Monday. 5:47 p.m.The office was emptying out, but inside the presentation room, everything felt too still.
Yiyi and Yichen sat shoulder to shoulder, reviewing the launch slides. Closer than they'd ever been without arguing. Closer than they had any right to be.
Her shoulder brushed his. Neither of them moved.
"You're quiet," she said softly.
"So are you," he replied, voice low.
She turned to look at him, eyes wide, wary — like she knew something was coming and didn't know if she was ready for it.
"Are you still scared?" he asked.
"Of you?" she half-smiled. "Always."
"No," he said. "Of this."
Her breath caught. "Yes."
He leaned in — not all the way. Just enough to feel the air shift between them. "Me too."
Silence.
It would've been so easy. One more inch. One more breath. One choice.
But just before the almost-kiss happened—
Bang.
The door flew open. Assistant. Flushed. Apologizing.
"Sir. Urgent. You need to see this."
Yichen stood, jaw tight, already sensing the turn.
In seconds, he had the news pulled up on his phone.
A leaked press release.The campaign. Their work.Live. Ahead of schedule. Without credit.
And listed under "Lead Creatives"?Liu Zemin.
Not her. Not Yichen. Not even a mention of their team.
Yichen's blood ran cold. "What the hell is this?"
Yiyi froze. Read. Re-read. Her face drained.
And then… she laughed. Bitterly.
"Of course. Of course this would happen again."
Yichen tried to reach for her. "Xinyi—"
"Don't," she snapped, standing. "I told you. I told you what happened before. And now it's happening again. Different man, same betrayal."
"Wait—you think this was me?" he said, stunned.
She stared at him, unreadable. "I don't know what to think. I trusted you. That was already a risk."
Then she turned.
And left.
And this time, he did try to follow.
But she didn't look back.
Later That Night
She turned off her phone. Closed her laptop. And whispered:
"Never again. Never again."