They caught the red leaves at the tail end of autumn. These red leaves were different from those in Nanjing, with a magnificent beauty of grand mountains and rivers. The little dejection in her heart disappeared just like that.

Coming down from the mountain, the group leader suggested going to Gui Street for dinner.

Gui Street wasn’t far from Shang Zhitao’s company, but she had never been there, so she and Sun Yu signed up for the group dinner. Beijing was such an open city—everyone had been strangers before, with only a few exchanged glances on the mountain, but once seated at the same table, they suddenly became familiar with each other.

Sun Yu loved lively atmospheres and drank with the men. Chatting with a table full of unfamiliar people from all walks of life was also a novel experience.

Shang Zhitao only cared about the crayfish in front of her. When studying in Nanjing, she loved eating crayfish the most. Nanjing’s crayfish were cheaper, transported from Xuyi, taking less time, so the meat was fresh and tender. Sometimes she and her roommates would buy them at the market and take them to a small restaurant for cooking. It didn’t cost much and satisfied their cravings. She hadn’t eaten crayfish for a long time, and having them now finally connected her current life with her student days.

She quietly ate her crayfish, listening to their wide-ranging conversations. Her phone rang several times, but she didn’t hear it. Only when she went to the bathroom did she notice—it was Alex. Alex usually wouldn’t call her on weekends; he often said work hard during work hours, enjoy life during life hours. After work, he played harder than anyone. If he was looking for her, it must be important.

Shang Zhitao quickly called him back: “Sorry, Alex, I didn’t hear my phone earlier.”

“No problem. Would you mind working a bit this weekend?” Alex asked for Shang Zhitao’s opinion.

“I’m still out and might get home around 11. Is that too late?”

“You don’t need to open your computer. Our company is having a basketball match with a major client, and each side needs to organize a cheerleading team. This organizational task has fallen on our department. Can you handle it?” Alex thought that since Shang Zhitao was young and had graduated not long ago, cheerleading wouldn’t be unfamiliar to her, and she could organize it easily.

“Sure.” Shang Zhitao had been part of a cheerleading team in college, pushed into it reluctantly. It wasn’t that unfamiliar, so she agreed.

After she agreed, Alex was very happy: “This isn’t part of your KPI or regular work. I’m really glad you agreed. Flora, you’re a lifesaver. I’ll have Luke contact you right away. He’s the captain of the company basketball team.”

“Who?”

“Luke! He plays basketball well, and this major client is his connection.”

“Oh.”

Shang Zhitao thought that if she didn’t resign, she probably would never escape the “small world” principle. She returned to the dinner, continuing to eat crayfish. When Luan Nian’s call came in, she had just removed her gloves. She stood up and walked to the side to answer.

Luan Nian heard the lively noise around her, with laughter from men and women, and said nothing. Young women loved lively atmospheres, and it was natural to be with friends on weekends.

“It’s too noisy here. Please wait while I go outside to take the call.” Shang Zhitao ran outside and asked Luan Nian: “Is it still noisy now?”

“No, it’s not. Tomorrow we’ll meet with Santian at the basketball court at three in the afternoon. You should come too, to check out the venue.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll send you the address later.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t make it too complicated, three minutes is enough. Use NBA cheerleaders as a reference.”

The requirements were quite high—NBA. Shang Zhitao rebelled in her heart, but her mouth still said, “Okay.”

She had said “okay” several times in a row, never mentioning the bag. After sleeping on it, she had figured it out—it didn’t matter. As long as she didn’t carry it, the bag wasn’t something buying her body and spirit. Using the bag to give them both a way to save face after that night—he gave it, she accepted it, and that was that. As for how Luan Nian viewed her, let him think what he wanted.

“Luke, just send me the address later. I’ll be there on time tomorrow. If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up now, okay?”

“Mm, goodbye.”

“Bye.” This time, Shang Zhitao didn’t follow workplace etiquette and hung up first, then ran back to continue listening to their conversation. At the table, a man had been watching Sun Yu the whole time, and Sun Yu, unabashed, openly looked back at him. After the dinner ended, that man approached Sun Yu: “Can we exchange phone numbers? Perhaps we can hang out together in the future.”

“Sure.”

Shang Zhitao stood nearby watching them exchange numbers, then smiled politely at the man before leaving with Sun Yu.

“He seems to like you,” Shang Zhitao said while they were waiting for a car.

“Nah, at most he’s interested in me, or maybe just wants to sleep with me.” Sun Yu shrugged. After her breakup, she seemed to have suddenly become a different person. The person who had broken down that night now treated relationships as if they were trivial matters.

Sun Yu had been hurt. She hadn’t yet emerged from that hurt; sometimes she would cry secretly at night, but the next day she would act as if nothing had happened.

“They say the best way to end heartbreak is to quickly find someone new. I’ll try to see if it works,” Sun Yu said self-mockingly.

“How about I introduce my boss to you?” Shang Zhitao joked. When talking with close friends, she had no taboos: “My boss… is decent.”

“Decent or particularly good?” Sun Yu moved her face close to Shang Zhitao’s, observing her expression.

Shang Zhitao thought for a moment, then burst out laughing: “Particularly good. After sleeping with him, he’ll even give you a bag. I didn’t have experience before, but if you sleep with him, remember to choose your bag in advance.”

Both of them laughed loudly, turning this awkward matter into something to joke about.

