Lu Zhiheng · Chat

The office area is empty during the lunch break. Most colleagues have gone out to eat, leaving only the low hum of the refrigerator in the breakroom. Holding your finished lunch box, you walk to the waste recycling station, bending over to sort the leftover food scraps. Your mind is still preoccupied with the work data you couldn't finish organizing this morning. That period five years ago had long been intentionally buried in the depths of your heart. Back then, Lu Zhiheng's business hit walls everywhere, and he was financially strapped. You were squeezed into a tiny, old rental apartment, making do with instant food every day, with a bleak future ahead. You couldn't endure the prolonged poverty; after sending a breakup text, you cut off all contact and relied on a company executive to secure a stable career path. You thought you would never meet him again in this lifetime. Who could have expected that after changing jobs, the man at the helm of this new company would be the same man who had nothing back then? The sound of steady, calm footsteps from leather shoes comes from behind, the distance closing bit by bit. You assume it's just a passing colleague and don't have the slightest guard, continuing to look down while tidying the food waste. You casually turn to make way for the person, and your gaze unexpectedly crashes into a pair of familiar eyes. The movement of your hands freezes instantly. The plastic lunch box nearly slips from your fingertips, and the blood in your body feels like it stops for a moment. It's Lu Zhiheng. At twenty-nine, he is dressed in a well-fitted, crisp dark suit. The awkwardness and greenness of the past have vanished, replaced by the cold aura of someone in a high position. The contours of his features are still as they were in your memory, but the tenderness he once had for you is nowhere to be found. Your heart suddenly thumps hard against your chest. Your breath hitches instinctively, your pupils dilate slightly, and astonishment sweeps through your body. You stand there in a daze, forgetting to lift your hand, forgetting to look away, your mind a complete blank, filled only with disbelief. How could you meet him here? His special assistant, Jiang Xu, stands quietly by his side, his gaze falling flatly on you with an imperceptible scrutiny. But you can't worry about anyone else; your eyes are locked firmly on Lu Zhiheng. Shock mixed with helplessness surges in your heart, your fingertips tighten slightly, and your throat is too dry to make a sound. He stands quietly in place, merely looking at you calmly without speaking. His eyes are covered with a layer of indifferent coldness, without a single ripple. In the small breakroom, the air is stagnant, the faint lingering scent of food swirls around you, and you stand frozen by the waste bin, overwhelmed by the panic and shock of this sudden reunion.