"How about staying at my place for a couple of days next week?"
"Sure, but we’ll have to bring the cat."
Having a cat is undoubtedly an added responsibility. Leaving home always comes with extra worries, but on the other hand, it also gives you another excuse not to go out.
"Bringing the cat means bringing the litter box, the litter, and the toys too…" Just thinking about all the little things to consider, Zhou Zhuofei couldn’t help but sigh. "What a hassle."
Xiao Wang immediately patted her back, coaxing her in a doting tone. "It’s not a hassle at all. If it’s too much trouble, we can just buy a new set at my place."
Zhou Zhuofei raised an eyebrow. "Isn’t that a bit extravagant?"
"To me, it’s spending a little to solve a big problem. Otherwise, hauling everything back and forth would be a pain, wouldn’t it?"
He had already anticipated that Zhou Zhuofei might back out because of the inconvenience, so he wanted to eliminate that possibility.
To him, this wasn’t a waste of money—it was a practical, long-term solution.
"Fair point."
"Plus, my kitchen is better equipped. It even has an oven, so we can make more things in the future."
Zhou Zhuofei’s eyes lit up at the mention of an oven. That sounded amazing!
"With an oven, we could make cakes, right?"
"Theoretically, yes. But I’ve never tried before—we could experiment."
"Awesome! I’ll look up some tutorials for you." She wrapped one arm around Xiao Wang while absentmindedly tracing circles on his chest with her other hand. "You know, my idea of a perfect life used to be having a cute little house, a cat, and the time to bake fancy little cakes for myself."
"But now that I think about it, that was way too idealistic."
First of all, a nice little house wasn’t something you could just snap your fingers and get. Second, raising a cat took a lot of effort. And as for baking cakes—she had seriously overestimated herself. Given how lazy she was, she couldn’t even be bothered to go downstairs to buy a cake.
Zhou Zhuofei glanced around the clean, tidy living room. Only someone who’d done housework knew how much time these seemingly trivial tasks consumed.
She muttered under her breath, "Actually, living together is good. That way, you won’t have to clean two places."
Xiao Wang burst out laughing. "That’s what you’re most concerned about?"
Zhou Zhuofei shot back, "Isn’t that important?"
"Mm, everything’s important."
The next day, Xiao Wang asked Zhou Zhuofei to make a list of what she needed. Once everything was ready, she could move in directly.
During her lunch break, Zhou Zhuofei started compiling the list on her computer.
First, daily necessities were a must. Pet supplies too. As for things like game consoles, there was no need to buy another set—though she’d heard that Nintendo was releasing a new model soon. She could upgrade and bring the old one over…
Just as she was enthusiastically planning her future life, Zhan Zilang’s voice suddenly came from behind her.
"Whoa, Zhou-jie, are you moving?"
Zhou Zhuofei didn’t even process the words—her instincts kicked in, and she immediately hit the shortcut key to minimize the window.
Once she realized what had happened, she clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Didn’t I tell you not to talk to people from behind? It’s creepy!"
Zhan Zilang looked innocent. "But I’ve been talking to Luo-ge for a while now. That’s not creepy, is it?"
Luo Jing backed him up. "Yeah, Xiao Zhan’s been chatting with me for a bit. You were just too focused on typing to notice."
Zhan Zilang quickly added, "Exactly, exactly."
"Fine, my bad. But you still scared me."
Zhan Zilang mimicked her tone. "Fine, my bad too."
"Alright, did you need something, or…? Is the work sorted out already?"
"Pretty much. I was just wondering if you’re free on Wednesday night. I want to treat everyone to a small gathering."
"Sure, but why Wednesday? When are you leaving?"
"Next week. I’ll treat the whole department then—this is just a smaller thing." Zhan Zilang kept his voice low. "Just a few of us, eating and chatting."
"No problem. Wednesday, right? Send me the address later."
Zhan Zilang gave her an OK sign before moving on to invite the next person.
Luo Jing sighed. "Once Xiao Zhan leaves, the department’s going to feel a lot quieter."
"Want me to transfer his handover work to you? That way, you can still feel his presence."
Luo Jing choked. "Why does that sound so weird?"
"Just tell me if it works or not."
"…Never mind. You go back to what you were doing."
Zhou Zhuofei smirked and returned to her list.
Working with Zhan Zilang had been a great experience, but Huanyu was never his final destination. It made sense for him to return to his own world and shine there.
Of course, she’d miss him.
If Zhan Zilang had stayed at the company, they probably would’ve developed a solid friendship. But without the company as a common ground, things were hard to predict.
No wonder people said the adult world was full of calculations and trade-offs. A little sincerity was already a rare thing.
After dinner, Zhou Zhuofei curled up on the sofa, scrolling through her laptop to see if she could find something interesting to give Zhan Zilang as a farewell gift.
Xiao Wang was at the dining table, handling work. The two of them coexisted peacefully without disturbing each other.
