“Could it not be? Just say something and you’ll know!” The girl coaxed Lumi to speak: “Hurry up and try.”

Tu Ming heard Lumi chuckle, then immediately said to him: “Boss, if I call you, you have to respond.” The drunk person’s tongue was tied, with a hint of uncontrollable excitement: “I’m so grateful to you, why aren’t you talking? Are you a fake person?”

“How am I a fake person!” The girl took the phone and said to Tu Ming: “Please say something quickly, we can’t handle it anymore! She’s gone wild!”

Tu Ming hummed in response, and the phone again transmitted Lumi’s laughter: “My boss is really no pushover in a fight.”

“Are you drunk?”

“Yo, yo, yo! It’s really my boss!” Lumi said to the person next to her, then turned to the phone: “Thank you… I never would have guessed that you, usually like a wilted eggplant, are so formidable in a fight. From now on, you’re my brother! Brother Tu, I salute you…”

“What era is it where you casually call someone brother?” Tu Ming tried to educate a drunk person, but that person was particularly self-righteous: “True feelings never go out of style! Anyway…”

“You’re my brother!”

She hung up the phone.

Since Tu Ming could remember, no one had ever called him brother. He found this strange and fragile sense of chivalry quite laughable, never expecting to encounter such a thing in his life.

He called back, and someone answered. There were people shouting “hey, hey, hey,” and the person said: “Lumi’s savior, what’s up?”

“Will you make sure she gets home?”

“What else would we do!”

“What’s your name?”

“… Damn, you don’t trust us? Wait a minute!” The girl hung up the phone, and after a while, she sent several numbers: “Call them one by one, they’re all real numbers. My name is Zhang Xiao, her friend.”

Tu Ming actually called one of the numbers, and someone else answered. The scene was still lively, and Tu Ming hung up the phone.

A few girls getting drunk together like this, it was also his first time witnessing such a thing. His subordinate was truly an extraordinary person. It was no wonder she got into trouble.

“Send me a message after you get her home. If she’s not home within an hour, I’ll call the police.” Tu Ming threatened Zhang Xiao, who was slightly more sober than the others: “One hour.”

“Damn!” Zhang Xiao cursed with the phone in her hand and said to the others: “Stop fooling around! Hurry up and get Lumi home! Her savior said he’ll call the police if she’s not home in an hour! Quickly!” Drunk people’s brains weren’t functioning well, and they didn’t have the mental capacity to consider whether Tu Ming’s threat was valid.

They hurriedly and clumsily got Lumi home, added Tu Ming as a friend, and sent him a photo: “We’ve delivered her!”

“Photos won’t do. Take a video and say: ‘Lumi, don’t drink anymore, it’s very unseemly, like a lazy dog.'”

…

Zhang Xiao and the others looked at each other, feeling something was off but unable to pinpoint it: “Should we take the video?”

“Yes! Once we take it, we can leave!”

They took the video and sent it to Tu Ming.

Tu Ming opened it and watched, then said: “You’re Zhang Xiao, right? You stay behind to take care of her. Report back to me every hour.”

“What did you say? Are you crazy?” Zhang Xiao was also anxious. What was this nonsense? How could this person be so unreasonable!

“She was drinking with you. If something happens to her tonight, all of you will be legally responsible. Whether you stay to take care of her is up to you.” Tu Ming typed unhurriedly. He was certain that Lumi’s foolish friends didn’t have the courage to leave her behind, and he also wanted them to understand the significant potential dangers of their reckless drinking.

“Which law says that?”

“Look it up yourself.”

Tu Ming put down the phone, very rarely saying: “Idiots!” Tu Ming used the same method he had used to deal with students who went out drinking and singing in the middle of the night. Back then, doing this once made the students hesitant to go out for a long time.

Zhang Xiao was forced by Tu Ming to report that Lumi was safe throughout the night, and by the time it was dawn, she couldn’t hold on any longer and fell asleep on Lumi’s bed. When she woke up and saw Lumi in good condition, she almost cried out: “My ancestor, your savior is not human at all. If you ever get drunk and call him again, we definitely won’t drink with you…”

“… What are you talking about?” Lumi defended Tu Ming: “How can you say he’s not human? He’s a full 1.8 meters tall, a perfectly good person! With a sense of justice and good martial arts!”

…

Zhang Xiao had no rebuttal and could only throw her phone at her: “Look for yourself!”

Lumi took Zhang Xiao’s phone and leaned back against the headboard to watch their conversation with Tu Ming. She laughed out loud at the first video, comparing herself to a lazy dog, a fly, a rat crossing the street, a cockroach. Throughout the night, Tu Ming had Zhang Xiao record various videos to ensure Lumi’s safety, and he was really something! He was educating them on abstaining from alcohol!

