Because she had stayed up too late, when Lin Wangxi woke up, it was already noon.
Leaning on her crutch, she made her way to the living room. Zhou Jinyuan was no longer there, but Zhou Yuean was.
Zhou Yuean sat in the same spot her brother had occupied the night before, fiddling with a pile of colorful items.
Lin Wangxi touched her stomach—she was hungry—but there did not seem to be any food on the table.
Since she had woken up late and missed breakfast, she felt too embarrassed to ask. She quietly went to the bathroom to wash up.
Just as she finished and walked out, she ran into Zhou Yuean, who was coming out of the kitchen holding a plate and a bowl.
Their eyes met.
Zhou Yuean quickly lowered her head and said softly, “This is the breakfast I saved for you. I’ve already reheated it. I’ll put it on the table for you.”
After saying that, she hurried over to the dining table, set the breakfast down, and went back to her own tasks.
Lin Wangxi realized that Zhou Yuean was not aloof—she was just a bit socially anxious.
Sitting across from her, Lin Wangxi recognized what she was working on.
“That’s a chenille stem, right? What are you making?”
Zhou Yuean kept her head down, focused on her work. “A rabbit.”
“I used to like playing with those when I was little. I could even make a tiger.”
Zhou Yuean paused, glanced up at her quickly, then said, “This is an order for someone else, not for fun.”
Now it was Lin Wangxi’s turn to be stunned. She had not expected Zhou Yuean to already be earning money at such a young age—it made her feel a bit useless in comparison.
“Uh… shouldn’t you be focusing on school right now?”
“I’ve already finished my homework,” Zhou Yuean replied without looking up. “I just don’t want my brother to work too hard.”
Hearing that, Lin Wangxi suddenly grew curious.
So far, she only knew that Zhou Jinyuan drove for ride-hailing services. She had no idea what else he did.
“What does he usually do?”
“I’m not really sure.”
Just as Zhou Yuean finished speaking, someone knocked on the door. She seemed to grab onto it like a lifeline, springing up and running to open it.
Lin Wangxi had always given people the impression of being an untouchable rich heiress.
Zhou Yuean was already socially anxious, and now that she was living with Lin Wangxi, she felt even more at a loss about how to interact, afraid that one wrong word might offend the young lady.
Seeing the person at the door, Zhou Yuean brightened. “Brother Fang, you’re here.”
“Yuean, is it the weekend already?” Fang Man said with a smile. He instinctively stepped forward but then seemed to remember something and pulled his foot back.
Zhou Yuean nodded and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him inside. “You’re here to see my brother, right? He went out. You can come in first.”
“I won’t go in—ah…”
Fang Man did not want to enter, but Zhou Yuean was too enthusiastic. In the end, he was dragged inside.
Sure enough, when he saw Lin Wangxi sitting at the dining table, his expression stiffened.
Scratching his head, he spoke awkwardly, “I just came to see your brother about something. His phone hasn’t been reachable. Do you know when he’ll be back?”
Zhou Yuean shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Then she looked at Lin Wangxi. “He knows what my brother does every day. You can ask him.”
Both Lin Wangxi and Fang Man were momentarily confused.
But Zhou Yuean had already gathered all the materials on the table into her arms and ran into the bedroom.
The living room suddenly felt very awkward.
Lin Wangxi still held an egg in her hand.
Fang Man cleared his throat and could only brace himself as he pulled out a chair and sat down.
“Hello, Miss Lin.”
Lin Wangxi blinked and smiled slightly. “Mm, hello.”
“……”
“…You’re just having breakfast now?”
“Yes, I woke up late.”
Fang Man gave an awkward laugh, fidgeting constantly—scratching his head, rubbing his legs—as if he had ants crawling all over him.
The atmosphere grew increasingly uncomfortable.
Lin Wangxi was not too affected—slightly awkward, but manageable.
She took the initiative to speak. “What did you need Zhou Jinyuan for?”
“Oh, it’s nothing major. He wanted to sell gloves, right? I contacted a factory over the past couple of days. The quality and price are within his budget, so I wanted to discuss it with him.”
That factory did not only produce gloves but also other medical supplies. If the quality was good, there could be opportunities to expand later.
Lin Wangxi nodded, half understanding. “So he’s doing sales now?”
Fang Man shook his head. “Not exactly sales—more like a middleman. You can think of it as helping hospitals procure supplies and earning a margin in between.”
“I see. Does that make a lot of money?”
“Of course. Otherwise, why would so many people compete for it? Even selling gloves requires connections—you tell me if it makes money.”
Talking about money seemed to ease Fang Man’s awkwardness.
But as he continued, he remembered Lin Wangxi’s background and scratched his nose sheepishly. “Though… a few tens of thousands might not seem like much to you.”
If it were the former Miss Lin, she indeed would not have cared about that amount.
But now, with only a little over forty thousand to her name, she thought it was quite a lot.
She asked curiously, “What else does he do?”
Fang Man thought for a moment. “A lot. Just what I know alone—it’s several jobs.”
“For example, he writes papers for others, drives ride-hailing, and works as a consultant at exhibitions. That consulting job is similar to the glove business.”
In short, he connected both sides and earned money if deals were made—but it was not easy.
There were no connections to rely on; he had to negotiate everything himself. Sometimes he would contact several parties and still not close a single deal.
Aside from those, he also took on various other jobs. In any case, he had a lot on his plate.
“No wonder he’s so busy,” Lin Wangxi said. While admiring his energy, she also felt a faint sense of sympathy.
Fang Man glanced at her, curiosity rising in his heart, and could not help asking, “Miss Lin, how did you end up living here?”
Lin Wangxi sighed, looking a bit troubled. “It’s a long story. Simply put, I’ve cut ties with the Lin family.”
“Oh, I get it—ran away from home,” Fang Man nodded. That sounded like something a young lady would do.
Lin Wangxi did not bother to explain further. More than anything, she did not want others to see her as a joke.
They chatted for quite a while. Lin Wangxi had been bored out of her mind these past few days, so now that she finally had someone to talk to, her words flowed endlessly.
From Fang Man, she learned many things about Zhou Jinyuan.
For example, he had never been in a relationship, even though many people had pursued him at school. Unfortunately, his mind had never been on romance.
His goal had always been clear—he wanted to start a company.
Even though he had fallen into such circumstances, his company was still holding on, albeit with only three people left.
Fang Man did not understand why, but Lin Wangxi did.
It was because he wanted to reclaim his family business.
If he simply worked for others, even with a high salary, he would never be able to take back what belonged to his parents.
Fang Man sighed. “Actually, Brother Yuan’s decisions weren’t wrong. The only thing he didn’t account for… was human nature.”
Lin Wangxi asked, “What do you mean?”
“Back in school, everyone was young and full of passion, with dreams in their hearts. But as time went on, people started thinking more.”
Fang Man spoke tactfully, but what he meant was internal conflict.
Some people felt there was no hope and did not want to keep struggling. Others preferred immediate gains—compared to an uncertain future, what they could get right now felt more real.
So the team fell apart.
Lin Wangxi did not know how to describe how she felt at that moment.
The only thing she was certain of was that Zhou Jinyuan was somewhat different from the image she had of him.
He was not as cold as he appeared. At the very least, he was responsible and mentally strong.
He treated even the people on his team—and even someone like her, whom he supposedly disliked—with the same sense of responsibility.
Even in his own difficult situation, he was still willing to take her in.
As they were talking, the door suddenly opened.
Zhou Jinyuan walked in, carrying groceries.
When he saw Fang Man there, he paused slightly.