Chi Zhan felt a twinge of guilt—he’d been using Song Guang all this time, yet couldn’t offer any real reciprocation.
All he wanted now was to finish the support missions as soon as possible, let the system grant his wish, and finally live freely as an NPC. Maybe afterward, he’d travel to different places, take in the scenery, eat good food, have some fun, and unwind for a while.
As for falling in love—it wasn’t in the plans.
Next time he logged in, he’d explain everything to Song Guang and set the record straight.
That afternoon, no one in the office had any heart for work. Everyone was buzzing with excitement about tomorrow’s hot spring trip—talking about what to pack, what fun things there were to do at the resort, chattering away in full vacation mode.
Chi Zhan was a little distracted too.
After all, his “boyfriend” was supposed to pick him up after work. Maybe Zhou Yanxing didn’t care anymore, but Chi Zhan still worried he’d give something away.
He went over the info sheet X had sent him again, like he was cramming for an exam.
Suddenly, a message popped up from Su Ran.
Su Ran: Secretary Chi, I want to ask you something.
Chi Zhan: Sure, go ahead.
Su Ran: Do you know… if President Zhou gave someone an apple?
Chi Zhan: An apple?
Maybe it was because he now believed Chi Zhan had a boyfriend, but Su Ran’s vague hostility toward him had completely disappeared. Instead, he started treating Chi Zhan like a real friend—chatty and unreserved.
Su Ran: Yeah. Actually, I gave President Zhou an apple today. And after you left, I asked him if he could give me one back.
Su Ran: And he said…
Su Ran: He only bought one. And he already gave it away.
Chi Zhan slowly typed: I’m not sure.
Then he glanced at the apple sitting on his desk—the one he’d unwrapped without knowing who it was from.
That apple… surely wasn’t from Zhou Yanxing?
“……”
Top Ten Unsolved Mysteries of the World: ‘The Case of the Anonymous Apple.’
Chi Zhan asked around the office, trying to find out if anyone had seen someone enter his office that morning. But during that time, everyone had either been too hyped over the holiday announcement or too busy exchanging apples to pay attention to who was coming and going.
He picked up the apple and studied it for ten minutes straight. Nothing. No name carved into the skin. He didn’t have X-ray vision, and he couldn’t exactly send it in for fingerprint analysis.
His coworkers were gathering for afternoon tea, carrying bags of bubble tea back into the office. Xiao Wang called out, “Secretary Chi, what flavor do you want? Oh, they’ve got fruit teas today—lemon yuzu!”
“Taro boba for me.”
He couldn’t even look at lemons right now without thinking about yesterday.
People clustered in small groups, chatting and sipping tea. Someone said, “The instructor downstairs totally lost it today. Someone showed up late, and that guy hates tardiness. Just tore them a new one.”
“Entertainment department?” another asked curiously. “I only dared sneak a peek from the hallway. All those fresh-faced young idols—my god, the eye candy. Such a shame the company forbids office romances. Otherwise, I’d shoot my shot in a heartbeat.”
“Pfft, rules are dead—people are alive. They say no dating, but what’s stopping anyone from doing it on the down low? As long as you don’t get caught, who cares?”
“Exactly. And you know President Zhou doesn’t meddle in personal stuff. As long as you do your job well, even dating him isn’t totally off the table.”
“Wow, your ambitions are something else. You seriously want to date President Zhou? You got a death wish or something?”
Everyone burst out laughing, but the topic clearly had them thinking.
Seriously though—if the company forbids office romance, couldn’t people just keep it secret? The boss wasn’t your parent; he couldn’t control your love life.
Chi Zhan said nothing, but honestly? His first thought upon reading that rule had been how thrilling it would be to secretly date a cold, domineering CEO…
He had read plenty of CEO-wife novels and memorized every dramatic trope and over-the-top plot twist. How else could he be an effective support character?
But Zhou Yanxing? He was nothing like the CEOs in those stories. He didn’t date. He didn’t keep mistresses. He was so squeaky clean it was like he was allergic to romance altogether.
All of Chi Zhan’s accumulated knowledge? Completely useless in real life.
He hoped—just once—he’d get a chance to actually put his “skills” to use.
Like pinning someone to a wall in some deserted hallway, flashing a wicked grin, and just as things heated up—Chi Zhan would walk in, stunned, clutching his chest…
No. Just no.
Even imagining Zhou Yanxing with a wicked grin was already breaking his immersion.
When Chi Zhan got nervous, his brain liked to go off in ridiculous directions. And now, with the end of the day drawing near and Zhou Yanxing calling him in to make coffee, he was so distracted he ended up brewing an extra-strong black coffee—no milk, no sugar. Nearly killed the man with bitterness.
Yet once again, President Zhou didn’t lose his temper. Just gave him a deadpan look and told him to remake it.
“It’s time.” Zhou Yanxing grabbed his coat and downed the coffee in one shot. “Secretary Chi—let’s go.”
Chi Zhan put on his down jacket, feeling like a soldier heading to the front lines.
He and X had arranged to meet at the front gate. X would be wearing a denim jacket. In this freezing weather—minus twenty degrees—anyone wearing denim would stick out easily enough…
The lobby was full of employees rushing to clock out. When they saw Zhou Yanxing standing outside like a gatekeeper, they assumed he was doing a spot inspection and immediately hesitated—should they go back inside, or risk leaving?
“Go home. Get some rest. Don’t be late for the trip tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir! See you tomorrow, President Zhou!”
“Happy holidays, President Zhou!”
Despite their cheery words, everyone bolted like startled rabbits.
Zhou Yanxing stood with one hand in his pocket, looking at Chi Zhan.
“Why are you so nervous?”
“It’s nothing… I was just wondering—why does the company prohibit employee relationships?” Chi Zhan suddenly asked.
