On Monday morning, Weiwei immersed herself in her work. She asked for extra assignments and volunteered to help a colleague with reviewing some of her project files. She would have asked for even more, if not for the polite refusal of the team manager.
"You're a new employee. Take your time, get to know the team, learn the process," Mr. Liang said, nodding in encouragement. "If you want to work hard, no one is going to stand in your way. But it all comes in good time."
What Mr. Liang didn't know was that Weiwei wasn't volunteering simply to prove herself at the new place. The truth was that she was trying to do everything possible to occupy her mind with anything but thinking about Qi.
Especially after the weekend tour of the city and another dinner that followed, Weiwei didn't know what to think of Qi, and where things were going.
Things? What things? You are so ambitious, little girl. There is absolutely nothing going on. He's just being polite.
Was that true?
Weiwei tried to remember whether he said or did anything that could have exposed affection beyond normal care for a fellow human just extracted from the gutter of life.
Qi drove her around the city for a couple of hours. They stopped several times to get out of the car and view the sights on foot.
"It's been a while since I've driven around Xīnchéngshì for sightseeing," said Qi when they walked next to the marina. "It's a beautiful place, isn't it?"
"Yes," nodded Weiwei. "It's absolutely wonderful."
"What have you liked the most so far?"
Qi looked into her eyes, and looking at each other felt pleasant to Weiwei.
"I… I…" Weiwei couldn't remember what she replied.
Later, when they sat down for dinner across from each other, she felt it again.
It's his eyes. His gaze. There's definitely something in the way he looks at you that makes you feel gooey.
Maybe Weiwei was flattering herself, but the way Qi looked at her felt different from what she had been used to. She didn't know how people who are attracted to each other look at one another. Weiwei had never been really attracted to anyone before or took anyone else's attraction seriously enough to observe the details. So she couldn't tell with certainty whether Qi was looking at her in a special way because of attraction – or just because he was a very nice person.
I'm so undeveloped. How is it possible that I don't know such basic things?
She thought back to all the TV dramas that her roommate Susu was watching.
I should've watched some.
Weiwei shook off her daydreaming and worked on her assignments for a little while.
That's ridiculous! Do I really need to watch those dramas to know if someone likes me?
She froze and then replayed the words "likes me" in her head.
Oh no, I want him to like me! Why am I kidding myself? I do want him to like me. I'm hopeless. Why can't I lead a peaceful life? I don't need any distraction right now. I don't need to like anyone… even if it's someone as perfect as him.
She closed her eyes and mentally screamed at herself to stop.
Spending her lunch break with her new colleagues helped Weiwei start to get to know them. The two coworkers who had caught her eye from the beginning were Yihan, a striking and confident young woman, and Chengli, a bespectacled software engineer who was very knowledgeable and also very shy.
Yihan seemed to Weiwei to embody the look and behavior of a successful career woman as she had imagined her. Yihan was always impeccably dressed, in elegant but professional clothes. She carried herself with incredible poise, never showing signs of being rattled or frustrated. More than that, it seemed to Weiwei that Yihan commanded more respect from the managers than they did from her.
How does she do it?
Weiwei was fascinated by how without saying too much Yihan was able to be so clear and articulate, how without any visible effort and stress she was able to get so much done. She stood above everyone with her grace and wit – and Weiwei decided that one day she would become someone just like Yihan.
As for Chengli, he was somewhat of the opposite. Quiet and unassuming, he'd go unnoticed most of the time. He rarely spoke up, and when he did, he didn't come across as confident, even when he was right. He was tidy and well-dressed; Weiwei also quickly noticed that his phone was the latest and most expensive model.
"He's driving a Mercedez to work," a colleague whispered to Weiwei about him.
"I don't think he needs to work at all," another one rumored.
Weiwei was both intrigued and mystified. Chengli's personality and behavior didn't fit her image of a young man from a well-off family.
There must be more to it than meets the eye.
When Weiwei asked Chengli for help with the reporting software she wasn't familiar with, he patiently answered all of her questions and even prepared and sent her the steps she'd usually need to follow for future reference. Weiwei was impressed and confused.
"He's another enigma," thought Weiwei. "I wonder what his story is."