When Xie Lisheng’s face suddenly appeared in the lens, Jiang Zao jumped in fright.
Her mind blanked out for a moment, but the first thing she wanted to stress was that she definitely hadn’t snuck over to the East Building just to slack off.
Yunsheng’s grueling workload was the stuff of nightmares among all the big tech firms, yet it was still the place everyone scrambled tooth and nail to join. Beyond the generous pay, that was thanks to founder Xie Lisheng’s clear policy: grind for efficiency, not for hours.
There was no forced overtime. Weekends, you could ghost messages all you wanted—as long as the work got done, even clocking out early drew no complaints.
Jiang Zao had wrapped up her tasks for the day, but Li Li had gotten a PowerPoint bounced back for revisions, so she hadn’t tagged along.
Jiang Zao had no idea how long the ID card in her hand would keep working. She figured she’d use it a few times and hand it back, not wanting to mooch off its owner for too long.
The gimbal camera she held was Yunsheng’s hottest seller in recent years—dead simple to pick up, with stunning image quality. Add in Yunsheng’s killer marketing that straight-up invented a need for it, and suddenly every young person heading out on vacation had to vlog with one. It was the new trend.
Jiang Zao had fiddled with it briefly, then aimed it out the glass window at the sunset. The auto mode kicked in fast, tweaking exposure and focus to perfectly capture what the naked eye saw.
But for some reason, after just a couple of clips, the gimbal kept tilting to the left. Puzzled, she murmured, “Hm?” She twisted her wrist to fix it. “What’s going on…”
She shifted sideways, and the light dimmed at once. A handsome face filled the viewfinder—those calm, fox-like eyes staring straight at her through the lens.
Jiang Zao’s heart lurched, and she stumbled back half a step.
She lowered the camera, widening her view. Xie Lisheng stood there, arms crossed. To cram into her shot, he’d twisted sideways, bending slightly at the waist with his head cocked.
He stared at her, unblinking.
There was something mesmerizing about him—a lazy slouch that somehow never lost its poise.
Even with days so packed his shadow seemed to drift midair, he always radiated this effortless vibe, like success was just a casual afterthought.
Xie Lisheng glanced down at the gimbal camera in her hands. It was auto-leveling itself with constant little spasms. Thoughtfully, he said, “Looks like we need to add ‘product proficiency’ to the employee evaluations.”
Jiang Zao’s face burned with embarrassment. She stammered, “I-I’m just a clerk!”
He bit back a quiver at the corner of his mouth, straightened up, and held out his hand.
She got the hint and quietly placed the rogue gimbal camera into his palm.
His hand felt dry and warm. As their palms brushed, lines crossing, Jiang Zao couldn’t help flicking her eyes away.
She’d assumed the blind date was ancient history—that he’d ignore her at work from here on out.
“You set the pan speed too low, and you move too quick. It can’t compensate, so the horizon drifts.”
These gadgets were among the products he’d personally overseen, and watching him handle one had this oddly captivating finesse.
Heart pounding, Jiang Zao edged closer, peering humbly as he tweaked the controls.
As Xie Lisheng explained the mechanics, his voice shed its usual teasing edge. It was soft, low—downright soothing.
His words blurred into a haze, breezing through her mind and leaving just a crisp, tingling echo.
“Got it?” he asked.
She blinked.
Damn, she’d zoned out.
“I-I got it,” Jiang Zao lied.
His gaze slid from her cheek to her earlobe. “If you got it, why’s your face so red?”
Her eyes went wide. She mumbled a protest. “It is not. You’re imagining things.”
His smile deepened, laced with the knowing glint of someone who’d called her bluff. He pressed, “Then repeat it back to me.”
Jiang Zao: “…”
What was he, some high school math teacher?
She suspected he’d clocked that she hadn’t heard a word, but she had zero proof.
“President Xie.” Assistant Li’s voice cut in from nearby.
The sound snapped the space they’d unwittingly closed.
Jiang Zao glanced over. There was Assistant Li by the elevators, a short-haired middle-aged woman with sharp, striking features standing beside him.
The woman’s gaze raked over her, appraising.
Little Aunt wouldn’t show up at the office unless it was urgent. Xie Lisheng shoved the gimbal camera back into Jiang Zao’s hands. “Have fun with it. I’m out.”
On impulse, Jiang Zao grabbed the cuff of his T-shirt sleeve.
He paused, turned, and their eyes locked.
But a second later, she let go and blurted something wildly off-topic. “…Um, my earphones.”
“When are you gonna give them back?”
It was so far from what he’d expected.
Xie Lisheng shot her a look of pure bafflement. “…”
He huffed a quiet laugh, jammed his hands in his pockets, and threw over his shoulder as he walked off, “Next time.”
The three of them headed to Xie Lisheng’s office. In the elevator, he asked Xie Zi, “What’s so urgent?”
“Your Grandpa and your father’s check-ups over the past few years have all been arranged by me. Today, I’m picking up Grandpa’s results for you.” Xie Zi handed him a manila envelope, her expression grave. “This is your father’s.”