The next day, Shang Zhitao went with Sun Yu to eat grilled fish, then returned home, took a shower, and set out early for the basketball court. She didn’t like being late. Old Shang had told her not to learn those messy social tricks—for appointments, arrive a few minutes early, learn to respect others, which is also respect for yourself. On the bus, Shang Zhitao recited movie lines. Long Zhentian had left her homework before going out to play, saying he would test her in their next meeting.

Alternating between reciting and listening to music, time passed quickly.

When she arrived, Luan Nian was already there, playing basketball. Shang Zhitao chose an inconspicuous corner and continued reciting lines.

Luan Nian made a shot, and as he turned back, he saw Shang Zhitao sitting in the corner. She always seemed to be like this—sitting in the second row during meetings, hiding at the back during toasts, leaving a note and sneaking away after being intimate with him without mentioning it, accepting losses without dwelling on them.

Not to mention expecting her to hand him a bottle of water during halftime—it wasn’t that she lacked such awareness, but she assumed others would do it, simply not wanting to compete.

Just focusing on her efforts.

Luan Nian saw through Shang Zhitao’s pretense of acting as if nothing had happened. He had seen through her from the beginning.

There are probably people in this world who never envy what others have, completely accepting their meager possessions and unfortunate experiences. Shang Zhitao was such a person. Luan Nian felt he had been too harsh with Shang Zhitao. There were plenty of open-minded women who wouldn’t take things seriously—why did he treat her this way? Was he short of women? Rarely did he feel he had done something wrong. While in Hong Kong, there was a shopping mall right next to the hotel. He never went shopping during business trips, but made an unprecedented exception this time. The bag he bought wasn’t cheap—even after the exchange rate, it was still over thirty thousand yuan.

Luan Nian looked away and continued playing basketball. Only when more Lingmei people had arrived did he leave the court. His body was covered in sweat, his hair soaked. He wiped himself with a towel and called everyone: “Let’s gather.”

Shang Zhitao put in her earbuds and stuffed her materials into her backpack. As the only female colleague present today, she was surrounded by her male colleagues. She could only quietly listen to them discuss the venue and tactics. Xin Zhaozhou also played basketball. Back then, he would pull Shang Zhitao aside to explain basketball rules to her and insist that she watch him play.

After listening for a while, she felt it had little to do with her and started to drift off mentally, but then heard Luan Nian call her: “Flora.”

“Hmm?”

Only then did her male colleagues remember that Shang Zhitao was behind them. They laughed and moved aside to let her come forward.

“I’ve already spoken with Alex. He’s recruiting cheerleaders from various departments,” Luan Nian told her.

“Okay, okay.” Organizing rehearsals was quite difficult. Those Lingmei women with strong personalities were each more difficult to handle than the last. Shang Zhitao even thought they might come to blows.

“But Alex says we don’t have enough people, so you’ll have to join in too,” Luan Nian added.

“Huh?” Shang Zhitao looked like a bewildered goose, her eyes saying, “Me? Are you talking about me?”

Apollo from the Sales Department laughed: “Flora, sorry for the trouble.”

“But I don’t know how to dance.”

“You should be able to handle it,” Luan Nian said this cryptic sentence. Her body flexibility was good, more than enough for aerobics.

…Only Shang Zhitao caught the deeper meaning behind his words and blushed. Was Luan Nian teasing her? But he looked so serious, showing nothing, as if he had just said something ordinary.

“Let’s disperse then, thanks everyone for your hard work. Flora, please stay. The other side’s cheerleaders suggested an interaction. I’ll talk with them later, and you should listen in.”

“Okay.”

So everyone dispersed. Shang Zhitao stood there a bit awkwardly. Luan Nian glanced at her and said: “Wait for me a moment, I’ll go change my clothes.”

“Oh.” Shang Zhitao glimpsed Luan Nian’s biceps and the outline of his chest muscles through his shirt, then quickly shifted her gaze away—don’t look at what shouldn’t be seen.

Luan Nian took quite a long time changing, so long that Shang Zhitao thought he might be putting on full makeup like a woman in there. She waited until 4:30 before seeing him emerge in casual wear. Creative professionals did have good aesthetic sense—his outfit looked very high-end, even the men playing basketball on the court would glance at him.

“Let’s go. We’ll make the call in the car; it’s too noisy here.”

“Oh.”

Another “oh.”

Luan Nian didn’t say much either, leading Shang Zhitao to the parking lot. The two got into the car, and Luan Nian’s call was rejected by the other party: “Wait a moment.”

So they sat in the car waiting. Luan Nian didn’t speak, and neither did Shang Zhitao. During that time, Luan Nian received three calls, two from women, which he answered briefly before hanging up. The other was from his mother.

Shang Zhitao held her breath, not daring to speak, sitting there listening to Luan Nian talk to his mother, feeling inexplicably nervous. Luan Nian’s mother must be a wonderful person, apparently a doctor. She told Luan Nian about one or two patients she was treating. At one point, his mother sounded a bit sad, and Luan Nian comforted her: “You did your best.” It was a warm mother-son relationship.

At the end of the call, Luan Nian’s mother said, “The girl Aunt Liu introduced to you—go meet her. Whether you date her or not doesn’t matter, but be polite.”

“Okay.”

So Luke needed blind dates too. Oh right, he was 28, the right age for matchmaking. By the end of the call, Shang Zhitao had become quite at ease. She even perked up her ears, showing great interest. Luan Nian happened to notice her ears moving slightly and casually reached out to pinch her ear. His warm fingertips touched Shang Zhitao’s burning earlobe. She tilted her head outward, trying to escape this strange, romantic feeling, but then heard Luan Nian ask her: “Want to come home with me?”