“So what’s the purpose of your arguments?” Tu Ming asked her: “Just discussing, not debating.”

“To win and to vent, of course! Otherwise, why else?”

“For example, to solve problems?”

…

“Boss, don’t you see it this way: people are different. Some are very rational and never argue with others; some care a lot about themselves and can’t let themselves be the slightest bit wronged.” Lumi pointed to herself: “I, Lumi, am the kind of person who can’t let myself be the slightest bit wronged. So if anyone messes with me, I’ll fight back. It’s that simple.”

Tu Ming looked at Lumi seriously, acknowledged the truth in what she said, and then nodded: “Alright. So have we resolved our issues? Do you still need to fight another round?”

“No, I’m not angry anymore.”

Lumi’s expression was like that of a peacock that had won a fight, slightly raising her neck. Tu Ming found her posture quite amusing and smiled at her.

“Don’t laugh, it creeps me out.” Lumi met Tu Ming’s eyes: “I know you’re not fighting with me because you’re afraid of me; it’s because you’re reasonable. I won’t push my luck either. Mainly, we have to be respectful and dignified.”

“We’ve talked quite thoroughly, which is good. Back to work?”

“Alright.”

Lumi left Tu Ming’s office and recalled what had just happened. She told Shang Zhi Tao: “I’m quite surprised that Will is actually this kind of person.”

“I’m also surprised you didn’t get into a fight with him.”

“Sisters aren’t unreasonable.”

“That’s for sure!” Shang Zhi Tao stood up: “Want to go buy coffee? I don’t know why, but I’m feeling a bit dizzy today.”

“Let’s go.”

The two went to buy coffee, and in the elevator, Lumi thought about Tu Ming’s various reactions again and felt that this guy was quite cunning: “Flora, why do I feel like he’s an old fox?”

Shang Zhi Tao chuckled: “It’s the first time I’ve seen you ponder over someone so much; you’re acting strange.”

“I don’t know why, but when I think of him, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. He just sits at the entrance of the nightclub, buttons done up to his collar, like a door god, no, like a hitman. Who wouldn’t be scared? Wouldn’t you be scared?”

“I wouldn’t be.” Shang Zhi Tao found it quite puzzling. Will was usually so gentlemanly and amiable. He hadn’t been at the company for long, but everyone had already discussed privately that LM hadn’t had such a rational and gentle boss in a long time. Yet, Lumi just couldn’t get along with him. The thought of Lumi, who feared nothing, acting submissive in front of him made Shang Zhi Tao laugh again.

Lumi particularly enjoyed seeing Shang Zhi Tao laugh; it was like she was an innocent child who hadn’t experienced the world. She pinched her face hard: “This face, tsk tsk, fresh and juicy.”

The coffee shop was crowded, and standing at the front of the line was none other than Luke.

“Let’s not drink, okay?” Shang Zhi Tao said.

“Why not? Let him treat us!” Lumi pulled Shang Zhi Tao to the front of the line: “Hey, Luke! What a coincidence, buying coffee?”

“You want me to treat you?” Luke glanced at Lumi. After working together for many years, he knew what she was up to without her even speaking: “What? Can’t afford coffee anymore?” He turned to the staff and said: “Add one Americano and one half-sugar latte.”

Lumi had been drinking Americanos for years, and the whole company knew it. But Shang Zhi Tao had only started drinking half-sugar lattes six months ago. Lumi looked at Luke and then at Shang Zhi Tao, and suddenly laughed.

“What are you laughing at?” Shang Zhi Tao asked her.

Lumi pouted and said to Shang Zhi Tao: “When I was on exchange in the UK, I had a classmate who was Danish and came to work in China. You know Danish people, right? Fair-skinned and handsome. He told me the other day to introduce him to a girlfriend, and I immediately thought of you. Want to meet him tonight?”

“Sure.” Shang Zhi Tao agreed readily: “But I’ve been too busy lately. I’ll meet him when I’m free.”

