"Is that so? Then I'm truly touched." Zhan Zilang waved at Xiao Wang's car, and the latter honked in response.
When he turned back, he noticed Zhou Zhuofei's demeanor had completely changed from before.
Strangely enough, she wasn't making any particularly expressive face—still just smiling—yet she radiated an unmistakable aura of happiness.
When watching anime, he could understand a character's emotions through their backstory and the audiovisual cues. But now, despite knowing nothing about Zhou Zhuofei and Xiao Wang's relationship, simply standing beside her allowed him to sense this shift in mood.
This was the same Zhou Zhuofei who, just a few months ago, had been complaining to him about men.
Could love really have such a profound effect?
Zhan Zilang couldn't wrap his head around it. He could empathize with all kinds of emotions in the world, yet he'd never experienced the flutter of romantic attraction. To him, the opposite sex was merely categorized by age: older, peers, or younger.
But seeing Zhou Zhuofei like this, he couldn't help but wonder.
Scratching his head, he asked curiously, "Is dating really that fun?"
"If you meet someone who clicks with you, it’s incredibly fun."
"What exactly does 'clicking' mean? Does Secretary Xiao play games too?"
"I used to think shared hobbies were the key, but now I realize that’s not it at all."
"How so?"
"Clicking is more about how you are together—shared values, good conversations, or understanding each other’s thoughts quickly. Hobbies are just a tiny, insignificant part of life."
"I’ve played games with him before, but we probably won’t do it much anymore since he’s not really into it. Still, he never ruins the mood. He listens attentively to whatever I say, thinks it over, and even asks questions. Sometimes, talking to him feels even more enjoyable than gaming itself."
"I see..." Zhan Zilang nodded thoughtfully. In the past, if someone had told him there was something more fun than games, he’d have scoffed—games were the ninth art, after all.
But now, he genuinely felt a twinge of envy—or perhaps longing—for the kind of connection Zhou Zhuofei described.
"So, you don’t need shared interests?"
"Of course not. This isn’t about finding a clone. You have to let go of preset conditions, like insisting they must love certain things or have a specific personality. You need to connect heart-to-heart."
By the end, Zhou Zhuofei almost felt like she was peddling clichéd self-help advice.
"What about you and Secretary Xiao... I heard he’s a non-marriage believer?"
"I’ve heard that too."
"Wait, you’re his girlfriend. Isn’t it weird to say you’ve 'heard' that?"
"I really don’t know. We haven’t talked about it. It’s only been a month—thinking about marriage already would be terrifying, don’t you think?"
"Fair, it’s too soon." Zhan Zilang bit back the rest of his words. Seeing Zhou Zhuofei so happy, why dwell on the future?
Zhou Zhuofei also felt they’d talked too long and didn’t want to keep Xiao Wang waiting. "Alright, that’s enough. I should head back. You go home too."
"Okay, see you tomorrow."
"I got you a farewell gift. Not sure if it’ll arrive by your last day at the office, but we’ll figure it out."
"Definitely! We’ll meet again," Zhan Zilang declared confidently. "I still owe you that car."
Zhou Zhuofei chuckled and waved. "Bye."
She crossed the street toward Xiao Wang’s car. The passenger door swung open as she approached, and she slid inside.
"Did you wait long? Why didn’t you call?"
If she hadn’t spotted Xiao Wang’s car by chance, she might’ve kept chatting with Zhan Zilang indefinitely.
"Just five or six minutes. I saw you two talking and figured I’d wait until you finished."
Zhou Zhuofei spotted the flaw in his logic. "But if you hadn’t come, we’d have nothing to do but chat, right?"
Xiao Wang froze, at a loss for a rebuttal.
Truthfully, he’d planned to call as soon as he arrived. But the moment he pulled out his phone, he was struck by how beautiful Zhou Zhuofei looked under the streetlight and wanted to take a photo first.
After spending so much time with her, he rarely got to see her from a distance. The night breeze tousled her hair, and moonlight spilled over her shoulders.
He adjusted the camera settings, but no shot satisfied him.
After several attempts, he realized why—in his mind, no photo could ever capture even a fraction of her essence.
Pictures could preserve her appearance, but not her vibrant, radiant soul.
"So even you have your silly moments," Zhou Zhuofei teased with a grin.
Xiao Wang had clearly come from home, swapping his suit for cozy cotton loungewear. His hair was less meticulously styled, giving him a relaxed, approachable air.
