Chapter 4

When leaving, Sun Kecheng personally escorted Lin Koukou out.  

But the moment he returned to his office and closed the door, he couldn’t suppress his confusion: “Could it really not be her behind Evergreat poaching Zhou Xinrong this time?”  

Pei Shu had already settled back on the sofa, crossing his legs as he remarked, “She dares to say it, and you dare to believe it.”  

Sun Kecheng said, “But the non-compete agreement…”  

Pei Shu lowered his eyelids with a faint smile. “If she neither takes money nor signs a contract, what evidence can Direction possibly gather to sue her, even if she spends every day in a temple introducing people to jobs? Sue her for offering free career guidance to monks leaving the clergy, all in the name of charity?”  

Sun Kecheng froze, slow to react. “A temple?”  

Pei Shu shot him a glance. “Calling you blind and oblivious wouldn’t be an insult.”  

Only then did Sun Kecheng catch on. After carefully recalling, he suddenly jolted in realization. “That bracelet on her wrist! You mean…”  

Pei Shu nodded.  

Sun Kecheng did the math. “Clear Spring Temple has been quite active this past year.”  

In the headhunting industry, connections are everything.  

When Lin Koukou was fired and signed the non-compete agreement, many had expressed concerns about her future: No matter how skilled a headhunter, staying out of the industry for a year would not only dull her professional abilities but, more critically, the once-warm network she’d built would likely grow cold with time. Even if she returned after a year, how much could she salvage?  

Even Sun Kecheng had harbored such worries.  

But if Clear Spring Temple’s recent activities were tied to her…  

Sun Kecheng couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath. “A roundabout strategy—now that’s a masterstroke.”  

Pei Shu seemed lost in thought and didn’t respond.  

Sun Kecheng suddenly grew anxious. “If that’s the case, her connections never cooled off at all. She even managed to poach someone like Zhou Xinrong. Do you think… she’ll join our company?”  

Pei Shu said, “She will.”  

“How can you be so sure?” Sun Kecheng reflexively countered, only to pause. “Wait—you’re not against her joining anymore?”  

Pei Shu lifted his gaze to give him a look before standing and walking out without turning back. “You’ve always had the final say in company management. Would my opposition even matter?”  

Of course, it would.  

But Sun Kecheng didn’t dare say it aloud. Instead, he watched Pei Shu push the door open and leave with an indescribably complicated look in his eyes.  

Stepping out of the building and into the spring sunlight, Lin Koukou couldn’t help glancing back, her mind replaying the events at Crossroads—especially Pei Shu.  

In this industry, few could leave such a deep impression on her after just one meeting.  

She lowered her gaze to her wrist, where the largest guru bead of her Kynam Incense Beads bore two small, inconspicuous characters: Clear Spring.  

Most people wouldn’t notice them.  

But that consultant Pei—first deliberately shaking her hand, then probing her with the Evergreat and Zhou Xinrong case—had likely pieced it together.  

Such sharp observation…  

Lin Koukou narrowed her eyes slightly, a rare flicker of interest crossing her expression. Should she expect nothing less from her long-time rival, the one who’d been opposing her for years?  

Lost in thought, her phone buzzed in her pocket.  

Lin Koukou pulled it out and unlocked the screen, only to be bombarded by a flood of messages.  

Zhao Shede: Kou-Daddy!  

Zhao Shede: Landed yet?  

Zhao Shede: Reply to me ASAP!!!

Zhao Shede: I swiped a bottle of good wine from the bar today, just waiting to welcome you back~ Where are you now?  

Zhao Shede: Pay attention to me QAQ  

Immediately followed by a barrage of crying emojis, flooding the chat like a tidal wave.  

Lin Koukou felt a headache coming on just looking at it.  

As a Headhunter, she could handle any tricky case, but privately, she was utterly helpless against this mischievous troublemaker who excelled at both acting cute and being shameless.  

With a resigned sigh, she typed back: “At Central Tower, haven’t hailed a cab yet.”  

Zhao Shede replied instantly: “Central Tower? What are you doing there? Never mind, don’t call a ride. Stay right there—I’ll pick you up in 10 minutes!”  

Being the wealthy heiress she was, she lived nearby.  

