Lumi didn’t understand this, she just felt that Tu Ming was very strange. She looked at him again, sitting there quietly, not playing with his phone, just watching the lively scene, occasionally talking to others. This wasn’t unusual, he treated everyone like this.

Lumi took a sip of her drink and continued chatting with Tang Wuyi, even proudly showing off her cricket to him.

As the gathering was about to end, Tang Wuyi suddenly asked her: “Why didn’t you ask me if I’m single?”

“Why should I care?”

“Then let me ask myself: Am I single? Yes! What about you?” Tang Wuyi asked Lumi, then whispered to her with wide eyes: “I’m not trying to sleep with you, I just think it’s better to be clear.”

“…”

Lumi saw Tang Wuyi being so serious yet nonsensical, as if she was looking at another version of herself. She patted his shoulder: “Alright, I get it. You’re interested in me, big brother.”

“I’m still young!” Tang Wuyi teased her on purpose, and the two of them clinked their glasses, feeling that they had made a friend for life.

Little Tang was great, much better than that block of blind wood. Lumi particularly approved of Tang Wuyi.

When they left the restaurant, the wind hit Lumi, who had been drinking, and her legs went weak. She fell into Tang Wuyi’s arms, and he held her up with effort, joking with her: “So fierce, little brother is scared!”

Lumi kicked him.

The two of them played around, more intimate than the other colleagues. When Lumi had brought Tang Wuyi along, she naturally took him away when they left. The designated driver arrived, and the two of them climbed into the car under the watchful eyes of everyone.

Tang Wuyi waved goodbye to everyone, and the people outside looked strange, as if they had witnessed some kind of affair. He sensed this and rolled up the car window, suddenly asking Lumi: “Is Will always so serious?”

“What’s wrong?”

“He seems to be in a bad mood.”

“He’s an old cadre, don’t mind him. He’s probably mad at someone! Even if he’s in a bad mood, he won’t take it out on others. He’s quite reasonable.” Lumi didn’t even think about looking outside.

Lumi summed up her mindset, which was to save face. No matter how much she liked someone, it wouldn’t work if it was just one-sided enthusiasm. She could hold back, and she could let go. From the day she decided to change targets, she stopped talking to Tu Ming about anything outside of work.

The usual goodnight messages every night were gone, the weekend tennis was no longer played, and the occasional teasing had stopped. She completely gave Tu Ming a clear space.

Rarely, on this night, Tu Ming sent her a message: “The company doesn’t allow internal dating.”

Lumi thought about it and replied: “Alright, if anything really happens, I’ll resign. Anyway, I can live off my rental income. You don’t need to worry.”

“Good night.” Lumi took the initiative to end the conversation. She felt dizzy looking at her phone after drinking, so she simply tossed it aside. She didn’t think about whether what she had just said was appropriate, nor did she argue with Tu Ming about why he had labeled her with internal dating.

After dropping Tang Wuyi off and having the designated driver take her home, she touched her clothes and exclaimed, “Fuck, I lost my gourd!”

So she asked in the colleague group: “Did anyone see my gourd? My cricket hasn’t eaten or drunk today!”

“Could you have left it at the restaurant?”

“Is it in your car?”

“Are you already on the road?”

Everyone chimed in to help Lumi remember where her cricket was, but in the end, they couldn’t recall where the cricket was.

After a long time, Tu Ming replied: “It’s with me. I’ll drop by the company before my business trip tomorrow to give it to you.”

“Oh, what if my cricket gets hungry?”

Tu Ming didn’t reply to her. When he entered his home, the cricket kept chirping, giving him a bit of a headache. Now Tu Ming sat at his desk, listening to the loud chirping of the cricket in the gourd. He unscrewed the gourd lid and placed it at an angle. After a while, the cricket crawled out on its own. It reached the mouth of the gourd, peeking around, its slender front legs touching and moving, as if bowing.

Tu Ming didn’t know what to do with it, so he could only ask Lumi: “How do you feed it?”

Lumi’s attitude suddenly became very good, and she even initiated a video call. Tu Ming never video chatted with anyone, and he hesitated for a moment but still accepted the call. He saw Lumi nestled in her sofa, her face slightly red from drinking: “Thank you for taking care of it. Just give it some water, find some cabbage leaves, or carrots. Of course, if you have mealworms, that would be great. Do you have any?”

“No.”

“Then just water and cabbage leaves.”

“Wait a moment.”

Tu Ming prepared water and cabbage leaves according to Lumi’s instructions and placed them on the table. The cricket, seeing food and drink, quickly crawled over. It lifted a small piece of cabbage leaf with its front legs and put it into its mouth, which was quite amusing. Tu Ming couldn’t help but gently touch its little head with his fingertip, and the cricket tilted its head in response.

“Hey, hey, hey! Don’t flirt with others!” Lumi was unhappy to see her cricket acting coy with Tu Ming and shouted from the other end of the video call.

Tu Ming was amused by her childish behavior, and Lumi heard his laughter through the phone.

“It’s good that it has food and drink. Thank you, my savior. By the way, where did you find it?”

Lumi had been showing off her cricket to Tang Wuyi. When the gathering ended, it was right next to her. She stood up to leave, and Tu Ming went out alone, saw the gourd, and casually put it in his pocket. He meant to give it to her but forgot when he saw her fall into Tang Wuyi’s arms.

He didn’t answer Lumi’s question at this moment and quietly watched the cricket eat.

“Alright, you should go to bed early. See you later!” Lumi decisively hung up the phone. Her principle was clear: if you don’t answer my question, I won’t ask again, I’ll just say goodbye.

