Luan Nian said there were no good men; every single one of them, including himself, deserved harsh criticism. Shang Zhitao found him amusing; his sharp tongue didn’t even spare himself.

She spoke with Luan Nian about her application to go to the Northwest, and Luan Nian asked why she wanted to go.

She thought for a moment: “I’m applying for promotion to expert next year, and I still need an S+ project. Grace also recommended that I go.”

“Grace recommended it?”

“Yes.”

“Have you thought about why Grace would recommend this to you?”

“Why?” Shang Zhitao asked him.

“Think for yourself. You’re not 22 anymore with no understanding.”

Luan Nian was unwilling to speak too plainly. The workplace was complex, everyone harboring their agenda. Shang Zhitao had established herself in the planning department, rising quickly, and would soon become Grace’s competitor. Grace’s recommendation that she go to the Northwest would take her away from headquarters, distancing her from colleagues, and the project carried risks. No matter how one weighed it, the disadvantages outweighed the benefits.

But Shang Zhitao was an adult, and adults should take responsibility for their own choices. Fortunately, life is long, and she would still have opportunities to correct her course.

“You mean Grace is wary of me?” Shang Zhitao asked him.

Luan Nian handed her a prepared drink: “Try this.” It served as his answer.

Shang Zhitao took a sip, tart and sweet, reminiscent of the small strawberries that grew in front of the old building in her childhood, somewhat delicious. Smacking her lips, she asked him: “What’s this drink called?”

“Out of Control.”

Luan Nian leaned forward from behind the bar, his lips touching hers, his tongue licking around her lips before entwining with hers. Shang Zhitao pulled her head back, but his hand blocked her retreat, covering the back of her head as he complained: “Why are you dodging? I’m just tasting the drink I mixed.”

Why was it called “Out of Control”? Perhaps because this drink was tart and sweet, causing one to lower their guard, drink more and more, inevitably becoming intoxicated. Luan Nian’s tongue intertwined with hers as he saw figures moving outside—the bar staff returning from their run.

Luan Nian released her, also smacking his lips: “Indeed, first-class.”

It wasn’t clear if he was praising the drink or her.

At this time, Luke was playing by himself in front of the bar. Shang Zhitao sat outside the bar counter, her face still flushed. Luan Nian stood inside the bar, mixing drinks for Shang Zhitao. His bartending was amateur, mixing drinks for himself to drink, not for external sale. The drinks he mixed for Shang Zhitao also depended on his mood, without any particular method. There was only one constant—he always mixed just a small amount, which she finished in one gulp, trying several varieties without getting too drunk.

The bar manager hadn’t changed; it was still the same person. Shang Zhitao was curious about what kind of salary Luan Nian paid him, considering how frequent job changes were in this industry. And his bar manager was a remarkably handsome man.

Luan Nian just smiled, saying nothing.

Shang Zhitao’s phone rang, and she heard Lu Mi’s somewhat excited voice: “Holy shit! Shang Zhitao! Guess what!”

“Huh?” Shang Zhitao was a bit confused: “What happened?” She glanced at Luan Nian walking outside. Her calls with Lu Mi always contained content that others shouldn’t hear, as did their chat history. Sometimes Shang Zhitao would think that if she lost her phone and their chat history leaked online, it would surely go viral. The two of them truly talked about everything without taboos.

Lu Mi realized she was too excited and took a deep breath: “Okay, let your sister tell you what happened.”

“What happened?”

“Yesterday, your sister here almost slept with Will.”

…

Shang Zhitao listened to Lu Mi’s scattered account, finally piecing together the complete story.

Lu Mi often went out to eat with her extended family on weekends, choosing one of the old restaurants in the city and spending the entire afternoon. With the good spring weather, after eating, they would go to the hutongs to see their old family house and reminisce about the difficult days of the past.

That day they went to eat at an old halal restaurant. Tables were pushed together, and the whole family gathered around. Just as the roasted lamb and vinegar wood ear salad were being served, Lu Mi heard someone at the entrance say, “Table for two.” She recognized the voice—it scolded her like a grandson every day. She stretched her neck to look and, sure enough, it was that celestial being, accompanied by an elegant lady. It looked like a date, yet the two seemed distant. Lu Mi pulled her neck back and kept her head down for half the meal, afraid of being caught staring.

