To be fair, Zhan Zilang had played a significant role in her series of bizarre encounters.
First, during the incident involving Han Chubin, he had contributed quite a bit. In fact, if he hadn’t initially introduced Zhou Zhuofei to Jiang Shen, she wouldn’t have thought to recommend him to Du Yu—and she wouldn’t have even met Xie Huai if not for him either…
Suddenly, Zhou Zhuofei had an epiphany—could this guy actually be some kind of male protagonist?
"You…" Zhou Zhuofei stared at Zhan Zilang, trying to analyze something.
But unfortunately, she failed. Was she really going to distance herself from him just because of a baseless suspicion?
There was no need for that. Even if Xiao Zhan really was the protagonist, she had no idea what his story was, so it wouldn’t affect her.
"What about me?" Zhan Zilang waited for a while but didn’t hear the rest of her sentence, so he couldn’t help but ask.
Zhou Zhuofei quickly changed the subject. "I was just asking about your friend—how is he doing?"
"Which one?"
"The one with red hair."
"Oh, you mean Xie Ya?" Zhan Zilang scratched his head. "Haven’t heard much from him these past couple of days. Honestly, we’re not that close."
"But didn’t you say you were showing him around?"
"Well, that was just because he was new to City K and didn’t know anyone. You know me—I’m always happy to help. So I said I’d show him around, but it was always in a group. Plus, he’s kind of a loner…"
Zhan Zilang smacked his lips and concluded, "So we don’t really have a personal connection."
After their conversation, Zhan Zilang got up to deliver some documents for her.
He had accompanied Zhou Zhuofei to the top floor once before. Though she always insisted that interns should obediently handle menial tasks, in reality, she rarely made Zhan Zilang do meaningless errands like running around for no reason.
Most of the time, she involved him in actual work. So when Zhan Zilang finally got the chance to run an errand for Zhou Zhuofei, he was unusually enthusiastic.
Humming a tune, he made his way to the top floor, picked up the documents, and spotted Xiao Wang in the office through the glass. He knocked on the door to greet him.
"Secretary Xiao, busy?"
Xiao Wang saw him and assumed he was there for him, immediately putting down his mouse. "Looking for me?"
"No, no." Zhan Zilang proudly waved the documents in his hand. "I’m here to deliver these for Sister Zhou."
"Seems like you’re getting the hang of this job."
"Of course!" Zhan Zilang said smugly. "Otherwise, why would Sister Zhou trust me to handle this alone?"
"She doesn’t usually send you on errands, does she?" Xiao Wang’s tone was certain. "Before this, I always saw her doing it herself."
"Hahaha, busted already?" Zhan Zilang laughed it off without a care and immediately admitted to exaggerating. "Actually, Sister Zhou only sent me because she was swamped today."
"I see." Xiao Wang replied casually. "Is the administrative department particularly busy today?"
Zhan Zilang cleverly deflected, "Isn’t the administrative department always busy?"
If he said they weren’t busy, he’d be throwing Sister Zhou under the bus—he wasn’t about to make such a rookie mistake.
Xiao Wang smiled. Compared to the Zhan Zilang from before, he had clearly improved. It seemed his time at Huanyu over the past few weeks had really benefited him.
This outcome was good for everyone.
Zhan Zilang had learned a lot, the Zhan family was satisfied, Ling Yu had gained a favor, and Zhou Zhuofei might even receive recognition for it.
Pretending not to notice anything, Xiao Wang played along. "Well, you should get back to work then."
"Sure thing!"
Zhan Zilang returned to the office in high spirits, eager to share his "brilliant response" with Zhou Zhuofei.
But before he could even approach her, he was stunned by the ferocity of her typing.
Zhou Zhuofei’s fingers flew across the keyboard at lightning speed, her movements so fast they almost blurred. Even during their gaming sessions, he’d never seen her type this aggressively.
"Sister Zhou…" He approached cautiously.
Zhou Zhuofei finished typing a sentence and hit Enter before looking up. "Back already?"
"Yeah… Who are you talking to? It looks like you’re about to set the keyboard on fire."
Zhou Zhuofei snorted. "I’d be doing well not to rip her head off."
She was chatting with Du Yu. Unsurprisingly, Du Yu had taken the day off and slept in until now. The first message she sent upon waking up was:
[What happened yesterday?]
She had some vague memories, but yesterday had been so eventful that the clearest thing in her mind was Han Chubin’s miserable state. She desperately needed Zhou Zhuofei to fill in the gaps.
Zhou Zhuofei glanced at the message, then at the time, and immediately fired back:
[Oh-ho-ho, look who’s finally awake! Sleeping Beauty graces us with her presence!]
