If Xu Yao wasn’t gossipy, why would she hold He Manlin’s arm with her left hand while knocking on Sasha’s door with her right? 

Currently, within the provincial and municipal offices, Lu Nan knows a bit about the things that should and shouldn’t be known. 

What should be known is that almost everyone in the office knows that Sasha has feelings for Chen Xiao. 

What shouldn’t be known is that most people don’t know that He Manlin, the internal affairs officer of the provincial office, also has deep feelings for Chen Xiao—Xu Yao isn’t one of those people, but living with He Manlin, she can always discover some clues. Sasha isn’t one of them either, probably because women have a super sensitivity to discovering love rivals. 

Lu Nan knew about He Manlin’s feelings by chance in her past life. 

Because of this, Lu Nan now felt that Xu Yao bringing He Manlin to call on Sasha was really just adding fuel to the fire. 

Sasha, being provoked, was definitely going to go, while she was packing her things (she had started sleeping as soon as she got to the guesthouse and hadn’t had time to tidy up), she listened attentively. 

She had intended to secretly enjoy the drama, but Xu Yao didn’t let Lu Nan off the hook. “It’s a pity Yan Kai is a local and isn’t staying at the guesthouse, otherwise it would be more lively to have one more person to play games with in the evening. Right, Lu Nan?” For the semi-annual provincial meeting, the provincial office handled travel, accommodation, and meals, so it wasn’t surprising that accountant Xu Yao knew Yan Kai didn’t need accommodation. 

—Hold it in, she’s the accountant, she has to audit your receipts and expense reports every month, hold it in and don’t snap! Lu Nan didn’t know what to say, so she just looked up, smiled, and changed the subject. “I just passed by and heard a lot of noise coming from Dong Hui’s room, I thought there were no leaders around.” 

Xu Yao glanced at He Manlin. “Well, Director Xiang and Manager Wang aren’t here and Brother Xiao doesn’t put on airs, so they’re having fun. Lu Nan, are you coming too?” 

Lu Nan wanted to refuse, but Sasha grabbed her arm. “Don’t be so antisocial, come on.” 

“Ah, this…” Lu Nan really didn’t want to go, but refusing again would label her as antisocial and would not give face to Sasha in front of her rival. 

Lu Nan sighed. “Alright.” 

Okay, this time I’m joining the game halfway through, it should be different from her previous life, right? 

… 

Different my ass! 

Bullshit! 

At first, Lu Nan was calm when she got the werewolf card. 

After all, with over a dozen people playing, there were only two werewolf cards, so the odds weren’t too small. 

Hearing “The night falls, everyone closes your eyes, werewolves open your eyes,” Lu Nan opened her eyes and found that the other werewolf was Chen Xiao, and she couldn’t help but curse inwardly. 

Clearly, everything that happened today was completely different from her previous life, so why? Why is playing this game still the same as before? Is this the arrangement of fate? 

Why are the cards she drew and the opponents she met the same as in her previous life? 

Lu Nan was not afraid of difficulties. 

Since things were already like this, she could only rely on herself. 

Thanks to her efforts, some things weren’t unchanged. 

In this round, with the weakest expression and the fewest words, Lu Nan survived until the end—even when Chen Xiao was identified in the middle, she absolutely refused to help, ignoring his subtle glances for assistance and giving him no cover. 

Although Dong Hui stubbornly insisted on voting for Lu Nan (based on her judgment, Lu Nan guessed that Dong Hui’s role this round was probably ‘God’), Lu Nan deliberately misled Chen Lu and others to vote Dong Hui out. 

After that, among the four people still alive, Chen Lu, Xiang Feifei, and Sasha were all ‘civilians’ among the good guys. 

In this round, one werewolf survived, and all the ‘Gods’ among the good guys were ‘dead.’ 

… The werewolves won. 

Xiang Feifei screamed, “Lu Nan, you can really hold back; you even fooled me.” I’m a psychology major from Henan University! 

Lu Nan smiled a little smugly, her dimples flashing briefly. 

“You completely disregarded team loyalty,” Chen Xiao, who was voted midway, shook his head helplessly. 

As her gaze swept across the group, Lu Nan saw Sasha laughing heartily, as if Chen Xiao’s setback delighted her; He Manlin, on the other hand, looked relieved after a bout of tension, probably because Chen Xiao didn’t have to face punishment. 

See, I did change something after all. 

As the only winner, Lu Nan picked a note from the small pile. The punishment for the losers was to do ten frog jumps, and soon the room was full of frogs. 

Lu Nan’s satisfaction came not just from winning the game but also from the mindset of ‘everyone else is unaware, only I know what happened before.’ 

But her happiness only lasted for a minute. 

… 

She got the werewolf card again and, when the judge ordered “Werewolves, open your eyes,” she locked eyes with Chen Xiao. 

Lu Nan, I was wrong, I shouldn’t have come to play. Or, after winning a round just now, I should have found an excuse to leave. Play, play, play, what are you playing at? Sooner or later, I’ll get myself into trouble! I can’t get past this, can I? Can I! She pointed at herself expressionlessly, Kill me! 

Chen Xiao widened his eyes. 

Lu Nan helplessly nodded—kill me, divert others’ suspicion of my identity. I was already a werewolf in the last round. According to people’s habitual thinking, the probability of me being a werewolf again is low. If I get killed, most people will think it’s a ‘revenge’ from those I ‘killed’ in the last round. There’s a good chance the witch will revive me. 

Chen Xiao thought the girl sitting opposite him was really interesting. She clearly had strong work abilities but always seemed to want to slack off. She called him “Brother Chen” constantly, but the small details revealed she kept a distance from him… It was really rare. 

