Cohabitating With My Sworn Enemy After The Apocalypse - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

August 11th, 5:20 PM

Colleagues around her began shifting into after-work mode. Instead of continuing to work, everyone gathered to discuss the day’s amusing events.

Shi Qingwan, who would usually chime in with a word or two, had absolutely no intention of participating. She frequently picked up her phone, opened an application, and then did nothing else.

Shi Qingwan was exceptionally eager for the end of the workday today.

“Qingwan, do you have something going on today? You’ve checked the time so many times.” Her unusual behavior was noticed by a colleague next to her.

The voice was like a drop of water falling into scorching oil. Her mood instantly boiled up. Shi Qingwan abruptly snapped out of her daze, her fingertip frantically swiping the phone screen. The sound of the lock screen was sharp and somewhat grating.

She forced a smile, which even she felt was transparent: “Ah? No, nothing.”

Mid-sentence, her gaze drifted involuntarily back to her phone—5:28 PM.

The office door was pushed open, bringing with it a subtle wave of perfume.

Wan Qiyun walked unhurriedly towards the crowd, her footsteps sounding like they were tapping right on everyone’s hearts.

She wore a crisp, white women’s shirt, the top two buttons undone, revealing a line of delicate collarbone. A light cyan ivy necklace rested perfectly in the hollow of her collarbone. Her long, slightly curled hair fell over her shoulders. Her somewhat loose trousers swayed gently with her steps.

Shi Qingwan didn’t recognize the brand of Wan Qiyun’s clothes, but the quality was excellent. Every detail about her exuded meticulously crafted elegance and expense.

She looked even more refined than she did in school. Now, her every gesture was infused with composure and grace, and her surrounding aura was stronger.

She walked towards them, finally stopping in front of Shi Qingwan’s cubicle. Her long, slender fingers rested on the partition, tapping lightly.

“Looks like I arrived just in time.” Her voice carried just the right amount of cheer. Her gaze paused on Shi Qingwan for a second, then swept over everyone. “Since today is my first day on the job, I’d like to treat everyone to a meal.”

A small commotion immediately broke out in the office. Everyone quietly scrutinized Wan Qiyun. This young woman in front of them was the focus of today’s office discussion: their design team’s newly appointed leader.

“Great, a free meal! We’d love it.”

Someone spoke up first, and everyone else quickly agreed.

Their design team was mostly young people, one or two years out of college, with no generation gap between them. Wan Qiyun only took one morning to successfully blend in with the group and bond with everyone.

“Qingwan, you come too.”

Seeing Shi Qingwan remain silent in her seat, Wan Qiyun lightly tapped the partition with her fingertip, glancing sidelong at Shi Qingwan and giving her no power to refuse.

Shi Qingwan sighed softly. The second hand hit zero; she should be off work, but now she couldn’t leave.

What did that look from Wan Qiyun mean? Provocation?

Was she showing her authority, telling her that she didn’t even have the right to refuse her now?

Shi Qingwan bit her lower lip. Before she had time to think further, Wan Qiyun in front of her had already turned and gone back to her office to gather her things.

“Ding-dong, ding-dong…”

Receiving several consecutive text messages, she opened her phone. Over a dozen unread messages, all concerning the super typhoon “Siren,” projected to make landfall on the coast on the morning of August 21st. Wind speeds were estimated to be Category 17-19, with heavy rain expected to last for several days. Residents were advised to take precautions.

She put away her phone. Her colleagues urged her to hurry and pack up to leave. Shi Qingwan sighed softly, reluctantly getting up.

She stared in the direction of Wan Qiyun’s office. The figure behind the glass door was calmly organizing things on her desk, as if the invitation she’d just extended was merely a casually thrown bait.

She sighed again. How did she run into Wan Qiyun again?

She and Wan Qiyun knew each other. They were both graduates of Jiangcheng University. Wan Qiyun was a year ahead of her. Although they were alumni, their relationship was difficult to describe.

She and Wan Qiyun had been sworn enemies in school. Wan Qiyun competed with her for everything, challenging her at every turn, which greatly annoyed her.

By the end, she would instinctively avoid Wan Qiyun’s name whenever she heard it. Eventually, their relationship became extremely ugly.

This state only gradually improved after Wan Qiyun graduated and left for her internship.

Yet, not long after her own graduation, she ran into her again.

The elevator was filled with a subtle mixture of high-end perfume and damp air.

Shi Qingwan stood in the corner, secretly observing Wan Qiyun, who stood in the center, through the elevator mirror.

That elegant silhouette was still flawlessly perfect, just like when she stood under the spotlight, speaking fluently during the Student Union President election back in the day.

The elevator chimed, stopping on the first floor. Everyone poured out. Shi Qingwan followed the crowd, preparing to leave the elevator, but Wan Qiyun turned around and blocked her way.

“My car is on the second basement level. Junior, ride with me to the restaurant.” She reached out and pressed the door-close button. She didn’t lower her voice, and the surrounding colleagues all heard her form of address for Shi Qingwan.

