Chapter 8

When Cheng Li emerged from her shower, a crack of thunder echoed outside.

Summers in the south were always like this—rainy and unpredictable. Soon, the sound of rain poured down, drowning out all other noises in the world.

Drying her hair with a towel, Cheng Li picked up her phone.

The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed. When exactly had she added him as a contact?

However, after some contemplation, Cheng Li let it go.

Even with her sharp memory, there was no way she could recall how she’d added each of the hundreds of people in her contact list. Besides, Rong Qi had never initiated a chat with her. It wasn’t unreasonable that she had no memory of his presence in her contacts.

Holding her phone, Cheng Li couldn’t help herself and clicked into Rong Qi’s WeChat Moments.

She wasn’t the type to browse Moments often, especially now that so many people used it to sell products.

With ads flooding the feed, it was hard to see any personal posts.

As she scrolled, she noticed Rong Qi hadn’t limited his Moments to the usual three-day view.

She could see posts from earlier dates, which were primarily about Qiyu Technology.

After scrolling through them all, Cheng Li convinced herself:

He barely posted anything personal, let alone selfies or vacation photos.

Had she known earlier that this was his Moments, she’d have assumed he was just a corporate drone consumed by work at Qiyu.

Just then, Meng Yuange called.

As soon as Cheng Li answered, Meng Yuange burst out, “Sis, I’m guilty. Please spare my life first.”

“What crime have you committed? Speak honestly.”

Hearing Cheng Li’s calm tone, Meng Yuange finally confessed, “You told me not to trash-talk that mistress before, saying she might’ve been deceived by Xu Jiheng.”

Cheng Li thought for a moment; she had indeed said that before.

On the day she found out about Xu Jiheng’s cheating, she and Meng Yuange had gone drinking at a bar. Meng Yuange had cursed Xu Jiheng out thoroughly and even threw in some insults about the mistress.

Cheng Li had stopped her, suggesting they hold off on blaming the other woman. There was a chance the woman had been misled and didn’t know Xu Jiheng had a girlfriend.

Cheng Li had been unsure whether to approach the woman and clarify things.

If the mistress had also been a victim, unaware of Xu Jiheng’s existing relationship, it would change things.

“I take back what I said,” Cheng Li said evenly. “She wasn’t deceived. She knew exactly what kind of relationship I had with Xu Jiheng.”

The moment Cheng Li saw Wang Shuyan tonight, she knew the woman had come prepared—deliberately showing up at the restaurant to humiliate her in public.

“What? How do you know?” Meng Yuange was baffled.

Cheng Li explained, “Our company was negotiating a funding deal with Xu Jiheng’s company. Tonight, President Ren arranged for everyone to have dinner together. She couldn’t wait to show up, clinging to Xu Jiheng’s arm in front of everyone.”

“Damn it! This woman has no shame. She’s a mistress with zero self-awareness, coming to flaunt herself in front of you?”

Cheng Li replied calmly, “Maybe she was afraid Xu Jiheng and I would rekindle anything while working together.”

“Ugh! Who the hell would even want that trash? Anyone can take him if they’re willing.”

Just listening to the story made Meng Yuange feel sick.

Cheng Li massaged her temples. “If it weren’t for the fact that my colleagues were there and I didn’t want to sour the atmosphere between the two companies, I’d have told her to her face: I’m not a garbage collector and have no interest in recycling trash.”

The partnership was too important for her company. If she caused a scene and ruined things, President Ren might exclude her from future projects. That would crush her hopes of a promotion.

She had worked so hard for so long. There was no way she’d let a scumbag derail her career.

“You did the right thing. You have to keep your cool,” Meng Yuange agreed.

After all, they were adults now, working professionals. The days of impulsively acting on emotions were long gone.

If Cheng Li had caused a stir, both her boss and colleagues would have seen her as unprofessional.

“You still haven’t told me what you did to feel guilty about,” Cheng Li reminded her.

After a moment of silence, Meng Yuange confessed in a small voice, “You told me you found out about the mistress by following Xu Jiheng’s likes on Weibo. So I did the same—found that woman and sent her a private message, warning her that Xu Jiheng had a girlfriend before.”

“And?”

“And then she blocked my alternate account and posted a cryptic, passive-aggressive message on Weibo,” Meng Yuange admitted.

Cheng Li put the call on speaker, exited the call app, and opened Weibo.

From her ‘Frequently Visited’ section, she went straight to Wang Shuyan’s profile.

The most recent post was a text-only update:

—“Instead of lurking in the shadows, spying on others, why not focus on improving yourself?”

Cheng Li’s gaze lingered on the final character, ne. It was just an ordinary particle but carried a tone of mockery and disdain.

“I must’ve lost my mind to send her that message,” Meng Yuange grumbled.