Xie Lisheng took it but didn’t open it right away. Instead, he studied her face first. After a long moment, his gaze shifted to the envelope, and he fell silent.
~~~
At eight o’clock that evening, a light drizzle began to patter down across the city district.
Jiang Zao had gotten a little wet in the rain. She lugged her big and small bags from the supermarket back to the shared apartment.
With a click, she pushed open the door and stepped inside—only to come face-to-face with a strange man lounging on the sofa, his arm draped around her roommate.
Jiang Zao’s shoulders went rigid.
The stranger’s presence startled her, and their intimacy came to an abrupt halt with her sudden arrival.
Her sullen expression was all too obvious, and she kept staring at them. Zhou Ying felt a bit awkward. She nudged her boyfriend’s shoulder and said in a petulant tone, “You’d better get going.”
Zhou Ying’s boyfriend stood up, grabbed his things, and walked slowly toward the door. Only then did Jiang Zao look away. She turned to change her shoes, not sparing him so much as a glance.
As he brushed past her on his way out the door, he gave her a lingering once-over before pulling it shut behind him.
With one fewer person in the room, the atmosphere grew even more strained.
Jiang Zao carried her shopping bags into the kitchen and set them down on the dining table with a heavy thud.
She glanced sideways at Zhou Ying, who had already fired up a game on her phone again and was completely ignoring her, pretending as if nothing had happened.
Jiang Zao drew in a deep breath and spoke up first. “Zhou Ying, I remember we clearly agreed—no bringing partners back home.”
“What you said was no bringing people back to stay overnight, okay?” Zhou Ying bit out the last two words emphatically, her own temper flaring. She seemed annoyed that Jiang Zao kept harping on it. “God, you’re so nagging.”
She didn’t even bother lifting her eyes from her phone.
The blatant dismissal stung like a slap. Jiang Zao held back her anger. “We’re sharing this apartment. It’s my home too. Didn’t it occur to you how I might feel about you casually bringing a stranger here while I was out?”
“What do you mean ‘casually’? It was raining—he came upstairs to wait it out. What’s the big deal?” Zhou Ying lost another team fight in her game and slammed her phone down, glaring at her. “Why do you always have to make such a fuss? He was just in the living room. He didn’t go into your room, and I was right there. What are you so afraid of?”
“Is there gold or silver stashed in your room or something? Let’s be real—if you’re going to treat everyone like a thief, then don’t bother rooming with anyone! It’s impossible to live like that!”
Jiang Zao had never imagined her roommate could be so unreasonable.
She had rented the place in a rush, and her previous experiences with dorms and shared housing had all been pleasant. She hadn’t expected this…
Zhou Ying was so brazen about it that, for a split second, Jiang Zao even wondered if she was the one in the wrong—if she was being overly sensitive.
But then she thought better of it. When it came to matters of principle, the first crack would lead to a second and a third. She had to hold her ground.
Jiang Zao unpacked the bags, her face clouded. In a low voice, she said, “If you can’t stick to our agreement, I’ll have to bring it up with the landlord.”
Zhou Ying laughed bitterly, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “What, you used to snitching as a kid? You still think you’re in school or something?”
“Can’t even talk to bookworms like you.”
“What’s the difference between you and those kids who get picked on at school, refuse to look at their own faults, and just run crying to the teacher?”
Jiang Zao had no desire to keep arguing. She finished putting things away and retreated to her bedroom.
~~~
In the ten or so days that followed, she didn’t catch another glimpse of Xie Lisheng at the company.
Time flew by, and before she knew it, June had arrived. Qinnan was sweltering in the full heat of summer.
A few times along the way, she was tempted to message Assistant Li on WeChat about her earphones and ask him to pass the word to Xie Lisheng. But each time, she held herself back, not wanting to cause anyone trouble.
After all, she had a spare pair, and it wasn’t that urgent. As long as they were safe in his hands, she could bring it up the next time they ran into each other.
And so the matter was shelved. She threw herself into her busy work and gradually forgot all about Xie Lisheng.
On the second Friday of June, she got off work and hurried to the Tower View Riverside Restaurant in the Riverside Bustling District for her appointment.
This blind date had been one she’d agreed to with her little aunt long ago— even before meeting Xie Lisheng. But right after saying yes, the guy had gone on a business trip. Jiang Zao had assumed it had fizzled out. She hadn’t expected him to circle back and suggest meeting up after nearly two months.
On her way there, she picked up a call from her little aunt. “Don’t worry, I’m already on my way. Anything else?”
Her little aunt didn’t sound as chipper as usual. She hemmed and hawed. “Okay, just… chat nicely with him. I don’t know much else, but even though he’s a bit older, his conditions should be pretty good.”
“Oh, and there’s something your auntie has to tell you… it’s just…”
Jiang Zao stepped into the building, picking up on the unease in the other woman’s voice. “What’s wrong?”
“The day before yesterday… I met up with your mom,” she said.
Jiang Zao’s eyes flickered, but she stayed silent.
“I… I gave your mom your phone number.” Little Aunt confessed haltingly.