After leaving the office, Dong Hui couldn’t help but vent to Zhou Lei about the grievances she faced today on her phone. Of course, in her version of the story, she was innocent and caught up in the situation. 

Zhou Lei replied quickly: “Since you’re having such a bad day, how about I treat you to ice cream to cheer you up?” 

Dong Hui thought for a moment. She didn’t have anything planned for the rest of the day, so she agreed. 

Half an hour later, at an ice cream shop, Dong Hui scooped a large spoonful of ice cream and said, “…So that’s how things went. You wouldn’t believe it, Lu Nan really stole the spotlight today. I still don’t know how this whole thing got resolved. Brother Xiao doesn’t trust me at all, and he didn’t even tell me their plan when he came back to the office!” 

Zhou Lei listened seriously, then analyzed: “From what you’re saying, Brother Xiao is really biased toward Lu Nan. She’s just a new business representative, and not only did she get the promotion, but at a time like this, he’s letting her steal the spotlight. He even gave her access to his system account. If there’s no funny business between them, who would believe that?” Zhou Lei is only a business supervisor and doesn’t have a system account, yet Lu Nan, who has only been with the company for less than two months, already has access to it. A sense of jealousy grew inside him. 

Moreover, previously, he had tried to make small talk with Lu Nan, but her cold attitude really rubbed him the wrong way—this was a thorn in Zhou Lei’s side. He could tolerate someone like Sasha, who came from a rich family and looked down on others, but Lu Nan, who dressed plainly, why was she acting so arrogant? 

Receiving confirmation, Dong Hui continued to complain, “That’s why I said, Brother Xiao must have feelings for Lu Nan, or why else would he treat her so well?” 

Zhou Lei frowned and said, “I didn’t feel that way before, but after hearing you say that, I do have that feeling now.” 

“However, the office doesn’t prohibit office romances, so even if their relationship is beyond ordinary, Director Xiang probably wouldn’t say anything,” Dong Hui said with some helplessness. 

Zhou Lei shook his head slightly. “Although office romances aren’t prohibited, Brother Xiao and Lu Nan have a direct superior-subordinate relationship, which is different from regular colleagues. Still, they should be mindful of the impact, right?” 

Dong Hui felt that Zhou Lei made a good point, but she said somewhat dejectedly, “I mentioned this before in the dorm, but the other four girls from out of town are really slow to catch on. They all said they didn’t notice anything, that it’s impossible. If I keep saying more, they’ll think I’m spreading rumors, and they’ll look at me strangely…” 

“Is that so?” Zhou Lei said in a serious tone. “How about I ask our dormmates next time if they’ve noticed that Brother Xiao isn’t treating the manager of the Classic Wine Group Purchase Department equally?” 

It would be better for Zhou Lei to approach it from the male perspective, but, “That Yan Kai has a really good relationship with Lu Nan…” 

“Don’t worry, I definitely won’t say it in front of him.” 

Because Zhou Lei stood so firmly on her side, Dong Hui, who felt ‘isolated and helpless,’ couldn’t help but be moved. As she ate ice cream, she glanced at him and found that he looked quite handsome. 

Unfortunately, he seems to come from a western province, which is so underdeveloped… 

Dong Hui didn’t even realize that her previous firm standards for choosing a boyfriend were already wavering—if she hadn’t considered whether Zhou Lei was suitable, why would she care about where his hometown was? 

At school, maybe her cleverness helped her get by, but in society, some small tricks seemed so naive to people with real experience. 

She thought she could control relationships and keep distance, but in reality, she was the prey. 

… 

The next day, Chen Xiao took Lu Nan to the provincial backup warehouse to pick up the wine. His request from yesterday afternoon had been approved by General Director Xiang and Director Tong, and the plan had passed. 

On the way, Lu Nan and He Manlin sat in the back seat. 

He Manlin asked Chen Xiao, “Why suddenly decide to display the finished products of the luxurious fragrance?” 

Chen Xiao didn’t want to spread the minor mistake his team made within the office, so he casually laughed it off and asked back, “Is the big manager from the provincial office unwilling to give me the wine?” 

