Lu Mi placed her computer on the desk, sensed a cold gaze, then picked it up again and set it down gently.

Shang Zhitao looked up at her, then glanced toward Will’s meeting room, snickering twice.

“What are you laughing at?” Lu Mi protested quietly, plopping down in her chair like a frost-bitten eggplant.

Shang Zhitao sent her a message: “What’s wrong? Didn’t my Lady Lu Mi say that among thousands of men in the world, even dragons must coil before you? How come now you’re afraid to put down your computer loudly?”

“Fuck,” Lu Mi replied: “That big brother is too damn creepy. Considering he saved me once, I’ll let it slide.”

Will had saved Lu Mi once.

Downstairs at the company, Zhang Qing came to harass Lu Mi, and happened to be caught by Will, who beat up Zhang Qing and his friend with his bare hands. Lu Mi later recalled that this man, looking like an old cadre, tossed his computer aside and tangled with Zhang Qing, that tattooed, braided, muscular man, fighting one against two without much disadvantage.

In Lu Mi’s words: “It was frightening. I guess the people hired by that stubborn mule are all like him.” Despite saying this, she never dared to provoke Will again.

Shang Zhitao glanced at her, then looked away. She was examining the assigned project before her. It involved going to a northwestern city to collaborate with government departments on an industrial base. This was Lingmei’s S+ level project for the coming year.

Lu Mi moved her chair over and saw what Shang Zhitao was looking at. She asked, “Want to go?”

Shang Zhitao nodded: “I want to be promoted to expert next year. Grace told me that my project quantity, service quality, and overall ratings aren’t a problem, but there’s only one issue—I haven’t led an S+ project. This is a rare opportunity.”

“The Northwest!” Lu Mi pinched her face. “Are you crazy? It’s fourteen months, not fourteen days. Do you know what you’ll look like when you come back? This tender face will be gone, replaced by two red apples on your cheeks.”

Shang Zhitao giggled: “I know! But I want to go.”

She took her wish list from the drawer and pointed it out to Lu Mi: “Look, I’m only one ‘expert’ away from achieving this wish!”

Lu Mi looked at the wish list, which seemed to have some age to it. The paper had frayed edges, and at the top it read: “Wishes to fulfill before turning 30.”

“Fine,” Lu Mi pushed the wish list back to her. “Why don’t I also apply for this project? I’m free anyway. But our marketing department said during meetings that we only need to go for half a month each month. Not like you guys who need to be stationed there long-term.”

“Aren’t you afraid of having two red apples on your face?” Shang Zhitao teased.

Lu Mi clicked her tongue: “I’m afraid of being scolded by that bastard Will.” She slid her chair back to her workstation: “Too annoying!”

Shang Zhitao seriously weighed her chances of being selected for this project, and after much thought, decided to hear Grace’s opinion. Grace was walking out with her breast pump when she saw Shang Zhitao coming toward her and said, “Come, keep me company while I pump.”

The maternal care area was empty. It seemed women working at Lingmei weren’t particularly interested in having children. Grace started pumping, the machine making a humming sound. Shang Zhitao said to her, “Sister Grace, I want to apply for that base project. Do you think I can do it?”

“The current situation is that no one wants to go, no matter how much money they’re offered. Although it’s an S+ project, if something goes wrong, it becomes a big issue. Risks and opportunities coexist.”

“What about you?”

“If it were me, at twenty-six or twenty-seven, single, with no attachments. I would go,” Grace expressed her thoughts directly. “There are risks, but also opportunities. Take risks while you’re young. Otherwise, when? When you’re old?”

Shang Zhitao nodded.

She hadn’t liked taking risks before, moving forward step by step, with self-discipline and caution. But as Grace said, if you don’t take risks when you’re young, should you wait until you’re old? Adults should have the ability to take responsibility for their choices.

The current Shang Zhitao felt she possessed this ability.

Back at her workstation, she sat for a moment, then messaged Luan Nian’s secretary: “Hello, I’d like to inquire about Luke’s schedule today. I want to book about fifteen minutes to discuss something with him.”

Luan Nian had been especially busy since the new year, spending little time in Beijing. On the rare occasions he was at the company, his time was filled with various meetings and appointments, so his secretary had started scheduling appointments. Shang Zhitao could message him directly, but she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to cross boundaries again.

“One moment.” Five minutes later, the reply came: “Luke has half an hour at noon. I’m ordering his lunch now, and I’ll order for Flora too. You can chat while eating.” The secretary had high emotional intelligence—it would be awkward for Luan Nian to eat while she watched, so ordering two meals would ease the awkwardness.

“Okay, thank you.”

At noon, Shang Zhitao saw Will coming out of his office, and sure enough, the secretary said to her, “Come, Flora.”

Shang Zhitao got up and went to Luan Nian’s office.

It was early spring, April. She wore an apricot-colored silk blouse, casually tucked into vintage jeans, looking fresh and gentle. Luan Nian looked up at her and smiled: “Sit.”

“Thank you.”

It seemed like they hadn’t been alone together for a long time. As Shang Zhitao sat down, she noticed Luan Nian’s attractive nose bridge as he lowered his head, and her heart still fluttered. But not as strongly as before. Time truly does cover some things.

Shang Zhitao sat across from him, accepting the takeout he pushed toward her. The secretary had ordered steak and shrimp set meals. She opened it and took a bite: “Delicious.”

“Your salary isn’t enough for you to eat truly delicious food, right?” Luan Nian mocked her. She said everything tasted good, which irritated him.