Her intent had been to expose Xu Jiheng’s lies, hoping the mistress would dump him, shattering his freeloading dream.

“Don’t blame yourself. Who could’ve guessed that they’re such a perfect match—like a scumbag and his ideal enabler,” Cheng Li said evenly, though her slight gritting of teeth was audible.

“I knew my Li Mi would understand me!”

“Li Mi” was the nickname her friends had affectionately given her. Over time, many others adopted it as well.

Cheng Li chuckled lightly. “Of course, I won’t blame you. You meant well by giving her a heads-up.”

“I originally thought that if the girl was also deceived, the two of you could join forces to deal with that scumbag,” Meng Yuange said in frustration. “But seriously, what’s so great about Xu Jiheng? That mistress comes from a decent family too, so why insist on stealing someone else’s boyfriend? I really can’t wrap my head around women with this kind of twisted thinking. Sure, three-legged toads are rare, but two-legged men are everywhere.”

“Some people just enjoy the thrill of stealing,” Cheng Li said expressionlessly.

The two continued chatting. Cheng Li initially wanted to mention something about Rong Qi to Meng Yuange, but since nothing had been confirmed between them, she decided to hold off for now. If the opportunity arose later, she thought she could subtly ask about Rong Qi’s interview to help Meng Yuange. After all, supporting her best friend’s career was a no-brainer.

After organizing her thoughts, Cheng Li locked her phone and lay down quietly. But when the room was plunged into darkness, and she closed her eyes, a sudden realization struck her.

Sitting up abruptly, Cheng Li grabbed her phone and scrolled through her Moments feed. She had just realized something important.

Since Rong Qi was in her WeChat contacts, he must have seen her posts before, right? She remembered that she had shared posts related to Xu Jiheng in the past.

Although Cheng Li wasn’t the type to flaunt relationships on social media, Xu Jiheng had mentioned a few times that he felt neglected because she didn’t post about him. So occasionally, she had shared some photos from their dates. While he never appeared in full view, parts of him—like his hand or a portion of his figure—would be visible.

After their breakup, Cheng Li had deleted all those posts. But just because they were deleted didn’t mean they hadn’t existed.

What if Rong Qi had seen them before? The thought gave her an uncomfortable pang in her chest. Locking her phone again, Cheng Li lay back down. Reflecting on the faces of Xu Jiheng and Wang Shuyan, she realized there wasn’t much she couldn’t handle anymore. Everyone has a failed relationship or two. What mattered was the present.

*

The next morning, Mrs. Ling watched as Cheng Li leisurely ate breakfast and asked curiously, “You’re usually rushing to work. How come you’re so relaxed today?”

Taking a bite of her fried egg, Cheng Li replied slowly, “No need to hurry today.”

From the moment she woke up, she had a sense of foreboding, like she was heading to her own funeral. The incident last night had likely spread throughout the company group chat by now.

Oddly enough, every group chat Cheng Li was in had fallen silent since last night. Normally, those people would be spamming the chat non-stop. She could imagine them gossiping furiously in another private group chat.

When she finally arrived at the office, Cheng Li set her bag down and turned on her computer. Not long after, her assistant, Wang Qingqing, approached with a cup of coffee, chatting and laughing along the way. However, upon seeing Cheng Li, Wang Qingqing immediately wiped the smile off her face.

“Good morning, Sister Li,” Wang Qingqing greeted nervously, carefully gauging Cheng Li’s expression.

“Good morning,” Cheng Li responded calmly. Relieved, Wang Qingqing relaxed a bit.

As more colleagues trickled in, the office remained unusually quiet compared to its usual bustle. It seemed everyone was walking on eggshells, afraid to say the wrong thing.

Around ten in the morning, after finishing her progress update for the project schedule, Cheng Li was called into Ren Kuang’s office.

Ren Kuang gestured to the guest sofa. “Have a seat.”

Cheng Li sat quietly.

“What’s going on between you and Xu Jiheng?” Ren Kuang finally asked after a moment’s hesitation.

Although this was technically Cheng Li’s private matter, it was hard to ignore given that Xu Jiheng’s company, Zhuo Lian Capital, was currently negotiating an A+ round of funding with theirs. The main sticking point was the valuation. Ren Kuang’s estimate for the company was $100 million USD, while Zhuo Lian had only offered ¥400 million RMB—a gap of nearly 50%.

Thankfully, the two sides were still negotiating and hadn’t completely fallen out yet. But this incident threw an unwelcome wrench into the process, leaving Ren Kuang understandably anxious.

Cheng Li answered truthfully, “As everyone saw, he cheated on me and got himself a new girlfriend.”

