The clock had just struck ten when I immediately called him.

“Didn’t you say ten? Why are still nowhere to be seen?”

There was a moment of silence on the other end, followed by the hum of a car engine and Xi Zhou’s low, steady voice: “Fifteen minutes.”

I had no choice but to be good: “Fine.”

Exactly fifteen minutes later, just as I was getting ready to dial a second nagging reminder, the door burst open. I sprang off the sofa like a coiled spring:

“You finally made it back!”

Xi Zhou looked at me, his expression a mix of absolute helplessness: “You could’ve gone to sleep first. You didn’t have to wait up.”

“But I wanted to wait for you…” I started whimpering, putting on my best pathetic act. “A house this big is super scary when you’re all alone.”

The corner of his eyelid twitched slightly as he gave me a warning look: “Talk normally. Stop acting like a spoiled brat.”

“Fine, fine…” I dropped the pitiful facade and immediately pivoted: “Are you working overtime tomorrow? I want to have dinner with you.”

“I don’t know.”

I instantly deployed my “abandoned puppy” eyes attack. Xi Zhou let out a heavy sigh, looking as though he were being forced into a corner: “I’ll try.”

My mood skyrocketed: “It’s a date, then!”

Predictably, the very next day, he texted to say he was working overtime again. I lost my mind and peppered him with texts:

“Why are you working overtime again?! What is wrong with your boss?! Is he even human?! Freaking blood-sucking capitalists!”

Xi Zhou calmly replied: “…I am the boss.”

Me: “…Oh.”

After being stood up for the $N$-th time, I officially snapped. I packed myself, correction: I packed a mountain of food, and stormed straight to his office. By the time he finished a meeting and walked back in, my “unidentified biological specimen” self had already taken over his dignified workspace. The coffee table was littered with pizza, fried chicken, barbecue, sodas… looking less like an office and more like a mini buffet.

Xi Zhou froze in the doorway: “…”

“Meeting over?” I cheerfully waved at him. “Can you eat with me now?”

“Why are you here?”

“You’re asking me?” I immediately pulled up our chat history, thrusting my phone forward like it was physical evidence: “Look at this! Take a real good look! How many times have you stood me up? Last time it was a networking dinner, the time before that was client entertainment, and the time before that was a business trip! Today you said it was an emergency meeting! This offense is extremely serious, and I am formally lodging a complaint!”

Xi Zhou stared at the screen for a long time. I thought he was finally reflecting on his actions, but instead he pointed a finger at a specific spot and calmly asked:

“Oh, so this is why you saved my contact name as ‘The Ghosting King’?”

“Oops…” I quickly snatched my phone back. “That’s not the point!”

He remained completely unfazed. “Things have genuinely been busy lately. Can’t you just eat by yourself?”

“No way!” I hugged a bucket of fried chicken and argued passionately, “I like eating with other people. Eating alone… it just doesn’t taste good.”

He glanced at the chaotic spread on the table. “No Chinese food?”

I pointed at the barbecue and burgers.

“Western food, then?”

I pointed at the pizza and fried chicken.

Xi Zhou: “…”

I looked at him with eyes full of hopeful expectation, but this man genuinely had a heart of stone: “I have a video conference coming up.”

My head drooped instantly, crushed by disappointment. But then he paused for a fraction of a second and added: “However, I can take the call right here in the office. If you really want someone to keep you company while you eat… staying here is fine.”

“Really?!” My eyes lit up like high beams.

“As long as you stay quiet.”

I nodded like a sewing machine on hyperdrive: “I’ll be super quiet! I’ll eat in silence, watch my shows in silence, and wait for you in silence!”

Without standing on ceremony, I dragged the low coffee table right up beside his desk. Xi Zhou gave me a look that practically screamed: What kind of nonsense are you pulling now?

I grinned cheekily: “I just want to be a little closer to you.”

Since the meeting was about to start and he couldn’t be bothered to argue, he turned his head and went back to work. I pulled an accent armchair over and officially “joined the feast.” The scene grew bizarrely harmonious: he conducted his meeting with total professionalism, occasionally speaking fluent, crisp English. I focused on eating and watching my shows, desperately trying to chew as quietly as a cat burglar.

Once I was full, what with the late-night novel reading from last night combined with a massive carb overload, drowsiness hit me like a truck. I only meant to close my eyes for a quick second, but, oops, that quick second turned straight into deep slumber.

When I finally woke up, the office was pitch black. The overhead lights were off, leaving only the warm, amber glow of the floor lamp beside the desk.

I rubbed my eyes. “Is the meeting over?”

“Yeah.” He glanced sideways at me. “Are you a pig? You eat and immediately pass out.”

“I am not!” I shot back on reflex. “So, can we go home now?”

“We can.”

He stood up and headed for the door, tossing the remark over his shoulder as if it were nothing: “A certain little pig was snoring just now.”

I panicked. “What?! I was snoring?! No way! You’re slandering me!”

The corners of his lips curved upward as he delivered a devastating final blow: “Just kidding.”

Such a jerk!

Xi Zhou’s actual personality was the absolute polar opposite of his face. His face was drop-dead flawless, but his temperament… felt like a total system glitch.

Qingquan was still the best. Too bad she was already taken, meaning I couldn’t hover around her 24/7 like a third wheel, especially since her “owner” happened to be that green-tea master, Shang Chi. Shang Chi and I engaged in a battle of wits every single day just to fight for Qingquan’s attention. He never dared to work overtime, because the moment he was gone, I would immediately swoop in and “occupy the nest.”

Once, Shang Chi rushed home in a panic, eager to hug his wife to “recharge,” only to open the door and find me plastered to Qingquan on the sofa, laughing my head off. He gritted his teeth: “Xia Haowan! Let go of my wife!”

I hugged her tighter: “Hehe, too late. She’s my wife now.”

The living room instantly turned into a war zone. Shang Chi let out a cold huff: “Where’s Xi Zhou? Why aren’t you going around clinging to him? What, are things on the rocks between you two?”

“Xi Zhou is busy working overtime! He’s not as free as some people!”

“Ha, I don’t argue with kids!”

“Ha, and I don’t argue with green-tea snakes!”

Right in the middle of our heated verbal smackdown, Shang Chi suddenly stopped and flashed a malicious grin: “Oh, by the way, Xi Zhou’s white moonlight is coming back to the country.”

I froze, struck by lightning: “What?!”

Qingquan immediately swatted at him: “Stop talking nonsense.”

“No, let him talk!” My expression turned dead serious. “What white moonlight?”

The more Shang Chi talked, the more smug he got: “Xi Zhou’s college classmate, Chu Qi. The two of them used to be the golden boy and girl of campus, practically a done deal. Too bad she went abroad to study, but now she’s back.”

A magnitude-ten earthquake instantly went off in my chest. Without another word, I whipped out my phone and dialed Xi Zhou’s number on the spot.