Our Tender Harmony

The next day, as the sun shined through the windows, Feng Wei had everyone back to work.

---

The sound of typing filled the office. Low-walled cubicles filled the uppermost floor of Golden Scale Investment. Executives, having not been given their own offices due to Jiang Jinlong’s ‘cost-saving’ measures, worked with their eyes bolted to their screens. Despite having won the most anticipated deal of the decade just a few days prior, nobody had the energy to party.

“It’s good they’re working hard,” Jiang Jinlong stood in his office facing the floor to ceiling window. With his hands behind his back, he stared at the cars on the street far below.

Du Ruolin stood behind him, her hands folded at her waist. “It is important to foster a good working culture.”

“Indeed,” Jiang Jinlong turned. He paused, reaching out and brushing the plant he had in the corner of the room. His fingers teased the bottom of the leaves, as if coaxing the plant to spread itself. “Secretary Du, please stand outside for a moment, I’m having a private meeting with one of our interns, Kong Shihan, in a couple minutes.”

“I understand,” Du Ruolin bowed her head. Turning on her heel, she exited the office in one smooth motion, closing the heavy door behind her.

A few minutes later, as Jiang Jinlong settled himself behind his desk, a knock sounded from the door. Three light hits—knock, knock, knock.

“Secretary Du, can you open the door pl…” Jiang Jinlong trailed off. After raising his eyes from his documents, he sighed to the empty room. Pushing himself upright, he took a few quick steps and pulled the door open. “Come in, Intern Kong.”

“Ah, thank you,” Kong Shihan bowed her head as she darted into the room. Once in the room, she waited for Jiang Jinlong to close the door.

“Take a seat wherever,” Jiang Jinlong waved towards Kong Shihan after easing the door shut with a click. With a few strides, his long legs carried him back behind his mahogany desk where he sat down in his leather chair. Easing himself back, he faced Kong Shihan with a faint smile. “So, I heard that you have a lead into who may be the mole in our company?”

Kong Shihan froze for a moment as she settled into a seat across from Jiang Jinlong. “Uh, yeah! I think it’s… your secretary, Du Ruolin.”

Jiang Jinlong hummed, then motioned for Kong Shihan to continue speaking.

“I went to a club with my friends,” Kong Shihan dug into her bag to pull out her phone. Pulling out her phone, she set her bag onto the ground beside her chair. A couple swipes later, she pulled up a photo and slid her phone onto the desk to face Jiang Jinlong.

Jiang Jinlong’s eyebrows furrowed as he studied the photo.

For the first time, he saw Du Ruolin in an outfit other than her pencil skirt, stockings, and dress shirt. Instead, he saw her in a tight, short dress in a booth with Zeng Xiaojing. The two sat side by side whispering into each other’s ears.

Suggestive.

At least to Jiang Jinlong it was, as a man who banished all sexual desire from his body in the pursuit of more profit.

Kong Shihan broke the silence. “The picture is of Du Ruolin and Zeng Xiaojing if you can’t tell.”

“Mn, it is quite clear,” Jiang Jinlong’s lips curled as he pushed the phone back towards Kong Shihan. “Send this photo to me.”

“Ah? Alright, will email do?” Kong Shihan scrambled to pick her phone back up. As she met Jiang Jinlong’s twinkling gaze though, she froze. After a second, driven by an unexplainable urge, she blurted out another question. “Did you… already know? You don’t seem surprised.”

“How astute,” Jiang Jinlong leaned back in his chair. “I found out a couple weeks ago as we were preparing for this upcoming deal. Now that the deal is over, I’m planning on exposing her. The plan is this weekend when we’re holding our celebratory banquet.”

“I… see,” Kong Shihan trailed off as she slid her phone back into her bag. “I guess this photo’s a little late then.”

“It’s still useful. You’ll be rewarded, don't worry, just send it to me via email,” Jiang Jinlong chuckled, crossing his legs as he turned to stare out the window. The sun shined onto his face, covering it in a thin layer of light—as if the heavens themselves had decided to shine a spotlight onto him. “I’ll make sure you have a return offer. What do you think about becoming my new secretary? I seem to be in the market for one.”

