Zhou Shiyi knew why she had come, yet he couldn’t hide his feeling of being flattered.
“Why didn’t you wait for me to pick you up? The press conference isn’t that serious.”
He said it wasn’t serious, so surely he had a plan. Zhong Yi didn’t show any worry and replied, “I just happen to have the night off from overtime, thought I’d come see your office.”
“Feel free to look around, I’m heading to a meeting.”
Zhou Shiyi pointed toward the fridge by the tea cabinet. It was stocked with everything one might need.
“Still a few minutes before the meeting?”
He checked his watch. “Four minutes.”
“Wait a moment.” Zhong Yi put down her bag, wrapped her arms around him before he left, joking, “If I leave now, will you see me off? If you do, you’ll be late for your meeting.”
“I will.” Zhou Shiyi didn’t hesitate at all.
He said, “I can join via video, it won’t affect anything. Are you tired? I’ll take you home first.”
His expression was sincere, indulgent as ever.
Before, he thought her family was ordinary, while his background was prominent; he had always been considerate of her feelings and spoiled her endlessly. Now, it was still the same.
Zhong Yi let go. “Not tired. I’ll wait for you in the office.”
Zhou Shiyi pointed to the lounge inside. “If you get tired, lie down for a bit. I’ll call you when I’m done.”
“No need.”
He closed the door behind him, leaving the vast office quiet except for the sound of wind blowing in through the window.
During the press conference in May, Zhong Yi had been here before, so the layout was familiar, and she knew what was in the fridge, but she had never been inside his lounge.
At first, she thought she should keep some boundaries and not enter his resting place casually.
So she poured a glass of water and sat on the sofa, passing time by looking out at the city night view through the floor-to-ceiling window.
After half the water was gone, she reconsidered—since they were married and so close, what was there in the lounge she couldn’t see?
Setting down her glass, she went to explore his lounge.
She pushed open the door and was greeted by a crisp atmosphere; the gray decor matched the room’s cool vibe.
The bed was clean and neat, without a single wrinkle in the sheets.
She wondered if it had been cleaned in the afternoon, or if he simply hadn’t taken a nap at all.
Zhong Yi didn’t enter further but stood at the doorway to survey the room, which was much like their bedroom at home, nothing special.
Just as she was about to close the door, her eyes caught the desk by the window and suddenly paused.
Among a pile of documents next to the computer, the corner of a dark cover peeked out.
She remembered that dark blue cover vividly—not expecting Zhou Shiyi to have brought that jewelry appraisal certificate to the company.
Probably busy lately and had forgotten about it.
Otherwise, knowing his cautious nature, he would have put it away before letting her into the lounge.
Zhong Yi pushed the half-closed door open again and walked straight to the desk.
The dark blue document was buried at the bottom of the stack. She pulled it out—it was indeed the appraisal certificate.
Opening it, she unconsciously held her breath.
Seeing the appraisal date, her flipping fingers suddenly froze.
She had always thought the diamond ring was ordered before their breakup, never expecting it was after.
The appraisal date was February 16th. It took about a week for the certificate to reach him, and back then, he didn’t know she had blocked him.
It wasn’t until the evening of February 29th, when he messaged, that he realized he had been blocked.
What Zhong Yi didn’t know was that the 29th was also Zhou Yunlian and Shi Fanyin’s once-every-four-years wedding anniversary.
Shi Fanyin had called her son home for dinner and specially bought a chestnut cake.
Zhou Shiyi didn’t like sweets but tried a piece—it was the texture Zhong Yi liked. He wanted to ask his mother where she bought it but then saw the video of Lù Chéng’s award acceptance speech.
Zhong Yi closed the appraisal certificate and didn’t put it back.
She found a scrap of paper and wrote “Jewelry Appraisal Certificate” on the blank back with a blue-black pen, then slipped that in to replace the original at the bottom of the stack.
***
After closing the lounge door, she put the certificate into her canvas bag.
While Zhou Shiyi was in the meeting, she kept refreshing news about Kuncheng and Ruichi Motors.
The press conferences of the two car companies collided on the same day, with unprecedented buzz; the sales battle that day would be fierce.
The loser would seriously impact their brand’s future reputation and sales.
Between Zhou Shiyi and Shen Chi, it was clear neither intended to give the other any retreat.
As she was scrolling through news, a message popped up on her screen.
Jì Fánxīng: [Dear, are you busy?]
