“Do you have a reservation?” the server asked. “It’s very busy today—without one, there’ll be a bit of a wait.”
“It was booked in advance,” Chi Zhan replied, then nudged Zhou Yanxing. “President Zhou, was it made under your name?”
Zhou Yanxing gave a quiet “Mm,” and the server gave a slight bow. “Please follow me.”
Zhou gestured. “You go ahead.”
He frowned slightly, clearly finding the room too noisy, and turned to find a quieter spot to take his call.
“……”
When the server led him to the table, Chi Zhan never expected that Zhou Yanxing’s blind date would be—
“President Su.” Chi Zhan was stunned. How awkward—getting set up with someone he already knew?
Apparently, Su Ran’s earlier plan to become a professional confidant and earn Zhou Yanxing’s special attention hadn’t worked out. Now, it seemed he’d come up with a new approach.
Today, Su Ran was dressed in a white suit, clearly having put in a lot of effort. At the sound of movement, he turned, and the moment he saw Chi Zhan, the smile on his face froze. But he quickly recovered, giving Chi Zhan a polite nod.
“Secretary Chi.”
“President Zhou’s still on a call,” Chi Zhan explained. “There’s… quite a bit of work today.”
“I see.” Su Ran nodded. Chi Zhan took the seat opposite him. The table was large—spacious enough for four people—but with just the two of them sitting across from each other in silence, the air quickly grew thick with awkward tension.
A server came by and asked, “Would you like to order now?”
“Let’s wait a bit. We’re not all here yet.”
Chi Zhan poured water for all three seats. Su Ran watched him and chuckled, “President Zhou didn’t mistake this for a business meeting and bring Secretary Chi along by accident, did he?”
After pouring the water, Chi Zhan had nothing else to do. Hearing that remark, he felt the awkwardness of his presence more acutely.
“Uh… not exactly. I’m not too sure.”
They exchanged a few harmless pleasantries. Eventually, Zhou Yanxing returned and sat directly next to Chi Zhan, giving Su Ran a quick greeting. His expression was slightly overcast—perhaps the phone call hadn’t gone well—but he soon appeared unbothered as he calmly sipped his tea.
Su Ran smiled.
“Did I catch you at a bad time today?”
Zhou Yanxing responded with a characteristically blunt line.
“Aside from the crowd, no complaints.”
“……”
Chi Zhan took a sip of tea, doing everything he could to reduce his presence to zero.
This was supposed to be a date—so why had Zhou Yanxing dragged him along?
What was that saying again…?
I should be under the car, not in the car, Chi Zhan thought. He checked Zhou Yanxing’s favorability panel: just 25 for Su Ran.
That barely qualified as interest.
“Sure, this is a blind date,” Zhou said politely, “but I doubt President Su came just for me. I’ve reviewed the proposal your team submitted—several benchmarks will need to be revised. Secretary Chi, bring out the file.”
Su Ran kept up a forced smile.
Chi Zhan was thoroughly speechless—so this was why Zhou had told him to bring the documents before they left? He actually planned to discuss work during the blind date?
Even Chi Zhan couldn’t help feeling a little sympathetic toward Su Ran.
Anyone who liked Zhou Yanxing was basically destined to spend their life in tribulation.
Su Ran clearly hadn’t come prepared for business talk. After a few superficial exchanges with Zhou, he gave up.
“The specifics will still need internal discussion. Let’s just treat this as a casual meal today, if that’s alright?”
The food hadn’t even arrived yet. Chi Zhan could only nurse his tea and sip slowly.
“Someone like President Su, with your credentials, you still need blind dates?”
Su Ran froze. He’d thought Zhou might’ve picked up on his feelings, but now he wasn’t so sure. Was Zhou really that oblivious, or just pretending to be?
“I haven’t met the right person. I don’t want to settle.”
The implication was crystal clear.
Zhou Yanxing didn’t reply, lost in thought. Su Ran turned to Chi Zhan.
“Secretary Chi, I bet you have plenty of admirers. Have you ever thought about dating?”
“I…” Chi Zhan had just started to answer when Zhou leaned back, one arm draped over the back of his chair. He turned to look at Chi Zhan, his tone unreadable, half-smiling as he said, “He has a boyfriend.”
Silent just moments ago, now he was suddenly full of enthusiasm. Chi Zhan could only nod in confirmation.
Su Ran looked genuinely surprised.
“Secretary Chi, you’re in a relationship? Since when?”
Before Chi Zhan could answer, Su Ran seemed to recall something and exclaimed, “Ah—that explains it! I just saw your photo over there. You and your boyfriend look great together. You’re both so refined—you match perfectly.”
“What photo?” Zhou Yanxing raised an eyebrow.
“……”
He’d just been relieved—only to fall into another trap.
“You didn’t see it, President Zhou?” Su Ran pointed toward the entrance. “It’s right there on the event wall—super noticeable. That photo was even voted ‘Best Couple Shot.’ The photographer’s work is excellent. When I get married someday, I’d love to hire them.”
Zhou took a slow sip of tea, drumming his fingers on the table as he said evenly, “In that case…I’ll be sure to take a good look later.”
Ever since Su Ran brought it up, a sense of unease had crept into Chi Zhan’s chest. Not because he feared Zhou’s anger, but because he worried Zhou might flip the table in public. Then Zhou Rui’s stock would plummet the next day, and the headlines would all scream: Zhou Rui Group CEO Diagnosed with Severe Mania…
But, as it turned out, he was overthinking it.
Zhou Yanxing looked completely calm. His tone was steady and controlled, to the point that even Chi Zhan found it a little hard to believe.
It seemed he really had let go.
Chi Zhan let out a quiet sigh of relief—but at the same time, he felt a faint, inexplicable sense of loss.
Maybe it was because he’d grown used to the version of President Zhou who lost his temper so easily. And now, seeing him so composed… it felt strangely unfamiliar.
But he’d get used to it.
Eventually.
