The more Zhou Zhuofei spoke like this, the more Xiao Wang wanted to give her.
Because he knew his words and actions would be understood, cherished, and needed by her.
Just as the wind, aware of the clouds' affection, would gently linger, he too wanted to pour his heart out for her without reservation.
Xiao Wang wrapped his hands around Zhou Zhuofei’s restless fingers and asked softly, "How about we go shopping this weekend?"
"Sure! But I want to sleep in."
"Then we’ll go in the afternoon and have a big lunch first."
"Yay!" Zhou Zhuofei agreed cheerfully, her eyes sparkling with delight. "Now I have something to look forward to this week! Though honestly, I always just survive the week by counting down to the weekend."
Hearing her mention this, Xiao Wang realized he had become more aware of his work schedule lately. In the past, he never paid attention to clocking in or out—he’d simply work until the job was done.
But now, he’d think of Zhou Zhuofei. Whether he had to work overtime or not, he’d make sure to let her know.
His existence suddenly felt more meaningful. Someone cared if he had to stay late, someone worried if he was tired.
His mind drifted back to his university days. Back then, his goal was clear: become independent as soon as possible, move out of his family’s home. No matter how busy or exhausted he was, he never felt it was too much.
He’d often return alone to his tiny rented apartment late at night, and in the quiet hours before sleep, a faint loneliness would sometimes creep in.
Perhaps that was all his future would hold.
But now he knew—life could be different.
When Xiao Wang snapped back to the present, he found Zhou Zhuofei watching him curiously, as if she’d been waiting for a while.
"Sorry," he apologized, "I zoned out for a second."
Zhou Zhuofei could tell Xiao Wang had been lost in thought. Sensing his mood was still light, she suddenly raised her voice playfully, "Big puppy, let your owner give you a kiss~"
With that, she planted a loud, smacking kiss on his right cheek.
Not satisfied with just one, she leaned in again, aiming for his left cheek. But just as she was about to land the kiss, Xiao Wang abruptly turned his face—and her lips met his instead.
He didn’t even warn her!
Before Zhou Zhuofei could react, his tongue had already slipped into her mouth, and his hands, which had been holding hers, now cradled the back of her neck.
"Mmm..."
They had only meant to take a one-minute break, but they ended up staying in the underground parking lot for half an hour.
When they finally pulled apart, Zhou Zhuofei flipped down the sun visor and checked herself in the mirror. Her lipstick was completely ruined. She thought about reapplying it, but since they were heading home for dinner soon, she decided against it.
Glancing at Xiao Wang, she noticed his lips were smeared with her lipstick too. She grabbed a wet wipe from the glove compartment and began cleaning him up, muttering, "You didn’t even wipe your mouth. Imagine if you got out of the car like this—how embarrassing would that be?"
Xiao Wang chuckled. "That’s what you’re here for."
"Hmph!"
Back in their neighborhood, Zhou Zhuofei noticed the door to the neighboring apartment was open.
Since Cen Huan moved out, the place had been vacant. She’d mentioned possibly renting it out to help her relatives—had someone moved in?
Curious, Zhou Zhuofei peeked inside but saw no signs of a new tenant. The furnishings were exactly as before.
Still, it wasn’t polite to linger, so she quickly averted her gaze.
Once inside their own home, they fell into their usual routine: Zhou Zhuofei changed clothes and fed the cat while Xiao Wang started cooking.
After finishing her tasks, Zhou Zhuofei joined him in the kitchen, helping out as they chatted. The conversation soon turned to Ye Ru’s recent work assignments.
In the past, whenever she had work-related questions, she’d discuss them with Du Yu. But their professional environments were too different—while they could talk at first, as their careers progressed, their rhythms and perspectives diverged.
Most of the time, Du Yu couldn’t offer much advice beyond emotional support.
Xiao Wang, however, was different. Even if they weren’t dating, he would’ve been an excellent sounding board. She just hadn’t felt comfortable bothering him before.
"Honestly, I wonder if Manager Ye assigned me this job because she knows I’m your girlfriend."
The timing was just too coincidental—they’d decided to go public the night before, and the very next day, Ye Ru started delegating tasks to her.
"A leader assigns work based on their considerations. Beyond skills, other factors naturally come into play. If you were in her position, would you do the same?"
Zhou Zhuofei answered without hesitation, "Of course! You’d always go for the most convenient option."
"Then there’s no need to dwell on it," Xiao Wang cut straight to the point. "Manager Ye’s priorities are different from yours. Her focus is on getting the job done efficiently—your personal growth isn’t her top concern."
"True, Manager Ye has been more than good to me. She’s been guiding me ever since I joined Huanyu."
Zhou Zhuofei had a knack for finding contentment in things. After all, everyone worked to earn a living, and having a fair and just leader was already a stroke of luck—let alone one who was willing to mentor her.
"So, whether it’s for yourself or for Manager Ye, your priority should be handling your work well. Opportunities don’t always appear equally for everyone, but whether you can seize them depends on your own efforts."
"That’s true in principle…" Zhou Zhuofei still hesitated. Words like "elite" or "outstanding" had never been associated with her in her life.
Getting into Huanyu was entirely thanks to the author’s favor. She was confident she could give her all, but she couldn’t guarantee how well she’d perform. And now, with Xiao Wang involved, it added another layer of invisible pressure.
If anything went wrong, she wouldn’t just face criticism herself—Xiao Wang would also be dragged into it.
Xiao Wang paused what he was doing and turned to ask Zhou Zhuofei, "Do you know how I became General Manager Ling’s secretary in the first place?"