Her grandmother noticed her strange behavior and disapproved, loudly rebuking her: “Lu Mi! Why are you drooping like a frost-bitten eggplant? Where’s the spirit of the Lu family?” Her grandmother’s voice was like a bell, causing half the restaurant to turn and look. Lu Mi wanted to cover her grandmother’s mouth, but it was too late. Will’s gaze had already found her.

Coincidentally, Will’s dining companion was his ex-wife. They initially discussed his ex-wife’s work; she did research in a scientific laboratory. Lu Mi secretly looked up—the woman truly appeared dignified and elegant. But the two seemed unhappy dining together. Lu Mi occasionally overheard Will telling his ex-wife: “Don’t slander me.”

Now that Lu Mi had witnessed Will’s vulnerability, she suddenly felt her days at Lingmei were numbered. She smiled flatteringly at Will, then said to her grandmother: “My dear grandmother, let’s go, your hutong is waiting for your inspection.” Then she helped her grandmother leave, hoping to escape quickly.

Outside, before they had walked twenty meters, someone grabbed her collar. She was about to curse, but turned to see Will and immediately shut her mouth. She was genuinely afraid of him.

“Why are you hiding?” Will nodded to her grandmother, then asked Lu Mi, releasing her collar. Will was peculiar—normally a traditionalist, but whenever he saw Lu Mi, he couldn’t contain his anger, repeatedly grabbing her collar as if wanting to throw her out.

“I… I just didn’t want to intrude on your privacy…” Lu Mi had eavesdropped for more than half the meal, practically ready to cut off her ear and place it on his table. Now saying this made her words falter.

Her grandmother didn’t like being ignored: “You know each other?”

“My boss.”

“Hello, Grandmother.” Will was serious, but respectful to Lu Mi’s grandmother, showing good manners.

“Hello, Boss, hello.” Grandmother nodded to Will with her hands behind her back, then went to inspect the hutong with her descendants. Lu Mi was left standing there, not knowing what to say, only explaining: “I’ll accept any criticism from you normally, but one thing—today’s situation wasn’t what I wanted. How could I know I’d run into you during a family gathering? Besides, divorce isn’t a big deal, get divorced and find someone new.”

“Are you crazy?” Will could never tolerate people babbling nonsense, and Lu Mi never spoke seriously. It gave him a headache just listening to her: “Who told you I was divorced?”

“You’re not?”

“…I am.”

“Then that settles it. You should go back and accompany your ex-wife. Maybe you can remarry and save yourself the trouble of finding someone new.” Lu Mi dropped this line and ran.

After running a few steps, she looked back and saw Will standing by the roadside, clearly in a bad mood. She worried he might jump off the Second Ring Road bridge. So she bought a dozen beers, ran back, opened one for herself, and gave one to Will.

The two sat there drinking four cans of beer. Lu Mi grew hungrier as she drank, and finally suggested: “Well, you know, sitting here drinking beer all day isn’t ideal. We should at least have some snacks to go with it, don’t you think?”

“Mm.”

“Then why don’t you come to my place, and I’ll cook a couple of dishes for you?” Lu Mi had many crafty thoughts. They say friendship comes from the heart; if she cooked a few dishes for Will, they would become friends, and maybe he’d be less harsh when scolding her in the future.

Surprisingly, Will didn’t refuse. He didn’t think anything could happen with Lu Mi. He had received a traditional family education; both his parents were high-level intellectuals who would never accept a woman like Lu Mi—reckless in actions, crude in speech, coming to work like a street hustler, slightly unrestrained.

A divorced single man, who had always conducted himself properly, ended up being falsely accused. Seeing Lu Mi’s family, they were probably nouveau riche. Lu Mi certainly wouldn’t have any inappropriate thoughts about him either.

He followed Lu Mi to her home. Her place was in a good location, about 90 square meters. In Lu Mi’s boastful words at the company: “I have several apartments like this.” She had laid bare all her personal affairs.

Will took off his trench coat and looked around. There was nowhere to sit in Lu Mi’s home; clothes were piled on the sofa, with an ultra-thin bra on top. Her aesthetic was uninhibited; that bra probably wouldn’t serve its purpose when worn.

