All the Shirts Fell Down

Zhou Yi flipped through the resumes that had been sent to his inbox.

Wow, holy cow.

Graduates from A University, S University, PhDs, master's holders, returnees from abroad... all highly educated.

Is the job market really this tough nowadays? Even a general assistant position is attracting PhD applicants?

Zhou Yi was utterly shocked, feeling that his job and salary hardly matched the caliber of these overqualified candidates.

The sheer number of resumes made his head spin—filtering through them was no easy task.

Not only were these people flexing their academic credentials, but even their looks were next-level.

Was there even a single unattractive one among them?

When Jiang Ruolan’s resume appeared, Zhou Yi’s eyes lit up.

A postgraduate from xxx University in Country M.

Undergraduate degree from A University, majoring in law, with a master's in finance.

This was exactly the kind of talent he was looking for—perfect!

Only, there was no photo attached, nor any indication of gender.

Zhou Yi noticed something odd.

All the resumes from overseas applicants lacked photos and gender markers.

This was likely to prevent appearance-based or gender discrimination during hiring.

Zhou Yi thought this was a good practice—it meant candidates were evaluated purely on their skills and work experience.

He bookmarked a few promising resumes, planning to call them the next day for interviews.

After all, the company needed more than just an assistant.

By the time Zhou Yi finished sorting through everything, it was already late.

Just then, Qiao Xi stepped out of the shower.

Out of her school uniform, she radiated a different kind of beauty.

The young girl stood before Zhou Yi, blushing in his oversized shirt.

She tugged self-consciously at the hem, but it still couldn’t cover the expanse of her pale thighs.

Her long, slender legs were exposed to the air, exuding a mix of innocence and allure.

The shirt was clearly way too big for her.

The loose collar revealed a generous stretch of flawless, milk-white skin, her delicate collarbones as defined as a butterfly’s silhouette.

If she didn’t hold the top in place, a hint of cleavage would peek through.

The shirt barely covered her bottom, and beneath it, the faint outline of pink underwear was just visible.

Yet the sleeves were so long they swallowed her small frame, making her look like she was drowning in fabric.

Qiao Xi fidgeted, trying to adjust the shirt—pulling it up exposed her legs, while pulling it down risked revealing too much on top.

At this point, neither up nor down could salvage the situation.

Zhou Yi’s gaze darkened. Qiao Xi and You Man embodied two entirely different kinds of beauty—one the charm of a mature woman, the other the purity of a bashful girl.

"Yi-gege, this shirt... doesn’t really fit me," Qiao Xi murmured, her head bowed shyly.

Zhou Yi set his phone aside and smiled. "It’s fine for sleeping in. Don’t worry, I’ll take the couch tonight."

The thin fabric of the shirt was nearly translucent, and he could even make out the little heart pattern on her bra.

Qiao Xi’s face burned crimson, the air between them thick with tension.

Her heart pounded wildly, her entire body feverish with nerves.

She couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes.

"T-then, I’ll go to bed now. Goodnight, Yi-gege."

She turned to leave, but Zhou Yi suddenly noticed something alarming on her back—a smear of bright red, almost like... blood?

"Wait, what’s that on your back?" he called out.

"My back? What’s wrong with it?"

"It looks like blood."

"Bleeding...?" Qiao Xi frowned, murmuring to herself. Now that he mentioned it, the wound did sting a little.

Zhou Yi immediately pulled her to the couch and sat her down.

"Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?"

"I... I thought I could tough it out. It didn’t seem like a big deal."

In the past, her frail health had led to frequent injuries, and Qiao Yu had used that to isolate her from friends.

Gradually, she’d stopped having any. She didn’t want Zhou Yi to see her as some fragile, breakable thing.

Zhou Yi gave her a disapproving look.

"You should’ve told me. How could you just endure it? You’re just a kid—this must hurt so much. It’s even bleeding."

Qiao Xi’s nose tingled with unshed tears. "I was afraid you’d think I’m just a troublesome sickly girl."

With a sigh, Zhou Yi said gently, "Xiao Xi, I knew about your health when I first saved you. If I’d minded, I wouldn’t have become your friend in the first place, right?"

"I know Yi-gege isn’t like that, but... I’m just scared."

Her anxiety stemmed from caring too much—she couldn’t bear even the slightest possibility of losing him.

"Don’t overthink it. Let me apply some medicine, then you can rest properly."

Zhou Yi led her to the bedroom and rummaged through a box for the first-aid supplies the original owner had left behind.

Qiao Xi undid the top two buttons of the shirt and slipped it halfway down her back, exposing the injury for him to treat.

Against her fair skin, the bruise and bloodstains looked stark and alarming.

The wound was right in the middle of her back, where the bra’s clasp had pressed into it, causing the bleeding.

Zhou Yi frowned. "I’ll need to undo the bra clasp to treat this properly. The pressure from the band isn’t helping either."

Qiao Xi’s ears turned scarlet. She’d never bared this much skin in front of a boy before.

Even though she knew Zhou Yi was only trying to help, her heart raced with nervousness and shyness.

If the bra came undone, then...

Biting her lip—now flushed a pretty pink—she shut her eyes and whispered, "T-then, Yi-gege, can you undo it? I’ll hold the front so it doesn’t... fall."

Zhou Yi’s gaze lingered on the smooth curve of her back. Now he understood what "skin like jade" truly meant.

"Alright, I’ll do it."

His fingers worked methodically, loosening each hook of the clasp until the bra slackened.

Qiao Xi held her breath, clutching the shirt tightly to her chest. If she let go, everything would be exposed.

Zhou Yi dabbed cool ointment onto the wound, his touch careful.

Qiao Xi winced but bit back any sound of discomfort.

"Done. I won’t fasten the bra again—it’ll just aggravate the injury."

"Mm, thank you, Yi-gege."

He ruffled her hair. "Sleep on your side tonight. Lying flat will hurt, and facedown might... well, you get what I mean."

Blushing, Qiao Xi nodded. "I understand. I’ll sleep on my side."

Zhou Yi stood. "Good. I’ll leave you to rest. See you tomorrow—goodnight."

"Wait!"

Qiao Xi impulsively grabbed his hand.

Zhou Yi turned back. "What’s wro—"

In that instant, her grip loosened, and the shirt slipped entirely off her shoulders.

They stared at each other in stunned silence.

Awkward.