Tomorrow was Monday. After taking a long, refreshing bath, Li Wanqiu climbed into bed earlier than usual.
Her mother hadn’t nagged her today; instead, she had simply told her to come home for dinner in a few days. Li Wanqiu breathed a sigh of relief and quickly tapped out a polite reply: Okay.
Afterward, she casually opened Moments on WeChat and noticed a new video posted by Yan Weiwei. Their club was currently undergoing renovations and had purchased a wave of brand-new equipment and gear. In the video, Yan Weiwei was enthusiastically pedaling away on a newly delivered stationary bike.
Caption: Testing it out for everyone first!
She looked utterly absorbed in the workout.
Infected by her friend’s boundless energy, the corners of Li Wanqiu’s mouth curved up involuntarily. After watching the clip, she left a casual comment underneath: Looks great. I’ll come try it out this weekend.
A reply came back in no time: Our A-Qiu has great taste! Hurry over, I’ll save the prettiest one just for you!
Li Wanqiu chuckled and typed back: Sounds like a plan.
She felt exceptionally relaxed.
Pleasant, unburdened evenings like this were rare. Tossing and turning for a few moments in silence, Li Wanqiu gathered her nightgown and climbed out of bed, her bare feet padding across the plush rug to retrieve a bottle of white wine.
A small glass before bed always helped her unwind and sleep better. Pouring a splash into a stemmed glass, she carried it carefully over to the window, took a seat, and looked out into the night.
Living alone for a prolonged period naturally invited bouts of loneliness. Over time, she had developed a habit of sitting by the window whenever she had free time, watching the passing scenery and people by day, and admiring the celestial night sky by dark.
Tonight’s starry sky happened to be exceptionally breathtaking.
Li Wanqiu leaned back comfortably against the chair, playfully connecting the distant stars into lines with her finger. For reasons unknown, the image of the starry night sky on Ji Jinyan’s profile picture drifted into her mind. Realizing she was now actually working at a winery felt surreal, and when her eyes fell back on the glass of white wine in her hand, a flicker of curiosity stirred within her.
Sitting up straighter, Li Wanqiu pulled up the files Ji Jinyan’s team had emailed her and scrolled to the section on wine.
“At Bisha, different winemaking techniques are employed depending on the varietal and style,” Li Wanqiu murmured aloud in a low whisper. “For instance, with white wines, the grapes are often pressed prior to destemming and crushing in order to separate the juice cleanly from the skins and pulp.”
Who knew there was so much technique involved?
She skimmed through several pages detailing white wine production, genuinely enlightened by the insights. Almost on instinct, she switched over to her chat with Yan Weiwei to proudly summarize her newfound knowledge.
A reply arrived almost immediately.
Yan Weiwei: ???
Yan Weiwei: What’s going on? Did your account get hacked? What on earth are you doing?
Li Wanqiu froze. Only then did the absurdity register, she had poured a glass merely to relax, so why had she suddenly slipped into study mode?
Embarrassed, she brushed it off with a few evasive excuses, tipped her head back, and drained the glass in one go.
“Bedtime, bedtime,” she muttered under her breath.
The following morning, Li Wanqiu arrived promptly at the entrance of the winery.
Bisha was indeed massive, boasting a sprawling array of facilities. Beyond the vast expanse of vineyards, the estate encompassed an exhibition gallery, a boutique resort hotel, a grand chateau, and private clubhouses, among other amenities.
If a newcomer arrived without a guide, getting hopelessly lost was practically guaranteed.
Li Wanqiu walked forward, relying on her memory to navigate toward the executive office suite on the top floor. With Bisha’s heavy business operations, the secretarial pool had also been placed on this floor to ensure seamless workflow.
She had barely taken a few steps down the corridor when someone approached to receive her.
“Miss Li.” The speaker was a professional woman in sharp corporate attire, her hair neatly pinned in a chignon behind her head. She offered a polished smile. “I’m Assistant An. Welcome aboard.”
“Hello,” Li Wanqiu responded with a polite nod, extending a hand to shake hers.
Ji Jinyan had evidently instructed Assistant An in advance to show her around. After settling her personal belongings in her designated office, Li Wanqiu followed Assistant An on a comprehensive tour of the surrounding facilities to get her bearings.
Along the way, the full picture of Bisha began to emerge through their conversation.
The estate had originally been founded by Ji Jinyan’s grandfather. The patriarch had a son and a daughter, each with families of their own, creating a flourishing family tree. Yet when the old man passed away, the one who took over the reins of the winery wasn’t either of his children.
It was Ji Jinyan.
Such an arrangement seemed unusual on the surface, no doubt fraught with intricate family entanglements. As a subordinate—and practically a stranger who had only just met her—it wasn’t Li Wanqiu’s place to speculate on Ji Jinyan’s private family affairs.
