Luan Nian had never been on guard against Shang Zhitao. If there was anyone at Ling Meili who could take him down, it could only be Shang Zhitao. If Shang Zhitao were to report him to the company with just their chat history, his career would be in crisis.

Shang Zhitao was Luan Nian’s weakness, but also someone he trusted. He hoped Shang Zhitao could go to the Planning Department through the normal competition process, but not now.

Now was not a good time.

Dony was someone sent by the board of directors, and there were two factions within the company engaged in a power struggle. Luan Nian didn’t depend on connections; he had risen through his abilities. One faction of the board believed that ability was important, while the other wanted to place their people. Luan Nian remained expressionless about this, but he had one principle: this job—he might choose not to do it himself, but he wouldn’t let someone else take him down. At the core, he was a combative person. But he didn’t want Shang Zhitao to get caught up in it.

Shang Zhitao took the bottle of water called “One Heart” and brought it to her lips, but ultimately put it down.

Luan Nian watched her.

She wasn’t the fresh graduate from two years ago anymore. She had seen the facade of the workplace and probably knew its dangers. She always listened to Luan Nian, doing whatever he said, because she knew that Luan Nian had never harmed her.

“I’m not thirsty. I won’t go to the Planning Department, at least not until you win your battle. And you don’t need to worry about whether I’ll betray you—I won’t.” Shang Zhitao twisted open the bottle cap and poured water into Luke’s small bowl. “Luke, come here!”

Luke was thirsty and came over to drink. Shang Zhitao took the bottle Luan Nian had drunk from, tilted her head back, and finished the remaining half, then said to him, “This is what it means to be of one heart.”

The corner of Luan Nian’s mouth turned up slightly. His eyes gazed toward the mountains, and his hand covered the back of Shang Zhitao’s hand. Shang Zhitao turned her palm to meet his, and they held hands. Neither spoke as the mountain breeze blew gently. White Luke ran back and forth, running to the green grassland, disappearing into it, then a bit of white would appear, followed by him jumping out from the grass. They couldn’t define the state of their relationship, both jokingly saying they were friends with benefits, but deep down they were close and trusted each other.

Shang Zhitao’s Saturdays typically involved walking the dog at Luan Nian’s place, then him sending her and the dog home. She would go out to study languages, have dinner with Sun Yuanzhu and Sun Yu or Yao Bei, then walk the dog and study. On Sundays, she would walk the dog, study, eat, take an afternoon nap, study more, walk the dog again, and have dinner. Occasionally, she would go on short trips with Sun Yuanzhu and the others to places like Bashang, Baiyangdian, or Yanxi Lake—all within the surrounding area. She had grown accustomed to such weekends.

But this weekend was different. In her unclear state of mind, she had agreed to go to the mountains with Luan Nian. So here they were, enjoying the mountain breeze while Luke ran freely in the hills. They found a small path, and Shang Zhitao picked up some unknown small flowers along the way. She liked this kind of weekend.

The two of them lingered on the mountain until dusk, then took Luke to eat fish. Luke got very excited when he saw the fish pond and dove straight in. Shang Zhitao was terrified and shouted, “Luke!” thinking he might drown. But Luke was paddling in the pond, saw some fish, got excited, and tried to catch them. He caught one.

“You’re paying today,” Luan Nian said, looking at Luke, that silly dog who might bring up a couple of fish. Indeed, he caught one.

“Spit it out!” Shang Zhitao scolded him at the edge of the pond. “Right now!”

Luke whimpered, swam to the edge, and spat out the fish. The fish flopped desperately on the ground. The owner said, “Now it can’t be put back…” Before he could finish, Luke jumped in again.

Luan Nian pointed at Shang Zhitao and told the owner, “She’ll pay.”

Luke brought out four fish in total, and Luan Nian truly didn’t pay. Instead, he mocked Shang Zhitao, “Fish caught by your dog should taste better than the others.”

Shang Zhitao was holding a large bucket with three fish in it. One had just been stewed by the owner. The three fish were quite large, and Luke circled the bucket, whining excitedly as if showing off. Shang Zhitao asked the fish restaurant owner for a towel and wiped Luke dry, scolding him while doing so, “Is a fish pond something you just jump into? Have you ever swum before? What if you drowned?”

“Other dogs are afraid of water, why did you just splash right in?”

“Jumping in is one thing, but why catch fish? What’s wrong with you?”

Luan Nian interjected, “You’ve finally discovered that your dog has issues.”

