Monday morning at eight o’clock, Jiang Zao finally pried her eyelids open at the insistent urging of her final alarm.
She made a habit of checking her messages while brushing her teeth, but the moment she unlocked her screen, a dozen missed calls popped up. She nearly dropped her phone in shock.
Staring at those three or four unfamiliar local numbers, her eyes went rigid until they ached.
She bent over to spit out the toothpaste foam, gaze fixed on the sink as her vision flickered in and out. It felt like she’d taken a bat to the head the instant she woke up.
…It’s nothing. Probably just wrong numbers.
She blocked the numbers, shot off a quick reply to Little Aunt’s daily WeChat about yet another blind date prospect, then tossed her phone aside and tried to ignore it.
~~~
At nine o’clock sharp, Jiang Zao clocked in. By nine-thirty, she was at the Planning Department’s meeting for the new group assignments. Planning Group 3 scooped her up for the handheld camera project, with team leader Tang Peng—a veteran from the Planning Department.
Tang Peng had been with Yunsheng for three years as well, and this was her first time being handed the reins of a team. Yet she carried herself with the steady reliability of someone who’d long since climbed to a junior leadership role.
The meeting wrapped up at eleven. Remembering something, Jiang Zao dragged Li Li—who was more than happy for an excuse to slack off—to the East Building.
Time to cash in on her “privilege” as the CEO’s former blind date.
Sure, she’d already turned in her report, but that didn’t mean she could skip getting intimately familiar with Yunsheng’s products. If she wanted to be the company’s top salesperson, she had to know its ins and outs—strengths and flaws alike—like a doting parent.
The East Building housed R&D, and it looked even more cutting-edge than the West Building. Jiang Zao and Li Li wandered in like a pair of awestruck tourists stumbling into a sci-fi movie set, clutching each other’s hands as they gawked left and right, too intimidated to whoop out loud.
Every floor blended seamlessly into a cohesive design dominated by sleek gray-white metallics, evoking the futuristic vibe of an R&D base from some blockbuster film.
No wonder it was a top-tier tech giant.
After asking directions left and right, they finally located the product demo floor.
The display area featured a soaring three-story atrium framed by 270 degrees of floor-to-ceiling glass that let light pour in. The products gleamed proudly under the illumination.
They browsed in hushed awe while, nearby, three or five R&D staffers were locked in a heated “debate”—likely hashing out some technical disagreement too messy for the labs or workspaces. So they’d decamped here to argue it out.
Unlike the West Building’s amicable open-plan offices, these folks had a youthful, student-like intensity—a stubborn devotion to the tech that demanded proving someone right or wrong.
“They’re arguing so fiercely… Is that okay?” Li Li whispered, sounding nervous.
Jiang Zao hefted a drone, marveling at how it weighed barely anything in her palm. “Relax,” she reassured her companion. “It doesn’t count till the swearing starts.”
Li Li: “…”
Your standards for a fight are refreshingly no-nonsense.
“West Building badges, huh?” One of the tech Little Bros spotted them amid the squabble and sidled over. “You two lost?”
They turned. Li Li flashed a smile. “Hi, colleague. We’re just here to… play with—no, learn about the products.”
“We didn’t interrupt your discussion, did we?”
Little Bro glanced back at his group and sighed. “Nah, it’s par for the course. Bunch of quirky engineering types, and our CEO eggs on that obsessive R&D mindset. Makes ’em twice as feisty.”
At the mention of the CEO, Jiang Zao’s eyes flickered. She shot Little Bro a quick glance.
“True enough,” Li Li said with a laugh. “The more they nitpick and clash over tech details, the better the innovations, right?”
Little Bro crossed his arms, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, well, President Xie went so far as to set up an infirmary just for this. Said if fists start flying, better to handle it in-house. Keep the dirty laundry from airing.”
Li Li: “…”
Jiang Zao’s eye twitched.
Yeah. Totally his style.
Little Bro pressed on. “West Building cards don’t grant East Building access, though. How’d you get in?”
Li Li glanced at Jiang Zao.
Jiang Zao blinked with wide-eyed innocence and gave an awkward grin. “Borrowed a leader’s card.” Which wasn’t a lie.
Little Bro nodded. “Your Planning Department bosses treat you folks well.”
Debate fatigue had set in for him too, so he took the chance to slack off, guiding them through hands-on trials of the products with patient explanations.
Tech newbies to a fault, Jiang Zao and Li Li suddenly found themselves surrounded by gadgets. They dove in like a pair of giddy college girls, whooping with delight.
Jiang Zao cradled the drone—it weighed just over two hundred grams—and tapped takeoff on the app. It whirred aloft like a Little Elf.
“Its big selling point is the portability and dead-simple controls,” Little Bro explained. “No flat surface required for launch.” He configured the smart-follow mode and waved her on. “There. Stroll wherever. It’ll trail you no matter what.”
Jiang Zao was stunned. She glanced at Li Li, then backed away step by step from the hovering white drone. The drone followed her quietly, as if it had locked onto her with unblinking eyes, trailing along like an obedient little shadow.
When it encountered an obstacle along the way, it deftly identified and avoided it before continuing to buzz happily after Jiang Zao.
