Chased by My Heartless Ex - Chapter 61

After finishing the performance, Xu You felt utterly drained both physically and emotionally. Li Rui had claimed she would help clean up the desk and tidy the workspace but ran off before even starting. Left with no choice, Xu You gathered the discarded papers herself and shredded them, then took a wet wipe from her bag to clean the desk before collapsing into the ergonomic chair the company had provided.

In the department group chat of sixty-two people, she received sixty beverage orders. Of the remaining two, one was herself, and the other, needless to say, was Li Rui.

Xu You chuckled softly, compiled everyone’s requests, and placed the order. If she were to be honest, holding a grudge at a time like this was childish. Instead of hiding in some deserted corner to vent her frustrations, it was better to order something expensive, sip it, and curse while drinking.

People really ought to be smarter.

After ordering a coffee for herself, Xu You logged into WeChat and contacted Zheng Ran to discuss work matters. Zheng Ran didn’t beat around the bush, directly recommending a contact and forwarding Zhou Siyu’s information to her. She also clarified that their collaboration was confidential, all communication was to be solely with Zhou Siyu, and they had no authority to intervene.

Xu You’s mouse cursor hovered over the contact’s profile card. She was well aware of the ulterior motives at play, since when did instructions need to come directly from the CEO? Zhou Siyu’s intentions were far too transparent.

Collecting her thoughts, she shifted her attention to the chat interface, clicked on the profile card, and prepared to send a friend request.

Her gaze wandered and was caught by Zhou Siyu’s profile picture. Her finger, poised over the left mouse button, hesitated for a few seconds.

In her youthful naivety, she had once harbored grand illusions about love, pouring excessive expectations into a relationship. She had longed for subtle, intimate gestures that only the two of them would understand, even if they couldn’t openly stand together before others.

Changing to matching profile pictures was something most couples did, but Zhou Siyu had insisted it was inappropriate given their positions. Even when Xu You had proposed using two seemingly unrelated artworks, she hadn’t been granted permission.

She had felt disheartened back then, but her lovesick mind had quickly glossed over the negative emotions.

What she had been unwilling to do back then now seemed utterly ridiculous. It was like having a co-star in a play but refusing to wait until the curtain fell to put on a solo act, who would even stay to watch?

Her index finger pressed down. Xu You didn’t fill in any information in the remarks section and sent the friend request. In the blink of an eye, Zhou Siyu had already accepted.

[Zhou Siyu: How is it? Is the office environment acceptable? Do you want me to arrange a different spot for you?]

In front of her screen, Zhou Siyu was so nervous her hands trembled as she typed. Xu You had never changed her WeChat ID, and the messages Zhou Siyu had sent over the past four years were filled with her longing and explanations. Unfortunately, they were all marked with a red exclamation point, sealed away, seen by no one but herself, while the one person she most wanted to see them refused to look or understand.

She had waited far too long for this friend request. Now that the moment had arrived, her entire being, heart included, was racing wildly.

[Xu You: It’s fine.]

Back then, Xu You had deleted and blocked Zhou Siyu in one swift move. During her solitary healing process, she often found herself revisiting their chat history, reminiscing about the past. Once, after waking from a drunken stupor, she realized she had cleared the chat window. Nostalgia and lingering feelings had long since faded along with her memories.

She had let go of the past, her fixation on a certain role, her feelings for a certain person. Now, sitting in the YUYOO design department, she was merely Esme, an emerging painter reluctantly working an office job for a friend’s sake.

Esme didn’t dwell on old sentiments; she focused solely on work.

So, she skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point.

[Xu You: What about the work details? Zheng Ran said only you know. Assign it to me as soon as possible, I don’t work overtime.]

After finishing typing the content, her phone on the desk rang. She answered it and promptly arranged for a male colleague nearby to go downstairs to pick up the delivery. Knowing it was a perk from the new team leader’s arrival, the male colleague cheerfully headed down to get the food.

