Chapter 10

After Xie Zhi rested well, Fang Xianxing sent him home, receiving a warm greeting from Xie Zhi’s father along with a subtle, almost imperceptible scrutiny.
Fang Xianxing let him scrutinize her, but she didn’t mention that the two of them had decided to marry again, fearing these elders might think they were acting like childish tempers, treating marriage as a trifling game.
Though, to be honest, it did seem quite trifling.
The next day, Fang Xianxing slept in until the afternoon before heading to work. As soon as she stepped out of the president’s elevator, she said to Xu Mi, who was following her into the office while reciting the work schedule: “The materials on Yuan Shun Dynasty archaeological artifacts and collections I asked you to prepare this morning—organize them and send them to me before the end of the day.”
Xu Mi agreed, though her eyes clearly held some confusion.
Fang Xianxing sat down, propping her chin, her lips parting slightly: “I plan to sponsor their underwater archaeology project on the Yuan Shun Dynasty.” As she spoke, a spark of inspiration flashed, her brows lifting slightly. “Isn’t Wang Xia working on developing a national-style game?”
Xu Mi: “Yes, the gaming industry has been booming these past two years, and games with a touch of national style are especially popular in the market. Wang Xia’s project has already started.”
Fang Xianxing nodded: “Perfect. I won’t sponsor them for nothing. Find a way to collaborate with them and secure an official endorsement.”

Xu Mi nodded in sudden realization. Raising her eyes, she saw Fang Xianxing sitting relaxed and languid, pulling a stack of files that had been piling up for days toward herself. She began working through them, occasionally circling problematic spots and marking them with a question mark.
No more slacking off? Xu Mi was a bit curious about how Fang Xianxing had adjusted her mindset.
“Notify everyone that in an hour and a half, the department managers will have a meeting,” Fang Xianxing said, glancing at the files in front of her and estimating the time it would take to handle them.
Xu Mi: “Understood.” With that, she stepped out.
An hour and a half later, Fang Xianxing sat at the right head of the table, two fingers supporting her chin, watching the projector’s PowerPoint while listening to the planning department manager’s explanation.
Frowning, she waited until the manager finished before speaking: “The data on your tenth page doesn’t match the data on your second page. How did you conduct your market research? Can this kind of data support your conclusions?”
As her words landed, the air in the meeting room tightened instantly. The planning department manager held her breath, exhaling cautiously.
Just as the tension grew stifling, the screen of Fang Xianxing’s phone, resting on the table, suddenly lit up.
It was from Xie Zhi.
“Fang Zong, are you busy today?”
Fang Xianxing tilted her head, the cold sharpness in her eyes softening slightly. She looked at the message oddly and replied: “Busy. What’s up?”
There was a long pause from the other side, then silence.
Fang Xianxing set her phone down, shifted her posture, and cast a light glance at the planning department manager, who instantly felt as if a mountain had pressed down on her. The manager’s eyes darted repeatedly to Fang Xianxing’s phone, hoping it would light up again, buying her time to come up with a proper response.
The phone didn’t light up. Instead, Fang Xianxing, looking at the manager, had a sudden idea. She picked up her phone, her slender fingertips tapping lightly: “I’ll update you on the progress later.”
After sending it, she opened her chat with Xu Mi, paused for a moment, pursed her lips, and exited again, resuming the work meeting.
“Next time you present something this sloppy, bring your deputy along. I’ll see which of you is more suited for this position,” Fang Xianxing said, withdrawing her pressure on the planning department manager with a merciless reply.
The planning department manager let out a huge sigh of relief—at least she wasn’t being held accountable this time. Great news, great news.
Interrupted by Xie Zhi’s message, Fang Xianxing didn’t dwell on them further. She quickly reviewed everyone’s work, making corrections where needed and assigning tasks for execution, all in an orderly manner.
