“If I hadn’t seen this ring, I wouldn’t have even known you were in a relationship.” Wan Qing leaned in a bit closer, his gaze curiously lingering on the necklace around Chi Zhiyue’s neck.

Chi Zhiyue set the ring down and said with a smile, “You didn’t find out too late. We only got together yesterday.”

“Well, you sure move fast—getting a matching couple’s item on day one,” Wan Qing chuckled, giving Chi Zhiyue a pat on the back.

Chi Zhiyue bent forward slightly before standing up straight again: “It’s because I had a one-sided crush on him before, so I wanted to quickly lock down something that represents us as a couple.”

“Smart move. That way, you don’t have to worry about her changing her mind,” Wan Qing said.

Chi Zhiyue’s smile deepened as he murmured softly, “My sister said the exact same thing yesterday, and she was even planning to deduce the name starting from ‘A’ in my contact list.”

Wan Qing was amused: “Did she manage to figure it out?”

Chi Zhiyue’s gaze swept lightly across Wan Qing’s face, his voice slowing down: “Even my partner’s friends don’t know about this yet, so there’s no way she could know.”

“Keeping it that tightly under wraps?” Wan Qing was getting curious. “Is your partner from our company?”

“No.”

“Oh—must be really good-looking, right?” Wan Qing drew out his tone. “For someone with a face sculpted like a CGI model like you to have an unrequited crush, they must have a CGI model face as well.”

Chi Zhiyue couldn’t help but crinkle his eyes in a smile: “To the extent that you’d spot him instantly in a crowd, I suppose.”

Wan Qing let out a “Whoa” and chuckled as he swirled his cup: “When people praise their own partners, they really have no sense of restraint.”

“I’ll show you once we take some photos,” Chi Zhiyue took out his phone from his pocket, his fingertips lightly swiping across the screen. “Then you’ll know whether I’m telling the truth or not.”

As he spoke, he sent a message to Luo Ye, the tenderness between his brows almost overflowing.

Wan Qing couldn’t see what Chi Zhiyue was typing, but seeing his expression, he couldn’t help but sigh with emotion: “Seeing how happy you are dating, it makes me want to set my buddy up on a blind date. I’m pretty curious about what he’d be like in a relationship.”

Chi Zhiyue’s fingertips paused slightly as he sent the message. He raised his eyes to look at Wan Qing: “Your buddy?”

Wan Qing took a sip of coffee and blinked: “Luo Ye.”

Chi Zhiyue: “…”

“Though based on what I know about him, he’s a very responsible guy. If he gets into a relationship, it’ll probably be with marriage in mind. Tsk, I should lose some weight before then and strive to be the most handsome groomsman in the room.”

Wan Qing closed his eyes, imagining Luo Ye linking arms with a silhouette walking down the aisle at a wedding, while he himself, as the groomsman, got asked for his phone number by countless girls.

In the end, the other bros standing by would be green with envy.

Heh-heh.

Wan Qing indulged in his daydream.

He completely failed to notice that right beside him, the paper wall of the coffee cup in Chi Zhiyue’s hand had already been crumpled into several creases from the sheer force of his grip.

When Wan Qing opened his eyes, Chi Zhiyue still wore that same gentle, refined demeanor. He was looking at him with a slight smile, his tone completely placid: “What kind of person does Luo Ye like?”

Wan Qing thought about it, recalling the comments made while watching TV dramas with Luo Ye: “He never explicitly said, but there was a female lead in a drama he liked—someone who doesn’t get flustered easily, very easy to talk to, and very gentle.”

Chi Zhiyue took a sip of his coffee and said flatly, “Okay.”

“What are you saying ‘okay’ for? Are you going to set him up too?” Wan Qing gave him a playful nudge with a laugh.

Chi Zhiyue’s fingertips rubbed the warm wall of the coffee cup, pausing for a beat: “I think this depends on what Luo Ye wants. If he isn’t interested, setting him up would only be a burden.”

Wan Qing nodded repeatedly, thinking Chi Zhiyue made a lot of sense.

He turned around, facing the railing just like Chi Zhiyue. Raising his coffee cup, he looked down at the crowd bustling back and forth below.

“Then let me first wish his yet-to-be-met girlfriend and him a long and happy relationship.”

