At the end of a tedious evening, outside Jiang Lan’s building.

“Come up for some tea?” Jiang Lan invited him. A woman who had seen the world and understood life thoroughly. If she liked something, she went for it, regardless of who it was.

“We’re both adults, I understand what you mean,” Luan Nian lit a cigarette. “But there’s no need. Lingmei isn’t mine anyway. Even if we sign this contract, it just means my team will have to work more overtime.”

Jiang Lan looked at Luan Nian. He truly had the face of someone emotionally detached, appearing unapproachable, but Jiang Lan liked that.

“The contract will be signed, the advance payment will be made,” Jiang Lan suddenly smiled. “If you came up with me, I’d be scared.” Such matters required technique. Jiang Lan could see clearly that Luan Nian couldn’t be persuaded by either soft or hard approaches. There was plenty of time; no need to rush.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Jiang Lan turned and walked away, then turned back at the stairway entrance with a mischievous smile: “Really not coming up?”

Luan Nian shrugged and got into his car.

It was almost midnight; half the weekend was wasted. He went home, took a shower, opened a bottle of ice-cold soda, and planned to approve the email after finishing his drink. But Shang Zhitao was persistent, sending yet another message urging for approval: “Hello Luke, are you asleep yet?…”

What’s the rush with this payment? Even if he approved it in the middle of the night, could they make the payment? Was something wrong with Shang Zhitao’s brain? He called Zhang Ling, who was also entertaining; the phone was quite noisy on the other end: “Alex.”

“Hey Luke, mission gloriously accomplished?”

“Replace her.”

“What?”

“Our department’s liaison from the marketing department, I want her replaced.”

“Why?” Zhang Ling seemed a bit drunk: “Why replace her?”

“Because she’s stupid. You know I can’t tolerate stupid people.”

“But there’s no one else in the marketing department… They’ve all been sent to other locations for execution. Just bear with it for a few more days. When the troops return, I’ll replace her for you.” Zhang Ling placated Luan Nian. He knew Luan Nian too well—once he disapproved of someone, he would find a way to replace them. But Shang Zhitao was such a steady and hardworking girl. If she were replaced this time, how would she continue her work in the future?

Luan Nian didn’t say more, opened his computer, and responded to the approval email. Before he could close the laptop, Shang Zhitao’s message came through: “Got it, thank you for your hard work.” She had been waiting there the whole time. Luan Nian realized that Shang Zhitao had no other strengths; her greatest quality was her patience and good temper. He was someone who couldn’t be swayed by either softness or hardness, and encountering someone who couldn’t read the room gave him a headache.

“Is there any other work that needs my involvement?” Luan Nian asked her.

“Yes, but it’s not urgent. It’s very late today, so I won’t disturb your rest…”

“Save it to bother me tomorrow?” Luan Nian wasn’t deliberately making things difficult. If not handled today, it would have to be tomorrow. He didn’t want Shang Zhitao to ruin his Sunday. He called her directly, hearing her somewhat flustered greeting.

“What else needs my attention?” Luan Nian didn’t engage in small talk, asking her directly.

“There’s also the company’s annual meeting venue that needs your confirmation…”

“I’ll discuss that with Alex on Monday.”

“And there’s the Q3 materials and budget utilization progress applied for by the planning department that needs confirmation.”

“Find Kitty for that.”

“Then there’s no other work for now… Sorry to bother you…”

Luan Nian was silent for two seconds, suppressing his anger: “It’s fine.”

“Then goodnight.” Shang Zhitao’s goodnight sounded a bit guilty. She knew that her several consecutive messages today were somewhat impolite, but she had no choice; both her boss and Finance were urgently pressing. After saying goodnight, she waited for Luan Nian to hang up—etiquette required waiting for the other party to disconnect first.

Luan Nian tossed his phone aside and took a sip of his ice-cold sparkling water. The bubbles burst in his mouth, clearing his mind. When he looked back, he found his phone still lit up—Shang Zhitao hadn’t hung up?

“Aren’t you going to hang up? Are you eavesdropping?” Luan Nian suddenly spoke, and Shang Zhitao hurriedly explained: “Workplace etiquette…”

Workplace etiquette? Fuck! Luan Nian cursed internally. Had this employee’s brain been eaten by dogs? But what she said wasn’t wrong—didn’t she understand flexibility? He suppressed his anger and said: “Hmm, I was late in hanging up.” He pressed the end call button, then turned around and laughed in exasperation.

What kind of brain?

