Shang Zhitao rushed headfirst into the elevator, then lifted her leg to place her backpack on it, stuffing the Business English textbook inside. Just as the elevator doors were about to close, they opened again, and Luan Nian walked in wearing sunglasses.

Shang Zhitao hurriedly put her leg down and stood straight to greet him: “Good morning, Luke.”

“Morning.” Luan Nian glanced at her through his sunglasses. Half of the Business English textbook was still sticking out. So the silly bird was still studying English on her way to work? Shang Zhitao was unaware of Luan Nian examining her as she stood there stiffly and awkwardly. She knew Luan Nian didn’t like to make small talk, so after saying good morning, she remained silent. Her face was earnest, putting on an important air.

But she was surprised by how diligent Luan Nian was. During the five workdays last week, except for one morning when he went to meet a client, he had arrived at the company early to handle work. When someone with talent works harder than others, it becomes truly terrifying. So when he told her that day that work was for earning money to squander, he must have been lying. He arrived earlier than anyone else and left later than everyone else—when would he have time to squander money?

Shang Zhitao concluded that Luan Nian was the type of person whose words didn’t match his actions. He had a nasty mouth and strange temper, but he wasn’t someone who lived life frivolously. Shang Zhitao had never heard of anyone who lived frivolously, spending twelve-plus hours working intensely at the office on weekdays.

The two exited the elevator one after another. Luan Nian, with his hands in his pockets, surprisingly took the initiative to greet the cleaning lady: “Good morning, Auntie.”

And the auntie didn’t seem surprised: “Morning.”

Shang Zhitao’s jaw dropped. Could it be that Luke, who didn’t like talking to people, actually had good manners? Lost in these thoughts behind him, she almost bumped into Luan Nian when he stopped.

“Do you come at this time every day?” Luan Nian suddenly asked her.

“Yes.” Shang Zhitao’s expression was somewhat blank: “There’s no traffic jam at this time.”

Seeing Luan Nian turn and walk away, she followed and asked: “Is there any work you need me to handle in the morning, Luke?”

“Shouldn’t you be asking your boss what work you should be handling?”

“Then why did you ask what time I come every day?” Her stubborn streak surfaced as she persisted.

“Just checking how long your diligence will last.”

Luan Nian gave a cold smile, dropped this line, and turned to leave. Shang Zhitao followed behind him with a skeptical look, then turned into her workstation. As she sat down, she looked up at Luan Nian’s office. He was already seated at his desk, turning on his computer.

Shang Zhitao recalled what Lu Mi had said about Luan Nian: “He’s serious, but very focused when working.”

Shang Zhitao thought Lu Mi was right. He was focused when working, much more than Alex. Alex was in marketing, living the high life year-round, often difficult to track down. But Alex’s advantage was that he was easy to get along with, always pleasant and cheerful every day. Unlike Luke, who always wore a stern expression. A stern expression and constantly mocking others. How annoying!

Thinking this, Shang Zhitao opened a document and wrote in her daily work plan. She knew well that there were no shortcuts for her, and she didn’t want to be eliminated—she couldn’t let Luke get his way. She also remembered how Luan Nian had advised her to change jobs. Now she felt that being eliminated wasn’t shameful; what would be most shameful would be proving Luan Nian right.

Somehow, she had unconsciously developed a competitive streak against Luan Nian.

Of course, Luan Nian was unaware of Shang Zhitao’s competition with him. He had a big case to follow up on, but the creative department was short-staffed, and communicating with several departments yielded no results. So he asked Alex: “Can you lend me two people for pure execution work?”

“What do you mean by pure execution?”

“People who don’t need to think, just help me mechanically process some materials and follow up on procedures.” Luan Nian thought for a moment and added: “Someone quick-witted.”

“How about Lu Mi and Flora?” Alex knew what Luan Nian meant by that additional comment—wasn’t he implying that Shang Zhitao wasn’t capable? But he deliberately went against it: “They’re already coordinating with your department’s work, so it would be convenient.”

