The next morning, I woke up with a splitting headache. As I stepped outside my room, an odd, uneasy feeling crept in.
I paused, looked around—nothing. No one was there. Shaking it off, I shut the door behind me and went to get some water.
Manager Li and the other employees were already having breakfast.
"Morning," I greeted them, and we all quietly resumed our tasks. But that weird feeling… it didn't go away. I couldn't shake it off.
Just as I took a sip of water, Xiang walked in—and the entire room gasped and burst into laughter.
I turned around to see what the fuss was about, and I spat out the water I 'd just drunk.
I couldn't believe my eyes.
He looked exactly like he did three years ago—the same shirt, the same pants, the same worn sports shoes… and, of course, his first three buttons were unbuttoned, just like before.
That's when it hit me.
That was the bad feeling I had earlier. It wasn't some sixth sense about disaster—it was just him.
On one side, the employees were fawning over him, praising how handsome he looked. On the other side, Assistant Gu appeared beside me, eyeing my stunned face.
"Why are you in shock?" he asked, nudging me.
"Look at Xiang," I said, still staring.
Gu gave him a glance and smirked. "Ohh, so he finally came to his senses."
I blinked at Gu and asked, "What… what happened?"
"Is he going through puberty or something? Why is he acting like this?"
Gu laughed. "I joked yesterday about him being an old man. Guess he took it to heart and decided to 'transform.'"
Both of us were genuinely in disbelief. Even if he wanted to look young again, there was absolutely no need to unbutton the first three buttons.
Right?
Still in shock, I set my glass down and started to walk away.
That's when Xiang ran up to me.
"Wait!" he called.
I stopped and turned around, forcing my voice to sound formal. "Do you need anything, Mr. Xiang?"
He did a little spin and grinned. "How do I look?"
I stared at him and replied honestly, "You look like a lost kid in a dressing room—excited, confused, and kinda proud."
For a moment, he went quiet. Then he whined, "Zhou Ye, can't you just praise me? Look how handsome I am!"
His confidence made my face twitch with awkwardness. I clapped slowly , gave him a thumbs-up, and said flatly, "Yeah, yeah, you look handsome.
Can I go now, Mr. Xiang?"
I turned to leave, but then he called out again, "Do you know what happened last night?"
He said it in a dramatic, haunted tone, like he was warning me before I stepped into a horror movie.
I turned back and gave him the "I'm-not-convinced-but-go-on" look.
"What happened last night?" I asked cautiously.
"You were more mischievous than Gu," he said with a mock-serious face.
Assistant Gu happened to pass by right then and added smugly, "Hey!
No one can beat me. Mind it."
Xiang shot him a death glare, while I stood there in disbelief.
Does this man ever stop joking? Even in serious moments?
Then Xiang leaned in and said, "You grabbed my hand… and pulled me close… and then you started to—"
"Stop!" I cut him off immediately. "What are you even saying, Xiang?!
Don't you think before you speak?!"
"Why should I? It's what happened yesterday. You even said—"
"Said what?"
"That I looked like your crush."
My mouth dropped. I slapped my hand over it, mind racing like I was solving a math problem—and failing miserably.
"I didn't say that!" I said, trying to salvage my dignity. "Are you making this up, Mr. Xiang?!"
He smirked like a villain in a K-drama. "Why would I make it up, Miss Ye?"
I ran to my room, slammed the door, and locked it.
Pacing around like a maniac, I grabbed my phone and called Xin.
"Now what did you do?" she answered casually. "Is it serious?"
"Yes!" I cried. "I did something I shouldn't have done!"
There was a beat of silence. Then I screamed into the phone, "Xin~~~ can you stop with the jokes?
I'm serious!"
Xin sighed and tried to calm me down. "Okay, okay.
Tell me what happened."
I recounted the entire mess from this morning.
She literally screamed. "Ye! You should drink less!
You know you can't handle it—why were you even drinking?!"
Then she laughed.
I groaned. "Xin! What do I do?!"
"Just act normal. Pretend it didn't happen. But also, think back—did you say anything that connected to him… from three years ago?"
I fell silent and nodded slowly. "Yes... I did."
Xin squealed. "Then congratulations, my girl! You finally made a move!"
And with that, she cut the call.
"Hey! I'm being serious here!" I yelled into the phone. "Why is everyone making fun of me?!"