Familiar Silhouette
The sound of Wang Xiaoxi's hurried footsteps echoed as she descended the lobby stairs. Her mind focused solely on the large glass doors ahead — the exit that marked the end of her difficult mission that morning.
But at the same moment, the main doors swung open. Wei Yu Chen entered with Jiang Fan. His tall figure was wrapped in a neatly tailored dark suit, his stride steady yet unhurried, as if time itself moved slower around him.
In a single fleeting instant, they passed each other.
Wei Yu Chen, by chance, turned his head. From his point of view, he only caught a glimpse of a woman's silhouette — hair tied simply, shoulders tense, and hurried steps. Her face was almost hidden, but that outline of her back… for some reason, it felt strangely familiar.
His brows furrowed faintly. Where have I seen her before?
Before his thoughts could connect the fragments of memory, Jiang Fan's voice broke his reverie.
"What is it, Ge? Do you know her?"
Wei Yu Chen blinked lightly, then gave a short shake of his head.
"No… no one important."
Yet inside, doubt lingered. Something about that figure — even just her back — unsettled his mind.
On the other side, Xiaoxi didn't turn her head once. She walked quickly through the glass doors, head lowered, as if trying to escape from something she didn't even realize was watching her. Relief filled her chest the moment she returned to the noisy chaos of the street outside.
Two worlds brushed for only a second, then drifted apart once more.
While one refused to acknowledge a sense of familiarity, the other hadn't even realized how close they truly were.
Two Hours of Sleep and a Cup of Coffee
The outside air greeted Wang Xiaoxi with a breeze carrying the remnants of morning drizzle. She descended the steps of X Dragon's building quickly, pressing the empty folder to her chest as if it were a shield from the world.
As soon as the glass doors closed behind her, she exhaled deeply — almost like someone who had just escaped an interrogation room.
"Oh God… finally done. If I'd stayed in that room one more minute, I might've fainted in front of everyone," she muttered quietly.
Her stomach growled, her eyes stung after only two hours of sleep, and her head still throbbed from the previous night's overtime. She reached for her phone, opening a ride-hailing app — but her fingers froze when she saw her reflection in the glass shelter across the street.
Messy hair, panda-like dark circles, and a gloomy expression like a zombie just risen from the grave. Xiaoxi gently slapped her own face.
"Wang Xiaoxi… at this rate, you'll end up trending again. Not because of the airport extinguisher this time, but because people think there's a ghost haunting the office building."
She sighed in frustration, then patted her cheeks twice, trying to summon energy. Instead, her stomach growled loudly, making her bow her head in embarrassment even though no one was around to hear it.
"Typical starving corporate slave… coffee. I need coffee. Right now."
That was how busy Xiaoxi's life had become — she'd even forgotten to feed her own body. If her stomach hadn't complained, she probably wouldn't have remembered to refuel at all.
Xiaoxi finally dragged her tired feet toward a small café near the building. She bought a cup of hot coffee and a slice of cake, staring at the rising steam as if it were holy light. The first sip made her sigh with relief, as though the world finally made sense again, even just a little.
What she didn't realize was that, behind the café's glass wall, a man in an elegant black suit stood in front of X Dragon's lobby. He walked inside, and his shadow disappeared behind the large glass doors.
Their paths crossed once more — yet still without touching.
As if fate itself took pleasure in toying with the timing of their encounters.
The Missed Meeting
Wei Yu Chen stepped into the X Dragon building, briefly acknowledging the staff who bowed respectfully as he passed. His face remained calm, but his aura of authority discouraged anyone from interrupting his stride. Jiang Fan followed behind, eyes glued to his phone as he reviewed the messages summarizing the just-ended meeting.
"How did the meeting go without me?" Yu Chen asked evenly, his deep voice carrying quiet power.
The secretary, who had been waiting by the elevator doors, quickly approached with a folder in hand.
"Mr. Wei, the meeting went smoothly. I've compiled all the notes here," she said, offering the blue folder with slightly trembling hands.
Yu Chen accepted it without comment, flipping open the first page. His eyes moved quickly and precisely — the gaze of an actor used to reading scripts, but with the judgment of a producer weighing every detail.
"Not bad," he murmured, though his tone remained cool. "But I want an additional report this afternoon — specifically about the main character's dialogue flow. I don't want any gaps in the script."
Behind him, Jiang Fan let out a small sigh.
"Ge, you haven't even rested since the Milan flight. Can't you ease up a little?"
Yu Chen closed the folder with a light tap, then glanced at his assistant. A faint, composed smile touched his lips — fleeting, yet firm.
"The world doesn't grant room for carelessness, Fan. And I don't have the luxury for it."
The elevator chimed open, and the two stepped inside. The doors slid shut, reflecting the calm silhouette of the man everyone knew as a movie star — yet who secretly still carried the faint, persistent thought of the woman's shadow he'd seen passing through the lobby.
An Endless Routine
The office clock ticked softly as Wang Xiaoxi finally collapsed into her chair. The computer on her desk was already on, waiting to be filled again with the endless world of scripts and revisions.
She stared at the blank screen for a few seconds, then lowered her head, resting her forehead against the desk.
"Why does my life feel like a never-ending drama… except I'm not even the lead — just a background character typing dialogue over and over again."
A notification from the company app forced her to lift her head.
A new email — from the production department. Xiaoxi exhaled deeply, then opened the attachment containing more revision notes.
"Seriously? I almost died of sleep deprivation last night finishing that draft, and now there's another round of notes?" she muttered, voice near hysterical. Her fingers ran through her hair, making it even messier.
Her coworker across the desk looked up, chuckling.
"Xiaoxi, you're being dramatic again. Keep that up and you'll actually become the main character of a workplace comedy."
Xiaoxi turned with a gloomy face.
"I've already gone viral once because of that extinguisher incident. I don't need to add the title 'stressed-out editor who talks to herself at work.'"
Even so, she reached for the cup of cold coffee sitting in the corner of her desk and forced herself to focus.
As she typed, she muttered under her breath, as if talking to herself.
"Alright, Wang Xiaoxi… hang in there. If you can survive this week without collapsing, maybe there's still hope for your life to get better. Maybe…"