After a week straight of building LEGO, the Eiffel Tower model had taken shape with most of its base complete.
Meanwhile, the due diligence assessment at Aether Technology had finally gone through the full process. Matrix Technology officially decided to invest, offering not just priority supply of core components but also partial technical support for underlying computing power.
The moment the contract was signed, Xu Yumo suppressed her excitement and gracefully extended her hand toward the man behind the desk. "President He, it's been a pleasure working with you."
"Likewise." He Linxi curved his lips slightly and took her hand.
The man's palm was dry and warm, his grip perfectly measured—a brief touch, then a clean release.
He capped his pen and added as if it were an afterthought: "I have an afternoon flight to Nancheng for a business trip. I'll probably be there for the next few days. The LEGO building will have to pause for now."
Xu Yumo nodded, organizing the contract into her folder. "Alright, your work comes first."
Back at Aether Technology, Xu Yumo briefly handed off the project materials, then clapped her hands to get the attention of the few people still buried in their workstations.
"No overtime tonight—my treat." She smiled as she scanned the room. "You've all worked hard these past few weeks. The Matrix Technology partnership is officially locked in. Consider this a milestone victory."
After a brief silence, the office erupted.
"It's done? It's actually done?!"
"No way—boss, you're amazing!"
A group of people sprang up from their desks, the tension instantly dissolving.
The startup team was small to begin with, and through this journey, everyone had stayed up late together, made mistakes together, and weathered the hardest phases side by side. They were less like boss and employees and more like comrades fighting on the same front.
That evening, they picked a lively barbecue restaurant. A long table, cold beer cracked open, and the atmosphere warmed up quickly.
Xu Li grabbed a slice of fatty beef and suddenly leaned in, lowering her voice for gossip: "Hey, I heard that President He from Matrix Technology is really handsome. Is that true or not?"
Xu Yumo was caught off guard by the question, then couldn't help but laugh. "Your sources are pretty extensive."
"Of course—it's all over the industry group chats." Xu Li's eyes sparkled. "So, is he or isn't he?"
Xu Yumo thought for a moment and didn't dodge the question. "Yeah, he's actually quite handsome."
The moment those words left her mouth, the women nearby perked up instantly.
"Got any photos? Show us!"
Surrounded by a crowd egging her on, she was a bit overwhelmed and waved her hands with a smile. "I don't have any photos of him."
"He must post on Moments, right?" Xu Li pressed on relentlessly.
"He does, but he probably doesn't post much." Xu Yumo opened He Linxi's profile as she spoke, scrolling down with her fingertip.
But the very next second, she froze.
Not only did he post often—he posted with remarkable dedication.
The screen was filled with nothing but photos and videos of cats.
One rolling on the carpet, one dozing curled up in the corner of the sofa, another holding a teaser wand in its mouth with an annoyed expression… scattered posts, but each one was clearly taken with care.
"…A cat person." She couldn't help muttering under her breath.
"Huh? Let me see, let me see!" Xu Li craned her neck over, and when she saw a screen full of cat pictures, her expression immediately fell. "That's it? Not even one photo of him?"
The others chimed in with disappointment too. "He's way too mysterious."
The conversation quickly drifted to other gossip, and the table grew lively again.
But Xu Yumo, for some reason, kept her finger on the screen, scrolling further down almost unconsciously.
Those scattered posts, intermittent along the timeline, still clearly chronicled the growth of the cat—Niangao.
When she scrolled to a post from seven years ago, her fingertip suddenly stopped.
In the image, a tiny ball of white fur was curled up in a cardboard box, ears flattened, eyes carrying a hint of wariness. Beside it was only a simple caption:
[Just brought him home. Pretty feisty]
Xu Yumo's breath caught softly.
That time—it was exactly the winter of her sophomore year in high school.
Strange.
If she had added him on WeChat back when she graduated from high school, how had she never seen any of these posts?
Had he blocked her before?
She quickly opened his profile page, only to discover that it wasn't him blocking her—it was that she had chosen to hide his posts and hide hers from him.
Memory seemed to be gently nudged, slowly flowing back.
Back when she had accepted friend requests through the alumni group, she seemed to have tossed everyone into the "unfamiliar alumni" group and turned off Moments permissions along with it.
So for all these years, she hadn't seen a single one of his posts.
Xu Yumo's fingertip paused, a strange feeling stirring in her chest—like she had unknowingly missed something very important.
But at least she had caught it in time now.
