You Must Marry Me! - Chapter 22

Chapter 22

When Qi Zhen went to work on Monday, she wore the dress Yan Yiyun had given her.

Thinking she was wearing it to show Yan Yiyun, she even put on light makeup to make the look complete—so that when Yiyun saw her, the effect would be better.

Would she be happy seeing her in this dress?

Qi Zhen usually didn’t wear makeup to work, so as soon as she walked into the office, she attracted quite a few glances from her coworkers.

There were looks of surprise, curiosity, even admiration and envy. Qi Zhen swept her eyes over them coolly, and the raised heads quickly lowered.

She gave a soft laugh in her heart. With makeup on, she had a sharper edge—it was time these people realized that she wasn’t so easy to mess with.

Qi Zhen sat down at her desk and, as usual, opened her email to check for updates. One particular email quietly sat in her inbox— a reply to the internal job application she had submitted.

The internal recruitment meeting was scheduled for the following Monday morning. She needed to prepare a PowerPoint presentation and a portfolio to present at the event.

Qi Zhen let out a silent sigh. She was already overloaded with work—two ongoing projects that were both major priorities for the company. The deadlines were tight, and the quality expectations were high. She was in charge of key tasks in both projects, so there was no way to delegate the work to someone else. If she now added the prep for the internal application, it meant more overtime.

To make matters worse, she’d recently taken on more freelance jobs than usual, working late into the night almost every day.

She saved the requirements of the application and planned to work on it when no one else was around—she didn’t want anyone noticing and stirring up gossip.

Not everyone qualified for internal applications. Although there would be speculation within the department, making it blatantly obvious was a different story.

She focused on graphic work for a while. When fatigue began to settle in, she decided to get a cup of coffee from the break room. As she stood up, Hou Yunlan also stood and walked beside her.

Qi Zhen didn’t stop walking. She had no intention of making conversation. She remembered Hou Yunlan well—someone who had invited her to meals early on, but after being declined a few times, had taken to gossiping behind her back.

Lately, Hou Yunlan’s attitude had been… strange. A few days ago, she had gone out of her way to tell Qi Zhen that her cookies had been switched by Yan Yiyun. And now she wanted to go to the break room with her. It all felt too suspicious.

While Qi Zhen was pouring her coffee, Hou Yunlan stood beside her with her mug, clearly searching for something to say.

They weren’t close at all—despite sitting near each other, they barely exchanged words throughout the year. Most of what Hou Yunlan knew about Qi Zhen came from speculation and gossip.

She used to think this dynamic was fine—every company needed someone to gossip about, right?

But times had changed. Qi Zhen now seemed to be close with the young director Yan. Offending her now would be… unwise.

“This dress looks really nice,” Hou Yunlan finally said, going for the universal conversation starter.

Qi Zhen had just filled her cup. She took her coffee and replied coolly, “Thanks.”

Still trying to keep the conversation going, Hou Yunlan smiled in a falsely cheerful way. “Are you seeing someone?”

Qi Zhen paused, a little uncomfortable. “No.”

With that, she walked out of the break room, coffee in hand.

Back at her desk, her heart was still racing slightly.

Of course, she and Yan Yiyun weren’t dating.

Qi Zhen didn’t know what exactly she was hoping for. She knew perfectly well that it was impossible, but still, she held on to a faint hope. That tiny spark of possibility felt like a candy in a shop window—sweet and tempting, stirring her heart.

She found herself unusually distracted all morning—a rare thing for her.

Even before noon hit, she kept glancing at the clock in the corner of her screen, waiting for lunch break.

She never used to understand why her coworkers looked forward to breaks—she often returned to her desk to continue working after lunch, with no interest in resting.

But today, she was eager for the break—eager to have lunch with Yan Yiyun.

What would she say about this outfit?

Though she’d already seen her wear the same dress in a different color, today’s styling was different!

Qi Zhen couldn’t focus on work. Her fingers tapped lightly on the edge of her desk, her eyes occasionally drifting to the lunch bag tucked in her drawer. She had prepared three dishes today and hoped Yiyun would like them.

When the clock finally struck twelve, Qi Zhen took a deep breath. She didn’t get up immediately—she didn’t want to seem too eager, even if her heart had already flown over to Yan Yiyun’s side.

Only when her coworkers started getting up one by one did she slowly pick up her lunch bag and walk toward Yiyun’s office—as if the slower she walked, the less likely she was to have improper thoughts.

But before she could knock, Yiyun had already opened the door.

“Wow!” Her eyes sparkled. “You look amazing in that!”

