Unraveled

Team Bilulding

"Sort of, but not really. She was never short of guys around her, but at that time she suddenly had her eye on me. Even in a general elective, she'd make sure to sit behind me, borrow my notes, and then use returning them as an excuse to ask me out. If it hadn't been for the fact that she's a girl and I didn't want to embarrass her, I wouldn't even have bothered to go get that notebook back."

When he spoke of Molly, his tone was cold and detached. Normally, he wasn't one to talk this much, but in the stillness of the night, with the world narrowed down to just him and Gu Quan, there was nothing else to chat about—so he said more than usual.

"But that day, you were the one who went to pick her up at the company. We all thought you were chasing after her hard."

"She told me she'd gotten an internship at some advertising agency, and on her very first day she was scared it might be some shady pyramid-scheme type of company. So she begged me to come meet her at noon. She even came over after class, right in front of her roommate, to ask me. I couldn't very well make her lose face."

Yuan Ye lifted his hand and toyed with Gu Quan's earlobe—soft, like the modeling clay he used to play with as a kid.

Listening to him, Gu Quan felt that the version of Yuan Ye he was describing didn't quite match the man she had come to know. The Yuan Ye she'd seen wasn't the sort to fuss about sparing someone's feelings. He wasn't some universally warm "central air-conditioner" type, either. At most, he was a fan—whether he blew cool or warm wind depended entirely on whether he was in the mood.

"…Lately it seems she's made plenty of boyfriends at your company, so she hasn't come looking for me much. Fine by me—I get some peace. But now people at school are saying I got dumped by her." Yuan Ye cast Gu Quan a meaningful glance. "Women really are creatures obsessed with face. They'll lie without even a draft. Me, fall for her? She's like some kid who hasn't even graduated elementary school."

Molly had a doll-like face, cute and slim, but she wasn't remotely Yuan Ye's type.

Gu Quan chuckled, her shoulders shaking as she laughed. The recent headaches Molly's gossip had stirred up at the company suddenly felt much lighter under Yuan Ye's cutting tongue.

What was that saying? "Friendship is born when two people find someone they both dislike."

Yuan Ye didn't speak again. Before long, he closed his eyes and drifted off, so tired he didn't even stir when Gu Quan rolled over twice with heavy movements.

Gu Quan lay awake for half an hour. His body radiated heat like a furnace under the tightly tucked blanket. Overwhelmed, she finally got up. It was six-thirty; early risers were already outside, and she could hear the hum of motorbikes.

She shut the bedroom door, went into the kitchen to boil some frozen dumplings, then headed into the bathroom to brush her teeth—where she spotted Yuan Ye's clothes soaking in the basin.

Ah, she had forgotten. After their tussle in the bathroom the night before, the clothes had gotten drenched. If she didn't wash and dry them now, he'd have to go back to campus in damp clothes.

She splashed her face with cold water, then stood staring at the basin, lost in thought.

Washing a near-stranger's clothes first thing in the morning did feel…odd.

But then she shook her head. No point overthinking it. If she was helping, she might as well help all the way. She washed them and set them to dry.

Yuan Ye had slept barely three hours. Today's forum was important, so when the bright sunlight hit his eyes, he sat up in alarm, fumbling for his phone. Seeing "8:04" on the screen, he finally relaxed. Still time.

The room was air-conditioned, so even in just his underwear he wasn't cold. He tried to recall where he'd tossed his clothes last night, then saw them hanging neatly on the rack across from the bed—coat, sweater, trousers—clean and warm.

The irritation on his face melted instantly, like an iron pressing smooth the creases between his brows. He threw on the clothes, opened the bedroom door, and called, "Gu Quan."

But there she was, asleep on the sofa, curled under a blanket. On the table beside her sat an empty bowl and chopsticks from the dumplings.

Yuan Ye chuckled softly. He had planned to say goodbye before leaving, but seeing her like that, he let it go.

Quietly, he opened the door and slipped out.

Gu Quan spent her weekend at home catching up on sleep. The new week brought back-to-back business trips and month-end reports. Just when she was looking forward to finally relaxing with a drama binge, Manager Wu dropped a message in the team-leads' group chat:

"Saturday, team building. Venue's booked—a villa for a house party."

Gu Quan cursed him in her head for not giving earlier notice, but she typed back on her keyboard:

"Got it, I'll pass the word along."

Someone asked:

"Can we bring family?"

Wu replied:

"Sure, bring boyfriends or girlfriends too, welcome!"

That's when it hit Gu Quan: Mrs. Wu would definitely be coming as well. "Since our East China team is smaller than North and South, the actors, camera crew, and creatives will all join in. More people, more fun."

Reading that, Gu Quan realized she'd have to see that little b***h Molly again.

