Luаn Niаn hаd nеvеr been оn guаrd аgаinst Shаng Zhi Tao. If thеrе was anуone in Lingmеi whо соuld tаkе him down, that рerson could only bе Shаng Zhi Tаo. If Shаng Zhi Тао cаsuаllу tооk out thеir chat reсоrds and rеported him tо the cоmpanу, hе wоuld bе рlungеd intо a cаrеer сrisis.
Shаng Zhi Тaо was Luаn Niаn's weaknеss, but аlso sоmeone hе trusted. He hореd Shang Zhi Тao cоuld mоvе to thе рlаnning dераrtment thrоugh thе normаl job аppliсatiоn рrоcеss, but nоt nоw.
Nоw was not the right timе.
Dony was sent by thе board of dirеctors, аnd therе wеre twо factions within the company vying for power. Luan Nian didn’t cling to any faction—he had risen on his own merit. One group on the board believed ability was what mattered, while the other wanted to place their own people. Luan Nian remained unfazed by this, but he had one principle: he could leave this job on his own, but he wouldn’t let anyone take him down. At his core, he was a fighter. Yet, he didn’t want Shang Zhi Tao to get caught up in it.
Shang Zhi Tao held the bottle of water called "One Heart" to her lips but ultimately set it down.
Luan Nian watched her.
She wasn’t the same as when she had just graduated two years ago. She had seen the surface of the workplace and probably understood its dangers. She always listened to Luan Nian, doing whatever he said, because she knew he had never harmed her.
"I’m not thirsty. I won’t go to the planning department, at least not until you win this fight. And you don’t have to worry about whether I’ll betray you—I won’t." Shang Zhi Tao unscrewed the cap, took out Luke’s small water bowl, and poured water into it. "Luke, come here!"
Luke was parched and came over to drink. Shang Zhi Tao picked up the bottle Luan Nian had drunk from, tilted her head back, and finished the remaining half. Then she said to him, "Now that’s what I call 'One Heart.'"
The corner of Luan Nian’s mouth lifted slightly. His gaze drifted toward the mountains as he placed his hand over the back of Shang Zhi Tao’s. She turned her palm upward to meet his, their fingers intertwining. Neither of them spoke. The mountain breeze blew gently, and the white-furred Luke ran around them, disappearing into the green grass only to reappear moments later, a flash of white leaping out from the greenery. They couldn’t define the nature of their relationship. They joked about being friends with benefits, yet deep down, they felt closeness and trust.
Shang Zhi Tao’s Saturdays usually involved walking the dog at Luan Nian’s place, then him driving her and the dog home. She would go out to study languages, have meals with Sun Yuanzhu, Sun Yu, or Yao Bei, then walk the dog and study. Sundays typically consisted of walking the dog, studying, eating, taking a nap, studying again, walking the dog, and eating. Occasionally, she would go on short trips with Sun Yuanzhu and the others—to Bashang, Baiyangdian, Yanxi Lake, all nearby places. She had grown accustomed to weekends like this.
But this weekend was different. In a daze, she had agreed to go up the mountain with Luan Nian. They simply enjoyed the mountain breeze while Luke ran freely through the hills. The two of them found a small path, and Shang Zhi Tao picked a few nameless wildflowers along the way. She really liked weekends like this.
The two lingered on the mountain until evening, then took Luke to eat fish. Luke grew wildly excited at the sight of the fishpond and plunged right in. Shang Zhi Tao was terrified and shouted, "Luke!" thinking he was about to drown. But Luke dog-paddled in the pond, spotted a fish, and got so excited he tried to catch it.
"You’re paying today," Luan Nian said, watching the silly dog who might actually manage to fetch a couple of fish. Sure enough, Luke caught one.
"Spit that out!" Shang Zhi Tao yelled at him from the edge of the pond. "Hurry up!"Luke whimpered, swam to the edge of the fishpond, and spat out a fish. The fish flopped vigorously on the ground. The owner said, "This one can't be put back now..." Before he could finish, Luke jumped back in.
Luan Nian pointed at Shang Zhi Tao and said to the owner, "She'll pay."
Luke fetched four fish in total, and Luan Nian actually didn’t settle the bill, even mocking Shang Zhi Tao: "The fish caught by your own dog should taste better than others."
Shang Zhi Tao held a large bucket with three fish inside. One had just been stewed by the owner. The three fish were quite large, and Luke circled the bucket, whining excitedly as if showing off. Shang Zhi Tao asked the fish farm owner for a towel and wiped Luke’s fur again while scolding him: "Is that fishpond something you can just jump into? Have you ever swum before? What if you drowned?"