Putting down her phone, Xu You turned her attention back to the computer screen. Zhou Siyu’s chat box kept showing the “typing” indicator at the top. Feeling it would be a waste of time to wait for her reply, Xu You clicked into the department group chat marked with a red notification dot to check for any important messages. At a glance, her already pleasant mood grew even more cheerful.

Realizing one’s mistakes is a good thing, but timing is equally important.

In the department group chat, Li Rui had finally spoken up, nearly forty minutes after Xu You had posted the message asking everyone to indicate their drink preferences.

[Li Rui: Sorry, I was just busy. I’d like a hand-ground coffee from the campus café.]

[Li Rui: Team Leader Xu, is that okay? @Xu You]

After reading the messages, Xu You rested her elbow on the desk, supported her forehead with her hand, and chuckled. Li Rui’s backbone wasn’t as strong as she had imagined. If she could have held out stubbornly, Xu You might have respected her for having some spine. But now, she just found it amusing.

Hand-ground coffee? The one-yuan instant coffee packets were more than enough for someone like her.

Rejecting her outright would be boring, so Xu You put her hand down and started typing briskly.

[Xu You: Sorry, I’ve already placed the order, and everything has been delivered by now.]

In a group chat with all the department employees, over sixty pairs of eyes watching, she wasn’t foolish enough to leave any evidence. Knowing everyone was monitoring the group messages, she glanced up and noticed a colleague at a workstation not far away, simultaneously running two chat windows, live-streaming the conversation and adding commentary.

This was a golden opportunity to showcase herself and establish her persona, she couldn’t let it slip by.

She wouldn’t make a move until Li Rui replied. Holding the mouse idly with her right hand and propping her chin with her left, she waited for the colleague to bring the delivery upstairs.

She guessed Li Rui was waiting too… waiting for an audience or an ally to stand with her.

Too bad.

Xu You tapped her cheek lightly out of boredom. Just then, the department’s glass door slid open, and the male colleague, along with the delivery person, set down an assortment of drinks from various brands, calling everyone over to collect theirs.

“Thanks, Sister Xu!”

“Team Leader Xu is so generous.”

“Thank you, Team Leader Xu.”

Xu You stayed seated, smiling and shaking her head, saying it was no trouble as she accepted everyone’s thanks. In no time, over sixty drinks were claimed, leaving only a few lonely cups on the table, hers and those for a few directors.

Someone posted a picture in the group to express gratitude. Xu You rubbed the tip of her nose casually and returned to the screen to finish her exchange with Li Rui.

First, she asked everyone to stop flooding the chat with pictures. Since Li Rui had singled her out in front of everyone, Xu You skillfully called her out in return.

[Xu You: Really sorry, everything’s already been delivered. It was my oversight not to notice you missed out. How about I order a separate cup for you now? @Li Rui]

In the workplace, even the best relationships can shatter when interests are involved. While it was entertaining to listen to her gossip for fun, seeing her act pretentious or request a drink far more expensive than what others had was irritating.

Someone took the lead and said, “Forget it,” and a few others quickly chimed in agreement.

Li Rui, put on the spot, couldn’t just stay silent. Reluctantly, she crawled back into the conversation.

[Li Rui: It’s fine, it’s not Team Leader Xu’s fault. I was just too busy to see the group message. I won’t have coffee, ordering separately is too much trouble.]

Xu You didn’t know how others perceived it, but when she read it, she felt three imaginary black lines slide down her forehead.

It wasn’t as if anyone was blaming her. The vibe she gave off was a bit too strong, like overbrewed tea from years past.

But then again, she’d never been much of a tea drinker since she was little.

Xu You rubbed her hands together and placed them on the keyboard, ready to dive into the task. Someone in the group chat had already spoken up for her.

[Jiang Tao: Deputy Team Leader Li, you’re not at your workstation? Is there some work that requires you to be out of the office?]

[Wu Yu: Sister Li, most of the messages in the company group are important. You should pay attention, especially during work hours. It wouldn’t be good to miss something.]