As his thoughts turned, Chen Xiao gave a radiant smile, showing a set of white teeth, looking like a sunny boy. 

Lu Nan muttered to herself. Here it comes, this is the smile that kills young girls. 

After the judge silently confirmed the werewolf’s choice again, he told everyone to open their eyes and announced that the person just sent away was Lu Nan. 

But the witch in the second round didn’t revive Lu Nan. 

No revival, no problem. This was one of the scenarios she had considered. Anyway, she didn’t plan to continue playing. 

“Then I can only say, a good person has died,” Lu Nan said with a hint of regret. “I’ll go back and get some water.” 

Xiang Feifei, who had been particularly watching Lu Nan this round, pointed to the corner. “There’s mineral water over there.” Trying to slip away? No way! 

Lu Nan: Thank you. 

Lu Nan never dared to underestimate Xiang Feifei’s keen perception. She noticed that although she had been killed, Xiang Feifei’s gaze still lingered on her. Because of this, Lu Nan didn’t dare to say she needed to go to the bathroom halfway through the game. 

In the second half of the game, He Manlin insisted that Chen Xiao was a good person and pointed out that Sasha was one of the werewolves, but Sasha insisted on voting for Chen Xiao. 

Xu Yao, who had already been ‘killed’ out of the game, watched the two women compete with great interest—not for long though, since He Manlin didn’t hold out for very long and quickly lost ground. 

Compared to He Manlin’s statements, Sasha’s expression of her views was much more firm and powerful. 

Lu Nan commented in her heart. I knew it, although Shasha is obsessed with looks, she is definitely not someone who gets love-struck easily. 

Chen Xiao struggled alone but was still caught. 

The judge declared. The werewolves lost. 

Everyone was shocked. “Only one werewolf was caught.” 

“The other one killed themselves at the start,” the judge explained. 

So, this round’s victory for the good people was all thanks to Sasha, who laughed very joyously. 

Chen Xiao was helpless. 

No matter how you look at it, the werewolves were wiped out. 

As the biggest contributor, Sasha drew a punishment slip from the pile of notes. 

Lu Nan didn’t want to know what she drew. Even when Dong Hui said to her, “Lu Nan, aren’t you being too clever for your own good?” she turned a deaf ear. 

Because she remembered some things she didn’t want to recall too clearly. 

*** 

On this day in her previous life, everyone had also gathered to play Werewolf at Dong Hui’s suggestion. 

Unlike today, Lu Nan and Dong Hui shared a standard room and were playing from the start, while Chen Xiao and the others joined later. 

After Chen Xiao joined, the game spiraled out of control—at least for Lu Nan, it did. 

She and Chen Xiao both drew the werewolf cards in two consecutive rounds. 

And they both got caught. 

The first punishment was ‘Princess carry and do three squats’. 

The second was ‘Pass the kiss—A kisses B, and then B kisses A back’. 

Looking back now, Lu Nan would say, “How eager were these restless young people to make something happen when they were writing the punishment tasks?” 

She could understand—they were all young, in their twenties, out of school, economically independent, and seemingly responsible for their actions. Spending nights away in a group and playing heart-racing games was in line with their raging hormones, a way to release their pent-up emotions. 

But the premise is, you guys play your own games and don’t take me along! 

That night’s game was a sweet yet complicated memory for Lu Nan. 

In her previous life, Lu Nan started to have a crush on Chen Xiao because of this troublesome little game. 

In the first game, the punishment was to do three squats while giving a princess carry. Lu Nan, feeling very embarrassed, said, “I might be a bit heavy.” Chen Xiao leaned down, slid his arms under her back and knees, smiled, and effortlessly lifted her, saying softly, “Not heavy at all.” He turned to face the wall with Lu Nan’s legs toward it, emphasizing, “The girl is wearing a skirt, no peeking, no filming with your phones” (many people had recorded previous punishment games with their phones). 

How long do three squats take? Three seconds? Five seconds? Ten seconds? 

Lu Nan leaned against Chen Xiao’s chest; her hands clenched tightly in front of her. She smelled the faint scent of ink on him, which was quite pleasant. 

This contact, exceeding the socially safe distance, made Lu Nan’s ears and neck involuntarily heat up. When he put her down, she quickly stepped back three steps, distancing herself from Chen Xiao. 

In the second game, as the werewolves opened their eyes, Chen Xiao looked at Lu Nan and silently mouthed, “Us again?” He was slightly exasperated yet immediately he smiled and made Lu Nan’s ears turn red again—it was truly a smile that could charm young girls. 

Already not skilled at playing Werewolf, Lu Nan lost the second round again due to her lack of concentration. 

After losing, the punishment slip read ‘Pass the kiss.’ Chen Xiao told the teasing crowd, “Don’t make me bully a little girl.” 

The crowd, of course, didn’t admit it was bullying, insisting that in the game, you have to accept the consequences of losing. 

When Chen Xiao approached, his brows furrowed slightly with a hint of helplessness in his eyes. He comforted Lu Nan with a smile and almost whispered, “Don’t worry, everything’s fine.” The faint scent of woody ink surrounded Lu Nan, and she felt her face grow warm. 

Chen Xiao, being a gentleman, carried his left hand behind his back and bent down to gently brush aside a strand of hair near Lu Nan’s ear with his right hand, then looked around and said, “Is this okay? No need to pass it back, don’t make things difficult for the young lady.” He playfully evaded the punishment. 

Lu Nan, feeling as if she were under a spell, realized that what novels described was true. When such a person appeared, you couldn’t hear any sound around you but only your own heartbeat. 

(End of memory) 

Lu Nan didn’t find her infatuation with Chen Xiao embarrassing because liking someone was simply a longing for beautiful things. Quietly admiring someone of the opposite sex wasn’t wrong in itself.