Xuantech Group's Financial Department had returned to its usual buzz.
Well—almost.
The coat scandal had technically ended. The memes were deleted, the stickers scrubbed, and the HR rep had sent a formal (and overly cheerful) email titled "Let's Keep It Professional!" accompanied by a sunflower GIF.
But the jealousy?
That was just getting started.
---
Xia Yuwei was quietly cleaning the frosted glass near the conference room when she felt it again.
A pair of eyes.
Boring. Into. Her. Soul.
She glanced sideways.
Qin Suyin. Again.
Perched at her desk with a coffee cup she wasn't even drinking from, Suyin was watching Yuwei like she was analyzing a stock that didn't deserve to go up. She whispered something to Tang Ruo, who gasped (again—this girl was basically a gasping machine).
Yuwei sighed and turned back to her glass panel. Focus on the mission. Focus on the—
Bzzt.
Her watch vibrated.
She quickly stepped into the janitor closet and shut the door. A small green light blinked on the side of her smart mop handle. She twisted the bottom.
Out slid a folded micro-note—thin as a film strip.
She unrolled it.
> Agent Xia Yuwei:
Your emotional involvement with Subject Chen Yuxuan is jeopardizing the mission.
You were sent to locate the hidden CEO, not his coat.
Effective immediately, you will be assisted by Agent 017.
He has been embedded as a junior financial analyst under the alias "Lu Haoran."
Do not disclose your identity. Maintain cover. Avoid further romantic entanglement.
— HQ
Yuwei blinked.
Romantic entanglement???
She wanted to argue with the note. Shout at it. I didn't get romantically entangled! I just—he just—IT WAS COLD!
She shoved the note into her sock and exited the closet like nothing happened.
---
Meanwhile, in the HR lobby...
A new employee filled out his induction form.
Tall. Sharp features. Tousled hair with a natural part that made women in reception whisper like pigeons at a wedding buffet. White shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbow. A quiet smile that said, "Yes, I read poetry before bed, and no, I won't tell you what cologne I wear."
Lu Haoran.
Also known in Agency files as Agent 017.
He adjusted his glasses and stared at the list of department transfers. Financial division, desk 18C.
Perfect.
Close to his target.
Close to her.
Because what the Agency didn't know... was that he wasn't just here to assist Yuwei.
He had volunteered.
He had seen her file.
And he had wanted to see her face again for the first time in three years.
---
11:00 a.m.
Yuwei rolled her mop bucket into the break room—only to stop cold.
There he was.
Tall. Lean. Softly smiling while pouring coffee into a paper cup like he wasn't secretly trained in six martial arts and fluent in North Korean dialects.
Their eyes met.
"Yuwei," he said.
Her brain: ???
Her mouth: "Hao...ran?"
He gave a small nod. "Long time."
Yuwei opened and closed her mouth like a fish.
From the doorway, Zhao Lei, who had been hunting bubble tea coupons on his phone, peeked in and narrowed his eyes.
He nudged Chen Yuxuan, who was passing by with a stack of files.
"New guy. Tall. Smiling. Knows Yuwei. Smells like cinnamon and... deception."
Yuxuan didn't look. "So?"
Zhao blinked. "So?! He has dimpled cheeks, sir. That's not just a man. That's a problem."
---
At desk 18C, Lu Haoran settled in, placing a small cactus on his table.
Qin Suyin walked past, flipping her hair. "New here?"
He smiled politely. "Yes."
"You're very... financially analyst-looking," she said, eyeing him like a snack.
"I read the Xuantech balance sheet before bed."
"Oh?" she tilted her head. "That's hot."
He gave a short chuckle but didn't continue.
Across the room, Yuwei was pretending to refill a soap dispenser for the third time.
And Chen Yuxuan, from his glass office, glanced once—just once—at the corner where Lu Haoran had casually placed his laptop.
Then at Yuwei.
Then back at his monitor.
Zhao Lei leaned in. "Sir. Permission to cyberstalk?"
Yuxuan muttered, "Denied."
Pause.
"…Then can I 'accidentally' spill hot water on his pants?"
"No."
"Just a little? Like minor injury level?"
Yuxuan turned. "Zhao."
"Yes, sir?"
Yuxuan didn't speak. His stare said it all.
Zhao backed off. "Copy that. No boiling."
---
But inside, something twisted in Yuxuan's chest when he saw Lu Haoran offer Yuwei a coffee.
She shook her head, avoiding eye contact. But her ears had gone pink.
And Chen Yuxuan, ice-blooded king of quarterly reports, felt his jaw tighten.
---
Back at Agency HQ...
Agent Lin looked at the new footage.
She raised an eyebrow. "Is it just me or is this starting to look like... a love triangle?"
Wu sipped her coffee. "Told you. Drama."
---
To be continued…