[…Stop talking like that, you’re scaring me.]
[You weren’t saying that yesterday.]
[So what actually happened yesterday?]
[Oh, nothing much. Just you relentlessly exposing all my flaws in front of Secretary Xiao. I told you to stop, but you just had to provoke me. Not that I’m mad or anything.]
Du Yu broke out in a cold sweat reading this—clearly, this was payback.
[I was just too happy yesterday. Darling, I love you!]
Zhou Zhuofei responded with a string of "heh"s, just as Zhan Zilang interrupted.
She took the documents and listened as he recounted his conversation with Xiao Wang, ending with a proud, "Sister Zhou, wasn’t my answer great?"
A simple "Not bad" was all he got before she shooed him away.
Outwardly, she remained composed, but the moment he left, she smacked her own forehead. She was an idiot—she’d thought sending Zhan Zilang to Xiao Wang would make her less noticeable.
But of course, he had to go and strike up a conversation. Even if Xiao Wang had forgotten about her before, Zhan Zilang’s reminder would surely jog his memory.
Zhou Zhuofei groaned, slapping her forehead in frustration. What a blunder—she might as well have charged up there herself.
Only then did she refocus on her computer, where Du Yu had already sent several messages of repentance—apologies, promises to treat her to a meal, the works.
But Zhou Zhuofei delivered the final blow with:
[Do you even have money?]
Despite her glamorous appearance, Du Yu’s wallet was currently empty. She’d have to tighten her belt for a while.
Though Zhou Zhuofei acted annoyed, she still transferred her some money.
[Consider this the red packet I promised earlier. Spend it wisely.]
Maybe Du Yu really was her favorite person. Who knew?
After work, Zhou Zhuofei returned to her apartment complex and noticed a massive pile of cardboard, plastic wrap, and foam near the trash bins.
The sheer volume of waste made her pause and stare.
When she reached her floor, she found Cen Huan’s door wide open, with clattering sounds coming from inside. Curious, she peeked in.
Cen Huan was sweeping the floor, which was littered with packaging materials.
Seeing the mess, Zhou Zhuofei asked, "What happened here?"
Cen Huan turned and explained, "Got a new fridge. Just cleaning up the mess."
"I see," Zhou Zhuofei thought to herself—this was undoubtedly Xie Ya's doing, since Cen Huan certainly couldn't afford to replace the appliances. "No wonder I saw cardboard boxes downstairs."
"Yeah," Cen Huan replied after a moment's hesitation, deciding Zhou Zhuofei wasn’t an outsider and could be trusted with the truth. "Xie Ya bought these before he left."
"Really?" Zhou Zhuofei feigned surprise. "That must’ve cost a fortune, right?"
Cen Huan nodded worriedly. "It did add up to quite a bit. He didn’t even mention it beforehand—I only found out when the delivery guys showed up today."
"Well, that just means he’s doing well for himself, able to drop that much cash at once," Zhou Zhuofei reassured her. "It shows he’s capable."
Of course, Cen Huan knew Xie Ya earned a decent salary, especially as the most popular live singer at the bar. But she’d only let him stay with her for two weeks—it felt inappropriate for him to spend so much, especially knowing his own family struggled financially.
"I don’t know how things are at his place. I’ve tried calling him the past couple days, but he hasn’t picked up."
Zhou Zhuofei figured Xie Ya wouldn’t be answering calls for a long, long time.
Still, she kept her tone light. "Don’t worry. Xie Ya’s sharp and talented—he’ll land on his feet anywhere."
"You’re right." Cen Huan perked up a little. "He’s way more capable than I am."
"By the way, did you hear about the incident at your bar yesterday?"
"You mean the customer causing trouble? Yeah, we all know. The manager even held a training session on handling emergencies."
"I happened to be there. Do you know who that guy was—the one who took charge without wearing a uniform?"
Cen Huan thought for a second before it clicked. "Oh, you mean Shen-ge? He’s the boss’s relative. He doesn’t work at the bar, just occasionally brings friends to the private rooms for meetings. But he’s low-key—the staff isn’t supposed to talk about him. I’m only telling you because you asked."
"Got it." Zhou Zhuofei smiled, signaling she understood the discretion. "Just curious, don’t worry—I won’t spread it around."
Now the plot was clear: Ling Yu had gone to New World because of Jiang Shen. Soon, the two would meet, and before long, Cen Huan would become her boss’s wife.
Seemed Xie Ya’s role was wrapping up too. She glanced at the packing foam on the floor and silently bid him farewell.
Goodbye, you annoying brat—tragic backstory and all, crying in your Ferrari.
