“See you.”
Zhao Mingshi watched her leave, his face darkening completely.
He strode straight to the deputy director’s office, didn’t bother knocking, and shoved the door open. In English, he demanded, “Why is that woman—Ann—here?”
“What qualifications does she have?”
“Who approved her?”
“How did she get in?”
“Does the company just hire any random nobody now?”
Peter, who had been working behind his desk, was left utterly baffled by the barrage.
“Hey!” Peter said, exasperated. “Knock before you come in, okay?”
“Have some manners!”
“Sorry.”
Zhao Mingshi forced himself to calm down a little, walked over, and planted his hands on the desk. “I just want to know—why is that Chinese woman, Ann, here?”
“Come on!” Peter spread his hands, shrugging casually. “Why are you so worked up?”
He explained, “China has 1.2 billion people. One point two billion! That’s a massive market.”
“Entering China is only a matter of time for us.”
“Ann’s company works in computer hardware. It’s well-known in China, large-scale, and very well-funded.”
“Her boss introduced us to the relevant departments in China and welcomed us to expand there. One woman, one position—why wouldn’t we give it to her?”
“Of course we should. We’re going to develop the China market—”
Zhao Mingshi cut him off coldly. “If it’s an exchange, fine—exchange whatever you want. Why bring in a useless woman like her?”
“Hey!” Peter looked genuinely puzzled. “Jake, what’s going on with you? What problem do you have with that woman?”
“I don’t see any problem at all.”
“She’s even a university student, from a top Chinese university. She’s hardly worthless. And besides, the company has its own considerations—”
Zhao Mingshi and Peter went back and forth, arguing heatedly. To the other employees outside the office, it sounded like a full-blown shouting match.
In the end, Zhao Mingshi stormed out just as forcefully as he had barged in, slamming the door behind him. Clearly, Peter had not given him the answer he wanted.
What Zhao Mingshi hadn’t expected was that Ann, within just half a day of arriving, would single-handedly stir up a storm in the office.
After lunch, when he returned to the department, many colleagues were looking at him strangely.
He immediately sensed something was off.
Back in his office, a Chinese American coworker he was close with pushed the door open, leaned in, and lowered his voice in Chinese. “Hey—so you and the new girl, Ann, were exes? She said she even tried to kill herself for you.”
“She came all the way from China… was it for you?”
Zhao Mingshi: “……”
His head instantly started pounding.
If he denied it, the gossip would only get worse.
But admit it? On what grounds? Why should he have anything to do with Ann ever again?!
Why had Ann come to the United States in the first place?
Why was she haunting him like a ghost?!
He yanked at his tie irritably, completely losing his usual calm composure.
Once the coworker left, Zhao Mingshi quickly regained his composure and began plotting—thinking about how to get Ann sent right back to wherever she came from.
But that afternoon, Peter introduced Ann in the open office area, announcing that she was the new Marketing Department Manager—her title and status exactly equal to his.
Standing outside his office, Zhao Mingshi felt so sick he couldn’t even bring himself to clap politely.
Ann, on the other hand, was smiling—at Peter, at the coworkers on the floor, then through the crowd, directly at him.
Her smile made his stomach churn.
From that moment until the end of the workday, Zhao Mingshi felt deeply unsettled. He could already foresee how much trouble Ann would cause just to disgust him. He had no illusions that her sudden arrival was a coincidence.
He knew it too well: Bi Feng had vanished without a trace, and Bi Feng’s local-tyrant brother had been arrested back in China. It was hard to say how much people back home knew about his own involvement.
If they didn’t know, great.
If they did—he wasn’t afraid. He was in the United States, far from China. No one could easily touch him.
Now that Ann had parachuted in, he also knew perfectly well that her boss was Jiang Luo. Which meant Jiang Luo probably already knew the truth.
So what?
What could Jiang Luo do to him?
Zhao Mingshi wasn’t particularly worried.
Thinking about it, if Jiang Luo really could do something to him, why resort to this—sending an ex-girlfriend over to disgust him?
That thought actually made Zhao Mingshi feel smug. He found Jiang Luo’s “powerlessness” amusing.
