Raindrops fell like cascading tears, soaking the earth. The trees swayed, and the droplets caressed the branches before slamming against the windows in the strong wind.
Elise sat in the conference room, feeling like she was on pins and needles. After all, Mylee was a woman she deeply admired, a powerful figure, and being this close made her feel uneasy.
"I apologize for the sudden visit, but I think it's best to discuss work in person to avoid missing any details," Mylee said calmly, her red lips forming a slight smile as she spread her documents on the table.
Elise's gaze faltered, her mind drifting as she stared at Mylee's flawless, oval face—pure as freshly fallen snow. Her captivating eyes were as deep as the ocean, and her features were so exquisite that she seemed like the heroine of a novel, someone whose mere presence overshadowed everyone else. Elise silently wondered, if she were a man, would she have fallen for Mylee's charm the moment they met?
"My initial plan is for the female and male leads to each have their own storylines, but they would cross paths in side plots. They could end up together, or they could each choose other supporting characters. These parts, of course, would be developed based on your ideas, meaning an alternative storyline setup." Mylee tilted her head back, a strand of hair falling across her cheek. Her pale, delicate fingers hooked it and tucked it behind her ear. Mylee tilted her head, a strand of hair falling across her cheek. With her pale, slender fingers, she hooked the strand and tucked it behind her ear.
Elise snapped out of her daze, hurriedly flipping through the documents on the desk. At this moment, the densely packed Chinese characters seemed completely unreadable to her.
"Elise, are you okay? Are you too tired?" Mylee pressed her lips together, a small smile forming at the corners.
Mylee had noticed Elise's distraction the moment she entered the meeting room, but she had no idea what was on her mind. Elise seemed absent-minded without even realizing it.
"Thank you for your concern. I was just listening intently. I've also roughly sketched out the character personalities. I want to write a passionate and brave male lead, a considerate supporting male character who's warm like sunshine, and another male character who's usually cold but helps when it's needed. That's the general idea." Elise spoke nervously, struggling to muster confidence in front of someone like Mylee—beautiful and incredibly capable.
"And what kind of woman do you think men prefer? Someone timid and silly, or a smart, sharp, and independent woman?" Mylee's smile faded, her gaze subtly but intently locking onto Elise's every move.
The atmosphere became tense, and Elise was suddenly bewildered, sinking into deep thought, unsure how to respond.
"Did I scare you? I was just exploring the dynamics between the game characters. I didn't mean anything else by it, so don't take it the wrong way." Mylee withdrew her gaze from Elise and turned to look at the increasingly heavy rain outside the window.
"I see. Well, of course, it's the smart and independent ones who are especially attractive." Elise carefully weighed her answer before speaking, knowing this was the response Mylee was likely expecting.
That's exactly the answer Mylee wanted!
"Life imitates art. Sometimes, games reflect real life. When you put yourself in the shoes of the protagonist, you can truly empathize with everything they go through." Mylee's expression grew complicated. She glanced down at the clock hanging on the wall, leaned back in her chair, and pressed her pale hands against the table, steadying herself as she stood.
Elise quickly stood up as well, asking softly, "Are you heading back to the office?"
"Good observation. Yes, I am heading back to the office. We can discuss the rest in a few days." Mylee slung her bag over her right shoulder and held a lavender coffee tumbler in her left hand. "Thank you for the cup. I really like it."
"You're welcome. It's raining heavily outside, so be careful on your way back." Elise walked to the door, hand on the doorknob, opening it so Mylee could leave first.
Watching Mylee leave, Elise finally let her tense nerves relax. She realized she hadn't been focused on work at all, her thoughts drifting somewhere unknown.
She turned off the lights, slumped her shoulders, and left the meeting room with her documents in hand.
------
"You know Mylee?" Ruth's face turned pale, and the chip she was biting into almost got stuck in her throat.
Elise quickly handed her a bottle of water. "Didn't Braden tell you our company has been working with them recently?"
Ruth twisted open the bottle cap and took a big gulp of water, lightly patting her chest. "We rarely talk about work."
Elise's curiosity was piqued. "Then how did you hear about Mylee?"
If they never talked about work, Ruth shouldn't have had the chance to hear Mylee's name, especially since their companies were so different.