He Manlin lowered her head and smiled faintly, “What big manager? Stop joking. Besides, it’s the provincial office’s wine, not mine. Why would I be unwilling to give it to you?” 

Her words had a slightly coquettish tone. 

Lu Nan felt that “I should be under the car, not in it,” so she turned her head and just looked out the window. 

Chen Xiao subconsciously shifted his posture in the passenger seat, as if the previous topic had already come to an end. 

Obviously, He Manlin didn’t feel the same. She was an office worker in the provincial office, and although they shared the same office space as the city office, due to the nature of their work, she only had a few minutes each morning before the meeting to see Chen Xiao, or sometimes at the beginning of the month when Chen Xiao would look for Xu Yao from the same office for expenses. 

But when you like someone, don’t you want to see them all the time? He Manlin thought sadly, I’m not as confident or brave as Sasha, I just want, just want a little more time to be with him. 

However, now that they were in the same car, she didn’t know what to say anymore. 

She tried a few topics, such as asking Chen Xiao how he felt about mentoring the new recruits (which indirectly hinted at why Chen Xiao was upset yesterday, and also wanted to know his opinion on the three young girls under him), or mentioning that the new office worker at the city office wasn’t very efficient (Lu Nan knew that He Manlin didn’t have any ill intentions toward Jiang Xiaoyun, but just wanted to subtly showcase that she was more capable in the same role). 

These were topics that Chen Xiao didn’t want to go deep into, so he just casually gave some vague responses. 

For a moment, He Manlin just felt even more wronged. 

The car was silent for a few minutes, and finally, He Manlin compromised—yes, she thought that once she took the initiative to speak, it meant she was compromising. She threw out a new topic. “It seems that Green Trading really is going to terminate its cooperation with the company.” 

Lu Nan’s ears twitched. 

Chen Xiao, sitting in the front seat, said in disbelief, “That’s not likely. After Director Tong came, I saw that Green Trading’s attitude wasn’t as firm in mid to late July.” 

Knowing that work-related topics were the only way to keep talking to Brother Chen Xiao, He Manlin wracked her brain to think of all the news she had heard in the office: “But their sales haven’t improved at all. They didn’t make any payments by mid-year, and they certainly won’t be able to rely on anything by the end of the year. Also… I heard that Green Trading wants to clear out its stock at low prices. Director Xiang and Manager Wang are really mad, saying that Green Trading’s behavior is trying to ‘kill’ the market for Yuan Chuan and Harmony Liquor in Hailin City.” 

“Selling at a low price definitely won’t work,” Chen Xiao frowned. “During the previous period of vicious competition in the industry, the major brands fought it out, all trying to seize the market with prices, which caused a phenomenon in the domestic liquor industry known as ‘price inversion’ (where the market price was lower than the factory price). It only started improving in the past three to four years. If Green Trading does this, it will not only affect the layout of Harmony liquor in Haillin City but also seriously harm Yuan Chuan’s brand image and brand value.” 

Seeing that Chen Xiao was interested, He Manlin leaned forward and whispered, “Actually, there’s a reason why the Harmony Liquor market is so difficult to manage…” 

Chen Xiao tilted his head back a little, “You’re talking about the rumors of smuggling?” 

“You’ve heard of it too?” 

“Yeah, I’ve heard of it, but I think it’s just a rumor.” Chen Xiao spun his phone around like a fidget spinner. “The wine boxes and bottle caps have codes on them when they leave the factory. If there’s smuggling, it’s easy to trace back to the source.” 

He Manlin had never been in sales and didn’t understand these details. When Chen Xiao said this, she just agreed with him, “Yeah, it must be a rumor then.” 

Is there no evidence to confirm the smuggling? 

Lu Nan had no intention of eavesdropping; it was simply because the car’s space was so small that, no matter how quietly the two spoke, their voices still reached her ears. 

Actually, this matter isn’t really hard to find evidence for, is it? Saying there’s no evidence is just falling into a mental trap. 

