All morning long, the heat in Jiang Zao’s cheeks refused to fade. When she threw herself into work, she could push it from her mind for a while, but the moment she paused to rest, those words she’d blurted out to Xie Lisheng in the elevator came rushing back.
Truth be told, aside from a few secret crushes, she had zero experience with actual dating—let alone taking the initiative to say something like that to a man.
Jiang Zao irritably flipped through the product catalog and let out a sigh.
She had a nagging feeling that getting tangled up with him meant nothing good was in store.
That desperate urge to just placate him and put an end to their little “grudge” left her, in a strange way, counting down the minutes until lunch.
When lunchtime finally arrived, Jiang Zao snatched up some documents she’d been skimming and bolted from the office first.
Li Li, still at her desk, blinked in confusion. “?”
She turned to the veteran Planning Department staffer Tang Peng beside her. “Is there some must-have dish at the Yunsheng Cafeteria that you have to fight for or go hungry?”
Tang Peng shot a quick glance her way, shrugged, and kept pounding away at her keyboard without missing a beat.
~~~
In truth, Jiang Zao skipped the cafeteria entirely. She grabbed a sausage bun from the 7-Eleven at the base of the Yunsheng Building, hopped on the elevator, and headed straight for the Rooftop Garden.
She’d forgotten to specify an exact time with Xie Lisheng, so her only option was to get there early and wait him out.
What worried her now was whether he’d even caught her words about the “Rooftop Garden.” The Yunsheng Headquarters complex boasted several gardens: the Ground Floor Garden, Podium Garden, Landscape Garden, Sky Garden, Rooftop Garden—at least five or six green spaces in all.
Yunsheng Headquarters consisted of two irregular standalone skyscrapers—the West Building and East Building—each soaring over two hundred meters. The landscaped areas alone covered a whopping twenty thousand square meters.
The Yunsheng Building struck a perfect balance between sleek high-tech vibes and lush greenery, creating its own little ecosystem that offered top-tier living quality for employees and nearby residents alike.
This alone spoke volumes about Xie Lisheng, the founder who’d spearheaded the headquarters project and demanded perfection in every detail of Yunsheng.
Construction had dragged on for years, and the building had only officially opened last winter. Most employees hadn’t even had a proper chance to explore it yet.
Munching on her bun, Jiang Zao rode the sightseeing elevator to the top. Gazing down at the structure rising like a monolith from the sea of plants, she couldn’t help but marvel quietly to herself.
He was just a couple years older than her, and here he was, lord of this colossal edifice.
A twinge of envy hit her, but Jiang Zao shook it off as she stepped out of the elevator and headed into the garden. She comforted herself: No big deal. Sure, some folks strike it rich early, but they could just as easily crash and burn ahead of schedule too.
The late-May midday sun bathed everything in a cozy warmth. Jiang Zao ducked into the little pavilion in the Rooftop Garden, munching her lunch while poring over her unfinished docs, determined to cram some knowledge down alongside the bread.
But lunch was done, lunchtime was nearly half over, and the man she was waiting for still hadn’t shown.
She’d scarfed her food too fast, and now a blood-sugar crash had her woozy. The sun only made her drowsier.
Leaning against a pavilion pillar, she started to nod off—until the sound of hurried footsteps snapped her awake.
Before Jiang Zao could even open her mouth, she spotted the male assistant sprinting toward her.
Panting from his suit-clad dash, he spotted her right where she was supposed to be and flashed an apologetic grin. “Miss Jiang! Sorry, sorry—I’ve kept you waiting.”
Jiang Zao tilted her head and peered past him. No one else in sight. “Why’d you come?”
“Here’s the deal,” the male assistant said, catching his breath. “President Xie’s meeting is still dragging on. It was supposed to wrap before lunch, but there ended up being way more to hash out than anyone thought.”
“He’s been holed up in there since nine this morning without a break. He just sent me to fill you in.”
Jiang Zao’s shoulders sagged. “Oh…”
Ugh, so annoying. Did this mean another one-on-one?
Spotting her clear disappointment, the male assistant hurried to reassure her. “President Xie asked me to pass along that he wants you to meet him at the Underground Level 2 VIP Parking Space after work. He’ll take you out for dinner.”
Jiang Zao’s eyes went a little wide, her surprise sharpening her senses. “Huh?”
A solo dinner date? Sacrifice her precious off-hours to eat with that guy? Pass.
Assuming she was thrilled, the male assistant bobbed his head enthusiastically. “Yep! I’ll book you two a spot at the best restaurant in town. Wishing you a great dinner ahead of time—gotta head back to the meeting room!”
With that, he added her on WeChat and scampered off.
