The train was rumbling along, traveling from deep in the snow-capped mountains to the endless horizon.

The scenery outside the window was like a movie, jumping from one frame to another; towering mountains, drifting clouds, sparkling lakes, and herds of cattle and sheep hidden in the grassland that was troubled by the wind.

All the colors in the landscape of Tibet appeared pure and tranquil. Every glance of them seemed to touch the deepest parts of the heart.

Lin Qian sat by the window.

The entire carriage was filled with people except for the space around her, which was deserted. Everybody seemed to be very careful in keeping a polite distance from the young woman.

Lin Qian was somewhat embarrassed but thought it kind of funny at the same time. She held her forehead in one hand and distractedly read a book in the other. Whenever she looked up, she saw a crowd of army green. She could feel the men’s gazes fall upon her from time to time, making her blush slightly.

Indeed, it was unusual for a young woman with just a backpack to find herself in a carriage packed with soldiers and then traveling eight hours with them.

It was only two days ago that Lin Qian had been in an accident in the snowy mountains.

Because of her new job, she had allowed herself to take a vacation before starting. She had gone hiking in Tibet, a trip that she had been dreaming of for a long time.

Hiking shouldn’t have been that difficult considering her physical state and experience with outdoor activities. But on her way back, her rented pickup truck had stopped working halfway down the mountain. An unexpected change in the weather had brought overnight snow, which added to her anxiety.

Luckily, at dawn the next day, a group of passing soldiers rescued her. The border guards were so friendly that they had offered to put her on a special train that transported veterans newly-retired from their service. The train could take her all the way to Lhasa.

A soldier sitting on the other side of the aisle took the initiative to ask, “Miss, where are you from?”

All of the soldiers had likely heard about her situation, so they were being particularly nice to her. Lin Qian smiled. “I’m from Lin City.”

Upon hearing that, a soldier down the aisle said cheerfully, “I’m from Lin City too, so we’re from the same area!”

Lin Qian looked up and smiled at him as well. She had a sweet face. Even though she was bundled in a jacket and wore no makeup, she still looked pretty and neat. Her smile made the soldiers’ hearts skip a beat.

The soldier laughed and asked again, “So I’m guessing you’re a university student?”

“No, I’ve actually been working for a few years,” she answered politely. Her soft, gentle voice seemed to carry a kind of unhurried natural ease, which made the soldiers feel comfortable. They again said she looked like a young student.

“What company do you work for in Lin City?”

Lin Qin replied, “Um, Aida Group.”

“Impressive!” The fellow-townsman gave her a thumbs up. “That’s the top enterprise in our city. It’s said it has billions in assets…”

Lin Qian acted natural, but in between the conversations she occasionally stole glances at the man sitting in front of her at an angle.

This man was the most silent yet conspicuous person in the entire carriage. It was hard for her not to notice him.

He wore a woolen military coat and, even though he sat with his back to her, appeared very tall and stood out from the general height of the soldiers around him. The wide-brimmed army cap was pulled so far down that most of his face was covered, leaving his clean-cut profile to be barely visible. His skin looked lighter than the others.

No matter how heated the yells, conversations, and singing were in the carriage, he remained motionless, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.

How strange.

It was a long journey, and it was beginning to get dark.

The soldiers were getting tired too, and most of them were snoozing in their seats. The carriage became cold and quiet. Lin Qian leaned against the cool windowpane and closed her eyes. Now, she could only hear the rumbling of the train against the tracks.

When they arrived back in Lin City, she would be busy again. Vacations always flew by and she felt reluctant to go back.

Gradually, the sound faded and Lin Qian found herself opening her eyes.

The windowpane was still cold. Outside, it was dark and silent. The silhouettes of mountains and lakes were barely visible. Up in the sky, bright stars twinkled softly.

The train stopped.

They were in the middle of nowhere. There was no platform either. Apparently, it was only a temporary stop. More attentive than Lin Qian, the soldiers were already all awake. Most of them stretched their necks and looked out of the window.

“It’s all right,” the soldier sitting opposite comforted her. “The road isn’t in a very good condition around here, so there might be some temporary issues that can be handled quickly.”

