This time, Zhou Zhuofei finally understood—could this get any more cliché?!
A flurry of thoughts raced through her mind, but all she managed to express was a string of refusals: "No way! Absolutely not! Just let me grow old alone, thanks!"
Jiang Shen chuckled softly. "No need to be so harsh on yourself. I was just joking."
He’d said the same thing last time, and Zhou Zhuofei had believed him. But now, she wasn’t sure whether to trust him again.
Dealing with him was exhausting. She hated this guessing game—some might call it flirting, but to her, it felt more like playing with people’s emotions.
With a long sigh, she said, "Detective, could you stop teasing me? I might actually take you seriously."
"Alright, I’ll stop. I was just curious, that’s all. If you don’t want to answer, forget it."
Of course, Zhou Zhuofei had no intention of answering. Without hesitation, she replied, "Then… how about I treat you to a meal instead? You pick the time and place."
"Forget it. Not to look down on you, but your salary can barely cover your own expenses, right? I heard you’ve been helping Du Yu out lately too."
Zhou Zhuofei was startled. The fact that he knew about this meant Du Yu had been talking to him quite a bit.
"How do you know that?"
"Du Yu told me, obviously. What, jealous that your bestie’s chatting with me?"
"Here we go again," Zhou Zhuofei muttered, rubbing her temples. His vague, suggestive remarks always gave her a headache.
"You’re no fun. If you’ve got time, you can talk to me too. If not, I’ll hang up and bother someone else~"
"Fine, go ahead. I need to feed my cat."
Jiang Shen laughed and promptly ended the call.
Zhou Zhuofei set her phone down and turned to the director curled up on the sofa, who blinked back at her with golden eyes.
"Well, since I’ve got nothing better to do," she murmured, "how about some treats?"
"Meow?"
Later that evening, Xiao Wang sent Zhou Zhuofei a contact.
[This is a friend of mine. You can reach out to him.]
[Got it. Is it too late? I don’t want to disturb his rest.]
[Don’t worry, he’s online. You can add him now and discuss the details tomorrow.]
[Okay.]
That night, Zhou Zhuofei added the lawyer—Lv Lawyer—and after a brief introduction, they agreed to talk in detail the next day at noon.
During her lunch break, Zhou Zhuofei found an empty meeting room and went over everything with Lv Lawyer. She explained the situation thoroughly, and he analyzed the current circumstances for her. Zhou Zhuofei wasn’t after compensation—what she wanted was an apology and a guarantee.
More than that, she wanted Xie Huai to understand that he couldn’t just do as he pleased. Mistakes had consequences.
As Xie Lan had said, when people did wrong, they had to make amends—even if they resented it.
After clarifying her demands, Lv Lawyer assured her he’d draft a plan as soon as possible.
"If the other party’s lawyer contacts you, just give them my number. If you’d rather not deal with it directly, I can handle everything from there."
"Great, thank you so much, Lv Lawyer."
"Of course. Any other questions?"
"Actually, about the fees…"
"Normally, we charge a percentage of the compensation, but Xiao Wang has helped me out a lot in the past. This time, I’ll just take the minimum rate. We can settle it once everything’s resolved."
In the afternoon, Zhou Zhuofei went to the top floor to deliver some documents. Through the glass, she saw Xiao Wang on a call and hesitated—should she wait, or just message him later?
Soon, he noticed her lingering and waved her over. By the time she reached the door, Xiao Wang was wrapping up his call.
"Got it, I’ll arrange it right away…" He hung up and turned to Zhou Zhuofei with concern. "Did you talk to him?"
"We’ve sorted everything out." Not wanting to take up too much of his time, Zhou Zhuofei kept her explanation brief, but Xiao Wang listened intently, occasionally asking for details.
"...That’s pretty much it."
"I’ve known him for a while. His expertise is top-notch in the industry."
"Yeah, I could tell." Though Zhou Zhuofei wasn’t familiar with the field, she could recognize professionalism and dedication when she saw it.
"With him handling it, I’m relieved. There’s something else—General Manager Ling and I will be away on a business trip starting tomorrow."
Zhou Zhuofei couldn’t help but let out a soft "Ah." Xiao Wang traveling for work was nothing unusual, but with everything going on, the thought of him being gone made her uneasy.
Lately, she’d grown used to discussing things with him whenever something came up.
But then again, maybe she’d become a little too reliant on him. Perhaps this was a chance to readjust.
