Chapter 57

Zhao Tongtong glanced over a few times and couldn’t shake the feeling that this little girl had impure intentions toward her dear Shen Zhirou. She shot Huang Qingqing a meaningful look, and Huang Qingqing caught on immediately, whispering, “You saw it too?”

“Obviously—I’m not blind. She’s clearly trying to work her charms on Zhirou. Still, Zhirou just broke up not long ago, so it’s a good thing someone’s pursuing her.” With a smile, Zhao Tongtong strolled over to Shen Zhirou and the others, giving her a light pat on the shoulder. “Jie Jie, I want one too.”

“Don’t be silly.” Shen Zhirou recognized Zhao Tongtong’s voice right away and shook her head with a soft laugh.

Noticing Fu Ning watching her, Zhao Tongtong explained, “I used to sit at that workstation, but I got reassigned. The new Little Friend is great, though.”

“Hello, Elder Sister Tong.” Fu Ning, seeing how close Zhao Tongtong was with Shen Zhirou, offered a polite greeting.

“You’re playing favorites—’Jie Jie’ for Zhirou, but just ‘Elder Sister’ tacked onto our names.” Zhao Tongtong teased with a grin, her eyes locked on Fu Ning’s face to catch every nuance of her reaction.

“Yeah, Jie Jie is special, after all.” Fu Ning’s ear tips flushed pink under the teasing; she had the distinct sense that Zhao Tongtong had seen right through her.

Seeing Fu Ning get shy, Shen Zhirou nudged Zhao Tongtong to bail her out. “All right, that’s enough. You’re embarrassing her.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll stop. I bought some snacks for you all—come on over and dig in.” Zhao Tongtong laughed and tugged at Shen Zhirou’s arm.

Meanwhile, Lu Yao had finished all the preliminary preparations for the engineering project over the past few days. That morning, she was set to meet with the partners to hammer out the specifics.

Around ten in the morning, Lu Yao led her team’s secretary and assistant into the conference room. The partners hadn’t arrived yet, so she gave Chen Qingqing a quick rundown of key points to cover. Then the door swung open as the group from the other side entered. Lu Yao looked up—and froze in place.

The woman across from her smiled. “Long time no see.”

Lu Yao was stunned only for a moment before she regained her composure, giving a slight nod. “Now that everyone’s here, let’s get the meeting started.”

Chen Qingqing fired up the PPT and dove into the project’s details. Lu Yao threw herself into the work without missing a beat, brushing off the earlier surprise.

She’d imagined that running into Wen Jin again would stir up a storm of emotions, but the initial shock was all there was—no lingering feelings beyond that.

The meeting wrapped up around eleven. Wen Jin didn’t leave with her team; instead, she lingered, waiting for Lu Yao.

Catching Wen Jin’s steady gaze, Lu Yao asked, “Is there something you need?”

Wen Jin nodded with a smile but said nothing.

Chen Qingqing and Jiang Chen picked up on the vibe right away—President Wen clearly had private business with their CEO Lu. They excused themselves to Lu Yao and headed back to work, leaving the two women alone in the conference room.

A smile played on Wen Jin’s lips as her eyes stayed fixed on Lu Yao. “You’ve changed so much—I barely recognized you.”

“President Wen must be joking. All that’s ancient history now; it doesn’t matter anymore. If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back to work.” Lu Yao turned toward the door, but Wen Jin called after her.

“Yaoyao, are you still holding that old grudge against me?”

“It’s all in the past. I’ve got a girlfriend of my own now—I’ve moved on. I hope President Wen can do the same, or it’ll make it tough to keep this project going.” With that, Lu Yao strode quickly out of the conference room.

Wen Jin’s fingertips tightened imperceptibly. She knew exactly how much Lu Yao had once adored her—how could she be this cold now? And a girlfriend?

Her gaze deepened. Her return to Jiangbei had two reasons: the assignment from headquarters, and Lu Yao. No matter how many girlfriends she’d had since, she couldn’t shake the memory of that devoted figure from their university days, always trailing after her.

Wen Jin glanced in the direction Lu Yao had gone, her red lips pressing into a thin line.

A little after five that afternoon, Lu Yao’s phone rang with a call from Zhang Huichun. She frowned at the screen but picked up.

“Mom, what’s going on?” Lu Yao was still at the office; she had no intention of heading home early.

“Oh, you silly girl—why didn’t you tell me Wen Jin was back? She stopped by to see me and brought all sorts of gifts for me and your dad. Come over tonight and help me entertain her.”

Lu Yao’s brows knitted tightly. She hadn’t invited Wen Jin at all; she only wanted to keep things at a professional colleague’s distance. What was she playing at?

“No need to entertain her anymore. She’s just an ordinary colleague of mine. I’m saying it one more time: don’t meddle in my affairs, and don’t have any fantasies about Wen Jin.” After Lu Yao finished speaking, she hung up the phone. She thought for a moment and still dialed Wen Jin’s number.

“Yaoyao, when are you coming home? I bought some Australian lobster and will make it for you later,” Wen Jin said, her tone laced with amusement.

“Does President Wen have some business at my house?” Lu Yao’s voice remained as cold as ever.

Wen Jin chuckled and replied, “Can’t I come over to your house for no reason? I used to tag along with you all the time to mooch meals. I’m just stopping by to see Uncle and Auntie—don’t get the wrong idea.”

“There’s nothing to misunderstand. You and I are just work partners, and President Wen needs to be very clear about that. Whatever happens with my parents has nothing to do with me. I don’t want my girlfriend getting the wrong idea, so please don’t be so presumptuous next time by visiting my home without my permission.” Lu Yao’s voice was icy cold, matching her mood at the moment exactly.

