“I want you to be my boss.”

“Why?”

“Because I like working with you. I feel I can learn so many things working with you, and you give me motivation to keep growing. Most importantly, I can see you often. All these feelings are great.” Shang Zhitao blushed as she typed. She almost said: I want to be with you every day, forever.

“What did Tracy discuss with you?”

“…Nothing special. She doesn’t know about our relationship.”

“What relationship?” Luan Nian asked her. “The kind of relationship where you keep everything from me when something happens?” Shang Zhitao realized that Luan Nian was truly petty and held grudges.

“…”

Shang Zhitao ignored him and began to seriously research the internal job competition. She wanted to transfer departments because she wanted to challenge herself with more professional work. Lu Mi had given her a copy of Grace’s previous application documents for reference, and Shang Zhitao found quite a bit worth copying. So she roughly drafted something following that template.

Luan Nian wasn’t so carefree. His phone kept ringing, so he simply tossed it aside without looking. But he still had to answer Dr. Liang’s call. Dr. Liang seemed to be in an especially good mood and asked Luan Nian, “Are you hiding something from your mother?”

“Like what?”

“Like you’re dating someone?”

Luan Nian thought for a moment and asked, “Are you that eager for me to date? So anxious for me to get married and have children? So impatient to see your granddaughter?”

“Why not a grandson?”

“I prefer girls.” Luan Nian deliberately teased her.

“Girls are certainly better. So, are you dating someone?”

“Yes.” His answer about dating was ambiguous, making Dr. Liang ponder. But she felt there must be some truth to it; otherwise, why would her son be acting so strangely today? So she asked further, “What does the girl do? How does she look? Is her personality good?”

With Dr. Liang asking like this, Luan Nian genuinely considered the questions: “An ordinary employee, looks pleasing to the eye, and has a good personality.”

“What kind of evaluation is ‘pleasing to the eye’?” Dr. Liang didn’t quite understand if it meant pretty or not.

“Pleasing to the eye means I feel comfortable looking at her.”

Dr. Liang suddenly felt a bit relieved, though she wasn’t sure why. She had thought that with Luan Nian’s terrible temper and peculiar personality, he would probably grow old alone. Women might date him for his looks and family background, but over time, they definitely wouldn’t be able to tolerate him. Moreover, he didn’t seem like the type to date: “That’s great. I thought you would grow old alone.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.”

Dr. Liang laughed, “How long have you been together? Any chance to meet her?”

“Yes, when you come back. So don’t introduce any more girls to me. I don’t have the energy to deal with that.”

“All right, all right.” That morning, Professor Gong had casually mentioned to Luan’s father that Luan Nian seemed to be dating someone, which put Dr. Liang in a good mood. She was very open-minded; it didn’t matter who her son dated as long as he was happy. Dating was inherently a joyful thing—what could be wrong with her son experiencing happiness? She had even thought that if Luan Nian told her he liked men, she would accept that too.

“So for now, can you send me a photo of the girl so I can see her?”

“Sure.”

“That’s it then. I’ll wait for your photo. Goodbye.”

Dr. Liang wanted to see a photo, but where would Luan Nian get one? He randomly found one online and sent it to her. Dr. Liang carefully examined it with a magnifying glass, saw the website logo on the photo, and angrily slammed her phone on the table. “This child!”

Luan’s father looked up from his newspaper and mocked her, “Always worrying about things that aren’t your business.”

“I’m just curious.”

“Always curious, always getting brushed off by him.”

“Can you stop criticizing me? Why are you so annoying?” Dr. Liang was upset and walked away.

After dealing with Dr. Liang, Luan Nian saw Luke staring at him with its tongue out, as if it had seen through some of his thoughts. He pinched its face, “What are you looking at?”

Luke looked completely innocent: Am I looking at you? I don’t think so?

Luan Nian felt he couldn’t say anything to this silly dog, so he took it home.

On the day the board members arrived, Luan Nian disappeared.

Tracy called his mobile phone. It was turned off.

She called his home phone. It was busy.

His attitude of dropping everything was very clear—he didn’t care who dealt with it. The board members sat in Phoenix’s conference room, each with an increasingly unpleasant expression. The atmosphere in the company was tense; everyone dared not speak loudly. Lu Mi whispered to Shang Zhitao, “If they knew it would come to this, why did they do it in the first place? Don’t they know my stubborn donkey’s personality? They dared to provoke him like this; they deserve it. If the stubborn donkey holds out for two more days, the stock price will hit rock bottom. At that point, nobody will be able to play this game anymore.”