After all, their recent closeness was only because Xiao Wang was helping her. Once this was over, things would go back to how they were before.
So maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing.
Her gaze steadied, and she said firmly, "Don’t worry, I’ll manage."
"I don’t doubt that. Just be careful."
Remembering yesterday’s events, Zhou Zhuofei added, "What happened was so sudden. I just thought if we could resolve everything quickly, no one would have to worry about my problems anymore."
Xiao Wang listened quietly, then sighed. "I understand."
He knew exactly what Zhou Zhuofei was thinking—and that only made him angrier at himself.
"So… you don’t…" Zhou Zhuofei suddenly grew hesitant, watching his reaction carefully. "Blame me, do you?"
"I never blamed you in the first place," Xiao Wang replied.
When he’d received that recording, he’d been shocked. He couldn’t even imagine what circumstances had led Zhou Zhuofei to have that conversation with Xie Huai.
Afraid of interfering with her plans, he hadn’t dared to call her immediately. Instead, he’d sent a few messages, his unease growing with every passing minute.
He’d set a time limit—if she didn’t reply by then, he’d take action.
Thankfully, her response had come just in time. Reading her explanation had eased the tension in his nerves, but his emotions remained unsettled.
He knew exactly why he’d reacted this way. It wasn’t just worry over Zhou Zhuofei’s recklessness—it was regret. Regret that he hadn’t done enough to keep her from taking such risks.
If he’d done more, would she have ever considered putting herself in danger?
"Why would you think that?" Xiao Wang asked.
"This... because I felt your reaction yesterday seemed a bit off?" Zhou Zhuofei spoke cautiously, then quickly added, "Or maybe I was overthinking it."
"How could that be? Even if someone were to be blamed in this situation, it definitely wouldn’t be you."
Seeing how calm and indifferent the other person seemed, Zhou Zhuofei naturally believed it—apparently, she had been too sensitive, projecting her own worries onto others.
She smiled in relief. "That’s good. Actually, I did think about it. I even wondered how you would handle these problems if it were you."
"You thought of me?"
Noticing Xiao Wang’s disbelief, Zhou Zhuofei immediately emphasized, "Yes! I’m not lying. I was really panicked back then and didn’t know what to say to Xie Huai. Then I remembered the things you said to him that day, so I quickly copied your approach. Surprisingly, it worked pretty well."
"Is that so?" Xiao Wang’s lips curled unconsciously, as if her words had swept away the gloom in his heart, bringing him light.
"Of course! Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to resolve this matter at all. I know you’ll probably say I should believe in myself and not downplay my abilities, but the truth is, I’ve learned a lot from you. I can feel good about myself, but I can’t ignore your help."
It was Xiao Wang who had always given her confidence and set an example, giving her the courage to face Xie Huai.
"I won’t deny that," Xiao Wang’s voice grew even lighter. "Didn’t you say you’d treat me to a meal? Wait until I’m back from my business trip."
"No problem. But when are you coming back? Isn’t the strategy summit next week? Isn’t General Manager Ling attending?"
"He is, but we’ll miss the opening. We’ll return on the last day—General Manager Ling needs to attend the summit."
"That works out. I’ll be free after the summit too. The admin team’s been swamped lately."
"Then we’ll talk then."
"Okay." Zhou Zhuofei gave Xiao Wang an "OK" gesture and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something. "Oh, we’re going to City A. Want me to bring you back some local specialties?"
"Specialties?" She stopped in her tracks, curious. "What kind?"
"I’m not entirely sure, but I’ve heard their pastries are famous."
"Well..." Zhou Zhuofei hesitated. She did want some, but Xiao Wang would probably be too busy with Ling Yu to go shopping.
As if reading her mind, he said, "How about I just pick something for you?"
That suited her perfectly. She quickly agreed.
"I know you like sweet things, but can you handle savory flavors too?"
"Of course! Being picky is an insult to good food!"
"Got it." Xiao Wang’s gaze was as gentle as a soft breeze, his lips curving into a faint smile. They looked pale, tinged with a tender pink, and incredibly soft.
For some reason, Zhou Zhuofei suddenly thought of a sunlit cotton field—cotton soaked in sunlight must be both warm and fluffy.
No, she needed to leave. Now.
"Ahem." She coughed exaggeratedly and hurriedly excused herself from the office.