Ruth placed the bottle back on the table and, after a moment, recalled the past. "They briefly dated for three months. It was so weird and sudden that I'm the only one who knows. I mean, everyone knew Braden had a girlfriend, but no one outside their company knew who it was. Luckily, it never went public—just three months, and it started off strange too."
Elise was shocked, blinking several times. "Was that the one he broke up with a week before my wedding?"
Honestly, it wasn't that surprising. Baden's social media was a lot like Graham's—they never posted about relationships. By the time she found out, he had usually already broken up.
"Yeah, they were just fooling around at a company dinner, drinking. They never actually went on dates, just got too busy with work, so they broke up three months later. I don't know how it ended, though. When I asked him, he said, 'Don't bring it up,' and begged me not to let him know I told anyone." As she said this, Ruth couldn't hide her sneaky grin—she didn't think it was much of a secret at all.
Elise gathered her long hair and wrapped a hair tie around it three times. "How do you know they didn't go on dates? Maybe you just didn't know."
"My family's been having these huge Saturday dinners lately, with everyone there. It's like a mini New Year's every week. There's no way he could've gone on a date without me knowing." Ruth flopped onto the couch, burying her head in the cushions as she searched for the missing remote.
"I really couldn't tell. They looked like they were just doing business. And Braden always used her full name, like they weren't close at all." Elise tilted her head to the left, pressing her index finger against her lip. She couldn't remember ever hearing him just call her 'Mylee.'
"What's so weird about it? We're just messing around. He always calls me by my full name, but you're the only one who shortens it." Ruth peeked her head out, turning to speak to Elise.
"I only remember my signature title, Elise. The rest is a blur." Elise took a big sip of her coffee.
"Instead of thinking about that, let's keep watching the show. Look how handsome my TV husband is!" Ruth beamed with joy, puckering her lips and blowing kisses at the screen, completely smitten with the fresh and handsome male lead.
Elise, unable to join in on the drama-induced frenzy, could practically feel the crows circling over her head in silence.
After eating both dinner and a late-night snack at Ruth's house, Elise was finally worn out. She slung her small backpack over her shoulders, ready to ride her scooter home.
She inserted the key into the ignition, turned it again and again, but nothing happened. All she heard in response was a faint "ssss" sound.
Ruth spread her legs and squatted next to the scooter, checking for any unnoticed damage.
"Can you squat more gracefully?" Elise chided beside her. "Ruth, you're wearing a skirt!"
"No men are around anyway," Ruth said indifferently, continuing to inspect the motorcycle, but still couldn't figure out what was wrong.
Suddenly, a chill crept up Ruth's back, making her shudder uncontrollably. She rubbed her arms and slowly stood up.
"You should say that even if there were men, they wouldn't give you a second glance. You're rough, not at all like a girl," Braden said with a cold gleam in his eyes.
If it weren't for Elise's sudden call, he wouldn't have shown up at Ruth's house for no reason, catching sight of her awful squatting posture. After finishing one annoying task, Elise, this little troublemaker, came along next.
"Could you at least give me a heads-up before you show up? You almost scared me to death," Ruth inhaled deeply, then exhaled, feeling like her soul had almost left her body.
Elise gave a dry laugh. "That's exactly why I told you."
Braden glanced at the dashboard and immediately spotted the issue. With a stern expression, he said, "That red rectangle that looks like a battery? It's the charging system warning light. It means you need to change the battery. Don't tell me you didn't know…"
"I haven't ridden the motorcycle much since I bought the car, so I didn't notice," Elise smiled, showing her upper teeth in a charming curve. "Ruth's new motorcycle hasn't arrived yet, so she can't take me home…"
Braden shot her a glance. "So?"
"In the middle of the night, the only person I could think of was you, who's never been interested in me. We've known each other since we were kids. Could you please be kind enough to give me a ride home? I'm begging you…" Elise played up her misery, pitifully tugging at Baden's sleeve.
"That's enough. Acting cute doesn't suit you, and I don't want to throw up my dinner," Braden looked down at her, signaling for her to stop with the flattering words.
How rude!
Elise's eyebrows furrowed tightly. Though she needed his help, she didn't dare utter the words "rude."