Everyone belatedly realized that their new boss and Shi Qingwan already knew each other, and judging by the address, they seemed to be on decent terms.

The team had 13 people in total. Taking a taxi to the restaurant meant one person would be left over. Wan Qiyun took the liberty of grabbing Shi Qingwan, intending to drive her to the restaurant.

The elevator doors slowly closed behind her, cutting off the curious gazes of her colleagues. In the confined space, the scent of Wan Qiyun’s perfume suddenly became intensely aggressive.

Wan Qiyun gently twirled the ends of her hair hanging over her shoulder, her gaze fixed on Shi Qingwan’s profile.

“You… your hair has gotten much longer.” With only the two of them in the elevator, her voice was softer than it had been in front of others, carrying a deliberate casualness.

Shi Qingwan looked up at herself in the mirror. She was indeed a little different from her university days. “Mhm.”

The air in the elevator solidified.

The elevator reached the second basement level just then. A chime sounded, seemingly acting as a semicolon for the awkward conversation.

Shi Qingwan exited the elevator and walked straight ahead, looking down.

“Do you know which car is mine?” Wan Qiyun, who exited the elevator after her, called out to Shi Qingwan.

Shi Qingwan’s steps abruptly stopped. She froze in place but didn’t turn around.

Wan Qiyun walked closer unhurriedly. The sound of her heels clicking on the ground was particularly clear in the vast underground parking lot.

“This way.” Her voice held a faint smile as her fingertip lightly tapped Shi Qingwan’s shoulder.

Shi Qingwan instinctively dodged half a step to the side. Seeing Wan Qiyun walk straight toward the front-right, she followed.

A low-key silver Porsche was parked there, gleaming with a cold sheen under the dim lights.

Shi Qingwan felt somewhat annoyed. She was clearly out of sorts today. It was just working with Wan Qiyun; her reaction was abnormally excessive.

Such an abnormal reaction gave Wan Qiyun even more reason to mock her.

She stood outside the car door, took a deep breath to compose herself, opened the door, and sat in the passenger seat.

The cool feel of the leather seat sobered her up slightly. The interior was filled with a faint fragrance, identical to Wan Qiyun’s perfume, and surprisingly not unpleasant.

There were many small trinkets placed in the car, looking quite cute—not at all like something Wan Qiyun would display.

“Buckle up. We’re about to go,” Wan Qiyun reminded her thoughtfully after setting the navigation.

Shi Qingwan, now composed, buckled her seatbelt and responded softly.

A trace of surprise flashed in Wan Qiyun’s eyes, but she didn’t say anything more. The car slowly started and drove out of the underground garage.

Outside, a light rain began to fall. The raindrops gently tapped the car window, leaving winding trails of water on the glass.

Shi Qingwan looked at the blurry streetscape outside the window, frowning slightly. She didn’t like rain.

She disliked both downpours and light drizzles, because rain meant hindered travel, her clothes would get wet, she could easily get sick, and it could delay her subsequent plans.

“You’re still the same.” Wan Qiyun suddenly spoke, keeping her eyes on the traffic ahead. It was rush hour plus the sudden rain, so traffic was congested. She wasn’t driving fast. “You still frown whenever it rains.”

Shi Qingwan’s heart skipped a beat. Wan Qiyun actually remembered that detail.

It just goes to show that your sworn enemy understands you best, because they constantly observe your every move, slowly study you, and then find your weaknesses.

“Senior is quite different from before,” Shi Qingwan retorted, unwilling to show weakness.

Wan Qiyun’s finger paused slightly on the steering wheel, and a knowing smile curved her lips: “Oh? How am I different?”

Shi Qingwan turned her head to observe her. She could even clearly see the small tear mole at the corner of Wan Qiyun’s eye.

In college, Wan Qiyun always deliberately covered it with concealer, but now she showed it openly, faintly visible in the dim car interior.

More beautiful, more charming, more attractive.

Of course, there was no way she would ever say those words to Wan Qiyun.

Shi Qingwan looked directly at the congested traffic ahead. “You’ve gotten better at pretending.”

“Then would Junior like to guess,” Wan Qiyun’s voice carried a hint of amusement, “if I am being genuine or fake right now?”

“Genuine or fake, either way, it has nothing to do with me.” She calmly ended the conversation. She didn’t want to discuss such meaningless things with Wan Qiyun anymore. What was past was past. She leaned back against the seat, turning her head to look out the window.

The car suddenly became so quiet that only the sound of the windshield wipers could be heard.

The rain was getting heavier. The raindrops hitting the car roof sounded noisy. Whether it was her imagination or not, she thought she heard Wan Qiyun sigh with disappointment.

The car crawled along the road, taking half an hour to reach the restaurant’s underground parking lot.

The colleagues who took a taxi were lucky and were already seated inside, messaging Shi Qingwan to ask where they were. Wan Qiyun expertly backed the car into a parking space, ready to get out.

“We are already in the parking lot. We’ll be up in five minutes.”

Support Cohabitating With My Sworn Enemy After The Apocalypse