Two years can change a lot in a line of code, but in the "Group of Seven," it felt like a total system upgrade.
I stood in the floor-to-ceiling glass office of Nexus Core, overlooking the city skyline. I wasn't the girl in the school hoodie anymore. I was the Senior Architect of Security, my name etched in silver on the door. My rival? The CEO of Aether Systems, the company currently occupying the skyscraper exactly three blocks away.
Li Yan. Our companies were locked in a "Cold War" over the new National Smart City contract. To the public, we were the ultimate industry rivals. To the "Group of Seven" WhatsApp chat, we were the couple who still fought over who forgot to buy milk.
Su Lan: I just saw the press release. Nexus Core is bidding against Aether? Are you two actually going to sue each other at dinner tonight?
Zhang Wei: If they do, I'm charging double for their table at the restaurant. Legal fees are expensive.
I smiled, silencing my phone. But my smile faded when my assistant walked in.
"Ma'am, the 'Aether Systems' legal team just sent over the draft for the 'Inter-Company Collaboration.' There's... a hidden clause. Only visible in the metadata."
I opened the file. My eyes widened. It wasn't a legal clause. It was a "Love Contract."
Clause 12.4: If Aether Systems wins the bid, the CEO of Nexus Core is contractually obligated to spend every weekend at the CEO of Aether's apartment. If Nexus Core wins, the CEO of Aether will cook dinner for a month. No exceptions. No logic. Just us.