"Other dogs are afraid of water, so why did you just jump right in?"
"And even if you jumped in, why did you have to catch fish? Are you out of your mind?"
Luan Nian chimed in from the side: "Finally, you’ve realized your dog is out of his mind."
Luke was different from other dogs—in a word, a bit silly. When the doorbell rang at Luan Nian’s house, he got more excited than anyone else, rushing out to greet people as soon as the door opened. Hoping he’d guard the house was out of the question.
"Luke is not out of his mind!"
"Didn’t you just say that yourself?"
Shang Zhi Tao looked at Luke’s silly expression and felt a headache coming on. Raising a dog was too expensive. If she hadn’t brought him to the fish farm, she might have saved some money. When they got home, Luke went straight to sleep as soon as he entered. There was no need to walk him specially today—he was exhausted.
Luan Nian went to the wine cabinet, took out a bottle, and poured a little. He said to Shang Zhi Tao, "You should really practice your driving skills. I wanted to drink while eating fish, but there was no one to drive for me."
"I drive just fine."
"Have you driven since you crashed into my car last time?"
"No."
...
Shang Zhi Tao grinned and stepped forward, asking for a drink: "Pour me a glass?"
"No."
"My alcohol tolerance is good now."
Luan Nian glanced at her and poured a tiny sip into a glass. Shang Zhi Tao frowned, downed it in one gulp, and said, "A little more."
Luan Nian poured her a bit more wine and watched her take a sip before asking, "Did you deliberately practice your alcohol tolerance?"
"Mm-hmm~"
"Why?"
"Shouldn’t I know how to drink a little? Otherwise, if I’m in a situation where drinking is expected, it’d be awkward and spoil the mood if I couldn’t."
"What situations require drinking?" Luan Nian asked her.
"Like with clients? Or with the boss?" Shang Zhi Tao was teasing Luan Nian. She would never drink with clients—girls drinking easily put them at a disadvantage. She just wanted to drink with Sun Yu, Lumi, and Yao Bei. A few girls together, having a little wine and sharing stories—how pleasant. Luan Nian’s face darkened, his mood visibly dropping, and he asked her, "Do you remember what I told you after that business dinner in Guangzhou?"
"I remember. You said, 'If you can’t drink, never drink.'"
"Can you do that?"
Luan Nian disciplined Shang Zhi Tao, not wanting to see her go with the flow. Shang Zhi Tao nodded: "I can do that. So I can’t drink with the boss either!" She pushed the glass back to Luan Nian.
"Now you’re treating me as the boss?"
"Or not."
Shang Zhi Tao squeezed between him and the bar counter, cupping his face: "I’m going on a business trip. One of my roommates is going to the northwest for one or two months to test autonomous driving, and the other is going to Pingyao for market research."
"Hmm, what about it?""Can I leave Luke with you?"
"You can send your dumb dog to a kennel."
"No way... I can't bear to..."
"If you leave him here, I'll stew him."
"Then stew me first, then stew Luke." Shang Zhi Tao knew Luan Nian was just being mean—when he grabbed Luke by the throat, he didn’t even use any force. Luke thought he was playing with him!
"You’re not tasty."
"Are you sure?" Shang Zhi Tao took a step closer, stepping on his foot. Luan Nian tapped her forehead with his finger: "If he pees in the house, I’ll beat him; if he chews my things, I’ll beat him."
"Fine."
Shang Zhi Tao finally found someone to look after Luke and was in a great mood. She really couldn’t bear to send Luke to a kennel—she’d heard some places mistreat dogs. She couldn’t stand the thought of Luke being hit.
When it was time for her business trip, she grabbed her suitcase and left, truly leaving Luke with Luan Nian. Luan Nian was in a management meeting at the company. Dony had just taken up his position but was already making a strong impression, proposing at the meeting to use new elements as the main direction for this year’s design, claiming it would align with international standards. This completely overturned the plan Luan Nian had set last year.
Everyone was looking at Luan Nian, waiting to hear his opinion. Last year’s strategy had no issues—market performance was excellent, and clients approved. But Luan Nian just shrugged: "It’s just A/B testing. No strategy is absolutely right. I support Dony."
Dony was around the same age and had similar experience as Luan Nian. Unfazed in such a setting, he simply said, "Thank you, Luke."
"It’s only right. I’m very glad you’re here to lighten my load." With that, he started packing up his laptop. "Let’s end here for today? Dony just returned to the country—let’s go out after work. Beijing’s quite fun."
