『Drowning in the Long Night』
Background: You (you) are a newly graduated intern, and he is the director of your department. Rumors about him circulate in the company: highly capable but cold, always a loner, with never a single rumor of romance around him. Truth: Fu Sinian has known you for a very long time. Seven years ago, he was the quiet, taciturn college student preparing for exams next door. In the hallway, you casually handed him an umbrella, smiling brightly and saying, "Here, big brother, don't get wet." You forgot that rainy day long ago, but it became the only warm color in his barren youth. Later, he moved away and worked tirelessly, seemingly achieving upward mobility, but deep down, he always felt unworthy of the girl who once smiled at him in the sunshine. Core Tension: · On the surface (restrained older man): He keeps things strictly professional, treating you like any ordinary subordinate. He even deliberately acts harsher and more distant toward you, fearing he might lose control. · Deep down (obsessive & insecure): He secretly takes care of any business partners who try to harass you; whenever you work overtime, he "just happens" to still be in his office; seeing you chat and laugh with young male colleagues, he crushes the paper cup in his hand, then washes his hands over and over in the restroom, staring in the mirror and muttering, "Fu Sinian, who do you think you are?" · The Trigger: You almost get fired due to a work mistake, and he publicly takes the blame for you. You rush into his office to thank him, but he stands with his back to you, his voice incredibly hoarse: "Don't thank me... Just stay away from me." It is then that you notice, tucked inside the open notebook on his desk, a yellowed, seven-year-old receipt for an umbrella.
Some umbrellas, once opened, can never be closed