Chapter 7: Kindred Spirits

Although the business card was simple, it was by no means shoddy; both the paper and the font had been carefully selected, far from the cheap products of a roadside print shop.

When Zhou Zhuofei worked in the Administration Department, she had once been responsible for printing business cards for employees. The company had different specifications and budgets for cards based on employees’ ranks, so she had studied various kinds of paper and printing techniques intensively. Even with her basic knowledge, she could tell this card was not inexpensive.

After Zhou Zhuofei accepted the card, the other party apologized a few more times before leaving. They hadn’t gone far before suddenly breaking into a run, clearly in a hurry.

Zhou Zhuofei watched them go and then put the card away.

Her handbag had originally been purchased online casually for work, inexpensive and already showing signs of wear after more than half a year of use. She couldn’t tell if it had anything to do with the earlier incident, but she wasn’t interested in checking closely—just making sure it was still usable.

As for contacting anyone, that was out of the question.

Still, the incident struck Zhou Zhuofei as amusing. She had just been complaining about how dull her life was, yet here was a little unexpected event.

The weather wasn’t too cold or hot; only fashion-conscious trendsetters or those who hadn’t washed their hair the day before would wear hats.

Could it really have been some celebrity?

But celebrities wouldn’t carry business cards around, would they?

The more Zhou Zhuofei thought about it, the stranger it seemed. She couldn’t help but look up Jiang Shen on her phone but found nothing useful. Probably she was overthinking.

As afternoon tea time approached, Zhou Zhuofei invited Zhan Zilang to go downstairs and help out.

The entire building belonged to the Huanyu Group. Besides office spaces, it housed other areas: the fourth floor was an exhibition space, while the fourteenth was a lounge where employees could enjoy afternoon tea with panoramic views.

Those unwilling to move could also collect their tea on their own floor and enjoy it at their desks.

Distributing and selecting the afternoon tea was one of Zhou Zhuofei’s regular duties, so every few days she would check in to see how everyone was enjoying it and gather feedback.

They went down early, so the lounge was still sparsely populated. As Zhou Zhuofei checked the inventory list, she noticed Zhan Zilang standing idly and asked, “Want me to give you a task?”

“Of course!” Zhan Zilang perked up. “What is it?”

Zhou Zhuofei casually pointed to the tray filled with cupcakes. “Try one. See how it tastes.”

“Huh?” Zhan Zilang was stunned. “Is that even a task?”

“Why not? We have to be responsible for our colleagues’ taste buds, too,” Zhou Zhuofei said confidently.

Under her urging, Zhan Zilang took a cupcake and bit into it.

“How is it?”

The next moment, his brow furrowed deeply. Zhou Zhuofei’s expression made it clear: “Not good?”

Trying to be polite, he hesitated, “It’s okay.” Knowing his performance yesterday hadn’t been great, he gritted his teeth and shoved the rest of the cupcake into his mouth, chewing quickly and swallowing it all.

The sweet, cloying flavor hit him hard. Seeing this, Zhou Zhuofei immediately handed him a bottle of tea to help wash away the taste.

“If you can’t get used to it, don’t force yourself to eat.”

She had meant to say that earlier but lost the chance because Zhan Zilang was too quick.

He chuckled, a goofy smile spreading across his face. “Wasting food is never good.”

Hearing this, Zhou Zhuofei’s impression of him improved.

Putting aside work attitude, Zhan Zilang’s personality was quite pleasant and he was easy on the eyes. As long as she didn’t take things too seriously, getting through this month with him would be manageable.

After finishing the inventory check, they sat down near a corner, waiting for colleagues to come get their afternoon tea.

With nothing work-related to discuss and life topics too personal, their conversation inevitably turned to their shared love of games.

Through this chat, Zhou Zhuofei discovered Zhan Zilang was quite an experienced gamer. They had both been into gaming for a long time and shared surprisingly similar views on certain topics.

This made Zhan Zilang feel even more comfortable around her.

What could be better than finding a kindred spirit in a new environment?

He sighed, “But Zhou, girls who love games like you are really rare.”

Zhou Zhuofei smiled wryly and asked, “You’re not about to fall into stereotypes, are you?”

How could someone so young have such an old-fashioned mindset?

Zhan Zilang hastened to explain, “No, no, I was just saying casually. Most of my friends don’t like games, so it’s hard to find people who do in real life, except online. I didn’t mean anything else!”

“What do your friends like to do then? Drink, clubbing? Shopping and vacations?”

She realized she might have been inappropriate and quickly apologized.

“Sorry, I guess I’m stereotyping, too. With my limited experience, I just think rich people live like that.”

“Well, you’re not far off—quite a few of my friends do…” Zhan Zilang stopped suddenly. “Wait, what do you mean by rich people?”

“People like you,” Zhou Zhuofei said, seeing his expression turn sheepish. “Don’t tell me you think I didn’t notice?”

“To be honest, I didn’t expect it. I thought I was pretty low-key.” Zhan Zilang scratched his head. He felt uneasy about using connections to get the job and wanted to keep a low profile.

After seeing Zhou Zhuofei’s attitude toward him yesterday, he thought he’d disguised himself well.

He hadn’t expected his moment of pride to be so short-lived and wondered where he had slipped up.

“You are low-key, but money doesn’t lie,” Zhou Zhuofei tapped her wrist.

Zhan Zilang looked down at his watch. “But this watch isn’t expensive.”

“Do you know how many employees in our department even wear watches?” Zhou Zhuofei showed her bare wrist. “An intern can switch watches, and I won’t even mention how expensive that suit of yours looks.”

“I see.”

Zhan Zilang was genuinely impressed. He’d never met “ordinary people” in the usual sense, so his understanding was limited.

“Has everyone figured it out?”

Zhou Zhuofei didn’t answer directly, only giving a faint, knowing smile, as if to say, “What do you think?”

Zhan Zilang deflated completely. “Alright, can I be honest with you?”

“Go ahead.”

“I really think that cake was terrible.” Just recalling the taste made him frown deeply.

Zhou Zhuofei couldn’t help but laugh. “I knew it already.”

“I’ve never eaten such a bad cake in my life,” he muttered quietly.

By then, the lounge was filling up with employees. Zhou Zhuofei quickly hushed him, “Keep your voice down.”

Zhan Zilang realized his mistake and stopped talking.

Fortunately, they were far enough from the food area that few noticed their conversation.

Employees came for afternoon tea continuously. What had been an empty lounge was now half full. Many greeted Zhou Zhuofei and offered feedback.

Some said the recent oranges were sour, others wanted tiramisu instead of cupcakes—everyone had their own opinions.

Zhan Zilang felt overwhelmed listening to it all. He noticed Zhou Zhuofei not only listened attentively but responded to everyone and even chatted with them. If it were him, his head would surely spin.

At that moment, he couldn’t help but admire her.

“Zhou, you’re amazing!”

“It’s just doing your job. If you want this role, this is the basic requirement. If you’re just here to coast through the month, then feel free to take it easy. No one will make things difficult.”

“I’m not just coasting—I really want to find something to do.”

As they talked, a sudden commotion arose nearby.

Zhou Zhuofei turned and saw Xiao Wang arriving, many employees greeting him.

She glanced back at Zhan Zilang, who was also watching. When he noticed her gaze, he quickly looked away, pretending to be nonchalant.

That was so obvious!

Zhou Zhuofei silently thought, then said to him, “If you know him, go say hi. No need to pretend you don’t.”