MC - Chapter 6

Zhang Rufan found Shen Mingjin's accusation quite baffling and couldn't help frowning slightly. "I didn't," she said.

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

Shen Mingjin looked down at Zhang Rufan's face. Her confused expression didn't seem feigned.

He smirked, his expression both incredulous and self-deprecating, then said angrily, "Even if you didn't want to be with me, how could you forget that I confessed to you? Is that something you can just casually forget?"

When they were eighteen, Zhang Rufan had shattered Shen Mingjin's dignity. He never expected that five years later, she'd make him a laughingstock again!

"If you weren't trying to apologize, then why add me on WeChat?" he asked indignantly.

"I wanted to ask you..." Zhang Rufan was thoroughly confused now. The situation was becoming more perplexing. If Shen Mingjin said he'd confessed to her, then... "Was that letter in my book really from you?"

Shen Mingjin certainly remembered the first love letter he'd ever written in his life. He frowned and said discontentedly, "Ace of Hearts, are you messing with me? You've already read the letter, and now you're saying..."

When he met Zhang Rufan's panicked gaze, his heart twinged, and the words died on his lips. After a moment of silence, he spoke again, his tone now indifferent.

"Forget it. You already rejected me anyway, so whether you remember or not doesn't matter."

Zhang Rufan was utterly stunned. "When did I..."

She had been about to ask when she'd rejected him, but halfway through the sentence, fragments of memory suddenly flashed through her mind.

Seeing her dazed expression, Shen Mingjin had initially decided not to dwell on the past. But after a few seconds of silence, as if unable to contain his anger, he said, "On the day of the college entrance exam mobilization rally, I confessed to you, and you said you didn't like someone who was all brawn and no brains, who was uneducated and incompetent. Have you forgotten?"

Scattered memories flooded her mind. Before Zhang Rufan could piece together a complete recollection, Shen Mingjin's words shocked her. What surprised her wasn't that his accusation was unfounded—but that in the fragments of memory she recalled, she had indeed said such disparaging words to him.

"I... I'm sorry," Zhang Rufan said, her thoughts in disarray. Unable to fully recall the context of the incident at that moment, she could only offer an apology first.

Hearing her apologize made Shen Mingjin feel even more stifled. It was as if he were the one clinging to this past incident, demanding an explanation after five years—petty and small-minded.

"I told you, no need to apologize. You had every right to reject me," Shen Mingjin sighed, his tone returning to normal, even magnanimous, as if he didn't mind at all the personal attack in Zhang Rufan's rejection back then.

In a short time, Zhang Rufan had received too much information. Her mind couldn't process it all at once, and she had no experience handling such situations. She looked up at Shen Mingjin, unsure what to say next.

The 20th floor arrived quickly. When the elevator doors opened, Shen Mingjin glanced at Zhang Rufan once more. Seeing she had nothing to say, he stepped out without hesitation, waving a hand behind him as he left. "See you," he said breezily.

He walked away resolutely without looking back. Zhang Rufan stood frozen in the elevator, not reacting in time to call out to him. Only when the elevator doors opened again did she snap out of it. Mechanically picking up the box on the floor, she returned to her rented apartment on autopilot.

Once inside, she set down the things she'd bought haphazardly, unable to muster the energy to organize them. Her mind kept replaying Shen Mingjin's words.

Sitting on the sofa, she pressed her lips together and furrowed her brows, trying to sort through her thoughts.

Shen Mingjin said he'd confessed to her on the day of the college entrance exam mobilization rally and been rejected. Zhang Rufan thought carefully and confirmed that such an incident had indeed occurred. But from her perspective, there was a discrepancy between their memories of the event.

On the morning of the mobilization rally, she'd overheard a conversation between her father and Aunt Hui, learning that Aunt Hui was pregnant. Her father wanted to inform the whole family, but Aunt Hui refused, fearing it would affect Zhang Rufan's studies so close to the college entrance exams.

Because of this, Zhang Rufan had been in a somber mood all day. When the mobilization rally ended that evening, she took a book to the lawn behind the teaching building. Cheng Yi found her and praised her diligence for staying at school to study instead of going home—unlike the boys in their class, who, barely a month from the college entrance exams, still had the energy to gather and play Truth or Dare.

Unwilling to return home too early, Zhang Rufan made an excuse for Cheng Yi to leave first. She stayed alone behind the teaching building reading until Shen Mingjin approached her, crouched before her, and said he liked her.

At that moment, Zhang Rufan was stunned. Her first thought was that Shen Mingjin was joking. Then, recalling Cheng Yi's words, she assumed he'd lost a game and confessing to her was either a punishment or a dare.

