"Hey, Alien."
"My name is Ai Lian, you bastard." Lian was dangerously tempted to fling the stack of documents on her cubicle desk straight at Jin Fei's face. The blond-haired man merely responded with a grin.
Jin Fei pulled out the chair beside her and sat down, propping his chin on his palm.
"Working overtime again?" he asked, glancing at the pile of work that had technically been finished—only for additional revisions to be suddenly demanded.
"Are you blind or what? Do I look like I'm having a friendly chat with this pile of crap?" Lian snapped, never once taking her eyes off the computer screen. Her slender fingers danced rapidly across the keyboard.
The faster she finished, the sooner she could go home. It was already 5:45 p.m. She was technically late.
"Tsk."
A loud click of the tongue—not loud enough, considering there were still a few people left in the office.
Even without looking, Lian knew exactly who it was.
"Can't you be a little nicer to me?" Jin Fei sighed heavily. "If you keep being this sharp-tongued and cold, no man will ever want you, you know."
His gaze stayed fixed on Lian, who acted as if he didn't exist—just like she had since the very first day Jin Fei decided to work in the same company as her, as its CEO.
Just once.
Jin Fei wanted to see those beautiful blue irises look at him again like they used to.
Like before they broke up—three years ago—when he was forced to marry the woman his parents had chosen.
"Lian. Ai Lian." Jin Fei reached out, intending to touch the shoulder of the woman who had once loved him with her whole heart, body, and soul.
But before his hand could reach her, another hand grabbed his wrist.
"President Jin, I believe I heard your secretary looking for you earlier."
Jin Fei almost snapped—until he saw the face of Lin Yun, the head manager and one of his most trusted subordinates. All he could do was exhale in annoyance.
"Tsk. Fine."
Lin Yun bowed slightly as Jin Fei looked at him. After all, Jin Fei's position was far higher.
Jin Fei stood up, straightened his suit, and left the now-quiet employee room—leaving Lian and Lin Yun behind.
The black-haired man glanced at Lian, who appeared indifferent to everything around her.
But her shoulders trembled faintly.
And in the small mirror on her desk, the reflection revealed her biting down hard on her lip.
Lin Yun said nothing. He only placed a handkerchief on Lian's desk.
"…Thank you," Lian whispered, her voice barely audible.
Lin Yun nodded once, then left.
---
Thud.
Lian collapsed onto her bed after working overtime until ten at night. It wasn't the first time—but damn it, Jin Fei had been far more persistent in bothering her today than usual.
Exhausted from work, exhausted in her heart.
"Jin Fei, you asshole!" Lian yelled, burying her face into the soft pillow. "You cheated on me, and now you expect me to still have feelings for you?!"
Even though… the truth was—
She did.
Lian clenched the blanket tightly, her expression growing dim.
Yes, Jin Fei had cheated on her.
Yes, Jin Fei was married.
Yes, Jin Fei even had a child.
But beneath her hatred for him, Lian hated herself even more—for still harboring feelings for Jin Fei.
For the man who used to be gentle and attentive.
For Jin Fei, her first love… and perhaps her last.
Because after this, she doubted she would ever be able to fall in love with another man again. Maybe the saying "love that dies in an old story never truly returns" was real.
She felt like she would rather stay single until old age.
To hell with husbands and children.
The only person who could make Lian happy… was herself.
Kling, kling, kling.
"Ah." Lian abruptly snapped out of her sadness and pulled her phone from her bag. "Just an update notification."
The game that had become her escape—she had been playing it for months now. Handsome characters, an engaging story. In that game, Lian played as a female protagonist who raised affection levels with various characters.
Not only that, there were villains who constantly interfered with her.
Yet their pasts were always tragic.
Lian even found herself liking Jia Qingshan—one of the villains whose ending was already set in stone: death.
A man obsessed with the character Lian played, willing to do anything just to possess her.
Honestly… she wanted to be loved like that.
Recklessly. Desperately.
"I don't feel like playing right now," Lian sighed, placing her phone beside the bed—despite the update being about her favorite character. "If he's going to die anyway, what's the point of fighting for it?"
She groaned softly and turned off her phone after several messages came in—from Jin Fei's old number.
Damn it. Annoying.
"If I ever get into a relationship again, I won't be the one cheated on," Lian muttered. "I'd rather be the one cheating. Thinking about always being the one hurt—it's infuriating."
She hadn't even changed her clothes. Her eyelids grew heavy. She closed her eyes for just a moment—
And fell into a deep sleep.
At that very moment, a magic circle formed beneath Lian's bed.
It glowed brightly inside the narrow apartment room—then slowly, her body began to fade away.
Without anyone ever noticing.