But why should she get involved? It doesn’t benefit her, and it could just cause her trouble. Lu Nan thought absentmindedly. 

After picking up the alcohol from the provincial office’s backup warehouse and signing for it, Chen Xiao turned to He Manlin and said, “It’s out of the way to Shangri-La and back to the office, so I’m sorry for the trouble today, Sister Lin. You can take this car first. I’ve already paid the fare, and Lu Nan and I will wait for the next one.” 

Thanks to the other person’s thoughtfulness, He Manlin’s heart skipped a few beats. With a slightly flushed face, she said, “Oh, that’s too much. I can still report to Xu Yao with the ticket.” 

“It’s fine, it’s the least I could do. You go ahead,” Chen Xiao replied. 

The taxi drove off, and Chen Xiao extended his hand toward Lu Nan: “Take this.” 

It was a stack of high-value receipts. Lu Nan took them and formally said, “Thank you, Brother Xiao.” 

Chen Xiao had already contacted Manager Zhao on the way here. Upon arriving at the hotel, Manager Zhao, along with a bellboy, was waiting by the luggage cart. 

The driver opened the trunk, and Lu Nan switched her bag from a shoulder strap to a crossbody one before stepping forward to help with the luggage. 

Chen Xiao paid the fare, then, after a slight delay, saw this scene and handed his phone, tablet, and the newly received receipts to Lu Nan. “Let me do it,” he said, taking over her task. He carefully took the wine boxes from the trunk and handed them to the staff. 

The fourteen bottles of wine were worth a lot, and Lu Nan couldn’t be happier not having to do any heavy lifting. 

Manager Zhao couldn’t help but tease, “Manager Chen is quite the gentleman.” 

Chen Xiao smiled and shook his head, “I’m just worried she’ll be clumsy.” 

With one bottle aged thirty years, one fifty years, and twelve bottles of zodiac-themed wines, everything was unloaded. Lu Nan thanked the driver, then followed Chen Xiao and the others into the lobby and took the elevator up. 

At this point, Manager Zhao received a call and apologized, saying he had to leave for a bit. He’d go to the main VIP room later and asked the bellboy to assist Chen Xiao and the others to head there first. 

Once in the main VIP room, Chen Xiao looked at Lu Nan. “It was your idea; how do you want to arrange it?” 

“Now you don’t think I’m clumsy?” Lu Nan joked. 

“I saw you were wearing a white T-shirt, and I was worried the dust from the car would be hard to clean off. That’s why I didn’t want you to help. You’re misunderstanding my kindness,” Chen Xiao replied. 

In fact, Lu Nan knew that Chen Xiao wasn’t complaining about her being clumsy and wasn’t really angry. After laughing, she placed her phone, tablet, and her own nifty little bag on a side table, then turned to the bellboy and said, “Could you please bring us a basin of water and two clean cloths? Thank you.” 

Not long after, the bellboy returned with the requested items. 

Lu Nan gave Chen Xiao a look: What are you waiting for? There are two cloths here; get to work. 

The corner of the wine rack wasn’t wiped clean, and the product packaging boxes had some dust—weren’t they supposed to be wiped down again? 

Chen Xiao didn’t expect Lu Nan to so bluntly “order” him around. He was momentarily stunned before starting to clean. 

The top shelf of the left wine rack displayed the fifty-year-old “Purple Qi East Comes” wine. The delicate porcelain was coated in purple glaze, with golden borders, exuding an air of elegance. The three shelves below held zodiac wines featuring the dragon-horse, tiger-snake, and dog-rooster. 

The top shelf of the right wine rack held the thirty-year-old wine, “Golden Jade Full House,” with golden bottles and a luxurious design. The three shelves below displayed the zodiac wines for rat-rabbit, ox-sheep, and monkey-pig. 

Chen Xiao helped Lu Nan with the arrangement, and after finishing, he turned to her and said, “Good idea.” It was clear that she had put thought into it, selecting a few lucky pairings. 

“You’re flattering me, Brother Xiao,” Lu Nan replied. 

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