Chi Zhiyue’s smiling eyes curved. He said nothing, merely raising his coffee cup and clinking it gently against Wan Qing’s.

At one in the afternoon, the break came to an end, and they returned to their department.

The appearance of Chi Zhiyue’s necklace effectively put an end to the hopes of quite a few people. The number of people taking the initiative to send gifts and show interest noticeably dwindled, leaving only items sent by brand partners.

From time to time, someone would ask Chi Zhiyue about his relationship. Chi Zhiyue answered with the same measured, gentle, and polite tone he had used with Wan Qing:

“Yeah, we just got together yesterday.”

“I’ll ask him first. If he agrees, I’ll post a photo.”

“It was quite unexpected this time as well. He’s rather shy, so I’ll share once our relationship is more settled.”

…

After patiently responding to everyone’s inquiries one by one, Chi Zhiyue finally returned to his workstation, settling his mind to begin working.

Work was inherently mundane to begin with. On top of that, their supervisor, Manager Mei, would drop by from time to time to throw out a few critique comments, making everyone momentarily unsure whether work itself was exasperating or if this person was just annoying.

For Chi Zhiyue, however, it made no difference.

The moment Manager Mei turned to leave, Chi Zhiyue stood up immediately, gathered his belongings from the desk, and greeted the colleague beside him: “I have an off-site schedule and need to head out early. I’ll handle the follow-up work remotely.”

He walked out of the corporate building and reached the plaza.

By now, the sun was setting. The twilight glow wove through the forest of skyscrapers, painting the sky a warm shade of orange-red.

It looked like a chubby ginger cat sprawling across the sky, soft and fluffy.

Standing at the very top of the stairs, Chi Zhiyue made a call to Du Ruo: “You saved a spot for me on the third, right?”

“Saved it, saved it! Hurry up and bring your crush over.” Du Ruo’s voice on the other end sounded a bit rushed, with a hint of excitement.

“What’s the rush? You’ll see him sooner or later,” Chi Zhiyue said.

“I’m just curious, what kind of charm does he actually have to make you chase after him with over ninety phone calls, and then agree to a two-month trial dating period?” Du Ruo paused. “Don’t you usually avoid making bad deals?”

Chi Zhiyue’s brows furrowed slightly: “Du Ruo, liking someone isn’t the same as making a transaction. He isn’t a commodity.”

Du Ruo let out an “Ouch” and immediately apologized: “Alright, alright. You know my Chinese has gotten rusty from living abroad for so long, bad analogy on my part.”

Chi Zhiyue’s expression softened slightly as he slowly walked down the steps, his voice easing up: “When I do things, I care more about the result than the process. Even if the process deviates a little, as long as the outcome is good, that’s all that matters. If he wants to break up after two months, I won’t have any regrets either.”

“People like you are the craftiest. You claim you’ll let go, but in two months, you’ll definitely find every way possible to extend the time,” Du Ruo tsk-ed twice. “It’s all calculated moves.”

Chi Zhiyue chuckled, not giving a direct answer: “Alright, I need to drive. See you tomorrow.”

“Bye.”

Chi Zhiyue put his phone away, entered the underground parking garage, started his car, and slowly merged into the flow of traffic.

While driving, he passed the same street where he had been on a date with Luo Ye yesterday, catching a red light.

Chi Zhiyue brought the car to a stop, his fingertips gently tapping the steering wheel, his gaze settling on the familiar street outside the window.

The Luo Ye who smiled at him yesterday, the Luo Ye who was thrilled while playing shooting games, the Luo Ye who was teased until his face flushed red, the Luo Ye who flusteredly tried to explain himself—every single version of him was so vivid it felt as though he were right in front of his eyes.

The corners of Chi Zhiyue’s lips curved up unconsciously. He was in such a great mood that even the rhythm of his tapping fingers became light and brisk.

End after two months? No.

From the very second Luo Ye confessed, their dynamic was destined never to revert to that of ordinary acquaintances.

He knew the confession might just have been a prank on Luo Ye’s part. After all, prior to that, Luo Ye had viewed him as an ordinary colleague at best—nowhere close to having romantic feelings.

Yet he had no intention of digging into the underlying reasons, nor did he wish to puncture the lie. He knew Luo Ye’s temperament all too well: kind-hearted and responsible. As long as he employed a few clever tactics, Luo Ye would undoubtedly end up genuinely dating him.

