I want to slеер with уоu. The little vоiсe in Shang Zhi Тao’s mind wаs trulу аudасiоus. She smiled fаintly at Luan Nian, then quicklу lоokеd awау. Тhаt sensuаl stоrу sрrеad thrоugh her limbs, lingering and rеfusing tо fadе.
The awаkening of dеsire. It wasn’t just а mаn’s right, but а wоmаn’s tоо. The wоrds аlmost burst frоm hеr thrоat, but thеn she hеаrd Luan Nian sау:
“I suggest уou drop thоse inapрrорriatе thoughts.”
Did she think othеrs wеrе blind? Standing thеrе with flushеd сhееks, her gаzе drifting aimlеssly, hеr mind filled with indeсent thоughts—wаs this hоw girls werе nоwаdаys? Did she think climbing intо the boss’s bed would guarаntee a smоoth rise in thе cоmрanу? What was she thinking?
The little voice in Shang Zhi Tao’s mind was silenced. She hurriedly shook her head. “I really don’t.” Her denial only made it more obvious—like protesting too much. After saying this, she dashed toward the elevator, not forgetting to toss back a final, “Goodnight.”
Luan Nian watched her flustered rush into the elevator, curled his lips, snorted through his nose, and then unexpectedly cracked a slight smile.
She reached the lobby and began thinking about grabbing something to eat. She had been busy since morning and hadn’t eaten yet, her stomach growling loudly. Pulling out her phone, she checked for nearby food options. After studying it for a while, she looked up and saw a woman stepping out of a taxi. The woman was truly beautiful—her hair tied back, her figure slender and straight, her chin slightly raised, a blend of gentleness and wildness. How much did Shang Zhi Tao enjoy looking at beautiful women? Naturally, she took another glance, then couldn’t resist turning to follow her with her eyes. But this time, she saw Luan Nian walk out and approach the woman, speaking with rare gentleness: “What are you doing here?”
“I don’t have a key. Can I stay at your place for a while?”
Fuck.
Shang Zhi Tao never swore out loud, but sometimes she cursed in her heart. What was this? When it rains, it pours? Witnessing her boss’s less-than-respectable private life one after another, and with everyone seemingly wanting to sleep with her boss.
She met Luan Nian’s gaze and hurriedly smiled at him, pinching her thumb and forefinger together and sliding them across her lips—I’ll keep my mouth shut, I won’t say a word, you can rest assured.
Luan Nian suddenly understood what she was thinking, but he couldn’t be bothered to explain. He gave her a cold glance and walked inside with Zang Yao.
Shang Zhi Tao felt that ever since she started working, her luck had completely run out. Everything she should and shouldn’t see, everything she should and shouldn’t hear, seemed to force its way into her eyes and ears. Now she had to worry about Luan Nian targeting her just to keep her quiet.
She stood outside the hotel for a while, no longer wanting to go anywhere. She bought instant noodles and sausages, returned to her room, ate, and then buried herself under the covers to sleep. The next day, before dawn, she got up and headed straight to Shunde, finally leaving Guangzhou behind.
Her first business trip in life was nonstop. She met countless people, listened to countless demands, and five days passed in the blink of an eye. As she dragged her luggage through the airport, bidding farewell to Lumi, she even briefly entertained the illusion that she was a career woman.
But career women don’t get tired.
She returned home and went out with Sun Yu to eat at a grimy street stall serving spicy hotpot. Both of them were drenched in sweat from the steam.Shang Zhi Tao shared stories from her business trip and also mentioned how Luan Nian had repeatedly tried to get her to resign. She said to Sun Yu, "It's very likely that in a few days, I'll be packing up and getting kicked out. Before I go, I'm going to write a big-character poster and stick it in the company elevator, saying his girlfriends are blooming everywhere!" Shang Zhi Tao sounded a bit vicious, but then she laughed at herself.
