Chased by My Heartless Ex - Chapter 87

After parting ways at Jianghu Renjia, it took Xu You a full week before she saw Zhou Siyu again.

YUYOO was involved in numerous projects, both domestic and international. Back when she had traveled abroad for Otherworld: Mountains and Seas, and now with the upcoming release of the series’ next installment, Otherworld: Investiture of the Gods, she had gone to the United States with Qin Keyi’s husband for work.

Xu You didn’t pay much attention to Zhou Siyu’s schedule. Whether she was at the ends of the earth or walking through fire, it had nothing to do with Xu You, at most, she might raise an eyebrow and mutter, “She’s got nine lives.”

But just at this critical moment, the design drafts for Nuwa had to be completed within a set timeframe, which meant they had to meet.

Unaware that Zhou Siyu was away on a business trip, Xu You naturally sent her a meeting invitation.

[President Zhou, are you free tonight?]

She deliberately sent the message half an hour before the end of the workday, thinking that if Zhou Siyu said she was unavailable, she’d still have time to adjust her plans and schedule something else. Xu You continued working while waiting for a reply.

By 5:30 p.m., after helping her team members revise some details and wrapping up her tasks, Xu You opened their chat window. Seeing that the conversation ended with her own message, she inexplicably glanced at the time in the bottom-right corner and logged out of WeChat.

Before logging back in, she disconnected and reconnected her network, scrolled through her contacts to find Zhou Siyu’s profile picture, and tapped into their chat but nothing had changed.

Zhou Siyu hadn’t replied at all.

Was she genuinely busy, or was she deliberately ignoring her because of Xu You’s attitude last time?

The thought flickered through her mind, but Xu You brushed it aside. She packed up her things, left the office, and stood by the company’s entrance to make a call.

WeChat ringtones had long been customizable. When the feature first launched, almost all of Xu You’s friends had set theirs according to their preferences but Zhou Siyu still used the default tone.

The short, repetitive ringtone echoed in her ear, wearing down Xu You’s patience until, at last, the ringing stopped.

“Hello?” Zhou Siyu’s voice came through, tinged with weariness and damp, as if she had just been woken up.

Xu You’s irritation flared. What was she doing sleeping at this hour?

“Where are you? Did you get my message?” she asked directly, without beating around the bush.

Startled, Zhou Siyu propped herself up in bed, moving the phone slightly away as she squinted to adjust to the light. Switching apps, she immediately saw the message Xu You had sent not long ago.

Feeling apologetic, she explained right away, “Sorry, I came to the U.S. for a business trip a couple of days ago and didn’t tell you. I was resting just now and didn’t hear the notification.”

With a thirteen-hour time difference, it was 4:30 a.m. on the other side of the world, the heart of deep sleep.

Xu You wasn’t an unreasonable boss. She wouldn’t go so far as to drag Zhou Siyu out of bed in the middle of the night to exploit her. Her temper fading, she simply said, “Got it. Rest well. We’ll talk when you’re back.”

Zhou Siyu didn’t respond immediately. It seemed as if she was confirming something, and Xu You could hear the faint sound of fingers tapping on a screen.

Just as Xu You was about to hang up, Zhou Siyu, as if anticipating her next move, took control of the call.

After checking her schedule and roughly calculating her return date, she said, “I’ll be here for four more days. From then until the launch event, there are only ten days left. I can’t promise how many of those days I’ll be able to meet with you, it might get really busy.”

This business trip with Robert was packed with a tight schedule. The contract with the partner, Robert’s company, was about to expire. Seeing that YUYOO hadn’t made much of a splash in recent years, the renewal had been dragging on without a final decision. Now, with the upcoming launch of the new game Otherworld: Investiture of the Gods, a significant budget was needed to build momentum and break into the international market.

The partner was afraid of losing money, while Zhou Siyu refused to concede. Both sides were locked in a stalemate, with daily meetings dragging on exhaustingly.

There was always a worst-case scenario. If this partnership fell through and the contract wasn’t renewed, Zhou Siyu would have to find a new partner in the shortest time possible. Fearing that the next four days would only get busier, she chose not to explain the full situation to Xu You, instead phrasing it in the gentlest way possible to downplay the seriousness.

Xu You hadn’t expected things to be so complicated. At YUYOO, she had only fully followed one project, and even then, her role was a minor part of it. She had never realized how much effort went into developing and launching a game. Zhou Siyu had never brought her work-related stress home, either. Perhaps, during the time before they parted, Zhou Siyu had been working much harder than Xu You had imagined.

She might have been a good boss, but she wasn’t exactly the best lover.

Xu You thought it over but couldn’t come up with a better solution.

Both of them fell silent. As it was the end of the workday, colleagues from other departments passed by, casting curious glances at Xu You standing at the company entrance. In that short span of time, a male colleague she didn’t even know came over to ask for her WeChat.

Both Xu You and Zhou Siyu heard him clearly. Before Xu You could respond, Zhou Siyu suddenly spoke up: “How about we video call for two days? Since we can’t be sure about the future, let’s make the most of the time we have.”

“Wait a moment,” Xu You said, thinking this was one of the more feasible options, though the timing needed further discussion. She first reassured Zhou Siyu, then turned to dismiss the male colleague.

Covering her phone’s microphone, she naturally took a small step back to create some distance. “Sorry, I’m not an employee of this company.”

The man in a suit glanced down, his eyes landing on the employee badge in Xu You’s hand. At the top, the words “YUYOO” were clearly printed, and with his sharp eyesight, he could easily make out her position as Deputy Team Leader of the Design Department.