Luke paid the bill and glanced at them: “Excuse me.” He stood to the side to wait. That face of his was really cold. Lumi found it particularly amusing and wanted to provoke him, so she said to Shang Zhi Tao again: “In that case, let’s go to Denmark with him this winter!”

“Alright!”

Shang Zhi Tao just kept saying “alright,” with no real stance. Lumi felt that only someone as soft and yielding as Shang Zhi Tao could change Luke’s punchable face.

Holding their coffees, they sat downstairs and sipped them. Lumi suddenly said: “It’s really strange, how Luke knew you drink a half-sugar latte?”

Shang Zhi Tao made a sound of surprise and looked down at the coffee in her hand: “Maybe he noticed when we ordered coffee during a meeting?”

“Him? Luke? Noticing what kind of coffee others order?” Lumi thought about it and said to Shang Zhi Tao: “If he’s noticing what kind of coffee others drink, then he’s definitely up to no good, like a cat in the night. He’s probably been single for too long, gone crazy, and wants to do something inappropriate to you.” Seeing Shang Zhi Tao’s face turn red, Lumi burst into laughter: “I’m just teasing you! You actually believed me!”

By the time they returned to the company, the news of Lumi’s disagreement with Tu Ming had spread throughout the company.

Lumi went to the pantry to wash her cup, and her colleague Daisy approached her, whispering: “Lumi, do you have any gossip about Will?”

“I don’t.”

The office culture was all about exchanging gossip, and Daisy, of course, understood this: “I do.”

“What is it?”

“Will is a tough guy. Do you know about the incident where the WG boss was arrested a while ago? Along with five or six employees who were also taken in. It was quite a big deal.”

“Yeah, I know. So what?”

Daisy pointed to Will’s office: “He was the key witness.”

“Huh? The key witness who received threats?”

“Yes.”

Lumi thought about Tu Ming’s calm and gentle demeanor and shook her head: “Your gossip isn’t reliable. Our Will doesn’t have the guts for that.”

“If Will doesn’t have the guts, why did Luke hire him? You know what kind of person Luke is, right? Would Luke hire someone who’s a coward?”

“Ah…” Lumi remembered what Tu Ming said in his office: “This isn’t rational, nor civilized.” She couldn’t help but shiver, now feeling that his smile was a bit sinister.

“That settles it.” Daisy patted Lumi’s shoulder: “We all feel for you since you’ve caught Will’s attention, but Will is definitely not as easy to deal with as he appears. With your personality, you’ve definitely crossed swords with him. Did you win?”

Cross swords? What a joke!

Lumi cursed in her heart, feeling like she was punching cotton, with no effect.

“So about Will…”

“I don’t know any gossip about him. And I didn’t have any unpleasantness with him. When bosses say a few words to their employees, so what! We need to keep a level head; the boss is always right, no matter what!” Lumi said and left with her cup, not exchanging any gossip with Daisy.

Back at her desk, she pulled Shang Zhi Tao up to relax, and as Luke came out of his office, his eyes swept over Shang Zhi Tao’s back. Lumi watched him walk away with his head held high and teased Shang Zhi Tao: “Luke just glared at you.”

“Huh?”

“Fiercely.” Lumi pretended to glare fiercely: “Didn’t your project go well?”

“It’s fine.”

“Oh~” Lumi looked at her again and patted her shoulder: “Are you working overtime today? Let’s go shopping after work?”

Lumi knew that Shang Zhi Tao was busy and usually wouldn’t ask her out, so when she did, it meant there was gossip. Shang Zhi Tao, of course, understood this: “I’m not busy, I’m quitting this lousy job!” She was mimicking Lumi!

The two of them chuckled, and when it was time to clock out, they grabbed their bags and left. It was normal for Lumi to leave like this, but it was strange for Shang Zhi Tao to leave on the dot. In the parking garage, they encountered Tu Ming and Luke, who were on their way to a business dinner.

The two of them ran to hide behind a car, and Shang Zhi Tao covered her mouth and laughed: “You’re actually feeling guilty for leaving on time. That’s not like you.”

“I just don’t want to waste time talking to them.”