“Okay.” Lin Qian glanced back outside and caught a glimpse of the vacant seat in front of her. The man who had been sitting there sleeping was gone.

It wasn’t long until somebody came. It was a young officer standing tall in the carriage doorway, loudly giving a string of orders.

“Squad 2 and Squad 4, report to the front immediately. Squad 5, stay in charge of the security in this carriage before the train restarts; everyone else, stay where you are on standby.”

His voice had hardly died away when the soldiers all stood. “Yes!”

Lin Qian watched them all closely until the soldiers got to work. She then took a cap out of her backpack and got ready to fall back asleep. Just as she was about to curl up in her seat, she suddenly felt the eyes of all the soldiers resting on her.

She sat up straight again.

The officer had walked up to her side, with no expression on his face but a serious look in his eyes.

“Miss, please grab your luggage and follow me.”

With the soldiers still watching, Lin Qian stared up at him squarely. “Sorry, what seems to be the issue?”

The officer didn’t reply. He simply waved his hand and had another soldier put her luggage on his shoulder. Then they strode towards the carriage door.

The space between the carriages was dimly lit and the night air was cold.

Lin Qian hurried to follow the two tall military men, walking through one carriage after another, each one full of soldiers. She drew curious looks all throughout the train.

Finally, they reached the door of a soft sleeper carriage, far from the soldiers. The officer gestured to the soldier to lay down the luggage and leave, and then looked at Lin Qian.

She looked back at him. Her white face grew paler in the darkness and her eyes were sharp with tension.

Probably uncomfortable from being stared at for so long, the young officer moved his eyes away with a bit of uneasiness and explained flatly, “There is a small landslide out front. Soldiers have been sent to clear the tracks. There will be frequent staff activity in the train tonight, and there are wolves in this area too. It’s not convenient for you, a girl, to stay in that carriage, so our major ordered me to bring you to this sleeper for the night. There’s no one here and it’s safe and quiet. We’ll see you off at dawn.”

Huh?

Lin Qian continued to stare at him.

So, he’d acted in such a menacing manner but was actually helping her?

She burst into laughter and immediately gave him a bow. “Thank you, thank you very much.”

Somewhat embarrassed, the officer quickly said, “No problem,” and left.

The corridor was empty with only two soldiers standing guard at the carriage door. It was indeed quite safe and quiet here.

Lin Qian lowered her head, breathed warm air onto her cold hands, and reached for the compartment door.

Before her hands reached the handle, she heard a click come from the door.

She was startled. Is there someone inside?

Before she could react, she heard a clatter and the door opened from the inside.

Lin Qian quickly backed away and leaned against the windowpane.

A man appeared at the door.

With no light in the compartment, the man’s face was hard to make out. Dressed in uniform, he was very tall, a head taller than the officer she’d just met. His cap brim was so low that it covered his eyes. She could only tell that he had a straight nose and a neat, clean chin.

Is it him? The man who was sleeping in the carriage?

Though she could not see his face clearly, his figure and presence told her that he was the same man.

Well, why he is here?

Lin Qian smiled at him. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were inside. The officer told me there was nobody here.”

“Mmm.” With a sound seemingly forced out of his throat, he quickly moved his long legs and strode through the compartment without further delay, passing by her.

Lin Qian stayed where she was but turned her head to look at him. Suddenly, she realized who he was.

“Are you the major?”

“Mmm.” He had already opened the carriage door.

Lin Qian was surprised. She had been thinking that the major who dispatched his officer to bring her here must have been a strong and swarthy military man. She hadn’t expected it to be someone like him at all. She hurried over without thinking and said, “Thank you.”

He had already slammed the door behind him without paying any attention to her. His tall and straight figure quickly hurried away.

It was bright and warm in her new carriage. Lin Qian sat by the window, looking around one more time.

The four bunks all looked tidy, with quilts that were folded in neat squares. On the wall by one of the upper bunks, a military coat was hung up. There was also a stainless steel mug on the small table in front of her.

It looked as if this was the carriage where officers stayed. This must be his bunk, which he had lent to her.

