Chapter 2

Wei Xiaolu only found out her name was Shen Siyan at lunch in the employee cafeteria, when she watched the department head scan her face to pay.

To her shock, CEO Shen didn’t even eat there. She had her meal packed up and carried back to the company. Wei Xiaolu already had no personal space at work, and now she was stuck laboring under Shen Siyan’s watch; it was a life with neither room nor time. There was no need for any of that empty, performative stuff.

It was all hard work.

Before, she could still spend her lunch break hugging her little Biji doll and flopping over the desk for a glorious nap. Now, as soon as she finished eating, she went straight home, took the bus back to the apartment, shut the door, and launched into a full-scale breakdown.

“Unpredictable heaven, changing departments of man; last night the lonely pond dreamed of falling blossoms, and this morning I’m cattle and horse labor for production and interaction.”

Wei Xiaolu kicked off her shoes, reciting like a poet, gripping at the air as though it were a wine cup. Swaying unsteadily, she pushed open the bedroom door and collapsed onto the bed.

“Shen Siyan,” she muttered the leader’s name, then thought of how picky she had been during the report outline just now. “So damn nitpicky.”

Forget it. Once she got off work, not one ounce of energy would be spared for work people.

She pulled off her hair clip, turned on the air conditioner, shut the door, wrapped herself in the blanket, and took care of her own little routine before leisurely beginning her lunch break.

After a pleasant nap, Wei Xiaolu arrived at the company right on time. The moment she pushed open the office door and saw Shen Siyan concentrating on her work, her scalp tightened; she felt an uncomfortable jolt of being crushed by a workaholic.

“You’re here.” Seeing her, Shen Siyan smiled.

Wei Xiaolu immediately sensed danger.

Sure enough, the next second Shen Siyan took a file from the cabinet and handed it to her.

“Go to headquarters and get President Duan’s signature, then take it to HR for the seal.”

“Okay, CEO Shen.” Wei Xiaolu accepted the order. Before she could even put her bag down, she tucked the file against herself and backed out again.

Getting it signed and stamped was only the beginning.

What followed was Wei Xiaolu experiencing, in every possible way, what it meant to run herself ragged. She spent the entire afternoon dashing around in response to Shen Siyan’s orders, until by the time her butt finally touched the chair, it was already quitting time.

Clinging to the unspoken value of “if the leader doesn’t leave, I don’t leave,” Wei Xiaolu stubbornly stayed glued to her seat. When Shen Siyan told her it was time to get off work, she still smiled sweetly. “CEO Shen, I’m going to review today’s work a little more.”

“Good habit,” Shen Siyan said, slinging her bag over her shoulder and giving Wei Xiaolu a smile as she waved. “But don’t review for too long; don’t delay getting off work.”

Wei Xiaolu thanked her leader for the concern with utter insincerity, then, the moment Shen Siyan pushed open the door and went out, her expression changed in a flash.

“Putting on airs. If you really don’t want me working overtime, just say I should change my bad habit…” she muttered under her breath.

The door suddenly swung open again, and Wei Xiaolu clamped her mouth shut in time.

Zeng Cui came in with the greasy, sticky air of someone who never did anything proper. He glanced around Shen Siyan’s desk, flipped through the meeting log on top of it, and asked Wei Xiaolu, “Your department head’s off work?”

If she hadn’t left, would you dare come in and rummage through her things?

In any case, he wasn’t her direct supervisor anymore, and Wei Xiaolu couldn’t be bothered to deal with this fossilized human grease. She put on a busy act and said lazily, “Oh, she went out.”

Zeng Cui looked through the meeting log for a while longer, his expression somewhat intriguing. Wei Xiaolu couldn’t tell whether he was probing for information or prying into someone’s privacy, but either way it was disgusting.

After shutting down her computer, she slung her bag over her shoulder and fled. “I’m off work. Remember to lock the door when you leave.”

Wei Xiaolu could escape the company after eating dinner in the cafeteria, but that still wasn’t the end of it. There was also commuting, that little demon that tormented people.

Grabbing a seat during rush hour wasn’t easy. Wei Xiaolu darted into the bus like a dance step and, quick-eyed and quick-footed, claimed a corner seat.

She thought she could sit there in peace, but the man in front of her kept farting, the smell making her gag. She had no choice but to get up and find another place to breathe some fresh air.

After a morning of brainstorming and an afternoon of running around, the resentment she’d piled up all day kept rising in the reeking bus car.

Once she got off at the bus stop, it was like a zombie returning to town. Wei Xiaolu dragged her dead body back to the apartment, hung her bag on the coat rack, and couldn’t help but start dancing wildly.

