Zhan Meng wandered around outside Lu Zhengting's office after coming out, finding that this company, which most people desperately tried to squeeze into, wasn't much fun. Bored, she stood by the glass window, her faint reflection staring back at her. She wondered what had possessed her earlier to pester Ning Xi into bringing her here. At home, she had food, drinks, and a cat to pet, but now that she was here, the two of them were annoyed with her, and she was utterly bored.
Secretary Zhou walked out of the elevator and spotted the unfamiliar woman standing near President Lu's office, a flicker of confusion crossing her face. She discreetly sized her up—good figure, youthful looks, but with a somewhat aloof demeanor that suggested she might not be easy to get along with. As the woman closest to Lu Zhengting in the company, Secretary Zhou naturally had a bit more insight into the boss's gossip. In her view, this woman was probably brought in by the boss's wife to compete with Xia Yan.
Zhan Meng, once she sensed someone staring at her, felt uneasy and instinctively sought out the gazer. Locking onto the suddenly appearing woman, she asked bluntly, "Hey, what are you staring at me for?"
Hearing this, Secretary Zhou's face flushed with embarrassment. Having worked in the company for so long, everyone tended to speak more euphemistically, and encountering someone so direct caught her off guard. "Sorry, that was rude of me. May I ask what you're doing standing here, miss?"
"Miss? I hate being called miss. My name is Zhan Meng. Just call me Zhan Meng."
Secretary Zhou nodded, thinking to herself, *Why are all the women connected to Lu Zhengting so peculiar? None of them match his noble, cool, and elegant vibe at all.*
"So, Zhan Meng, are you here to see President Lu?"
"No," Zhan Meng replied without a second thought. After a pause, she grabbed Secretary Zhou's wrist and pulled her aside, asking, "You know who Xia Yan is, right?"
Secretary Zhou's heart skipped a beat. *This woman must be sent by the boss's wife to compete with Xia Yan for President Lu.* She pondered, figuring Xia Yan's life was about to get even more turbulent. She lowered her head, as if confirming her own suspicion, and gave a slight nod.
Seeing this, Zhan Meng stared at Secretary Zhou, puzzled by her thoughts. "You definitely know Xia Yan. She's your boss's girlfriend. Don't try to fool me by saying you don't."
"I do know Xia Yan."
"Then tell me where she is." How could she forget there was someone else in the company she could share common ground with? Her eyes locked onto Secretary Zhou, then she suddenly added, "Do you have a crush on your boss? I'm just asking about Xia Yan, and you're hesitating this long—are you trying to avoid telling me?"
"No, Miss Zhan, don't misunderstand. I don't have a crush on President Lu. A man like him is way out of my league."
Zhan Meng snorted dismissively and laughed. "It's the 21st century now, and you're still talking about 'out of my league'? If I weren't living in this era myself, I'd think you were from ancient times. Anyway, Lu Zhengting's business is none of mine. I just want to find Xia Yan. Tell me where she is, or give me her number, and I'll contact her myself."
Secretary Zhou, hearing Zhan Meng's words, felt a wave of helplessness. This woman's reasoning screamed of someone raised in a hothouse flower environment. Class distinctions, no matter the era, couldn't be ignored by anyone. Maintaining her smile, Secretary Zhou recalled that she had checked on Xia Yan earlier and found her not in her office, so she handed over the phone number. Zhan Meng, happy to finally have a way to kill her boredom, ignored Secretary Zhou's scrutinizing gaze and dialed the number directly.
Xia Yan arrived at the project department and found Li Ru dozing off in a chair. Amused, she tapped the desk. "The boss is here."
"Hello, boss. I wasn't intentionally sleeping, I promise I won't—"
"Pfft..."
Li Ru looked up and saw it was Xia Yan, her mouth twitching. "You scared me half to death, Xia Yan. You know I'm pregnant now."
"I know, I know, my bad for scaring you. But I didn't expect you to be so easily startled."
"I can explain—it's not that I'm timid, it's that the boss is terrifying. Ask anyone in the project department; they all act like mice seeing a cat when they spot him."
"Alright, so you're comparing the boss to a cat."
"Slip of the tongue—I meant tiger. Actually, I think cats are cute and aloof. If I hadn't gotten pregnant suddenly, I was planning to get one."
"Would Yang Qi agree to you having a cat? Didn't you say he's sensitive to fur?"