What a nice man. But why had he avoided her like the plague? Was there something scary about her?

Lin Qian couldn’t help but smile.

Sleeping until midnight, Lin Qian opened her eyes and found the train still hadn’t moved. She wasn’t sleepy anymore. Putting on a coat, she got up and looked outside.

She was stunned when she opened the door.

The corridor was quiet outside and the two guards were still standing not far off. But on the bench a dozen feet away from her, an officer sat quietly, dressed in a woolen coat and a pair of black army boots. Wasn’t he the major who had ignored her?

Unlike the cold and straight figure from a short while ago, his whole body leaned against the seat with his head drooped down, cap pulled low, and face covered by his coat collar. His posture reminded her of a lounging boy. Or a snoozing cat.

There was no doubt that the sound of the door opening alarmed him. His head lifted an inch but was still buried by the collar. It seemed like he was too lazy to look up at her; he was just waiting for her to speak up.

Lin Qian walked out and spoke to him a few steps away: “I’m not so tired anymore. You can go ahead and sleep inside.”

He was motionless for a few seconds.

Lin Qian thought he was about to speak up, so she waited quietly. However, gradually, he lowered his head until his original posture was resumed. And then there was no more movement from him.

“Okay then… Goodnight.” The only thing she could do was retreat back to the compartment and gently close the door.

At dawn, the train finally arrived in Lhasa.

Lin Qian got up, washed her face, and packed up. Outside was the bright and narrow corridor with the soldiers standing at the end. Where was the major?

She thought for a moment, took a pen and a piece of paper out of her bag, and wrote down her cell phone number and a quick note: I don’t think we will meet again. But if you have a chance to come to Lin City, please call me. I’ll be a good tour guide and a friend. Lin Qian.

Lin Qian bought a ticket for the first flight home. In the evening, she arrived in Lin City and took a taxi to her destination.

At the far end of the straight highway, she could see a vast industrial zone, in which stood several tall, white buildings that were neat and stylish. The large gilded letters Aida Group were particularly eye-catching.

Lin Qian asked the driver to stop in front of a residential building, almost a thousand feet away from Aida Group.

She had started renting an apartment here a month ago. After entering the room, she put her suitcase away and threw herself onto the bed.

Lying down for a while, she felt better. She looked at her cell phone; as expected, there were no new text messages or unanswered phone calls.

In all honesty, it was the first time that she had voluntarily given her phone number to a man. She was such a loser!

She stood up smiling and pulled open the curtains.

The golden light of the sunset flooded in, and Aida Group’s buildings, plants, and the green field behind them were bathed in the endless sunshine.

Lin Qian took a deep breath and felt surprisingly happy.

She decided that it had been a pretty good start: The warm encounter with thousands of people, the beautiful and flourishing city, and the new career she was about to take on.

Back at the expressway entrance to Lin City, a troop of military trucks was parked and ready to transport veterans back to their hometowns.

After talking in hushed tones, a few officers were about to get into a jeep. At that moment, a soldier ran up, running out of breath. He ran to the officer in the middle, stopped and neatly saluted. Then he said, “Major Li, I’ve finally found you. I found this when I cleaned your train compartment earlier.” He handed the man a note with a phone number and a few lines of writing on it.

The man, “Major Li,” took the note and looked it over; his face remained expressionless.

“You didn’t need to give this to me,” he said in cool and calm voice.

He hadn’t tried to cover the note at all. The two officers to his left and right, though standing straight, couldn’t help peeking at it too.

Hearing this, one of them couldn’t help saying, “Lin Qian… Isn’t she the girl who had an accident and rode with us? I saw her this morning. She’s pretty. Don’t you live in Lin City too? Why don’t you keep her number?”

The people around Major Li stared at him expectantly.

He lowered his brim again, straightened his collar, and stepped into the jeep.

“No need,” he said lightly, “she and I will see each other again very soon.”

It was gloomy and chilly in the early winter. The bus station was noisy, full of voices, footsteps, and announcements from speakers.

