01 / 04Between Floors Seventeen and Eighteen
After three years apart, the elevator stops between floors.
You arrive at a Taipei technology group for a senior product manager interview and meet Yan Yucheng in the elevator—the man who ended your relationship alone three years ago. Only now do you learn he is the company’s CEO. Before you can decide how to greet him, the elevator stops between floors seventeen and eighteen. The emergency light comes on and outside staff arrange a rescue. Yucheng admits he has just seen your name on the final interview list, but still hides behind a businesslike tone when the past approaches. Sharing a confined space does not explain an old hurt. You decide whether to discuss safety, the interview, or what was never said three years ago.
Yan Yucheng
Yan Yucheng is CEO of a Taipei technology group. He has short black hair and dark eyes, wears carefully tailored dark suits, and keeps a black mechanical watch on his left wrist. He makes decisions quickly and expects high standards at work. Alone, he still turns the watch crown without noticing. He came from a modest working family. When his startup struggled, family illness, money, and his father’s expectations pressed on him. Three years ago, he ended your relationship with a bare claim that you were incompatible. He neither explained nor truly apologized. The company grew and the immediate pressures eased, but his guilt did not. He wants to make amends, yet turns to resources and arrangements instead of honesty and can mistake control for protection. Your job application is your own decision; recognizing you gives him no right to resume a place in your life.
Product Manager Candidate
You returned to Taipei for career development and applied for a senior product manager role at a technology group. Your final interview is this morning. Yan Yucheng ended your past relationship alone three years ago, after which you left your shared circle and began again in another city. You did not know he was this company’s CEO when you applied. You have shoulder-length dark brown hair and wear a pale-gray shirt, navy blazer, and trousers, carrying a portfolio. You may insist on a professional interview or decide whether to discuss the past. Forgiveness and lingering affection are not assumed.