“Where is he?” the board members asked Tracy.

Tracy shrugged, “To be honest, I don’t know.”

“Send someone to find him.”

“No one’s at his home, his phone is off. He can’t be found.” Tracy’s tone wasn’t very pleasant either, her fingers tapping on the table as she remained silent. She had a temper too. These bastards knew better than anyone how this situation had developed. Now they were anxious—where were they earlier?

Shang Zhitao knew where Luan Nian was. He must be at the bar.

Using the excuse of buying coffee, she went downstairs and found a quiet place to call the bar. Sure enough, someone answered.

“Is Luan Nian there?”

“Switching sides?” Luan Nian’s teasing voice came from the other end.

Shang Zhitao’s face turned red. She quickly explained, “No, I was just curious if you were at the bar. They’ve all arrived and are in the conference room. The company atmosphere is very tense.” Shang Zhitao didn’t realize that her behavior resembled that of a little spy.

“I know.”

“Huh?”

“I have my informants.” Luan Nian seemed to be in a good mood and told Shang Zhitao, “The bar has an event today. Luke and I are sleeping on the mountain. Tonight, you can either come back to my place or go to your own—either is fine.”

“Oh. Then I want to hear Luke bark once.”

“Am I holding it hostage?” Luan Nian was dissatisfied with Shang Zhitao’s lack of trust and said to Luke beside him, “Your owner is calling for you. Bark once for her.”

Shang Zhitao heard Luan Nian say this, and then actually heard Luke bark once. She giggled, “Well, goodbye then.”

“Mm.” Before hanging up, Luan Nian said, “Don’t worry. I’m wearing down the hawks!”

These old hawks certainly needed to be worn down; otherwise, who knew what tricks they might pull next time? If they learned their lesson once, felt the pain, they might be more cautious before pulling small tricks next time.

“Is the timing right? Don’t go too far, or the board will just find someone to replace you.”

“That would be great. I’ll start another company and compete with Phoenix.” Luan Nian truly couldn’t be persuaded by either kindness or force. Once provoked, if you didn’t let him completely vent his anger, the matter would not be over.

Tracy naturally knew this too. After some thought, she asked him, “You have people on the board, right? If so, you should judge the timing yourself. I won’t call you anymore.”

Previously, Luan Nian and Tracy were simply schoolmates and colleagues. But after jointly dealing with a scumbag, they felt the other was truly trustworthy.

“Good. Goodbye.”

Luan Nian was busy at the bar, as today was also a university event.

Gong Yue was an interesting person. After Luan Nian deleted her, she didn’t panic. She just booked the venue through the bar manager without actively contacting him again. She seemed to be a person with pride.

Luan Nian was enjoying the autumn view outside the bar with Luke when Gong Yue got out of the car, greeted Luan Nian from a distance, and then went inside. Her students secretly glanced at Luan Nian, truly believing he was Teacher Gong’s boyfriend.

Luan Nian nodded to them and took Luke up the mountain. The autumn scenery up there was beautiful. He found a rock to sit on and just stayed there. He didn’t even notice when someone stood beside him. It was only when Luke barked that Luan Nian turned around and saw Gong Yue.

“Aren’t you at the event?”

“The event has started, so I don’t need to watch over it. I came out for a walk.” Gong Yue saw Luan Nian’s frown and took a step in the opposite direction, maintaining some distance, before saying, “I know why you deleted me, but that wasn’t my intention. We’ve only met once—how could I have any thoughts? Tan Mian knows that even though I teach at school, I have a bit of a jianghu spirit. Don’t be deceived by my appearance. I’m not a delicate little girl; I like making friends.”

Before Luan Nian could speak, Luke objected, sitting there barking at Gong Yue. The meaning was probably: Be quiet, don’t talk. Or perhaps it was saying: Stay away from Luke.

Gong Yue was startled when Luke barked. She looked at Luke, then at Luan Nian. Luan Nian patted Luke’s head and said to Gong Yue, “Luke doesn’t let me talk to the opposite sex.”

“So the cold-faced Young Master Luan that everyone talks about is restrained by a dog?”