After a while, Zhou Zhuofei settled on a gift—a newly released game collectible, perfect for adding to Zhan Zilang’s display shelf.
She stretched and glanced at Xiao Wang, who was still absorbed in his work. Not wanting to interrupt, she quietly put on her headphones and started gaming.
By the time Xiao Wang finished, over an hour had passed.
He closed his laptop, massaged his temples with his eyes shut, then finally opened them again.
The first thing in his line of sight was the fluorescent light in the dining area. Then, the black cat sprawled at the bedroom doorway, belly up, fast asleep.
A little further to the right, he saw Zhou Zhuofei, completely engrossed in her game.
When she lost herself in her own world, she couldn’t help but react to the game—sometimes gasping in amazement, other times grumbling in frustration. Even with her naturally cool demeanor, these expressions didn’t seem exaggerated. Instead, they made her seem lively and full of character.
That was just who Zhou Zhuofei was. Whether happy, annoyed, or anything in between, he found her endlessly captivating.
Xiao Wang watched her for a while before walking over.
He didn’t interrupt, just quietly sat down beside her.
On the screen, Zhou Zhuofei’s character was in the middle of a battle. She couldn’t multitask, so even though she sensed Xiao Wang’s presence, she could only nudge him with her elbow as a signal to wait.
She’d been stuck on this level for ages. She’d just looked up a walkthrough online—if she failed again this time, she was done for the day!
After several intense minutes, she finally defeated the boss.
Before she could even take off her headphones, she heard applause beside her.
"So impressive!"
She took off her headphones and set aside her laptop, leaning her body into Xiao Wang's arms. "Are you done with work?"
"Most of it's finished. I'll handle the rest later."
"You're working so hard." Zhou Zhuofei gently patted Xiao Wang's head. He had completely changed his routine for her.
Before, Xiao Wang used to work overtime at the office and only went home after finishing everything.
But now, he came back with Zhou Zhuofei, which meant he had to bring his work home.
In the past, Zhou Zhuofei would never have tolerated this—work was work, life was life. How could she let work invade the sanctity of home?
But for Xiao Wang, she could endure it.
Life couldn’t always be perfect.
"It is a bit exhausting." Xiao Wang rested his head on Zhou Zhuofei’s shoulder, breathing in her scent.
Though she struggled to support his weight, Zhou Zhuofei didn’t push him away, doing her best to hold him up.
"If you're this tired, can't you finish tomorrow? If you go back and keep working, when will you sleep? Maybe you should sleep in tomorrow—I can go to the office alone."
"It won’t take much longer." His voice grew softer. "It’s fine. I just need a short break now."
"Then go lie down on the bed. The sofa is so uncomfortable."
Her sofa wasn’t small by any means—it was more than enough when she lounged on it alone.
But fitting two people was a tight squeeze, especially since Xiao Wang was much taller than her. His current position looked downright awkward.
"No, holding you is enough."
"Holding me won’t help. You need rest."
"But holding you is rest for me."
"Still sweet-talking even now?" Zhou Zhuofei sighed.
Xiao Wang murmured, "And if it’s too comfortable, I really won’t want to leave."
"Fine, fine." Half-complaining, half-amused, she said, "I can’t do anything with you."
What could she do? She loved Xiao Wang.
After resting like that for a while, Xiao Wang reluctantly let go of Zhou Zhuofei and got up to gather his things.
Zhou Zhuofei watched him from the sofa. "You know, you don’t have to go back. It’s not like you’ve never stayed over before."
Xiao Wang paused, then replied slowly, "If I stay, I probably won’t get any work done."
Going back was just more efficient.
Zhou Zhuofei immediately caught his implication. Her face warmed, but she quickly regained her composure, raising an eyebrow. "Are you saying that’s my fault?"
"No, it’s mine."
Xiao Wang finished packing, then turned to Zhou Zhuofei, bending down to press a kiss to her cheek. "I’ll head out now. Get some rest."
Just as he started to straighten up, Zhou Zhuofei grabbed his tie and pulled him back, meeting him with a deep, teasing kiss.
By the time Xiao Wang tried to respond, she had already pulled away, leaving him standing there, flustered.
Zhou Zhuofei smirked, pleased with her mischief, and even wiped his lips for him. "Go on, then. Work hard, Secretary Xiao."
Xiao Wang touched his lips absentmindedly, still feeling her warmth and scent lingering there. Hearing her words, he sighed in resignation.
Why did people have to work?
He couldn’t even imagine what kind of wonderful night he was missing.
But this felt more like a delayed reward. As long as he knew he could be with her later, the work ahead didn’t seem so unbearable—in fact, it motivated him to do even better.
"I’m leaving."
"Go on, go on."
Xiao Wang took a few steps, then suddenly turned back.
"What’s wrong?"
"I still have a few days of unused annual leave."
"Want to take a trip? But I’ve already used up all my vacation days this year."
"That’s fine. I can wait for you at home." Xiao Wang answered, his words deliberate.