Jiang Zao sat there frozen, fists balled up tight.
He’d better not be dragging this out just because he wants to take her to dinner!
~~~
What could’ve been wrapped up at noon got strung out by a single sentence from Xie Lisheng. Jiang Zao stewed in fresh frustration, barely scraping by through a hectic, aggravating afternoon at work.
Because Yunsheng’s current product lines were so diverse, the Planning Department was understaffed despite its sizable team—everyone was effectively doing the work of two. The new hires like Jiang Zao hadn’t even gotten a handle on the products or the department’s past planning style when the notice dropped for Monday’s project grouping meeting.
By Friday, every new employee had to submit an analysis report.
Word was that the marketing focus for the next two years would center on the newly launched handheld camera and agricultural drone lines. The second phase of planning had already rolled out, but the disappointing results had the CEO stepping in personally, poaching Feida’s entire marketing team.
Even at quitting time, Jiang Zao was still buried in stacks of documents, poring over past planning proposals and PPTs. She could follow the advertising strategies, but the technical specs on Yunsheng’s products left her stumped at every turn.
She was a classic liberal arts major. Her undergrad and master’s had all revolved around news and media—even the postgraduate entrance exam hadn’t required math.
Most folks in Yunsheng’s Planning Department had prior stints at big players in phones, computers, or tech. Even Li Li sitting nearby had only joined because she’d taken a shine to Yunsheng products after buying one.
Right at seven o’clock, a WeChat ping from Assistant Li urged her on. She shoved the half-read materials into her bag and headed downstairs to meet Xie Lisheng.
Regular employees could only snag parking on B1 Level. B2 Level was reserved mostly for execs and mid-level managers.
Maybe it was guilt, but in the elevator, she calmly punched the B2 Level button—then immediately ducked her head, pretending to scroll her phone, terrified someone would spot her odd behavior.
She crept through the parking lot toward the VIP Parking Spot, glancing back every few steps.
VIP—as the name suggested—was exclusive to Yunsheng’s top brass and partners visiting headquarters.
Terrified of drawing suspicion by approaching the “boss spot,” she hunched low until she reached it.
At nearly twenty-six, she’d never felt so much like a thief in the night!
Leaning against a pillar, she was just about to WeChat the assistant for the license plate when the deep gray Panamera idling nearby smoothly lowered its rear window.
The glass slid down to reveal Xie Lisheng’s leisurely gaze.
His expression perfectly captured his bewilderment at her furtive trek.
Jiang Zao met his eyes: “…”
No need to search. It was right here.
Why of all places? She wanted to slam her head against the wall and be done with it.
The driver—Assistant Li—lowered his window with a polite smile to break the tension. “Miss Jiang, hop in. The garage air’s pretty stuffy.”
Jiang Zao shuffled awkwardly to the other side and pulled open the door, thinking: Tell me about it—my chest feels even stuffier.
The Panamera was impeccably maintained, a clear sign of its owner’s affection. The metallic paint looked gray from a distance but shifted to a rich deep purple up close, paired with a bold dark red interior.
This had to be his daily driver, Jiang Zao figured.
She slid into the rear passenger seat on the right, and Assistant Li pulled out, heading for the restaurant.
By now, the building’s exterior teemed with off-duty employees. As the sedan shot out of the garage, Jiang Zao sank three degrees lower against the seatback, hiding her face behind her documents: “…”
Xie Lisheng caught the motion mid-swipe on his phone and arched a brow. “Riding in my car that embarrassing?”
Jiang Zao lowered her stack of papers, exposing her face. Her voice came out muffled from behind them: “No, the seat’s too slippery. My butt couldn’t get any traction.”
Assistant Li’s brow twitched as he drove, but he bit back any sound.
After the morning’s elevator excitement, Xie Lisheng seemed inured to her blunt outbursts. He eyed the documents in her lap, then asked Assistant Li to turn down the car stereo before closing his eyes to rest.
The cabin fell quiet. Jiang Zao, distracted by her reading and assuming he’d dozed off, whispered to the driver up front: “Assistant Li, where are we headed?”
Before Assistant Li could reply, a voice with a hint of rasp cut in first: “Taking you to meet someone.”
Jiang Zao turned to him, her mind flashing to their two prior “dates.” She ventured hesitantly: “Meet… your parents?”
Xie Lisheng cracked open his right eye for a sidelong glance and let out a scoffing chuckle. “That eager?”
Wrong again! Heat flooded the back of Jiang Zao’s neck. She whipped her head away, retorting awkwardly: “Better if not.”
What on earth was he playing at?
Assistant Li steered them into a high-end club tucked away in the city center—bustling outside, serene within.
