent: “You know where I am.”

Zhang Lian hung up the phone, waiting for her explanation.

Zhou Mi patted her chest twice to calm herself and began to edit her reply: We both share responsibility for this matter. You just pay me half the medical expenses, and don’t worry about the rest. I’ll handle it myself.

Making sure her attitude was cool enough, Zhou Mi sent it out.

Zhang Lian replied quickly, with a three-question attack, the kind without punctuation:

How will you handle it?

At the company

Or at home

Zhou Mi blinked, falling into deep thought.

She wasn’t completely ignorant about such matters.

In her senior year, she had once accompanied her cousin to an obstetrics and gynecology department. At that time, her cousin had to terminate her pregnancy due to a miscarriage. She cried miserably in the consultation room, full of grief and fear, while the doctor, clearly accustomed to such situations, maintained a cold face throughout, just prescribing two boxes of medicine, and even the medical advice was concise.

Based on this, Zhou Mi replied confidently: Take a few days off, just need to go to the hospital for some medicine.

Zhang Lian called again, indicating his patience was waning.

Zhou Mi bit her thumb, held her phone, and went to the stairwell to answer it.

His words now carried pressure: “It’s almost three o’clock, and I’ve made an appointment with the doctor for three.”

Zhou Mi asked: “You want to take me to see a doctor?”

Zhang Lian said, “For an examination.”

Zhou Mi heard her voice become low yet sharp: “What difference would an examination make? The result will be the same. Stop pretending to be nice.”

The other end went quiet.

After a while, he asked: “How much money do you need?”

Zhou Mi snorted with scorn, while her eyes quickly reddened: “I don’t know, let’s say five thousand for now.”

“Is five thousand enough?”

“Probably,” she used words as if buying something, eager to settle: “Refund if it’s too much, supplement if it’s not enough.”

She mimicked his previous calmness, giving a dignified yet false performance, trying to appear not as someone who had been deceived and was a victim, but as a friend separating amicably due to an accident.

Zhang Lian responded calmly: “Alright.”

Zhou Mi walked back, feeling drained. The emergency exit door closed with a squeak behind her. She felt as if she had been forcibly pinched, and her head began to throb intensely.

Before reaching her workstation, her app notification rang. She opened it to see a transfer message from Zhang Lian, the amount exceeding her request by a full fifty thousand yuan.

Zhou Mi didn’t say anything, accepted the money, and then returned forty-five thousand.

Zhang Lian said: Keep the rest as nutrition expenses. Take good care of yourself.

Zhou Mi smirked slightly: It’s not entirely your fault. Just be a decent person. No need to be a good one.

A few seconds later, as she wished, Zhang Lian silently took back the forty-five thousand.