And things turned out exactly as expected.

Luo Ye’s flaw was being far too responsible. Even though he wasn’t used to holding hands with another guy, he was still willing to intertwine their fingers.

Later, when paying the bill, he had even reached out to hold his hand instinctively.

It was wonderful.

Just recalling these scattered memories made Chi Zhiyue’s mood float like a cloud; the car interior was filled with the atmosphere of his delight.

“I really want to see him soon,” he murmured softly, looking out at the familiar cityscape.

The twilight bathed every inch of the city in light, casting a layer of gentle, warm hues over the cold, desolate snow along the curbside.

The red light quietly entered its countdown, the numbers ticking down one by one until it finally switched to green.

Chi Zhiyue stepped on the accelerator. The car rolled slowly forward, its taillights blending with the evening glow, as if dissolving into the dusk.

After wrapping up the brand-related matters, it was already seven in the evening by the time Chi Zhiyue arrived home.

At the dining table in the living room, Xu Menghua was sprawled out doing her homework, her open notebooks taking up more than half the table while the tip of her pen rustled against the paper.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, she instinctively looked up, glanced at Chi Zhiyue, and quickly lowered her head again, teasing offhandedly: “Oh, looks like someone just had a plain old day at work today.”

Chi Zhiyue smiled and stepped into the living room.

“What else? If your brother wasn’t at work, was he supposed to be out playing around?” Chi Youfeng, who was sitting nearby helping with homework, laughed.

Currently, Xu Menghua was the only one in the family who knew that Chi Zhiyue was seeing someone, which was why Chi Youfeng didn’t catch the nuance in her banter.

Xu Menghua looked up again to size up Chi Zhiyue, pointing things out one by one: “Hair unstyled, coat totally plain—clearly just putting up an appearance for the boss.”

“If you applied this level of attention to detail to your studies, you wouldn’t have misplaced the decimal point on the last problem,” Chi Zhiyue unwound the scarf around his neck and casually hung it on the coat rack next to the sofa.

“Ugh, how long ago was that already?” Xu Menghua pouted. “Don’t worry, I’m still at least in the top ten of my class. You won’t be embarrassed when you attend the parent-teacher conference.”

“Was your deskmate first place again?” Chi Youfeng asked.

“Yeah,” Xu Menghua said while writing. “The teacher even allows him to look at his phone during class. I saw him chatting with his brother, having such a great time.”

Chi Zhiyue remarked, “Your attitude toward him is a lot better than before.”

Xu Menghua huffed: “It depends on who else is around you. In comparison, he’s actually fine. Take that absolute idiot sitting behind me, for example…”

The word “bitch” was about to slip out when Xu Menghua suddenly remembered her mom was sitting right there, swallowing it back with great effort.

She corrected herself to: “…that silly boy.”

Chi Zhiyue: “…”

Chi Zhiyue couldn’t hold back and let out a chuckle. Xu Menghua’s ears instantly flushed red. Embarrassed and annoyed, she waved her hand: “What are you laughing at! Hurry up and get lost!”

“Alright, I’m going. Take your time writing,” Chi Zhiyue chuckled and returned to his room.

Two hours later, Xu Menghua, who had just kicked him out, sent him another message.

[Xu Menghua]: I’m done with my homework—urgent—

[Chi Zhiyue]: Oh.

Chi Zhiyue shook his head helplessly, opened his bedroom door, and stepped out.

In the living room, Xu Menghua was holding a bowl of piping hot instant noodles, with broth still clinging to the corner of her mouth.

“Please, have a seat,” Xu Menghua quickly set down her chopsticks, pointed to the chair opposite her, and lowered her voice. “Relax, Mom and Dad already went to their bedroom.”

Chi Zhiyue didn’t sit down, looking at Xu Menghua: “Tell me what this is about first.”

Xu Menghua leaned in closer, a look of pure curiosity on her face: “Just continuing what we didn’t finish chatting about this morning! Didn’t you go on a date yesterday? How was it?”

“It went well,” Chi Zhiyue finally pulled out a chair and sat down.

Xu Menghua: “Did you two have that cliché moment where one of you trips and you somehow end up kissing each other on the lips?”

Chi Zhiyue: “…I’m confiscating all the novels you read.”

