“A breakup? That doesn’t sound like something you’d say at all. You treat that Mr. Z of yours like an absolute treasure. Every time you mention him, it’s like your heart is coated in honey. Didn’t you say when you first started working that you were going to ask him to meet up in real life once your job stabilized?”
Sheng Lu was incredibly surprised. In his eyes, Xu Nanxin saying he wanted to break up was as unimaginable as the sun rising from the west.
After all, back when they first found out Xu Nanxin was in an online relationship, they were always reminding him to be careful and stay sharp, worried that the guy might be a scammer. Xu Nanxin would nod and agree, saying he knew what he was doing, but in reality, he hadn’t taken any of it to heart.
Because of that, they would ask him every now and then if the guy had mentioned borrowing money, asked for bank transfers, or suggested meeting up. After all, the authorities are clear-headed while the players are blind.
However, that Mr. Z seemed like a highly disciplined person. Right up until graduation, he had never proactively brought up meeting Xu Nanxin in person, which allowed everyone to relax a bit.
Yet, Xu Nanxin had barely been working for how long now, and he already wanted to break up?
Of course, as his friend, Sheng Lu supported him. He actually felt that Xu Nanxin had finally come to his senses and realized that online relationships were unreliable.
“Yeah… it’s a long story,” Xu Nanxin said, suddenly at a loss for where to begin.
Actually, ever since he found out that Ji Li was Mr. Z, he had been pondering how to break things off properly, but his heart had always wavered. It wasn’t until Ji Li’s words today that he instantly snapped awake.
That’s right. To Mr. Z, he was nothing more than a stranger whose face he had never even seen.
By the end of this month, the two-month deadline Ji Li had given him would officially expire. As long as he performed well, he would be able to stay. Even if they met up and broke up afterward, it probably wouldn’t affect his job, right?
He felt that Ji Li was still a relatively reasonable person when it came to separating public and private matters.
“No rush, take your time,” Sheng Lu said. He could hear that Xu Nanxin’s voice sounded rather distressed.
“Mm.” Only then did Xu Nanxin recount everything that had happened during this period from beginning to end to Sheng Lu. At the very end, he let out a wry chuckle. “Honestly, I probably won’t even need to be the one to bring up the breakup. He’ll probably be the one who’s disappointed first once we meet!”
“Unbelievable! What kind of new-age scumbag is this, acting one way to your face and another behind your back? Hearing this makes my blood boil!” Sheng Lu was practically furious on the spot, his voice shooting up several decibels.
Xu Nanxin quickly intervened, “You shouldn’t say that either. I just feel like I don’t really know Mr. Z that well. Today at the company dinner, he tacitly admitted that he came to B City because of his partner. But when I asked him privately about his thoughts on online dating, he gave a completely different answer.”
If he felt that online dating was just about strangers who had never met, then why on earth…
“Are you stupid? This is all just a capitalist’s playbook! A new official always makes three big moves when taking office; he started out by restructuring and cracking down on the employees, and once he had the subordinates under his control, he used a team-building dinner to show a softer, more human side. Believe it or not, now that everyone knows your President Ji came here for his lover, a portion of them will definitely think, ‘Oh, so this general manager is actually a romantic at heart.’ It invisibly closes the distance between them.”
Listening to his friend’s logical and thorough analysis, Xu Nanxin froze for a long moment before asking hesitantly, “Is… is that how it works?”
Are a leader’s thoughts really that complex? Xu Nanxin suddenly felt that even ten versions of himself wouldn’t be a match for a single Ji Li.
“Exactly! Listen to me, you absolutely cannot meet him face-to-face, but you definitely have to break up!” Sheng Lu insisted.
Xu Nanxin fell silent for a moment. “Isn’t that a contradiction? How am I supposed to bring up a breakup without meeting him? If I just do it online, what if he thinks I’m playing him?”
“But if you meet him, your identity will be exposed! What if he retaliates against you?”
“Surely it wouldn’t go that far…”
“Do you still think he’s that Mr. Z of yours?” Sheng Lu said, exasperated by his friend’s lack of spine.
Xu Nanxin: “…”
“Then what do you suggest I do? I already agreed. I stood him up once last time, and if I stand him up again this time, even I’d feel like I’m going too far.”
“Don’t worry. If it really comes down to it, we’ll figure out a way for you to meet him. You can’t just go in completely unprepared. Tell you what, let’s talk this through thoroughly over dinner on Friday night, okay?” Sheng Lu’s voice sounded calm and reliable.
After a moment of thought, Xu Nanxin nodded. “Alright then, see you then.”
Friday Afternoon
Ji Li was in his office reviewing documents. On one corner of his desk sat the personnel files of all the company’s interns.
The Human Resources Department had compiled and handed them to Ji Li. These were primarily the batch of interns who had previously transitioned to regular status, whom Ji Li had specified needed another two months of observation.
Now, those two months were almost up, and the end of the month was fast approaching. In the past, as long as the department supervisor felt a newcomer was capable, they would grant regular status, and the general manager would just sign off on it without intervening too much.
But now, it was clearly a different story. Even those who had previously signed regular contracts had to be screened all over again. The HR department had no idea what this general manager was plotting.
After finishing the pressing tasks at hand, Ji Li finally found the time to look at the personnel files on his desk.
Taking a sip of coffee, he pulled the compiled files over and flipped through them page by page. In truth, he had already decided in his heart who would be staying.
Thus, he sorted out the unneeded profiles one by one. When he flipped to Xu Nanxin’s personal information, he only gave it a brief glance and was about to turn to the next page when his eyes inadvertently brushed past the contact information column.
That string of numbers looked strangely familiar. Ji Li’s movements paused. He pulled Xu Nanxin’s profile out entirely. At first, he thought the numbers were merely similar, but to his surprise, it was identical to the number he had practically memorized inside and out.
Ji Li knit his brows. He had always been highly sensitive to numbers. Yet, upon seeing this string of numbers, he still verified it repeatedly to ensure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him.
Ultimately, he even pulled out his phone, typing the digits one by one into the dial pad. Sure enough, the name “Little Rabbit” immediately popped up on the screen.
Ji Li: “…”
For a rare moment, his brain went entirely blank. Only after a good while did he pinch the bridge of his nose, the furrow between his brows deepening as he stared at the personal information in his hand.
Reaching for the intercom, Ji Li called his secretary in.
When Liu Li knocked and entered, she assumed Ji Li had some work-related query for her. Instead, Ji Li recited a phone number to her.
Liu Li blanked for a moment. After writing it down, she had no idea what it meant and subconsciously looked toward Ji Li.
“Dial this number and put it on speaker,” Ji Li ordered, giving her the number belonging to Little Rabbit from his phone.
Though utterly bewildered, Liu Li did as instructed and placed the call. After ringing for a few seconds, the call connected, and a very polite voice echoed from the speaker: “Hello, who is this, please?”
Not knowing how to respond, Liu Li looked at Ji Li, who signaled her to hang up.
And just like that, Liu Li was mysteriously called in, made a baffling phone call, and walked back out entirely clueless.
Ji Li watched his secretary’s departing back. It wasn’t until his office door clicked shut once more that his gaze fell back onto Xu Nanxin’s personal information on the desk.
That was indeed Xu Nanxin’s voice.
If the other party hadn’t constantly been using a voice changer app, he certainly would have recognized it the very first time they spoke on the phone.
How on earth… could that kid be Little Rabbit?