Still dressed in the woolen military coat, Li Zhicheng jumped off a bus with a small traveling bag in his hand. His tall and straight figure stood out in the crowd. He looked around quietly and quickly, and focused his attention on a Cadillac parked at the station entrance. He strode over to the car.

Gu Yanzhi was leaning against the car door with his arms crossed, looking at him with a faint smile on his face. “Oh hey, who is this dapper man coming back from the military?”

All the people around turned their heads and watched their interaction.

Seemingly oblivious to their surroundings, Li Zhicheng kept walking until he stopped in front of Gu.

The two stared at each other. Li spoke up lightly, “Your cousin.”

Gu Yanzhi grinned, and reach out to Li Zhicheng’s shoulder. A smile appeared on the face of Li Zhicheng too, and the two men hugged each other tightly.

The car ran smoothly on the Second Ring Road.

Gu Yanzhi had his hands on the steering wheel, his fingers lightly tapping the sides. It was warm and quiet in the car. He looked up at the rearview mirror and saw Li Zhicheng sitting upright, rigid as a tree and was looking out of the window. His face was still emotionless, clearly warning others to keep their distance.

To Gu Yanzhi, this was the most annoying thing about Li Zhicheng, who was only at his twenties. However, if you didn’t make conversation with him, he would act indifferently all day; as cold as ice.

“You’ve grown even taller,” Gu Yanzhi teased casually.

Still peering at the city familiar yet foreign to him, Li Zhicheng said in a calm and cool voice, “Mmm. I’ve been taller than you since I was twelve.”

Gu Yanzhi chuckled and turned the steering wheel along the roundabout. He changed the topic. “Shall we go to the Group first or the nursing home first?”

“The Group.”

Gu Yanzhi smiled and said nothing. He thought, This guy has been away for years, but still knows the old man’s temperament well. He can tell that the old man has used his own illness as a pretext for bringing him back.

The most important thing to the old man was still the family business.

Lin Qian stood in front of the Aida Building, feeling quite unsettled.

Things were different from two months ago when she had come for her interview.

At that time, in front of the grand building there parked many vehicles, many expensive vehicles. The well-dressed office staff had ushered guests in and out, and they seemed very busy. Behind the building had been the industrial park, where she had seen red banners with inspiring slogans everywhere and workers bustling around. The whole scene had been flourishing and ambitious.

And now?

The same grand building, the same clean park. But it was quiet and deserted. In front of the building, only two security guards were idle and seemingly in a trance. Most of the plants behind looked dull with workers squatting in the doorways, smoking and chatting—apparently, the production had already stopped. And those once-dazzling red slogan banners had all disappeared.

Oh, she did spot one. Half of it was hanging on the wall and the other half drooped onto the ground.

While Lin Qian was staring blankly ahead, a subtle yet luxurious car passed by her quietly.

She turned her head.

To her surprise, she recognized the man in the driver’s seat.

His face frequently appeared in magazines and newspapers. It was Gu Yanzhi, the First Vice CEO of Aida Group, and the nephew of the Chairman of the Board.

He looks younger and more handsome in person than in his pictures. I wonder if he is as cunning as they say he is?

Her gaze shifted to the back seat, where another man sat. Through the dark glass, she couldn’t make out who the person was—someone who was able to have the famous Gu Yanzhi be his chauffeur.

Gu Yanzhi also saw the woman outside. After casually glancing over, his eyes lit up when he saw her. The woman was very young and wore a black business dress which flattered her slim figure. She had pretty facial features. She was walking gracefully in front of the dark gray buildings and plants, and looked elegant and refined.

He turned around and found that Li Zhicheng was watching her as well. Gu Yanzhi smiled at him. “Well, do you know her?”

Li Zhicheng withdrew his gaze without expression. “No.”

Half an hour later, Lin Qian stood in the Human Resources Department of Aida Group. The HR manager reviewed the resume in her hand and glanced up at the girl in front of her, feeling troubled.

The information in the resume was clear: Lin Qian. Female. Age 25. Work Experience: three years. Her recruitment had been confirmed two months ago for the position of CEO Assistant. The scheduled starting date was today.