“That scumbag! What a piece of trash,” Ren Kuang blurted out angrily. Hearing this, Cheng Li felt a touch of gratitude—it was reassuring to know her boss was on her side.

“I’m aware that the company is in the middle of negotiations with Zhuo Lian, and I assure you, I won’t let my personal matters affect the bigger picture,” Cheng Li said earnestly.

Visibly relieved, Ren Kuang said, “I was worried you wouldn’t be able to hold back. After all, anyone would struggle to stay composed in your situation. It’s good to know you’re thinking about the company’s interests.”

“My main concern,” Cheng Li continued, “is that Xu Jiheng might have reservations of his own, which could negatively impact our collaboration.”

“He wouldn’t dare!” Ren Kuang slammed his desk in anger. “Who does he think he is? While he’s overseeing this project, he’s not exactly a key decision-maker at Zhuo Lian. If he tries to exploit this situation to lowball us or sabotage the deal, I’ll personally take it up with his superiors and make sure he gets kicked out of Zhuo Lian.”

Cheng Li nodded.

Ren Kuang added, “I don’t think he’s stupid enough to risk jeopardizing his own project over this. I’ll also have a word with him privately.”

At this point, Cheng Li understood Ren Kuang’s stance. On a personal level, he clearly supported her. Professionally, however, he hoped she could set aside her grievances for the sake of the company.

After leaving the office, Cheng Li headed to the restroom. But as soon as she stepped into a stall, she heard someone enter and stop outside.

The restroom and the breakroom—it’s hard to say which ranks as the ultimate hotspot for gossip in the company.

“I think Cheng Li is incredible. After going through that ordeal last night, she still came to work as if nothing happened.”

“Well, that’s why she’s the future Chief Architect of the company.”

“Is that really happening? She’s so young.”

“With Director Yu gone, who else could take up the mantle? And don’t forget, she’s one of President Ren’s trusted people. President Ren values her a lot.”

Two female colleagues chatted away, growing more animated with every exchange.

“What does the mistress Xu Jiheng found even look like, to make him cheat on Cheng Li?”

Hearing the word “cheat,” Cheng Li couldn’t help clenching her fists.

“Apparently, she’s wealthy. From what colleagues at dinner last night said, the woman was carrying a Hermes Birkin bag, and every piece of her outfit and jewelry screamed luxury.”

“Men are so practical. Faced with money, even a stunning beauty gets outclassed.”

Only after their discussion ended did Cheng Li step out of the stall.

She washed her hands, dried them casually, then pulled out her phone to send a message to Meng Yuange.

[Right now, I’m the clown of the company.]

Back at her desk, Cheng Li checked her phone again and noticed a reply waiting for her. When she opened the chat, she froze upon seeing a slightly unfamiliar profile picture with a glaring red notification dot.

Rong Qi: [?]

Cheng Li blinked, then tapped on their chat window. Her mind went blank.

The message she intended for Meng Yuange had accidentally been sent to Rong Qi.

Last night, to show her sincerity toward Rong Qi, she had pinned his chat to the top of her contacts. Before that, the top spot had always belonged to Meng Yuange.

Out of habit, she had clicked the pinned profile and sent the message without thinking.

Staring at Rong Qi’s question mark, Cheng Li sank into deep thought.

After last night’s embarrassing moment when he realized she had forgotten he was even in her WeChat contacts, how was she supposed to explain that today’s message had been a mistake?

Her standing in his eyes was likely already plummeting to rock bottom.

After some deliberation, Cheng Li tapped on her screen and typed:

[My colleagues were discussing what to order for lunch, but I forgot to include myself in the group order. It’s hard to find a quick meal around here; delivery takes at least an hour.]

She shamelessly added: [That’s why I said that about myself.]

Definitely not because of some nonsense about being cheated on.

This time, there was no further reply from his side.

Oddly enough, Cheng Li felt a bit relieved.

It wasn’t until lunchtime that her phone rang.

The caller ID displayed an unfamiliar number.

Cheng Li answered the call, balancing her phone between her ear and shoulder as her fingers continued tapping away at her keyboard. Her tone was indifferent. “Hello, who’s this?”

“It’s me,” a cold voice replied.

Thud.

Her phone slipped from her shoulder and fell to the floor.

Quickly bending down, Cheng Li picked it up.

Startled, she asked, “How do you have my phone number?”

“Aren’t you the one who said you’d treat me to a meal?” Rong Qi didn’t answer her question directly.

Cheng Li was even more flustered and instinctively asked, “Today?”

She had indeed said she would arrange a time and place for dinner once he’d decided.

“Now.”

Cheng Li blinked. Somehow, from those simple words, she picked up a sense of urgency.

Author’s Note:

Li Mi, trust your instincts. You’re not wrong—he’s absolutely in a hurry.