Luke was different from other dogs. How to put it… he was a bit silly. When Luan Nian’s doorbell rang, he was more excited than anyone, running out to greet people when the door opened—so don’t count on him as a watchdog.

“Luke doesn’t have issues!” Shang Zhitao protested.

“Didn’t you just say so yourself?”

Shang Zhitao looked at Luke’s silly appearance and felt a headache coming on. Keeping a dog was expensive. If she hadn’t brought him to the fish restaurant, she might have saved some money. When they got home, Luke went straight to sleep after entering the door. No need for a special walk today; he was exhausted.

Luan Nian went to his wine cabinet, took out a bottle, poured a little, and said to Shang Zhitao, “You should practice your driving skills. When I was eating fish, I wanted to drink a bit, but no one could drive for me.”

“I drive very well.”

“Have you driven since you hit my car last time?”

“No.”

…

Shang Zhitao playfully went up to him, asking for a drink. “Give me a glass, please?”

“No.”

“My alcohol tolerance is good now.”

Luan Nian looked at her and poured her just a drop. Shang Zhitao complained and downed it in one go. “Give me more.”

Luan Nian poured her a bit more and watched her take a sip before asking, “Have you been deliberately practicing your alcohol tolerance?”

“Mmm-hmm~”

“Why?”

“Shouldn’t I be able to drink a little? Otherwise, in situations where drinking is necessary, it would be awkward and spoil the mood if I couldn’t.”

“What situations require drinking?” Luan Nian asked.

“Like with clients? With the boss?” Shang Zhitao was teasing Luan Nian. She would never drink with clients; girls who drink are easily taken advantage of. She just wanted to drink with Sun Yu, Lu Mi, and Yao Bei—a few girls together, having some drinks, sharing stories—how pleasant. Luan Nian’s face darkened, and the atmosphere grew tense. He asked her, “Do you remember what I told you after that business dinner in Guangzhou?”

“I remember. You said, ‘If you can’t drink, never do it.'”

“Can you stick to that?”

Luan Nian was restraining Shang Zhitao, not wanting to see her follow the crowd. Shang Zhitao nodded, “I can. So I can’t drink with the boss either!” She pushed the glass back to Luan Nian.

“Now you’re treating me as your boss?”

“I don’t have to.”

Shang Zhitao squeezed between him and the bar, cupping his face. “I’m going on a business trip. One of my roommates is going to the Northwest to test self-driving cars for a month or two, and the other is going to Pingyao for market research.”

“Mm, so what?”

“Can I leave Luke with you?”

“You can send your silly dog to a boarding house.”

“No way… I can’t bear to…”

“If you leave him here, I’ll stew him.”

“Then stew me first, and Luke afterward.” Shang Zhitao knew Luan Nian was just being difficult. Even when he had grabbed Luke by the throat, he hadn’t used any force. Luke thought he was playing with him!

“You don’t taste good.”

“Are you sure?” Shang Zhitao moved a step closer, stepping on his foot. Luan Nian placed his finger on her forehead. “If it pees in the house, I’ll beat it; if it chews my things, I’ll beat it.”

“Whatever.”

Shang Zhitao finally found a caretaker for Luke and was in high spirits. She really couldn’t bear to send Luke to a boarding facility; she had heard that some places beat dogs. She couldn’t bear the thought of Luke being beaten.

When it was time for her business trip, she took her suitcase and left, truly leaving Luke with Luan Nian. Luan Nian was in a management meeting at the company. Dony, who had just taken office, was showing his sharp edge, proposing to use new elements for this year’s design direction, claiming to align with international standards. This completely disrupted the plan Luan Nian had established last year.

Everyone was looking at Luan Nian, wanting to hear his suggestion. Last year’s strategy had no problems at all; the market performance was quite good, and clients were satisfied. But Luan Nian just shrugged, “It’s nothing more than an AB test. No strategy is correct. I support Dony.”

Dony, who was about the same age and seniority as Luan Nian, didn’t shy away in such a setting, only saying, “Thank you, Luke.”

“You’re welcome. I’m very happy that you can reduce my workload.” He started packing up his laptop. “Shall we end here for today? Dony just returned to China; after work, go out and explore. Beijing is quite fun.”

With that, he left the meeting room with a smile, and no one could tell what he was thinking. Luan Nian’s thoughts were simple: if Dony changed the strategy, he would have to report to the board, and the board would naturally fight among themselves—what did that have to do with him? There was no point in arguing with him in the meeting; rather than wasting time, he might as well go home and walk the dog.

