Zhou Zhuofei had come to realize that some things were simply unavoidable—fate had a way of striking right where it hurt the most.
She glanced briefly before looking away, picking up her interrupted train of thought to continue answering the question.
"Alright, alright, thank you so much..." The questioner glanced at Zhou Zhuofei's name tag and addressed her, "Miss Zhou."
"Don’t mention it, just doing my job." Zhou Zhuofei replied and was about to leave when Wang Zicheng suddenly appeared right in front of her.
Their eyes met.
Wang Zicheng froze, his expression first flickering with confusion before shifting into disbelief.
"You..."
A colleague beside him, noticing his reaction, asked curiously, "What’s wrong? Run into someone you know?"
"Uh..." Wang Zicheng hesitated, stealing a glance at Zhou Zhuofei’s reaction. Seeing she had no intention of acknowledging him, he relaxed slightly. After all, it was all in the past—he assumed she wouldn’t want to bring it up either.
He quickly covered, "Must’ve mistaken her for someone else."
Zhou Zhuofei watched his performance coldly. She had initially planned to let it slide, but hearing his response ignited a surge of anger in her.
She spoke up abruptly, "You’re Wang Zicheng, aren’t you?"
Before he could answer, his colleague chimed in helpfully, "Yes, yes, that’s him! See, she remembers your name, and here you are stammering. Your memory’s really slipping, huh?"
"So it really is you. I thought I’d never see you again in this lifetime."
Though Zhou Zhuofei’s tone was flat, even the uninvolved colleagues could sense the underlying edge in her words.
This wasn’t just an old acquaintance—more like an old enemy.
Wang Zicheng was naturally nervous. Back in school, everyone had their own circles and kept to themselves, but if this got back to the company...
By now, a nosy colleague had already started probing, "How do you know our Manager Wang?"
"We go way back," Zhou Zhuofei said, feigning reminiscence before adding, "It’s been, what, five years since we last saw each other?"
Wang Zicheng forced a smile. "About that, yeah."
"Now that I think about it, it’s been a while. I still remember our last meeting—it was in your classroom. You were cheating on me behind my back, and my friends and I cornered you there to break up. Right?"
Zhou Zhuofei delivered the words casually, but silence fell over the group. Everyone exchanged glances, struggling to process what they’d just heard.
Wang Zicheng broke out in a cold sweat. He’d assumed that after all these years, they could at least be civil. Who’d have thought Zhou Zhuofei would strip him bare without hesitation?
No wonder his eyelids had been twitching lately. He’d blamed it on the unfamiliar environment, but the real reason was standing right in front of him.
But Wang Zicheng was no novice to the corporate world. He wasn’t about to lose his composure over a minor setback.
Steadying himself, he put on a sincere expression and said to Zhou Zhuofei, "I’m really sorry. I was young and reckless back then. I’d actually been meaning to reach out and apologize, but I was afraid seeing me would upset you. Running into you like this must be fate, so let me take this chance to sincerely apologize."
He then bowed deeply to her, about to say more, but Zhou Zhuofei cut him off.
"Save the empty words. I don’t accept it. A belated apology means nothing. Sorry for wasting everyone’s time."
After apologizing to the others, Zhou Zhuofei turned and walked away without another glance.
Though she’d said her piece, she didn’t feel the triumphant satisfaction she’d expected. Strangely, she thought she’d feel vindicated—so why didn’t she?
Why had the emotions from back then completely faded?
On her way back, she shared the incident with Du Yu.
[It just means you’ve really matured. That’s a good thing.]
[Then can I choose not to mature? I don’t even feel happy anymore.]
It seemed she could never return to those carefree university days, when the smallest things could brighten her entire day.
[Don’t think like that. Happiness is simple—eat something delicious, play some games, or even just mess around with toys if you have to.]
[Does that even make sense?]
[Why not? Life’s too short—be good to yourself. Don’t waste time on people who aren’t worth it. Still, congrats on facing your emotional baggage head-on.]
[He’s not baggage. My only real enemy is myself!]
[Then go fight yourself. I’ve got work to do.]
Zhou Zhuofei wasn’t sure if she’d done the right thing. Logically, she knew it might cause trouble—but what was done was done. Overthinking it now was pointless.
That evening, she received a call from Lv Lawyer. The negotiations with Xie Huai were nearing their end, and Lv Lawyer was going over the agreement’s terms with her one by one.
When she heard the clause prohibiting her from contacting any member of the Xie family, Zhou Zhuofei asked in disbelief, "He’s going that far?"
"Honestly, as long as both parties agree, it’s just a matter of mutual consent."