However…

She looked at Lin Qian. “I remember you. But something here has changed recently. There were news reports on it. Haven’t you heard anything?”

Lin Qian was a little embarrassed. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

She’d always believed in the motto, “Be kind to others and be kinder to yourself.” When she’d decided to change jobs, she decided that a good break was deserved after years of hard work, and that she should enjoy some decent amount of time off before starting her new job.

So when she had received the offer letter, she made excuses to set her first day two months later than requested. Because the CEO of Aida was impressed with her and didn’t need her assistance that soon, her request had been granted.

She had traveled to many places in her two months and had stayed in Tibet for over one week, carelessly spending her time at leisure. After the accident in Tibet, she had hurriedly returned to report for duty. She really had no idea what had been recently happening.

The HR manager hesitated a little bit and said, “The operations in the Group have run into some difficulties. A week ago, the former CEO took responsibility for it and resigned. Now, the CEO position is temporarily empty.”

Lin Qian stood without saying a word.

Books on job hunting skills hadn’t taught her what to do when she applied for a CEO assistant and the CEO stepped down for having destroyed the company.

…

Up in the penthouse, in the office of the vice president, Gu Yanzhi made two cups of Pu’er tea and raised his head. He saw Li Zhicheng standing in front of the scattered light of the French window, gazing at the vast park below in contemplation, his long eyebrows furrowed.

He had taken his coat off, and was dressed in a green army shirt and a pair of army pants; he was long and slim. Maybe because he was immersed in the military life for so many years, even though all he did was simply standing there, he still looked cool and elegant.

Gu Yanzhi smiled. He walked over and handed him the tea.

Li Zhicheng spoke up, “How bad is the situation?”

Gu Yanzhi sat down on the sofa next to Li, sipped his tea, and said, “It’s terrible. The CEO, to whom we paid a whopping salary, lost two billion dollars in overseas markets. And he was incredibly good at hiding the truth, even better than I am! Now that things are out in the open, he’s screwed and we are in serious trouble, too!”

There was no expression on Li Zhicheng’s face but a calm look around his eyes and brow.

“How much do we have left?”

His wording was vague, but Gu Yanzhi understood. “Do you mean how much is left in the market share? It’s a mess in the overseas market, so forget about it. As for the domestic market, resources and funds have been mobilized to develop the overseas market, and at the news, other competitors rushed to take advantage of this opportunity. SMQ has taken the most from us. Aida’s market share has fallen from twenty percent to eight percent.”

Li Zhicheng stood still with the tea cup in his hand, and said nothing. Then he brushed his long fingers gently against the smooth edge of the celadon cup. “I see.”

They said no more. The room filled with silence and the aroma of tea.

Gu Yanzhi looked at him, feeling that he was being a bit distant.

Of course, they’d had a great relationship since they were kids. But they had barely seen each other in recent years, and what he knew about Li Zhicheng was all based on rumors. Rumor had it that the troops Li Zhicheng commanded always had excellent performance in their military exercises, and therefore it was challenging to obtain the approval for his retirement and demobilization.

Rumor had it that he’d directed his military operations in an equally decisive, relentless, and unpredictable way, which was why he was called the “Wolf of the Southwest.” This was completely unlike his handsome and restrained appearance. Young as he was, he had no interests other than his military affairs. Money, women, power, they were all alien ideas to him. In this era of luxury and debauchery, he seemed like a boring, old-fashioned man from a different time period.

Gu Yanzhi smiled slightly. Why did the chairman decide to call back this son of his? And why had he even agreed to return?

Though the old saying went that “a business war was like a real war,” the two were actually very different. The business world involved scheming and Machiavellianism. And as for him? Despite his outstanding military talents, he knew nothing about business, nor did he have any experience in the field. Besides, he was so quiet and aloof that he seemed reluctant to speak to others. How could he manage an enterprise of thousands of people?

At that moment, the secretary knocked on the door and came in.

She had a resume from the HR department.

Gu Yanzhi waved the secretary out. He sat down in his executive chair, flipped through the pages casually, and said, “Geez, under these circumstances? Our employee turnover rate has reached 30 percent this month, and somebody is still coming to us ready to work? Is she stupid or just unique?”