"But I really want one, so he's not too opposed." Li Ru's face lit up with a happy smile. After a pause, she looked at Xia Yan. "Did you come to see me for something? Or did the boss send you to the project department?"
"I came to find you. Thanks for what happened in the break room."
"From the day you joined, didn't I say I really like you? Besides, for the sake of our friendship, I've got your back." Li Ru smiled, then pointed at Xia Yan's pocket. "Is your phone vibrating?"
"Huh?" Xia Yan felt her pocket and pulled out her phone—someone was calling. She hesitated at the unfamiliar number. Lately, she'd been getting calls from reporters, so seeing unknown numbers gave her a headache. After a moment's thought, she chose to hang up, but within a minute, the same number called again.
Annoyed, Xia Yan answered, snapping, "Don't you people ever give up?"
"Xia Yan?"
"Huh?" Xia Yan blinked. Seeing Li Ru's worried look, she pursed her lips in a smile, covered the receiver, and asked softly, "You're not a reporter?"
"Oh, I am a reporter, but I'm also Zhan Meng. I'm at Lu's Corp right now. Where are you? I'll come find you."
Realizing it was Zhan Meng, Xia Yan breathed a sigh of relief. After a brief hesitation, she said, "I'm in the project department. Do you need something?"
"Nothing, really. I'm just bored waiting for Ning Xi. I don't know what those two big shots are discussing in the office. So much pointless talk. You're in the project department, right? I'll come over now."
Zhan Meng hung up before Xia Yan could respond. Helplessly amused, Xia Yan looked at Li Ru. "Can you step out for a bit? Want to grab a drink?"
"I can walk for a while, but I can't drink with you since I'm pregnant."
"Don't overthink it. Who drinks in broad daylight? I'll introduce you to a friend."
Zhan Meng found the project department faster than Xia Yan had estimated. As soon as she saw Xia Yan, she blurted out, "Wow, what have you been through these past few days? You look so haggard. Is Lu Zhengting torturing you?"
"Keep your voice down. It's nothing like that. I've been tormented by reporters—almost every day, some stranger calls. It's driving me crazy."
"Haven't you told Lu Zhengting? He'd definitely help if he knew."
"I can't be bothered to bother him with such a small thing. He's busy investigating who's behind all this."
Zhan Meng rolled her eyes dismissively. Noticing Li Ru suddenly stand up, she was a bit surprised. "Is she pregnant?"
Li Ru nodded with a smile, expecting Zhan Meng to say something profound. Instead, Zhan Meng tilted her head, rubbed her chin, and said slowly, "This is the first time I've seen what pregnancy looks like."
Xia Yan and Li Ru were both stunned. *First time seeing a pregnant person? What does that even mean?*
"I mean, it's the first time someone I know personally is pregnant."
Hearing this, Xia Yan couldn't help asking, "Zhan Meng, how old are you?"
*Is she still a kid? Ning Xi's taste is really something.*
"Twenty-four. Why?"
Li Ru and Xia Yan exchanged glances and shook their heads.
Li Ru, being particular about food, led them to a dessert shop on the pedestrian street. The three women sat in a triangle formation, chatting about office gossip. Zhan Meng still found it boring—she'd never liked hanging out with women because she felt they brought too much drama and trouble.
"Zhan Meng, don't you like hearing this stuff?" Li Ru asked.
"Not really. But listening to you, I've concluded that women are terrifying. They can say both good and bad things."
"... Haven't you ever experienced this?" Xia Yan asked. Even in school, when she did nothing, rumors would still cling to her, so she was used to it.
Zhan Meng shook her head. "I don't know if I have. I don't care anyway."
"Don't you want to know what people say about you?"
"No. It's all the same anyway. Let me put it this way: at work, whether you do too well or too poorly, people will gossip. Most of the time, they're just bored and making trouble, or it's sour grapes."
"What about in school? You must have dealt with it then, right?" Li Ru asked curiously. Zhan Meng was the type to attract male attention anywhere, and among women, that alone was enough to stir up trouble.
Zhan Meng frowned, thinking. "You really want to know?"
"Yeah, spill it."
"In college, there was something. I think it started over a guy. Somehow, a girl in my dorm got two others to ostracize me. I was confused at first, but then I figured, at least it'd be peaceful. Later, I realized the whole class of girls was isolating me. I had to find out why—I'm not one to take things lying down."
"And then?"
"Then I investigated. I traced it back to the source and found out that girl was spreading rumors. I was furious, so I went straight to her."