The stairwell was pitch black, a void where you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. Zhong Xiao’ou gripped the handrail with one hand and held Gu Ming tightly with the other, shuffling downward step by step by sheer intuition. Gu Ming actually had many fears—darkness, snakes, mice, and being alone—but having spent a long time in the corporate world, she felt she had been tempered into someone quite powerful. She had followed the engineering department onto construction sites and even handled riots sparked by competitors. She once stood on a marble platform at a sales center, heels kicked off, using a megaphone to calm a crowd of “migrant workers” armed with steel bars. It was after that incident that she had been promoted to Vice President. She had convinced herself she was strong enough to no longer fear anything, but a simple power outage had instantly stripped away that armor. Yet, being led by Zhong Xiao’ou like this, Gu Ming didn’t feel that rising sense of unease; perhaps, in the dark, humans instinctively seek someone to lean on.
On the other hand, Zhong Xiao’ou’s heart was a chaotic mess of emotions. She thought to herself that she and VP Gu must have some kind of special destiny to end up in situations like this.
“Who’s up there?”
The voice came so suddenly, and the abrupt flash of light nearly made Zhong Xiao’ou’s heart leap out of her chest. Startled, she let out a loud “Wah!” and instinctively lunged forward, wrapping her arms tightly around Gu Ming’s waist. Gu Ming was startled too, and the reflex to hold on to something made her hug Zhong Xiao’ou right back. Fear had completely trumped any sense of professional decorum. As they clung to each other, the light beamed up from below, but it was so blinding they couldn’t see the person’s face—only the sound of a man’s voice.
Oh no, is it a mugger or a creep? Zhong Xiao’ou’s imagination ran wild. A small woman like her and a beauty like VP Gu… if they were harassed, she wouldn’t want to live anymore. She fumbled desperately in her bag for something to use as a weapon, but her hardest possession—her phone—had already been dropped somewhere into the abyss.
The light drew closer. The man with the flashlight looked at the two women huddled together and spoke. “I’m the building security. I heard something fall in the stairwell and came up to check. Are you staff from upstairs?”
“Phew…” Zhong Xiao’ou’s racing heart finally began to settle.
Gu Ming immediately let go of Zhong Xiao’ou and turned to the security guard with a frown of dissatisfaction. “Your property management is highly unprofessional. A sudden blackout while people are working overtime, the elevators are stalled, and no one checks on us? And you’re still thinking of raising the management fees next year?”
Zhong Xiao’ou looked at Gu Ming sideways. How does she even know things like the property management’s plans for next year?
The two made a messy exit from the stairwell. In the main lobby, guards had lit candles, providing a flickering relief. The “creep” guard picked something up from the front desk. “Is this yours?”
“Ah! My phone! I dropped it just now… it’s like this?” Zhong Xiao’ou stared at the dense web of cracks on the screen. Her heart felt as shattered as the glass; it was a total wreck. She knew it had slipped, but she didn’t realize it had been a “bullseye” drop from the fourth floor all the way down the gap to the first. “Can this even be fixed?” she asked pitifully.
“With that level of damage, it’s probably not worth it. The iPhone 6 is out anyway,” Gu Ming said, shaking her head as she inspected the wreckage.
“I still have to try and get it to turn on. I have so many documents and photos in there.”
“You didn’t back them up?” Gu Ming asked.
“No, I don’t trust backups. They leak your privacy,” Zhong Xiao’ou muttered, stroking the phone. In reality, she was thinking about the folders on her computer filled with “girls’ love” novels and fanart—and, more importantly, a few cropped photos of VP Gu she had snatched from company news reports. How could she upload those to the cloud? What if they leaked?
Gu Ming gave her a curious look but figured she had a point about digital privacy.
The city at night always adds a layer of unique charm, and Chengdu felt even softer under the moonlight. Zhong Xiao’ou returned the laptop to Gu Ming, but she felt guilty about having the VP do their work for them. However, she couldn’t exactly take Gu Ming’s private laptop home with her. She suddenly had an idea. “VP Gu, why don’t we find a place with power and Wi-Fi first, and I’ll finish the proposal there?”
So, they drove to a Pacific Coffee in the city center. At 9:00 PM, the cafe was as quiet as ever. “VP Gu, what would you like to drink?” “I’m fine. I’ve had too much today.” Gu Ming had already downed two black coffees and couldn’t stomach any more, so Zhong Xiao’ou just got her a cup of warm water. Once seated, Zhong Xiao’ou worked quickly on the laptop. Across from her, Gu Ming sat in silence—her phone was dead, and she found it nearly impossible to concentrate. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Shi Lei. Since moving her things to a hotel, she hadn’t acknowledged him once. He had called incessantly and, today, had even gone as far as sending a ridiculous amount of flowers to the office. She didn’t want to talk to him, see him, or hear his voice, but she couldn’t control her mind.