Looking at him, Zhou Zhuofei was inexplicably reminded of freshly changed bedsheets—the kind she’d immediately dive into, savoring their softness and sun-dried scent.
Now, she felt the same urge with Xiao Wang: to nuzzle close, touch, and inhale.
Since she hadn’t buckled her seatbelt yet, she leaned over and hugged him.
"So cute!"
His texture and scent matched her imagination perfectly. She even caught a whiff of familiar shower gel—the same one she used.
"You showered?"
"Yeah, it was hot when I got home, so I took a quick rinse."
"Nice." She took another deep breath, the lingering memory of cigarette smoke making her nose rejoice. "Unlike those stinky guys!"
"What’d they do?"
"Smoking, obviously." Zhou Zhuofei grimaced. "It’s disgusting!"
Xiao Wang frowned. "Still feeling unwell?"
"Mostly fine now. Standing outside helped. But a little more 'nice-smelling therapy' wouldn’t hurt."
With a low chuckle, Xiao Wang dipped his head to find her lips. "Am I the 'nice-smelling therapy'?"
Zhou Zhuofei’s reply was lost in the kiss, leaving her not just smelling but tasting it too.
On the drive back, she recounted the dinner gathering to Xiao Wang. When she brought up Qiao Qi, her tone turned reflective.
In some ways, she saw fragments of her past self in the other woman.
Before they’d laid their cards on the table, she too had been nervous around Xiao Wang—hyper-aware of her appearance, agonizing over every word, double-checking every message.
She was fortunate because she and Xiao Wang liked each other, so this phase didn’t last very long, and she didn’t have to put in much effort—she simply stayed true to herself.
But if it had been one-sided, how miserable would that have been? She definitely wouldn’t have been able to endure it for long.
Thinking about it, she couldn’t help but admire Chu Qing a little. Not only did Chu Qing persist, but she also actively sought ways to overcome the challenges. No wonder she was an elite in the project department.
With that kind of attitude, success was inevitable in anything she pursued!
After hearing this, Xiao Wang simply remarked, "Relationships between people come down to fate. It just means those two weren’t right for each other."
"Of course. Finding the right person is hard."
Her relationship with Xiao Wang was just right—balanced in every way.
In the past, her mindset had been too extreme, and Xiao Wang hadn’t had the time or energy to consider his own circumstances. Their dynamic couldn’t have achieved absolute equality.
Xiao Wang would have had to accommodate her like Du Yu did, and she would have grown even more willful.
They probably wouldn’t have lasted a week before breaking up, especially since Xiao Wang didn’t have time to play games with her. She would’ve just assumed he only cared about work.
So, for two people to truly love each other—what a rare thing that was.
As for marriage, she hadn’t given it any real thought. But everyone who knew Xiao Wang well would ask her the same question—he was a commitment-phobe, so what did their future hold?
Her response was always the same: "We just started dating. It’s too early to think about that."
The first month, that answer worked. But what about the second month? The third?
Zhou Zhuofei had always avoided dwelling on these questions because, long before this, she and Du Yu had agreed not to conflate romance and marriage.
She just wanted to experience love in its purest form. The way things were now was perfect—no need to overcomplicate it.
Yet when Xiao Wang walked her home and she saw the clean, orderly living room, the freshly filled cat bowls, she couldn’t help but wonder—if they ever broke up, could she really go back to her old life after being this happy?
But humans were resilient creatures. Even if she claimed she couldn’t go on, she’d find a way to survive in the end.
So she had only two choices: endure it or make sure it never happened. She was a rational person—of course she knew which path to take.
"What’s on your mind?"
"I was thinking…" The words lingered on the tip of her tongue before she swallowed them and said instead, "I was thinking about whether I should ask you to stay the night."
Xiao Wang’s lips curled slightly, his tone light as he asked, "Why would that require any thought?"
"I don’t know." Zhou Zhuofei looked up at him, her voice soft, as if speaking to herself—or perhaps seeking his reassurance. "If I asked, you’d stay, right?"
His reply was quiet but firm, without a hint of hesitation. "Of course."
As if no deliberation was needed. If Zhou Zhuofei asked, his answer would always be yes.
"Then stay."
Xiao Wang’s eyes brimmed with tenderness as he reached out, gently brushing his fingers through her hair—a gesture so natural, so intimate.
"Alright."
