Let's Get Married on the First Day of Rebirth - Chapter 25

Actually, just after Qu Ange and the others left, Xu Mi had already stepped out of the conference room.

She didn’t have any particular thoughts. She simply wanted to take a look around the company. This was where Qu Ange worked, and she had never had the chance to visit before. Now that she had the opportunity, she wanted to see it for herself, unsure if she’d ever get another chance.

That said, she didn’t overstep. She only glanced around the hallway and the break room, catching a distant glimpse of the cubicles before hesitating to go further. Just as she was about to return to the conference room, someone suddenly darted out from the side and grabbed her hand, saying, “Sis, could you help me buy a hot mocha from the Starbucks downstairs? I—I really have terrible stomach cramps.”

Xu Mi’s mind went blank, stunned by the word “sis.” The person in front of her had shoulder-length hair, light makeup, and didn’t look old—but no matter how she looked at it, they seemed older than her. She began to wonder if she appeared much older than she was. Before she could react, fifty yuan was shoved into her hand, and the person blurted, “Bring it to Room 1203 later,” before rushing into the restroom.

With the money already in hand, Xu Mi frowned slightly but decided to go anyway. She didn’t overthink it. Since she had nothing else to do, she might as well help. She went downstairs, bought the coffee, and returned, but she had no idea where Room 1203 was. Not being an employee, she felt too awkward to ask, so she wandered around until she finally spotted the person who had given her the money standing by a door. She hurried over, and the person, looking frantic, brightened upon seeing her and quickly took the coffee.

Before Xu Mi could say anything, the person vanished like a gust of wind. She still clutched the change, unsure what to do, and lingered hesitantly by the door.

About two minutes later, a sharp scream erupted from inside, followed by a shrill female voice shouting, “Who bought this coffee?”

Xu Mi froze, wondering if it was the one she had bought, when the person who had sent her suddenly grabbed her wrist and yanked her inside. Before she could react, she was pulled past several people until the space opened up. She realized the room was some kind of dressing area, lined with mirrors. On a red leather sofa in front of her sat a girl who looked no older than twenty, yelling, “How incompetent can you be? Don’t you know I’m cutting back on sugar? And in the middle of summer, you bring me a scalding hot coffee—are you trying to burn me to death?!”

As she spoke, the girl actually flung the coffee at her. Fortunately, Xu Mi reacted quickly and dodged.

But her mind was reeling in shock. She had no idea why she was in this situation.

She turned to look at the person who had asked her to buy the coffee, only to find them staring at the ground, avoiding eye contact, acting as if they had nothing to do with it. When she turned back to the girl, the latter seemed even angrier, pointing at her and shouting, “You even dared to dodge.”

Xu Mi studied the girl’s face carefully and realized she looked somewhat familiar—probably some celebrity.

The girl still had half a cup of coffee in her hand, sloshing dangerously. Xu Mi said matter-of-factly, “That’s hot coffee! You can’t just throw it at people.”

The other woman froze, then laughed incredulously, raising her hand as if to throw the coffee. Suddenly, Xu Mi reached out with her right hand to grab the woman’s wrist and snatched the coffee away with her left. Without a second thought, she poured the coffee over the woman’s head. The carefully styled curls instantly turned into sticky strands clinging to her cheeks. Xu Mi said calmly, “It’s indeed not too bad—not hot anymore.”

The entire room fell silent, with only the sound of breathing rising and falling.

Before the screaming could start, Xu Mi had already dashed out of the room. She took the emergency stairs down two floors before switching to the elevator to reach the ground floor.

Once downstairs, she pulled out her phone and saw two missed calls from Qu Ange. Just as she was about to call back, a third call came in. She answered, saying, “I’m already downstairs. Come down and meet me.”

Qu Ange was frantic, raising her voice, “Do you know how worried I—”

Her words were immediately cut off by Xu Mi: “Don’t raise your voice at me. Today, I don’t want anyone speaking loudly to me.”

Since it was someone she cared about, Qu Ange had no choice but to swallow her frustration. “Fine, I’ll come down. Where are you?”

“Convenience store.”

Five minutes later, Qu Ange found Xu Mi in the store. Still agitated, her tone was sharp: “So, why weren’t you in the meeting room? Where did you go?”

Xu Mi was staring blankly at the packaging of a drink in the store. Instead of answering, she pointed to the photo of a sweetly smiling girl on the label and asked, “Who’s this? Someone from your company?”

Qu Ange glanced at it and froze. “Bei Tian? Why? Did you run into her?”

Xu Mi didn’t answer, lost in thought. Qu Ange pressed, “You saw her? That crazy woman?”

Xu Mi looked up in surprise. “Do you have a grudge against her?”

She put the drink back, and the two left the store to hail a cab for the subway station. In the taxi, Qu Ange lowered her voice, “No grudge! We’re just not close. But she’s definitely a lunatic. Did you meet her? She didn’t give you trouble, did she? Her temper is awful.”

