After dinner, the two sat on the sofa discussing how to go public with their relationship.
Xiao Wang asked, "What would Du Yu do?"
"Let me think... She usually doesn’t make formal announcements, but she does post statements when she breaks up. That way, if we see her posting dating photos later, we’ll know she’s definitely in a new relationship."
"She posts breakup statements?"
"There’s no other choice. Her boyfriends are usually from the same industry, and they share mutual acquaintances. If things aren’t clarified, it could get messy."
Zhou Zhuofei glanced at Xiao Wang and deliberately added, "But if we ever break up, it’d be pretty troublesome too. I wouldn’t be able to go to the top floor to deliver documents anymore..."
Xiao Wang immediately glared at her and said sternly, "Don’t talk nonsense."
Zhou Zhuofei collapsed onto Xiao Wang in laughter, teasing, "I’m just joking! What if it happens?"
"What do you mean, ‘what if’?"
Noticing the shift in his tone, Zhou Zhuofei stopped laughing and leaned closer to Xiao Wang, coaxing, "Are you really mad? I was just saying it casually."
Xiao Wang wanted to say it was fine—he knew she didn’t mean it—but he disliked how easily she brought up the idea of breaking up.
Still, it was rare to see Zhou Zhuofei actively trying to appease him, so he decided to see how far she’d go. He pursed his lips and stayed silent.
Zhou Zhuofei didn’t have much experience in comforting others because few people were worth her effort. Most of her practice had been spent on Du Yu, who was easy to placate—her temper was fiery, but she usually just needed an excuse to vent.
Zhou Zhuofei inched even closer, her face almost touching Xiao Wang’s. "Don’t give me the silent treatment. Sulking isn’t good for you."
"Talk to me..." She clung to Xiao Wang’s arm, shaking it with each whine of "Wangwang."
Within three seconds, Xiao Wang couldn’t keep up the act anymore. A smile broke through as he lightly patted her to stop. "Alright, alright. I’m not mad."
"You scared me! Then why didn’t you say anything earlier?"
Xiao Wang replied earnestly, "I just don’t like it when you casually mention breaking up, even as a joke. I can’t help overthinking it."
"Got it. I’ll be more careful next time." Zhou Zhuofei admitted she sometimes spoke without filter. Since she often discussed this topic with Du Yu, it had become second nature to her.
But if Xiao Wang minded, she’d stop.
Thinking about it, it made sense. It was like back in school—who’d want to hear people constantly joking about failing exams? That was just bad luck.
"I won’t say it again. If I forget, just remind me, okay?" Her apology was sincere, followed by a playful pout.
Xiao Wang was powerless against this. The moment she apologized, his heart softened. And it only reinforced one truth: he’d never meet another person like Zhou Zhuofei in his life.
How could he ever let her go?
After much discussion, they decided going public didn’t need to be a grand spectacle—letting things unfold naturally was enough.
Xiao Wang agreed to pick her up for work the next day, and before bed, Zhou Zhuofei posted a status update.
The photo was a sneak shot of Xiao Wang cooking, originally meant to brag to Du Yu. But she reconsidered, thinking flaunting her relationship wasn’t ideal. Still, the photo captured Xiao Wang’s striking silhouette and well-built frame, making it too good to delete.
Since she needed a photo for her post, she chose this one.
The caption read: [Dinner’s sorted for today!]
On the surface, it was a mundane life update, but the subtext was clear—she was showing off her boyfriend. Xiao Wang liked it the moment it went up, making the message even more obvious.
After posting, Zhou Zhuofei tossed her phone aside, turned off the lights, and went to sleep. Whatever storm awaited would have to wait until morning.
She set her alarm earlier than usual, washed up, and texted Xiao Wang, who was already waiting at the neighborhood gate. She hurried downstairs.
Despite having just checked his message, Zhou Zhuofei instinctively headed toward the bus stop out of habit—until a car horn behind her reminded her she didn’t need the bus today.
"Good morning!" She greeted Xiao Wang with bright energy as she got in the car, then gave him an exaggerated once-over. "Secretary Xiao is looking extra handsome today!"
The title made him frown. "Do we have to use work titles before we even get to the office?"
"Hehe, professional etiquette!"
Xiao Wang sighed in amusement. "Buckle up. We’re leaving."
"Roger that!" She clicked her seatbelt and immediately pulled out her phone, eager to check the aftermath of her overnight post.
The moment she opened the app, her phone buzzed incessantly with unread notifications.
Overwhelmed, she hesitated between checking her messages or the post first.
After a moment, she opted for the messages. At the top was Du Yu—permanently pinned—who had sent dozens of texts.
[Not bad. Secretary Xiao’s got a great figure.]
[Why aren’t you replying to my comment?]
[LOL, check the comments when you wake up. Even the old club president surfaced—he asked me if you’re dating.]
The rest were Du Yu relaying conversations with their university clubmates. Zhou Zhuofei’s rocky love life had been public knowledge, so her posting a boyfriend photo naturally sparked a flood of inquiries to Du Yu.
Plenty of close friends also reached out directly. Replying to them, Zhou Zhuofei felt a nostalgic warmth from their tones and memes, reminiscent of their college days.
After responding to messages, she finally checked the post. Most likes were from coworkers and post-grad acquaintances, but Zhan Zilang was particularly active, leaving multiple comments:
[What’s going on?]
[Zhou-jie, how could you betray the Single Alliance?!]
[Wait, why does this guy look familiar?]
Lv Lawyer had also liked the post and commented:
[Wishing you happiness. Let’s grab a meal sometime.]
While other comments could be brushed off as jokes, Lv Lawyer had genuinely helped them, so she immediately told Xiao Wang.
"Easy," Xiao Wang said casually. "I’ll ask him when he’s free for dinner in a couple of days."
