I'd been online dating my boyfriend for six months, but he absolutely refused to meet in person. I had no choice but to ask a food delivery rider to do some reconnaissance for me. After seeing him, the rider advised me: "Honestly, girl, forget it. The guy isn't tall, isn't handsome, and the kicker? He looks like he's pushing sixty!" Hearing this, I instantly crumbled and cursed into the phone: "You old geezer! We're breaking up!" The next day, forced myself to go to work, only to hear colleagues gossiping: "What kind of trauma did CEO Zhou suffer?" "Why is he asking everyone for links to anti-aging face masks?" 1 When I got that call from the delivery driver, I genuinely felt like the sky was falling. On the other end of the line, the driver was describing in vivid detail: "I'm really not making this up, miss. I was stunned when the door opened. The guy isn't tall, isn't handsome, and the main thing is, he looks like he's nearly sixty! He was even holding a cane!" "You're in the prime of your youth, don't waste it on an old man, okay? Otherwise, when you actually meet, people will suspect you have a thing for geriatrics!" I responded in a daze, not even knowing how I hung up the phone. By the time I snapped back to reality, tears were already streaming down my face. No wonder he kept refusing to meet me. Turns out he's elderly and has mobility issues! And all those red packets and bank transfers he sent me before—were those his retirement pension?! Thinking of this, I couldn't help but cry again, clicking open my phone through the tears, ready to send the money back. Just as I opened the chat page, my phone vibrated. My online boyfriend sent a message: [Thanks for the afternoon tea, babe~] [Did you finish getting your nails done, babe? Want me to buy you bubble tea?] I almost gagged. Thinking about how I'd been calling this old geezer "babe" for six months, I couldn't stop feeling nauseous. On the other side, totally oblivious to my mood, he kept sending messages: [Nails not done yet? Message me back when you're free later, okay?] [I'll reimburse you.] Followed closely by several large red packets. Financially, he'd never been stingy. Spending someone else's money really is painless! Thinking of this, I was both angry and hateful. I directly returned the red packets and typed furiously: [No need.] [I never thought you were this kind of old geezer.] [Saying break up makes me sick. Don't harass me again!] 2 After sending the message, I blocked and deleted him instantly, then started packing up my stuff. Clothes and bags the old geezer sent—throw! Shopping mall gift cards the old geezer loaded—sell! Specialty sausages the old geezer made himself... I hesitated for a second. The old geezer's culinary skills were actually quite good; these sausages tasted way better than store-bought ones. But, I'm looking for a partner, not a chef! What's the use of delicious sausages! So, I packed the sausages along with everything else and threw them downstairs to feed the stray dogs. I didn't leave the house all weekend, curled up at home crying and being emo, until Monday when I finally tidied myself up and went to work. As soon as I entered the company, I felt something was off. There was a feeling of an approaching storm. "Luna!" A colleague waved at me: "Quick, come punch in!" I hurried over to sign in and wondered aloud, "What happened? Everyone looks so panicked." My colleague sighed: "CEO Zhou is back from the branch office. And he's in a terrible mood today! Several colleagues who went to report were scolded terribly by him!" I was stunned. Zhou Ting'an is back? This CEO who'd been inspecting for nearly half an year finally decided to return to headquarters? Speaking of which, I only joined the company in the last six months and hadn't dealt with CEO Zhou yet. I heard from old colleagues that although he had a cold personality, he wasn't difficult to get along with. But looking at it now... it seems that's not the case at all. "He wouldn't lose his temper for no reason, right?" I was puzzled. "Who provoked him?" My colleague looked around to make sure no one was nearby before whispering the gossip: "Heard CEO Zhou's girlfriend dumped him!" "And it was an abrupt, out-of-the-blue breakup!" 