Jiang Zao couldn’t resist asking: “Assistant Li, you joining us for dinner?”
Say yes—one more buffer, and she wouldn’t have to face Xie Lisheng alone!
Li Chang backed neatly into a spot, flashing the carefree grin of a worker clocking out. “Nah. Soon as we step out, my day’s done, Miss Jiang.”
Miss Jiang shed a silent tear or two in her heart.
~~~
Xie Lisheng led the visibly reluctant young woman into the club, where attendants greeted them with warm smiles the whole way.
VIP rooms in these high-end clubs were usually tucked away in secluded spots. Jiang Zao already felt uneasy in unfamiliar surroundings, and with fewer people around the deeper they went, she quickened her steps to keep up. “Who are you taking me to see?”
Quit beating around the bush already.
Xie Lisheng strolled ahead leisurely and countered with a question of his own. “How did the matchmaker put it to you? About this ‘re-appointment.'”
She parted her lips, reciting it reluctantly. “They said… you had a good impression of me. You’re just not great at expressing it and hoped… to spend more time with me.”
“And that you quite liked me.”
Those were his words, so why did she have to say them out loud? It was mortifying.
Xie Lisheng chuckled, somehow feeling like an outsider to the whole thing. “Still pretty understated.”
“I figured it’d be something like ‘I love you so much I can’t live without you, it has to be you.'”
Jiang Zao: ?
His cryptic attitude rubbed her the wrong way, sparking a flash of temper. “What are you getting at? Who are we even meeting?”
Xie Lisheng noticed her cheeks puffing out in anger and softened his tone. “The person who’s about to kowtow and apologize to you.”
Jiang Zao: ?
What did he just say?
With that, Xie Lisheng pushed open the black-and-gold door to the private room. Melodious, immersive jazz spilled out to greet them.
Jiang Zao caught a familiar yet elusive cheerful male voice.
“Big Boss Xie! I’ve been waiting so long the flowers are wilting! If you didn’t show up soon, I’d hop the high-speed train back to the family home in Nancheng!”
She followed him inside and spotted two or three young men lounging in the booth. The shouter was dressed the flashiest, his wrist loaded with bracelets that jingled loudly with a flick of his hand.
Xie Lisheng glanced at Jiang Zao and nodded toward Zhao Yangcheng, his expression brimming with mock indignation. “The heartthrob girl you raved about to the matchmaker? I brought her here for you.”
Zhao Yangcheng clocked it in a heartbeat, his grin freezing on his face. “Uh… uh?”
Xie Lisheng crossed his arms and pointed him out. “That’s the guy you were actually supposed to go on a blind date with.”
The other two friends exchanged smirks and ribbed him. “What is this, a live love triangle battlefield?”
Jiang Zao reeled in shock and confusion, then it hit her—the phone call demanding her headphones before she left Nancheng. “You’re the one who…”
Xie Lisheng sauntered to the sofa, sat down, poured himself a drink, and dropped it lightly. “Apologize.”
Zhao Yangcheng charged over like an obedient hound, startling her. He bent at the waist in contrition. “Sorry! Sorry! Miss, I caused you so much trouble! Lisheng went in my place that day. It was all my fault for the prank—pretending he re-invited you and putting you through that!”
She really ought to have been furious, but his lightning-fast grovel left her too dazed to muster it. “Oh… it’s fine.”
Zhao Yangcheng grabbed the whiskey Xie Lisheng had poured and raised it to her. “I’ll down three as punishment! Let’s be friends!”
With that, he knocked back three in quick succession.
Standing there empty-handed felt awkward, so Jiang Zao reached for a glass to join him. But one of the nearer guys slapped his palm over it first, smiling as he explained. “No need if you can’t drink. Zhao Yangcheng’s just a mooch looking for an excuse.”
She hadn’t expected these obvious rich kids to be so down-to-earth. She gave an awkward smile and murmured her thanks.
After slamming his three, Zhao Yangcheng eagerly waved Jiang Zao to a seat. Only then did he turn to Xie Lisheng, who was already sipping away. “The drunken crabs your mom had someone deliver—I sent them to the kitchen to get plated.”
“Crabs fresh from Immortal Lake, straight to your place. Heh, that’s some pull. Auntie called, but you didn’t pick up, so she WeChatted me. She had the other two crates sent over too.”
Zhao Yangcheng grinned at Jiang Zao. “Immortal Lake’s got the best crabs in the south. You can’t always buy them even with money. Dig in later.”
Jiang Zao nodded, feeling like a fragile introvert who’d tumbled into an extroverts’ lair. She didn’t dare utter a word.
She stole a glance at Xie Lisheng, swirling his glass on the sofa. He must get along great with his family.