Hearing that her treasure trove was on the line, Xu Menghua stopped messing around and quickly said: “Ah! I’ll change the question, okay?! What does it feel like when your heart skips a beat?”

“Involuntary?” Chi Zhiyue thought about it. “It just happens very naturally.”

Xu Menghua: “When I read novels, I’ve always wondered—can you actually hold that kind of feeling back?”

Chi Zhiyue: “…You shouldn’t be reading novels; you should be reading forensic autopsy reports.”

Xu Menghua pouted petulantly: “How would you know without trying?”

Chi Zhiyue froze for a moment, then came to a realization. He looked at her with a knowing half-smile: “Oh, no wonder you called me out here. You wanted someone to test it out for you.”

Xu Menghua immediately glanced aside guiltily, defending herself in a small voice: “This is my brother’s first love, after all. You have to let me be curious about whether the stuff in novels is real or not.”

Chi Zhiyue knew very well that Xu Menghua had always loved wildly imaginative fiction. The more out-of-the-box and exaggerated the plot, the more she enjoyed it.

Because of this, her personality was particularly erratic, frequently popping up with bizarre ideas.

He didn’t agree to Xu Menghua’s absurd request, but her words quietly lingered in his mind.

He was actually quite curious too: when facing Luo Ye, would he be able to hold back the fluttering of his heart?

After all, his feelings had struck far more abruptly than ordinary love at first sight. He already knew the answer, but he just wanted to see what the actual sensation would be like.

Before going to sleep, Chi Zhiyue had a brief chat with Luo Ye. There were no flirtatious remarks, just a conversation centered around tomorrow’s date.

[Chi Zhiyue]: Let’s meet directly at the main entrance tomorrow, no need for the back gate.

[Luo Ye]: Okay.

[Luo Ye]: What do you want to eat tomorrow?

[Chi Zhiyue]: Something simple.

[Luo Ye]: Oh, alright.

[Luo Ye]: Don’t you have work tomorrow? Go to bed early.

[Chi Zhiyue]: Getting ready to sleep now.

[Chi Zhiyue]: Goodnight.

[Luo Ye]: Bye-bye.

Looking at these few simple, plain lines of dialogue, Chi Zhiyue closed his phone, feeling content.

It was evident that their interactions had become much more natural than at the very beginning.

Just as Chi Zhiyue was about to lie down, a sudden wave of dizziness hit his head. A familiar ache gradually spread out, feeling like thousands of needles stabbing into his bones.

He knitted his brows, forced himself up, took a medicine box out of the drawer, tapped out a painkiller, and swallowed it with warm water.

After quite a while, the pain finally began to subside, and only then did he close his eyes and drift off to sleep.

The next morning, Chi Zhiyue specifically changed into an outfit suited for moving around. A lightweight brown padded jacket paired with dark trousers, and a soft scarf wrapped around his neck.

Standing before the mirror, he carefully tidied up his clothes, making sure there were no flaws before opening the door and heading out.

The weather that day was decent. It remained at winter’s low temperatures, with a light scattering of snow in the morning that stopped by noon.

Sunlight filtered through the clouds, casting a faint golden shimmer across the pristine blanket of snow.

After finishing lunch, Chi Zhiyue returned to his desk and habitually opened DingTalk to check unread messages.

They rarely used DingTalk to chat, usually sticking to WeChat groups, so some people simply muted their DingTalk group notifications altogether.

Chi Zhiyue, however, would still open these unread messages.

This time, when he clicked into the group chat, a system notification popped up with birthday wishes for an employee named Xiao Qing.

His only memory of this girl was that she worked efficiently and spoke rather slowly; because her interactions with everyone were quite ordinary, he didn’t have a distinct impression of her.

Whenever Chi Zhiyue came across a birthday notification, he would usually copy the automated bot’s greeting and send it into the group. This time, he sent it as usual: “Happy birthday, Xiao Qing.”

The next second, Xiao Qing sent a private message on DingTalk, her tone full of pleasant surprise: “Thank you! You’re the second person among our colleagues to wish me a happy birthday!”

[Chi Zhiyue]: Was the first one Xiao Wen? I saw you two chatting.

[Xiao Qing]: It was Luo Ye!

The smile on Chi Zhiyue’s face froze instantly. His fingers, hovering over the keyboard, paused mid-air, a subtle flicker of emotion passing through the depths of his eyes.