Normally, Zhang Rufan would have simply found the boys childish and wouldn't have paid them much attention. But that day, in her low spirits and heightened sensitivity, she keenly detected malice behind Shen Mingjin's confession.

Why choose her for the dare instead of another girl? Naturally, it was because she was tanned, plain, and inconspicuous. The boys wanted to see how the ugly duckling would react when the prince showed interest. Ideally, she'd panic, believe it was real, be overjoyed, or even nod in agreement—so when the prank was revealed, she'd become a laughingstock for their amusement.

At the time, Zhang Rufan didn't hesitate to attribute the worst intentions to the boys in her class, including Shen Mingjin. In her view, even if this dare hadn't been his idea, as the one carrying it out, he was utterly despicable.

Her foul mood, suppressed and fermenting all day, erupted uncontrollably when Shen Mingjin appeared.

Instead of exposing his nasty trick, Zhang Rufan pretended to be completely unaware, rejecting him with deliberate seriousness, formality, and without hesitation—laced with vengeance.

She said he was all brawn and no brains, with poor grades and no academic ambition. She said she didn't like boys like him.

Zhang Rufan rarely reminisced. Most of her past life had been dull and unremarkable, not worth recalling. The unexpected news of Aunt Hui's pregnancy on the day of the mobilization rally had depressed her all day. Once she accepted the fact, she never thought back to the events of that day again. Shen Mingjin's confession was overshadowed by the upheaval in her family, buried deep in her memory.

Until five years later, when they met again.

Emerging from her memories, Zhang Rufan still felt somewhat dazed. Viewed outside the context of that time, her perspective was entirely different.

She thought of the love letter, of Shen Mingjin's words just now. It turned out there wasn't a discrepancy in their memories—she had misunderstood him from start to finish. Back then, he had genuinely liked her.

This realization stunned her even more.

Zhang Rufan remained lost in thought for a long time until a video call from Cheng Yi snapped her out of it.

"Have you finished settling into your place?" Cheng Yi asked straight away.

"Pretty much."

"I wanted to come help you, but I've been swamped. Do you know how many weddings I attended during the National Day Holiday? Eight! One day I even went to two—it's practically robbery. This month's salary is already spent before I've even started working."

With few friends and no colleagues yet after just returning to Shangjing, Zhang Rufan didn't share Cheng Yi's troubles and couldn't empathize.

Noticing her distraction, Cheng Yi couldn't help asking, "What's wrong, Xiao Fan? Tired from moving?"

Zhang Rufan shook her head, hesitating before saying, "I just... ran into Shen Mingjin."

"Shen Mingjin?" Cheng Yi leaned closer to the camera. "Where?"

"In the elevator."

"The elevator? In your apartment building?"

"Mm-hmm."

Cheng Yi was slightly surprised. "Does he live in the same building as you?"

"Not sure."

"Why didn't you ask?" Cheng Yi continued, "He remembers you, right?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Did you talk?"

Zhang Rufan nodded.

"He initiated it, right? Shen Mingjin's still pretty friendly?"

Recalling Shen Mingjin's attitude toward her, Zhang Rufan found it the exact opposite of what Cheng Yi described.

Unaware of Zhang Rufan's silence, Cheng Yi added, "If you really do live in the same building, that's great. You can ask him for help with things in the future. He was always helpful in high school—probably still is. Don't feel awkward about it."

Zhang Rufan hesitated but ultimately didn't mention Shen Mingjin's love letter or confession.

To be precise, had written a love letter. Had confessed.

Shen Mingjin's feelings for her were a thing of high school. Though she'd only learned of them today, when she rejected him back then, she'd intended to humiliate him, uttering insulting words. Even if she hadn't truly meant them, judging by his distant attitude now, those words must have hurt him.

Having clarified the letter's origin and intent, Zhang Rufan now faced an even greater and more bewildering dilemma.

Seven workdays dragged like years, while the seven-day holiday vanished in a blink. The passage of time is relative.

Once the National Day Holiday ended, Zhang Rufan officially reported for work at OW.

On the morning of the 8th, she checked in at the HR department. Since the HR manager had already spoken with her online, they didn't ask many additional questions. After some polite small talk, they took her to meet the planning department manager—Liu Pinyuan.

Zhang Rufan had met Liu Pinyuan during her online interview. Meeting in person, she found her much friendlier than over video—perhaps because she was new and they didn't want to pressure her yet.

"You mentioned resigning and returning to Shangjing for family reasons, if I recall correctly?"

Zhang Rufan nodded. "Yes."