Afraid the driver might overhear, Qu Ange leaned in close to Xu Mi’s ear, her warm breath tickling the shell of Xu Mi’s ear. Though it itched terribly, Xu Mi didn’t pull away. Something about Qu Ange’s words struck her as odd—claiming they weren’t close yet seeming to know a lot. Not wanting to reveal what had happened earlier, Xu Mi evaded, “No, I just saw her posters all over your company.”

It was true! The hallway had been plastered with Bei Tian’s posters.

Qu Ange didn’t press further. “She’s really popular. There was a teen drama last year called The Thirteenth Month—ever heard of it? She was the lead.”

Xu Mi shook her head. “No, I don’t watch dramas. But now that you mention it, I think I’ve seen her in street ads.”

Qu Ange said, “She’s young—only seventeen last year, just turned eighteen. Guangju sees her as a future superstar and is grooming her for it.”

And Bei Tian lived up to expectations, staying famous for a decade—though her reputation in the industry had long since soured.

Xu Mi lowered her head, thinking: Only seventeen, yet so arrogant, so cruel, surrounded by sycophants. Ten years from now, she’ll only be worse.

“…What a waste,” she murmured under her breath.

Qu Ange didn’t catch it and leaned closer. “What?”

Standing too close, Xu Mi looked up and immediately met the other’s eyes—amber irises framed by long, delicate lashes, shimmering like a radiant gemstone. She quickly stepped back, her head resting against the chair. Qu Ange, noticing her nervous expression, couldn’t help but laugh and wrapped an arm around her, asking, “What’s going on? Where did you just go?”

Xu Mi had never been good at lying, but for some reason, the words slipped out effortlessly: “Nothing, just had a stomachache and went to the bathroom.” She didn’t want to talk to Qu Ange about Bei Tian.

In Qu Ange’s memory, Xu Mi was never one to speak up, so she took the explanation at face value and said, “You could’ve just texted me, you know. I was really worried.”

Zeng Xuejia, observing Qu Ange’s reaction earlier, had said with certainty, “She’s not just a regular friend to you, is she?”—stopping just short of outright asking, “She’s your girlfriend, right?”

Xu Mi let out a noncommittal “Mmm” and nodded. Qu Ange had been worried her tone might upset Xu Mi, but to her surprise, Xu Mi was unusually agreeable today. Smiling, she reached out and ruffled Xu Mi’s hair. “Wow, you’re being so good today.”

Xu Mi nearly succumbed to Qu Ange’s gentleness until the third pat. She swatted Qu Ange’s hand away with a sharp “Stop it, you’re making my hair greasy.”

Just then, they arrived at their destination. As they stepped off the escalator, a beam of sunlight caught Qu Ange’s hair, casting a halo around her. She turned back with a dazzling, radiant smile.

She looked every bit the superstar meant for the silver screen.

This industry, so full of hypocrisy and opportunism, disgusted Xu Mi.

And yet, Qu Ange loved it.

Irritation gnawed at her. Back home, on a whim, she decided to cook something elaborate—buying a whole chicken from the supermarket and stewing it into soup. The chicken hadn’t even been plucked, but Xu Mi handled it with practiced ease, defeathering and draining it in one fluid motion, leaving Qu Ange in awe. The dish took so long that by the time it was done, even Tan Zhenzhen had returned from work. Luckily, too. Otherwise, they’d never have finished the whole chicken.

Watching Tan Zhenzhen devour the meal, Qu Ange couldn’t resist asking, “Have you ever thought about doing mukbang? You’ve got the appetite for it.”

Tan Zhenzhen replied, “I’ve actually considered it. I’ve watched those eating shows online, but… sigh, who knows how long that kind of work lasts or if it even pays…”

Qu Ange paused, suddenly remembering that short-video platforms didn’t exist yet. Most self-made content was text-based on public accounts, with few video creators—largely due to technological limitations, as 4G hadn’t even rolled out widely.

She chuckled and let the topic drop. After cleaning up, back in their room, Qu Ange said to Xu Mi, “You and Tan Zhenzhen could collaborate. You cook, she eats, and she records it for a video site. You could post the recipes on a public account.”

There was no response, and Qu Ange dismissed it as idle talk. Scrolling through her phone, she noticed a message from Zeng Xuejia:

“Did you see what’s being said in the group? Bei Tian was absolutely livid today.”

Qu Ange checked the QQ group and saw Bei Tian’s assistant asking—

“Has anyone seen a girl with long black hair, straight bangs, wearing a white T-shirt and a denim skirt? She looks quite sweet. Which department is she from?”

Qu Ange immediately turned to look at Xu Mi, who was sitting at the desk, scribbling something under the desk lamp. Her hair, dark as ink, cascaded like a bolt of satin down her back, her expression focused and serious.

She switched to another group chat and scrolled up, seeing a message at the top that read.

“Did you guys hear? Some girl poured coffee on Bei Tian’s head today.”

The responses poured in.

“Holy shit, who was it? That’s bold!”

“Must be the boss’s secret love child or something.”

“Watch what you say, or your sweet sister Bei might see the screenshots.”

Qu Ange glanced back at Xu Mi again. She sat there quietly, looking utterly composed.