Chapter Nine: Planning
1777 Words
Liu Ruyan sat at the dining table, facing a bowl of plain rice porridge and two small plates of side dishes prepared by her aunt—as light and simple as always.
She stirred the porridge a couple of times with her spoon but didn’t eat. The dream was still replaying in her mind.
It wasn’t the content of the dream that bothered her, but the sensation.
The sensation of her knees against the plush carpet, the warmth and firmness in her mouth, and the pressure of that hand pressing down on her head.
She bit down on the spoon.
The coolness of the metal against her teeth finally numbed that tingling sensation just a little.
Her phone vibrated.
A message from her secretary.
[Ms. Liu, the 9:30 a.m. morning meeting has been moved up to 9:00 a.m. Mr. Wang has added an agenda item at the last minute.]
Liu Ruyan replied with “Got it,” placed her phone face-down on the table, picked up the bowl of porridge, and took a sip—scorching her tongue.
“……”
Setting the bowl down, she leaned back in her chair, her gaze falling on the empty chair across from her.
The dining table sat four, but in this home, she was always the only one sitting there.
She stared at that chair for a few seconds, then looked away.
She stood up, grabbed her bag, changed her shoes, and headed out.
The sound of her high heels tapping against the elevator floor echoed hollowly.
……
Li Mo was crouched on the floor of his rented apartment, a sheet of A4 paper spread out before him, covered in a few lines of crooked handwriting.
“Step One: Make her remember me.”
“Method One: Call her. — Too abrupt, won’t work.”
“Method Two: Wait for her at the entrance of Xinghai Group. — Stupid, I’d look like a stalker.”
“Method 3: Stage a chance encounter. — But how?”
He bit the cap of his pen, his brow furrowed.
For a chance encounter, the key was knowing where she was.
He only had her phone number. In the simulation, he couldn’t even get out the door—how was he supposed to know which apartment complex she lived in?
Wait a minute.
He knew one thing.
Xinghai Group!
The replay made it crystal clear: Liu Ruyan was the chairwoman of Star Sea Group.
He immediately pulled out his phone and searched for it.
Star Sea Tower, in the heart of Jiangcheng’s CBD.
Photos popped up—a glass-curtain office building, incredibly imposing.
He looked up Star Sea Group’s public information: its business spanned real estate, finance, and technology, with revenue exceeding 100 billion last year.
Li Mo silently put his phone down.
100 billion!
He had only 2,300 yuan in his bank account.
The gap was roughly… who knows how many tens of thousands of times.
“Forget it, don’t think about that.”
He refocused his attention on the A4 sheet of paper; a chance encounter needed a reason.
“If you feel bad about it, buy me a cup of coffee sometime.”
She said it herself, so it wouldn’t be too abrupt, right?
But the problem was, calling her directly to ask her out for coffee was completely different from bringing it up after bumping into her in the right setting.
The former felt like a sales pitch; the latter felt like fate.
“I need to hang around the Star Sea Tower area.”
Li Mo made up his mind.
He changed into a clean pair of pants. The wound on his knee still hurt, but it had already scabbed over and didn’t affect his walking.
He put on the same T-shirt he’d worn yesterday; it was a bit wrinkled, so he smoothed it out with his hands. Oh well. Before heading out, he checked himself in the mirror.
The mirror was left by the landlord; the frame was chipped, but the glass was still clear enough.
He looked at his reflection. What did the voiceover in the replay say again?
“Due to his outstanding appearance, the HR director selected Li Mo first among thirty-seven candidates.”
He tilted his head, glancing left and right.
He certainly wasn’t ugly.
But he didn’t think he was handsome enough to catch the eye of a female CEO, either.
“Maybe the filters were turned up pretty high in the simulation world.”
He muttered to himself and opened the door to head out.
Starlight Tower stood right in the heart of the CBD, surrounded by office buildings and shopping malls.
Li Mo rode a shared bike there. After forty minutes, the back of his T-shirt was soaked through by the time he arrived.
The July sun was scorching; heat rose from the ground, and standing in the sun for just a minute made the soles of his shoes burn.
He locked the bike at the docking station across the street and looked up at Xinghai Tower.
The glass curtain walls on the 42nd floor glinted in the sunlight, the glare so intense it hurt his eyes. The main entrance featured revolving doors, with two uniformed security guards standing at the entrance.
Everyone coming and going was dressed impeccably—the men in suits and ties, the women in high heels—each striding with a confident air.
