The morning started normally.
Until Xu Yinyin arrived… with one shoe missing.
She limped into the office, holding a high heel in one hand and a half-eaten bun in the other. Her ID badge was upside down, and her blazer was inside-out.
"Traffic jam," she announced, chewing.
No one had asked.
Her deskmate stared. "Why are you barefoot?"
"The shoe broke," she said. "But don't worry. I filed a complaint to the universe. Should be processed in three to five business days."
Then she slammed her laptop open, knocked over her coffee, and used her blazer sleeve to wipe it up—still inside out.
Two desks away, Li Qianqian whispered into her phone, "She's worse today. It's like she drank energy drinks and drama at the same time."
"Who are you talking to?" Yinyin asked loudly.
Qianqian jumped. "N-No one! I was checking the weather!"
Yinyin leaned over and stage-whispered, "You're indoors."
"I was checking if it's CEO Zeyan's temperature today—cold and cloudy with a 90% chance of ignoring everyone."
They both burst out laughing.
Except someone behind them cleared their throat.
Xu Yinyin turned around mid-laugh—and found Lu Zeyan standing there with a folder in hand and a face made of stone.
She blinked. "Oh. Hello, CEO Lu. Did you need gossip or coffee?"
He handed her the folder. "Neither. You're late on this report."
"Am I?" She opened the folder upside down. "Oh, look at that. Pages. Fascinating."
He stared at her for a long moment.
She stared back, then suddenly grinned. "Your shoes are shiny today. Did someone polish them with fear?"
Qianqian gasped. Interns nearby froze.
Lu Zeyan's eyebrow twitched.
"I'll fix the report," Yinyin said quickly. "Faster than you can fire me."
"Let's hope so," he said calmly. "I'm extremely efficient at firing people."
"Hot," Yinyin muttered under her breath.
He paused again.
Then walked away without a word.
At lunch, Qianqian shoved her tray across the cafeteria table. "Are you trying to die? That man has the emotional warmth of a tax document."
Yinyin bit into a dumpling. "I think he enjoys my personality."
"He looked like he was calculating your severance package in real time."
"Exactly," Yinyin winked. "It means I'm living rent-free in his cold, cold mind."
Qianqian shook her head. "One day he's going to snap and throw you out the window."
Yinyin leaned in dramatically. "And I'll land like a cat. In heels. In style."
A silence fell over the table.
"…You're seriously not normal," Qianqian whispered.
"Neither is he," Yinyin said, glancing across the cafeteria.
There was Lu Zeyan, eating alone with a tablet, typing with clinical precision and no visible emotion.
But for a second—just a flicker—his eyes lifted and landed on her.
And his thumb missed the screen.
Only for half a second.
But Xu Yinyin noticed.
And she smirked.
.