It figured. Only a happy upbringing could produce someone so utterly pleased with himself.
Zhao Yangcheng had fixated on her looks at first, but a few more glances sparked recognition. “Hey, Miss Jiang, you look familiar.”
“Have we met before?”
Zhao Yangcheng ran in Xie Lisheng’s circle, and it jogged Jiang Zao’s memory too—just that in college, all her attention had been on Wei Yuan, so she’d never bothered committing this face to memory.
Zhao Yangcheng twisted around. “Lisheng, what about you? Have we run into Miss Jiang before?”
“You two close or something?”
Jiang Zao eyed Xie Lisheng, those words from their last blind date echoing unbidden.
【How many years was it, and you’re still hung up on Wei Yuan?】
【Junior Sister, that’s some loyalty.】
【Want me to put you in touch with Wei Yuan?】
Jiang Zao’s neck stiffened. She could already foresee the introduction this man would give her to Zhao Yangcheng.
“She did her undergrad at Nanli University and was in the Student Council.”
The man’s voice, smoothed by alcohol, sounded exceptionally pleasant.
Jiang Zao froze for a moment. Across from him, she met Xie Lisheng’s eyes.
Zhao Yangcheng snapped his fingers. “That lines up perfectly, Junior Sister. I’m from Nanli too—business management. I never joined the Student Council, but my bros Wei Yuan and Lisheng were in it. I crashed your parties all the time.”
The topic wrapped up quickly. Before the food arrived, Zhao Yangcheng dragged his two friends off to play a game of pool, leaving just the two of them on the sofa.
Jiang Zao sat there with a parched mouth. All the drinks were on Xie Lisheng’s side, so she scooted closer and reached for a clean glass.
The whole affair had been one big misunderstanding. Recalling how those cringeworthy stories were just Zhao Yangcheng’s idea of a prank, she let out a sigh of relief. Yet there was also an odd sense of awkwardness from her dashed expectations.
Lost in thought, her hand suddenly brushed against a patch of warmth. Jiang Zao yanked her fingers back from the back of his hand. “…Sorry.”
Xie Lisheng glanced at her, then at the hand she’d touched. He handed her a clean glass, his tone teasing. “What, toasting me?”
As if I dare, Jiang Zao grumbled inwardly. You’re my direct boss.
“Is there any soda or something? I don’t want to drink alcohol.”
He said nothing, simply picking up the glass teapot beside him and pouring her half a cup of golden liquid.
The teapot looked especially dainty in his large hand. Xie Lisheng’s thumb pressed down on the lid while his other three fingers wrapped around the body. As he lifted it, the veins on the back of his hand stood out and shifted subtly. Jiang Zao stared, a restless flutter stirring in her chest. She looked away in silence—only to find herself confronted by his strikingly chiseled profile, still sharp even in the dim light. Her eyes had nowhere to go.
Dim lighting had a way of softening facial flaws, making people look better than usual. With the edges honed off Xie Lisheng’s sharp demeanor by the shadows, he suddenly seemed much more approachable.
Jiang Zao lifted the tea he’d poured her and noticed he’d added some to his own wine glass. “You haven’t been drinking?”
Xie Lisheng swirled his antique cup, fully aware of his limits. “Meeting first thing tomorrow morning. Can’t.”
She nodded, burying half her face in the rim of her cup. Her lashes fluttered down, then up again as she hesitated.
They sat side by side, sipping their tea in companionable silence.
“When you introduced me just now…” Jiang Zao couldn’t hold back any longer. “Why didn’t you…”
…mention how I was that junior sister who’d crushed on Wei Yuan back in university…
She’d figured his bad-hearted streak would never let an opportunity like that slip by.
She trailed off, hemming and hawing. Xie Lisheng frowned, unclear on her meaning. “Nothing?”
Jiang Zao met his eyes for just a second before dropping her gaze. “I thought you’d say… say…”
Xie Lisheng was quick on the uptake. Even amid the harmless small talk, a few more clues let him piece it together.
He took a sip of tea and turned the question back on her. “Did you want me to introduce you like that?”
She hadn’t expected him to guess her meaning so precisely. Her ears burned as she shook her head firmly. “Of course not.”
“You didn’t stand out much back then anyway. And not everyone is as sharp as me—they wouldn’t spot it at a glance.”
Xie Lisheng raised his tea and clinked it gently against hers. “Let’s change the subject.”
“So, Miss Jiang—for this second blind date of ours, what’s your impression of me?”
Amid the faint clink, he eyed her stunned expression, tilting his head back to sip his tea. The corners of his narrow eyes lifted slyly.
“Planning on a third?”