But the progress she’d promised Xie Zhi? She deliberately delayed sending it until she got home from work, lounging comfortably on the sofa, flipping through the materials Xu Mi had prepared page by page.
Just as she’d thought, sponsoring archaeological research on artifacts was easy—money would do the trick. Though she couldn’t participate directly, offering small, reasonable, legal, and compliant suggestions would likely not be rejected.
But Fang Xianxing didn’t want to settle for that.
Through collaboration, she wanted to amplify Chengxing’s influence over them, benefiting herself while also giving them a more flexible interpretation of “reasonable, legal, and compliant.” That way, Xie Zhi’s goals could be resolved with absolute certainty.
With a plan in mind, Fang Xianxing set the materials aside, picked up her phone, and spun it casually in her hand a few times.
At exactly eight in the evening, after finishing dinner, her phone lit up.
Xie Zhi: “Fang Zong, good night.”
Fang Xianxing was amused.
Good night at eight?
She waited a little longer, and sure enough, Xie Zhi sent another message: “Fang Zong, I didn’t secretly change my phone wallpaper.” Attached was a screenshot.
In the screenshot, her image was layered beneath a few everyday apps. Her lips were flat, not smiling, but her eyes carried a natural hint of amusement, their corners tracing a gentle yet distant aura.
It was a decent shot, and even better on Xie Zhi’s phone.
“Are you asking me to praise you?” Fang Xianxing smirked. “Good job, I’ll praise you.”
Seeing the reply, Xie Zhi slammed his phone onto the bed, glaring at it, fuming as he spun in circles.
He didn’t believe she couldn’t tell. That afternoon, when he asked if she was busy, she’d responded right away. Now, he’d dropped such an obvious hint.
Fang Xianxing knew, but so what? Xie Zhi hadn’t yet stepped into the role of her future husband. He treated her like a tool, so she needed to adjust his mindset.
When he didn’t reply for a while, Fang Xianxing suspected she’d pushed him too far. She leisurely picked up her phone and finally offered a clear path: “Your initiative is too obvious, and the experience isn’t great.”
Xie Zhi, still fuming, grabbed his phone, stared at it for over a minute, took several deep breaths, and then sent a fierce reply.
Fang Xianxing raised an eyebrow.
Xie Zhi had sent a good-night animated sticker—a cute anthropomorphic puppy in a floral skirt, waving at her, with “Good night, mua” flashing in the top right corner.
Fang Xianxing: …
Was it that hard to appease her? A sticker, probably one of the system defaults—hah, did she look like someone who needed a sticker?
But after staring at it, for some reason, the puppy slowly morphed into a cartoonish Xie Zhi in her mind—wearing a floral skirt, drooping dog ears, pouting, forcing a smile as he waved at her.
The “Good night, mua” in the corner stood out even more.
Fang Xianxing buried her face in a sofa cushion, unable to hold back her laughter.
Alright, the experience wasn’t bad.
She’d even forced Xie Zhi to resort to stickers.
Suppressing the smile on her lips and letting it settle into her eyes, Fang Xianxing sent Xie Zhi a message, briefly outlining what she’d found and her plans.
Seeing that Fang Xianxing had finally sent the progress update, Xie Zhi breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t interested in supervising—just in confirming whether she’d forgotten, whether she was truly willing to help him.
“Thank you,” Xie Zhi replied with two words. After a moment’s thought, he opened his sticker list again, found a matching one, and sent it—this time with “Thank you” floating in the top right.
He exited the chat after sending it, unwilling to look again.
Stickers were like that—others felt immersed seeing them, and he felt immersed sending them.

*
“Xie Zhi, you’ve got a wife-master now?”
During lunch break, Xie Zhi was eating in the office cafeteria. He’d barely sat down when his overly familiar colleague Shi Ling plopped down beside him, winking and nudging as he glanced at Xie Zhi’s phone, which had just lit up.