"I see."
Zhou Zhuofei understood Xie Huai’s intention perfectly. He wanted to sever all ties with her completely. In short, now that he saw her as a problem, he was trying to buy his way out.
If she hadn’t known Xie Lan, signing the agreement wouldn’t have mattered.
But now, signing it would mean abandoning Xie Lan entirely.
"Abandon" might be too strong a word, but with so few people left in Xie Lan’s life, her departure would feel no different.
Lv Lawyer asked, "Miss Zhou, are you dissatisfied with the terms?"
Zhou Zhuofei hesitated. "If I refuse this condition, will it cause trouble for you?"
"Of course not," Lv Lawyer replied professionally. "My job is to secure the best outcome for my client. If you’re unhappy with the current terms, I’ll renegotiate."
"Alright, thank you so much."
"Don’t mention it. I’ll update you once there’s progress."
"Got it."
Before this, Zhou Zhuofei had never dealt with lawyers. She didn’t know if all of them were as professional and patient as Lv Lawyer, or if Xiao Wang’s influence had played a role.
The thought of Xiao Wang returning the next day only tangled her thoughts further.
Part of her wished he’d come back a few days later—just so she could collect herself before facing him.
The summit’s final day was a panel discussion. According to the schedule, Ling Yu was set to attend in the morning, but since this wasn’t Zhou Zhuofei’s responsibility, she wasn’t privy to the details.
However, Xiao Wang had texted her earlier, saying he had to return to the office first. That was how she knew they were already back in City K.
Ling Yu appeared at the conference hall as planned. Though Zhou Zhuofei had nothing to do, she couldn’t return to her room either, so she found a spot with her colleagues to stay on standby.
Finally, the meeting came to an end, and a large crowd began filing out of the banquet hall. Zhou Zhuofei, however, had to wait for the venue to clear so she could go in and handle some remaining tasks.
It was at this moment that Wang Zicheng appeared out of nowhere, approaching her in front of all her colleagues. "Miss Zhou... could I have a word with you?" he asked.
Zhou Zhuofei eyed him with suspicion, unable to fathom what else he could possibly have to say.
As she was considering how to reject him without sounding too harsh, he continued, "I’ll be leaving soon, and who knows when we’ll cross paths again. So I think it’s best to clear things up with you as soon as possible."
Ye Ru, assuming Zhou Zhuofei was hesitant to leave her post due to work obligations—and since the matter didn’t seem urgent—said to her, "It’s fine, Xiao Zhou. Go ahead and take care of this first. We can manage here."
Zhou Zhuofei wanted to explain but didn’t know how, especially with so many people watching. She also didn’t want to air her personal affairs in public, so she reluctantly agreed. "Fine, let’s talk over there," she said, gesturing to the far corner of the hall.
She deliberately chose a spot that was open and unobstructed, ensuring she wouldn’t have to worry about any underhanded moves from him.
The two walked over and stood facing each other, with Zhou Zhuofei deliberately keeping her distance, arms crossed defensively.
"Say what you need to say, and make it quick," she snapped.
"I still want to apologize," Wang Zicheng said, his tone even more earnest than the day before. "I know you don’t want to see me, but I felt it was necessary to come again with sincerity. Last night, I called my wife and told her everything about our past. She scolded me for how I treated you and insisted I apologize properly. So here I am."
Zhou Zhuofei froze the moment he mentioned being married.
Only then did she notice the wedding ring on his finger. Before, she hadn’t even bothered to look at him properly, so she’d missed it entirely.
"You’re married?" she asked, disbelief coloring her voice.
He nodded. "Yes, for over two years now. My child will be one soon."
For a moment, Zhou Zhuofei was at a loss for words.
She had wondered how he was doing, but no matter how she imagined it—whether he was thriving or struggling—she never expected him to have settled down so soon.
After all, how could someone who spent his college years toying with girls’ emotions suddenly "reform" so quickly?
Coldly, she replied, "Well, I can only hope your wife doesn’t end up in the same position I was in."
Wang Zicheng gave a bitter smile. "You’ve really changed..."
In his memory, Zhou Zhuofei had been lively, naive, and easy to placate—even when upset, she’d vent and then quickly move on.
But the woman before him was nothing like that. No wonder he hadn’t recognized her at first.
Zhou Zhuofei frowned impatiently. "Get to the point. I’m not here to reminisce."
He obliged, continuing his apology. "I truly am sorry. Back in college, I was immature and didn’t know how to be a proper boyfriend. It wasn’t until I met my wife that I understood many things. I went too far back then, and I owe you an apology for what I did."
"So your wife told you to apologize, is that it?"
