In the early spring of this year, Shang Zhitao once again realized the difficulty of work.

She sat in the conference room with colleagues from the planning department, participating in a conference call with Luan Nian, who was in America.

Grace said to Shang Zhitao, “Flora, don’t worry. Although the work in the planning department is different from the marketing department, the essence and core of the work haven’t changed. You’ve built a good foundation these past few years and will catch up quickly.”

Grace was her new mentor in the planning department.

Shang Zhitao liked Grace. She was a rational, professional, and talented person. Ever since hearing her performance report that earned her a million-yuan stock incentive, Grace had become legendary in Shang Zhitao’s mind.

Now pregnant, Grace had light spots on her face but still possessed an intellectual beauty.

“Note down the parts you don’t understand during the meeting, and ask me all at once after it’s over,” Grace told her. Although Grace was very kind, she had a bit of self-interest. During the internal competition for the planning department, Grace had given Shang Zhitao a high score because she was trustworthy. Now that Grace was pregnant, she would need to hand over her projects during her maternity leave. Who to hand them to was a delicate matter. Everyone in the planning department was shrewd and ambitious. Once she gave up her projects, it would be difficult to get them back. And with her upcoming nursing period, her career at Phoenix might have reached its peak.

So she set her sights on Shang Zhitao.

Shang Zhitao was reliable. Grace had observed her for a long time. She was upright, kind, and compassionate. Grace placed her bet on her.

Luan Nian asked from the other end, “Has the new colleague arrived today?”

Grace answered, “Flora arrived yesterday and is attending her first planning department meeting today. Another internal colleague is still transferring projects and is joining remotely today. The externally hired colleague had a family member pass away, so their start date has been postponed. Also, the human resources department contacted me today. This year’s campus recruitment is expected to open two positions for the planning department, focusing on overseas universities.”

“Good. Let’s begin.”

The pace of the planning department meetings was too fast.

Despite having worked at Phoenix for several years, Shang Zhitao still found it somewhat challenging. Higher departments, industry associations, client management, consulting, special projects, project management—all these core functions were concentrated in the planning department. In other words, Phoenix’s planning department was Phoenix’s brain. The brain issued commands, and each department executed them. If the brain issued wrong commands, the departments would suffer.

Shang Zhitao’s first task in the planning department was to take meeting minutes, which only needed to be sent to Grace. After the meeting, she organized the minutes and sent them to Grace, unexpectedly receiving detailed annotations from Grace, who circled every important point and explained professional terms. Grace also took her to the break room and told her about the background of the current core projects without reservation.

Grace was truly an excellent mentor. She spoke concisely, had a friendly attitude, yet was clear about her goals. In the break room, she concluded like this, “Don’t be afraid. It’s not difficult. Ask more questions. You’ll be fine.”

Her speaking style was somewhat similar to Luan Nian’s. Shang Zhitao suddenly understood why Luan Nian appreciated Grace—probably because Grace was essentially the same type of person as him.

“I will, Grace.” Shang Zhitao nodded.

Grace placed her hand on her chest, “I can’t breathe well. Come, accompany me downstairs for some fresh air. I’ll take the opportunity to explain the company’s strategic layout for this year. All of these are related to our core projects.”

“Sure.”

The two walked downstairs. Shang Zhitao had rarely interacted with pregnant colleagues before. There were some in the company, but without overlapping work, it was difficult to understand their situation. While going downstairs, she asked Grace, “Is your belly… tiring?”

Grace smiled, “It’s manageable. I hadn’t planned to have a child in these two years, but it was unexpected. The doctor advised against abortion, considering I’m 33 years old.”

“What does your boss think? Don’t they say bosses dislike female employees getting pregnant?”

“You mean Luke?”

Shang Zhitao nodded.

“Luke said, ‘While you’re young, have it early. Work is just work. You’ve already got your stocks, what are you afraid of?” Grace laughed, “Actually, Luke is very nice. At first I was afraid of him, but gradually discovered he just has a harsh mouth, but a soft heart. I don’t think he has a capitalist mentality.”

“Oh, oh, oh.” Shang Zhitao responded several times. The senior executive Luan was returning.

He had been gone too long this time. Shang Zhitao hadn’t seen him for more than two months. She was busy and flustered until midnight. When she got home, she saw a package on the bed—a very beautiful nightgown. Sun Yu’s message arrived promptly: “For you, wear it for your boss, killing two birds with one stone.”

Shang Zhitao put on the nightgown. The front had a semi-transparent deep V with lace, and the back had a large open area. This wasn’t a nightgown; it was merely a piece of cloth that barely covered anything. But it was truly beautiful. Shang Zhitao wore it, let down her hair, and took selfies. After taking them, she clicked her tongue in appreciation.

That night, Luan Nian asked her, “Have you finished the materials?”

