At exactly 1:55 PM, the soft ding of a group notification sounded across the Design and Managerial floor.

[ All team members, please report to the conference room for Director Xu’s project briefing. Meeting begins at 2:00 sharp. Late arrivals will be noted. ]

The message sent a chill down everyone's spines.

Chairs scraped back, conversations halted, and employees began filing toward the long glass-walled meeting room at the far end of the floor. People murmured in hushed tones full of curiosity, weariness, and anxiety.

Something big was coming. Everyone could feel it.

Wen Rou tapped Ke Xin lightly on the arm. “Come on,” she whispered, already gathering her notepad and tablet. “It’s time.”

Ke Xin stood with a light stretch and followed her, quiet as ever.

As they entered the conference room, she immediately felt the shift in energy. The long oval table was surrounded by sleek leather chairs. Floor-to-ceiling windows let in the warm afternoon light, casting honey hues across the polished surface.

People were already taking seats. Middle management on the left, team leads on the right, and associates wherever they could find space. Wen Rou snagged a seat closer to the far end, and Ke Xin sat beside her.

There were murmurs here and there, but they lowered to a hush when the glass door opened, and Xu Lu Yan stepped inside.

Her presence alone silenced the room.

She walked briskly to the front of the table, holding a slim folder in one hand. Behind her trailed her assistant, who quickly connected a tablet to the mounted display and began syncing it to the projection screen at the front of the room.

Director Xu didn’t speak immediately.

She placed the folder down, turned toward her staff, and scanned the room.

It was subtle, but she paused for a breath when her gaze landed on a particular person's face, now clearly visible for the first time since this morning.

…is she?

Xu Lu Yan hadn’t really seen her earlier, not with Wei Yi Zhu in the way. She’d assumed the usual, based on her clothes she was someone polished but forgettable. But now, seated calmly at the table, clear as day, the girl stood out sharply against the others. Her features were elegant, symmetrical, and unnervingly composed.

Those big, dark eyes. Plush pink lips. Two beauty marks rested beneath her right eye like twin ink droplets on porcelain.

Ah, Xu Lu Yan thought. She's definitely the type who turns heads.

She quickly blinked the thought away.

Still, considering earlier... Looks can’t override everything.

“Good afternoon,” Xu Lu Yan began, her voice clipped and precise. “We’ll begin the briefing now.”

The assistant tapped the screen, and a sleek black slide appeared behind her:

Sheunghua x RouYu Skincare: National Campaign 2025

A wave of energy passed through the room. A few people straightened up in their seats.

“This morning, we received official confirmation from the board,” Director Xu continued. “The joint campaign with RouYu Skincare has been greenlit and will enter active production starting next week.”

Slides continued flipping. Logos, keywords, a sleek moodboard of soft pastels and skincare minimalism.

“This will be a full-scale national rollout. Visual concept, product pairing, brand identity redesign, and influencer onboarding. Everything will be handled in-house, by us.”

Wen Rou’s mouth parted slightly in surprise.

“This campaign will be personally overseen by RouYu’s CEO, Li An Qi,” Xu Lu Yan continued, her tone shifting slightly. “She will be directly involved in weekly check-ins, design approvals, and overall campaign tone.”

Ke Xin’s eyes widened faintly.

Jiejie?

She hadn’t heard her sister’s name spoken aloud for over a month since her graduation celebration. Only calling here and there. Her sister had always been busy. An unstoppable force in the skincare industry, always flying across the country or buried in meetings.

She missed her.

Ke Xin sat a little straighter in her seat, a flicker of warmth blooming beneath her usual calm exterior.

I should call her after this.

Director Xu continued. “For those unfamiliar, CEO Li An Qi is known for her extremely high standards. Nothing goes out without passing her inspection first. She’s one of the youngest CEOs in the corporation and a member of the Zhang family. That alone should tell you what kind of pressure we’ll be under.”

The room nodded solemnly. The Zhang Corporation was a giant, and members of the Zhang family were practically modern royalty. Especially the Li line. Mr. Zhang's eldest daughter and her children.

And now one of them would be working directly with them.

“Now.” Xu Lu Yan’s gaze shifted slightly toward the end of the table. “Since this campaign will demand cooperation across experience levels, I’ll be assigning both new hires to a shared preliminary task.”

Heads subtly turned toward the two women sitting at the end.

Wen Rou blinked, straightening in her chair.

Ke Xin’s expression didn’t change, though her eyes lifted toward the screen.

“You’ll be in charge of compiling and refining product language. Pulling from both Sheunghua’s archives and RouYu’s public-facing media to establish tone alignment. Your summaries will be due in three days.”

Wen Rou nodded quickly. “Yes, Director.”

Ke Xin nodded once. “Understood.”

Director Xu didn’t look at them long. “This will be reviewed by me personally and submitted to CEO Li An Qi before Friday. If your work is incomplete or sloppy, I will not be soft about it.”

A few team members exchanged glances.

That’s what she gives the new hires? Tone matching for a Zhang-led campaign?

One of the senior associates, leaned to his seatmate and whispered, “I hope the sleepy one doesn’t mess it up.”

The other whispered back, “Seriously. I heard she napped right after lunch.”

Director Xu finished her presentation with an overview of the production timeline, the deliverables schedule, and key personnel contacts.

When the final slide faded, Xu Lu Yan closed the folder on the table.

“This will be the most high-profile project of the quarter. You are not just representing Sheunghua. You are representing the Zhang family. If that means staying late, working weekends, or revising drafts fifteen times, you do it. No excuses.”

Everyone rose to their feet as she dismissed the meeting.

The chairs scraped back, and the murmur of voices began again as people filed out.

Wen Rou leaned over to Ke Xin, beaming. “That’s so cool! We’ll be working together for real. And on something huge!”

Ke Xin blinked slowly before smiling softly.

“I’m glad,” she said.