He sidestepped the question. "It’s what I wanted too."
Zhou Zhuofei nodded. "Fine. Got it. You can go now."
Wang Zicheng blinked. "Huh?" He couldn’t quite grasp her attitude.
Was that it?
"You can go back and tell your wife you apologized. Isn’t that what she asked you to do?"
That was technically true, but something about it felt off.
"But you—"
"I don’t accept it," Zhou Zhuofei said flatly. "I made that clear yesterday. I don’t accept your apology. You can move on, but I can’t."
She couldn’t understand why people thought an apology could fix everything.
Wang Zicheng had shattered her illusions about love in the cruelest way possible, back when she was at her most innocent. Now that he had a successful career and a happy family, he thought he could just waltz in, say sorry, and erase the damage he’d caused?
Even if his apology was sincere, why should she have to accept it? Since when did that make things right?
Wang Zicheng pressed, "Then what do you want me to do?"
"How about you invent a time machine, go back to our college days, beat the crap out of your past self, and warn him to stay the hell away from me? Give me back my first love, and not only will I forgive you, I’ll even thank you. You might even win a Nobel Prize and go down in history."
She delivered the words with absolute sincerity. "Seriously, I could really use your help. If I’d never met you in college, I can’t even imagine how happy I’d be. But if you can’t do that, then kindly get lost."
"Alright..." Wang Zicheng felt thoroughly humiliated by her sarcasm, but for the sake of his pride, he tried to salvage the situation. "I didn’t realize I’d hurt you so deeply..."
"Don’t flatter yourself. You’re not that important. I just despise you on principle. Let’s get this over with—I never want to see you again." Her tone was icy.
Wang Zicheng could feel the sheer hostility radiating from her.
The Zhou Zhuofei he remembered would have been shouting and cursing by now, but this version of her was controlled, her words sharper than ever. He knew pushing further would only make things worse.
"I really am sorry," he muttered.
Seeing he had nothing new to offer, Zhou Zhuofei waved him off and turned to leave.
"Don’t bother me again, or I’ll call your wife. And who knows what I might say to her then."
Wang Zicheng paled. "You wouldn’t."
"That depends on you."
With that, she walked back into the conference hall, rejoining her colleagues as if nothing had happened.
When someone casually asked about her relationship with Wang Zicheng, she brushed it off, saying they were just alumni.
After all, this was City K—running into a few former classmates wasn’t unusual.
Once everything was packed up, Zhou Zhuofei and her colleagues headed to a celebratory dinner, upgrading from the buffet to a private dining room.
Throughout the meal, she seemed distracted, unusually quiet. When Zhan Zilang asked if she was okay, she blamed it on exhaustion.
Ye Ru, overhearing, urged her to rest early. Their hotel rooms were booked until noon the next day, so she could stay another night.
But those with families and children were eager to leave.
"I haven’t been home in two days. Who knows what kind of mess I’ll find," one colleague sighed.
"Same here. My daughter called me yesterday saying she couldn’t sleep at night."
"Ah, working these shifts—day after day, never getting home."
Since everyone was eager to return, the meal wrapped up quickly, ending in less than an hour.
As the group stepped out of the restaurant, ready to leave, Zhou Zhuofei accompanied them to the lobby, intending to see them off before heading back to her room.
Just as they exited the elevator, Zhan Zilang’s sharp eyes caught sight of the front desk and pointed, "Hey, isn’t that Secretary Xiao over there?"
Zhou Zhuofei looked up and, sure enough, spotted Xiao Wang at the reception—a figure she hadn’t seen in a week. Dressed in a dark suit, his posture was upright, his chiseled profile accentuated by sharp angles, and his lips curled into a faint, ever-polite smile.
A colleague couldn’t help but sigh, "Secretary Xiao is as handsome as ever."
"Yeah, the more you look, the more striking he gets."
The man seemed to notice the commotion near the elevator and glanced over.
At the same moment, Zhou Zhuofei lowered her head.
Right now, she simply didn’t have the energy to deal with any of this—not even the effort to pretend.
In front of Xiao Wang, she had always been bright, energetic, and cheerful. But if she approached him now, all he’d see was a drained, negative version of herself—someone who’d offer him no positivity whatsoever.
And she absolutely couldn’t let that happen.
Feigning ignorance of Xiao Wang’s presence, Zhou Zhuofei quietly excused herself to Zhan Zilang, claiming exhaustion and a need to rest.
Zhan Zilang, unsuspecting, agreed readily and even urged her to hurry back.
Without hesitation, Zhou Zhuofei turned and stepped back into the elevator.