Shang Zhitao finally went to sleep. The next day, she woke up to hear quiet chatter outside and suddenly fell in love with this small house. Her roommates were all nice people—sunny, happy, and ambitious. Coming back to such a safe little nest after work made her feel very fortunate. She hadn’t encountered any of those rental horror stories from the internet, except that the room wasn’t the one the agent had described.

She got up, dressed, took her basin, and opened the door to see Sun Yu and Sun Yuanzhu sitting there fiddling with a computer. Both surnamed Sun, like relatives.

“You’re up?” Sun Yu greeted her. Shang Zhitao nodded, and her glasses slid down a bit.

“Are your frames loose? I’ll tighten them for you in a moment,” Sun Yuanzhu said to Shang Zhitao as she adjusted her glasses.

“Great, thank you!” Shang Zhitao went to brush her teeth and wash her face. Her skin was very good; she only needed simple skincare products to look healthy. She sat across from them with bread slices and milk, looking fresh-faced. She loved eating bread with milk, a combination she would never tire of.

“Done,” Sun Yuanzhu pressed the restart button and moved the computer toward Sun Yu. “Take a look.”

“Amazing, it’s fixed! Thank you,” Sun Yu thanked him.

“You’re welcome.” Sun Yuanzhu turned and went back to his room to get a toolbox, saying to Shang Zhitao: “Let me see your glasses.” Shang Zhitao took off her glasses and handed them to him, watching Sun Yuanzhu take out a tiny screwdriver from his “magic box” and quickly tighten her glasses.

“Try them?”

Shang Zhitao put them on, and indeed, the glasses no longer slipped down. She smiled at Sun Yuanzhu: “Do many guys have toolboxes like this?”

“Maybe.”

Sun Yuanzhu looked at Shang Zhitao differently, more gently. He remembered the night they first met when she was terrified by his suitcase. Her panicked escape still made Sun Yuanzhu feel apologetic.

“I have board games planned with some college friends later. Want to join?” Sun Yuanzhu invited them.

“Legends of the Three Kingdoms?” Shang Zhitao’s eyes lit up; she used to play it often with classmates at school.

“Yes, want to come?”

“Are you going?” Shang Zhitao asked Sun Yu.

“Let’s go!”

All single men and women with nothing much to do on weekends, getting together for some relaxation brought joy. They took the subway to the meeting place and saw several diverse men and women.

Shang Zhitao had guessed that Sun Yuanzhu graduated from a good university, but didn’t expect it to be that good—the number one ranked university in China. His classmates were all kind and friendly. A female classmate went to order coffee for Shang Zhitao and Sun Yu, and the group began playing in a lively atmosphere.

So even top students played board games, and they played quite well.

Shang Zhitao drew the “loyalist” role and chose Sun Shangxiang as her character. Sun Yuanzhu was the “lord” and chose Liu Bei. Right at the start, he gave all his weapons to Shang Zhitao through the “benevolence” skill, causing everyone to tease: “Yuanzhu, you’re a lord blinded by beauty!”

Shang Zhitao blushed, holding her cards tightly. In the first round, someone targeted her, quickly leaving her with just one health point. When someone played “Southern Barbarian Invasion,” Shang Zhitao was about to lose her last health, but Sun Yuanzhu gave her a peach card, causing more teasing: “Oh, my lord!”

Finally, it was her turn. She had good luck with cards, all weapon cards, and Sun Yuanzhu gave her two more. She equipped herself, eventually wielding Zhuge Liang’s repeating crossbow and the Red Hare horse, firing four consecutive attacks at the player across from her, quickly eliminating a rebel, then discarding two cards to recover health along with Liu Bei.

Young people, no matter how gentle and soft they appear, have their decisive moments, their brilliance impossible to hide. Others at the table looked at Sun Yuanzhu, then at Shang Zhitao, feeling these two were special.

Shang Zhitao couldn’t read the room; her mind was focused on winning this round. People who play Legends of the Three Kingdoms often voice their actions. Every time she helped Sun Yuanzhu recover health, she would say, “My lord, here~” obediently and charmingly. Sun Yu was different—spicy and bold. She drew the “traitor” role, playing as Lü Meng, holding all her cards without playing any, but that didn’t stop her from teasing: “Hey, hey, hey, Sun Shangxiang, sleep with me too!”

Everyone burst into laughter.

If luck had different levels, Shang Zhitao felt she must have first-class luck. She had met so many interesting people in such a short time, making her feel much less lonely. No matter how difficult work was, at least this weekend allowed her to recover her spirit.