Lu Mi noticed his gaze and hurriedly gathered up her clothes: “Sorry, sorry. I don’t usually have visitors. Even my mother is too lazy to come, complaining that my place is too small for her to walk around.” Another boast.

After settling Will, she went to cook. Lu Mi’s cooking was passable; it was just basic ingredients thrown together, barely edible. Four hot dishes, plus half a lamb face, four treasures, chicken sausage, and pickled green beans from Diaoliangcun, making eight dishes in total. As she arranged them, she flattered Will: “VIP treatment. If it were anyone else, I’d just let them eat pickled vegetables. But you’re important, prestigious, so I must entertain you properly.”

She talked non-stop, one sentence after another, all idle chatter, giving Will a pounding headache.

The two drank together. Will sat rigidly straight, like a rigid old scholar. Lu Mi propped her leg on the chair, encouraging Will: “Don’t be so formal, don’t be so formal, make yourself at home. If you get hot from drinking, just take off your clothes. If you’re shy, I’ll take mine off too, to keep you company.”

She couldn’t say a single serious thing.

Today, Will unusually didn’t scold her, just drank sullenly alongside her nonsensical talk. Previously, when he returned home, it was clean and tidy. Both he and his ex-wife were germophobes. His ex-wife liked to fuss with flowers, birds, fish, and insects, so the house was filled with these things. He had no particular interests, was a good student with a good mind, stumbled into marketing management, and due to his integrity, ran the marketing work properly. When Luan Nian poached him, he had just divorced and felt that changing environments would be good, a fresh start. But on his first day at work, standing in the corner of the elevator, he heard a woman speaking vulgarly with a Beijing accent: “Let me put it this way, there’s no male leader I can’t handle. Worst case, I’ll sleep with him.” Everyone in the elevator laughed, and another girl stopped her: “Stop talking nonsense. You make it sound real.” The woman who wanted to sleep with male leaders was Lu Mi, and the girl who stopped her was Shang Zhitao.

These two, whenever they were at the company, seemed attached at the hip, often putting their heads together, secretly saying who knows what vulgar things.

Due to this first impression, Will concluded this woman was casual, and seeing her loafing around every day, he couldn’t tolerate such a subordinate in his department and took every opportunity to scold her.

So on this afternoon, listening to Lu Mi talk, it actually paired well with the drink, and slowly he got a bit drunk.

When Will got drunk, his face turned as red as Guan Yu’s, his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. A low-fat person had a blue vein on his arm. Recalling how he had once fought two men to save her at the company building, she had thought him a real man. Looking at his appearance today, she developed lustful thoughts.

She moved her chair next to him as they drank, seemingly casually placing her hand on his leg, patting it like a brother. But in her mind, she was calculating: Solid muscles, good material, worth sleeping with or not? Worth it! An internal struggle ensued. No, today she would do him, satisfy herself, and maybe be scolded less in the future, making her idle work life more comfortable.

Her little actions appeared odd to Will. What was wrong with this girl, like she was missing something? Will wanted to see what tricks she might pull, so he sat motionless. Lu Mi thought, tsk, men. She propped herself on the table and chair, slightly rising to approach his face, her tongue sweeping his lip corner: “Will, are you hot? Why don’t we take off our clothes to cool down?”

She sat on his lap, unable to resist his attractive mouth, biting it. Her teeth pulled at his lip, causing Will some pain. He leaned his head back, avoiding her advance. He told her: “You go first.”

Will’s words sounded like a challenge for her to undress first. Lu Mi feared nothing, removing her thin shirt to reveal a flesh-colored camisole underneath. Due to the alcohol, her skin had a thin layer of flush, looking quite attractive. She held his face in her hands—fuck, why is it so hot—her fingertips moved slightly as she lowered her head to kiss him. He remained motionless, and without much effort, she self-combusted.

This man was something. Her hand traced the contours of his chest downward, exploring his equipment—it was substantial. She marveled inwardly, enticing him: “Would you like to let your big brother out for a walk?”

Will and his ex-wife had had good times, but both were quiet. He had never seen someone so talkative during intimacy and suddenly couldn’t hold back, breaking character with a snort of laughter. He picked Lu Mi up and tossed her onto the sofa, telling her: “You’d be better off saying less. The more you say, the more mistakes you make. And have fewer crooked thoughts. You think sleeping with your boss means you don’t have to work? The company isn’t mine. You’re so thoughtless, you probably don’t even realize when you’re being taken advantage of.”

