The host laughed heartily. "Take it seriously. Treat it as if you are confessing in a church. It has to be your own secret. Don’t just go through the motions. That’s meaningless. Be sincere. Everyone, be sincere..." Yan Xixi stared intently at the slip of paper. What secret do I even have? What should I write? "Alright, has everyone finished writing? One, two, three... You can now pass your slips of paper to the colleague on your left..." Yan Xixi put down her pen and folded her paper to pass it to a female colleague. However, she deliberately didn’t look back, nor did she glance at Huang Xiaojue to her left. She absolutely didn’t want to receive his "secret." However, his slip of paper was already being passed to her. His manner was nonchalant, like that of any ordinary colleague, showing no hint of emotional turmoil. Reluctantly, Yan Xixi accepted the slip but didn’t open it. After a while, Huang Xiaojue’s voice rose faintly, "Aren’t you going to take a look?" She had no choice but to open the slip. On it were only three words: "I love you." Her mind was buzzing, and she suddenly felt as if she had lost all her strength. Beside her, an intense gaze bore into her, but she didn’t dare to meet it. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ n0velfire.net He always knew I was at this company. He was always aware of my every move. How ridiculous! I was just deceiving myself, thinking that if I buried my head in the sand, he really wouldn’t see. The slip of paper, now crumpled and damp with sweat, lay in her palm. Her head hung low, her gaze fixed on her toes. Just then, the host placed an ashtray in the center and announced, "Alright, everyone toss your slips in. This secret is just a joke. Once today is over, I hope you all forget about it..." All the little slips of paper were gathered in the ashtray. A flame flared up, turning them to ashes. Everyone started laughing and chatting again, singing, drinking, and playing finger-guessing games. Two enthusiastic female colleagues pulled Huang Xiaojue along, and he began to sing love songs, taking turns. Yan Xixi retreated to the bathroom and didn’t come out for a long time. I’m a complete mess. It’s like I don’t even know how I’m supposed to go on tomorrow. It was a mistake. I never should have signed that contract. As she left the bathroom, she inadvertently looked over. Huang Xiaojue was surrounded by a crowd of people playing finger-guessing games. No one noticed her. She quietly told a female colleague nearby that she had a headache, felt unwell, and needed to leave early. When she quietly slipped out of the KTV’s front door, she breathed a sigh of relief. Out on the street, lights twinkled from thousands of homes. The city was still bustling, the streets teeming with people. Many young people wore Santa hats and carried large inflatable cheering sticks, whooping as they moved about. There were too many people to hail a taxi. She crossed the intersection and went to the street on the other side, where the crowd had thinned out considerably. However, taxis kept zooming by, all of them full. She leaned against a roadside tree, feeling utterly drained of strength. Just as she was about to continue forward, she was abruptly pulled to a halt by a strong pair of hands. "Xixi, I can’t take it anymore! I can’t pretend I don’t know you when I see you every day. I’ve known since your first day at the company, but I was afraid you would leave, afraid I would never see you again, like before. I didn’t dare seek you out, or initiate a conversation with you, or even let you know that I was aware of your presence... But, Xixi, I think about you every day, to the point of madness. I can’t stand living ..." That was the biggest secret he had written for her tonight, just like those three simple words on the slip of paper. Her tears fell like rain as she tried, desperately, to shake off his hand.