Thinking of the source of all her suffering that day, she began cracking her knuckles and rubbing her fists, sharpening her blade and training her gaze on the leader.

“Damn new boss!” Wei Xiaolu shouted angrily.

She was going to rise up and denounce this unfair world: “Smiling tiger, rotten vase, what are you acting so big for? All you do is boss me around!”

“Why not order the other regular employees to do the menial work? Because I’m a college graduate paid three thousand a month, so you squeeze me like this?” Wei Xiaolu swung a punch into the air and cursed furiously. “Heartless!”

“Just wait until the day I—”

Before she could finish, she heard a click from another empty room. The door slowly opened.

Her breath froze in an instant.

What the hell was that sound?

Before she could even pull her arm back from the absurd gymnastic punching pose, she looked over—and met Shen Siyan’s eyes as she stepped out from behind the door, smiling brightly.

Dear heavens.

Oh my god.

It was over.

She really was seeing a ghost.

Wei Xiaolu’s kind, innocent, pure, beautiful little heart quietly shattered.

Shen Siyan walked out at an unhurried pace and lifted a hand to tuck the hair at her temple back, exposing her ear as though deliberately emphasizing the act of “listening.”

Auntie in heaven, uncle in heaven, what exactly had she done wrong?

Since she was little, she’d always been straightforward and frank and basically never bad-mouthed people behind their backs. Why did one slip of the tongue have to get her caught in the act?

She might as well be sentenced to social death right here and now.

Wei Xiaolu didn’t even have time to feel like crying without tears. The person in front of her was her immediate superior; her internship for the next two or three months still depended on this woman, and on surviving at the company. She did not want to inherit that last dark workplace experience all over again.

Out of options and with nowhere to turn, Wei Xiaolu’s instincts took over and she put on a bright smile. “Big beauty, what brings you here?”

“I live here.” Shen Siyan tilted her head slightly and pointed toward Wei Xiaolu’s room.

“Oh my god, what a coincidence, I live here too!” Wei Xiaolu wailed inwardly.

This was too tragic. Could someone please tell her this was all fake? Why did she have to share an office with her boss at work and then share a roof with her after work? Had she become a twenty-four-seven dedicated subordinate?

“There were no single rooms left, so I’ve been temporarily assigned here,” Shen Siyan said, looking down at her. “Being able to live together is fate.”

“If you hadn’t said that, I wouldn’t have dared believe it,” Wei Xiaolu said with a narrowed, smiling gaze, spouting words that were utterly contrary to her real feelings. “This kind of fate is rarer than winning the lottery.”

Inside, Wei Xiaolu’s heart was pounding like a laser drum—crackling and popping.

Everything she’d just cursed about had instantly become an unspoken understanding between the two of them. Now anything she said felt like tangoing through a room full of landmines; every step was a test of survival.

After hearing her, the smile at Shen Siyan’s lips deepened a little. “Yes, I think I’ve run into good luck too.”

With that, Shen Siyan turned and headed for the door. “I still need to unpack for a while and move some things downstairs.”

“I’ll help you carry them.” Wei Xiaolu caught the hint immediately and volunteered at once.

Shen Siyan stopped and looked at her. “Thank you.”

Wei Xiaolu smiled with fierce sincerity. “Don’t mention it, big beauty.”

Shen Siyan was probably getting sick of being called big beauty over and over, because she answered with a crooked smile of her own. “No need to be so polite, little sister.”

The moment Wei Xiaolu heard little sister, she instinctively went on alert—if Wei Jialuo called her that, it was definitely because he was about to be obnoxious.

When dealing with her brother Wei Jialuo, Wei Xiaolu had plenty of tricks. Kicking, hitting, beating with a stick; those were all merciful. If necessary, she’d just report him to their parents. Anyway, Wei Jialuo would be the one in the wrong first, so however she retaliated would be justified.

But if it was Shen Siyan calling her little sister...

Wei Xiaolu wasn’t exactly repulsed; it was just a little indescribably strange.

To her, the word little sister carried a faint air of ill intent. But what good intentions could a boss possibly have? All they had were bad ideas, even after work they were still squeezing labor out of her.

Shen Siyan’s things were all in the car, so there wasn’t much. Between the two of them, it took just two trips to move everything.

Before Shen Siyan opened her suitcase, Wei Xiaolu tactfully withdrew. As she left, she didn’t forget to say an enthusiastic goodbye. “If you need anything, just call me. One word and I’ll come right over.”

“Okay. Go back and rest.” Shen Siyan stood by the bed, giving her a standard business smile.

So fake.