3 It really is breakup season... Thinking of my own situation, I couldn't help but sigh, then asked curiously: "They wouldn't break up just like that, right? There must be a reason?" My colleague squeezed a few words out of her throat: "Seems like she disliked CEO Zhou for being old..." I gasped: "Zhou Ting'an is old???" Isn't he not even thirty yet?! And with that handsome face looking like a male model, to still be disliked... what kind of goddess must his girlfriend be! Before I finished speaking, the elevator door beside us rang. The door opened, and I made direct eye contact with the person inside. It was Zhou Ting'an. Don't know if he heard me talking or not, anyway, his eyes were chilly, staring at my back until it felt cold. "CEO Zhou." My colleague quickly greeted him, and the noisy corridor instantly went quiet. I subconsciously took two steps back to the side and also called out: "CEO Zhou." Zhou Ting'an responded coldly/indifferently, stepping out. Just as it looked like he would pass me by, his footsteps suddenly stopped. The next second, he turned his head to look over, his gaze landing on my face: "Which department are you from?" 4 I was stunned for a moment. The team leader nearby quickly said: "This is Luna, new to the Planning Department." Zhou Ting'an stared at me for a few more seconds, then instructed: "Have her come to find me to report later. I want to see the caliber of the new hires you're recruiting." The team leader agreed hastily, but I was completely bewildered. How did a small fry like me get picked to report? "Don't be nervous." After Zhou Ting'an walked away, the team leader comforted me: "Anyway, you've been following this project all along. Showing your face more in front of the boss is good for you taking on big projects in the future." Since it came to this, I could only pack up the materials and go to the CEO's office. Zhou Ting'an's office was on the 17th floor, with excellent lighting, just frighteningly quiet. I did mental preparation at the door for quite a while before knocking on the CEO office door. "Come in." A voice came from inside. I let out a breath and pushed the door open: "CEO Zhou, I'm here to report on work." Zhou Ting'an sat behind the desk, expressionless: "Go ahead." I had indeed been following the project; I was clear on the framework and details. I spoke for about ten minutes before stopping: "That's roughly it, CEO Zhou." Zhou Ting'an didn't speak immediately, just flipping through the document file I brought. After a moment, he looked up, his cool, handsome face revealing no emotion: "Are you very nervous?" I nodded honestly: "A little." Zhou Ting'an didn't react much to this, just lowered his eyes again, finishing the last data set, and tossed the file folder onto the desk: "Go to HR to handle the handover." I was dumbfounded: "CEO Zhou?" Zhou Ting'an looked at me, face waveless: "You are not suitable for the Planning Department." My heart skipped a beat. Is he going to fire me?? 5 Thinking of this, I couldn't help but gasp and quickly expressed my loyalty: "CEO Zhou, I know my report still has deficiencies, but I will work hard to learn from seniors in the department. Please give me another chance!" Zhou Ting'an ignored me, operating the computer on his own, looking like he was about to send an email to HR. Watching his actions, I knew there was no room for turning this around, and a wave of sadness rose in my heart. Don't they say unlucky in love, lucky at cards (work)? How come I lost both the fish and the bear's paw?! The more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I felt. I held back my emotions and asked: "CEO Zhou, can I ask where I didn't do well? Just consider it a lesson learned, so I won't make the same mistake when I go to another company in the future." Words fell, Zhou Ting'an finally looked over. His gaze paused for a moment on my red-rimmed eyes, and when he spoke, he seemed a bit helpless: "What are you going to another company for? To be a corporate spy?" I twitched my lips: "Aren't you going to fire me?" Zhou Ting'an seemed to laugh: "When did I say I was going to fire you?" As he spoke, he pointed to the file folder on the desk, tone flat: "Just for this bit of stuff, you talked for so long. It's a waste of talent in the Planning Department. Come over to my side." I blinked, a bit confused. Zhou Ting'an had to turn the computer around to show me. Only then did I see that what he edited wasn't a termination notice, but a transfer notice. Zhou Ting'an transferred me to the CEO's office! "Go handle the handover this morning, come here to report in the afternoon." Zhou Ting'an looked at me: "Any problems?" At this moment, my heart didn't hurt anymore, my eyes weren't red anymore, I nodded repeatedly: "No problem!" Zhou Ting'an gave a noise of assent and pushed the file folder over: "Go back and pack up." I answered yes and stepped forward to take the document. My fingers touched the folder, but couldn't pull it. I was stunned, looked up, and saw Zhou Ting'an reach out and press on the document, fingertips slightly tense. "This manicure of yours..." He stared at my fingertips, brows