The weekend holiday ended, and Fang Nianchen arrived at the company as usual.
Habituated to coming early, when she swiped her card to enter, there was still no one in the department. She turned on the lights and walked to her workstation.
She looked around, then pulled a bag out of her backpack and carried it to the door of the director’s office.
The clothes Yu Wan had lent her had been washed clean the next day. Of course, she wasn’t going to return the worn underwear; she’d gone to the mall over the weekend and bought new ones.
She didn’t want to owe Yu Wan any weird favors.
There were no confidential files in the office, and with surveillance cameras, it wasn’t locked year-round. Fang Nianchen easily opened the door and placed the bag at the entrance.
On second thought, just leaving it at the door seemed too casual, so she picked it up again and put it on the desk.
Satisfied after doing this, Fang Nianchen turned to leave, only to find Zuo Anfeng standing at the door at some point.
“What are you doing?” Zuo Anfeng was always suited up for work, but it couldn’t hide the tackiness all over him.
Especially the way he looked at her, as if Fang Nianchen wasn’t an employee here, but a thief.
“Morning.” Fang Nianchen curved her lips slightly and smiled politely. “I’m dropping something off for Director Yu.”
Zuo Anfeng glanced at it. Seeing she was usually honest with no rebellious thoughts, he let her off. “Once you’re done, head back quickly. There’s a lot of work today. I originally wanted you all to catch up on progress Saturday, but Director Yu thought I was making you work overtime, so now we have to make it all up today.”
Thought?
Fang Nianchen gave him a rare look of disdain. He definitely thought his scheming was well hidden.
She disliked Zuo Anfeng’s hypocrisy but had no choice but to say nothing more and head to the work area.
The morning work proceeded as usual—tasks, gossip—the HR department was all harmony.
The only change was the gossip content; “Yu Wan” was on everyone’s lips.
“Now I tremble whenever I see Director Yu. That damn performance chart—you have no idea how many times she made me revise it, insisting it wasn’t detailed enough.” Xiang Xiaoyun leaned back in her chair, tugging at Fang Nianchen’s arm. “Hey, but Xiao Chen’s still the most pitiful, getting called to the office every day. Is she scolding you?”
Xiang Xiaoyun and Qiao Yan had joined the company at the same time and were around the same age, so they naturally got along well. After learning Fang Nianchen and Qiao Yan were high school classmates, she was happy to befriend her too.
In Qiao Yan’s words, few in the entire HR department could talk nicely, and Xiang Xiaoyun was one—the skill at cheering people up was top-notch.
Fang Nianchen was experiencing it firsthand now.
Building a topic by finding a common enemy was a decent start.
But Xiang Xiaoyun’s one miscalculation was that she didn’t know the full story, nor did she understand Yu Wan.
“Director Yu has only called me in once, and it was for work. She didn’t make things hard for me; she just pointed out a mistake.” Fang Nianchen maintained a surface peace, smiling faintly as she subtly shifted her body to dodge the hand.
“I see.” Xiang Xiaoyun’s tone sounded normal as she naturally withdrew her hand upon noticing Fang Nianchen quietly move away. “That’s good then. With your personality, I was worried she’d bully you.”
In the end, she still thought she was easy to bully.
Fang Nianchen was almost doubting herself. Should she act fiercer?
“Huh? Is that Director Yu in the photo?” The photo in the corner wasn’t conspicuous, but Xiang Xiaoyun spotted it at a glance.
“That’s Quan Cige, the celebrity.” To avoid misunderstanding, Fang Nianchen paused her typing and handed over the photo to point it out. “It even has her signature.”
“You chase stars?” Xiang Xiaoyun was a bit incredulous. “Didn’t peg you for it.”
She and Qiao Yan had chatted before, and Fang Nianchen not chasing stars wasn’t a secret.
Fang Nianchen nodded.
Xiang Xiaoyun’s curiosity about her was like facing a crystal ball—wanting to smash it open to see what’s inside, even if it did her no good.
If she denied it, Xiang Xiaoyun wouldn’t stop like Qiao Yan would; she’d keep probing why keep Quan Cige’s signed photo if not a fan. It would never end.
Instinct told her to avoid trouble, so she simply continued to satisfy Xiang Xiaoyun’s curiosity. “I watched her in Freak. Her acting is really good.”
“I’ve seen it too!” Xiang Xiaoyun got excited over the shared topic. “I even ship her CP with Jin Ai.”
“Oh.” Fang Nianchen felt a bit awkward; she hadn’t known about that. Freak had been super popular lately, so out of curiosity she’d binged a few episodes but hadn’t finished.
“But they say Quan Cige is arrogant with a bad temper, always giving the staff attitude. Oh right, some say her face is all plastic surgery, totally done up—unwatchable before.” Xiang Xiaoyun shared the online gossip. “You’ve met her; what do you think?”
“The online hate is too harsh. Teacher Quan is very kind and has strong work ability.” Fang Nianchen recalled the details of meeting Quan Cige that day. “She doesn’t look like she’s had work done.”
“Actually, getting work done is fine as long as she looks good.”
“Yeah, she looks really good.” Fang Nianchen agreed, then suddenly felt an inexplicable pressure from behind.
She paused, reacted for a moment, and turned to see Yu Wan standing behind them at some point.
Xiang Xiaoyun had it worse; she’d come over from far away to chat, now slouched lazily in the chair with zero work vibe.