After scrolling through the comments, Zhou Zhuofei realized going public wasn’t as complicated as she’d thought. The people who truly cared had already messaged her privately—comments were mostly polite blessings from acquaintances.
"Seems like going public wasn’t so hard after all," she mused aloud.
"Of course not. People get together every day in this world."
"That's true, but I still feel a bit nervous about going to the company soon."
Zhou Zhuofei leaned back in her seat and took a deep breath. This was even more nerve-wracking than her first day at Huanyu.
Before long, she felt warmth on the back of her hand. Turning her head, she saw Xiao Wang holding her hand during the red light.
"Don’t worry, I’m here."
"Yeah, I’m not scared. If they ask me anything, I’ll just tell them to talk to you." Zhou Zhuofei blinked at him. "Problem solved, right?"
Xiao Wang analyzed it seriously. "That’s one way to handle it."
"Hehe, I’m a genius!"
In no time, they arrived at the Huanyu building. Zhou Zhuofei and Xiao Wang stepped into the elevator. Since it was still early, the elevator was empty until a few colleagues got in on the next floor.
"Good morning." Zhuang Kexin from HR walked in carrying breakfast, her gaze flickering between Xiao Wang and Zhou Zhuofei before settling on the latter.
"Zhou Zhou, you..."
Recognizing the tone, Zhou Zhuofei immediately braced herself for the coming conversation.
"Have you heard the news?"
"What news?"
"Well..." Zhuang Kexin glanced at Xiao Wang mid-sentence and lowered her voice. "About General Manager Ling getting married."
"Huh? Since when?"
"You didn’t know?" Zhuang Kexin looked stunned. "Someone posted his wedding invitation yesterday. You really had no idea?"
"Should I have?"
Ever since Cen Huan moved away, Zhou Zhuofei had known this day would come, so she wasn’t particularly surprised. Besides, she rarely asked Xiao Wang about such matters.
When the two of them met, they had more than enough to talk about—why waste time on unrelated people?
"I thought you might know some inside details. I was hoping to get the scoop."
Funny enough, she did know the inside story. Aside from Ling Yu, his lawyer, Cen Huan, and herself, no one else knew the truth about his arranged marriage.
"Of course I don’t know anything."
Zhou Zhuofei brushed off the topic with a laugh. Zhuang Kexin wasn’t the only one who’d seen the invitation—other colleagues in the elevator chimed in, buzzing with speculation.
Ling Yu’s long-standing single status was well-known, so the sudden wedding news made everyone assume it was a business alliance. But such marriages usually involved heavy publicity, not a last-minute reveal.
For the first time, Zhou Zhuofei saw the upside to having protagonists in the world.
Because they drew all the attention, people like her—who preferred to stay unnoticed—could breathe easy.
If this were a transitional scene in a story, it’d probably be summed up in one line:
[The whole company buzzed with gossip about the wedding news, everyone curious about General Manager Ling’s mysterious fiancée.]
It was funny—she used to obsess over how and when the original plot would unfold. Now, she couldn’t care less.
When they reached their floor, she bid Xiao Wang goodbye and headed to her office with breakfast in hand.
As she ate, she listened to colleagues discussing Ling Yu’s marriage. Before she could take more than a few bites, Luo Jing arrived.
Spotting her meal, Luo Jing grinned. "Enjoying your boyfriend’s lovingly made breakfast, huh?"
Zhou Zhuofei hummed in agreement.
Luo Jing teased further, "You’re something else, Zhou. You quietly snagged a boyfriend just like that. Judging from the photo, he’s pretty tall—is he from our company?"
Unless someone knew Xiao Wang well, recognizing him from a back-view photo was nearly impossible. And Luo Jing wasn’t about to scrutinize it—why bother when he could just ask Zhou Zhuofei directly?
"Yeah, he is."
Luo Jing’s eyes widened. "Seriously? But you always said you wouldn’t date coworkers! Last time I tried setting you up, you refused."
Zhou Zhuofei swallowed a bite of sandwich and admitted, "I didn’t plan on it before. But this time was different."
"How so?"
"Mainly... I just liked him too much."
As someone who’d been there, Luo Jing understood. "Ah, so it was love at first sight."
While they chatted, Zhan Zilang walked in. The moment he saw Zhou Zhuofei, he rushed over, still holding his bag.
"Zhou-jie, why didn’t you reply to my comment?"
Zhou Zhuofei feigned innocence. "I did reply."
Zhan Zilang pulled out his phone and showed it to her and Luo Jing. "A smiley face counts as a reply?"
"Then let me ask—who sent that smiley face?"
"You..." Zhan Zilang’s thoughts tangled for a second. No, he couldn’t let her derail him—he came with a question.
"Just answer me this: Is the guy in the photo Xiao Wang?"
The moment Zhan Zilang saw that picture, something felt off. Combined with past encounters at the office, it all added up. But since they shared many mutual friends, he couldn’t call her out publicly—hence this confrontation.
If it was true, it’d be heartbreaking.
He prided himself on being close to both Zhou Zhuofei and Xiao Wang, yet he had to find out through a social media post?
"Wait, Xiao Wang?" Luo Jing gasped. He hadn’t even considered that possibility.
When Zhou Zhuofei admitted the guy was from the company, he’d been mentally listing single male colleagues.
"It’s him. Did I take a good photo?"
"I knew it! You’re seriously inconsiderate—how could you not tell me sooner?"
"How was I supposed to bring it up? Should I have dragged you into daily relationship talks? Would that make sense?"
Zhan Zilang pictured it and conceded. Listening to love stories was boring.
"Fine, you’ve got a point."
Satisfied with the answer, he left—leaving Luo Jing utterly shocked.