Realizing she’d been caught, Xu You flipped the badge over and gave an awkward laugh. “I’ll be resigning in a couple of days and don’t plan to stay in Beicheng. Maybe you should try meeting other women who are more suitable for you.”

Hearing this, the man naturally didn’t press further. He bid her an embarrassed farewell and quickly strode out of her sight.

Xu You removed her hand from the microphone and spoke into the phone, “Hello?” reminding Zhou Siyu of her presence.

“I’m here,” Zhou Siyu replied immediately, her tone unexpectedly light. Through the phone line, Xu You even suspected she was smiling.

Feeling a bit awkward, Xu You sniffled. “I don’t think there’s a better way. When are you free? We should set a time.” Then, as if remembering something, she added, “You should rest first. We can confirm the schedule after you wake up.”

Waking someone up in the middle of the night, even unintentionally, still left her feeling a little guilty.

Meanwhile, she had been standing at the company entrance for too long, and the awkwardness of the earlier encounter made her scalp tingle, she sincerely hoped it wouldn’t happen again.

“Morning works. Contact me when you get to the company. I don’t have any evening engagements,” Zhou Siyu gave a clear reply.

Since she had to set aside some time anyway, Xu You nodded in agreement, but just then, she let out a loud, forceful sneeze that drew even more attention. Flustered, she turned away, leaving behind a helpless silhouette.

Muffled, she replied, “Okay.”

On the other end of the line, Zhou Siyu’s brows suddenly furrowed, her expression filled with concern. “The weather’s been dry lately, are you having allergies or catching a cold?”

“No,” Xu You said, feeling much better as the discomfort passed. “You should rest early. I’m heading home.”

Zhou Siyu hated that she wasn’t there with her, knowing her worry was useless.

Sensing the underlying message in Xu You’s words, no matter how much she wanted to continue the conversation, she could only reluctantly agree with a soft “okay,” followed by the sound of the call disconnecting.

After hanging up, Xu You sent a message to the driver. He had been waiting near YUYOO, ready to pick her up, earning his pay for multiple tasks with this one job. Upon receiving her message, he hurried over without delay, drove Xu You home, and waited until she entered her house before habitually reporting to his boss.

[Safely delivered.]

A day later, Xu You and Zhou Siyu met online.

Xu You’s workstation was tucked in a corner against the wall, a spot where no one passed by unless they intentionally came looking for her. She made no effort to hide the video call, confidently putting on her headphones and dialing Zhou Siyu.

Right at the agreed time, Zhou Siyu didn’t keep her waiting. The call connected quickly, and their faces appeared on the screen: one large, one small.

“Do I need to strike any specific pose?”

Xu You had been looking down, checking her equipment, but at those words, she lifted her gaze and unexpectedly fell into the depths of Zhou Siyu’s intense eyes.

From the background, it seemed Zhou Siyu was already at her hotel or some place of rest, with an oversized bed visible not far behind her. She appeared to have freshened up, her snow-white skin extending from her neck down into the lower part of the frame, creating a stark contrast against her black sleepwear.

Notably, she was wearing glasses, her sharp eyes accentuated by the silver wire frames, making her look even more astute. At first glance, her gaze resembled a bottomless lake, capable of swallowing one whole at any moment.

Xu You forced herself to appear calm and looked away. Unable to speak aloud, she opened their chat window on the computer.

[No need.]

Zhou Siyu blinked, then in the video, she adjusted her laptop, finding a better position for the camera. She left Xu You with a view of her face slightly tilted to one side as she began her work.

The purpose of this video call was for Xu You to observe Zhou Siyu. As she watched her complete a series of movements and lower her head to write, Xu You completely missed the subtle, smug smile that briefly touched Zhou Siyu’s lips.

The equipment had its limitations. Even with Zhou Siyu’s face filling the screen, it couldn’t compare to seeing her in person, clear and convenient. Xu You’s eyes darted from one side of the screen to the other, and in less than an hour, they felt intensely tired and dry.

She set down her pen, rummaged through her bag, but couldn’t find her eye drops. In despair, she closed her eyes.

“Did you throw away the common medicines I had Zheng Ran deliver to you? There were eye drops and allergy meds in there.” A calm, gentle voice came through the headphones after a long silence.

Xu You’s furrowed brow relaxed slightly as she opened her eyes and met Zhou Siyu’s gaze.

Zhou Siyu suddenly leaned close to the camera. On the screen, only two thin straps of her camisole-style nightgown remained, her fair skin occupying most of the display. Her full, rounded curves were right before her eyes, making Xu You’s vision blur. For a moment, she doubted whether she was truly working at the company or merely using work as a cover for some immoral activities.

Her throat was the first to react, growing dry and itchy. She coughed twice, quickly averted her guilty gaze, and moved out of the camera’s view to take a few deep breaths, gulping down half a glass of water.

It was only natural for a beautiful body to captivate the heart and mind, but she couldn’t bear to look at herself on the screen.

Rummaging through her things, she found the small first-aid kit she had tossed into a corner. She opened it and put two drops of eye drops into each eye to relieve fatigue. Even the largest eyes couldn’t hold two large drops of liquid, and the excess trailed down her cheeks, making her slightly reddened eyes glisten with moisture.

Zhou Siyu, who had witnessed everything, suddenly disappeared from the camera as well. When she reappeared, she was holding a cup of steaming hot water.

Xu You wondered, “What is she up to?”