In Pei Qing's life dictionary, the three words "Zhou Xubai" are the quietest echoes of youth.
At the age of seventeen, he was always number one in the class next door, cold and proud.
She planned her time every day and passed by his classroom, just to catch a glimpse of his profile with his head lowered as he worked on the questions. The bag of milk that kept both warm and cooled ended up in her stomach.
After the college entrance examination, their names on the red list were not far apart, but they seemed to be separated by an entire galaxy.
Twenty years old, on the same floor of the university library.
She's on this side, he's on that side.
Their eyes briefly met in the air, and she knocked down the water glass in a panic. He stood up and seemed to be walking over, but was eventually stopped by his companion.
The untaken step became her deepest regret throughout her college years.
Later, in the vast sea of people, each wandered.
She buried the unrequited love deep in her heart, learned to be mature and capable, and fought hard in the workplace, thinking that she could finally forget that name.
Until that day, Pei Qing, as a cutting-edge project manager, opened the heavy conference room door in order to win the crucial scientific and technological cooperation case.
At the end of the long oval table, a man surrounded by people looked up when he heard the sound.
Time went back in an instant and was suddenly reshaped.
It's still the handsome face, but the youthfulness of a young man has faded away, and the calmness and sharpness of a superior person have appeared.
The eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses were as dull as she remembered, and even more businesslike and cold.
"Manager Pei." His voice came suddenly, clear and steady, hitting her heart off guard, "I am the person in charge of Party A this time, Zhou Xubai."
*
In Zhou Xubai's life plan, the word "Pei Qing" is the only uncontrollable variable.
At eighteen years old, she was the girl from the next class who always passed by her in the afternoon, her ponytail swaying gently with her footsteps.
He knew that she would appear at that time every day, so he always adjusted his sitting position in advance and bowed his head just in time when her eyes passed by.
The bag of milk she occasionally held in her hand, he had imagined countless times that it was for him.
When the college entrance examination results were released, the first thing he looked for was not his own name, but hers, which he immediately found from a not too far distance away.
That distance, in his opinion, is a gap that needs to be shortened in the next few years.
At the age of twenty-one, he saw her from a distance in the library, and his heart seemed to be suddenly clenched by someone.
He had clearly planned to walk over "naturally" and rehearsed his opening remarks dozens of times in his mind. At the moment of panic when she knocked down the water glass, he stood up almost immediately.
But in an instant, his companion's call stopped him in his tracks. When he turned back, she had already packed her things and left in a hurry.
Later, he looked at the sporadic information on her social account and silently followed her trajectory.
He ran as hard as he could, started a business with his classmates, and rose to prominence in the field of technology. He wondered if she would see him again at some point if he turned himself into a sufficiently eye-catching coordinate.
Until that day, when the door of the conference room was pushed open and he saw her again, his respiratory control system still failed briefly.
She walked in, clearer than in memory, and seemed more distant.
The professional suit and the calm gaze were what he had imagined countless times, but it made his heart beat faster than any of his previous imaginations.
He had to use all his self-control to make his voice sound calm, "Manager Pei, I am the person in charge of Party A this time, Zhou Xubai."
Intention: Brave and sincere