Li Mo looked down at himself. A wrinkled T-shirt, a scabbed-over wound on his knee, and a pair of sneakers he’d been wearing for two years.
“I can’t go in.”
What would I do in there? Say I’m here to see your chairman?
The security guards would throw him right back out!
He sat down at a milk tea shop across the street and ordered the cheapest lemonade—twelve yuan. It stung his wallet.
He had 2,300 yuan in his bank account. Minus twelve, that left him with 2,288.
He sat at a window seat, staring at the main entrance of Xinghai Tower.
He didn’t even know what he was waiting for.
Waiting for Liu Ruyan to come out? She was the chairman; she’d definitely use the underground parking garage, not the main entrance.
Waiting for a miracle to happen?
“What am I doing…”
He chewed the straw until it was flat.
Just then, he noticed a coffee shop next to Star Sea Tower. It wasn’t your typical chain—the storefront was small, the decor understated, but the people coming and going all looked like they were something special.
He pulled out his phone and searched for it.
“Mountain Hideaway Coffee.”
There weren’t many reviews, but every single one mentioned the same thing: this was the coffee shop Star Sea Group employees frequented most, and it was said that President Liu herself often bought coffee there.
Li Mo’s eyes lit up.
He stared at the café’s entrance for five minutes.
Then he stood up.
He crossed the street, walked up to the café, and pushed the door open.
A blast of cold air hit him, making him shiver. The place wasn’t big—just seven or eight tables, half of which were occupied, mostly by people wearing Star Sea Tower ID badges.
Li Mo walked up to the counter and glanced at the menu. The cheapest American coffee was twenty-eight yuan.
He gritted his teeth and pulled out his phone to scan the QR code.
“One American coffee, please.”
“Iced or hot?”
“Hot.” He thought for a moment and corrected himself, “Warm—no more than sixty degrees.”
The barista gave him a look but didn’t ask any further questions and began preparing it.
Li Mo carried his coffee to a corner and sat down. He’d chosen his spot carefully—directly facing the entrance, where he could see everyone who walked in.
He took a sip of coffee. It was bitter, and he frowned. He didn’t drink coffee, but Liu Ruyan did.
American-style, no sugar, no milk, and no hotter than sixty degrees.
He now even knew her coffee preferences, but she didn’t know who he was.
Time ticked by, minute by minute.
He finished his coffee and sat there for another half hour.
He glanced at his phone—it was 11:40.
“She probably won’t show up today.”
Just as he was about to get up, the door swung open.
A wave of warm air, carrying the scent of perfume, swept in.
Li Mo’s gaze swept across the room—it wasn’t Liu Ruyan.
It was a young woman in a gray skirt suit, holding a tablet and wearing a Star Sea Group ID badge around her neck.
She walked up to the counter, speaking rapidly.
“One Americano, no sugar, no milk, under 60 degrees. One latte with oat milk. One tiramisu, to go.”
Li Mo’s hand clenched beneath the table.
An Americano, no sugar, no milk, under 60 degrees.
That was Liu Ruyan’s preference. The woman was buying coffee for her.
He stared at her retreating figure, his mind racing.
Secretary? Assistant?
Whoever she was, this meant Liu Ruyan was upstairs today, and her coffee preferences matched the replay exactly.
The replay was real!
The information the system gave him was real.
Li Mo’s heartbeat quickened as the woman walked away with her takeout.
He didn’t chase after her; he couldn’t rush things.
He pulled out his phone, opened the Notes app, and began typing.
“Next to Xinghai Tower, Shanyin Coffee. Liu Ruyan’s coffee was bought by her assistant.”
“Time: Around 11:40 a.m.”
“This means Liu Ruyan is at the office in the morning and drinks coffee before lunch.”
He locked his phone, stood up, and walked out of the café.
The sun was still scorching hot.
He stood in the shadow of Star Sea Tower, looking up at the glass curtain wall on the 42nd floor.
On one of those floors, Liu Ruyan was drinking the coffee her assistant had brought her.
She had no idea someone was watching her building from below.
Li Mo slipped his hands into his pockets and felt the business card.
The paper had become slightly limp from sweat. He squeezed it briefly, then turned and walked away.
……
By the time he returned to his rented apartment, it was already 1:00 p.m.
He placed the business card on the table and added a line of text after “Method Three” on the A4 sheet of paper.
“Shan Yin Coffee, before noon, entry point.”
- Writer