“I can barely afford a feast each month. So can you give me a bigger raise this year?” Shang Zhitao seized the opportunity to make a request.

“No.” Luan Nian glanced at her. It was only April, but sitting in the sunlight, her nose tip was already beaded with sweat. How could someone sweat so easily? “So what did you want to discuss?” Luan Nian took a bite of steak, put down his fork, and asked.

Shang Zhitao also put down her utensils and looked at him solemnly: “I want to apply for that stationed project.”

“Fourteen months, only allowed to return for two days each month. Plus high risk,” Luan Nian reminded her.

“I still want to go.”

“Why?”

Shang Zhitao thought for a moment: “Because I’m still young, and I want to take risks.”

Luan Nian raised his eyebrows and lowered his head to eat. He had been hungover last night and hadn’t eaten breakfast, so he was starving now. Shang Zhitao shared half of her shrimp and steak with him, and Luan Nian ate it.

After eating quietly, Shang Zhitao asked him: “Will you approve my application?”

“I have no objection.”

“Good, thank you.”

“What about Luke?” Luan Nian suddenly asked her.

“I’ll figure something out when the time comes. If necessary, I’ll take him with me.” Luke was indeed a problem, and Shang Zhitao began to consider the possibility of taking Luke along.

“He can stay with me.” Luan Nian suggested: “Before you leave, you can bring him to my place to get familiar with the environment.”

“But you also travel for business.”

“Our community has a dog-walking auntie now.”

“Oh, I see. Okay.” Shang Zhitao smiled: “But you don’t like Luke.”

“You understand that well.” Luan Nian took a sip of water, frowning slightly.

The secretary knocked: “Luke, time’s up.”

“Okay.”

Shang Zhitao stood up and said to Luan Nian: “Thank you, Luke. I’ll go back and submit my application in the system.”

“Okay.”

After leaving, Shang Zhitao recalled that he didn’t seem to be feeling well today. She sat at her workstation for a while before messaging him: “Are you feeling unwell?”

“?”

“You were frowning the whole time.”

“Stomach pain.”

Luan Nian had been on consecutive business trips recently, with a high workload. He felt something was slightly wrong with his body. There was a feeling of heaviness in his abdomen, and he asked Dr. Liang what it might be. Dr. Liang thought for a moment, being evasive. Luan Nian grew impatient and told her to speak directly. Dr. Liang chuckled and asked if he had engaged in unsafe sexual activities. Luan Nian angrily hung up the phone. In her mind, why did she think he was so indiscriminate? Unsafe sexual activities? He was practically a monk. He looked up at Shang Zhitao, who was talking with Lu Mi. They were discussing some secret topic. Lu Mi’s face couldn’t hide her gossip, and Shang Zhitao’s mouth formed an O-shape, looking somewhat surprised.

The gossip they were discussing was about Will.

Lu Mi had inadvertently met a colleague from Will’s previous company and learned some gossip: Will had been divorced for two years. This gossip made Lu Mi’s jaw drop, but what surprised her wasn’t that Will had married and divorced, but rather: “Damn! A virile man single for two years? The reason for this divorce is worth speculating about.”

Seeing Lu Mi’s mischievous expression, Shang Zhitao felt a chill down her spine: “How do you plan to speculate?”

Lu Mi snickered: “Remember this lady’s motto?” She winked at Shang Zhitao and lowered her voice: “If you can’t beat them, join them.”

“…How do you join?”

Lu Mi raised her eyebrows. Shang Zhitao suddenly understood and hurriedly advised her: “Don’t mess around! With Will’s old-fashioned personality, won’t he discipline you if you act up?”

“Let him discipline me. If he’s capable, let’s see in bed.” Lu Mi dragged out her words, in an exceptionally good mood. Shang Zhitao was helpless with her and sighed.

Shang Zhitao returned to her workstation and began studying this S+ government-tourism project. It was a Lingmei + tech company + government project. The government was responsible for providing funds and land, while Lingmei and technology were responsible for project design, ultimately aiming to present a first-class national scenic area. The preliminary investigation, planning, and design of the project would take half a year, with another eight months for implementation.

This was interesting.

Shang Zhitao had never participated in such a government-level project, and the company was tense from top to bottom. Luan Nian had visited the location countless times, and it had taken nearly half a year just to establish preliminary cooperation intentions among the three parties. The contract process had only recently been completed.

Lingmei’s creative design was top-notch.

The project needed a project manager. By previous standards, Shang Zhitao’s experience didn’t qualify. The company would typically send an expert like Grace as the project manager. But as Grace said, the project was arduous, and no one wanted to go.

Shang Zhitao was willing.

This was her opportunity.

She put her wish list back in the drawer. The next time she took it out should be the end of the year. If the company truly approved her application, she would set off in July, and when she officially returned, it would already be September of the following year.

Time flies. Previously, clients considered her a young girl, now they called her Miss Shang, and in a few years, she would become Ms. Shang.

Shang Zhitao finished studying the project materials, and when she looked up, it was already past ten. She packed up, preparing to go home, and saw Luan Nian hunched over at his desk.

He had never been like this before.

Colleagues in the office had either left or gone on business trips, or were working from home. No one remained except her and Luan Nian.

She felt vaguely worried and, after some thought, went to knock on his office door. Luan Nian’s voice shook: “Come in.”

“Luke.” Shang Zhitao stopped speaking. She saw large beads of sweat on Luan Nian’s forehead: “What’s wrong?”

“Pain.”