Otherwise, if he posted anything in the future and she never liked or commented, it would come across as deliberately distant, as if she held some grudge against him.
She gently pressed her lips together, tapped a few times quickly, and pulled him out of that cold, impersonal group.
She had assumed that without needing to go to Yunxi to help assemble LEGO sets, she would have a rare stretch of free time in the evening. But after finishing dinner and returning to her rental apartment, Xu Yumo inexplicably felt a sense of unease.
The frequent interactions over the past week had, without her realizing it, dissolved the initial awkwardness and formality between them. Going to the Yunxi apartment after work every day, spending two hours assembling models while listening to Nian'gao snore nearby, had become the most relaxing part of her high-pressure routine.
She took off her coat and leaned back on the sofa absentmindedly, watching some mindless TV show. For some reason, Nian'gao's proud, aloof face drifted through her mind.
He Linxi had gone on a business trip. The cat was home alone—she wondered if it would be okay.
The moment the thought crossed her mind, she gave a self-deprecating tug at the corner of her mouth.
A man like him would naturally have people to take care of his home. A housekeeper coming by on a regular schedule was perfectly normal. It wasn't her place to worry about such things.
She shook her head, brushing aside these baseless thoughts. Just as she was about to get up and wash up, the phone lying on the sofa suddenly vibrated.
An unfamiliar local number flashed on the screen.
Telemarketing calls were common these days, so she answered with some hesitation: "Hello, who is this?"
A faint static crackled through the receiver, followed by a familiar voice: "It's me."
He Linxi?
Xu Yumo was taken aback.
They had always communicated through WeChat. How did he have her phone number?
But then she thought about it—his contact information as the legal representative was written in black and white in the contract. It wasn't surprising that he had her number.
She steadied herself and asked in surprise: "President He? You've arrived in Nancheng?"
"Just landed." He Linxi's voice sounded lower and raspier than usual, carrying a hint of travel-worn fatigue. "Something came up at home. The housekeeper went over to refill the cat food and thought she'd keep Nian'gao company for a bit, but it's rejecting her badly. It's been hiding under the sofa, hissing at her, and won't even eat. Looks like it's stressed."
Xu Yumo's heart tightened at the news: "Stressed? Isn't it usually pretty well-behaved?"
"It's always been timid, and it's not used to unfamiliar faces." He Linxi paused, a note of helplessness creeping into his tone. "The housekeeper has never owned a cat, so she didn't dare force it out. I can't make it back right now either. Would you… be able to help me take care of it for a week? Compared to anyone else, it seems to trust you more."
Xu Yumo was almost immediately tempted, but her gaze swept across the cramped rental apartment, and she had to suppress the impulse: "I'd really love to help, but my lease explicitly states no pets allowed. It would be a big problem if I got caught."
A brief silence fell on the other end of the line.
"Then would you be able to stay at my place for a week?" He Linxi spoke again, offering a compromise. "If Nian'gao leaves its familiar environment, the stress could get worse. With you at Yunxi keeping it company, it should improve a lot."
Xu Yumo froze: "Stay at your place? That's… not really appropriate, is it?"
"What's inappropriate about it?" He Linxi let out a soft chuckle on the other end, his tone carrying a hint of casual teasing. "It's not like Miss Xu is going to cause any damage while I'm away, right?"
"Of course not," she retorted instinctively.
"Well, there you go." He smoothly shut down her concerns. "I don't use the guest room normally, and the bedding is all clean. I'll send you the door lock password on WeChat in a bit. Consider this week me hiring you as a part-time cat sitter—I'll pay you the going rate."
With him putting it that way, if she kept hesitating, it would only make her seem like she had an issue.
Xu Yumo was silent for a moment before finally relenting: "No need for payment. I genuinely like Nian'gao, and I'm happy to keep it company. Don't worry about your trip—I'll take good care of it."
"Alright, then I'll leave it to you this week."
Not long after the call ended, a string of door lock passwords popped up on WeChat.
Xu Yumo stared at the numbers for a few seconds, still feeling a bit dazed.
In her impression, He Linxi had always been clear about boundaries and coldly distant. Yet now he had so readily sent the password to his private residence to her—a business partner he wasn't even that close to.
No matter how she looked at it, the whole thing felt surreal.
But thinking of Nian'gao still in its stressed state, she didn't have time to dwell on the oddity. She quickly found a small suitcase, threw in a few changes of clothes and toiletries, and took a cab straight to the Yunxi apartment.
Late at night, the Yunxi apartment was even quieter than usual.
