Chapter 2 | He Came Back Too
At two in the afternoon, the first internal review meeting for the Annual Project began right on time.
Xu Zhiqing arrived in the conference room ten minutes early.
She connected the presentation to the projector, then checked the materials on the table once more. Each document had a different number printed in its lower-right corner, identifying its holder and making it easier to trace the source of any leak.
This was a precaution she'd added at the last minute that morning.
Lin Wanting had initially thought it was unnecessary.
"It's just an internal selection, not some kind of state secret."
Xu Zhiqing hadn't explained. She'd only said the client had strict requirements, and being careful was better than scrambling to fix things afterward.
She couldn't tell anyone that the person she was truly guarding against was the new hire who had been on the job for less than half a day and had already located the project folder with pinpoint accuracy.
The conference room door opened.
Lin Wanting walked in carrying her laptop, with Su Yanxi following behind her.
Xu Zhiqing looked up.
"Why is she here?"
Lin Wanting paused.
"The manager asked her to come. She said Yanxi could sit in."
Su Yanxi stood in the doorway, a trace of discomfort on her face.
"If this is inconvenient, I can leave."
That was what she said, but she didn't move.
"The list of attendees was confirmed this morning. Your name wasn't on it."
Xu Zhiqing's tone was perfectly calm.
"And you haven't completed the confidentiality procedures yet."
"HR just finished them."
Su Yanxi took a document from her folder.
"The manager also applied for temporary access for me. If you still think it's inappropriate, I can go ask him again."
Every procedure had been completed within just a few hours.
So quickly, it was as if someone had been waiting for her to come in all along.
Xu Zhiqing took the document and read it carefully.
It did, in fact, bear the signatures of the HR manager and Chen Jiawei.
She had no reason to stop her anymore.
"Sit in the back."
"Okay."
Su Yanxi smiled.
She chose a seat closest to the projector screen, still leaving two empty chairs between herself and the so-called back row.
Xu Zhiqing noticed, but she didn't argue with her over something so trivial.
The other coworkers attending the meeting arrived one after another.
At exactly two, Chen Jiawei walked in with several managers.
Xu Zhiqing had assumed this was merely an internal department review until she saw the marketing VP among them.
Everyone immediately stood up.
"There's no need to be so tense. Today, we're just here to hear everyone's direction first."
The VP took the seat at the head of the table.
"This project is very important to the company. The client will also be sending a new person in charge to participate in the subsequent selection process, so our internal proposals need to be more complete than ever."
"A new person in charge?"
Chen Jiawei clearly hadn't heard the news either.
"Director Zhang left the company last week."
The VP opened the presentation on the table.
"I hear the person taking over just returned from overseas. He's pretty direct and places a lot of importance on data. He'll come to the company in person next week to hear the formal proposal."
Xu Zhiqing didn't pay particular attention to that.
Whoever the client assigned, she had to win this project.
She'd spent nearly three months preparing this proposal.
From consumer interviews to competitor brand analysis, she'd organized every piece of data herself. If she could pass the internal selection smoothly, she'd have a chance to become the official project lead.
This wasn't only about a promotion.
It was also the first time in her five years at the company that she'd be able to lead a major project fully under her own name.
"Let's begin."
Xu Zhiqing walked over beside the projector screen.
The first slide appeared in front of everyone.
She didn't look at her notes.
"The problem we're facing isn't insufficient brand awareness. It's that consumers know the brand, but don't feel that it has anything to do with them."
A set of market data appeared on the screen.
"Over the past three years, brand awareness among consumers under twenty-five has remained above seventy-two percent, but the actual purchase rate is only eleven percent."
She explained the brand's current situation according to the planned pacing, then presented three core directions for repositioning it.
The conference room gradually fell silent.
The managers who had still been flipping through their materials began looking up at the screen.
This was a state Xu Zhiqing knew well.
Once she stood at the presentation podium, she no longer needed to care about anyone else's eyes or guess what anyone truly thought.
Data didn't pretend to be innocent.
Survey results wouldn't change their story after she turned around.
All she needed to do was prove her judgment.
Halfway through the presentation, someone suddenly knocked on the conference room door.
An assistant stood outside.
"Sorry to interrupt, VP, but a representative from the client just arrived unexpectedly."