She was genuinely delighted. On the weekend, Qi Zhen had dressed simply and gently. Though the dress was nice, the pairing hadn’t been quite right. Today, she wore it with heels, pearl earrings, and her hair neatly pinned up with soft strands framing her face—it brought out her elegance.

Qi Zhen felt her ears heat up at the compliment.

It was such a simple sentence—so why did it make her feel shy?

“Not bad, huh?” Qi Zhen tried to suppress the joy in her voice, but the smile tugging at her lips gave her away. “I quite like it.”

She said it casually, but in truth, she had lain awake last night for a long time. Eventually, she had gotten up, dug through her closet, and carefully put this whole outfit together.

“Ohh~” Yiyun’s voice trailed playfully. She beamed. “I love it.”

She reached for the lunch bag in Qi Zhen’s hand, smiling. “Let’s see what you brought today!”

Their hands brushed briefly, skin warm and soft. Qi Zhen instinctively pulled back, like she’d been shocked.

Yiyun looked at her curiously.

Qi Zhen smiled to cover her nerves. “I made tomato-braised beef, stir-fried lettuce, and tamagoyaki.”

Yiyun suddenly leaned in, her breath warm against Qi Zhen’s cheek. It made her ears even hotter.

“Did you make it just for me?” Yiyun asked.

Qi Zhen froze. She had never been this close to someone before. Yiyun’s arm brushed against hers, and her face was right in front of her—close enough to see her curled lashes. Her eyes sparkled, and her smile was teasingly charming.

Today, Yiyun wore her usual black hair and red lips. One hand propped up her chin, her dress hugging her graceful figure. Qi Zhen found herself unable to meet her gaze.

Something had changed in the way she saw Yiyun ever since realizing her own feelings. Everything felt… different now.

Qi Zhen replied, “You said last time you wanted to eat tamagoyaki…”

“Mhm! I did,” Yiyun eagerly took a piece and popped it in her mouth, then tried the beef. “Did you make this too?”

Qi Zhen hadn’t expected her to notice so quickly. Her eyes darted toward a nearby cabinet. “Yeah.”

Last time, Yiyun had praised her tamagoyaki, and since then, she had wanted her to try more of her cooking.

Bringing Yiyun home for dinner was impossible—given her family situation, she couldn’t bear the thought of her mom interrogating Yiyun.

So she had prepped the beef stew the night before, let it simmer overnight, and got up early to cook the rest. It wasn’t much—just three dishes—but she hoped there’d be a next time to cook more.

She hadn’t planned to tell Yiyun everything yet, but she’d figured it out just from one bite.

Yiyun smiled brightly. “Mmm, it tastes a little different from last time. Feels even better this time.”

Qi Zhen’s heart felt warm and fuzzy. What could be better than cooking for someone and having them truly enjoy it?

Yiyun looked at her with wide, sparkling eyes. “Was it really just for me?”

Qi Zhen wanted to deny it, but she couldn’t lie—not under that gaze. Her eyes had some kind of magic, making it impossible to say anything untrue.

“Yes,” she admitted softly. “I wanted you to try my cooking.”

“It’s really delicious,” Yiyun said, satisfied with the answer. “I love it so much!”

Her heart soared, filled with sweet, pink bubbles of joy. She hadn’t expected Qi Zhen to actually cook a full meal for her just because of something she’d said.

Last time, she had already been surprised by the tamagoyaki alone.

Yiyun knew that office workers rarely had time to cook. Just waking up early was hard enough—cooking on top of that was even tougher.

Today, Qi Zhen had brought a full meal. It must’ve taken a lot of effort.

She happily continued eating, thinking: compared to the homey taste of last time, there was something even more special about this one.

Not that it was extraordinarily delicious—Qi Zhen’s food couldn’t compete with the professional Auntie Li—but her cooking made Yiyun feel warm.

It made her feel safe.

Qi Zhen asked, “Does it taste good?”

Yiyun nodded and looked into her eyes. “It’s delicious! I want to eat more next time~”

Her gaze remained clear and sincere, full of innocent trust, like a little deer in the forest.

Qi Zhen suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Yiyun didn’t know what she was really thinking. She just saw her as a regular friend, while Qi Zhen harbored hidden feelings, finding her irresistibly attractive.

In truth, Yiyun hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary.

After finishing a bite of tamagoyaki, Yiyun noticed Qi Zhen still watching her. She quickly opened her own lunchbox and said, “You should eat too. Auntie Li made ginger duck and stuffed tofu today—they’re really good.”

Thinking Qi Zhen was just being polite, she reached over and placed a piece of tofu in Qi Zhen’s bowl. “If you want anything, just help yourself. What’s mine is yours.”

Qi Zhen smiled slightly.

And then, a ridiculous thought popped into her head.

I want you to be mine.