Chapter 3

At 6:30 in the morning, Zhou Zhou woke up on time.

She first opened WeChat and replied to Tao Cai, saying she was free on Sunday and could go with Zhou Feng to check out cars. They could talk more about it when she got home that evening.

Then she scrolled through her messages to see if there was anything new.

Last night, she had accepted Cheng Yanran’s friend request, but he hadn’t sent her any message. So she put her phone aside and quickly got ready.

They started work at 8:00, but Zhou Zhou liked to arrive 15–20 minutes early. Waking up at 6:30 was just right.

Fridays were always packed with meetings. From 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., she attended two back-to-back meetings. By the time she got to the cafeteria for lunch, most people were already gone.

She was a relatively new face in the building, but not a stranger.

As soon as she entered the cafeteria, several people greeted her:

“Secretary Zhou, just coming for lunch?”

“Director Zhou, just finished a meeting?”

She smiled and nodded, replying politely, “Yes, yes.”

Young, highly educated, good-looking, and with the added bonus of overseas work experience, Zhou Zhou had become the trusted secretary of the mayor right after returning. Gossip about her had never stopped since.

When she first came back, there were even rumors that she had offended a top official and been “sent back as punishment.”

About six months later, that rumor finally disappeared.

When people found out she had returned because of a family issue and had actually requested the transfer, and that she was highly valued by leadership and very capable, some even tried to set her up with boyfriends. But she always politely declined, saying she wasn’t looking to date at the moment.

After rejecting many attempts, people started saying, “She has high standards. She wouldn’t be interested in someone from a small place like ours.”

She had long since learned to ignore things she didn’t care about, so she just smiled and let it go.

She started school early and did a combined bachelor’s and master’s program. Still, she was 29 now.

In past years, she really had been too busy for relationships. Now that she had more time, she preferred to spend it with her parents and little niece, Yuanyuan.

More importantly, she didn’t really know what kind of person she liked or what kind of person would be right to marry. Marriage still felt like something far away.

She had gotten used to being on her own.

She was highly responsible in her work, which made her valued by her superiors.

Mayor Xu had only arrived in the city six months before Zhou Zhou, yet in that short time, five secretaries had come and gone—some lasted just over a month, others only a week. Zhou Zhou was the sixth, and she had lasted the longest.

No matter her background, in the year she had worked as the mayor’s secretary, Mayor Xu had never once mentioned replacing her. In fact, at least two or three times in meetings, the mayor had publicly praised her for being careful and responsible.

Because of this, even though Zhou Zhou had turned down many people, no one ever dared speak badly of her to her face. First, because her work was flawless. Being a secretary might sound easy, but it’s not. From writing speeches and organizing research trips to meeting with businesspeople and going to the countryside, everything tested her intelligence, emotional skills, and awareness. Being a secretary for a regular official might be manageable, but being the key secretary for a mayor—especially a female mayor—was tough. Still, Zhou Zhou passed the test.

Second, because of how she treated people. She turned down everyone equally—clearly and kindly, not leading anyone on. She always smiled, never acted superior, and didn’t use her position to show off like some other secretaries did.

Zhou Zhou was strong and gentle at the same time.

That mix of strength and softness was rare, even unique.

So even though everyone knew she wasn’t interested in dating and was hard to approach, many single men who had worked with her still secretly liked her.

They just didn’t have the courage to say it.

They figured it was better to stay quiet than get rejected and ruin things.

Still, they secretly hoped to bump into her and get the chance to talk to her a little more.

When Zhou Zhou got to the cafeteria, most of the good food was already gone—some dishes were even cold.

The cafeteria lady knew she was the mayor’s secretary and kindly told her she could put her food in a small bowl and heat it in the microwave.

Zhou Zhou smiled and thanked her.

She wasn’t picky. Just wanted something to fill her stomach.

While eating, she saw a WeChat message pop up. She opened it and saw two messages from Cheng Yanran.

“I’m Cheng Yanran. Hope I’m not bothering you?”
“I heard from Chen Jing that you’re looking at cars?”

Then Zhou Zhou remembered—last week when she ran into Chen Jing, he insisted on taking her out for a meal, but she had used car shopping as an excuse to turn him down.

She didn’t expect Chen Jing to tell Cheng Yanran.

But thinking of how close they had been in high school, she understood.

Also, if she remembered correctly, Cheng Yanran’s family was in the car business.

She wasn’t the type to beat around the bush, so she replied,
“It’s my lunch break. Yes, I’m looking at cars, but it’s for my dad.”

Clear and direct.

Then she added,
“Congrats. I heard you and Chen Jing are doing really well with your company.”

Getting a compliment from his high school crush made Cheng Yanran feel like he was floating on air.

He had never felt so proud of his career before.

Truth was, he hadn’t done anything productive all morning. He had just been watching the clock, waiting for lunch break, guessing when she might be done eating—then he finally dared to send her a message.

He held back his excitement and replied like a normal friend:
“Do you have any cars in mind?”

Zhou Zhou told him the German and Japanese car models her father liked.

She frowned slightly as she tried to remember—she thought Cheng Yanran’s family sold that German brand.

Sure enough, he quickly replied,
“Both are good choices for middle-aged buyers. Compare the prices. If it’s Brand X, I can help you get the best price.”

From that, Zhou Zhou understood.

She accepted the kindness from Chen Jing and Cheng Yanran and replied,
“Okay, thank you. Old classmate.”

They were high school classmates, and that sounded close. But really, they hadn’t seen each other in over ten years. Now they were both adults. It was best to keep a proper social distance.

Zhou Zhou didn’t want to take advantage of old school ties or treat this relationship as anything more than it was, so she didn’t say much else.

Maybe Cheng Yanran understood that too. He just replied,
“I’ll check and let you know.”

That really matched the calm and respectful boy she remembered from school.

She couldn’t help but think back to twelve years ago.