After graduating, Ji Zhaoxi joined a major tech company where she had previously interned, recruited through a special talent introduction program. She rotated through various departments before being personally mentored by the department director.
Her impressive overseas projects made her stand out among the candidates. Not long after joining the company, she was already deeply involved in the most critical overseas algorithm optimization project.
The Ji Zhaoxi of today was exactly the version of herself she had fantasized about in high school.
She was incredibly busy at work every day. The company was investing in her growth, deliberately exposing her to more opportunities. She was fully aware of this, so she never let her guard down.
In the tech department's office, Ji Zhaoxi worked calmly, immersed in her own world even when the programmers around her were arguing loudly.
It wasn’t that she had grown out of her love for watching a good scene unfold—it was that she didn’t want to work overtime! She couldn’t afford to waste a single second at her desk.
She did want a promotion, but she still didn’t want to work overtime. Every day, she wanted it both ways.
But the nature of her job made overtime unavoidable. Only after getting promoted could she leave work earlier.
The programmer sitting across from her had been watching Ji Zhaoxi for a while.
She seemed quiet, and she was especially focused when working—so focused that it put a little pressure on everyone else.
After another grueling overtime session, Ji Zhaoxi stared blankly, closed her laptop, slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked out of the office.
She really felt like she was at death's door.
Was there a way to get promoted without working so hard?
Most of the lights in the office building were already off, and even the ones downstairs had dimmed significantly.
Ji Zhaoxi suddenly remembered that during her internship, she used to work late just like this, and Zhou Chiye would pick her up every day.
“Engineer Ji, are you going home alone?” A voice suddenly came from behind.
Ji Zhaoxi glanced back and saw the man from across her desk.
Truth be told, they’d had a bit of a falling out before.
The first time, he called her “miss.” She politely told him to call her “Engineer Ji” instead.
The second time, he called her “beautiful.” She calmly repeated, “Just call me Engineer Ji.”
The third time, he called her “little sis,” explaining nervously, as if afraid she’d get upset, that since she was the youngest, everyone wanted to spoil her, so they called her that.
Ji Zhaoxi said coldly, “Call me Engineer Ji!”
Even though “Engineer Ji” sounded a bit like a monk’s nickname, she accepted it!
They hadn’t spoken a word to each other since that day. She didn’t expect him to greet her now.
The man looked at her, smiled, and asked with a hint of curiosity, “Going home alone this late? No boyfriend to pick you up?”
“I thought with how pretty you are…”
“Honey.”
A clear voice cut through their conversation.
Zhou Chiye was furious!
But once Ji Zhaoxi got into the car, Zhou Chiye’s anger quickly faded. He stole a glance at her.
Why wasn’t she talking? Was she upset that he called her “honey” earlier?
Why would she be upset? Did he embarrass her? But he only did it because he liked her so much.
What did that mean? Was liking someone a crime?!
Just as Zhou Chiye was spiraling into anxious thoughts, a warm touch suddenly pressed against his cheek.
“Cough.” Zhou Chiye was overjoyed.
“Honey, are you tired today?”
Ji Zhaoxi looked at Zhou Chiye, who had returned to normal, and silently gave herself a mental pat on the back.
She had now evolved to the point where she could tell what Zhou Chiye was thinking just by looking at his calm face.
Zhou Chiye was very insistent on picking up and dropping off Ji Zhaoxi. This wasn’t about whether Ji Zhaoxi could drive or not—it was about the bond between them.
They both had to go to work every day, and their jobs were so busy. They needed a connection between them, and that connection was the brief moments of warmth during their commutes together.
And the daily kiss—that sense of ritual was indispensable.
Ji Zhaoxi soon bought a house in City A.
Ji Fangyun’s previous factory had shut down, and she was still looking for a new one. Ji Zhaoxi suggested she could arrange for her to work as a dormitory aunt at the university.
She knew her mother had to have something to do to feel at ease.
So Ji Fangyun came to City A and moved into the new home. She actually felt very embarrassed about moving in.
People always said parents should buy their daughter a house, but she hadn’t bought one for Ji Zhaoxi, and now, without a job, she was moving into her daughter’s new place.
But Ji Zhaoxi was overjoyed. Now she could finally see her mother often. She didn’t say it out loud, though—she just immediately took her to the university for an interview.
Ji Zhaoxi also wanted Ji Huaichuan to move in, but he gritted his teeth and refused, vowing not to take advantage of his little sister in any way.
However, after his landlord refused to return his deposit and he spent over a month arguing with him at the police station, Ji Huaichuan very awkwardly moved in.
But once he settled in, he totally changed his tune. He regretted not moving in sooner—he should have just clung to his sister’s coattails. The place was a total mansion!
“Ji Huaichuan, your family’s loaded, huh?” A colleague let out a gasp after learning where Ji Huaichuan lived.
Ji Huaichuan lowered his head in shame. “I’m staying at my sister’s place.”
The colleague was surprised. “Your sister bought that house?”
People had only ever heard of brothers helping sisters, not brothers mooching off them.
Ji Huaichuan bowed his head even lower.
The word spread further and further, and more and more people came to ask Ji Huaichuan about it. He went from being embarrassed at first to eventually being unabashed about it.
“So what? I’m leeching off my sister—it’s not like I’m leeching off my parents. My sister is just that amazing.”
He had now completely learned to ignore other people’s contemptuous looks.
Actually, Ji Huaichuan had offered to pay Ji Zhaoxi rent, but she said she didn’t care about his measly scraps and told him to keep it for himself.
Ji Huaichuan was pretty crushed by that and never brought it up again.
He’d said it before—it was just fate!
His fate was simply not being able to make big money.
Ji Huaichuan took Ji Fangyun to get a driver’s license. At first, Ji Fangyun was too shy, saying she was too old for that, but once she got the car, she drove it more often than anyone.
Working as a dormitory aunt was busy, but it was also a lot of fun. The girls in the dorms often gave her snacks, and sometimes even gifts.
After being a dormitory aunt for a while, Ji Fangyun smiled a lot more. Every now and then, she would even blurt out a bit of English or Japanese.
It turned out the building she worked in was the Foreign Languages College, so all the students were from the foreign languages department.
Seeing Ji Fangyun like this, Ji Zhaoxi felt completely at ease. Now everything was good—all the people she loved were right by her side.
This house was the best thing she had ever bought.
