Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Everyone turned to look.

I froze for a moment.

The tall man in front of me looked past me with a calm expression and gestured behind me.

“Sorry, could you let me through?”

Only then did I realize I was blocking half the doorway. My face heated, and I hurriedly stepped aside.

Xie Lian gave me a polite nod, then walked into the Chairman’s office without the slightest ripple in his expression.

I went to the pantry and made myself a cup of coffee.

Had he recognized me? Or not?

That sentence…

Was it on purpose, or just a coincidence?

I turned to look at the glass cabinet door beside me.

Reflected in it was a blurry image of a thirty-three-year-old woman.

Chin-length short hair, plain makeup, black-rimmed glasses. Because I’d been called away in the middle of checking vouchers, I was still wearing a loose, worn pair of sleeve protectors, the fabric frayed from use.

I looked nothing like the wild, carefree girl from that mad journey years ago.

…

It was a coincidence.

That was the conclusion I came to.

When I returned to the office, my two young subordinates were chattering excitedly about the new boss.

“Isn’t he way too handsome? If you didn’t know better, you’d think he was some celebrity idol! If I’d known the new boss was this level, why did we even bother resisting? We should’ve let ourselves get acquired ages ago!”

“I heard he’s only twenty-eight. He succeeded with his own startup and then took over the family business. This is literally a domineering CEO romance come to life. No, I have to post about this!”

“Stop being such a fangirl…”

“If a serious, old-school finance veteran like Sister Cheng can get so lovestruck she blocks his doorway, why can’t I? Hey, why are you kicking me-”

Expressionless, I walked toward my desk.

“No gossiping during work hours.”

The two of them went silent at once, their heads nearly buried under their desks.

Outside the door, the crisp click of high heels drew closer.

Wu Siyin walked in, as always impeccably made up and dressed in a fitted suit.

She tossed a stack of receipts onto my subordinate’s desk.

“Why was Marketing’s reimbursement returned?”

The young woman, fresh out of university, shrank back and stammered an explanation. “Assistant Wu, this doesn’t comply with the new reimbursement policy. Anything exceeding the standard by fifty percent requires the general manager’s signature-”

Wu Siyin cut her off impatiently. “Our marketing department is out there on the front lines, while you people sit comfortably in the office all day thinking up ways to drag us down, is that it?”

I looked up and spoke coldly.

“Assistant Wu, the new financial reimbursement policy was issued long ago, and we also organized a dedicated training session. If you don’t understand it, go back and study. If you don’t accept it, go complain to the leadership. What are you doing shouting here-trying to prove you have a loud voice?”

Wu Siyin turned to look at me. She blinked, putting on a look of sudden realization.

“Sister Cheng, don’t tell me you’re abusing your position to settle a personal grudge.”

I adjusted my glasses and met her gaze.

“And what personal grudge would there be between you and me?”

She let out a light laugh.

“Looks like I’ll have to ask Zhou Xun to come talk to you himself. After all, the two of you were husband and wife once.”