Tu Ming and Luke got into the car, and Luke glanced outside, sneering: “It’s the first time I’ve seen someone scare Lumi like this.”

“I didn’t scare her, I just talked to her reasonably.” Tu Ming briefly recounted what happened today, including his initiative to apologize. In his view, if you’re wrong, you should apologize; there’s no shame in that. A gentleman should be open and aboveboard.

“She can listen to reason?” Luke raised an eyebrow: “I don’t believe it.”

“Lumi just likes to play around and is very self-centered, but she’s not a bad person.” Tu Ming was also somewhat protective of his employees; when others said a few words about them, he would feel uncomfortable.

Luke laughed, thinking that these two people were quite amusing.

Today’s business dinner was a vegetarian meal with tea, chosen by Tu Ming. The guest was his friend from cultural research, Yao Luan, whom Luke wanted to invite as a creative consultant.

Yao Luan’s parents were classmates and colleagues of Tu Ming’s parents. Tu Ming had known Yao Luan, who was a few years older than him, since he was young. Their life trajectories were almost identical, except that Yao Luan had a nearly fifteen-year history of traveling around the world. In his own words: he was more of a rogue scholar than a literati.

Tu Ming’s social circle was very narrow, but each of his friends could be considered charming. When Yao Luan went to the restroom, Luke said to Tu Ming: “It seems like all your friends are prepared for LM’s business.”

Tu Ming smiled modestly: “Just a coincidence. I’ll introduce them to the department colleagues later, so it’ll be easier for everyone to work on projects.”

“Or we could invite them to the company to share their insights?” Luke pondered: “It would be different from the usual training, broadening everyone’s aesthetic and knowledge boundaries.”

“Good idea.”

Interesting people enjoy tea together as well. They talked about the funny stories from traveling around the world, and Yao Luan mentioned a time when he traveled with the twenty-two-year-old Tu Ming and how Tu Ming caught a thief on a foreign train. He pointed at Tu Ming and asked Luke: “Can you imagine him being a tough guy?”

Luke nodded: “I can.” After a while, he laughed and said: “Will has a pretty amazing subordinate. There was a story about her standing up against a pervert on a bus and being sent to the police station, which became a legend.”

“Who is it?” Tu Ming asked him.

“Who in your department do you think could do something like that?”

“Eight out of ten, it’s Lumi.” Tu Ming thought seriously: “Yes, it must be her.”

“I’m curious about this Lumi. There aren’t many people who dare to meddle in such affairs these days.” Yao Luan said.

“That’s not difficult. When you come to our company for an exchange, we’ll arrange for her to be your contact. How about that, Will?” Luke vaguely felt that things would become very interesting that way.

“Alright, let’s do that.”

As they spoke, Lumi’s nose itched, and she sneezed. She rubbed her nose and said: “Damn it! Some bastard must be talking bad about me!”

“Who would dare?”

Lumi lowered her head and didn’t speak.

Seeing this, Shang Zhi Tao handed her a piece of candy: “Here, happy candy.”

Lumi threw the candy into her mouth and said to Shang Zhi Tao: “Were you like me when you broke up in college? Feeling nothing? Is that normal?”

“I’ve almost forgotten, but back then, I was young and didn’t seem to be particularly sad. Maybe I was just able to handle loss?”

“Am I not normal? I haven’t been sad at all these past few days. That bastard Zhang Qing called me, and I hung up on him while listening to him talk. I’ve never been that quick, not even when snatching the first red envelope from my grandma during the New Year.” Lumi made a gesture of grabbing a red envelope, vividly imitating it, which amused Shang Zhi Tao into giggles.

“No matter when you’re feeling down, I’ll be there for you.” Shang Zhi Tao said solemnly.

“Even if I want to drink?”

“Even if you want to drink.”

They had to work tomorrow, so of course, they wouldn’t drink. They just strolled around the streets.

“You’re in a bad mood and don’t want to go to a nightclub?”

“I’m afraid I’ll run into Will again and won’t be able to resist hitting him.” Lumi snorted, and after a while, she said: “Pfft! It’s just weird!”

She runs into him everywhere!