Li Zhicheng kept silent.

Gu Yanzhi went on to say, “Our former CEO was an *sshole, but he did well with internal management. Everyone he recruited can be considered high performer. He hired this person for himself, so I think she should be quite good. You need an assistant anyway. Do you want to keep her?”

“Your call.” A cool voice. It was as if he had no interest in the person or the matter at all.

Catching a glimpse of the picture on the resume, Gu Yanzhi laughed, “Wow. It’s the pretty girl we just drove by on the road.” He read from the resume: “‘Lin Qian. Graduated from the Department of Economics & Management in China XX University.'” He paused for a second. “She was a senior specialist of the Marketing Department in SMQ with excellent performance for consecutive years…”

Li Zhicheng turned to look at him. “Keep her.”

The HR manager came back with the leaders’ comments, and Lin Qian was surprised at what they said.

Well, surprised and moved a little. The wording was sincere and nice: “Miss Lin, since we, Aida, offered you this position, we won’t break our commitment because of the temporary difficulties in our operations. If you decide to stay, your pay scale will remain unchanged. As for your position, it won’t be set until the new CEO takes office. If you decide to leave, we wish you good luck on finding a better job in the near future.”

While waiting for the HR manager, Lin Qian had Googled all the news about Aida Group on her cell phone. She thought about it, and answered sincerely, “Thank you. I’ll think it over and give you a reply tomorrow.”

When Lin Qian left Aida Group, it was still early, barely 12 o’clock at noon. She walked home slowly. She ordered two dishes at the small restaurant near the entrance of her development and ate them in low spirits. She then went upstairs to her own apartment. After opening the window and turning on some music, she walked out to the balcony and gave Lin Mochen a call.

It was around dusk there in the USA. The deep voice from Lin Mochen seemed to carry a kind of indolence and arrogance typical of Manhattan. “Your call came later than I expected.”

She was suddenly frustrated. “Of course you knew about it.”

The whole world knew about Aida’s recent dilemmas. How could this man, her brother, who worked specifically in financial investment on Wall Street, not know about it?

Dressed in an iron-gray tailored suit, Lin Mochen stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window on the top floor of a skyscraper. Behind him were staff members who were occupied with data analyses and investment reports.

Through the window were starry lights sparkling all over the city and the Hudson River winding its way through the skyscrapers.

He chuckled and asked, “What’s your plan?”

“I’m still not going to work for you.” Lin Qian sounded sullen.

Lin Mochen frowned a little but said in a flat tone, “Oh really? So where are you going to work?”

Lin Qian replied, “I was thinking that I should stay at Aida.”

In all fairness, despite the plight Aida was facing, “a lean camel is bigger than a horse,” as the old saying went. There was still the possibility that they would be able to strike back and return to their previous success. Besides, they had impressed her with the brief interaction they had today.

“I feel a bit bad to give it up,” she said.

Gazing at the starlight above the skyscrapers, Lin Mochen tapped the tabletop at his side with his fingers. “Lin Qian,” he said, “feelings are the most useless thing. As my sister, you should think more reasonably and objectively.” He came off cold and somewhat bossy.

Lin Qian didn’t become annoyed. Instead, she went along with him and said softly, “All right then, brother, then could you help me with an objective analysis? Is it worth staying?”

Lin Mochen kept silent for a moment, which made Lin Qian a little nervous.

“You may give it a try,” he answered steadily.

Lin Qian burst into laughter. She didn’t ask for a reason because the terminologies from him, like net asset value, yield rate, etc, would give her a headache.

“Thank you, brother!”

On the other end of the line, Lin Mochen’s lips also revealed a barely noticeable smile. “Xu Yong, the Chairman of Aida, is getting old and weak,” he said flatly. “He is no longer in charge of daily operations. His eldest son, Xu Yiyang, died in a car accident three years ago. Based on Xu Yong’s personality, I bet he won’t choose anyone outside of his family. So, there are only three candidates. First, Gu Yanzhi. Second, Xu Chengyan, his illegitimate son, still studying in the USA. And third, the son of Xu Yong and his ex-wife, details still unverified. I’ll check.”