On the screen, Xiao Qing’s messages kept popping up.

[Xiao Qing]: Just like you, he sends wishes to everyone on their birthday. But after posting in the group, he also sends a private message with a little flower emoji, hahaha.

[Chi Zhiyue]: I see, he really is a good person.

Chi Zhiyue lightly touched the ring resting against his neck and typed again.

[Chi Zhiyue]: He is indeed very kind. After he left, the wails from the editing department got quite a bit louder.

[Xiao Qing]: Hahaha, right?!

[Xiao Qing]: Anyway, thank you! [Happy emoji] I thought no one would remember my birthday.

[Chi Zhiyue]: Mm, happy birthday.

Chi Zhiyue scrolled his mouse upward, glancing once more at the very first message mentioning Luo Ye’s name.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, but said nothing. Pressing his lips together, he resumed handling his schedule for the day.

At 4:30 in the afternoon, Chi Zhiyue clocked out right on time. Grabbing his things, he briskly walked into the underground garage, started the car, and drove out.

The snow along the curbside had yet to melt. The horizon was completely clear of impurities, and the sunlight poured down softly like a sheer veil.

He drove toward the company’s main exit, parking near the roadside. From this spot, he had a clear view of the crowd entering and exiting the subway station.

The car stereo was playing a gentle song.

Chi Zhiyue hummed softly along with the melody, his gaze warmly fixed in the direction of the subway exit as he waited patiently for Luo Ye.

After waiting for who knows how long, the phone sitting on the passenger seat suddenly buzzed twice.

[Luo Ye]: I just passed the turnstile, I’ll be right there.

[Chi Zhiyue]: Okay, I’m already outside.

[Luo Ye]: Have you eaten yet?

[Chi Zhiyue]: No.

[Luo Ye]: That’s great!

Chi Zhiyue was originally holding the steering wheel with one hand and his phone with the other. Seeing the two words “That’s great” from Luo Ye, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

Leaning back against the car seat, he typed a reply with smiling eyes.

[Chi Zhiyue]: What’s up?

[Luo Ye]: I ran into that really good gimbap place I used to buy from, so I bought two rolls.

[Chi Zhiyue]: For me?

[Luo Ye]: Yeah, didn’t you say yesterday that you wanted to eat something simple?

[Luo Ye]: Don’t worry, I put them in my bag, they should still be warm.

[Luo Ye]: I’m coming out now.

Chi Zhiyue’s breath hitched for a split second.

Looking at the text on the screen, he slowly raised his head.

Yesterday, Wan Qing said that when people praise the person they like, they have no sense of restraint. Chi Zhiyue didn’t think he had exaggerated in the slightest.

The rhythm of his heartbeat right now gradually aligned with the drumbeats of the music from the car stereo. In his field of vision, only that single familiar figure remained.

Standing among the crowd, he wore a simple gray down jacket paired with neat black trousers. His tall figure stood out distinctly in the crowd; even from a distance, he was recognizable at a single glance.

With his eyes cast downward, every detail—from his hair strands to the two charming moles below—drew the eye effortlessly.

After glancing around the area, he spotted the car. Putting his phone away, his eyes crinkled into a bright smile as he walked briskly in this direction.

Behind him, an endless expanse of pristine, flawless snow stretched out like frozen waves.

The setting sun hung suspended between two towering skyscrapers, pouring down gentle golden light like a delicate necklace resting against the sky.

“So.”

Watching that figure walking toward him, Chi Zhiyue murmured under his breath.

“There’s really no stopping… the heart from fluttering.”

The shimmering gleam of a jewel is enough to make one’s heart skip a beat.

Let alone the fact that, from the very beginning, he had already fallen deeply.

(Drumbeat BGM suggestion: “Falling for U” by Peachy! / mxmtoon)

__

Author’s Note:

One thing I especially, especially love about writing from Xiao Chi’s perspective is that his capacity for love is just so strong. In his eyes, Xiao Ye is breathtakingly wonderful. He doesn’t know why his heart flutters, but all the little clues tell him that he is worth falling for over and over again.

——

In short, the two of them are a match made in heaven, hehehe.

Xiao Chi when hearing Wan Qing wanted to set Luo Ye up on a blind date: ???