Chapter 2: The Ghost in the Code
1611 Words
Emily Xi stared at her screen with bleary eyes, mind somewhere between compiling code and contemplating if the office plants were plastic. Her brain was fried. Her stomach growled.
She spun in her chair and whispered to Noah, “Do people here… eat?”
Noah blinked. “We do. We just… don’t do it near him.”
Emily tilted her head. “Who?”
As if on cue, the door to the glass meeting room across the floor opened. Out walked Isaac Qiu, looking like he was about to either fire someone or recite poetry at a funeral. The floor’s collective energy dropped ten degrees.
“Oh,” she whispered. “Him.”
Noah nodded solemnly.
Emily stared down at her untouched food delivery app. Something felt… off. She didn’t want vending machine noodles. She wanted comfort. Something with soul.
She typed quickly:
Order: Chicken Rice — Golden Leaf Restaurant. Extra soy sauce. No chili. Add egg.
Twenty minutes later, the doorbell buzzed.
She walked to the reception area where a delivery boy, no older than her cousin, stood holding a paper bag.
“You’re Emily Xi?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
He handed the bag to her, then leaned in conspiratorially. “Hey, this is weird… but the owner told me to say thanks. He said it’s been two years since ZhiGuang Tech ordered from his restaurant. Thought the whole building went vegan or died or something.”
Emily laughed nervously. “Oh?”
“So…” He held up a second box with a grin. “The owner said your order’s on the house. Gave you an extra. Said it’s for bringing back memories.”
Emily accepted it awkwardly. “Um… thank you?”
The boy looked around the sleek, silent floor, then squinted. “Also—no offense—but you’re the first girl I’ve seen on this floor since… forever. Spooky vibes, huh?”
She smiled awkwardly. “Thanks for that horror movie energy.”
“You’re welcome. Enjoy the ghost chicken rice.”
***
Emily returned to her desk, clutching the two boxes like cursed relics. She set one down and opened the lid of the other.
The scent hit her like a warm hug. Golden Leaf’s chicken rice was legendary: soft, fragrant rice, glistening roasted skin, perfectly spiced soy sauce. She hadn’t had it in years. Just one bite—
A presence.
A shadow.
She froze.
Someone was standing behind her.
She slowly turned her head.
Isaac Qiu.
His eyes weren’t on her. They were on the rice box.
She followed his gaze. Then looked at the unopened second box.
The atmosphere… shifted.
His face—usually unreadable—had twitched. Just slightly. His brows softened. The corner of his lip, ever so slightly, curled inward.
A flicker of something old. Nostalgic.
Then it hit her.
This meal… meant something.
Without thinking, and without fully processing the growing horror of her coworkers who were now peeking from behind monitor screens and fake ferns, Emily picked up the second chicken rice box and held it out to him.
“Want one?”
The world stopped.
Across the floor, Caleb’s coffee cup fell and shattered.
Ryan gasped so loud he inhaled a staple.
Jayden muttered a prayer in three languages.
Noah ducked.
Isaac’s eyes flicked from her hand… to her face.
He did not yell.
He did not scoff.
He took the box.
And in that moment, reality cracked.
The ghost had accepted the offering.
***
The murmurs didn't start until he turned to her again.
“Come,” he said simply.
Emily blinked. “S-Sorry?”
He glanced at her tray. “Bring the rice.”
Caleb fainted.
“TO HIS ROOM?” Ryan squeaked.
Jayden slammed his keyboard. “We’ve lost her.”
Noah whispered, “RIP Emily. She flew too close to the sun.”
Emily stood, completely shell-shocked, clutching the two chicken rice boxes like she was carrying national secrets. She could feel everyone’s eyes boring into her back.
And yet, she followed him.
Isaac didn’t look back.
He didn’t have to.
His presence pulled her like gravity.
And Emily Xi—the anomaly—staggered behind him in stunned silence, looking like she was being escorted to her own execution… by a handsome Grim Reaper in tailored black.
***
They entered his office. The door hissed shut behind them.
Emily’s shoes squeaked against the polished floor. She had been here once before—briefly—for the world’s weirdest interview.
Now it was just them. And the chicken rice.
Isaac gestured toward the low coffee table in the seating area. She awkwardly placed the boxes down, unsure whether to sit, bow, or apologize for breathing.
He took off his jacket, tossed it across the back of the chair, and sat down with a strange calm.