furrowing slightly: "Looks a bit familiar to me." 6 I subconsciously looked down at my fingers. Because it was my zodiac year, I specially got a red manicure. It was even the style I chose together with that online dating old geezer. Seeing this touch of red now, I felt a sense of "seeing the nails is like seeing the geezer," and inexplicably felt a bit annoyed. "Yes, this style is very popular this year, many people have gotten it done." I gave a dry laugh and decided to remove the nail polish as soon as I got back. Zhou Ting'an looked at the nails, then looked at me. In the end, he said nothing and waved his hand to let me leave. The whole morning was chaotic. It was already noon by the time the handover was finished. I took a breather and went to the cafeteria for lunch. My appetite wasn't good these past two days, so I just ordered plain noodles. After sitting down, I habitually pulled out my phone to take a picture and send it to my pinned contact: [Babe, lunch check-in~] After sending it, I put down my phone to eat. Just after slurping two mouthfuls of noodles, I suddenly felt something was wrong. Didn't I already delete that online dating old geezer? Then who was I reporting to just now?? Thinking of this, my heart gave a jolt. I hurriedly turned on my phone. Once I saw the screen clearly, my vision suddenly went black— My current pinned contact was... Zhou Ting'an! Half an hour ago, I just got the CEO's WeChat from the executive assistant and kept it pinned as requested. Who would have thought I'd cause trouble right after turning around! "Bad habits kill people..." I wailed, scrambling to retract it, but it was already over two minutes and couldn't be operated. Even more frightening was that the next second, my phone vibrated. Zhou Ting'an actually replied to the message: [Who are you calling babe, Luna.] 7 Seeing this, I was incredibly embarrassed and hurriedly explained: [Sorry boss, sent to the wrong person...] Zhou Ting'an didn't seem to mind either, just asked: [Eating so little?] I told the truth: [Not much appetite these past two days.] It went quiet on Zhou Ting'an's end; he didn't reply again. I figured he was just being polite casually, so I put away my phone and ate with peace of mind. Because of the handover work, I came down late. Plus, my habit of eating slowly meant that by the time colleagues in the cafeteria finished and left in twos and threes, I was only halfway through this bowl of noodles. There was still more than half an hour left until the end of the lunch break. Just as I was debating whether to continue eating or go upstairs to sleep, a shadow suddenly fell in front of me. Looking up, it was actually the executive assistant beside Zhou Ting'an. "Still eating?" The assistant sister smiled and handed over a lunch box, "Extra food." I was stunned for a moment, reached out to take it, opened it, and a fragrant smell hit my nose. It was several small stir-fry dishes, perfect in color, aroma, and taste. "Wow, thank you!" I felt my appetite instantly improve. While feasting, I casually glanced at the lunch box logo and was shocked: "Sister, this restaurant is so expensive!" The assistant waved her hand: "CEO Zhou's treat, eat up." I clicked my tongue: "Gotta say, working in the CEO's office is pretty good, can sponge meals off the boss." The assistant laughed: "How could that be? CEO Zhou doesn't order takeout much; he often eats in the cafeteria. Guess he wanted a change of taste today." I blinked, thinking to myself that I was quite lucky to mooch a meal on my very first day. I didn't have much work in the afternoon either, just following the executive assistant to learn, and got off work early in the evening. Back home after dinner, I slumped on the sofa ready to start a game. Just logged into the account and the screen flashed wildly, message notifications 99+, phone vibrating so hard I couldn't hold it. It took a full minute for the phone to quiet down. Only then did I see the culprit, sure enough, it was the online dating old geezer. Only blocked his WeChat, forgot to delete the game friend. Looking at the couple icon flashing above our heads, I felt a wave of disgust and scrambled to unbind, but a message jumped out first: [Babe you're finally online!] [Babe why break up with me QAQ] I looked at the message with a chill. Such a grown man still using emojis, disgusting! I was too lazy to even reply, clicked to delete friend, but just as I was about to tap delete, another message popped up: [I'm not even thirty yet. Although older than you, I can't be called an old geezer, right? Babe is there some misunderstanding between us!!]
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