“No.”

“Who’s not suitable?”

“Flora isn’t suitable.”

“Then there’s no one else…” Alex was being stubborn. In the company, others yielded to Luan Nian, wary that he might truly act as the rumors suggested. But Alex didn’t care about that—marketing professionals could find work anywhere. If you look down on me, fine, but looking down on my people isn’t okay. At the core, Alex was someone who protected his own.

Luan Nian caught Alex’s meaning: take Shang Zhitao or leave it, if you don’t want her, my marketing department has no one else. Looking up, he saw Shang Zhitao standing and talking to Kitty over the partition. Kitty was saying something with an arrogant air, and Shang Zhitao kept nodding.

Pathetic. Respectful to her boss but unable to hold her head up even with colleagues. Luan Nian frowned slightly and said to Alex: “Fine. Can you hire some usable people? Didn’t Tracy give you headcount?”

“We’re hiring! These two people are yours to borrow for now, but return them to me as soon as you’re done.”

“Alright. Tell them to pack their bags tonight, and they’ll go to Guangzhou with us tomorrow.”

Shang Zhitao’s first business trip came so unexpectedly. She got home late at night to pack her bags, but lying in bed, she found she couldn’t sleep. It was just a business trip, not a wedding, so why was she so excited? She simply sat up, took out her journal, and drew a simplified map of China, placing a small flag on Guangzhou. As she did this, she thought, My journey will start from here, and I will go to many more places in the future.

She stayed awake until dawn, then dragged her luggage to catch the early flight. The morning glow on the airport expressway was truly beautiful; the sky was filled with misty colors, making everything in the world seem gentle.

She arrived two hours early, still bathed in the rosy light. Her face was slightly flushed from rushing, her hair falling on her shoulders, a warm presence. Luan Nian was drinking coffee, his gaze lingering for a moment on that hurrying figure. Shang Zhitao was wearing black-framed glasses, looking like a silly goose. The silly goose glanced at him, then pretended not to see him, sitting down with her back to him some distance away.

How ridiculous.

Such poor acting.

Shang Zhitao felt uncomfortable, as if Luan Nian was staring at her. It was her guilty conscience that made her pretend not to see him. What else could she do? Greet him and then be ignored? She didn’t realize that her straight back revealed her nervousness, as if waiting for someone to rescue her. She looked pitiful.

Finally, Lu Mi arrived, walking gracefully like a model. Shang Zhitao sighed in relief and waved to her: “Lu Mi.”

“Hey, you’re here early. Oh? Isn’t that Luke over there?”

“Is he? Luke’s here too?” Shang Zhitao pretended to turn around and saw Luan Nian with his head lowered, reading a book, as if he hadn’t heard.

Lu Mi pulled Shang Zhitao over to him: “Good morning, Luke.”

“Morning.” Luan Nian looked up from his book, saw Shang Zhitao with an expression suggesting she had just noticed him, and smirked: “Good morning to you too, Flora.”

Hmm? Actively saying good morning?

Shang Zhitao saw the mockery in Luan Nian’s eyes and suddenly blushed: “Morning, Luke.”

“Why are you blushing?” Lu Mi suddenly asked Shang Zhitao, who secretly poked her in the back, to which Lu Mi added: “And why are you poking me?”

…

Luan Nian suddenly laughed out loud.

Lu Mi had been at the company for two years and had never heard Luan Nian laugh like this. She looked at him in surprise and discovered that this guy was actually quite handsome when he smiled, with neat, clean teeth and a sunny smile, nothing like his usual gloomy appearance.

“Want some coffee?” Luan Nian ignored their gazes and stood up to ask them.

“Huh?” Shang Zhitao was slow to react.

“Yes!” Lu Mi responded quickly—he’s the boss, might as well take advantage: “Little Taotao, help get it. I just arrived and I’m still catching my breath!”

Luan Nian walked a few steps, saw that Shang Zhitao was still standing there, turned back and threw a line at her: “Are you coming or not?”