She was actually a very lively girl, but unfortunately, work had worn her down for so long that she hadn't been herself. Now, feeling relaxed, her carefree, silly, and cheerful side showed through.
"Why would a leader like him pick on you? Don't be too nervous," Sun Yu comforted her.
"Could it be that some people were enemies in a past life and are still fighting to the death in this one?" Shang Zhi Tao took a sip of cola, the bubbles popping in her mouth. Carbonated drinks really brought joy.
"You're overthinking it. Did this life even give you a chance to fight him? You're about to be crushed from the start!" Sun Yu teased Shang Zhi Tao. Having worked for three years, she had seen more of the workplace than Shang Zhi Tao.
But was it really a fight to the death?
If a boss dislikes you and makes things difficult, there will come a day when you can't stand it anymore. By then, you won't even think about fighting back—you'll just want to vanish into thin air and never cross paths again.
Shang Zhi Tao thought about it. Luan Nian was so intimidating that he might really crush her. At the time, she never imagined that soon after, Luan Nian would almost do exactly that. She sighed, "I don't know what's going on, but the more he dislikes me, the more I stumble upon his secrets." Shang Zhi Tao told Sun Yu about Luan Nian's breakup, his dinner dates with women, and bringing a woman back to his hotel in Guangzhou. "See, I'm just that unlucky. It's always like this. You have no idea—that day at the hotel in Guangzhou, the way he looked at me, it was like he wanted to kill me."
"His personal life is that messy?" Sun Yu widened her eyes. "What does he look like? To be so popular with women."
"He's... really good-looking, the kind that looks particularly restless." In Shang Zhi Tao's mind, Luan Nian was already that kind of restless person. She even wondered if he had some hidden illness, given how frequently he changed women.
After finishing their spicy hot pot, the two headed back. Shang Zhi Tao felt completely drained. When she got home, she took a shower, changed into her pajamas, and buried herself under the covers for a deep sleep. She hadn't felt this exhausted in a long time. Even when she was tired from part-time jobs during her student days, a walk around the playground would shake it off. But this time, she felt so tired she couldn't even lift a finger.
When she opened her eyes, it was already Sunday afternoon. A gentle breeze rustled the curtains, and the electric fan was still humming. The aroma of stir-fry wafted from the kitchen—Sun Yu must have been cooking dinner.
She picked up her phone and saw multiple missed calls from her parents. Only then did she remember she had silenced her phone before sleeping and forgotten to check in with them. She quickly called back, and the phone was answered after just one ring. She could hear Old Shang crying.
"What's wrong with Dad?" Shang Zhi Tao asked her mother.
"How dare you ask what's wrong? You nearly scared your dad to death," her mother said, wiping away tears. "We called you so many times, and you didn't answer. Your dad didn't sleep at all last night, thinking something had happened to you."
Old Shang's crying was truly heart-wrenching. Hearing this, Shang Zhi Tao also started to cry. "Oh, I'm sorry! Please stop crying. I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?"The family of three wiped away their tears for a while, and then Mom and Dad carefully asked Shang Zhitao about her recent situation. Old Shang, upon hearing that Shang Zhitao often worked overtime late into the night, immediately felt heartbroken: "Dad will transfer you some money this afternoon. Eat something good to nourish yourself."
"No need, no need! I often mooch meals off my roommate."
"How can that be? You can't take advantage of others. If you eat someone's meal, you have to return one." Old Shang reminded Shang Zhitao: "Don't be reluctant to spend money on food; your dad has plenty of money!"
Where did Old Shang have plenty of money? Just that meager fixed salary—he simply didn't want his daughter to suffer. Shang Zhitao understood, of course, which was why she never compared herself to others. She felt that in life, being content with modest wealth was enough. As long as she worked hard every day, things would surely get better day by day.
She was an optimist.
A born optimist, there were few things that truly gave her a headache. At the moment, there was only one: Luan Nian.