Li Li let out a stream of “wows” as she took Little Bro’s phone and fiddled with the various functions. “Oh my god, has the outside world really advanced this far? 4K with beauty filters and color grading! The lighting is perfect—you look stunning in the shot, Jiang Zao!!”
Jiang Zao led her “Little Elf” on a loop around the area and returned, brimming with excitement as she asked Little Bro, “We’re going to pitch a plan for the new handheld camera soon. Could you let us try it out?”
“Sure thing, this is it.” Little Bro led them over to give it a go.
Li Li tilted her head back, fiddling with the controls. “Oops, I think it flew too high. How do I bring it back?”
Little Bro took the phone and demonstrated. “This lowers the height. To retrieve it…” He looked at Jiang Zao. “If you could just do like before—hold out your hand and catch it.”
Jiang Zao stepped back a few paces and eyed the drone’s whirring blades spinning at high speed. She was a bit worried about getting hurt but went ahead anyway.
Xie Lisheng had just finished inspecting the large research lab and was coming out with several other supervisors when they descended the stairs. They happened to catch the scene—
Jiang Zao stood in a simple dress under flawless lighting from every angle. Her upturned face glowed white, her squinted eyes like a pair of fluttering black pearls.
Her slender, graceful arm reached toward the sky, waiting as the white drone descended gently, exuding a sense of tenderness.
She looked like a futuristic goddess from a sci-fi novel, bestowing souls upon machines at her command.
Xie Lisheng slipped his hands into the pockets of his slacks and slowed his pace, his gaze deepening.
The pristine little drone landed precisely and gently in her palm. After a final whir, it powered down. Jiang Zao turned her head in delighted surprise, her smile breaking into rare brilliance. “That’s amazing.”
But everyone was staring in the direction behind her. Jiang Zao cradled the drone and looked back—only to see a group of people who clearly looked like executives, Xie Lisheng among them.
She froze for a moment.
Before she could meet his eyes, Xie Lisheng had already looked away. He tapped the folder in his hand against one of the still-chattering researchers, his tone flat but carrying undeniable authority. “You lot were yapping nonstop before the inspection too. If you don’t get back to work, it’ll count as truancy.”
The researchers: “…”
They fell instantly silent, mumbled apologies, and shuffled off in a hurry.
Jiang Zao stood there, watching him intently. She had figured that even if he just came over to say something, he’d at least glance her way—after all, the ID card that let her be here was courtesy of him.
But Xie Lisheng acted as if she weren’t even there. He chatted casually with the supervisors as they headed toward the elevators, sparing no extra attention.
She lowered her gaze, realizing that this distant unfamiliarity was exactly how things were supposed to be between them.
Wasn’t clearing up that matchmaking nonsense her goal in the first place?
Still, being ignored like that left her feeling oddly twisted inside, a flavor she couldn’t quite name.
Unaware of her inner turmoil, Li Li sidled up with a whisper. “I can’t take my eyes off the CEO every time. He’s handsome to an insane degree, even though everyone knows he’s got a weird temper.”
“I’ve heard a bunch about Boss Xie in the gossip group these past few days.”
“Gossip group?” Jiang Zao asked, puzzled.
“Yeah, anyway, they say President Xie was a ‘young master’ before he started his company, but he’s never mentioned publicly what industry his dad dominates.”
Li Li chimed in. “But everyone knows his family gets along great. His mom often sends gifts to the staff in the President’s Office, asking them to look after President Xie.”
“President Xie has a few siblings too. The whole family seems perfectly harmonious.”
She pulled a long face and spread her hands. “How is that fair? How can he have money and love at home, plus killer looks and brains, and then succeed in business on top of it?”
Jiang Zao gave a wry smile. “Stop, you’re making me want to die.”
Li Li’s imagination ran wild. “Hey, you think he might already have a wife and kids? A lot of the founding team leaders at Yunsheng got married young.”
Jiang Zao leaned against the counter, silently answering in her mind: He’s not married yet, but if he’s already going on blind dates, it’s probably not far off.
She wiped the fingerprints off the drone, inexplicably recalling their conversation in his car last time.
【I feel like only two kinds of people get married early. One is someone whose family is so perfect they have zero worries. The other is the complete opposite.】
She thought: Looks like he’s the first type.
~~~
That evening, the gray-purple Panamera sliced through the neon chaos of downtown before pulling into a quiet high-end villa district.
From nine-thirty in the morning until now, Xie Lisheng had been working nonstop for twelve straight hours. His eyelids grew heavy with exhaustion. After parking the car, he glanced in the mirror and noticed his disheveled hair. He took a moment to tidy it up before stepping into the villa elevator.
Before the elevator doors opened on the living room level, he could faintly hear laughter and chatter through the door. But as soon as he stepped inside, the noise died down by half.
Xie Jiamei, who was arm-in-arm with their father Xie Sheng, spotted him first. She raised her voice. “Hey, big bro’s back!”
The whole family turned to look at him in unison.
Xie Sheng shot him a sidelong glance from the corner of his eye and snorted in displeasure. “The whole family’s waiting on you alone. Putting on airs like you’re some big shot in America.”