“That’s not appropriate,” Luan Nian was displeased. “This isn’t just an ordinary dog. This is my friend.” Then he added, “My dog son.”

The autumn scenery is nice. Let’s enjoy it a bit longer.” Luan Nian commanded Luke, “Let’s go!” As they walked away, Luan Nian looked at Luke, thinking: You? Qualified to be my friend? My dog son? You don’t even have a brain, barking all day. It’s strange—you don’t bark when I talk to men, but you get angry when I talk to women. What are you angry about? Can’t I talk to women?

Walking back to the bar, he saw the students holding a book club. Each person had a book in front of them, with a host organizing the discussion. In those years, this suddenly became popular, as if not participating in a book club meant you hadn’t truly read the book. Luan Nian scoffed and took Luke back to the rest area for a nap.

When he woke up, the event had long ended, and a heavy fog had descended on the mountain. Luan Nian sat by the window, watching the outside resembling Silent Hill, until several cars slowly approached and stopped in front of the bar. The corner of Luan Nian’s mouth twitched. The hawks couldn’t stand it anymore and had flown over themselves. They were probably afraid the stock would hit the limit down for two more days.

He sat without moving, watching his old friends walk in. Everyone was socially adept. After entering, they didn’t say anything inappropriate, first asking the server for drinks, then sitting across from Luan Nian. They weren’t surprised that Luan Nian didn’t stand up to greet them—they were used to it.

Of the three board members who came, two were Americans and one was Chinese. The Americans liked to get straight to the point, while the Chinese preferred to establish rapport first. So they spoke along two different tracks. The American asked Luan Nian, “When are you coming back to work?”

The Chinese asked, “Running this bar must require quite an investment, right?”

Luan Nian was amused by them. He first responded to the Chinese man, “I still have some savings, enough to afford it.” Then to the American, “I’m not going back.”

The American smiled, “In the future, the entire China division will listen to you.” Knowing when to yield.

Luan Nian didn’t take the bait and instead said, “The drinks today are on me. You must be tired from flying from America. Drink more and get a good night’s sleep when you get back.”

“State your demands,” the American said.

“Process my resignation papers as soon as possible.”

Luan Nian didn’t know what was good for him. But if he did, he wouldn’t be Luan Nian. Everyone thoroughly understood Luan Nian’s temper now. The negotiations had reached an impasse. They looked at each other and drank the alcohol Luan Nian had offered.

After finishing a glass, Luan Nian finally said, “What Dony did caused great harm to that employee, and the company hasn’t even apologized. How can employees feel secure?”

“What do you suggest?”

“I have two suggestions. First, immediate stock options to show the company’s sincerity. Second, make that scumbag record an apology video.”

No one had expected Luan Nian to bring this up. They glanced at each other—this wasn’t difficult. So one of the Americans spoke, “Stock options worth 100,000 RMB?”

Luan Nian nodded, “That’s fine for the other employees who provided evidence. But the first whistleblower had her neck squeezed and feared for her life. If she were to tell the media the details, the stock could hit the limit down for five more days.”

“Then what’s your suggestion?”

“My suggestion is 200,000 RMB worth of stock for the first whistleblower, and 100,000 for each of the other four employees.” After finishing, he added, “Special reward, not to be disclosed.” If it were disclosed, people might say, “See, it’s not that simple. There must be some inside story.” Luan Nian didn’t want the girls to be caught in the media whirlwind again.

“Agreed.”

Having reached a consensus, the American asked again, “When will you return to work?”

“Tomorrow, first, handle the employee apology matter. Once that’s done, I’ll return to work.” He paused for two seconds, concerned that the American shareholders might not fully understand, and added, “What I mean is, I need to see the stock option agreement signed by the employees, as well as the apology video from that scumbag.”

That was Luan Nian’s stance.

He stood up to see them out.

He had already calculated everything. The stock would fall for one more day. The girls would receive the stock at the lowest point, and after exercising the options, it would return to a high level within half a year. He hoped they could sleep well.

Luan Nian hadn’t realized before that he could occasionally be so kind-hearted. He had always thought he was a cold-blooded person.

The next day, when Shang Zhitao sat in Tracy’s office and saw Tracy take out a thick stack of documents, she was a bit confused, “Is the company firing me?”

Tracy was amused by her naivety, “Take a look.”

Shang Zhitao did look. Stock option agreement? What was this?

