Xiao Qing was one of the managers at AFN Group, primarily in charge of the company’s finances. She could be said to hold the purse strings, second only to the president himself. Every department requisitioning funds had to pass through her approval.
Not only was she stringent with budgets for various projects, but she also personally reviewed the attendance records of every department at month’s end. Company staff privately dubbed her Xiao the Big Devil.
Shen Zhirou and Zhao Tongtong had naturally heard of her reputation, though neither had much direct interaction with CEO Xiao. With a group executive present, casual chit-chat felt inappropriate.
A crisp “ding” signaled the elevator’s arrival at the 11th floor. Shen Zhirou and Zhao Tongtong offered polite farewells to Xiao Qing before stepping out.
Zhao Tongtong exhaled heavily once they were clear. “Whew, no kidding—she lives up to the name Xiao the Big Devil. Her aura is intense; I barely dared breathe back there.”
She linked arms with Shen Zhirou as they walked, muttering her grievances.
Shen Zhirou’s lips curved in a soft smile, her clear eyes blinking innocently. She seemed to find her friend’s account exaggerated and came to Xiao Qing’s defense. “It’s not that bad. I think CEO Xiao is actually quite nice—dignified and poised, with such a commanding presence. She’s someone I look up to.”
“You’re always like this, seeing the good in everyone,” Zhao Tongtong said with a laugh, shaking her head. Her best friend’s temperament was just too gentle; she greeted everyone with a warm smile. Zhao Tongtong had never heard Shen Zhirou badmouth anyone.
They had arrived early. The 11th-floor workstations were still mostly empty. Their department handled office tasks like corporate culture initiatives or minor documents, so the workload was light and the vibe relaxed. Mornings typically involved scrolling through work WeChat groups before paid slacking off, with actual tasks dragged out only in the afternoon. That explained their department’s rock-bottom base salary across the group.
As a non-core unit uninvolved in marketing—just cranking out materials—they rarely saw bonuses. But the staff got along far better than in other departments. With no cutthroat competition over key interests, most were content slackers.
Shen Zhirou logged into her work WeChat on her computer, headed to the break room for a cup of black tea, then settled back at her desk. After a moment’s pause, she opened her personal WeChat. Pinned at the top was Lu Yao’s name.
Shen Zhirou’s lips pressed together lightly, a faint blush creeping to her earlobes. Her slender fingers danced across the screen as she updated Lu Yao’s note to “Yaoyao.” On second thought, she changed the saved contact name in her phone to Yaoyao as well and set her as the emergency contact.
Satisfied, Shen Zhirou tapped open their chat and typed a message.
“I just drove into the company parking lot. You busy over there? Don’t forget breakfast.”
Her heart raced as she hit send. After last night’s closeness, Lu Yao would surely squeeze in a reply.
Work was light that day—only two reports due—so Shen Zhirou spent the morning glued to her phone. Regrettably, minutes turned to hours with no response from Lu Yao.
Her phone buzzed midway through. Shen Zhirou snatched it up and checked WeChat eagerly, only to find it was from her mother, Ning Jianfang.
“Zhirou, Mom lined up another introduction for you. This one’s a guy—a returnee working in finance, pulling over seven hundred grand a year. He’s got a house and car in Jiangbei City, dual-income parents. Not quite Lu Yao level, but solid enough. Which day are you free this week? Go meet him.”
Shen Zhirou sighed and typed a reply.
“Mom, Lu Yao and I are together now. We’re still settling in, so I hadn’t mentioned it. Tell them no more setups for me.”
She sent it off. Truth be told, she disliked these blind dates her mother arranged, but the scars of a harsh childhood left her yearning for family ties. Even suspecting ulterior motives—like angling for a hefty bride price—she went along willingly.
At least she’d found Lu Yao to make it all worthwhile.
Meanwhile, Ning Jianfang was grumbling to Kang Defa. “What are we going to do about Zhirou? Twenty-eight and no rush to marry. She’ll miss out on prime catches later—then how do we land a good bride price?”
Kang Defa blinked in surprise, glancing at his wife. “Hang on, doesn’t Jiangbei City skip the whole bride price thing? Just find her a decent guy. The girl’s had a rough go of it.”
As their stepfather, Kang Defa actually felt quite guilty toward Shen Zhirou and her younger sister Shen Yumian. After all, he had always left the two girls with their paternal grandmother, sending only tuition and living expenses each year. He and his wife had barely involved themselves in the children’s lives. It was only now, with the girls grown up and able to take care of themselves, that his wife had gradually reconnected with them.
