After dinner, the two sat on the sofa discussing how to go public with their relationship.
Xiao Wang asked, "What would Du Yu do?"
"Let think... She usually doesn’t make formal announcents, but she does post statents when she breaks up. That way, if we see her posting dating photos later, we’ll know she’s definitely in a new relationship."
"She posts breakup statents?"
"There’s no other choice. Her boyfriends are usually from the sa industry, and they share mutual acquaintances. If things aren’t clarified, it could get ssy."
Zhou Zhuofei glanced at Xiao Wang and deliberately added, "But if we ever break up, it’d be pretty troubleso too. I wouldn’t be able to go to the top floor to deliver docunts anymore..."
Xiao Wang imdiately glared at her and said sternly, "Don’t talk nonsense."
Zhou Zhuofei collapsed onto Xiao Wang in laughter, teasing, "I’m just joking! What if it happens?"
"What do you an, ‘what if’?"
Noticing the shift in his tone, Zhou Zhuofei stopped laughing and leaned closer to Xiao Wang, coaxing, "Are you really mad? I was just saying it casually."
Xiao Wang wanted to say it was fine—he knew she didn’t an it—but he disliked how easily she brought up the idea of breaking up.
Still, it was rare to see Zhou Zhuofei actively trying to appease him, so he decided to see how far she’d go. He pursed his lips and stayed silent.
Zhou Zhuofei didn’t have much experience in comforting others because few people were worth her effort. Most of her practice had been spent on Du Yu, who was easy to placate—her temper was fiery, but she usually just needed an excuse to vent.
Zhou Zhuofei inched even closer, her face almost touching Xiao Wang’s. "Don’t give the silent treatnt. Sulking isn’t good for you."
"Talk to ..." She clung to Xiao Wang’s arm, shaking it with each whine of "Wangwang."
Within three seconds, Xiao Wang couldn’t keep up the act anymore. A smile broke through as he lightly patted her to stop. "Alright, alright. I’m not mad."
"You scared ! Then why didn’t you say anything earlier?"
Xiao Wang replied earnestly, "I just don’t like it when you casually ntion breaking up, even as a joke. I can’t help overthinking it."
"Got it. I’ll be more careful next ti." Zhou Zhuofei admitted she sotis spoke without filter. Since she often discussed this topic with Du Yu, it had beco second nature to her.
But if Xiao Wang minded, she’d stop.
Thinking about it, it made sense. It was like back in school—who’d want to hear people constantly joking about failing exams? That was just bad luck.
"I won’t say it again. If I forget, just remind , okay?" Her apology was sincere, followed by a playful pout.
Xiao Wang was powerless against this. The mont she apologized, his heart softened. And it only reinforced one truth: he’d never et another person like Zhou Zhuofei in his life.
How could he ever let her go?
After much discussion, they decided going public didn’t need to be a grand spectacle—letting things unfold naturally was enough.
Xiao Wang agreed to pick her up for work the next day, and before bed, Zhou Zhuofei posted a status update.
The photo was a sneak shot of Xiao Wang cooking, originally ant to brag to Du Yu. But she reconsidered, thinking flaunting her relationship wasn’t ideal. Still, the photo captured Xiao Wang’s striking silhouette and well-built fra, making it too good to delete.
Since she needed a photo for her post, she chose this one.
The caption read: [Dinner’s sorted for today!]
On the surface, it was a mundane life update, but the subtext was clear—she was showing off her boyfriend. Xiao Wang liked it the mont it went up, making the ssage even more obvious.
After posting, Zhou Zhuofei tossed her phone aside, turned off the lights, and went to sleep. Whatever storm awaited would have to wait until morning.
She set her alarm earlier than usual, washed up, and texted Xiao Wang, who was already waiting at the neighborhood gate. She hurried downstairs.
Despite having just checked his ssage, Zhou Zhuofei instinctively headed toward the bus stop out of habit—until a car horn behind her reminded her she didn’t need the bus today.
"Good morning!" She greeted Xiao Wang with bright energy as she got in the car, then gave him an exaggerated once-over. "Secretary Xiao is looking extra handso today!"
The title made him frown. "Do we have to use work titles before we even get to the office?"
"Hehe, professional etiquette!"
Xiao Wang sighed in amusent. "Buckle up. We’re leaving."
"Roger that!" She clicked her seatbelt and imdiately pulled out her phone, eager to check the aftermath of her overnight post.
The mont she opened the app, her phone buzzed incessantly with unread notifications.
Overwheld, she hesitated between checking her ssages or the post first.
After a mont, she opted for the ssages. At the top was Du Yu—permanently pinned—who had sent dozens of texts.
[Not bad. Secretary Xiao’s got a great figure.]
[Why aren’t you replying to my comnt?]
[LOL, check the comnts when you wake up. Even the old club president surfaced—he asked if you’re dating.]
The rest were Du Yu relaying conversations with their university clubmates. Zhou Zhuofei’s rocky love life had been public knowledge, so her posting a boyfriend photo naturally sparked a flood of inquiries to Du Yu.
Plenty of close friends also reached out directly. Replying to them, Zhou Zhuofei felt a nostalgic warmth from their tones and s, reminiscent of their college days.
After responding to ssages, she finally checked the post. Most likes were from coworkers and post-grad acquaintances, but Zhan Zilang was particularly active, leaving multiple comnts:
[What’s going on?]
[Zhou-jie, how could you betray the Single Alliance?!]
[Wait, why does this guy look familiar?]
Lv Lawyer had also liked the post and comnted:
[Wishing you happiness. Let’s grab a al soti.]
While other comnts could be brushed off as jokes, Lv Lawyer had genuinely helped them, so she imdiately told Xiao Wang.
"Easy," Xiao Wang said casually. "I’ll ask him when he’s free for dinner in a couple of days."
