The next morning, the office felt different.
Not loud. Not tense.
Controlled.
Too controlled.
Chen Le Xin arrived at 8:02 a.m. sharp. She walked past Liu Kai Ying's office without stopping, without looking in.
Kai Ying noticed.
Of course she did.
She always did.
"Good morning, Senior Manager," Le Xin said later in the conference room, voice neutral, eyes on her tablet.
Kai Ying's gaze lifted. Cold. Precise.
"Project Manager Chen," she replied. "You're late."
Two minutes.
Le Xin's jaw tightened. "Noted."
Xiao Lan, standing near the wall with her laptop, froze.
This was wrong.
Not the words—the tone.
During the briefing, they didn't look at each other.
When they did speak, it was clipped. Efficient. Sharp enough to cut.
"Your projections are optimistic," Kai Ying said.
"They're accurate," Le Xin replied without looking up. "I accounted for risk."
"You missed volatility in the supplier chain."
"I already mitigated it," Le Xin shot back. "If you'd checked the appendix—"
"I did."
Their voices were calm.
Too calm.
Xiao Lan typed slower than usual, eyes flicking up again and again.
This wasn't a rivalry.
This was avoidance pretending to be professionalism.
After the meeting, Kai Ying turned to Xiao Lan.
"Cancel my afternoon appointments."
Xiao Lan hesitated. "All of them?"
"Yes."
Xiao Lan nodded—but didn't leave.
"Senior Manager," she said carefully, "did something happen last night?"
Kai Ying's eyes sharpened. "No."
That was a lie.
Xiao Lan lowered her gaze. "Understood."
Le Xin was halfway down the hallway when Kai Ying called her name.
"Chen Le Xin."
She stopped—but didn't turn around.
"Yes?"
"Come to my office."
Le Xin exhaled slowly. Then turned.
Inside, the door shut with a soft click.
Silence stretched.
Kai Ying spoke first. "This behavior is unnecessary."
Le Xin laughed quietly. "Which part? The professionalism? Or the distance?"
"You're being deliberately difficult."
Le Xin finally looked at her. "You invited me into your space. Then you pretended nothing happened."
Kai Ying's jaw tightened. "Because something is happening would be a mistake."
"So you decided for both of us."
Kai Ying stepped closer. "You're my subordinate."
Le Xin flinched.
Then straightened. "And you're hiding behind your title."
That landed.
Hard.
Kai Ying's voice dropped. "You crossed a line."
Le Xin's eyes burned. "So did you."
Silence.
Neither moved.
Kai Ying turned away first. "This conversation is over."
Le Xin nodded. "Good."
She walked out without looking back.
Xiao Lan was waiting outside.
She didn't ask.
She didn't need to.
As Le Xin passed, Xiao Lan spoke quietly. "You're not wrong."
Le Xin paused, surprised.
Xiao Lan continued, voice steady. "But neither is she."
Le Xin studied her for a moment. Then nodded once. "I know."
As Le Xin walked away, Xiao Lan glanced back at Kai Ying's closed office door.
Her boss had never let emotions disrupt work before.
Not once.
Xiao Lan's fingers curled slowly.
This wasn't disruption.
This was avoidance.
And avoidance, she knew, was far more dangerous.
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