Shang Zhitao thought for a moment and sent him the nightgown photo.

Luan Nian opened the message and saw the photo. Fuck.

He blushed to his neck and quickly turned off his phone, afraid others might see. After a while, he replied, “Just this one?”

Shang Zhitao sent two more. The lighting was dim. She sat in front of the dressing mirror, her clean long legs curled in front of her, the nightgown strap slipping down, the lace pattern wrinkled, her red lips slightly parted. She also sent a reckless message: “So, for the past half hour, what have you been doing?”

Luan Nian’s Adam’s apple moved, and he replied, “Looking at materials.” Never expect a proud man to flirt openly; he wouldn’t lower himself.

“Oh, oh, oh, then please continue looking. I’ve sent the materials to your email, Luke.”

Shang Zhitao had learned to be naughty.

Lu Mi had taught her. At noon, while accompanying Lu Mi for a manicure, Lu Mi raised her hand to Shang Zhitao and said, “Look at how plain you are. Even if you find a boyfriend, it won’t last long. Be more alluring.”

“How do I be alluring?” Shang Zhitao sincerely asked for advice.

Lu Mi whispered something in her ear, making her blush, “Oh. I’ve learned it.” Having learned it, wasn’t she using it now?

Shang Zhitao imagined Luan Nian losing control and giggled alone on the bed. Two days later, in the evening, she suddenly received a message from Luan Nian:

“Come over. Bring that nightgown of yours.”

“? Aren’t you coming back next week?”

“It’s been moved up.”

The two who hadn’t seen each other for a long time didn’t even exchange pleasantries. Shang Zhitao heard the sound of fabric tearing as the violent Luan Nian ripped apart her nightgown. What had Lu Mi said? Don’t ask if he likes it; just look at his reaction. Shang Zhitao felt she understood men a little better now. Look at Luan Nian—usually such a serious person, yet when tearing her nightgown, he wasn’t proper at all.

The next morning, she set an alarm to wake up and saw that Luan Nian was already up, getting dressed.

“Are you going out?” Shang Zhitao asked him.

“Yes, meeting a friend. What are you doing today?” Luan Nian casually asked, wondering what outrageous answer she would give.

“I’m going to the library today!” Shang Zhitao smiled at him, carelessly put on some clothes, and left. She needed to go home to change clothes. Sun Yu had said today’s event was for high-end members, many of whom were extremely wealthy. She hoped Shang Zhitao would try her best to get them to upgrade their service.

Shang Zhitao quickly returned home, changed into a black dress that reached just below her knees, a pair of black leather boots, applied light makeup, put on red lipstick, put on a coat, and left. The event was at a bar that was empty during the day, making it cheap to rent, and convenient for transportation. After arriving, Shang Zhitao signed in, hung up her coat, and turned to see men casting glances at her.

Sun Yu hadn’t lied. Today was indeed a high-quality offline gathering.

She exchanged a glance with Sun Yu, found a less conspicuous place to sit down, and as she looked up, saw someone walk in. Shang Zhitao couldn’t hide in time. He had already sat across from her, smiling at her. It wasn’t a friendly smile. Why was Luan Nian here?

Shang Zhitao thought, This is trouble. She took out her phone and sent Luan Nian a message: “I’m helping Sun Yu.”

“I rarely come here!” A guilty explanation.

“And I only participate in these activities for appearances, never doing anything improper!”

“Why are you here?”

But Luan Nian didn’t even look at his phone. Shang Zhitao looked at him, pointing at her phone, but Luan Nian acted as if he didn’t see. Dr. Liang had signed him up for this activity, with a registration fee of 888 yuan. He said he wouldn’t go, but Dr. Liang insisted, “Go, go. If you see the girl from the photo, take a picture for me. I want to see what she looks like in person.”

Luan Nian had almost sent Shang Zhitao’s nightgown photo to Dr. Liang.

After coldly watching Shang Zhitao lie in the morning, he decided not to waste that 888 yuan. As it turned out, Shang Zhitao truly made his 888 yuan worthwhile—she had even put on makeup and was wearing a short skirt. Amazing. Having known her for several years, she was as plain as a nun in front of him, yet she had come to a high-end gathering as a shill.

When it came time to distribute profiles, Luan Nian looked at Shang Zhitao’s information, which differed somewhat from the website: graduated from UPenn, worked for a foreign company, annual salary of 400,000 yuan, height 171 cm, weight 108 pounds, enjoyed diving, skiing, and golf. Proficient in three languages. He suddenly let out a chuckle.

Hearing this laugh, Shang Zhitao vaguely felt today would end badly. She sent Sun Yu a message: “Why is Luan Nian here?”

“How would I know? I checked, and he signed in after another member’s name. He probably registered an account using someone else’s identity.”

Damn.

Shang Zhitao had no idea about all this. She could only smile pleasingly at Luan Nian, vaguely worried he might sabotage Sun Yu’s event today.

