Fishing in troubled waters
Tang Yizhuo is definitely hiding something from her, and the answer lies in that locked drawer. The more he tries to hide it, the more she wants to see it!
Xu Luoluo's principle in life is that the more unattainable something is, the more determined she is to get it. While she was thinking about how to secretly get her hands on the key, she revised her resume and handed it to someone next to her who had just finished a game.
Tang Yizhuo glanced at it and nodded: "That's about enough, let's call it a day." He then stood up, as if to see the guests off.
Xu Luoluo glanced longingly at the drawer, earning a frown from Tang Yizhuo.
"I'm leaving, bye-bye." Seeing that things were going badly, it was best to leave. Xu Luoluo grabbed her bag and documents and ran out the door without looking back.
After she closed the door, Tang Yizhuo opened the drawer, took out the contents, looked at them quietly for a while, then took out a pen and crossed out a line of text. He then took out his phone and sent a message. As evening grew darker, Tang Yizhuo sat with his back to the light, his expression becoming increasingly indistinct.
When Xu Luoluo got home, she felt aches and pains all over her back, so she lay in bed and browsed rental listings on real estate websites. Perhaps her neighborhood was too popular, because she couldn't find any apartments available for rent. Undeterred, Xu Luoluo searched the surrounding neighborhoods but only found a couple of listings. Afraid that they would be snapped up if she was too slow, she quickly called to schedule a viewing and also emailed Su Ze for his opinion.
A few minutes later, her phone pinged; it was an email from Su Ze. So fast? Xu Luoluo was a little surprised. Seeing Su Ze's meticulous manner, she had assumed he would never reply to emails outside of work hours. But after reading the content, she understood why it was so quick.
"Ms. Xu, thank you. But I've already found a place and will be moving in tomorrow, so there's no need to trouble you. Su Ze"
The email was incredibly efficient, and it seemed like Su Ze was trying to avoid her at all costs. Xu Luoluo carefully examined the email's wording, which resembled a friend card, and confirmed that it wasn't just a "seemingly"—Su Ze genuinely wanted to stay as far away from her as possible.
This man is really... I just want to ravage him. Xu Luoluo thought wickedly, what kind of expression would he have on his unapproachable face if he found out that he would be spending a long time with her from now on?
With this in mind, she went through the notes she had compiled at Tang Yizhuo's house and her new resume again, just waiting for her interview next week with the story planner for the mobile game project of "Mist Spirit". According to Tang Yizhuo, the game already had a mature PC version, with established reputation and market presence. The market risks of adapting it for mobile were relatively easy to control, the project cost wasn't high, and the development period wouldn't be too long—a sure-fire way to make money for a newcomer like her. Going through the process with this project first would build a solid resume and pave the way for future projects.
With Tang Yizhuo's recommendation, her resume is sure to be accepted; it all comes down to the interview.
She was quite lucky; the lead planner for this mobile game was Chen Shanshan. She had occasionally run into her in meetings and even discussed Chen's screenwriting work, so she was fairly familiar with Chen's abilities. Therefore, the interview focused on her story planning skills, an area where Tang Yizhuo had already provided pre-exam coaching, so Xu Luoluo answered fluently.
A few days later, after receiving an email notification, Xu Luoluo packed her things and moved from the administration department to the planning department.
As one of the company's core departments, the planning department's office area is much larger than the administration department's. A row of meeting rooms runs along one side of the office area, used for daily meetings by various project teams. At the far end of the office area are the offices of the lead planners and producers; Su Ze, Tang Yizhuo, and Chen Shanshan's offices are all located there.
The mobile game "Mist Spirit" had two story planners. Chen Shanshan's idea was for one to be responsible for the main gameplay and the other for creative adaptations. Xu Luoluo was clearly the latter, and her seat was arranged next to the other story planner, Wu Yue.
"Xiao Wu." Xu Luoluo smiled sweetly at Wu Yue and handed him a box of chocolates she had prepared beforehand. "I'll be looking forward to your guidance from now on."
Xiao Wu blushed instantly, tugged at his sleeve, took the chocolate, and stammered, "Let's teach each other."
Xu Luoluo returned to her seat with satisfaction. It seemed her charm hadn't diminished at all; Su Ze really did have a problem with his taste.
During lunchtime, Xu Luoluo politely declined the invitation from her administrative colleagues, instead suggesting they go shopping on the weekend as compensation. She then decided to have lunch with Wu Yue and other members of the planning department at a Sichuan-style restaurant next to the company.
Wu Yue, true to his background as a scriptwriter, is quite the repressed flirt. On the surface, he's a shy, straight man, but once you get to know him, he's a chatterbox; there's probably no gossip in the company he doesn't know. His only weakness is that, being single all this time, he has zero experience with the opposite sex, and he blushes whenever he talks to a pretty girl.
"That's a rather cute weakness," Xu Luoluo thought. "So Su Ze is so calm because he's been through so many battles?"
Before she could even speak, someone else had already said, "Let me tell you, the new lead planner, Su Ze, is actually single too."
Immediately, a girl retorted: "What do you mean? Someone like you is called a single dog, while Su Ze's conditions are those of a golden bachelor."
The man snorted defiantly and fell silent.
The girl gave a soft hum and turned her head away.
However, those with keen insight, like Xu Luoluo, had already quietly noted that Su Ze's current status was: romanceable.
Xu Luoluo glanced around at her colleagues, each with their own thoughts, and thought to herself, "Gossip really is the source of social interaction. I should participate in more of these kinds of activities in the future; they're so interesting." However, she thought, "Su Ze isn't going to give it to you guys; you should just give up."