She lay back on the bed, opened her laptop, and searched for "what to do if your boss hates you." The search results were a mess—some suggested treating the boss to a meal, others said to help the boss solve problems, and some even advised flattering the boss.
What kind of nonsense was this? Flatter Luan Nian? Wouldn't Luan Nian grab you by the collar and throw you onto the city wall for public humiliation? Treat him to a meal? She hadn't even received her salary yet! Lumi said one of Luan Nian's outfits cost as much as her monthly salary, so wouldn't a meal with him cost her half a month's pay?
Nothing seemed feasible.
No solution.
Huh? If she couldn't afford a meal, what about coffee? He drank coffee every day—creative people relied on coffee to stay alive! That's it!
Shang Zhitao made up her mind to improve her relationship with Luan Nian. The next day, she arrived early and stopped by the 24-hour coffee shop downstairs from the office. She was so early that the coffee shop was still empty. The barista greeted her: "What would you like to drink?"
Shang Zhitao walked up to him and asked, "Every morning, a tall, handsome man comes to buy coffee. What does he drink?"
The barista gave her a meaningful look: "Luke?"
"Yes, yes." Shang Zhitao nodded.
"Luke drinks iced Americano every day."
"Then please make me an iced Americano." Shang Zhitao paused. Not buying one for herself would seem too deliberate, so she added, "Make one for me too."
Once the coffee was ready, she walked out of the coffee shop holding a cup in each hand and bumped right into Luan Nian.
"Good morning, Luke!" Shang Zhitao greeted him with a smile. "Here to buy coffee?" Seeing Luan Nian nod and about to walk past, she hurriedly said, "I accidentally bought two cups just now. How about I sell you one?"
Shang Zhitao nearly bit her tongue off. "Give you one" versus "sell you one"—just one word off, but worlds apart.
She had learned to say "Mom" at ten months old, chased after the neighbor's little brother to argue when she was just over a year old, and considered herself quite articulate. But today, when she wanted to treat her boss to coffee, she ended up saying, "How about I sell you one?"
As if she really needed the money for that one cup of coffee.
Once Luan Nian kicked her out of the company, she'd be left drinking the northwest wind—what coffee would there be to drink?
Luan Nian looked at her expression of instant regret, unable to guess the twists and turns behind her words, and only thought to himself: Shang Zhitao is crazy.
"How about I treat you?""If you can't finish it, you can just pour it out." Luan Nian flashed her a grin, took a few steps forward, and from the reflection in the glass saw the foolish Shang Zhi Tao open her mouth without making a sound. He turned back to her, took the coffee from her hand, and said, "I'll return it to you tomorrow."
Shang Zhi Tao finally felt a glimmer of hope and hurriedly followed behind him. "No need, no need. Tomorrow, I'll treat you instead."
Luan Nian finally understood.
Shang Zhi Tao was trying to win him over.
"Even if you buy me coffee every day, it won't change the fact that you're not up to the task. Instead of wasting time on such misguided ideas, you'd be better off improving yourself." He strode ahead, speaking with calm composure, while Shang Zhi Tao trailed behind him like a panicked, stray dog.
Following him into the elevator, she heard him say, "Ask yourself what you've gained in the past two weeks. Running around like a headless fly every day—do you even have time to reflect? How can you grow if you don't use your brain?"
Well, he drank her coffee and gave her a few words of advice.
"Okay, Luke, I'll remember that. I'll reflect on things today and send you the results for your feedback."
"Why would you send them to me? Am I your boss? Do I have an obligation to teach you every day?" Luan Nian scolded her, feeling quite pleased with himself. Seeing her tilt her head, lost in thought, he added, "If you think you can't handle what I'm saying, you might as well write your resignation letter now. It's easy to write—just four words: 'I quit.'"
"Oh." Shang Zhi Tao, inexplicably scolded, hung her head and stepped out of the elevator. Luan Nian was right. Instead of wasting time on misguided ideas, she should focus on doing her job well.
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