Shang Zhi Tao felt that Lumi was taming her lover, while Zhang Xiao was obviously playing hard to get. Neither believed that Lumi would really let go. Lumi was determined to prove herself, so she took a tough stance with Tu Ming.

She also deliberately didn’t tell Tu Ming that if he found the cricket’s chirping annoying, he could put it by the window with a slight gap open. It would stop chirping if it got colder.

Tu Ming thought all crickets chirped constantly. He even admired how the hot-tempered Lumi could tolerate a cricket disturbing her sleep.

The cricket, after eating and drinking its fill, chirped intermittently, showing no signs of fatigue. Its chirping, despite being separated by a living room and two walls, was still clear to Tu Ming’s ears. He covered his head with the blanket, but it didn’t help.

A strong man was defeated by a cricket.

The next day, downstairs at the company, Lumi took the gourd from Tu Ming. The gourd was warm from being held in his embrace, and Lumi even wondered if it was because he was warm. Seeing that his eyes were a bit red, she teased him: “Didn’t sleep well? Did the cricket bother you? I forgot to tell you, it won’t chirp if it’s colder and darker.”

“Thanks!” She turned and walked away.

Her mischievous intentions were clear, and Tu Ming saw them clearly. She was deliberately teasing him.

On the plane to Qingdao, Wumeng sat next to Tu Ming. Seeing that his eyes were still red, she advised him: “Why don’t you sleep for a bit? It might help a little.”

“It’s fine.” Tu Ming was looking at the materials for the next day’s meeting and responded to her.

“You rarely have insomnia during company gatherings.”

“Occasionally, I had something going on last night.” Taking care of a thoughtless cricket.

“Then you should catch up on some sleep when we get there? I can handle the afternoon on my own.”

“Alright, I trust you.”

Wumeng looked at Tu Ming’s profile, which was refreshing and gentle, making her feel particularly comfortable. Sitting in adjacent seats, if he straightened up, their clothes would brush against each other, which made Wumeng’s heart flutter.

Back at the company, Daisy gossiped with Lumi: “Erin is quite familiar with Will, and I’ve even heard rumors about her.”

“What rumors?”

“Will’s divorce was because of her.”

“Gossip can be so vicious…” Lumi looked at Daisy seriously for once: “Do you think Erin’s character is unreliable or Will’s character is unreliable? I don’t believe this gossip.”

Lumi certainly didn’t believe it. She had been flirting with him for so long without any reaction. Could someone as gentle as Wumeng really stir his interest? Nonsense!

“I advise you not to spread this to others. Will has a bad temper, and if he hears you spreading rumors, he might fire you. Weren’t you considering having him as your promotion recommender a while ago? Be more restrained!” Lumi warned Daisy and returned to her workstation.

Tang Wuyi was looking at the company’s process documents when he saw Lumi sitting at her desk and starting to put on makeup. He asked her: “Got a date? Why not take me along?”

“Take you along?” Lumi looked at Tang Wuyi’s good physique and chuckled: “Alright, let’s go together after work.”

“What’s the occasion?”

“Just dinner!”

“Sounds good.”

Tang Wuyi had just returned to the country, and he had few friends in this city. Since he got along well with Lumi, he decided to follow her around.

Shang Zhi Tao saw Tang Wuyi and her eyes widened. She whispered to Lumi: “So you weren’t playing hard to get, you really changed your target?”

“What do you think of the little brother?” Lumi asked Shang Zhi Tao: “I asked, he’s single. If you like him, go for it!”

“What about you?” Shang Zhi Tao asked her.

“I don’t want to make an effort. Why should a fairy make an effort? A fairy should wait for men to come to her!” Lumi said with exaggerated seriousness. Tang Wuyi happened to hear this and raised his eyebrows at her: “I agree! You shouldn’t chase after anyone;,it’s not worth it. Just wait for others to chase you.”

“Look at that sweet mouth, as if it’s been coated with honey!”

The group was happy and cheerful. When it was time to leave, Tang Wuyi sent Lumi back home. When they arrived at her building, they looked at each other and burst into laughter. Lumi kicked him: “Scram!”

They had only known each other for two days but got along very well. However, Lumi didn’t have the intention of bringing him back home, and she guessed Tang Wuyi didn’t have the intention of going back with her either. But this feeling was really not bad.

Lumi made a new friend at the company besides Shang Zhi Tao, and this friend happened to be a guy.

The two of them were like conjoined twins at the company. As Daisy put it: “You do everything together except go to the bathroom. I don’t know if Jack is my apprentice or yours.”

“It doesn’t matter whose apprentice he is. If you don’t want to take him, I will.”

“Don’t you dare! One of you is already enough of a headache for the boss. If you bring out another one like you, the boss might just want to die.”

“What’s wrong with me? Am I dragging the team down?”

“Alright, alright, you have no problems at all. I’m the one with the problem, okay?” Daisy couldn’t argue with her and conceded defeat.

When Tu Ming returned from his business trip, he found that the department’s style had changed. Before, Lumi was the only one who stood out, and no one mixed with her. Now it was different, the newcomer Jack followed her everywhere. They arrived at the company together in the morning, went to meetings together, had lunch together, bought coffee together in the afternoon, and left work on time.

Lumi’s team had expanded, and the two of them had a somewhat shady and cunning appearance.

Daisy took the initiative to remind Tang Wuyi: “You’re new here, don’t get too close to Lumi. Will is already unhappy with Lumi, so be smart.”

“That’s because Will doesn’t know how to appreciate her.” Tang Wuyi didn’t care at all: “It’s just work! As long as we’re happy and don’t cause any trouble, there’s no need to make a big deal out of it.”

He turned and left, clearly influenced by Lumi!