Caught slacking by the boss, and seeing Yu Wan’s expressionless stance, Xiang Xiaoyun thought doomsday had arrived—her body hair practically standing on end.
“There’s a change in work group assignments.” Yu Wan asked Fang Nianchen, “Any unfinished work on hand?”
Fang Nianchen quickly set down Quan Cige’s photo and clicked through her folder with the mouse. “Should be done by tomorrow.”
“Mm. For now, move to Group Three to handle the new hiring materials—just initial review and entry.” Yu Wan instructed without emotion, like a ruthless work machine. “The email and password for resumes will be sent to you later.”
As she spoke, Yu Wan glanced at the photo on Fang Nianchen’s desk. “Starting Thursday; no rush.”
“Got it.”
After assigning the task, Yu Wan looked at Xiang Xiaoyun. “Attendance sheet due Friday. Any issues, ask me anytime. I don’t want you wasting too much time on it; there are other tasks for you.”
“O… Okay, got it, Director Yu.” Compared to Fang Nianchen’s calm, Xiang Xiaoyun’s voice trembled—she was genuinely scared of Yu Wan.
Yu Wan nodded. “Focus on work.”
Watching Yu Wan’s back disappear, Xiang Xiaoyun finally came back to herself.
Yu Wan hadn’t said a harsh word or scolded, but the whole thing felt like a veiled threat—a final warning.
Realizing this, she didn’t dare linger and hurried back to her spot.
Fang Nianchen wasn’t disturbed until lunch, finishing her tasks peacefully before heading to the cafeteria.
Her usual lunch buddy Qiao Yan was nowhere to be seen all day, busy as could be.
So Fang Nianchen ordered her meal and sat anywhere; one more or less person at the table made no difference.
Fang Nianchen never looked at her phone while eating, chewing quietly and devoutly, detached from the lively crowd around her.
A figure passed by and sat diagonally across from her.
Light gray business attire, black watch—it seemed to have become Yu Wan’s signature look.
Yu Wan removed her badge and set it aside, picking up her chopsticks to eat quietly.
As if they didn’t know each other at all.
Occasional passersby looked at Fang Nianchen with respect: Still eating calmly with Director Yu? Impressive.
By the time they finished, the cafeteria was nearly empty. Fang Nianchen returned her tray and came back with two bottles of water, naturally handing one to Yu Wan.
She figured this was part of the “care.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” Fang Nianchen sat back down and told her about the morning. “When I dropped off the clothes this morning, Manager Zuo saw me. He thought I was stealing from your office.”
“Is that so?” Yu Wan smiled faintly. “Looks like he’s got strong security awareness.”
“Yeah, but I explained it.” Fang Nianchen nodded, sipping her water in small mouthfuls.
One sip after another—she wasn’t really thirsty, just didn’t know what to talk about. That was the only interesting thing she could think of.
She’d given up on keeping distance from Yu Wan, or rather, stopped doing things that might make Yu Wan overthink.
She felt Yu Wan must have been hurt by her attitude, which was why she’d said Fang Nianchen was her most…
Fang Nianchen didn’t even dare dwell on what she’d said that night.
Most favorite? Fine, “favorite” had many meanings—for people, objects, even cats and dogs—but definitely not the kind she’d most anticipated and wanted to hear five years ago.
Better to let herself off the hook. Constant mental tension wasn’t good for her or others.
This was who she should be anyway—indifferent to the whole world, and perhaps the world would leave her alone in return.
“I heard you guys talking about Quan Cige this morning.” Yu Wan proactively brought up how she’d caught them slacking off earlier that day, but there was no blame in her tone. “You think her acting is good, she’s pretty, and very kind-hearted.”
“Because she’s so popular…”
Fang Nianchen couldn’t help but think: Exactly when did she start eavesdropping? How did she even hear this?
Yu Wan asked again, “Do you think I look like her?”
When the person involved brought it up herself, things got a bit complicated.
For ordinary people, being told they look like a celebrity is a compliment. But saying Yu Wan looked like Quan Cige could only be seen as pitting them against each other—the two were equally stunning.
“Indeed, some people say that.” Fang Nianchen cleverly tossed the question back to the others.
“She’s my little sister.” Yu Wan didn’t mind sharing the secret with her at all. “My parents divorced when we were very young. She went with my dad, I followed my mom, and I even changed my full name.”
This was the first time Fang Nianchen had heard Yu Wan proactively talk about herself, and the first time she learned about her older sister without it coming from Xiao Ning’an’s mouth.
“I’ve told Xiao Ning about this and asked her not to tell anyone else.”
So? Fang Nianchen started letting her mind wander to random thoughts.
Everything she knew about Yu Wan had basically come from indirectly prying it out of Xiao Ning’an’s mouth—like Yu Wan’s birthday and her favorite things.
But Yu Wan’s words just now made it seem like she knew exactly what Xiao Ning’an had told her and what she hadn’t, and now she was here to fill in the gaps.
In an instant, Fang Nianchen felt a twinge of panic, as if the box hiding her secrets had been pried open at one corner.
Her heartbeat suddenly sped up—a sensation she couldn’t control.
Pretending to stay calm, she said, “Then you told me now…”
“You’re not just anyone.” Yu Wan lifted her gaze, looking at her earnestly. “You’re someone who can get to know me better.”