True to her word, Lin Koukou barely had to wait 10 minutes before Zhao Shede pulled up in front of her in a flashy yellow Ferrari, her shoulder-length hair streaked with dark green. With a casual wave, she called out, “Get in.”  

The whole scene looked more like some rich playboy picking up a date.  

Lin Koukou chuckled, sliding into the passenger seat and dutifully buckling her seatbelt—she valued her life, after all.  

Zhao Shede had a fair, delicate face with cat-like eyes that naturally carried a hint of allure, but her manner was anything but refined. Seeing Lin Koukou’s caution, she rolled her eyes. “My driving skills have improved, you know. Did living in the mountains for a year make you timid?”  

Lin Koukou sighed deeply. “Back then, I only dared to ride with you because ignorance was bliss.”  

Zhao Shede huffed. “People change!”  

Lin Koukou murmured, “No, I believe leopards don’t change their spots.”  

Zhao Shede: “…”  

Ignoring her friend’s indignant look, Lin Koukou rolled down the window, letting the bustling city wind rush past her face. “Still running the bar?”  

Zhao Shede shrugged. “Yep, same as always. You know how it is—prime real estate by the Huangpu River, monthly earnings barely cover rent. Honestly, staying afloat mostly depends on mooching off my parents.”  

She had always been self-aware. Unlike other rich kids dabbling in investments or management, she had accepted early on—back when she and Lin Koukou were bunkmates in school—that she wasn’t cut out for that life. So she embraced her role as a carefree slacker, happily coasting along.  

Lin Koukou couldn’t help but admire her attitude. “Your dad must be really open-minded.”  

“What choice does he have? Expecting me to succeed is like hoping my mom has a second kid.” Zhao Shede glanced at her through the rearview mirror. “What about you? Any plans now that you’re back? Instead of coming straight to me, you went to Central Tower first…”  

With no reason to hide anything from her longtime friend, Lin Koukou answered frankly, “Visited a company. Might consider joining them.”  

In fact, she had pretty much made up her mind already.  

Zhao Shede looked surprised. “I thought you’d start your own firm this time.”  

Lin Koukou lowered her gaze slightly, her tone light. “I could. But there’s no need.”  

As she spoke, a faint smile played on her lips—warm as a spring breeze, yet her eyes held something deeper, something inscrutable.  

Seeing it in the mirror, Zhao Shede suddenly wondered—

How did Lin Koukou endure that year?

At the peak of her career, she was suddenly cast down into the abyss, even forced to leave for an entire year.  

The outside world even mocked her a little.  

After all, the winner takes all, and the loser is left with nothing. She was the one fired by Direction. Once misfortune struck, it gave people a reason to criticize, as if her fate had been sealed.  

Zhao Shede would never forget the day she received Lin Koukou’s call to pick her up.  

Following the navigation, she found her at a crossroads.  

It was raining then, with a lingering chill in the spring air.  

Few pedestrians were on the street, and passing cars were scarce.  

Lin Koukou stood alone by the sidewalk, her high heels soaked with water, wearing a gray-green suit jacket that was mostly drenched. Her long, curly hair, damp from the rain, was tousled by the wind, and a few droplets clung to her thick lashes, trembling but refusing to fall.  

The traffic light at the intersection flickered off and on.  

She just stood there, going nowhere.  

Only when Zhao Shede parked beside her and called out did Lin Koukou lift her gaze. The droplets trembled, then finally fell from her lashes, vanishing into the dirty rainwater on the ground.  

After knowing Lin Koukou for so many years, it was the first time Zhao Shede had seen such despondency on her face.  

Some things, she didn’t dare ask too much about.  

So now, Zhao Shede carefully chose her words before speaking: “I remember many at Direction said they wanted to leave with you. If you go to a new company, will you take them all with you?”  

At the mention of Direction, Lin Koukou fell silent for a moment before replying, “Shi Dingqing was ruthless to me, but I can’t repay her with the same. When I signed the non-compete, I promised not to poach her people. Besides, after a year, who knows how they feel now? It’s simpler and easier for me to go alone. We’ll see about the rest later.”  

Zhao Shede instinctively asked, “What about He Chuang?”  