Hanging up the phone, Lin Qian buried her head in her arms and stared into the distance.

After a while, something caught her attention.

There was an army-green truck. It ran through the city along the highway and stopped outside the gates of Aida Group.

Soldiers in camouflage uniforms jumped off the truck, each carrying a backpack. The truck drove away, leaving them standing there. Soon, someone came out of Aida and brought them in.

Demobilized soldiers? Well, meeting those soldiers is the only good thing I’ve done the past few days. Are some of them coming to work for Aida?

That’s when she made up her mind to stay.

The next morning, after the induction, Lin Qian was taken to meet the legendary Gu Yanzhi.

The whole building was surrounded by an indescribable air of depression, so it was refreshing for Lin Qian to walk into the office of this court-like room, which was stylish and spacious.

Gu Yanzhi was sitting behind his executive desk and looking at Lin Qian, his new employee.

As a candidate for Li Zhicheng’s assistant, she shouldn’t have been interviewed by him. But Li Zhicheng had rushed to the nursing home to see his father overnight, leaving the interview up to Gu Yanzhi. The boss had also discreetly given him an order to temporarily keep quiet. The secret, of course, referred to his identity and arrival.

Gu Yanzhi had asked, “Why though?” Since Li Zhicheng had taken over the Group, he would have to meet all the staff sooner or later. Did it make any difference when he revealed his identity?

“I need to know the situation first, ” Li Zhicheng stood by the window with his hands in his pockets and continued indifferently, “in an undercover way.”

Dumbfounded for a second, Gu Yanzhi had suddenly understood.

He had spoken in an emotionless way, but actually…

He was treating it like a battle and planned to conduct secret strategical observations of his enemies before revealing his identity.

Gu Yanzhi couldn’t help smiling with this in mind. He glanced at Lin Qian, who stood in front of him, and said steadily, “You must know the current situation of our company. The more difficult our situation is, the more we need talented minds to help. If you are skilled enough, you will naturally be put into an important position. But if you are mediocre, we won’t keep you as a burden. Everything is up to your performance.”

It was an expected sentiment, tempering justice with mercy, so Lin Qian nodded calmly and said, “I will do my best.” Looking at the smile on his face, she thought, He doesn’t seem as sinister and difficult as the rumors describe him to be.

Gu Yanzhi wasn’t in the mood to talk much, so after a short conversation he made a decision. She would work in the CEO office first, taking on the daily work of that department.

So, Lin Qian’s career at Aida started without much of a formal introduction, and she immediately noticed that everyone’s work was nerve-wracking and chaotic.

The CEO office sounded appealing, but there were only three people in total, including Lin Qian. The other two were new university graduates. The HR employee explained, “This department didn’t even exist until the former CEO came and established it. There were sixteen or seventeen people in its prime, but they all eventually left, one after another.”

Lin Qian accepted things as they came. Advised by Gu Yanzhi’s secretary, she searched and collected industry information and news every morning, and then compiled a report for the leaders to reference. A duplicate copy of weekly work plans and summaries from every department in the company were sent to her, which she would make an independent report out of. Of course when any big incidents took place in or out of the company, she also needed to gather and summarize relevant news references.

In short, she had to keep writing endless report after report.

The job was tedious and boring, far away from actual business operations. Lin Qian didn’t like it. But she later thought that since she was new to the company and since she had come directly from the company’s competitor, it would be weird for them to put her in an important department in an important position at the very beginning. Thinking this made her feel relieved and she focused her attention solely on reports. After a few days, she was familiar with the basic information of Aida.

But she wasn’t sure if Gu Yanzhi even read her reports as she sent every one to his secretary. Later, Gu told his secretary to secretly request that Lin Qian send a copy through email to an appointed email address every time she filed a paper report. Lin Qian looked at the email address: “Apache2013@126.vip.com.”