Lumi laughed so hard that tears streamed down her face and her stomach hurt. She wiped away her tears as she spoke: “I’m dying of laughter, I’m dying of laughter… Master Tu is so funny… How can he be so sly and mischievous…”

Zhang Xiao was so annoyed by Lumi that she pointed at her forehead: “Your savior is too difficult to deal with! Our drinking and eating friendship ends here. We’ll meet for tea from now on!” She slammed the door and left.

After Lumi finished laughing, she remembered that Tu Ming had been watching over someone else’s safety, which obviously meant he hadn’t slept well either. He always boasted about his regular sleep schedule and healthy lifestyle, yet he had spent a whole night worrying about an employee who annoyed him daily. Thinking about this, she felt a bit touched. After pondering it carefully, she realized her gratitude towards Tu Ming had risen to a new level, turning into respect for his character.

Lumi had never been one to keep things to herself. If she had troubles, she would go crazy, play hard, make a scene, and secretly digesting her problems was not in her nature. She had a fight with Zhang Xiao, which upset her, so she drank with her friends, and the unhappiness dissipated. It was just that last night she hadn’t controlled her drinking well and got drunk.

Once drunk, she started making a scene, claiming she had a new brother, and this brother was her boss. Although he was her boss, he didn’t hesitate to help his subordinates in a fight, a true man. No one believed her, so Lumi had to prove it.

She took out her phone to find Tu Ming’s number, but her eyes were blurry, and she couldn’t see clearly, so she handed the phone to Zhang Xiao. Lumi’s friends had long ears for gossip, and Zhang Xiao also had this habit. She saved the number in her phone and called.

The result was this farce.

After Lumi cleaned up, she drank a jar of high-quality tea, and the alcohol smell on her body dissipated, making her feel refreshed. Only then did she send a message to Tu Ming: “Boss, I’m sorry about yesterday. I really didn’t control my drinking well, please don’t hold it against me. I don’t usually drink, and I won’t usually get drunk. It’s rare, and I’ve embarrassed myself in front of you.”

Tu Ming didn’t reply to her. The reason was that Tu Ming knew a bit about Lumi. If he replied, she would fire off messages like a machine gun until she had emptied her clip. Tu Ming had a headache just thinking about her chattiness.

He chose to pretend not to see.

Lumi waited for a long time but didn’t see Tu Ming’s reply, thinking she was doomed now, just a step away from being fired.

When she saw Tu Ming again, she was like a changed person, showing him the utmost respect.

When Tu Ming scolded her, she listened. After he finished scolding her, she would ask: “Is that all? Nothing else? Please say more, I will definitely pay attention.”

Sometimes she would even say: “Boss, you’re right. I will definitely turn over a new leaf and be a better person. Study hard and work hard.”

“Boss, I know you’re saying these things for my own good. I remember them in my heart and write them down in my notebook. I remind myself at all times to be an upright and good person.”

Every time this happened, Tu Ming would feel a headache. One day, after a meeting, he asked Luke: “You used to manage the marketing department. Has Lumi in our department always been like this?”

“Like what?” Luke asked him.

“Talkative, strange behavior, with a sense of chivalry, it’s like…” Tu Ming couldn’t find the right words to describe Lumi’s behavior. He wasn’t particularly good at using derogatory terms to describe others.

He wasn’t good at it, but Luke was. Seeing Tu Ming pause, he continued: “It’s like she has some kind of problem, right?”

Tu Ming thought it was quite accurate and nodded.

“She’s always been like that, you don’t need to pay attention to her.” Luke knew Lumi too well. Her mouth and brain were not under the control of her body, and it wouldn’t be surprising if she did anything: “Has she caused you trouble?” Luke asked: “Did you help her fight recently?”

“Her ex-boyfriend was harassing her.”

“The one with tattoos and dreadlocks?”

“You know him?”

“I’ve seen him once.” Luke told him: “If you hadn’t stepped in, Lumi’s fighting skills could easily handle two of them.”

?

Tu Ming didn’t understand what this meant, but Luke laughed instead: “Get to know her better, and you’ll realize that your intervention might have limited her performance.”

Luke had seen Lumi fight, right here in the office area, standing up for her good friend by grabbing a girl’s hair and banging her head on the desk; he had also seen her with a stick at the door of a shady real estate agency, wanting to smash it up. This woman was fierce in fights; she wouldn’t let herself be at a disadvantage.

“Alright.” Tu Ming smiled bitterly and asked Luke again: “You have such high standards for employees, why haven’t you given her a low performance rating?” Tu Ming had seen Lumi’s performance reviews; she had never received an outstanding rating, but they were all good.

“She may seem unreliable, but her work is excellent.”

“I agree.”