After scrolling through the comnts, Zhou Zhuofei realized going public wasn’t as complicated as she’d thought. The people who truly cared had already ssaged her privately—comnts were mostly polite blessings from acquaintances.
"Seems like going public wasn’t so hard after all," she mused aloud.
"Of course not. People get together every day in this world."
"That's true, but I still feel a bit nervous about going to the company soon."
Zhou Zhuofei leaned back in her seat and took a deep breath. This was even more nerve-wracking than her first day at Huanyu.
Before long, she felt warmth on the back of her hand. Turning her head, she saw Xiao Wang holding her hand during the red light.
"Don’t worry, I’m here."
"Yeah, I’m not scared. If they ask anything, I’ll just tell them to talk to you." Zhou Zhuofei blinked at him. "Problem solved, right?"
Xiao Wang analyzed it seriously. "That’s one way to handle it."
"Hehe, I’m a genius!"
In no ti, they arrived at the Huanyu building. Zhou Zhuofei and Xiao Wang stepped into the elevator. Since it was still early, the elevator was empty until a few colleagues got in on the next floor.
"Good morning." Zhuang Kexin from HR walked in carrying breakfast, her gaze flickering between Xiao Wang and Zhou Zhuofei before settling on the latter.
"Zhou Zhou, you..."
Recognizing the tone, Zhou Zhuofei imdiately braced herself for the coming conversation.
"Have you heard the news?"
"What news?"
"Well..." Zhuang Kexin glanced at Xiao Wang mid-sentence and lowered her voice. "About General Manager Ling getting married."
"Huh? Since when?"
"You didn’t know?" Zhuang Kexin looked stunned. "Soone posted his wedding invitation yesterday. You really had no idea?"
"Should I have?"
Ever since Cen Huan moved away, Zhou Zhuofei had known this day would co, so she wasn’t particularly surprised. Besides, she rarely asked Xiao Wang about such matters.
When the two of them t, they had more than enough to talk about—why waste ti on unrelated people?
"I thought you might know so inside details. I was hoping to get the scoop."
Funny enough, she did know the inside story. Aside from Ling Yu, his lawyer, Cen Huan, and herself, no one else knew the truth about his arranged marriage.
"Of course I don’t know anything."
Zhou Zhuofei brushed off the topic with a laugh. Zhuang Kexin wasn’t the only one who’d seen the invitation—other colleagues in the elevator chid in, buzzing with speculation.
Ling Yu’s long-standing single status was well-known, so the sudden wedding news made everyone assu it was a business alliance. But such marriages usually involved heavy publicity, not a last-minute reveal.
For the first ti, Zhou Zhuofei saw the upside to having protagonists in the world.
Because they drew all the attention, people like her—who preferred to stay unnoticed—could breathe easy.
If this were a transitional scene in a story, it’d probably be sumd up in one line:
[The whole company buzzed with gossip about the wedding news, everyone curious about General Manager Ling’s mysterious fiancée.]
It was funny—she used to obsess over how and when the original plot would unfold. Now, she couldn’t care less.
When they reached their floor, she bid Xiao Wang goodbye and headed to her office with breakfast in hand.
As she ate, she listened to colleagues discussing Ling Yu’s marriage. Before she could take more than a few bites, Luo Jing arrived.
Spotting her al, Luo Jing grinned. "Enjoying your boyfriend’s lovingly made breakfast, huh?"
Zhou Zhuofei humd in agreent.
Luo Jing teased further, "You’re sothing else, Zhou. You quietly snagged a boyfriend just like that. Judging from the photo, he’s pretty tall—is he from our company?"
Unless soone knew Xiao Wang well, recognizing him from a back-view photo was nearly impossible. And Luo Jing wasn’t about to scrutinize it—why bother when he could just ask Zhou Zhuofei directly?
"Yeah, he is."
Luo Jing’s eyes widened. "Seriously? But you always said you wouldn’t date coworkers! Last ti I tried setting you up, you refused."
Zhou Zhuofei swallowed a bite of sandwich and admitted, "I didn’t plan on it before. But this ti was different."
"How so?"
"Mainly... I just liked him too much."
As soone who’d been there, Luo Jing understood. "Ah, so it was love at first sight."
While they chatted, Zhan Zilang walked in. The mont he saw Zhou Zhuofei, he rushed over, still holding his bag.
"Zhou-jie, why didn’t you reply to my comnt?"
Zhou Zhuofei feigned innocence. "I did reply."
Zhan Zilang pulled out his phone and showed it to her and Luo Jing. "A smiley face counts as a reply?"
"Then let ask—who sent that smiley face?"
"You..." Zhan Zilang’s thoughts tangled for a second. No, he couldn’t let her derail him—he ca with a question.
"Just answer this: Is the guy in the photo Xiao Wang?"
The mont Zhan Zilang saw that picture, sothing felt off. Combined with past encounters at the office, it all added up. But since they shared many mutual friends, he couldn’t call her out publicly—hence this confrontation.
If it was true, it’d be heartbreaking.
He prided himself on being close to both Zhou Zhuofei and Xiao Wang, yet he had to find out through a social dia post?
"Wait, Xiao Wang?" Luo Jing gasped. He hadn’t even considered that possibility.
When Zhou Zhuofei admitted the guy was from the company, he’d been ntally listing single male colleagues.
"It’s him. Did I take a good photo?"
"I knew it! You’re seriously inconsiderate—how could you not tell sooner?"
"How was I supposed to bring it up? Should I have dragged you into daily relationship talks? Would that make sense?"
Zhan Zilang pictured it and conceded. Listening to love stories was boring.
"Fine, you’ve got a point."
Satisfied with the answer, he left—leaving Luo Jing utterly shocked.
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