1:47 p.m.
The lunch break buzz filled the office like background music at a chaotic wedding.
Some employees were microwaving leftovers. Others hovered near the vending machine, aggressively shaking it for a stuck KitKat bar. One guy was trying to flirt using Excel shortcuts. It wasn't working.
At Desk 18C, Lu Haoran calmly adjusted his tie, staring at his screen like he wasn't actually watching the cleaner across the room fiddling with a stuck coffee pod.
That "cleaner" was Xia Yuwei.
And Lu Haoran—her senior agent, her secret backup, and the guy who had read her file a few too many times—had no idea she didn't even know he liked her.
Yuwei frowned at the coffee machine like it had personally insulted her mother.
She pressed the button again.
Nothing.
"Need help?"
She froze.
Haoran stood behind her with a small smile and the exact right amount of cinnamon scent.
"I'm fine," she mumbled, flustered. "I've... fixed this machine before."
"Did you threaten it with a mop?"
She blinked. "I might."
Haoran chuckled and gently tapped the machine. It beeped. Coffee poured. Show-off.
Yuwei awkwardly looked away, pretending to clean a spotless surface.
Across the floor, Qin Suyin strutted by again, holding her salad like it was a designer handbag.
She paused at Lu Haoran's desk, leaning just enough to show off her charm.
"So, Lu, right?"
"Mm."
"I heard you used to work for a top finance firm in Singapore," she said, twirling her fork like a weapon.
Haoran smiled politely. "I was... on a project."
"Ohhh," she purred. "Maybe we should work on one together?"
Yuwei heard that and nearly slipped on her own mop water.
---
Meanwhile, inside the glass fortress known as the Financial Head's office...
Chen Yuxuan stared at the CCTV screen like it owed him answers.
His jaw clenched as he watched Yuwei giggle quietly—quietly!—with Lu Haoran near the coffee station.
She never giggled at him like that anymore.
Zhao Lei slurped bubble tea next to him.
"Sir. I ran a full background on Lu. Nothing sketchy. But..."
Yuxuan narrowed his eyes. "But?"
Zhao leaned close. "Too perfect. Dimples. Knows poetry. Fixed the coffee machine in one tap. That's not a man, sir. That's a red flag with hair gel."
Yuxuan didn't reply.
Instead, he watched the moment when Lu Haoran lightly handed Yuwei the coffee.
Their fingers brushed.
Yuwei's ears turned red again.
Yuxuan's expression?
Frozen. Cold. Corporate Murder Mode.
2:05 p.m. – Xuantech Break Room
Xia Yuwei leaned against the wall near the corner table.
Her tray?
Empty.
Her stomach?
Growling in protest.
She opened her wallet. A few coins. Not enough for anything on the cafeteria menu, not even the sad-looking fruit cup with a sticker that said "Healthy Choice" (aka "No Taste").
She sighed, sliding the wallet back in her pocket and looking around. Everyone was either chatting, chewing, or Instagramming their dumplings.
She didn't want to ask. Didn't want charity.
And besides, accepting food from strangers? No way. She had rules.
She quietly sat down, pretending she wasn't hungry, fingers playing with the edge of the napkin on her empty tray.
Across the floor, no one noticed.
Except one.
In his glass-walled office, Chen Yuxuan had been watching through the corner security monitor.
Not on purpose. Just... casually.
Okay fine. He zoomed in. Twice.
Zhao Lei, sipping from his latest overpriced boba, saw the shift in Yuxuan's expression.
"Sir? You look like you're about to throw your laptop at someone."
Yuxuan stood. "I'll be back in ten."
"Wait—are we walking and brooding now?"
But Yuxuan was already out the door.
---
Five minutes later…
Yuwei was still seated, trying not to look at her phone like she was definitely not Googling "how to suppress stomach growl in a silent room."
Then—
A tray slid across the table beside her.
She looked up.
It was a cafeteria worker. Mid-40s, kind eyes, wearing the Xuantech staff apron.
"Hey, kid," the woman said casually. "You dropped this earlier."
Yuwei blinked. "I… didn't buy anything."
The woman smiled gently. "Tall guy came by. Said you helped him carry boxes yesterday. Paid in advance. He said you're too polite to accept help directly, so he left it with me."
Yuwei froze.
She had helped someone with boxes yesterday. One of the logistics guys. Or was it IT?
She couldn't remember. She just… did it without thinking.
"But I didn't—"
"Too late now," the woman said, tapping the tray. "He's gone. Food's warm. Eat before your break ends."
Then she walked away like it was nothing.
Yuwei stared at the tray.
Rice. A side of vegetables. Chicken in black bean sauce.
Exactly the way she liked.
She looked around, confused.
Across the floor, Chen Yuxuan was walking back into his office, face completely unreadable.
Zhao Lei raised an eyebrow. "What did you just do?"
"Nothing," Yuxuan said coolly.
"Right," Zhao muttered. "Nothing that comes with exactly three coriander leaves, because she hates four."
Back in the break room, Yuwei hesitated, then picked up the chopsticks.
"Maybe the universe's being nice for once," she whispered.
---
2:15 p.m.
From his desk, Lu Haoran glanced over and noticed her eating, looking less tense, finally smiling just a little to herself.
He let out a soft sigh of relief.
He had almost offered her lunch himself but didn't want to make her uncomfortable.
He made a note in his watch log:
[—: Target status stable. Energy restored. Emotional tension reduced.]
He looked at her again.
And just for a second, thought he saw something shift in her eyes.
But what none of them saw—
Was Chen Yuxuan, sitting back in his chair, secretly relieved that she ate.
And even more secretly, slightly proud she didn't know it came from him.
To be continued...