She mused that even during her naive college days, she’d never been this insufferable. Why couldn’t wealth smile upon those who truly needed it, like her?
The following days passed uneventfully.
Du Yu, strapped for cash, didn’t invite Zhou Zhuofei out again. Meanwhile, Zhou Zhuofei gradually moved past the awkwardness she’d felt at the mere thought of Xiao Wang.
Honestly, she hadn’t even tried to adjust—it just happened. Two days later, Xiao Wang suddenly stopped by the admin office on business and casually greeted her.
The moment Zhou Zhuofei responded, she felt a wave of calm.
It hit her: she’d overreacted. To Xiao Wang, this was just a small act of kindness—nothing worth reading into.
With that realization, her mood lifted, and she smiled back. "Hi, Xiao Wang. Here for work?"
"Yeah." He gestured toward the far side of the room. "I’ll head over first."
The second Xiao Wang appeared, colleagues flocked to chat, but he politely declined, citing work.
Zhou Zhuofei stole glances from her desk, careful not to be obvious—typing intermittently while sneaking peeks.
When he finished and turned to leave, she immediately ducked her head, pretending to focus on her screen.
Then footsteps approached, and a shadow fell across her desk. She looked up to find Xiao Wang standing there again.
Zhou Zhuofei blinked in confusion. Hadn’t they already exchanged greetings?
"Need something?"
He nodded. "Got a minute? I haven’t seen you around lately—haven’t had a chance to ask."
"Of course! I’ve just been busy these past couple days." She fumbled through an excuse before setting her work aside. "What’s up?"
"A small thing." Xiao Wang’s expression was open, his tone normal but slightly lowered. "Mind stepping outside? Don’t want to distract everyone."
Ah, so it was private. Zhou Zhuofei caught on instantly and followed him out.
In the hallway, Xiao Wang got straight to the point. "Zhou Zhuofei, I noticed Chu Qing liked your post yesterday. Did you two just connect?"
He remembered clearly—Chu Qing had never appeared in Zhou Zhuofei’s likes before. The timing made it hard not to link this to himself.
"Yeah." Since adding her, Chu Qing had liked a few posts and occasionally commented, but their interactions never went beyond public replies.
Xiao Wang sighed inwardly. As feared, Zhou Zhuofei had gotten dragged into this.
When he didn’t immediately continue, Zhou Zhuofei offered, "Coworkers adding each other is pretty normal, right? Everyone likes and comments to be supportive. We’re not actually close."
She could guess his concern—that she might leak something to Chu Qing. This was her way of assuring him: no risk here.
"I see." Xiao Wang smiled, appreciating her intent to ease his mind.
"Come on, Xiao Wang, you know me." She waved it off breezily. "I’m too lazy for drama—after work, I barely check my phone. Too busy gaming."
Xiao Wang recalled her social media—mostly homebound, alternating between games and cat photos. Not exactly the outgoing type.
"Just didn’t want to trouble you or waste your time."
After all, every new contact carried potential complications.
"But you’ve gone out of your way for me plenty of times." Zhou Zhuofei shook her head. "If you can do it, so can I."
She was a fortress. After navigating all sorts of office politics, handling Chu Qing would be child’s play.
Still, did his worry imply he still saw her as the inexperienced newcomer from back then?
Zhou Zhuofei exhaled quietly. She knew she wasn’t on Xiao Wang’s level yet, but she’d grown.
Not earning his recognition stung more than she’d admit.
She wasn’t someone who relied on external validation to function—but everyone had their little aspirations.
For example, as children we yearn for praise from parents and teachers, and as adults we seek affirmation and reliance from friends and family. Even in video games, don’t we hope to smoothly complete tasks and earn achievement badges?
Though she felt she was already quite capable of handling things, it seemed she had never managed to demonstrate this in front of him.
So she lifted her head and said earnestly to Xiao Wang, “Secretary Xiao, I might not be able to help much, but I definitely won’t hold you back. Don’t worry—I’ll prove it to you.”
There was something in her eyes that seemed to shine brilliantly, a dazzling light that struck straight into Xiao Wang’s heart, holding his gaze.
He had always resisted becoming the perfect “god” in someone else’s eyes, yet Zhou Zhuofei continuously poured energy into him, offering trust. It was as if she were weaving an immaculate illusion around him.
This feeling didn’t actually have a negative impact on him. On the contrary, it provided a steady stream of positivity, easing the tension of the high-pressure workplace and letting him experience sincerity amid complicated relationships.
But he was also well aware that he ought to remain vigilant.
Because if you linger too long in a beautiful dream, the moment you start believing it’s real—that’s when you’re truly beyond redemption.