Little did he know, this comment set Ning Jianfang right off. She slammed her phone down on the coffee table with a sharp smack. Her freshly permed short curls quivered with the motion, and her face twisted in clear displeasure as she jabbed a finger at Kang Defa. “Oh, now you’re playing the good guy? Why didn’t you pipe up back when the girls were little and insist on bringing them here to live with us? Now you’re washing your hands of it all? Let me ask you—have you earned enough for our son to buy a place in Jiangbei City? He’s in university now. He’ll need cash for a job, for getting married—where’s that money coming from? Can you bring in that kind of dough?”
With her husband hanging his head and staying silent, Ning Jianfang’s fury only grew. She pressed on relentlessly. “You think I want that bride price? Without it, our boy would go hungry! Everything I do is for this family! When Zhirou ties the knot, that bride price will be a solid chunk of change. Then Yumian gets married, and that’s another windfall. If we pinch pennies hard enough, we can scrape together a down payment for our son’s house. And down the line, those two sisters can look out for him. What’s wrong with that? You’re the one acting all saintly. If you’re so noble, keep your hands off every cent of that bride price from now on.”
Kang Defa was thoroughly deflated by Ning Jianfang’s onslaught and slunk off gray-faced to the bedroom.
Ning Jianfang had divorced Shen Zhirou’s father, Shen Hongxing, because their tempers clashed—they were both the type to explode at the slightest spark. One wrong word, and they’d be at each other’s throats, with neither willing to back down. In the end, divorce was inevitable. She had chosen Kang Defa precisely because he was mild-mannered, loath to argue with her, and willing to turn a blind eye to her favoritism toward her own family.
Sure enough, Kang Defa couldn’t hold his own against her this time either. Ning Jianfang picked up her phone with smug satisfaction, eager to keep persuading her daughter. After all, that overseas returnee’s family was offering a bride price of two hundred thousand.
She snatched the phone from the coffee table, her eyes sparkling with irrepressible delight, and fired off a reply.
“Zhirou, way to go! When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell your mom? You have to bring Lu Yao home sometime so I can get a good look at her.”
A little while later, Shen Zhirou’s phone lit up. Though she had steeled herself that it was probably not from Lu Yao, her heart still raced a bit. Sure enough, it was her mother’s message. Shen Zhirou opened it, let out a sigh, and typed back.
“Lu Yao’s swamped with work and doesn’t have time for that sort of thing right now. Maybe later. I’ve got work too—talk soon.”
Ning Jianfang brushed off the cool distance in her daughter’s words and shot back immediately: “All right, all right, Mom won’t bug you. Get along great with Lu Yao and aim to tie the knot this year.”
Having sent that, Ning Jianfang’s glee was impossible to contain. She marched into the bedroom to crow to Kang Defa: “No need to play matchmaker for Zhirou anymore. Our girl’s got it made—Lu Yao’s already in the bag. Back when I set it up, I haggled the go-between down to a three-hundred-thousand bride price, not a yuan short. This is perfect! Who would’ve thought it’d pan out? That so-called returnee? Worthless. Only ponying up two hundred thousand—cheapskates. Lu Yao’s family knows what’s what, though.”
“Hmph. Looks like whichever side coughs up the bigger bride price is the one who ‘knows what’s what,'” Kang Defa muttered under his breath, too chicken to say it out loud.
Ning Jianfang shot him a dirty look, her brows knitting. “What was that? Mumbling to yourself? If you’ve got something to say, spit it out loud and proud. Don’t mutter like that—it just pisses me off.”
“Nothing. I’ve gotta hit the road for my cab shift this afternoon. Time’s about up—I’m out.” Kang Defa wanted no part of the fallout, so he grabbed his taxi keys and bolted, leaving Ning Jianfang to bask in her delight alone at home. Lu Yao seemed to be some kind of executive, Ning Jianfang mused. Once they were all family, Lu Yao could pull strings for a sweet job for her little brother’s kids.
Meanwhile, Shen Zhirou had no inkling of the schemes her mother was hatching. It was past eleven already, and Lu Yao still hadn’t responded to her morning text. Shen Zhirou drummed her fingers lightly on the desk in front of her, then typed out another message in their chat.
“Still busy? Don’t forget lunch.”
She hit send, but it vanished into the void.
Zhao Tongtong swung by to drag her to the cafeteria for lunch, teasing, “You’ve been glued to that phone all morning. What’s the deal? Deep in the honeymoon phase?”
A trace of loneliness flashed in Shen Zhirou’s eyes, but it lasted only a moment. She quickly smiled again and explained for Lu Yao, who hadn’t replied to her WeChat message: “She’s really busy with work; she probably just didn’t see my message. Let’s go eat.”
“Is their New District Construction Group really that busy? Fine, let’s not talk about her anymore. We’ll eat first.” Zhao Tongtong energetically pulled Shen Zhirou toward the elevators.
The people at their workstations gradually wrapped up their morning slacking off and headed to the cafeteria one by one.