Without elaborating on the specifics, Liu Pinyuan didn't press further. Smiling, she asked, "Your resume says you studied journalism in college. Why did you go into mall planning after graduating?"

Most quick-witted people would answer with platitudes like passion or interest, but Zhang Rufan wasn't one for empty talk. After a moment's thought, she replied honestly, "I wanted to try it."

"Oh?"

"Many people think I'm not suited for jobs involving interpersonal interaction, so I wanted to try."

Liu Pinyuan chuckled at this. "Young people should have drive—that's good."

"I often visit Qingcheng for research. Your former supervisor is an old acquaintance of mine. She told me you're quite capable, eager to learn, and very steady in your work. If you hadn't insisted on leaving, she wouldn't have let you go."

Zhang Rufan pressed her lips together, taking this as polite flattery rather than sincerity.

"I've read your previous proposals—they're quite good. The events you helped plan were also successful. In my view, there's no such thing as being suited or unsuited for a job—only whether you want to do it well. And you do, so that's enough."

"Having worked in a mall, you should understand the workload of planning. Though OW isn't as large as some chain brand malls, its reputation in Shangjing is no less than others. The company doesn't overwork employees, but it's not leisurely either. Be prepared for that."

Zhang Rufan nodded slightly.

After chatting with Zhang Rufan in the office about work-related matters, Liu Pinyuan made an internal call and summoned an employee.

"This is Sun Lu, the supervisor who'll be guiding you. You can ask her anything you don't understand."

Zhang Rufan stood and nodded at Sun Lu. "Hello, Supervisor Sun."

Sun Lu smiled warmly. "No need to be so formal. I'm older than you—just call me Sister Lu from now on."

Zhang Rufan hesitated briefly before complying. "Sister Lu."

Sun Lu acknowledged with a smile. "Come on, I'll show you around the company."

"Okay."

After bidding farewell to Liu Pinyuan, Sun Lu took Zhang Rufan to the planning department and introduced her to the staff. "Everyone, pause what you're doing and welcome our new colleague."

All heads at the workstations lifted. Zhang Rufan gave an awkward self-introduction. "Hello, I'm Zhang Rufan. Please guide me."

"Is it the 'Zhang' written with the radical for 'standing early' (立早) or the one with 'bow and long' (弓长)?" a girl asked.

Zhang Rufan explained in detail, "It's the 'Zhang' with the 'standing early' radical, 'Ru' as in 'enter' (入), and 'Fan' as in 'ordinary' (凡)."

"That's a lovely name, and you're really pretty too," the girl said with easy familiarity, standing up cheerfully. "I'm Yuan Shuang. We're colleagues now!"

The planning department wasn't large—about a dozen people including Sun Lu, evenly split between design and planning. Zhang Rufan took some time to recognize everyone and exchange brief greetings.

"Rufan, your workstation is next to Yuan Shuang's. Settle in first, then I'll have HR take you to complete onboarding and tour the mall to familiarize yourself. Don't be too reserved—our department isn't big on formalities. You can come to me or ask any colleague if you need help," Sun Lu said, patting her shoulder with a smile.

Zhang Rufan nodded. "Okay."

Sun Lu had other tasks and left after briefing a few colleagues. Zhang Rufan went to her workstation, took tissues from her bag, and wiped down the desk and chair.

Yuan Shuang scooted her chair closer. "This spot's been empty for over a month—finally filled! Are you a fresh grad?"

"No." Zhang Rufan looked around but, finding no wastebasket, folded the used tissues and placed them on the desk corner before sitting. "I graduated last year."

"So you switched jobs, or took a gap year before working?"

"I was a planner at a mall in Qingcheng."

"Qingcheng? That's far. Why come to Shangjing then? Local?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Your accent doesn't sound southern either," Yuan Shuang grinned. "I'm from Shangjing too."

Noticing Yuan Shuang staring at her face, Zhang Rufan felt slightly uncomfortable.

"You're so fair," Yuan Shuang marveled.

Before college, Zhang Rufan had never cared about skin tone. Only after moving to Qingcheng did her aunt, unable to bear it, buy her a pile of sunscreen and whitening skincare, insisting she use it all and always carry a parasol. After years of this regimen, the melanin accumulated from UV exposure faded, restoring her naturally fair complexion.

In recent years, more people had praised her fair skin than have ever called her tanned. Hearing Yuan Shuang's remark, Zhang Rufan simply smiled politely.

"I graduated this year—only joined six months before you. Experience-wise, you've got more, so I can't help much there. But other things?" Yuan Shuang winked playfully and lowered her voice. "Like which nearby restaurants are good, fun places to go, or where to spot handsome guys—I know all that."