Li Rui, hiding in the upstairs break room, rolled her eyes in frustration at the messages.

“What’s wrong?” The man rested his chin on her shoulder, intoxicated by the fragrance at her ear, while his restless hand rubbed the soft flesh at her waist through her clothes.

Li Rui pulled her clothes up to cover her exposed chest, her tone coquettish. “It’s that bitch classmate I told you about, she’s always targeting me.”

Lost in the moment, he agreed with whatever she said.

The man’s hand slid downward. “No problem. Later, I’ll look into her background and make sure Ruirui gets her revenge.”

Li Rui let out a soft moan, swung her long legs around, and straddled him face-to-face. Her body was pliant as she gasped breathlessly, “Why not now?”

“Because right now,” the man’s fingers tightened, “there are other things to attend to.”

As she spoke, Li Rui pushed the man away with her palm, maintaining her position as she continued replying to the group chat.

[Li Rui: No need to trouble yourselves. I’ve ruined the mood for everyone, I’m sorry.]

Her typing was interrupted by rhythmic movements, and it took her several attempts to finish the sentence.

Xu You had no idea what Li Rui was up to, but her own fighting spirit was waning. Seeing Li Rui’s reply, she lost interest.

[Xu You: Alright, I’ll send you a red packet so you can buy it yourself. Everyone, let’s get back to work. Once I’m settled in a couple of days, I’ll treat everyone to a meal.]

She was already satisfied seeing Li Rui embarrassed. Zhou Siyu had paid her fifty million, so tossing out a mere fifty yuan didn’t even make her blink.

Unfortunately, the red packet wasn’t set as exclusive. Li Rui, feeling insulted, thought she deserved that small sum. But as she fumbled to claim it, another colleague had already snatched it.

The colleague, realizing his mistake, awkwardly apologized, saying he hadn’t paid attention to the earlier conversation and had clicked the red packet instinctively. He felt a little sorry, but not enough to return the money.

Xu You was amused. It was a case of using someone else to do the dirty work, she didn’t believe Li Rui wouldn’t be furious.

Li Rui didn’t reply further. Indifferently, she sent out a large red packet of her own.

It was just money, after all. She distributed it freely but made a mental note of everyone who claimed it, vowing to remember who was ungrateful when it came time to take sides.

After finishing her task, she ignored the group chat, stood up, and walked straight to the beverage table to retrieve her drink. Remembering that Qian Doudou hadn’t left the office yet, she picked up her cup as well and headed directly to Qian Doudou’s new office.

The ice cubes clinked against each other as she moved, and fine droplets of condensation clung to the cup’s surface, mingling and trembling at the bottom.

Awkwardly holding both cups in one hand, Xu You pulled a tissue from Qian Doudou’s desk, placed it underneath, and set her cup down. “I’ve changed a lot, haven’t I?”

Her tight-fitting dress accentuated her stunning curves, and beneath the black hem, her slender calves stood straight. Her entire presence was captivating and unforgettable.

She was smiling, a genuine smile, devoid of any hostility in her demeanor. Qian Doudou pointed to a chair, gesturing for her to sit.

“Changed, but not entirely.” She gripped the sleeve of the cup and lifted the plastic container, pressing the rim to her lips as she took a sip of coffee. “This is good. Li Rui has been throwing her weight around for too long, it’s great that you can put her in her place.”

Xu You scratched her head and grinned, a mix of sheepish and sweet.

“What projects have you been working on lately? How’s the progress? Is there anything I can help with?” She stuck out her tongue playfully. “You know my skills, I’m not great at much, but I can definitely handle some odd jobs for you.”

“Not much going on recently, but I heard management is in talks with Esme, trying to sign her. Things might get busier then…”

Xu You was happily chatting away with Qian Doudou, completely forgetting that someone was waiting for her reply.

[Zhou Siyu: Sent you the new proposal. Take a look.]

[Zhou Siyu: Feel free to point out anything you’re not happy with.]

[Zhou Siyu: Are you there?]