He stole his best friend's photos and fell for a tycoon's heir through online dating.

That paper cup—the hand-drip coffee that Huo Sinian made himself—was originally meant for her to give to Wanwan.

She, on the other hand, gulped it all down herself.

So that's what happened!

He drank the coffee that President Huo had specially prepared for his crush, and now he's incurred a small grudge.

Trading a cup of coffee for an overnight project proposal is a huge rip-off.

"What's wrong, Mr. Huo?"

Lin Wanzhi said angrily, her cheeks puffed out like a little pufferfish.

"We joined the company at the same time, why are you the only one doing the work? That's not fair!"

Xia Ruo sighed helplessly in her heart.

Wanwan, you're definitely the leading lady. Wherever you go, people will dote on you and take care of you. How could President Huo possibly make things difficult for you?

She was just a villainous supporting character, so being bullied was normal for her.

Sigh—a high salary of 100,000 is indeed not that easy to earn.

But she still managed a relaxed smile and patted Lin Wanzhi's shoulder:

"It's okay, Wanwan. You should go home and rest early. I'll stay and work overtime."

This is also a test from my boss. We can't just complain every time something goes wrong, right?

"Ruo Ruo, you are so sensible and hardworking..." Lin Wanzhi looked at her with heartache, her eyes even turning a little red.

Looking at Xia Ruo, who was so calm and sensible, Zhang Nan couldn't help but nod repeatedly, his eyes filled with admiration and praise.

-

People gradually left the office.

Xia Ruo sat alone at her workstation, facing the computer screen, her fingers resting on the keyboard, but she didn't type a single word.

It's not that she can't. In her past life, she worked like a slave at a rice company for several years, working overtime until she collapsed. What kind of plans hadn't she written? What kind of emergency requests hadn't she handled?

She's experienced writing a plan in one night, let alone having to report it at 8 a.m. the next day, with materials only being provided at 10 p.m. the night before.

In her past life, she wouldn't have even blinked at this little bit of work.

She was unhappy.

This Mr. Huo looks respectable, but his heart is smaller than a pinhole.

It's just a cup of coffee, is it really that big of a deal?

She didn't drink it on purpose; she only helped because Wanwan was afraid to drink it. Her good intentions were completely wasted.

Xia Ruo grew angrier the more she thought about it. She opened WeChat, found the pinned chat box, and started typing. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, conveying a sense of cathartic release.

"Brother, I had to stay at the company to work overtime today." A crying face followed.

"Baby, take back what you said to him this afternoon—he's inhuman! Writing a proposal in one night, is that something a human can do?"

My baby's only been at work for two days! She doesn't even know how many restrooms are in the office, and she's already required to write a proposal!

She wrote with increasing enthusiasm, her fingers almost poking through the screen:

"Brother, tell me, which legitimate company boss would let an intern who's only been there for two days write a project plan independently?"

This isn't an assessment, this is deliberately making things difficult. This isn't training, this is torture.

The baby suspects he's single and can't stand seeing others leave work on time, so he insists on dragging the whole company into it with him.

"No wonder his business isn't as big as his brother's."

"A leader like my brother must take good care of his subordinates; he wouldn't exploit newcomers like he does. There's a future in working with a boss like my brother."

After she finished writing it, she watched it from beginning to end. Yes, the resentment was spot-on, the grievance was spot-on, and the admiration for her brother was spot-on too.

He vented his emotions and solidified his public image at the same time—killing two birds with one stone. Perfect.

-

Top-floor office. Zhou Siyan sat in the darkness, only the light from his phone screen reflecting on his face.

He looked at the messages, reading them word by word, and clenched his fists.

His lips twitched slightly.

Good. Very good. The criticism was sharp, the wording precise, and the imagination rich.

A female dance major who hasn't graduated yet has a whole repertoire of insults directed at her boss.

If swearing were a professional course, she would at least get an A+.

They were criticizing Huo Sinian. They were praising Zhou Siyan. It was all about him.

One person, two identities, were placed in the "bad review section" and the "good review section" respectively in the same paragraph.

Without her knowledge, she made completely contradictory evaluations of the same person. She cursed him with gritted teeth, but praised him with genuine emotion.

Zhou Siyan leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, and slowly exhaled.

Is he really as bad as she says?

He quickly went through his own attitude towards his subordinates in his mind. Cold, stern, and unapproachable—it had nothing to do with the word "care".

An indescribable emotion spread through my heart.

Although the intention was to punish this little liar, making someone who hadn't graduated and knew nothing work overtime writing a proposal...

Was I really going too far?

Xia Ruo slammed her phone down on the table, leaned back in her chair, and let out a long sigh. That felt good.

Typing out your frustrations is definitely more effective than cursing in your mind; you feel refreshed afterward.

She picked up her phone and sent another message: "Baby, you're busy now~ Otherwise, I really won't be able to finish writing tonight. Goodnight, brother~"

Although President Huo isn't much of a character, this incident does confirm Zhou Siyan's "busy at work" persona.

Drawing on the company's years of project experience, Xia Ruo completed the first draft of the plan within an hour. Looking at the time, it was almost nine o'clock.

Xia Ruo stood up, stretched, picked up the cup on the table, and walked towards the break room. Instant coffee—a must-have for overtime work, a lifesaver.

She tore off a strip and poured it into a cup, filled it with hot water, stirred it with a small spoon, and watched the brown powder swirl in the hot water, slowly dissolving and emitting a cheap but reassuring aroma.

She turned around, holding her cup, and stepped out of the tea room.

Then I bumped into a wall.

It's not a wall. It's a person.

Warm coffee spilled from the cup, arcing across the man's dark gray suit sleeve, running down his arm and leaving a dark stain on his white shirt cuff.

The paper cup slipped from Xia Ruo's hand, bounced twice on the ground, and leftover coffee splattered on her shoes.

Who is it? Aren't you the only one working overtime? Hasn't everyone on this floor left?

She looked up.

Huo Sinian looked down at her.

The corridor lights shone from behind him, dividing his face into two halves—one in the light, cold and sharp as if carved by a knife; the other in the shadows, deep and unfathomable as a still pool.

Her gaze moved down and landed on the back of his hand.

The area burned by the coffee turned red at a visible speed, gradually changing from a light pink to a deep red.

Xia Ruo was so frightened that she froze, her mind going blank.

Finished!