He hurriedly drove home, worried that Luke, that son of a bitch, would cause trouble in his house. When he arrived, he found the house dark and quiet. He turned on the lights, and the scene before him showed his home in complete disarray—broken flowerpots everywhere, and Luke had gnawed on his carpet.

Where was Luke? He jumped up to greet him, his paws seeming to have springs in them, jumping up again and again. Luan Nian grabbed a slipper and chased after him. Luke barked at Luan Nian once and ran off. He ran, Luan Nian chased, and the man and dog turned the house upside down.

Exhausted from chasing, Luan Nian sat on the sofa and waved at Luke. “Come here.”

Luke tilted his head with his tongue out: Woof! Not going.

“Come here.”

Woof! No!

Luan Nian found the dog treats Shang Zhitao had left, put them on the ground, and said softly, “Come, silly dog.”

How could Luke resist this temptation? He ran to Luan Nian in a few steps, lowered his head to eat the treats, and was grabbed by Luan Nian. “Still running? You think you can fight with me?” He raised his hand to scare Luke but saw the dog’s round eyes flashing with confusion, looking just like his stupid owner. He placed his hand on Luke’s head and rubbed vigorously, saying through gritted teeth, “If you wreck the house again tomorrow, you’ll become a stray dog!”

Luke’s head was unexpectedly fun to pet—soft fur. As Luan Nian rubbed his head, Luke simply put his dog face on Luan Nian’s knee, tilting his ears to let Luan Nian rub them. After the left ear, he turned the right ear over, truly as obedient as Shang Zhitao.

Is it true that dogs resemble their owners? While eating dinner, Luan Nian observed Luke’s appearance, which was exactly like Shang Zhitao’s, with that comical little monkey face always happy, as if encountering something joyful.

He had cabbage at home. He cut two leaves and boiled them in a frying pan. Luke sat beside him, drooling, wanting to eat. What’s so good about cabbage? Luan Nian gave him a piece, which he gulped down, and still wanted more. Bite by bite, he ate half a cabbage.

In the evening, after Luan Nian finished his shower, he heard Luke whining, seeming very irritable. He asked in a deep voice, “What’s wrong, silly dog?”

Luke looked at Luan Nian without moving, then suddenly squatted down on his hind legs, and just like that… had diarrhea… Luan Nian heaved once, and before he could recover, Luke did it again. Just like that, Luan Nian’s home was ruined.

He called Tan Mian, “What could cause diarrhea in your dog?”

“If it’s a puppy, it could be parvovirus, which can be fatal. You should go to a pet hospital. Did you get a dog?” Before he could finish asking, Luan Nian had already hung up, carrying Luke to his car.

Disliking the dog was one thing, but it was still a life. If it died in his hands, he wouldn’t be able to face Shang Zhitao. He found a 24-hour pet hospital. After blood tests and various examinations, the veterinarian told Luan Nian, “After checking, it’s not parvovirus. He just has diarrhea from eating something wrong. What did he eat?” the doctor asked.

“Cabbage.”

“How much?”

Luan Nian thought for a moment, “Two leaves.”

“That shouldn’t cause this.” The vet prescribed medicine for Luke and told Luan Nian to go back and feed it to him.

This trip cost two thousand yuan. Luan Nian thought to himself, Shang Zhitao was so poor, yet she dared to keep a dog. When he got home, he saw that the housekeeper had already finished cleaning and was about to leave, so he gave her an extra five hundred yuan.

After all this trouble, he was quite tired. Luke lay there a bit dejected. Dogs are simple; it thought Shang Zhitao had abandoned it, which made it sad when it thought about her. Even until the next morning when Luan Nian left, Luke was still listless.

Luan Nian felt sorry for Luke after his bout of diarrhea. During the day, he learned how to make dog buns online, and at noon, he went to buy ingredients. He thought that dog food was like rice crisps—smelled good but probably tasted disgusting. He ground meat into stuffing, chopped carrots, apples, cabbage, and sausages, added flour, kneaded them into balls, and steamed them. Luke sat beside him, waiting. When it was finally done, he fed Luke a piece. Luke swallowed it in one gulp and sat down obediently, waiting.

That was quite satisfying.

For three consecutive days, he left the company early, which caught Tracy’s attention. While feeding Luke, Tracy called him, “Are you dissatisfied with this appointment from headquarters?”