So, she simply nodded, acknowledging the information quietly.
Assistant An smiled and continued her briefing. After completing a full circuit, they circled back to where they had started.
Li Wanqiu glanced instinctively toward Ji Jinyan’s executive suite. Peering through the blinds, she saw no one inside.
She couldn’t help but ask, “Sister An, is President Ji not in today?”
“President Ji should be down in the fermentation and aging cellar right now,” Assistant An replied after a moment’s thought. “Things have been exceptionally demanding lately.”
“I see.” Li Wanqiu gave a soft nod.
“I have other matters to attend to shortly,” Assistant An said with a pleasant smile, glancing at her watch. “Why don’t you head back to your desk and familiarize yourself with the routines? If there’s anything you’re unsure about, feel free to come find me.”
“My office is just over there,” she pointed out, gesturing toward a doorway, before answering a ringing call and briskly hurrying off.
Li Wanqiu nodded and stepped into her own workspace.
The departing assistant had already consolidated all the transition materials into a desktop folder. Li Wanqiu opened the documents and began reviewing them. Before she knew it, the entire morning had slipped away.
Soon came the lunch break.
The company arranged daily meal deliveries, and the winery housed its own cafeteria as well, so there was no danger of going hungry. After finishing her lunch, Li Wanqiu found herself with time to spare. Standing before the floor-to-ceiling windows and taking in the panoramic view, she suddenly felt an urge to take a stroll outside.
As long as I keep track of the way I came, I won’t get lost.
Acting on the thought, Li Wanqiu made the most of the generous break, exploring several scenic corners: manicured gardens, rustic wooden pavilions, and classical stone sculptures, each spot thoroughly pleasing to the eye.
Strolling while soaking it all in, she found herself brimming with fresh artistic inspiration.
In the middle of her walk, her phone suddenly began to ring.
Remembering that today was her first day at work, Mother Li had called specifically to check up on her: “Are you working diligently?”
“Yes,” Li Wanqiu answered with a nod, keeping her pace steady.
“It took a great deal of effort for your father to secure you a place at Bisha, so you’d better cherish it,” Mother Li lectured over the line. “Stop daydreaming all day about that pointless painting nonsense.”
Clearing her throat softly, Li Wanqiu reeled in her roaming gaze and replied in a subdued voice, “I understand.”
Wanting to shift the topic, she asked whether her mother wanted her to bring anything home when she came over for dinner in a few days. Successfully distracted, Mother Li finally let up on her scolding.
Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, Li Wanqiu hung up the call. When she looked up again, however, she realized her surroundings had grown unfamiliar.
Li Wanqiu: “?”
She looked back over her shoulder in slight bewilderment, unable to find the path she had come by. Engrossed in the phone call with her mother, she hadn’t paid any attention to her route, and had now ended up in a completely foreign part of the grounds.
She was lost.
There were no directional signs in the immediate area. After searching around to no avail and fearing she might wander even further afield, Li Wanqiu stopped in her tracks. Taking mental note of nearby landmarks, she prepared to dial Assistant An for help.
Before she could place the call, a familiar voice drifted from behind her: “Li Wanqiu, what are you doing here?”
Ji Jinyan!
Not expecting her to be here at all, Li Wanqiu whirled around in pleasant surprise. “I—”
Catching herself mid-sentence, she paused, quickly reining in her emotions and stubbornly saving face: “Nothing much. Just taking a walk during the lunch break.”
“Is that so?” Ji Jinyan nodded, offering no rebuttal, though a faint, knowing smile began to curve at the corner of her lips.
Li Wanqiu felt a twinge of embarrassment. “What about you? Why are you here?”
“These are the staff quarters.” Ji Jinyan pointed casually toward a nearby building. “I was feeling a bit drained earlier, so I rested nearby for a short while.”
“Have you eaten?” She asked.
Li Wanqiu nodded. “Yes, I have.”
“That’s good.” Ji Jinyan murmured an acknowledgment. Tapping her fingers against her phone for a quiet moment, she let out a light laugh, murmuring in mock lament, “Well, break’s over. Back to the grind.”
“I’m heading back to the office,” she said, her gaze drifting casually over Li Wanqiu’s face, her voice dropping soft and quiet. “Come back and help out.”
With that, she turned on her heel and started walking.
Li Wanqiu stood frozen for a beat, only snapping out of it a few seconds later. She hurried forward to match Ji Jinyan’s stride. The midday sun poured down generously over every detail of the estate, bathing the scenery in a radiant glow.
Ji Jinyan glanced back over her shoulder at her, her voice mingling with the gentle rustle of leaves in the breeze. The gemstone stud in her right ear caught the sunlight, gleaming brightly.
“Li Wanqiu,” she called her name, her mildly exasperated tone failing to conceal the warmth and amusement underneath.
“Keep up with me, now.”