Tu Ming just felt that people like Lumi in this society were rarely treated fairly. He prided himself on being fair to others, but his impression of Lumi fluctuated between good and bad. It was a genuine fluctuation. Lumi was reliable at work, but her mouth could indeed cause trouble. Her actions were unlike those of ordinary people, making her seem like an uninhibited lady.

People always praised women for being good wives and mothers, virtuous and kind. Someone like Lumi, an outlier, must have faced a lot of criticism. But if you think about it, she lives freely in her own world in her own way. What harm does she do to others?

“If you think she has a problem, just scold her. Anyway, she has thick skin and doesn’t hold grudges.” Luke advised Tu Ming: “If she confronts you, you don’t need to take it to heart. She can’t use any underhanded tactics. Sometimes she’s even a bit stupid.”

“You’re so good at leading teams, why haven’t you turned her into a well-behaved employee?” Tu Ming suddenly asked such a question.

…

Luke snorted and didn’t answer. Perhaps everyone has their weaknesses. But he was also happy to see Lumi suffer a setback. She was like a wild horse every day, and if someone could tame her, it would be a good thing.

Speak of the devil, and she shall appear.

Lumi knocked on Tu Ming’s office door with her computer in her arms: “Boss, the HR department wants us to help coordinate the teacher’s time for the course.”

“Let’s do it offline. He’s in Beijing these days. I’ll call him to set up a time, and we’ll go together.”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, okay, okay.” Lumi was suddenly excited at the thought of meeting a “wild” man. After leaving Tu Ming’s office, she sent a message to Shang Zhi Tao: “Sister, I’ll go on a blind date for you.”

Yao Luan was quite strange. Although he was a Beijing native and had a house, he had a room at a hotel for a long time. The reason was: “No need to clean myself, and it’s convenient for meals.” When Lumi saw him for the first time, she felt that this man was really wild. Looking at the things arranged in his suite, a row of photography and videography equipment, he was truly a playboy.

While Yao Luan and Tu Ming were catching up, she stood there studying his Celestron telescope. It was quite unusual to have such a thing in a hotel.

“Where to next? When are you leaving?” Tu Ming asked Yao Luan.

“South Africa. Don’t worry, I’ll do the sharing for you before I leave.” Yao Luan sat on the armrest of the sofa, his uninhibited posture in stark contrast to Tu Ming’s solemnity.

“Thank you.” Tu Ming said to the HR colleague Lucy: “Can we go over the course outline now?”

“Sure.”

Yao Luan directly sent his manuscript to the group: “Take a look first? Then discuss?” His eyes swept over Lumi, who was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed, studying the camera. He asked Tu Ming: “Is Lumi a fellow enthusiast?”

Tu Ming shook his head: “I’m not too clear about my employees’ personal hobbies. I’m not very familiar with them.”

“You’re slow to warm up even when leading a team?” Yao Luan teased him, walked over to Lumi, and sat down: “How is it? Does it catch your eye?”

“Very good, very good.” Lumi raised the camera towards Yao Luan, asking for his permission: “Take a picture?”

Yao Luan raised his eyebrows: “Sure.”

Lumi really took a photo and then showed it to Yao Luan: “How is it? Can it pass?”

Yao Luan leaned over. The composition and lighting were excellent, and his aesthetic judgment was definitely up to par. He asked her: “Have you studied art?”

“A little.”

“What else have you studied?”

Lumi extended her hand, mimicking the action of plucking strings: “Guqin. My parents forced me to learn it, saying it’s not good to pay New Year’s greetings without some talent.”

Yao Luan laughed at her words and turned to Tu Ming: “Is this difficult?” He meant, is it difficult to understand the strengths of employees? Yao Luan sometimes couldn’t understand how someone with Tu Ming’s personality could lead a team. He probably would never have employees who confided in him, because he didn’t care.

HR Lucy finished looking at the general content and began to discuss it with Yao Luan. Lumi listened from the side and secretly sent a message to Shang Zhi Tao: “The man is not bad. I’ll knock him out and send him to your bed.”

“No, first let Sister Lu Qing have a go!”

“Alright.”

She wasn’t focused, and Tu Ming saw it clearly. He threw a metaphorical matchstick at her, a gesture like a middle school teacher throwing chalk from the podium, and she immediately sat up straight to listen. Not only did she listen, but she also pretended to raise her hand to ask a question: “Can we add the evaluation criteria at that time? Understanding the criteria gives us direction.”

“Very good, we can add it.” Yao Lu’an praised her.

She raised an eyebrow at Tu Ming, with a hint of pride. Tu Ming ignored her little smart trick, afraid that she would become too arrogant.

==

Lumi met a girl at an event.

The girl wasn’t very old, wearing a formal and capable business suit. Seeing Lumi’s badge, she came over and asked her: “Do you work at Lingmei?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Does your company have a new executive named Tu Ming?”

Lumi was originally distracted, but when she heard the name “Tu Ming,” her ears perked up: “Yes, why? Do you know him?”