Outgoing and warm, Yuan Shuang's initiative in conversing with her was appreciated, but Zhang Rufan also felt subtle social pressure.

"Do you drink coffee? I just ordered this—it's fresh, and I haven't touched mine yet. Here, have it." Yuan Shuang took a cup from her desk and placed it on Zhang Rufan's.

Zhang Rufan shook her head in refusal. "I don't drink coffee... Thank you."

"Ah—" Yuan Shuang drew out the sound. "You don't like coffee? Afraid of the bitterness?"

"It's not that I dislike it—I just don't drink it," Zhang Rufan said slowly and calmly.

Yuan Shuang paused.

Seeing her reaction, Zhang Rufan belatedly realized she might have said something awkward again. Annoyed with herself, she hurried to explain, "Don't misunderstand—it's not about you."

"No worries," Yuan Shuang laughed at Zhang Rufan's anxious expression. "You seem aloof, but you're actually kinda silly."

Zhang Rufan was momentarily speechless. After a few seconds, she decided "silly" was probably a euphemism for "awkward"—not the first time she'd been called that—so she didn't mind.

"Alright, if you won't drink it, I won't force you." Yuan Shuang took back the coffee, then leaned in regretfully. "This café is just behind the mall, and the owner is super handsome. I wanted to treat you there at lunch—too bad you're missing out on seeing a hottie."

As Yuan Shuang joked, she opened the lid and sipped the coffee.

The rich aroma of coffee instantly filled the air.

Unfazed by Yuan Shuang's teasing, Zhang Rufan's attention was caught by the coffee cup. Only now did she notice the sleeve bore the words "Jindu."

"Jindu"—quite a distinctive name for a café, she thought.

1. 上京 (Shàngjīng) – The city where the story takes place (fictional).

2. 清城 (Qīngchéng) – The city where Zhang Rufan previously worked before returning to Shangjing.

3. OW  – The company where Zhang Rufan starts working, a well-known mall in Shangjing.

4. 津渡 (Jīn Dù) – The name of the café. 津 (jīn): means "ferry crossing," "ford," or "port." It often refers to a place where one crosses a river—symbolically, it can suggest transition, connection, or passage. 渡 (dù): means "to cross (a river or body of water)," "to ferry over," or "to pass through." It can also have metaphorical meanings, like overcoming difficulties or reaching a new stage. So, "津渡 (Jīn Dù)" can be interpreted as "Ferry Passage" or "Crossing Point." The 津 (jīn) is also in a certain someone's name.

5. 高考动员大会 (Gāokǎo Dòngyuán Dàhuì) – The college entrance exam mobilization rally, where Shen Mingjin confessed to Zhang Rufan.

6. 真心话大冒险 (Zhēnxīnhuà Dàmàoxiǎn) – "Truth or Dare," the game Shen Mingjin’s classmates were playing, led Zhang Rufan to misunderstand his confession.

7. 红桃A (Hóngtáo A) – "Ace of Hearts," Shen Mingjin’s nickname for Zhang Rufan

8. 企划部 (Qǐhuà Bù) – The planning department at OW.

9. 人事处 (Rénshì Chù) – The HR department.

Characters

章入凡 (Zhāng Rùfán) – The protagonist.

沈明津 (Shěn Míngjīn) – A former classmate who wrote Zhang Rufan a love letter in high school, in her copy of Anne of Green Gables.

章胜义 (Zhāng Shèngyì) – Zhang Rufan’s father. 

李惠淑 (Lǐ Huìshū) – Zhang Rufan’s stepmother ("惠姨 Huìyí").

章梓橦 (Zhāng Zǐtóng) – Rufan’s much younger half-sister (~18 years age gap). 

章胜嫔 (Zhāng Shèngpín) – Rufan’s aunt (father’s sister). 

程怡 (Chéng Yí) – Rufan’s close friend from middle school. 

谢易韦 (Xiè Yìwéi) – High school class monitor who is getting married, prompting the reunion.

杜升 (Dù Shēng) – Someone Zhang Rufan didn't want to add as a friend on WeChat at first.

刘品媛 (Liú Pǐnyuán) – The planning department manager at OW.

孙璐 (Sūn Lù) – Zhang Rufan’s direct supervisor at OW, who goes by "Sister Lu" (璐姐, Lù Jiě).

袁霜 (Yuán Shuāng) – A friendly coworker in the planning department.

Sevyn here ~~~

Remember the breakdown of ZRF name, it's not that important, but a joke does use it later. Though the English translation won't do it justice, so there's going to be another explanation later. Here's the first chapter for this week.