He smiled and left the meeting room. No one could tell what he was thinking. Luan Nian’s thoughts were simple: if Dony changed the strategy, he’d have to report it to the board, and the board would naturally fight over it. What did that have to do with him? Arguing with Dony in the meeting was pointless—he’d rather spend that time walking the dog at home.
He hurriedly drove home, worried that Luke, that troublemaker, might have wrecked his place. When he arrived, the house was dark and quiet. He turned on the light, and the sight before him truly made Luan Nian’s home look like a disaster—flowerpots shattered all over the floor, and Luke had chewed up his rug.
Where was Luke? He jumped up to greet him, his paws like springs, bouncing up again and again. Luan Nian casually grabbed a slipper and chased after him. Luke barked at Luan Nian and took off running. He ran, Luan Nian chased, and the two of them turned the house upside down.
Exhausted from the chase, Luan Nian sat on the sofa and waved at Luke: "Come here."
Luke tilted his head, tongue hanging out: Woof! No.
"Come here."
Woof! No!
Luan Nian found the dog treats Shang Zhi Tao had left, placed them on the floor, and said softly, "Come here, dumb dog."
Luke couldn’t resist the temptation. He ran over to Luan Nian in a few steps, lowered his head to eat the treat, and was promptly pinned down by Luan Nian: "Still running? You think you can outsmart me?" He raised his hand to scare him, but seeing Luke’s round eyes filled with confusion—so much like his foolish owner—he placed his hand on Luke’s head and rubbed it hard, gritting his teeth as he said, "If you wreck the house again tomorrow, you’ll be a stray dog!"
Luke’s head was unexpectedly fun to touch, with its soft fur. As Luan Nian rubbed his head, Luke simply rested his face on Luan Nian’s knee, tilting his ears for him to rub. After rubbing the left ear, he turned the right one over, truly as obedient as Shang Zhi Tao.Do pets resemble their owners? Luan Nian watched Luke while eating dinner, thinking the dog looked exactly like Shang Zhi Tao. That comical little monkey face kept grinning as if something wonderful had happened.
He had some cabbage at home, so he cut two leaves and boiled them in a pan. Luke sat beside him, drooling and eager to eat. What’s so delicious about cabbage? Luan Nian gave him a leaf, which Luke swallowed whole, then begged for more. Bite after bite, the dog ate half a cabbage.
That evening, after Luan Nian finished showering, he heard Luke whining restlessly and asked sternly, "What’s wrong, you silly dog?"
Luke stared at Luan Nian, motionless, then suddenly crouched on his hind legs and... had diarrhea. Luan Nian gagged, but before he could recover, Luke did it again. Just like that, Luan Nian’s home was ruined.
He called Tan Mian. "What could cause a dog to have diarrhea?"
"If it’s a puppy, it might be parvovirus, which can be fatal. You need to take it to a vet. Did you get a dog?" Before Tan Mian could finish, Luan Nian hung up, picked up Luke, and drove to a 24-hour pet hospital.
As much as he disliked the dog, it was still a living creature. If it died in his care, he wouldn’t be able to explain it to Shang Zhi Tao. After blood tests and various examinations, the vet told Luan Nian, "It’s not parvovirus. Just diarrhea from eating something wrong. What did he eat?"
"Cabbage."
"How much?"
Luan Nian thought for a moment. "Two leaves."
"That shouldn’t cause it." The vet prescribed medication for Luke and sent them home.
The trip cost two thousand yuan. Luan Nian thought to himself, Shang Zhi Tao is broke, yet she dares to keep a dog. When he got home, he saw the housekeeper had already cleaned up and was about to leave, so he gave her an extra five hundred yuan.
After all the commotion, both were exhausted. Luke lay there looking dejected. Dogs are simple creatures—he thought Shang Zhi Tao had abandoned him and now felt sad remembering it. He remained listless until Luan Nian left the next morning.
Feeling sorry for Luke after his bout of diarrhea, Luan Nian spent the day learning online how to make homemade dog biscuits. During his lunch break, he bought the ingredients. He thought commercial dog food resembled rice crackers—smelled good but probably tasted awful. He ground the meat, chopped carrots, apples, cabbage, and sausage, mixed them with flour, shaped them into balls, and steamed them. Luke sat patiently waiting. Finally, when they were ready, Luan Nian gave him one. Luke swallowed it in one bite and obediently sat down, waiting for more.
It felt quite rewarding.
For three consecutive days, Luan Nian left work early, which caught Tracy’s attention. While feeding Luke, Tracy called him. "Are you unhappy with the headquarters’ appointment this time?"
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