The VP immediately stood.
"Why wasn't I notified ahead of time?"
"He said he was just passing by and wanted to get an early look at our preparation progress."
Several managers exchanged glances.
The formal proposal hadn't even begun, yet the client had shown up early. No one knew what, exactly, he wanted to see.
"Send him in."
Xu Zhiqing switched off the laser pointer and stepped aside for the moment.
Low voices drifted in from outside.
A man in a dark suit walked into the conference room.
He was more broad-shouldered than Xu Zhiqing remembered, and the warmth that had once softened his features had faded, replaced by a distant coldness that made him difficult to approach.
Two employees from the client's company followed behind him.
The VP hurried forward to greet him.
"Director Zhou, I didn't expect you to come in person today."
Zhou Yuheng.
Standing beside the projector screen, Xu Zhiqing felt a taut string snap inside her mind.
When she'd seen Su Yanxi that morning, she'd at least been able to remind herself to stay calm.
Now, she even forgot to breathe for a moment.
Over the past five years, she'd imagined countless times what it would be like to see Zhou Yuheng again.
Maybe at a mutual friend's wedding, or in a restaurant or on some street.
She'd imagined pretending not to care, or giving him a polite nod as if he were an old acquaintance who had long since ceased to matter.
But she'd never imagined he'd appear on the same day Su Yanxi joined the company.
Even less had she imagined that he would become the client-side lead for this project.
"Sorry for dropping by unexpectedly."
Zhou Yuheng shook the VP's hand.
His gaze swept across the conference room before finally stopping on Xu Zhiqing.
In that instant, the calm expression on his face visibly changed.
Xu Zhiqing knew he hadn't expected to see her either.
Their eyes met across the long table.
There was no greeting.
And no one knew what they had once been to each other.
"Yuheng?"
A soft voice rose from the back of the conference room.
Su Yanxi stood up.
She looked at Zhou Yuheng, the surprise in her eyes even more pronounced than it had been when she saw Xu Zhiqing that morning.
"Is that really you?"
Everyone's attention focused on her again.
Xu Zhiqing suddenly found the scene a little ridiculous.
On the same day, Su Yanxi had recognized two people she hadn't been in touch with for five years with the exact same delighted expression.
As if she were the one fate had returned to everyone's side.
Zhou Yuheng looked at her, his brows drawing together slightly.
"What are you doing here?"
"I just started today."
Su Yanxi walked toward the front.
"I didn't expect to run into you here. Zhiqing is here too. Did you see her?"
She brought up Xu Zhiqing naturally, as if the three of them were still the close friends they'd been years ago.
Zhou Yuheng didn't answer her.
His gaze fell on Xu Zhiqing again.
"I saw her."
Those three short words made the atmosphere in the entire conference room subtly change.
The VP looked surprised.
"Director Zhou, you know one of our employees too?"
"We knew each other before."
Zhou Yuheng answered.
Xu Zhiqing tightened her grip on the laser pointer, just slightly.
We knew each other before.
It was an accurate description.
Accurate enough to erase the three years they'd spent in a relationship—and the fact that they'd nearly gotten married.
Su Yanxi seemed not to notice the chill between them.
"We used to be very close."
She smiled as she explained to the others.
"Zhiqing, Yuheng, and I have known each other since we were students. Then we each started working, and gradually lost touch."
She kept it vague.
She didn't say who had dated whom, or what had happened five years ago.
The managers merely thought it was a small world. Someone even joked that the project would surely go smoothly with such a connection.
Xu Zhiqing didn't smile.
She looked at the VP.
"If it's all right, I'd like to continue the presentation first."
"Of course."
The VP immediately had someone arrange a seat for Zhou Yuheng.
There was an empty chair beside the seat at the head of the table, but Zhou Yuheng didn't sit there.
He went straight to the seat closest to the projector screen.
Directly in front of Xu Zhiqing.
"Please continue."
He said it simply.
Xu Zhiqing turned the laser pointer back on.
The data on the screen hadn't changed, and the material she'd prepared remained clear.
But she knew everything was different now.
She had to explain her proposal in front of Zhou Yuheng.