She rubbed her sore neck, then looked up to see Liang Xixi across the aisle frowning at something, clearly preoccupied.

The air in the office was stuffy with the windows shut tight against the air-con. Gu Quan got up for a cup of instant coffee, already pondering what to wear tomorrow. And what on earth to say to Mrs. Wu.

That Friday night, a package arrived: the facial massager she had ordered after a work trip to Nanjing, when she'd noticed in the mirror that faint nasolabial lines were beginning to appear. Barely visible, but still there. She wasn't knowledgeable about skincare, so after a quick browse on Xiaohongshu and seeing people recommend this device, she just bought it.

Sitting on the couch, she scrolled through Weibo, pressing the massager inch by inch across her face, when her WeChat chimed. It was Liang Xixi.

"Gu Quan, I can't make it to the team building tomorrow. Family stuff. Could you keep an eye on the team for me?"

Gu Quan hadn't expected Liang Xixi to be so timid. Spending five or six hours with Mrs. Wu, and she chickened out? She replied, "OK," and left it at that.

If it had been any other team lead asking off, Wu would never have approved. But with Liang Xixi? Of course he wouldn't risk putting two women together in front of the whole company. A public catfight would be a real joke.

"By the way," Liang Xixi messaged again, "I've been hearing—are you targeting some temp actress? Molly?"

Xixi was deep into gossip lately. Manager Wu had already told her about the incident. She knew full well that pinning the "mistress" rumors on Gu Quan had been her handiwork, and since Gu Quan hadn't exposed her, she wasn't about to offend her now. Instead, she played sycophant, sharing every scrap of gossip.

Gu Quan read it and replied:

"Yeah. I am targeting her. I just don't like her."

Badmouthing Molly's ad performance to recommend other actresses, casually saying at group meals that Molly had "gone through" every hot guy in the studio—claiming she'd only heard it from director Xin Yi—ignoring Molly in the hallway. Gu Quan did it all deliberately, making sure everyone knew the operations lead had it in for the new actress.

"Careful not to overdo it," Liang Xixi warned. "If she cries to the producer and bites back, you'll get in trouble."

Gu Quan replied:

"Doubt she'll get the chance."

A house party needed a lively, cheerful vibe—especially at night. So the villa was booked for the evening.

Still, Gu Quan arrived early, at two in the afternoon. Other directors and post-production staff also came early to help. The villa had drinks and snacks, but they needed to hit the supermarket for hot food and barbecue supplies.

Gu Quan checked the poll results in the group chat and read them aloud:

"…Wow, everyone loves Zhou Hei Ya—duck necks, duck intestines, duck feet. We'll grab pork, beef, lamb skewers, plus wings. We can barbecue in the yard tonight. Oh, and we'll get more snacks too."

With two tall guys carrying bags, she wasn't worried about hauling too much. As they left the villa, Manager Wu pulled up in his Cadillac. Gu Quan deliberately stood by the road, waving cheerfully, smiling in the sunlight—radiant and approachable.

Mrs. Wu, sitting in the passenger seat, immediately tapped her husband's arm.

"Stop. That's one of your staff, right?"

Wu nodded, reluctant to say more. Even through the car window, his gaze toward Gu Quan was edged with distaste.

Mrs. Wu stepped out, her purple-red coat exuding mature elegance. Her permed hair was pulled back; her face plain, nothing striking, and when she smiled, fine lines fanned out from her eyes. It reminded Gu Quan of her own faint nasolabial folds.

"You go park," she told her husband. "I'll go with them." Then she turned to Gu Quan. "Where are you all off to?"

Gu Quan smiled warmly, her gentle voice giving the illusion of friendliness.

"To the supermarket, to get some food."

Mrs. Wu slipped her arm through Gu Quan's as if they were old friends, chatting with everyone about names and job roles. The two guys answered briefly, then drifted behind, talking about games and sports.

Her name was Liao Pingping. She'd worked a year after graduation before marrying Wu, who was seven or eight years older. He'd promised to take care of her for life, told her she didn't need to work. Pingping had little ambition herself, so she became a housewife, raising kids and tending the home.

As she told Gu Quan about Wu's proposal and his promises, her tone sugary and blissful, Gu Quan could only see it as hollow bravado.

She must have sensed her husband's wandering heart—that was why she clung so tightly now. Her "friendly, down-to-earth" act as the director's wife only made Gu Quan dislike her more.

A woman could rely on youth to hold a man's heart, but twenty-somethings were everywhere. Most men liked "tender grass." Whether they cheated or not came down to their sense of responsibility to family.

As Gu Quan pushed the shopping cart, her mind drifted back to the bathroom that day, and Yuan Ye's wild, youthful face staring back at her.

Well…women liked tender grass too.