After saying goodbye to Quan Zirong, Chen An took Ah Chou to the cinema to find Cheng Lele for lunch, but unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the lobby, he was stopped by Huang Wei.

Huang Wei pointed to a warm reminder lightbox posted not far away. On it were drawn several prohibition circles, and inside one of the circles was a pet dog symbol.

Huang Wei said in a righteous and upstanding tone, fearlessly defying authority, “Manager Chen, dogs are not allowed inside.”

She spoke very quickly, making it sound like “Manager Chen and dogs are not allowed inside.”

Chen An was in high spirits from the joyous occasion and said good-naturedly, “I’m going to the office.”

This morning, as soon as Huang Wei came to work, she heard that the second season of the drama about Manager Chen and Store Manager Cheng had stirred up new waves. Supposedly, Manager Chen was two-timing, and after Store Manager Cheng discovered it, the two had a huge fight. Store Manager Cheng was heartbroken and devastated, and only came to work today.

The others didn’t dare do anything to Manager Chen, but Huang Wei was a part-timer—those with nothing to lose fear nothing—and she was determined to seek justice for Store Manager Cheng. She had been struggling to find an opportunity, and unexpectedly ran right into him with just a casual walk.

Huang Wei said neither humbly nor arrogantly in a very official manner, “Whatever we require customers to do, we ourselves should certainly do, right? As the boss, you should set an even better example by taking the lead. The office is inside the cinema, so it still won’t work. I’m sorry.”

Chen An didn’t hear a bit of apology in her tone.

He felt like he was a puppet emperor whose power had been usurped at the cinema. Shen Dafeng could kick him out of the office, Huang Wei could bar him from entering the cinema. A group of people could risk their lives following Cheng Lele to the cinema rooftop without notifying him.

All the employees seemed to only listen to Cheng Lele alone.

“Are you all forcing me to seize power?” Chen An said with displeasure. “Then go to the office and call my girlfriend out.”

Huang Wei looked sideways, stunned for a few seconds, then quickly changed her tune with the wind. “Brother-in-law, did you and my sister make up? Then what about that Snow White?”

Chen An was quite pleased with being called “brother-in-law” and didn’t hold the obstruction against her. “What Snow White?” Remembering that Shen Dafeng had called Tang Xin that at the time, he explained, “Your brother-in-law only has your sister. Don’t wildly guess about every woman who comes along.”

After speaking, Chen An pulled out his card. “There aren’t any customers in the cinema right now anyway. Go buy some things that people your age like to eat, and distribute them to everyone later. You know what to say when you hand them out, right?”

Huang Wei nodded sensibly. “I know.”

“Buy a separate portion for that slightly older projectionist upstairs, and make it especially clear when you deliver it to him.”

“Huh?” Huang Wei was half-confused. “Did Old Zhong do something to the store manager?”

“Just go do it.”

Catching sight of Shen Dafeng coming over from the corner of his eye, Chen An beckoned to him with his finger. Shen Dafeng walked over very reluctantly. Huang Wei gave him a friendly reminder, “Brother-in-law is calling you—hurry up.”

Shen Dafeng’s eyes shifted, and his steps quickened a bit. “Brother-in-law, what are your orders?”

Chen An felt that these few cinema employees were quite sensible. “I’m often not in Taixi. If your sister has any problems, remember to report to me.”

Shen Dafeng said, “Chen—”

Chen An’s glance swept over, and Shen Dafeng immediately changed his words. “Brother-in-law, you want me to be your informant? If my sister finds out about that, won’t she serve me a plate of her specialty stir-fried squid?”

Chen An frowned. “What are you afraid of? I’m the top boss at this cinema.”

Shen Dafeng’s expression showed he wasn’t very convinced of this point.

Chen An said, “State your demands then.”

Shen Dafeng spoke frankly, “Can you give me Snow White’s contact information?”

Chen An stared at his face. “Shen Dafeng, you dare to ask for quite a lot, don’t you? Pick something else.”

Shen Dafeng said, “Then I’d better not be this undercover agent after all. Why don’t you find someone else? In this cinema of ours, who else would dare take on this job? That’s a knife’s-edge-licking business. Or should I call Tao Yu over?”

Chen An thought of that young man who had notified him two hours in advance to come participate in the team-building activity, and frowned again.

Shen Dafeng said bluntly, “Brother-in-law, are you looking down on me? My sister already said that in a couple of days she’ll make me duty manager. In the future, I’ll be following my sister, and who knows how successful I’ll become. Don’t look down on a poor youth.”

Chen An was amused by him. “What kind of youth are you?”

“I haven’t even had my twentieth birthday yet.”

Chen An looked at his face seriously. “Then you’ve grown up a bit hastily.”

Shen Dafeng held back his reaction, and Chen An stopped teasing him. “I can ask Tang Xin’s opinion for you. But I need to tell you clearly first—Tang Xin should have gotten into a relationship not long ago.”

Shen Dafeng was slightly dejected for two seconds. “As long as she’s not married yet, I still have a chance, right?”

Chen An hesitated. “Do you young people nowadays lack moral concepts to this extent?” Then, remembering his own previous behavior—how he hadn’t really stopped getting close to Cheng Lele because of Zhong Ming’s boyfriend status either—he couldn’t help but think about whether he should get married first to avoid complications from prolonged delays.

Shen Dafeng ignored such accusations. “Brother-in-law, so will you ask her for me? You don’t have my WeChat, right? Add me.”

Chen An took out his phone and gave it to him. Shen Dafeng said, “My sister doesn’t let us touch our phones during work hours. I’ll accept it after work.”

“Rules are dead, but people are alive. If she has an urgent matter, don’t tell me you didn’t bring your phone.”

“I know, I’m not stupid.” After Shen Dafeng finished adding the contact, he returned the phone to Chen An and said, “Brother-in-law, I think you’re actually quite personable—quite different from my original impression. Before, you’d come and just sleep, so I thought you were the aloof type.”

Chen An said, “You’re just as consistently talkative as always.”

After speaking, Chen An felt that the government held by Cheng Lele had loosened somewhat, so he entered the office and asked Cheng Lele to go to a nearby place for lunch.

Cheng Lele had been on the phone the whole time and didn’t pay much attention to him. She looked at him fewer times than she looked at Ah Chou.

Later, even lunch was fast food that Chen An went downstairs to buy.

During a gap between phone calls, Cheng Lele ate two bites and then took another call, apparently coordinating matters for the Christmas Eve event.

Chen An couldn’t bear to watch. Afraid the food would get cold, he fed her a few bites, but then Cheng Lele frowned and pushed his hand away, using her eyes to tell him that she was busy with important matters and he shouldn’t cause trouble.

Chen An sat miserably beside her for a while. Seeing that there really was no opportunity and that Ah Chou was also getting bored, he had no choice but to stand up and leave. However, when he opened the office door, Cheng Lele, holding her phone, pulled him back, kissed the corner of his lips, and made an apologetic gesture. He then didn’t hold her coldness against her.

He had been staying in Taixi these past few days, and a pile of work had accumulated at Ping’an Xile. He really wanted to “from now on the emperor neglects morning court,” but he hadn’t completely lost his reason. After eating this flavorless lunch with Cheng Lele, he had to return to the provincial capital.

Given that Ah Chou’s mother was too busy to take care of herself, Chen An also took Ah Chou with him, temporarily boarding it with Wang Liting.