“I haven’t had this in a while,” he said, finally.
Emily nodded, eyes wide.
He opened the lid, picked up a pair of chopsticks, and took a slow bite.
Silence again. Then:
“You’re brave,” he said.
Emily blinked. “Because I offered chicken rice?”
“Because you offered me something when no one else dared.”
“I didn’t know you were sacred,” she blurted, and instantly regretted it.
But he laughed. Laughed.
A real, audible, human laugh.
“I’m not. Just… forgotten.”
Emily’s shoulders loosened.
The tension in the room had changed. There was no pressure, no intensity—just quiet reminiscence.
And food.
Two rice boxes and a thousand unspoken things.
Outside the office, three very nosy boys crouched behind the server cabinet with a tablet streaming the security feed.
“She’s eating lunch,” Jayden hissed.
“He’s eating with her,” Caleb gasped.
“He hasn’t eaten lunch with anyone since…” Ryan trailed off.
Noah rolled his eyes. “Since his wife died. Yeah. We all know.”
“Do you think he thinks she’s her reincarnation?” Caleb whispered.
“Do you think she put something in the rice?” Jayden added.
Noah sighed deeply, facepalming. “The three of you need therapy.”
***
Downstairs, the dev team had entered panic mode.
“Do you think she’s fired?”
“Do you think they’re dating?”
“Do you think she’s possessed?”
“Do you think she’s his long-lost niece?”
They took turns watching the cafeteria camera, the hallway camera, the elevator camera—nothing.
“She’s been gone twenty-eight minutes,” Caleb muttered.
“That’s exactly the length of a rom-com confession scene,” Noah added.
“Or a performance review,” Jayden groaned.
Ryan checked his spreadsheet. “If she comes back crying, we’ll know.”
But when the elevator finally dinged—
Emily stepped out. Calm. Steady.
Her face was unreadable. Except for one thing—
Her eyes were a little red.
“She cried,” Caleb whispered.
“She lives,” Jayden whispered louder.
But none of them asked. They watched her sit back down, quietly open her laptop, and continue working like nothing happened.
Only Jayden dared ask, in chat:
Jayden Wu: Everything okay?
Emily Xi: Chicken rice. Good stuff.
Jayden Wu: That’s it??
Emily Xi: Also I think I accidentally emotionally resurrected our CEO.
After that, Emily walked back to her desk in a daze.
Her mind wasn't on work.
His voice echoed in her thoughts:
“That chicken rice… it used to be my wife’s favourite.”
***
The next morning, Caleb Han had told her, almost too gently, “Two years ago, she died in a car crash. She was coming back from a medical check-up.”
“Check-up?”
“She was pregnant.”
Emily’s jaw had dropped. She couldn’t formulate words.
She had always thought the worst thing in life was… failing an exam. Maybe getting dumped.
But death?
Pregnancy?
The universe’s cruel irony?
That was… ultimate.
“Big boss couldn’t go with her,” Ban Shan continued. “He had a big investor meeting that day and they ask him to stay back for lunch. He told us once—‘If only I’d skipped that lunch.’”
And after that…
He never ate lunch again.
Not publicly.
Not with anyone.
Until now.
“You’re the first girl he’s hired since Vivian's death.”
Emily blinked, her eyes starting to sting. She rubbed them under her glasses and stood, stretching. The screen in front of her was a blur of code. The time showed 1:35 PM. Most people had gone for lunch.
She made her way to the pantry, picked up a red bean bun and a cup of lukewarm tea, and returned to her cubicle.
She peeled the wrapper and was about to take the first bite when—
“Let’s go have lunch. My treat.”
She nearly bit her finger.
It was Isaac Qiu.
Standing beside her desk.
Calm. Cool. Unsmiling.
She blinked. “Well… I don’t think I can go out for lunch. I have to finish this report before the deadline.” She gestured to the stack of files and her tablet screen.
He didn’t reply.
He just picked up her bag.
“Boss—what are you—?”
He reached out, took her hand, and started walking.
“Boss…” she stammered, too stunned to move.
Too stunned to resist.
Behind them, three grown men stared.
“She’s being kidnapped,” Ryan whispered.
“Is it a date? Is it an arrest? What is happening?” Caleb asked.
“I don’t know anymore,” Jayden whispered, clutching his mug like a lifeline.
Noah, deadpan: “Plot twist. It’s a rom-dramedy.”
- Writer