Is “Apache” the English name of Gu Yanzhi? It doesn’t look like a personal name. Maybe it’s a word or an acronym. Urged by a whim, Lin Qian tried to figure it out, to no avail.

On the weekend, Lin Qian got up early and took the bus to the nursing home on the other side of the city.

Built after 2010, the Luyuan Nursing Home was the best and most comfortable nursing home in the city in terms of both facilities and space. Guided by a personal support worker, Lin Qian walked along the leaf-covered river wall with a bag of fresh fruit in her hand, and saw He Qingling sitting alone under a large tree.

She walked up to her with light steps. “Mom…”

In her fifties, He Qingling had wrinkles all over her lean face. She looked at her calmly. “Well, I see that you’re back.”

Mother and daughter talked for a while. Lin Qian did the talking while He Qingling listened. Soon, He Qingling said that she felt tired and needed to rest.

“I know you’re busy with work, so I won’t keep you,” she said.

Sitting in a wheelchair, she was pushed away by the personal support worker. Lin Qian stood still for a while and took out her cell phone to call Lin Mochen.

“I’m in the nursing home. Mom looks well.” She paused for a moment. “Would you like to talk to her?”

It was probably late at night over on Lin Mochen’s side. She couldn’t hear anything but his calm breath.

“Lin Qian,” he said, “I don’t need to know how that woman is.”

Lin Qian didn’t respond.

Since the year He Qingling had insisted on divorcing her husband, and each parent had started taking care of one child, Lin Mochen had refused to call her “Mother.”

That afternoon, Lin Qian took a tour of the small town near the nursing home and then visited a former classmate living nearby. When she left the classmate’s house, it was past nine o’clock.

She declined the offer of a ride from her former classmate. She didn’t want to take a taxi either. Instead, she strolled to the bus station alone. The night around the suburban area was dark and quiet. The platform was empty with only a street lamp glowing dimly.

Soon, the last bus came.

Lin Qian took a window seat in the back of the bus.

It was a departure station. Most likely because it wasn’t the departure time yet, the driver spoke to her loudly. “Miss, keep on waiting. We’ll leave in another five minutes.” He then took a nap on the steering wheel.

Lin Qian wrapped up her coat and looked out the window into the dark sky, her mind quiet.

At that moment, she heard footsteps outside coming towards the bus. A tall man got on.

Lin Qian took a casual glance at him and turned to look outside the window.

A few seconds later, she suddenly turned to him again.

Under the dim light of the bus, the man was dressed in a dark gray windbreaker, black sports pants, and outdoor shoes. At first glance, Lin Qian knew that they were basic articles of high-end brands. He wore a cap as well, the brim pulled so low that only his straight nose and clean-cut chin were exposed. Even without seeing his entire face, you could tell that he was handsome and neat.

Lin Qian felt a skip in her heart.

A feeling of deja vu came over her. His build and height were exactly like that man from before, and he had the same strong and unique sense of—how to describe it? Strength, defiance, and aloofness. Even if he did nothing, it was impossible for others to ignore his existence.

He was striding towards her with his long legs. Lin Qian quickly turned to look out the window.

His pace was steady yet brisk, passing her quickly. From the fuzzy reflection in the window, Lin Qian saw him sit down in the last row.

The bus left.

The night was as chilly as ice with a bright moon and sparse stars visible in the sky. The bus rattled along the quiet road.

Sitting for a while, Lin Qian couldn’t hold back her curiosity. She simply turned around and looked at him directly.

Well…

He was sleeping again.

He had positioned his tall body squarely in the seat. One arm was resting on the back of the seat in front of him, in which he had buried his face, and the other hand rested casually on his lap. The cap on his head covered his entire face. Not far from him, Lin Qian could hear his even breathing.

Hi, Big Cat.

Lin Qian held back her laughter.

She leaned forward and lowered her head, trying to look at his face from underneath to see if he was the same man. But it was dim and shadowy on the bus and she could only see vague details of his profile.

“What are you looking at?” A clear and deep voice burst out of the silence.

Startled, Lin Qian swiftly straightened herself up and blushed. Lifting his head slowly from his arm, he stared at her patiently with his bright, black eyes.