On the way out, she scolded herself. She’d promised to adjust her mindset and keep her distance, yet the moment he mentioned bringing her something, she’d unconsciously leaned right back in.
Zhou Zhuofei, Zhou Zhuofei, is your willpower really this weak?
And Xiao Wang, don’t you know you should keep a professional distance with colleagues? Being so nice—are you afraid people won’t develop feelings for you?
She knew she was being irrational, even resorting to baseless accusations. What was wrong with Xiao Wang being kind to her?
But... did he act this way with everyone else?
Zhou Zhuofei suddenly stopped in the hallway. She’d known Xiao Wang for nearly four years, and she’d never seen him get this close to any other female colleague before.
Besides, with his skills and influence, if he wanted to flirt, he wouldn’t choose someone at the company, right?
So that would mean...
Her thoughts screeched to a halt. She didn’t dare entertain the idea any further.
Just then, Zhan Zilang’s voice came from behind her, accompanied by a pat on her shoulder. "Zhou-jie, why are you standing here spacing out?"
Startled, Zhou Zhuofei shrieked, which in turn made Zhan Zilang yelp in surprise.
"What’s wrong with you?" She glared at him. "Why are you screaming when you’re the one who scared me?"
"Because you scared me too!" Zhan Zilang patted his chest, a rare display of vulnerability from the six-foot-tall guy. "If you want to daydream, do it at your desk. Standing in the hallway is dangerous."
"I wasn’t daydreaming, just zoning out for a second."
"That’s even weirder!"
"Fine, I’m sorry. But you really startled me."
"You were just too absorbed. I made sure to walk loudly on purpose."
"Are we really arguing about this?"
"Alright, alright. Come on, I need your help with something." Zhan Zilang dragged her back to the office.
With the interruption, Zhou Zhuofei didn’t have time to dwell on her thoughts.
Before the workday ended, the entire company received an email from Xiao Wang outlining how tasks should be delegated during his business trip.
For most employees, high-level executives traveling was routine and didn’t affect them much—Zhou Zhuofei included.
The only difference was that she now had to deliver documents to the 18th floor instead of the top floor, but she still wasn’t used to it.
However, her melancholy didn’t last long—she was simply too busy. She even took on fieldwork, braving the scorching sun to inspect and measure a hotel venue.
Outside of work, she had to squeeze in time to answer Lv Lawyer’s questions. He was now in negotiations with Xie Huai’s lawyer, engaged in a back-and-forth battle.
Xiao Wang occasionally checked in for updates, and Xie Lan also messaged her.
Du Yu even joked that their chats had dwindled lately, accusing her of having a "new flame."
Of course, Zhou Zhuofei was at her wit’s end. She was only one person with one brain—even if she worked nonstop for 24 hours, how could she possibly handle everything?
When the weekend finally arrived, she refused all invitations from Du Yu and Xie Lan, determined to stay home and rest.
Nothing would come between her and her sleep!
But just as she finished a late breakfast, curled up comfortably in her bedroom with the AC on, drifting in that blissful half-asleep haze, Cen Huan showed up at her door.
Since their encounter at the gala, Zhou Zhuofei hadn’t seen Cen Huan.
Now, face-to-face again, she suddenly realized—Cen Huan seemed different.
Her hair had clearly been treated with care, every strand curled to perfection, and her outfit was visibly high-quality, paired with a pair of white leather shoes—a far cry from her usual simple and casual style.
"You look really beautiful today. Going on a date?"
"Sort of." Cen Huan's expression was slightly complicated, her tone tinged with reluctance and regret. "Zhuofei, I'm moving away. I probably won’t get to see the director anymore."
"Moving?" Zhou Zhuofei took a moment to process the news. Of course, Cen Huan would live with Ling Yu once they got married—she just hadn’t expected things to progress so quickly.
"Where are you moving to?"
"I’m not sure yet, but I can invite you over sometime."
Ling Yu had demanded that Cen Huan keep the truth of their fake marriage a secret from everyone and cut ties with her old friends during their arrangement.
But Zhou Zhuofei was different. Since she was an employee of Huanyu, running into her after the marriage would be natural. After some persuasion, Ling Yu reluctantly allowed Cen Huan to maintain their friendship.
This was something Cen Huan had fought hard for.
The thought of facing the future completely alone terrified her. Just having Zhou Zhuofei around, even if they did nothing more than talk, would be an immense comfort to her heart.