The man who, five years ago, had decided she must have looked through Su Yanxi's phone, misunderstood her as the person spreading rumors, and refused to hear even a single explanation to the end now held the power to decide whether her project would move forward.
"A moment ago, I mentioned the distance between the brand and younger consumers."
Xu Zhiqing heard her own voice.
It was steadier than she'd expected.
"We don't recommend simply changing the spokesperson or chasing short-term buzz. Instead, we recommend redesigning the way the brand builds a relationship with consumers."
She moved to the next slide.
Zhou Yuheng showed no special reaction to knowing her.
He examined every part of the proposal as he would any stranger's, occasionally making notes on the documents.
"Your core strategy is built on emotional identification."
After the presentation ended, he finally spoke.
"But the consumer interview sample you've provided currently includes only 120 people. Is that enough to support a judgment about the overall market?"
"The 120 people are the valid sample from the in-depth interviews."
Xu Zhiqing answered.
"There are also 2,400 online questionnaires. The results have been compiled in Appendix 17."
Zhou Yuheng turned to the appendix.
"How were the survey respondents recruited?"
"Through existing brand members, public social-media recruitment, and a third-party market research platform. The proportions from the three sources are listed separately to avoid concentrating the sample among existing consumers."
"What if the response quality on the third-party platform is inconsistent?"
"We included repeated questions, a minimum response time, and a mechanism for excluding abnormal answers. We collected more than 3,000 responses and retained only 2,400 in the end."
She didn't hesitate.
She'd already prepared an answer to every question Zhou Yuheng asked.
Their exchange gradually became a back-and-forth that only the two of them could keep up with.
The other managers rarely saw Xu Zhiqing subjected to such a continuous line of questioning, much less answer so directly.
Finally, Zhou Yuheng closed the documents.
"The direction can stay."
That meant he tentatively approved her proposal.
Xu Zhiqing didn't let out a sigh of relief.
"But before the formal proposal, I need to see the complete research materials and the original questionnaires."
"All right."
"Also, I'd like you to give the presentation yourself next week."
Chen Jiawei immediately smiled.
"Of course. Zhiqing is the primary person responsible for this proposal."
Su Yanxi sat beside them, her expression still gentle.
But the hand resting beneath the table had quietly clenched.
She'd thought Zhou Yuheng would at least ask how she'd been.
Or that seeing both of them there would cause him to show some sign of wavering.
Instead, he had barely looked at her from the moment he entered.
Every question had been directed at Xu Zhiqing.
Even the person he'd designated to give the proposal was Xu Zhiqing.
"I have an idea."
Su Yanxi suddenly spoke.
The meeting was already winding down, and everyone looked at her again.
"Although I only joined today and am not familiar with the complete materials yet, I've worked on a similar brand rejuvenation project in the past."
She opened her notebook.
"Zhiqing's current direction is very comprehensive, but emotional identification takes a long time to produce results. If the client wants to increase buzz in the short term, perhaps we could add a more controversial women's issue to bring the brand into the public eye first."
Zhou Yuheng looked at her.
"For example?"
"Competition between women in intimate relationships, or the choice between friendship and romance."
Su Yanxi smiled.
"Topics like these easily resonate with people and can encourage them to share their own experiences."
The conference room fell silent for a moment.
No one knew why she'd chosen to bring up that particular direction.
But Xu Zhiqing knew.
Su Yanxi had done it on purpose.
She wanted to remind them of what had happened between the three of them.
And she wanted to see whose side Zhou Yuheng would take.
"Not appropriate."
Zhou Yuheng's answer came without the slightest hesitation.
The smile on Su Yanxi's face froze for a moment.
"Why?"
"The brand's core product has no direct connection to intimate relationships. Deliberately creating controversy might bring traffic in the short term, but it would blur the brand's positioning."
He placed the documents back on the table.
"We need an actionable strategy, not a talking point."
Su Yanxi's face paled slightly.
"I was just offering an idea."
"Since this is a work meeting, every idea has to be evaluated."
Zhou Yuheng's tone remained calm.
He hadn't singled her out intentionally.
That was precisely what made it more humiliating for her.
The VP hurried to smooth things over.
"It's Yanxi's first day, and it's good that she's willing to offer her thoughts. She can familiarize herself with the materials first, then discuss things with the team."
"Okay."
