Ji Zhaoxi recently took on a course design project from the campus forum. After struggling through it and finishing, she immediately messaged her client.
"Hey, I finished the course project. Could you take a look and see if it's okay? If it is, please settle the payment [heart]"
She waited for most of the day, but the other party still hadn't replied.
Ji Zhaoxi hesitated, staring at the chat box. If she pushed, would it make her seem too obsessed with money?
She only hesitated for a second before sending a follow-up.
Loving money isn't a crime!
"Are you there? [grinning] [grinning]"
The system immediately notified her that she had been blocked.
Ji Zhaoxi: ...
In high school, she got stiffed on payment. In college, the same thing happened.
She was really unlucky.
But this time, it was different. Back in high school, Zhou Chiye had helped her out. Now, she could handle it herself.
Ji Zhaoxi put on her mask and headed straight to the classroom.
She wore the mask because she was still a little embarrassed.
College had no such thing as privacy. With just a name and student number, you could dig up way too much information.
She wanted to make it clear that she had used a legitimate method—she found the client through a file posted in the school's big QQ group.
The teacher on the podium was still lecturing. Most students were playing on their phones. When the teacher noticed Ji Zhaoxi, she didn't react much, probably assuming she was another late student.
"Everyone, discuss this question in groups for a while. I'll pick someone to answer later," the teacher said calmly as she stepped aside.
A chorus of groans rose from the students. Another random call.
Ji Zhaoxi politely asked the boy next to her, "Excuse me, which row is Qin Jiahao sitting in?"
The boy lifted his eyes from his phone and pointed toward a guy in the second row.
Ji Zhaoxi quickly thanked him. "Thanks!"
The boy went back to staring at his phone.
Phones really were the most entertaining thing during class.
The first row was empty. The guy named Qin Jiahao was chatting with the boy next to him. When the bell rang, few students actually left the classroom, so Ji Zhaoxi smoothly sat down nearby.
The teacher, who was drinking water, glanced at her. She didn't remember this student at all.
She then looked out the window at the dark clouds and sent a quick message home, asking her family to bring the laundry inside first.
"Hi, are you Qin Jiahao?" Ji Zhaoxi turned around.
Qin Jiahao exchanged a confused look with the boy beside him. "Uh, do I know you?"
Ji Zhaoxi gave him a polite smile. "Pay up."
She placed the chat record in front of him. The boy next to Qin Jiahao widened his eyes in shock and silently turned his head away.
By now, several students around them were paying attention. Qin Jiahao's face flushed red instantly.
"Okay, okay." He quickly scanned the payment code for Ji Zhaoxi.
Watching the money hit her account, Ji Zhaoxi pulled her mask up higher. "Hey, don't stiff people next time. We freelancers don't have it easy."
Qin Jiahao lowered his head, too embarrassed to say a word.
Ji Zhaoxi took her money and left. Behind her, she heard another boy's confused voice.
"Didn't you say you did it yourself?"
"Just drop it..."
Ji Zhaoxi had been pretty busy lately. She also helped write coding assignments and went out of her way to optimize the user experience, so clients recommended her to even more people.
Cha-ching!
That evening, when she got home, a video call from Zhou Chiye popped up right on time.
Ji Zhaoxi was working in her study, racking up years of freelance experience despite being so young.
On the other end of the video, Zhou Chiye knew she was busy. He didn't say much, just propped his phone up and started working out shirtless.
Whenever Ji Zhaoxi felt tired, she would glance at him for a second, then get back to work.
Zhou Chiye: ...
He cleared his throat and adjusted the phone's angle, making sure his abs filled the screen. Under the lights, the lines of his body looked even sharper.
Only Zhou Chiye knew how exhausted he was. Posing wasn't as easy as it looked.
Too bad that stupid girl didn't appreciate it.
He sighed and flopped onto the couch, deciding instead to quietly enjoy watching her work hard.
"So, what did you see just now?" he asked, grabbing his water bottle and chugging a few gulps.
From the phone, Ji Zhaoxi's voice came through. "I saw a little wound on your abs. Did you hurt yourself working out?"
Zhou Chiye choked on his water at that. "Cough, cough..."
His face turned red from the coughing—or maybe from her words, he wasn't sure anymore.
Wordlessly, he hugged a stuffed bear, his cheeks burning.
She actually cared about him! He showed her his abs, and all she cared about was whether he was injured!
But then he saw her lower her head and couldn't hold back a sly smile.
Zhou Chiye: ...
Figures.
Well, whatever. At least she still cared about him...
For a long time after that, Zhou Chiye didn't say a word, because his head was full of what Ji Zhaoxi had said.
Burying his face in the bear plushie, his heart raced.
Falling for her was just too natural.
When the break finally came, Ji Zhaoxi went straight to look for an internship. Things were way too competitive now. If she wanted to get into a big company after graduation, she had to rack up some solid internships—and with big names, no less.