Wei Xiaolu deeply despised Shen Siyan’s carefully packaged self-presentation. She hated people who put on airs the most; unfortunately, bosses all loved putting on airs, so she indiscriminately hated every boss in the world.

Back in her own room, she shut the door and windows and wanted to call home to complain. But the moment she picked up her phone, she remembered that the person she wanted to grouse to was now only a wall away, and this apartment wasn’t all that soundproof.

Great. Now even speaking was restricted!

Wei Xiaolu shoved the phone away and flung herself face-first into the pillow in despair.

A little stuffy.

She pulled her face back out.

Once the initial surge of emotions passed and she calmed down a little, the situation actually started to seem less terrifying.

Wei Xiaolu hugged her sheep plush pillow and carefully analyzed it for herself.

Even though they were living together, they didn’t actually need to interact at all!

She didn’t have to go to work with Shen Siyan. After coming back, she could head straight to her bedroom, lock the door, and do her own thing; Shen Siyan didn’t have x-ray vision.

Genius.

After praising herself, Wei Xiaolu took comfort and happily went back to watching her show.

But when she was about to go shower before bed, she saw the newly appeared bottles and jars on the sink and suddenly realized: right, she was living with Shen Siyan.

There was still no avoiding contact with Shen Siyan, such as with that broken electric water heater.

Wei Xiaolu could handle hot or cold, but whether Shen Siyan could take it was another matter. After quickly finishing her shower, Wei Xiaolu came out of the bathroom and saw Shen Siyan in the living room, organizing the refrigerator.

On the first day she’d arrived, Wei Xiaolu had opened it once before. A moldy pig ear inside had stunk so badly it made her throw up, and after that she had never gone near the fridge again.

But now there were fruits and milk arranged inside, neat and clean; Shen Siyan had obviously cleaned it thoroughly.

“Big beauty, are you going to shower?” Wei Xiaolu asked from outside the living room, drying her hair.

Shen Siyan seemed to pause slightly. She glanced back at Wei Xiaolu, then turned forward again and continued arranging the fridge.

“Soon,” Shen Siyan said. “What time do you usually sleep? If I shower at this hour, will it disturb you?”

“Don’t worry about it. I like the sound of water running,” Wei Xiaolu said, her lies coming so smoothly that they were practically second nature. “It’s especially soothing.”

After putting the last yogurt away and closing the fridge, Shen Siyan turned back and smiled at her.

“Do you like rainy days?”

She hated them.

But since one lie needed countless others to prop it up, Wei Xiaolu could only beam with happiness and answer enthusiastically, “I love taking walks in the rain, thinking about work while I walk. I’m always especially efficient at times like that.”

Shen Siyan glanced at her twice, then replied expressionlessly, “Me too,” before gathering her waist-length hair and pinning it up at the back of her head.

Seeing that she was about to shower, Wei Xiaolu hurried to remind her, “CEO Shen, our water heater is broken. The water coming out is even a little colder than body temperature. I’ll get someone to fix it first thing tomorrow. You can try it tonight, and if it doesn’t feel right, then don’t shower…”

“It’s fine. I often take cold showers.” Shen Siyan gently waved her hand at her.

Wei Xiaolu relaxed and added, “Actually, it’s not that bad. It’s not really cold; it’s just normal temperature.”

Seeing Shen Siyan nod, Wei Xiaolu took the hint and explained the shower controls in the bathroom as well. After that, her duties as a roommate were finally fulfilled, and she happily returned to her room to play on her phone.

Shen Siyan’s shower sounded pretty loud; it disturbed her gaming, so Wei Xiaolu put on headphones and focused on having fun.

By the fifth round, she thought she heard a knocking sound. At first she assumed it was coming from another apartment, but when the game’s background audio paused for a moment, the sound became much clearer.

Oh no—it was Shen Siyan knocking on her door.

“Coming.” Wei Xiaolu climbed down from the bed and ran to open it.

When she opened the door, she saw Shen Siyan wearing a silver-white satin nightdress, her bare face faintly flushed with color.

Wei Xiaolu was a little puzzled. “What’s up, CEO Shen?”

Shen Siyan’s gaze brushed over her headphones before meeting her eyes. “The water heater isn’t broken.”

“Isn’t broken?” Wei Xiaolu blinked.

“It only needs about ten minutes to heat up before there’s hot water,” Shen Siyan explained, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Have you been taking cold showers for a whole week?”

“Huh?” Wei Xiaolu came to with a start. Her scalp suddenly began to tingle. Embarrassed, she lowered her eyes and admitted, “Ah... yes.”

Shen Siyan seemed to smile a little. She lifted her left hand and crooked a finger at her. “Come here. I’ll teach you how to use it.”