She went outside for a breath of fresh air. When she returned, she saw Luan Nian talking to the bar staff, his gaze sweeping over her lightly, still ignoring her. Shang Zhitao walked up to him and said, “Let’s chat?” with a slightly coquettish tone.

“Sorry, the activity doesn’t allow private contact.” Luan Nian squeezed out a smile at Shang Zhitao and turned to walk inside.

Shang Zhitao quickly ran a few steps and pulled him into a private room, saying, “It’s fine here. Let’s talk.”

“I don’t know you.”

…

“Are you angry?” Shang Zhitao asked him. “I didn’t intentionally lie this morning. It’s just that there wasn’t much to say about this…”

“Just this morning?”

Luan Nian was referring to every Saturday morning when he left her home. Her bizarre excuses—what angered him most was that she was so serious about it, even putting on makeup.

“Before… there were a few times.”

“Have I ever told you? If you meet someone else, be straightforward, don’t treat the other person like a fool.”

“You did. But I haven’t met anyone, have I?” Shang Zhitao was a bit angry now. Why couldn’t Luan Nian understand? She was just helping Sun Yu while earning some extra money on the side.

“…” This hit Luan Nian’s nerve. Dr. Liang had just registered an account, and she had pounced on it, initiating a chat. She had nearly told Dr. Liang her home address. During the holiday, Dr. Liang showed him chat records with various girls every day, especially hers. Dr. Liang had almost done an emotional reading! What had Dr. Liang said? In her exact words: This girl is so sincere, obviously in a hurry to find someone. You should make an effort.

At that time, Luan Nian wasn’t very angry and had mocked Dr. Liang for not understanding “system-managed accounts” and “virtual accounts.”

Until he saw Shang Zhitao with makeup at the venue. Great, he was the one who didn’t understand.

“Move aside.”

“No. I’ll move if you promise not to disrupt things.”

Luan Nian’s eyes narrowed to slits. After a long while, he finally spoke, “Fine, I won’t disrupt anything.”

Luan Nian never kept his word.

When it was his turn to speak, he suddenly said, “Female guest number 8 looks very similar to an employee at my company. But that employee doesn’t know three languages, nor did she graduate from UPenn. Right?”

Damn.

You just couldn’t trust Luan Nian’s mouth. Shang Zhitao thought, “I have a common face. It’s just a coincidence.”

“Yes, our female employee is also named Shang Zhitao.”

The event participants began to discuss this. Sun Yu started to sweat on the side. It was over. She had experienced Luan Nian’s venomous tongue and his vengeful attitude. She quickly pulled up Luan Nian’s account, thinking that if necessary, she would sacrifice him today. She would say he didn’t match his profile photo and was here to disrupt the event. No one had seen his company’s Shang Zhitao, but there was evidence of his fake photo. This would serve as a contingency plan for future events.

Unexpectedly, Luan Nian didn’t give her the chance. He said, “I’ll withdraw from today’s activity. Seeing female guest number 8 reminds me of my subordinate. I can’t get into the right mindset.”

“Alright. What a coincidence indeed.” The host immediately said, “We will arrange a refund for you. Welcome to participate in our next event.”

Luan Nian glanced at Shang Zhitao and left.

Just moments ago, he had wanted to finish her, but he had shown some restraint. Sun Yu’s startup wasn’t easy, and it had just started to turn around.

He left the bar to find his car. Shang Zhitao ran out and got into the car as he opened the door.

Luan Nian looked at her, “Not looking for a partner anymore? There are many eligible bachelors inside.”

Shang Zhitao giggled and fastened her seatbelt.

“Get out.”

“No.”

Luan Nian looked at her, “Is it fun being a marriage scammer? Was it fun chatting with my mom for two or three months?”

“Huh?”

“Didn’t expect that, did you? A scammer meeting an old con artist.”

Shang Zhitao had no idea which account was Luan Nian’s mother. Her account was system-managed. Before each event, Sun Yu would send her the chat records to review. She remembered the name of the account Luan Nian had signed in with—they had already chatted quite extensively.

“You wouldn’t question if I told you my account is system-managed, right?” Shang Zhitao said, then suddenly realized, “But how did Dr. Liang know about Sun Yu’s website from abroad? Why would she register an account for you?”

The story behind this was quite fascinating, but Luan Nian didn’t plan to tell Shang Zhitao.

“Get out of the car. I have a date.”

“With whom?”

“Shang Zhitao, this is where I’m better than you. You ask, I tell you. Teacher Gong Yue. Now get out.”

“When meeting someone else, be straightforward.”

“How straightforward I am. I’ll tell you before sleeping.”

“Fine. Good. Thank you.” Shang Zhitao delivered three annoying responses and got out of the car.

Luan Nian’s car kicked up a bit of dust and drove away.