“I’d… I’d be honored,” Kong Shihan bowed her head a couple of times.

“It’s decided then,” Jiang Jinlong waved his hand. “You may leave, tell Du Ruolin to come back in. Don’t tip her off though.”

“Got it, got it,” Kong Shihan stood up from her chair before taking a few quick steps to the door. Pulling it open, she turned back to look at Jiang Jinlong for a second before trotting off with a new pep in her step.

Once the door closed, Jiang Jinlong sat back upright and brought his attention back to the documents laid out on his desk. “What an interesting little rabbit.”

---

“Cut! Well done! Love it,” Feng Wei clapped his hands, hopping off the director’s chair. “Amazing work you all. Actors, take a couple minutes of break before we reshoot to get a couple more takes and angles. Crew members, let’s take this time to adjust.”

Walking into the set, he crouched down near the camera sitting obscured by the plant to inspect its shot. A few adjustments later, he turned to the next camera. This one, he moved to a new location. Once satisfied, he waved over a microphone operator. “I want you to bias your boom microphone a little more to the window side of the room. You were standing a little far last time so I’m worried the audio may be a bit quiet.”

“Understood, Director Feng,” The young man nodded his head while stepping forward. “Kind of like this?”

“Yes, that’s perfect,” Feng Wei patted the man on the back before walking back off set. For the rest of the break, he sat back in his director’s chair and called out adjustments from there instead of doing them by hand.

Another day, another round of work.

---

That night, though, instead of retiring to bed early, like usual, Feng Wei instead had come to a balcony near the roof of the hotel. Still dressed in his black dress shirt, he ran his hand through his side-swept hair as he stood beside Chu Changfeng. Together, they stood in the night, one tall figure, one short figure.

With their height difference, one wouldn’t guess that Feng Wei had two years of seniority on Chu Changfeng. As they stood there, though, the sound of their faint argument disappeared into the wind, carried away towards the distant skyscrapers further towards the city center.

“So, that’s my plan,” Chu Changfeng chuckled, his hand tapping against the railing.

“I really think there’s no point in doing this, it actively harms the production,” Feng Wei retorted, crossing his arms. He turned to lean his back against the railing instead. Staring towards the hotel, his gaze settled on sculpture beside the elevator. “This goes against my professional morals.”

“You still have those?” Chu Changfeng elbowed Feng Wei with a grin dancing across his lips. He rolled his shoulders a few times before tapping his chin. “Seems I need to sweeten the deal.”

“Of course I have professional morals, who do you think I am?” Feng Wei rolled his eyes.

“I think you’re a pragmatist who knows when to take a step back,” Chu Changfeng raised his hands. “How about this, I directly increase your salary to five times what it is right now.”

Feng Wei fell silent. A second later he shook his head. “You’re crazy to directly jump to five times.”

“I have more money than you will ever conceive of,” Chu Changfeng shrugged, taking a step back to stretch out his calf while speaking. “What if I add on paying off all your mother’s medical debt and fund the surgery she needs.”

“… How do you know all this?” Feng Wei’s voice had quieted down.

“It’s not hard when you have connections like mine,” Chu Changfeng answered with a light laugh. “I can make your future career much easier or much harder with just a word, Feng Wei.”

The balcony fell silent after Chu Changfeng’s final declaration.

The wind snaked through the area, and the sound of their clothes flapping filled the air. Light from the hotel cast Feng Wei’s face in warm tones as Chu Changfeng, who faced the night sky, remained shrouded in shadow.

“You swear?” Feng Wei relented first. He pushed himself off the railing.

“Of course, I’m always a man of my word,” Chu Changfeng’s languid voice reached Feng Wei’s ears.

“Alright, I will not interfere when the time comes,” Feng Wei began walking back towards the door to the hotel. “The condition is half the money beforehand and the rest after.”

“It will be there, don’t worry,” Chu Changfeng answered, his expression unknowable as Feng Wei closed the door behind him.

“Xia Ruyun, this is just the start. If you can’t even persist through something this small, you’re not destined for the entertainment industry...”