Zhou Chiye also returned to the country, getting bombarded with calls from his dad every day, ordering him not to be late for work. He couldn't control other employees, but Zhou Chiye? He was going to.
Zhou Chiye hadn't even adjusted to the time difference yet. He parked his car downstairs at Ji Zhaoxi's company, planted a kiss on her lips, and said, "Remember to miss me."
Ji Zhaoxi didn't say anything. She thought Zhou Chiye was being cheesy.
The actual work at the internship was totally different from what Ji Zhaoxi had imagined. She had expected to show off her skills, but all she got were dirty tasks. It made her so sad.
Still, she understood. No one would trust a totally green intern to actually work on a real project.
Ji Zhaoxi spent every day glued to her computer, hoping that one day she'd be involved in a project for real—at least something she could put on her resume.
Then, half a month into her internship, the opportunity finally came.
Her team leader bent the rules and let her join a small project. She was only in charge of a tiny part of it, but at least she was participating.
Later, when Ji Zhaoxi asked why the team leader had chosen her, the team leader paused for a moment and simply said, "Because the look in your eyes was so full of longing."
The intense, eager desire in Ji Zhaoxi's gaze had made her avoid eye contact with her sometimes.
Before, when she was just doing dirty work, Ji Zhaoxi only worked overtime occasionally. But after joining the project, she stayed late every day and even brought work home on weekends.
Her fellow interns couldn't understand why Ji Zhaoxi was working so hard. Wasn't the whole point just to make her resume look better? Wouldn't an easy job be ideal?
Ji Zhaoxi thought so too. But she wanted to buy a house, and as soon as possible, so she had to speed up her growth.
As the night deepened, most of the lights in the office building went out, but a few windows still glowed.
Ji Zhaoxi slipped into the car, exhausted, and slumped in her seat.
"So tired, so tired, so tired!"
Zhou Chiye wrapped his arms around her and frowned. “How can an internship be this busy? Are they deliberately overworking you because they see how strong you are?”
That line should have been comforting enough, he thought—acknowledging her abilities while shifting the blame to others.
Ji Zhaoxi was exhausted, whimpering softly against him. Seeing her like this, Zhou Chiye’s heart turned as soft as melted butter.
He kissed her forehead and coaxed, “How about I give you a massage when we get home?”
Ji Zhaoxi didn’t answer. She refused to get out of his arms, leaving him unable to drive. He was torn between enjoying the moment and feeling for her.
“Uncle Li made your favorite dishes. Are you hungry?” Zhou Chiye gently massaged the back of her neck, then kissed the tip of her nose.
“Hungry!”
The car drove slowly, and Ji Zhaoxi drifted off to sleep in her seat, half-conscious.
Though the adult world was exhausting, she felt more in control of her life than ever.
When they got home, Ji Zhaoxi barely touched her dinner. After showering, she lay limp on the bed, lazy and boneless.
This was a real weekend for a change—she hadn’t even brought her laptop back.
A long box suddenly appeared in front of her. Ji Zhaoxi cleared her throat awkwardly, pretending to hesitate as she pointed at one of the items inside.
Zhou Chiye raised an eyebrow. “Got it.”
Serving her was his duty.
Hearing the sound of him showering, Ji Zhaoxi burrowed under the covers, rolling around on the bed in delight.
The bedside lamp was dimmed low, its warm orange glow outlining the shape beneath the duvet.
The air in the bedroom grew thick and heavy. A faint hum vibrated against her eardrums as Ji Zhaoxi buried herself in Zhou Chiye’s arms, her ears burning red.
Zhou Chiye’s movements were patient. He kept kissing her, studying her expression, while the sounds in the room shifted continuously.
Ji Zhaoxi clung tightly to his clothes, her face flushed crimson. In the peak of intensity, she tilted her head back, letting out a sound that was almost a sob.
She didn’t speak, just instinctively pressed closer into his embrace. Zhou Chiye understood. He chuckled softly, gently rubbing her earlobe.
Ji Zhaoxi buried herself deeper in his arms, struggling to catch her breath, and bit him hard.
The room’s temperature rose higher, the hum fading gradually into ragged gasps.
Zhou Chiye looked at the breathless Ji Zhaoxi in his arms, softly kissed the tears at the corners of her eyes, and smiled as he rubbed the tip of his nose against hers.
---
When Ji Huaichuan heard that his roommates were all doing internships, he didn’t react much at first. But the moment he learned that Ji Zhaoxi was also interning, he immediately jumped up and started hunting for one himself.
His daily life at the company was miserable. He couldn’t understand why he had to work overtime on repetitive tasks. At least his sister was involved in actual projects—if she had to work extra, it made sense. But why did he have to pull overtime for the dirty work he was doing?
On top of that, his boss kept putting pressure on the interns with constant criticism. Ji Huaichuan felt so sorry for himself every single day.
He truly believed he had no luck when it came to his career!