“He was my former boss.” The girl said this, smiling at Lumi: “I also work in marketing.”

Lumi’s interest was piqued, and she patted the chair next to her: “Sit down, the event won’t end for a while. Let’s chat.”

“Alright.” The girl sat down beside her, glanced at her name tag: “You’re called Lumi?”

“Yeah, and you?”

“My name is Wu Meng. Will was my boss for over three years.”

“That’s quite a coincidence. Did Will check attendance at the old company?” When it came to Tu Ming, the first thing Lumi thought of was “attendance,” as if he had no other redeeming qualities.

“Check attendance?”

“Yeah, to see when employees clock in and out.”

“No… Will was very good to his subordinates. Everyone said that following Will meant having a share of the pie.”

?

Lumi was full of question marks. The recent change in her perception of Will suddenly shifted again. She remembered him smiling like a tiger, telling her to get along slowly, eliminate misunderstandings, helping her fight and telling her to be a good person, but he only checked her attendance!

“Really doesn’t check attendance? And is good to his subordinates?”

“Yes. How is Will at Lingmei? Is he doing well?”

“Pretty good. He’s thriving and is also good to his subordinates.”

The two of them chatted casually, talking about Will and work. By the end, Wu Meng considered Lumi a friend and told her: “We all thought someone like Will would have a happy family, but one day we heard from a colleague that he was actually divorced.”

Divorced?

Tssk.

When Lumi saw Tu Ming again, she felt that his mature and steady demeanor was clearly the pitiful appearance of a divorced man. She stared at him for a while, and Tu Ming, who was listening to a report, caught her gaze. Tu Ming felt that Lumi’s eyes were quite strange, as if she were looking at a stray dog, with a hint of sympathy.

This was new.

Their eyes met, and Lumi didn’t dodge. Instead, she smiled at him.

Tu Ming felt a chill. He had seen a lot of the world and experienced many things, but he had never met a woman as changeable and strange as Lumi.

He asked her on his phone: “Is there something?”

“No.”

“It’s impolite to stare at someone?”

“How would you know I’m looking at you if you don’t look at me?”

Tu Ming didn’t know how to respond. After pondering for a moment, he typed: “Please speak directly. Your behavior is strange.”

“Boss, are you looking to get married? I have an older sister, she’s 30 this year, just got divorced. She’s really pretty and has a great job.”

“?”

“Aren’t you divorced?”

Tu Ming finally understood what Lumi’s gaze was about.

“No, thank you.”

“Really no?”

“Really no.”

“Alright then.”

Tu Ming was well aware that the circle was small and rumors spread quickly. But his divorce was relatively low-key, and he believed he had handled it honorably, with nothing to be ashamed of. He put his phone aside and continued the meeting, sensing Lumi’s intense gaze, like a hungry wolf spotting its prey, even glowing with a green light.

“Watch your gaze.” Luke, who had finished a round of discussion, saw Lumi’s very bold stare and warned her: “Don’t cause trouble.”

“I just want to get along well with my boss.”

“You just want to test your almost non-existent charm.” Luke mocked her: “The higher your tail wags, the tighter you’ll tuck it in when you’re scared. Don’t make yourself too embarrassed.”

“What am I scared of?”

Luke smirked, raising an eyebrow at her. Lumi certainly didn’t know that Will was also a tough person. Will’s toughness wasn’t in his stern looks, but in his demeanor. Luke hadn’t seen such an upright person in years. Truly upright people are admirable, but also fearsome.

Lumi snorted. She was just angry. If Tu Ming never checked attendance before, why was he checking hers now? The other day when they talked, he was so sincere, it almost moved her to become brothers with him. But that was just his way of winning over employees.

Tu Ming knew that Lumi was up to something again.

This employee was unlike others. She didn’t remember being fed or beaten; she just followed her own nature.

He found her quite amusing. When the meeting ended and they were walking out, Lumi walked beside Tu Ming and whispered: “My sister, she’s really pretty.”

“No need, thank you.”

Other colleagues looked back at the two of them, feeling that these two were really a bit strange, especially Lumi, as if she had discovered some Achilles’ heel of Tu Ming’s.

Daisy secretly asked Lumi: “Is there some gossip?”

“No.” Lumi also had her principles and couldn’t use other people’s pain as gossip. But she secretly told Shang Zhi Tao: “He’s divorced, you really can’t tell, how calm he is! Thinking about it more carefully, this man is really not bad.”

“You called him a turtle’s grandson when he checked your attendance in the morning.”

“I said it offhand, and you believe it?”

“I’m just teasing you. Are you plotting some mischief?” Lumi’s eyes flashed with a wolfish light.

“I’m thinking, if you can’t beat them, join them.”

“How to join?”

“See you in bed!”

She’s talking nonsense again!