Just as she was thinking this, Wu Yue nudged her arm, and Xu Luoluo looked at him in confusion.
"Do you think so too?" he asked softly, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.
“I think men who work hard are the most handsome.” Xu Luoluo answered irrelevantly, but Wu Yue seemed to be encouraged by something, and his eyes lit up.
After a while, he whispered again, "Why don't we go back and discuss the proposal first?"
"..." Xu Luoluo suddenly felt like she had shot herself in the foot, so she reluctantly left the gossip center and went back to the office area with Wu Yue to work hard!
The advantage of coming back early is that it makes it easier to observe others. For example, they had only been back a short while when they saw Tang Yizhuo strolling back to his office. Contrary to expectations of being surrounded by admirers, he actually came back alone. Xu Luoluo was somewhat surprised and met Tang Yizhuo's casual gaze. The two stared at each other expressionlessly for a few seconds before quickly looking away.
The two had already made a pact: in the company, they would pretend not to know each other if possible. Although Xu Luoluo was recommended by Tang Yizhuo, some relationships were best kept secret by the higher-ups. Being able to mingle with everyone required you to avoid any nepotistic connections with superiors. Who likes someone who could become their spy at any moment?
Then Su Ze returned, accompanied by an unfamiliar face, presumably his newly hired assistant. It's rare for a chief planner to have a dedicated assistant; it seems he's highly valued by the company. Su Ze naturally ignored her, even intentionally speeding up as he passed her. Xu Luoluo thought to herself, "Running so fast, is a ghost chasing you?" Realizing she'd compared herself to a ghost, her expression darkened, startling Wu Yue beside her. He cautiously asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Xu Luoluo came back to her senses and stuck out her tongue sheepishly. "I think I ate too much at noon and I feel dizzy."
"Huh? Then you should take a rest." Wu Yue scratched his head in annoyance. Why did he keep making people work without giving them a break?
Xu Luoluo nodded in agreement. She did feel a little dizzy, but it wasn't from being too full; it was from being angry with Su Ze.
With the attitude of "if you fall, you'll get back up and take off again," she decided to meet Su Ze. Of course, not at the company; too many people and eyes could easily damage her relationships and career prospects. So she decided to stalk him.
She would never have stooped to such a thing; it would lower her standards too much. When had Xu Luoluo ever needed to put in this kind of effort to pursue a man? Of course, except for those two setbacks at T Company. Tang Yizhuo was one thing, but she was determined to have Su Ze. However, Su Ze was now guarding her like a thief, and under this impenetrable, all-around defense, she had no choice but to resort to this tactic.
Whether it was because Su Ze was too wary or Xu Luoluo's tracking skills were too poor, on that incredibly crowded road after get off work, Xu Luoluo was caught by Su Ze after only a few steps.
"Is there something you need?" Su Ze frowned, looking impatient.
Very well, she even skipped the politeness. Xu Luoluo's few remaining feelings of guilt vanished, and she straightened her back confidently: "I'm going home."
Su Ze said expressionlessly, "Is that so? Then you can go first."
"Fine, I'll go!" Xu Luoluo lifted her foot to leave, but then stopped abruptly, as if remembering something. She narrowed her eyes unfriendly at Su Ze's "I knew it" expression: "Why should I walk ahead of you? What if you're following me?"
"I followed you?" Su Ze laughed angrily, too lazy to listen to her sophistry any longer. "Suit yourself."
Hey, why isn't he playing by the rules? Shouldn't he say we should walk side by side and see who's following whom? Xu Luoluo's provocation failed, so she simply kept quiet and continued walking with her head down.
This walk led them all the way to the entrance of the residential area.
"You live here too?" Su Ze turned around and said sarcastically.
It's rare that he still remembers to follow her. Xu Luoluo was also a little surprised that he lived here. Could this be the legendary fate?
Since that's the case, there's no need to worry about which building he lives in; we'll run into him eventually.
So Xu Luoluo raised her head and said, "What do you think?" Then she tossed her hair and walked away first, leaving Su Ze with a dashing back view.
Could it really be a misunderstanding? Su Ze frowned and watched the woman, whose back was radiating anger, stride away.
She just didn't expect to run into him again while waiting for the elevator. Xu Luoluo smiled with great composure: "What a coincidence." It was really a smile, so subtle that it was almost invisible.
Su Ze nodded with a complicated expression: "It is a coincidence."
As the two entered the elevator, Xu Luoluo pressed the button for the 26th floor and looked at Su Ze questioningly, only to find that his expression had become even more unpleasant. After a long while, he uttered, "I also live on the 26th floor."
"Oh." Xu Luoluo lowered her hand expressionlessly, but inwardly she was overjoyed. So Tang Yizhuo had rented his house to him. Well, this was a lucky accident.
When they reached the 26th floor, the elevator doors opened, and the two silently stepped out of the elevator one after the other, each taking out their keys to open the door.
Before entering, Xu Luoluo couldn't help but glance back, only to see Su Ze open and close the door with lightning speed and disappear.
Really... what's a grown man afraid of? She's not going to eat him. However, she smiled and slowly closed the door. With such a convenient position, she wasn't sure she could control herself.
Meanwhile, in the apartment on the other side, Tang Yizhuo picked up a glass of rum, took a sip, and glanced down at the rental agreement on the table. Next to the name of the second party at the end of the contract was a bold, flamboyant signature: Su Ze. He couldn't help but slightly curl his lips into a smile. This water was meant to be stirred up so that it would be easier to fish, wasn't it?
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