Xu Yumo stood at the door and entered the password. With a soft click, the heavy entrance door swung open.
No lights were left on inside. Only the motion sensors at the entryway detected her movement, illuminating two dim floor lamps. The air was still, carrying that familiar, faint scent of sandalwood.
"Nian'gao?" She closed the door behind her and called out in a soft voice.
The living room was silent. No response.
Xu Yumo slipped into the slippers, walked around the coffee table, and finally spotted a flash of white in the narrow gap beneath the lowest shelf of the sideboard.
Nian Gao curled tightly into a ball, its ears pressed flat like airplane wings, a low, defensive rumble vibrating from its throat. At the sound of footsteps, it jerked its head up, two luminous eyes glowing in the darkness.
Xu Yumo didn't dare approach recklessly. She slowly crouched down in front of the cabinet, coaxing in a gentle voice: "Nian Gao, it's me, don't be scared, don't be scared…"
Perhaps because it had grown familiar with this voice, and caught the familiar scent of her, Nian Gao's tense back visibly relaxed. The threatening growl in its throat turned into a plaintive "meow."
It tentatively extended one paw, and after confirming it was safe, the whole cat, like a patch of melting snow, slowly crawled out from under the cabinet and burrowed straight into Xu Yumo's arms, rubbing hard against her palm.
"There, there, it's okay now. Go eat first." Xu Yumo stroked its long fur, carried it to the food bowl, and watched it crunch down big mouthfuls of cat food before she finally let out a relieved breath.
After settling the cat, Xu Yumo pushed open the door to the guest room.
This was indeed a room that went unused for long stretches—the furnishings were minimal, with almost nothing besides a bed and a wardrobe. The dark gray bedding was laid out perfectly smooth.
On the nightstand, a set of unopened premium toiletries and new towels with price tags still attached had been thoughtfully placed.
She didn't touch any of those things, only took out her own toiletries from her suitcase and went into the guest bathroom to shower.
After washing up and lying on the unfamiliar bed, Xu Yumo still felt a faint sense of unreality.
All around was the stillness of deep night; beneath her was a mattress so soft it seemed to swallow her whole. Though the bedding carried no obvious scent, within this utterly private house, everything silently bore some quality that belonged to He Linxi.
She picked up her phone, found the number that had called her earlier in her contacts, and with a light tap of her fingertip, properly saved it under the name "He Linxi."
Just as the screen dimmed, a WeChat notification popped up.
H: [Is Nian Gao okay?]
Xu Yumo only then remembered she hadn't sent him a message to confirm she'd arrived safely. She quickly replied: [Mm, already calmed down, just ate a big bowl of cat food. Right now she's curled up at the foot of my bed fast asleep]
H: [Mind if I take a look?]
Assuming He Linxi was away on business and worried, wanting a photo, Xu Yumo casually replied [Sure], then hugged the covers as she sat up, switched on the bedside lamp, and prepared to open her camera for a picture.
But before she could even switch to the camera interface, a WeChat video call invitation suddenly popped up on her screen.
Xu Yumo froze for a moment, instinctively flustered. She hastily ran her fingers through her long hair, which she'd blow-dried into a messy tangle after her shower, then tugged the collar of her loose cotton pajamas upward, and only then, looking somewhat awkward, pressed the answer button.
The screen flickered, and the call connected.
In the video, He Linxi appeared to be in a hotel room, with warm-toned lighting in the background.
He had clearly just showered as well—a few strands of slightly damp hair fell loose across his forehead. Holding the phone in one hand, he leaned back in an armchair, his gaze stripped of the sharpness it carried during the day in his suit and tie, replaced by a languidness softened by steam.
The worst part was that he was only loosely draped in a dark hotel bathrobe. The collar wasn't fastened properly, and as he adjusted the angle of his phone, the smooth lines of his chest muscles and the distinct contours of his collarbones flickered in and out of view on camera.
Xu Yumo's gaze felt scorched. She quickly looked away, flipped her phone screen around in a fluster, and clumsily aimed it at the foot of the bed.
"See… she's already asleep, it's fine now."
She said in a low voice, trying to redirect all her attention to the cat to mask her inexplicably quickening heartbeat.
However, the other end of the video fell into a strange silence for two seconds.
Then, through the phone's speaker, came a soft, muffled chuckle from He Linxi.
That laugh traveled through the signal, carrying a hint of inscrutable nonchalance.
"I can't see the cat."
He spoke slowly, his tone lazy:
"What your camera is pointing at right now is your underwear."