Lin Koukou suddenly went quiet.  

That name instantly unlocked memories, conjuring the image of a young face in her mind.  

It was on this day a year ago, right after she signed the agreement and stepped out of the company, that she saw him.  

He Chuang had been waiting for her outside for a long time.  

The moment he spotted her, before she could even speak, he blurted out, “Wherever you go, I go. I’m coming with you.”  

A young man of twenty-four or twenty-five, at his most unrestrained—his features sharp and handsome, his gaze piercing—as if no hardship in the world could stop him.  

Just like the first time she’d met him.  

Back then, Lin Koukou couldn’t help thinking: Everyone changes, more or less. Only He Chuang seemed to remain that same reckless youth, his likes and dislikes clear, his love and hate intense, never hiding a thing.  

For a moment, she was even moved, feeling the impulse to reach out and ruffle his hair like she used to.  

But the next instant, she suppressed it.  

Lin Koukou smiled at him, though her voice couldn’t quite hide her exhaustion. She only said softly, “Silly boy, I’m not worth it. Go back.”  

He Chuang froze.  

She watched as the certainty in his expression slowly stiffened at the edges, gradually giving way to unease.  

As if some possibility had occurred to him—one he could guess.  

He Chuang seemed to tremble, his eyes reddening. “You—”

Lin Koukou said calmly yet cruelly, “I’m sorry, I signed a non-compete agreement.”

He Chuang took a step back, completely stunned.

He looked at her as if she were an incomprehensible stranger: “You’re insane…”

The world changes in the blink of an eye.

Leaving the industry for a year was equivalent to abandoning one’s skills. Could she really return after a year? Even if she did, would she be able to make a comeback?

Lin Koukou thought, perhaps she really was insane.

She lowered her gaze, walked past He Chuang, and gently removed the Compass Headhunting work badge hanging from her chest, tossing it casually into a nearby trash can. Without turning back, she repeated, “Go back.”

This time, He Chuang didn’t stop her.

Lin Koukou pressed the elevator button outside.

He Chuang stood alone in the hallway, like an abandoned, trapped beast.

As she stepped into the elevator, he clenched his fists, watching her from afar with reddened eyes, his voice hoarse as he suddenly shouted, “Lin Koukou, you’ve wronged me… Lin Koukou, you’ve wronged me!”

“…”

Lin Koukou had her back to him, but through the elevator’s polished mirror, she could see his stubborn figure.

Yet she didn’t dare to turn around.

Just like now, facing Zhao Shede’s question, she didn’t know how to respond.

Seeing her silent for so long, Zhao Shede grew uneasy and quickly added, “I just ran into him at a bar recently. He asked about you, so I mentioned it.”

Lin Koukou asked, “Is he still at Direction?”

Zhao Shede replied, “You trained him—don’t you know? After you left, he stayed at Direction, continuing to annoy those people. Unless you come back, I doubt he’ll leave anytime soon.”

“…”

Lin Koukou said nothing more.

She lowered her gaze to her phone. After a long pause, she finally unlocked the screen and opened WeChat, where a familiar name appeared.

Clicking in, she saw messages from the past year.

He Chuang: Typhoon’s here.

He Chuang: It’s Mid-Autumn Festival today. Everyone went out to eat, and someone ordered your favorite sea urchin. But when it arrived, no one touched it.

He Chuang: It’s snowing.

A blurry photo of winter snow, taken through a window.

Then, a message from three days ago—

He Chuang: Lin Koukou, the late cherry blossoms are blooming this year.

Lin Koukou was three years older than him. At Direction, she had been his superior, his mentor, even half the reason he entered the industry.

Most of the time in the past, he had called her “Sister Kou” or “Director Lin.”

But now…

Staring at the three characters of her full name at the start of the message, Lin Koukou rested her fingers on the edge of the screen, her emotions quietly surging like a rising tide.

The car passed by a park.

On the lush green lawn, a late-blooming cherry tree stood in full bloom. Dark green leaves drooped low, while plump blossoms unfurled in the warm air, layers of pink and white clustered together like a dense cloud.

Lin Koukou looked up for a while, then lowered her gaze and turned off the screen.

—In the end, she didn’t reply with a single word.