"Of course because you’re amazing."
Hearing Zhou Zhuofei’s immediate answer, Xiao Wang felt a small flicker of delight, but he quickly returned to the point. "Right after graduation, everyone’s on the same level. No matter how capable I was, I couldn’t have been better than seasoned professionals with years of experience."
"That’s true. You’re pretty young in this field, aren’t you?"
Zhou Zhuofei suddenly thought of Secretary Bai, who didn’t seem much older than Xiao Wang but handled entirely different responsibilities.
"So it really came down to General Manager Ling’s recognition. He believed in me and was willing to give me the opportunity to grow. Objectively speaking, it wasn’t entirely fair to the other candidates, but hiring isn’t an absolutely objective process to begin with."
Zhou Zhuofei immediately understood Xiao Wang’s point. Sometimes, the reason didn’t matter—what was important was not to confuse priorities.
The world was complicated, and overthinking things would only lead to endless frustration.
"Got it. No more overthinking—just focus on doing the job well."
Seeing Zhou Zhuofei come around so quickly, Xiao Wang’s lips curled into a smile. He had always admired this about her—she never dwelled or dragged things out.
"Keep it up. Eat well tonight."
After treating herself to a hearty meal, Zhou Zhuofei threw herself into preparing for the annual company event the next day, full of energy.
In stark contrast, Zhan Zilang looked utterly drained.
Even when Zhou Zhuofei spoke to him, his responses were listless.
"What’s wrong with you? Stuck on a game level last night?"
"Games? Please." Zhan Zilang sighed dramatically. "Zhou-jie, it looks like I’m really leaving."
Zhou Zhuofei figured the news had already reached Manager Ye, so Zhan Zilang’s resignation was inevitable—he had no say in it.
But seeing him so down, she didn’t want to rub salt in the wound.
"Going to your uncle’s company?"
"Nope. Straight back to the family business."
"Wow, so you’re officially the young master now. What’s there to complain about?" Zhou Zhuofei teased. "Practically second-in-command, right? If I were you, I’d strut around the office like I owned the place."
"If I strutted around, people would start calling me Mr. Krabs."
Zhou Zhuofei burst out laughing. "Hah! See, you’re pretty good at cheering yourself up."
"What else can I do? The ship’s already sailed." Zhan Zilang wasn’t the type to run away from home—not because he lacked courage, but because he had too much tying him down.
If he left, what would happen to his collectibles? His limited-edition gaming consoles?
Besides, he knew full well that any resistance would just test his parents’ patience. If they really got angry, he might as well dig his own grave.
"Either way, I’ll end up working for them eventually. Might as well play nice now and negotiate better terms for myself."
Hearing this, Zhou Zhuofei couldn’t help but gasp. "I swear, I’m going to fight you rich people one day!"
Zhan Zilang pouted. "What did I do? I’m genuinely stressed!"
"Because I hate your kind of stress—being forced to inherit a family fortune while all you care about is gaming." The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. "If you don’t want it, give it to me! Meanwhile, I’m stuck cleaning up your mess here."
What kind of nonsense was this?
"Hey, I wouldn’t mind, but my parents would never agree." As he spoke, an idea suddenly struck him.
"Zhou-jie… why don’t you come with me?"
"Huh? You’re poaching me now?"
"Yeah! Quit and be my secretary instead." The more Zhan Zilang thought about it, the more he liked the idea. He respected Zhou Zhuofei’s work ethic, and having someone familiar around would make the company less boring.
Zhou Zhuofei decisively waved her hand in refusal. "No way, I'm not going to be your secretary."
Just yesterday, she had been reminded of how crucial it was to have a good boss. If Zhan Zilang became her superior... she couldn’t even imagine it.
"Don’t be so quick to reject the idea. I’ll pay you double the salary if you come work for me."
"Not even triple would convince me."
No amount of money could make up for the emotional toll!
"That’s way too harsh of a rejection!" Though it had been a spur-of-the-moment suggestion, he wished Zhou Zhuofei had at least hesitated a little.
"Career decisions shouldn’t be taken lightly. I’m doing fine at Huanyu—I’m used to the work, familiar with my colleagues..."
Zhan Zilang suddenly cut in, "And your boyfriend’s there too, right?"
Zhou Zhuofei paused for a second before admitting cheerfully, "Exactly, that’s another perk. Besides, hiring based on personal connections is a bad idea! If you really want to poach a secretary, why not go for someone like Xiao Wang?"
"Me? Poach Xiao Wang?" Zhan Zilang pointed at himself, laughing at the absurdity of the suggestion. "Are you trying to ruin my career?"
A CEO’s secretary is practically bound to them at the hip. Trying to recruit Xiao Wang would be no different from directly mocking Ling Yu’s competence to his face.
"Well, then I’m out of ideas." Zhou Zhuofei shrugged, her expression unapologetic. "In any case, I’m not going. No amount of money will change my mind."
"Damn, I can’t even tempt you with money." Truthfully, Zhan Zilang had already sensed the slim chances when he made the offer, so the rejection didn’t sting too much.
Still, the thought of starting over somewhere new in just a few days left him feeling a bit melancholic.
"Ah, life."
"Stop sighing. Change isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Look around carefully—there’s always something worth investing your energy in."
"Hopefully. Hey, Zhou-jie, can I still hang out with you in the future?"
"Sure, though you might not have the time by then."
The moment the future came up, Zhan Zilang felt like sighing again. It really did seem like the carefree days were slipping away...
"Zhou-jie, I wish I had your mindset."
Zhou Zhuofei smiled and said, "You’ll get there. Everyone does eventually."