Su Yanxi lowered her head.
It was an expression that easily made people feel she'd merely been doused with cold water for speaking up too eagerly.
Lin Wanting even gave her arm a gentle pat.
Xu Zhiqing saw all of it but said nothing.
It had been the same five years ago.
All Su Yanxi had to do was show the slightest disappointment, and someone would take the initiative to comfort her.
As for whether the person she'd hurt felt wronged, no one had ever cared.
After the meeting ended, the managers accompanied Zhou Yuheng out.
Xu Zhiqing stayed behind to organize the materials.
She didn't want to catch up on old times with him, nor did she think there was anything left for them to discuss.
Su Yanxi didn't leave.
Only after the other coworkers had walked out of the conference room did she close the door.
"Did you know all along that he was the client-side lead?"
Xu Zhiqing didn't look up.
"No."
"Really?"
"You knew I worked at this company, so did you assume everyone would investigate everything in advance before showing up, just like you?"
Su Yanxi's expression darkened.
"I just think it's too much of a coincidence."
"I think it's quite a coincidence too."
Xu Zhiqing gathered the documents on the table by number.
"On your first day here, he became the client's new person in charge."
"You think I arranged it?"
"I didn't say that."
"But that's what you mean."
Su Yanxi walked up to her.
"Zhiqing, you can't assume that everything I do has an ulterior motive just because of what happened before."
"Then why did you bring up that topic just now?"
"I was only looking at it from a market perspective."
"You started at the company today. You haven't seen the complete materials, yet you just happened to think of friendship, romance, and competition."
Xu Zhiqing finally looked up.
"You think that was just a coincidence too?"
Su Yanxi was silent for several seconds.
"I just wanted to know if he still remembered."
"Remembered what?"
"What happened between the three of us before."
"Don't include me in your 'us.'"
A flash of hurt crossed Su Yanxi's eyes.
"Do you have to be this cold to me?"
"This is the most polite attitude I can give you."
Xu Zhiqing picked up the materials and prepared to leave.
But Su Yanxi blocked the doorway.
"Do you still like him?"
Xu Zhiqing stopped.
"That's none of your business."
"If you don't like him, why did you look like that when you saw him?"
"What did I look like?"
"You care about him."
Su Yanxi stared at her, as if she'd finally recovered a little leverage from the disappointment that had weighed on her all afternoon.
"Zhiqing, I know you've never let him go."
"So what?"
"I just wanted to remind you that five years ago, you were the one who asked to break up."
"So you finally admit you knew?"
Su Yanxi froze.
"Knew what?"
"I never told you who was the one to ask for the breakup first."
Xu Zhiqing watched her expression gradually stiffen.
"And Zhou Yuheng couldn't possibly have told you at the time."
Su Yanxi quickly regained her composure.
"When you two were dating, I often heard you talk about your romance. It wouldn't be strange for me to figure it out."
"You're misremembering again."
Xu Zhiqing took a step forward.
"I never told you anything about what happened between us."
The conference room fell completely silent.
Su Yanxi didn't answer immediately.
Footsteps suddenly sounded outside.
"Ms. Xu."
Zhou Yuheng's assistant pushed open the door.
He briefly froze when he saw the two women standing so close together.
"Director Zhou would like to confirm the details of next week's proposal with you. Are you available now?"
"Yes."
Xu Zhiqing walked directly around Su Yanxi.
When she reached the doorway, she stopped as if she'd just remembered something.
"Oh, right."
She turned back to Su Yanxi.
"I haven't forgotten what happened five years ago."
"But you'd better not mistake that for another chance to do it again."
With that, she followed the assistant out.
Su Yanxi was left alone in the conference room.
A set of meeting materials that no one had collected still lay on the table.
She looked toward the doorway. Only after confirming that the hallway was empty did she pick up the document.
A clear number was printed in the lower-right corner.
B07.
She quickly flipped to the last page.
Xu Zhiqing's complete strategy framework and the direction for next week's proposal were all laid out there.
Su Yanxi took out her phone and aimed it at the document, snapping a photo.
The image had just finished focusing when a voice suddenly came from outside.
"What are you doing?"
Su Yanxi jerked her head up.
Zhou Yuheng stood in the doorway, staring at the phone in her hand.