Wen Jin hadn’t expected Lu Yao to say something like that. Was this still the same chattering little girl who used to trail after her back then? The corners of Wen Jin’s lips curved up slightly. She suddenly found this icy version of Lu Yao far more interesting than before.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think this through. It won’t happen again next time,” Wen Jin apologized, going along with Lu Yao’s words. This left Lu Yao with nothing more to say, and she hung up the phone feeling a sudden headache coming on.

She hadn’t even won her sister back yet, and now Wen Jin was back in the picture.

Over at Lu Yao’s parents’ place, Wen Jin had already started eating with Zhang Huichun and Lu Jitong.

Zhang Huichun sighed and said, “We can hardly control Yaoyao anymore. For Shen Zhirou’s sake, she won’t even come home now. What a disaster.”

“Auntie, who is Shen Zhirou?” Wen Jin asked casually, as if it were no big deal.

“Who else could it be? She’s Yaoyao’s girlfriend. She just happens to have eyes a bit like yours—otherwise, why would Yaoyao fall for her? Xiao Wen, thank goodness you’re back. Hurry up and save Yaoyao. That Shen Zhirou has her completely bewitched, to the point where she’s barely acknowledging us anymore.” Zhang Huichun got worked up just talking about Shen Zhirou.

Wen Jin’s eyes darted around thoughtfully. She hadn’t expected this unexpected surprise from her visit. No wonder Lu Yao, who had liked her so much before, was being so cold—it turned out she was still upset, and there was also this Shen Zhirou, whose eyes were like hers? So her Yaoyao liked her that much? She even picked a girlfriend who resembled her?

Wen Jin felt a surge of confidence and continued chatting with Zhang Huichun. “Her eyes are like mine?”

“Exactly! Our Yaoyao has always been so loyal. Ever since she broke up with you, she’s been single for the past five years. It was only this year that she met Shen Zhirou, whose eyes look like yours, and they gave it a try. They haven’t even been together that long, but that Shen Zhirou thinks she’s got our Yaoyao all figured out. She was making noises about breaking up a while ago—what a joke, it just pisses me off thinking about it.”

“Auntie, don’t let it ruin your health. Calm down. So, does that mean Yaoyao has already broken up with her?” Wen Jin’s heart beat a little faster, though she didn’t show it on her face.

“You bet she has. And it was Shen Zhirou who brought it up first. If you ask me, she’s the one who shot herself in the foot this time. Now that you’re back, how could Yaoyao possibly still like her?” As Zhang Huichun spoke, she glanced at Wen Jin again. “Xiao Wen, I don’t suppose you’ve come back this time for Yaoyao?”

Wen Jin smiled and nodded. “Yes. I was wrong about things before. From now on, I’ll take good care of Yaoyao, so you don’t need to worry, Auntie.”

“Ah, with you saying that, I can rest easy. You seem so much more reliable than that Shen Zhirou. Xiao Wen, have some more vegetables, quick.”

“Thank you, Auntie.” Wen Jin smiled and said.

When Wen Jin left Lu Yao’s parents’ house, she felt like she’d gained quite a lot. Yaoyao had a girlfriend, but her eyes were like hers, and they’d already broken up. It seemed Yaoyao wasn’t as calm on the surface as she appeared—there must still be feelings for her in her heart. That said, Wen Jin was now curious about Shen Zhirou. Just how similar was she? Enough to make Yaoyao get together with her?

Meanwhile, Lu Yao had just gotten home. She took a shower and buried herself in the soft mattress. She picked up her phone and started refreshing Moments. She’d been busy with work these past few days, had no appetite, and wasn’t feeling great mentally when she got home. She’d been going to bed early most nights and hadn’t checked Shen Zhirou’s Moments in days.

She wasn’t replying to the WeChat messages Lu Yao sent her sister, but Lu Yao could still see her Moments!

Lu Yao happily opened Shen Zhirou’s Moments to see what she’d been up to lately. Then she scrolled to a Moments post Shen Zhirou had made a few days ago.

“Accompanying the company’s new Little Friend to grab plush toys. Didn’t expect our luck to be so good.”

The accompanying image showed a sofa piled high with small plush toys—little pigs, bears, and the like. They looked quite adorable.

But the sight of them made Lu Yao’s face drain of color. Accompanying the company’s Little Friend? Had Jie Jie’s company hired someone new? Why would Jie Jie go grab dolls with her? She had never done anything like that with Lu Yao herself—how could she do it with someone else?

Lu Yao stared at that Moments post for a long while, her eyes growing faintly red. The hand gripping her phone trembled slightly as she hurriedly scrolled up to check Shen Zhirou’s other recent Moments. Right above it was another one.

“The Little Friend wouldn’t listen and said she didn’t need to bring me breakfast anymore, but she still brings it every day. How am I supposed to finish all this?”

The image depicted Shen Zhirou’s workstation desk laden with breakfast: boxed milk, small steamed buns, colorful dim sum, shrimp dumplings, and more, covering the entire surface.

Lu Yao stared at the photo, and tears suddenly began pattering onto her phone screen without warning. Jie Jie had used “she” to refer to this Little Friend—was she a girl? Was she pretty? Did she bring breakfast for Jie Jie every single day? Did she go out to grab dolls with her too?

The more Lu Yao thought about it, the more panicked she became. She sat bolt upright in bed, her eyes locked unblinkingly on the screen, as if she could stare right through it and uncover exactly who this Little Friend was.