“Zhong Xiao’ou.”
“Yeah?” Zhong Xiao’ou didn’t even look up as she tapped away at the keys.
“Talk to me.” Gu Ming thought that maybe a conversation would serve as a distraction.
“Huh? Oh… okay.” Zhong Xiao’ou looked up from the screen. She found Gu Ming very strange today—why was she still wearing sunglasses? She wore them in the office, and now even in a coffee shop at night. Sure, the sunglasses were stylish and looked great on her, but it’s pitch black outside, VP.
Gu Ming, ever cautious, had put the glasses back on just before they reached the ground floor to hide the bruise.
Zhong Xiao’ou never asked the awkward question of “Why are you wearing sunglasses at night?” Instead, Gu Ming caught the confused look behind her tinted lenses and changed the subject. “It seems like the marketing department’s work never ends, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, it feels like there’s never a slow moment. That’s been my biggest takeaway from Classic International.”
“Yes, always busy. It’s as if there’s nothing else besides work.” Gu Ming gazed pensively out the window. “If you’re always working overtime, there’s less time for dates.”
“I don’t really have dates,” Zhong Xiao’ou chatted while she worked. She loved this version of Gu Ming—the one she could have a heart-to-heart with. Gu Ming looked so beautiful tonight; she almost wanted to pounce on her.
Gu Ming leaned forward, resting her chin on one hand while the other lay on the table. The warm light from the floor lamp hit the back of her hand—those slender, fair, elegant fingers. VP Gu, you’re about to get married, why do you have to be this alluring every day? Zhong Xiao’ou screamed internally.
Gu Ming smiled. “You look like you’re at the age where you should be having plenty of dates.”
Is she complimenting me? Zhong Xiao’ou thought dotingly. Who cares about ‘plenty of dates’? One date with you every day would be enough.
Distracted by her own crush, a thirty-minute task took Zhong Xiao’ou a full hour to finish. By the time the proposal was done, it was almost 10:30 PM. Gu Ming looked it over and found no issues. A waiter reminded them they were closing soon, and Zhong Xiao’ou stretched her arms before packing up the laptop.
“Good job. You worked hard,” Gu Ming said, patting her on the shoulder.
Is this a special consolation? Zhong Xiao’ou thought, swooning.
“Wait, sister-in-law?”
Gu Ming turned around and realized it was one of Shi Lei’s friends—Mu Yao’s ex-boyfriend, Qi Xiaojun. Gu Ming’s hatred for Shi Lei had extended to all his friends; she gave a curt nod as a greeting and pulled Zhong Xiao’ou out of the cafe. They had only walked a few steps when Qi Xiaojun immediately called Shi Lei. “Where are you? Did you find Gu Ming today? Are you an idiot? You let her slip right under your nose at the office. I just saw her at a cafe. Yeah, she just left. You’re nearby? How am I supposed to stall her? Fine, fine, just hurry up!” Qi Xiaojun hung up and bolted after them. Just as Gu Ming’s car was pulling out, he recklessly jumped in front of the hood to block her.
Gu Ming slammed on the brakes in annoyance and pulled over. Qi Xiaojun ran to the window and tapped on the glass. Gu Ming rolled it down, frowning. “Are you crazy?”
“No, sister-in-law, get out of the car. I have something urgent to tell you,” Qi Xiaojun lied through his teeth to buy time.
“What is it? I don’t have time,” Gu Ming refused.
“It’s serious! Mu Yao… Mu Yao just called me and said she’s pregnant. It might be mine. What should I do?”
“Haven’t you two been broken up for a long time?” Gu Ming looked at him, unimpressed by his blatant nonsense.
“We… we saw each other a while ago…” Qi Xiaojun was running out of lies.
“Is that so? I saw Mu Yao last week and she didn’t mention it. Based on her energy, she didn’t look pregnant to me.”
“Ah? Really? Is she lying to me? To get me back? Because she can’t let go? Is this a dirty trick?”
Gu Ming started to roll up the window. “Enough, I don’t have time for your fairytales.”
“Wait! Wait… sister-in-law, your hand! My hand!”
Gu Ming eventually pressed the button to stop.
What is going on? What’s the play here? Zhong Xiao’ou sat in the passenger seat, watching the man outside who was clearly trying to keep them there.