Tuesday, 7:59 a.m.Zhao Xinyi stared at the message.
"Tomorrow. Coffee? Just us." — Zhou Yichen
She'd read it last night. Twice. Maybe five times. Okay, nine. Whatever.
Now she stood outside the café near the office, very much not dressed for a date (but also suspiciously glowing and lip-glossed).
He was already inside. Sitting by the window. Black coat, phone in hand, but for once — not typing. Waiting.
For her.
She walked in like her heart wasn't slamming in her chest. "So... we're having coffee now?"
He looked up. "I bribed the barista to make yours bitter enough to match your attitude."
She snorted. "Sweet. Like your emotional range."
He handed her the cup. "Still sarcastic."
"Still CEO."
They sat. They sipped. They… didn't argue. And that was maybe the strangest part.
For the first time, silence between them didn't feel like tension. It felt like possibility.
A Few Minutes Later
He spoke first.
"I read your original pitch again. The first one. The one I dismissed."
Yiyi blinked. "Why?"
"I wanted to prove you wrong," he admitted. "But it was better than mine. Smarter. Bolder."
She tilted her head. "So you wanted to beat me?"
He nodded. "Then I realized I didn't know how to work with you, only against you. That's on me."
Something fluttered in her chest.
She leaned back. "I thought you hated me."
"I did," he said quietly. "Because you weren't afraid of me."
Silence. Again. But this one was louder.
"And now?" she asked, voice almost a whisper.
He met her eyes. "Now I'm not sure I hate it."
Outside the Café
They walked back slowly, steps unhurried, shoulders almost brushing.
He stopped at the curb. Looked at her. "I don't do this. The whole... soft thing."
She smiled. "Yeah, I noticed. You're emotionally tone-deaf. But weirdly charming when you try."
His lips twitched. "You noticed that?"
"I notice everything," she said. "Unfortunately."
He stepped closer. "So what do we do now?"
She didn't move away. "Stop pretending we're just enemies, maybe."
He nodded. "I can do that."A pause."…Eventually."
She laughed. "Progress."