Tracy saw her confusion and explained, “You know how the company rewards a small number of employees with stocks each year, right?”

Shang Zhitao nodded. She knew, but only expert-level employees were eligible.

“This is a special stock reward from the company, for your brave and fearless, solitary fight to secure a safe working environment for your female colleagues.”

“Huh?” Shang Zhitao’s first reaction was that she couldn’t accept it—others would say she did it for money.

Tracy pushed the pen in front of her, “The stock reward is confidentially granted. You don’t need to worry about anyone knowing. Only you and I know about this. Oh, and Luke too. This is one of his conditions for returning to work.”

Luan Nian?

Luan Nian had never mentioned this to her. Shang Zhitao looked at the grant document—it wasn’t a small sum, as much as 200,000 RMB. It was 2012, and 200,000 RMB was a huge amount for many ordinary workers.

“Accept it,” Tracy said. “Consider it as working for the benefit of all colleagues. If you don’t accept, Luke won’t return to work, the stock will continue to fall, and everyone’s year-end bonus will be gone.”

Shang Zhitao’s hand holding the pen trembled slightly. Tracy held her hand and teased, “You’re shaking now? In a few years, when you compete for the expert position and get millions in stock options, won’t you faint?”

Shang Zhitao was amused and neatly signed her name.

She also signed a confidentiality agreement, then asked Tracy, “Is that it?”

Tracy nodded, “Someone will contact you to open a stock account. The exercise period for this stock is three days—yes, not three years, but three days. After three days, it will all be yours. Finally, be sure to protect your assets.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Tracy said, “Well done, Flora.”

After leaving Tracy’s office, Shang Zhitao saw the company televisions all switch to one screen. Dony was on camera saying, “I apologize to the women I’ve harassed. I’m sorry.”

He even stood up and bowed.

The company was very quiet. Everyone looked at each other, and suddenly someone started applauding. This was probably the closest to the perfect company that everyone had in mind.

Tracy put the phone on speaker and said to Luan Nian, “Did you hear that?”

“I heard it.”

“Feeling better?”

“Not bad.”

“Will you return to work?”

“Next Monday.”

Luan Nian hung up the phone, feeling somewhat better. He whistled to Luke. Luke’s ears perked up: Meat? Going out to play? That was all it thought about.

Luan Nian patted its head, “Look at your brain—exactly like your owner’s.”

Just as he said this, that “brainless” owner called. Her voice was a bit muffled, “Tracy said…”

“Moved to tears?”

“…No… I mean, I want to say thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Luan Nian didn’t like Shang Zhitao thanking him. This wasn’t something worth thanking for—it was just a small effort on his part. Although this “small effort” was achieved through a very high-risk game, Luan Nian thought it was worth it.

He didn’t lack money anyway. A broken job—if he didn’t want to do it, he wouldn’t.

If he won, that would be quite good.

After all, he liked to fight.

“Is Luke behaving today?”

Luan Nian looked at Luke, who was devouring meat, and said, “Not bad.”

“Then can I treat you to dinner tonight?”

“I don’t like eating out.”

“I’ll cook!”

Luan Nian was silent. Shang Zhitao’s cooking was truly inedible. “Let’s eat out instead.”

“I’ve learned a few specialty dishes…” Shang Zhitao said.

“You said the same thing last time,” Luan Nian reminded her.

The two couldn’t agree and hung up.

After a while, Luan Nian sent a message: “How’s the preparation for the internal competition going?”

“Still preparing. It just doesn’t feel good enough.”

Luan Nian thought, you’re silly. At this point, you’re still fussing over documents? The reviewers are all internal colleagues—isn’t it time to focus on relationships? So he directly told her, “Who are the leaders in the planning department? What are their styles? How’s your relationship with them? The core element of internal competition is interpersonal relationships. If you’re not reaching out to people now, when will you? After you fail?”

Shang Zhitao thought about it carefully and felt Luan Nian was right. Each boss in the planning department had their style and preferences, as well as different areas of expertise. No matter how well the documents were prepared, if she couldn’t answer one of their questions, it would be over. This was probably a kind of workplace culture.

Shang Zhitao humbly accepted Luan Nian’s criticism and asked him, “Then who should I approach? Who has the decision-making power for this? Do you have any suggestions?”

After a long while, Luan Nian replied:

“Me.”