Will vented all his anger from his ex-wife onto Lu Mi today: “Another thing, your figure isn’t good. Wear more clothes outside in the future. If you had something to show, I could understand, but when you have nothing, what are you showing? Exposing your shortcomings?”

While scolding her, he put on his trench coat: “Thanks for the hospitality. Lastly, this cooking is mediocre, lacking in appearance, aroma, and taste.”

Fuck.

This was the first time Lu Mi had heard Will speak so much, each sentence quite hurtful, yet she wasn’t angry at all. This man was quite amusing. He probably wasn’t very capable.

She asked Shang Zhitao: “Do you think he’s capable or not?”

“Whether he’s capable or not has nothing to do with you.”

“How can it have nothing to do with me? He’s aroused my desires!”

“You better behave yourself, or he might report you for workplace sexual harassment.”

“I’m not afraid. Just wait, Shang Zhitao. I must sleep with him, and next year when you apply for an expert, he’ll give you full marks. Our friendship won’t be in vain.”

Lu Mi chuckled and hung up. Shang Zhitao checked the time—their call had lasted an hour. She put her phone in her pocket and entered the door to hear Luan Nian say: “What do you two have to talk about? Not enough time at the company!”

Shang Zhitao couldn’t tell him about Lu Mi wanting to sleep with Will, so she pretended not to hear and sat on the floor to groom Luke.

For some reason, Luke was especially happy at Luan Nian’s place, running around more than before, and he listened to Luan Nian, running whenever called. Probably because Luan Nian bribed him with food.

“When I go to the Northwest, can you take care of Luke?”

The corner of Luan Nian’s mouth twitched slightly, and after a long while, he said: “Don’t worry about how I take care of him.”

Shang Zhitao set conditions: “No ordering fresh meat dog food, no excessive treats, don’t spoil him…” She nagged on and on until Luan Nian couldn’t stand it anymore: “Then how about not sending him here?”

“No.”

On a Sunday afternoon, Luan Nian was recovering from his minor illness, the lush green mountains, carefree Luke, and their casual conversation.

A little while later, several cars drove up, and a group of young men and women got out. Shang Zhitao said: “Your guests are here. I’ll go to the back.”

“Are you not fit to be seen?”

“…” She remained sitting at the bar, the drink before her half-finished.

Shang Zhitao heard someone call: “Teacher Gong.” She turned around and saw Gong Yue. Beside her stood a man who looked quite respectable, shaking hands with Luan Nian. Luan Nian beckoned to Shang Zhitao: “Shang Zhitao, come here.”

She jumped off the high stool and walked over, hearing Luan Nian introduce her: “My girlfriend, Shang Zhitao.”

The words “my girlfriend” startled her; she thought she had misheard and looked at Luan Nian, but he took her wrist: “This is Teacher Gong Yue.”

“Hello, Teacher Gong.” Shang Zhitao stood straight; those who fear teachers from childhood have a natural reverence for Gong Yue. Gong Yue looked at her carefully, smiled, and said to Shang Zhitao: “This is my boyfriend, Teacher Sun Lin.”

“Hello, Teacher Sun.”

“We’ll go have our book club now.” Gong Yue nodded to Luan Nian and left with her boyfriend.

Shang Zhitao wanted to inquire about the words “my girlfriend,” but Luan Nian had already stepped ahead to the bar, calling to her: “Hurry up, girlfriend.”

Gong Yue asked Tan Mian, “Did you know Luan Nian is dating?”

“No.”

“Her name is Shang Zhitao.”

“Don’t know her.”

Tan Mian wasn’t very close to Gong Yue, so of course wouldn’t say much. Luan Nian had told him that Gong Yue brought students every week; he probably felt pressured and found someone to placate her, not taking it to heart. He didn’t plan to ask Luan Nian about it either.

“Help serve the drinks, girlfriend.” Luan Nian pushed the bartender’s prepared drinks to her. Shang Zhitao felt very strange hearing these three words, unable to describe the feeling, and just looked at him.

Luan Nian didn’t even raise his head and said: “Didn’t you want to take a risk together?”