My Quirky New Boss Is My Ex

The new manager, Qi Jiangli, had sharp, cold features and a slender build. Her wolf-cut hair was half tied back, and women often turned to look as she passed.

Yet no one dared approach her.

Rumor had it Qi Jiangli was an eccentric loner, cold and heartless, petty and vengeful. She had such a fiery temper that one casual conversation could land you in the hospital.

Yet she was also cold and proud enough to let people gossip about her without a care.

Amid her colleagues' chatter, Ying Xinyue saw the face that appeared in her dreams night after night. Their eyes met, and she was the first to look away.

Few knew that Qi Jiangli and this well-liked colleague had been classmates for seven years, from high school through college.

Once, they had held each other close on a freezing winter night, counting stars as they fell asleep together. Their passionate kisses warmed their stiffened limbs.

*

When they first met, Qi Jiangli carried Ying Xinyue's backpack because she had arrived late, then walked her to class and showed her around campus after she had checked in.

Later, Ying Xinyue saw Qi Jiangli's name on the honor roll. Her remarkable top-of-the-class grades made their way into Ying Xinyue's heart.

She began quietly keeping an eye on this famous figure around campus.

The wind from those old days brushed her hair, lifting a corner of darkness and stirring up dusty air. The young girl's heart fluttered.

Taking her secretly admired senior as a role model, Ying Xinyue worked hard and got into the same university as Qi Jiangli.

Later, they shared so much. They nestled together in a warm, clinging swamp, fingertips pressed together, the heat of their lips mingling with each other's breath before they swallowed it down in a fluster.

Their relationship crossed a line. Ying Xinyue thought her feelings were real and confessed to Qi Jiangli, only to receive a cold, "Thank you, but I'm sorry."

Four years passed in a sudden parting. When Ying Xinyue saw the woman she had once loved again, she didn't want to make the same mistake twice.

She offered a simple, neutral "Long time no see."

One day, as Ying Xinyue handed in a report, she caught sight of Qi Jiangli stroking the bracelet Ying Xinyue had given her. Her expression was affectionate, her eyes filled with a tenderness Ying Xinyue had never seen before.

Ying Xinyue's brows twitched. Feelings that had lain dormant for far too long came back to life.

*

No groveling arc, and not a broken-up couple getting back together. Just an ordinary story of two girls going from an awkward first love to finding happiness together.

Quiet, gentle, cool older woman x shy, sunny sweetheart

An entirely fictional setting. The characters, companies, and schools are not based on real people or places.

The story follows two timelines, one in the workplace and one during their school days.

[Chapters titled "Dawn and Dusk" take place in the present; chapters titled "You Know Not" take place in the past.]

Theme: Even when mired in a swamp, don't give up easily. Believe that after hard work, the skies will clear.