Look at you. What can you do to me?
Send my ex over?
That’s it?
Heh.
Having reasoned it through, Zhao Mingshi couldn’t help but hum cheerfully as he drove home.
But the moment he got back, he couldn’t sing anymore.
The lock had been pried open. The house looked like it had been ransacked—completely trashed.
No, this was worse than a burglary.
A thief would steal valuables and leave. They wouldn’t bother with anything else.
But Zhao Mingshi’s house—from the living room to the dining room to the kitchen, from the first floor to the second, the third, even the attic—looked like it had been hit by a tornado.
Every drawer and cabinet had been emptied. Everything lay scattered across the floor.
Appliances had their power cords cut and tossed aside. Furniture was overturned. Cabinet doors and panels had been ripped off and strewn everywhere.
In short: the entire house was wrecked.
Standing there, Zhao Mingshi went from stunned confusion to wordless fury.
Fuck. Fuck!!!
Who did this?!
Who the hell did this?!
Had they lost their minds?!
At that point, he didn’t think too deeply. He assumed it was a robbery—just an especially deranged one.
He followed standard procedure and called the police.
Police cars arrived soon after, and he cooperated until late into the night.
Exhausted in both body and mind, he checked into a hotel and collapsed onto the bed.
The next few days were chaos—hiring people to fix the house, buying new furniture and appliances, all while still having to go to work.
At work, Ann was there, finding ways to disgust him at every turn. After work, it was back to dealing with the house. He barely had time to breathe.
After a full week, the house was finally fixed. He even installed better locks and surveillance cameras.
That evening, he came home from work—only to find the house ransacked again, everything scattered in complete disarray.
Zhao Mingshi: “……”
His scalp went numb.
Who? Who the hell was it this time?!
He immediately checked the surveillance footage. On the screen were several tall men wearing black ski masks. They pried open the lock—and then, right in front of the camera, tore the camera down.
Where the hell did these people come from?!
Even then, he still didn’t think too far. He assumed he’d been targeted by criminals. These days in the U.S., no matter how safe the neighborhood, Asians were easier targets.
This time, he got smart.
He abandoned the house entirely and moved into a hotel.
He had work, heavy responsibilities—he couldn’t afford to tangle with criminals.
If he couldn’t fight it, he wouldn’t.
It hurt to abandon a house he’d spent so much money on, but he had no choice.
But one night, after a grueling day at work, he returned to his hotel room and froze.
The room had been ransacked too.
Everything had been pulled out and thrown everywhere. His clothes had even been cut up, slashed into rags.
Zhao Mingshi stood at the doorway, stunned.
Then it hit him—and his scalp prickled with fear.
Someone was doing this on purpose.
Zhao Mingshi was sharp. He understood immediately.
He didn’t stay another second. He grabbed his documents and whatever was still intact and drove off.
He drove for hours, panic building with every mile.
When he finally reached another hotel, now with a clearer picture forming in his mind, he picked up the bedside phone and dialed a number.
The call connected. He spoke through clenched teeth, his voice icy. “Ann. It was you. This was all you, wasn’t it?”
“Don’t tell me it wasn’t you!”
“What’s wrong?” Ann asked, pretending innocence. Then she laughed. “Oh, back in a hotel already?”
“How is it? Was it a nice surprise?”
“You’re so naive.”
“How could you think it was thieves?”
“Thieves wouldn’t deliberately make such a mess.”
“Of course it was me.”
“Ann!” Zhao Mingshi snapped, furious—then forced himself to calm down. His tone softened. “I know you hate me. I understand.”
“Let’s talk, okay?”
“Ann, let’s talk.”
“Just tell me—what do I have to do for you to let me go—”
“That’s impossible,” Ann said lightly, her voice laced with pleasure. “How could I ever let you go?”
“Zhao Mingshi, you were my first love. The only man I have ever loved in my entire life. And back then, you ruined me so completely.”
“How could I ever let you go?”
“Don’t worry,” Ann continued softly. “I will cling to you like a ghost.”
“Wherever you go, I’ll go.”
“Wherever you are, I’ll be there…”
Just then, there came a knock at the door. Knock, knock.