Zhong Yi sent a photo of the office: [Not busy, here.]
Jì Fánxīng, familiar with Zhou Shiyi’s office, immediately recognized it.
[I knew you’d be worried.]
Zhong Yi: [I’m fine. How about you? Off work so early today?]
Jì Fánxīng: [These past two days not too busy. Got a new agent for Lù Chéng, everything’s on track, nothing to worry about. Had dinner with Sister Cen tonight, just parted.]
[She asked me to apologize to you on her behalf—back then, pushed by interests, some things crossed the line.]
Zhong Yi: [That’s in the past. I didn’t take it to heart.]
The only things Zhong Yi truly cared about were her parents, Zhou Shiyi, and Jinghe.
Now, she had added a few friends and colleagues to that list.
Jì Fánxīng was about to ask about Zhong Yi’s project progress when a very important call came in.
No time for chit-chat; she said goodbye and answered.
Zhong Yi continued to follow Ruichi’s updates closely.
By 9:40 p.m., the meeting was still ongoing.
The only concern for Du was losing the media front to Ruichi tomorrow.
Over the years, Kuncheng had won customers through reputation and after-sales service, but marketing was relatively weak, lagging behind Ruichi to some extent.
Among top auto reviewers, nine out of ten strongly supported Ruichi, giving their high-end models thorough positive reviews.
Such advertising impact was hard to match, even with all-year opening-screen ads.
Even the most influential veteran reviewer was optimistic about Ruichi and had bought one for his family.
The marketing director said, “I contacted ‘Shao An Wu Zao’ many times, asked him to review the model Lù Chéng endorses; he said he’s out of town right now, helping a friend test cars, and will talk after he returns to Beicheng.”
Whether it was an excuse or he really was away, no one knew.
Du explained to Zhou Shiyi, “‘Shao An Wu Zao’ is that veteran reviewer.”
Zhou Shiyi nodded. Since taking over Kuncheng, he had followed the reviewer’s account.
‘Shao An Wu Zao’ was as obsessed with cars as Yan Tinglin was with chips.
People like that had one trait—they hardly ever played along with anyone’s wishes unless they wanted to.
The meeting lasted until 10:10 p.m. before breaking.
Ruichi Motors ended half an hour earlier; Shen Chi was already home.
Zhang Nuoxu was about to sleep when the bedroom door opened.
Shen Chi glanced at the person on the bed, thinking it was a miracle she could sleep at a time like this.
“Didn’t clear out Kuncheng’s stock today?”
Zhang Nuoxu settled in. “Why clear it out? I actually bought more today.”
Shen Chi:
“…Suit yourself. Don’t feel bad if it drops below the cost.”
Zhang Nuoxu ignored him.
Shen Chi took a few steps toward the bathroom, then turned back, “Don’t toss and turn at night, you’ll keep me awake.”
The person on the bed didn’t reply.
When he came out of the bathroom, his pillow and blanket were gone, later found on the next room’s bed.
***
The next morning, Shen Chi was woken by a call from his secretary.
Opening his eyes to unfamiliar curtains and a sofa, he took a few seconds before recalling he was in the guest room.
“What’s the matter?”
Secretary: “Kuncheng’s high-end car is trending. ‘Shao An Wu Zao’ posted car reviews late at night—two practical test videos.”
“Usually, these trends don’t warrant disturbing you so early, but this time is different; we’re directly facing Kuncheng. The boss instructed not to overlook any detail.”
“Today’s kun series press conference, and Kuncheng actually topped the trending for high-end cars?”
“Yes, there are three trending hashtags—all about the model Lù Chéng endorses.”
Shen Chi was fully awake now. “Got it.”
After hanging up, he checked his phone. ‘Shao An Wu Zao’s’ review had jumped to the top of trending.
Usually, only car enthusiasts paid attention, and most netizens just glanced and moved on, but today was different.
During his time away, ‘Shao An Wu Zao’ had been testing Kuncheng’s high-end car extensively.
He traveled from north to south, across several provinces, testing various road conditions.
From city streets to rural roads, from daytime to nighttime, from clear skies to torrential rain, every scenario was covered.
One driving video posted on Weibo recorded a sudden downpour on mountain roads in early June.
The rain was heavy, no streetlights; on a turn, a three-wheeler was driving the wrong way.
The driver was blinded by car headlights, unsure which way to avoid the car, panicked.