Xie Zhi suppressed the sudden panic in his chest, pretending to be calm as he picked up his phone. It was just Fang Xianxing, bored, sending: “Have you eaten? What did you eat?”
He was furious.
“Yeah,” he replied to Shi Ling’s question despite his irritation.
These past few days, they’d been in constant contact via WeChat. Most of the time, he racked his brain, using stickers to act cute and pry for updates, while Fang Xianxing took her sweet time, driving him mad enough to stomp around his room.
Seeing that she was indeed moving toward his goal step by step, Xie Zhi endured it.
But Fang Xianxing was truly infuriating. After confirming his phone wallpaper was still her photo, she started messaging him at all hours with idle chatter.
Every time his phone lit up, someone saw his wallpaper. Shi Ling wasn’t the first—his mom and dad had seen it too, hesitating to speak but ultimately saying nothing in silent agreement.
“Really?” Shi Ling was shocked at his confirmation.
Xie Zhi’s personality was just too cold, too reserved. If not for their mentor’s request to look after his junior, Shi Ling might not have kept trying to chat with him.
Who’d have thought Xie Zhi would have a wife-master?
He watched as Xie Zhi snapped a photo of his meal, then lowered his head, cheeks puffed out as he typed a reply. His expression was livelier—angry, yet also like he was sulking at the person on the other end.
Shi Ling glanced silently at his own untouched food, feeling like he’d already been stuffed with dog food.
When Xie Zhi finished replying, Shi Ling remembered something important: “Did you hear about Director Su coming to see the section chief recently?”
Xie Zhi hummed: “What about it?”
He started eating slowly, chewing carefully.
What was Fang Xianxing’s deal, insisting he send her a photo of his meal today? Good thing he hadn’t started eating yet—did she expect him to send her a picture of leftovers?
Shi Ling answered: “You’ve nearly finished organizing the Wei Dynasty ancient architecture materials. The section chief wants to send you and Ke Jie to assist. Xie Zhi, you don’t know—my idol’s playing the female lead in this drama. I’d love to go see, but the section chief shot me down.”
“What are they doing?” Xie Zhi frowned. He didn’t want to travel; he just wanted to wait quietly for Fang Xianxing’s good news.
“It seems they’re building a Yuan Shun Dynasty Longevity Festival palace scene. The investors want them to respect history as much as possible. Director Su takes it seriously and wants experts from our institute to help.”
“The section chief thinks the entertainment industry’s a mess and doesn’t want men going, but in our section, you’re the only one who’s studied the Yuan Shun Dynasty in depth,” Shi Ling said with a hearty laugh. “This trip, Ke Jie’s basically your bodyguard. I bet she’ll have to fend off talent scouts trying to poach you for stardom!”
Xie Zhi lowered his eyes and sighed softly. Looked like he couldn’t get out of this.
That evening, as usual, Fang Xianxing made him say some sweet, pleasing words before updating him. Xie Zhi’s repertoire of phrases and stickers had grown far richer than before.
The experience had improved a lot too.
But today, his replies were a bit slow.
She told him her proposal had been submitted, and internal sources had approved it. However, they didn’t agree to partner with Chengxing so hastily—instead, they wanted to publicize the proposal’s theme and open it to competitive bidding.
Getting approval for open bidding was already half a victory. Compared to others who’d jump in last-minute, Fang Xianxing’s advantage was undeniable. Plus, for her future husband, she’d ensure a 100% successful bid.
Xie Zhi snapped to attention, letting out a panicked “Ah.”
It was almost done, and now he had to go on a business trip? He felt a surge of frustration.
Fang Xianxing shifted her posture and sent a voice message: “No reaction? I put in a lot of effort to get this far—where’s your sincerity?”
Her voice was clear, laced with a hint of amusement, brushing against his ears like a breeze—ticklish, with a teasing lilt at the end, deliberately stirring him up.
Xie Zhi listened, then deleted the voice message.
She always played these little tricks to toy with him, and he was on high guard against her.