On the night when his heart was broken, Chu Shangluo was unable to fall asleep. He was used to being proud and strong, and failure felt like a thorn deeply embedded in his heart, causing pain even at the thought. To numb the pain, he could only drown it in alcohol, drinking one cup after another until he lost consciousness.

The next morning, warm sunlight streamed through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling onto the sofa. The man lying on the sofa had messy hair and a weary, defeated demeanor. The doorbell suddenly rang, one ring after another, echoing through the quiet living room. Chu Shangluo frowned, raised his hand to block the blinding sunlight, and only then noticed that he was still holding the bottle of alcohol.

At first, he felt a little confused, then remembered what had happened the night before. He froze for a moment, and his heart ached again. The doorbell kept ringing, disturbing his peace of mind. Chu Shangluo rubbed his forehead, telling himself to stop thinking about it, and got up with two dark circles under his eyes to open the door.

When the door opened, Chu Shangluo saw the man standing at the doorstep. He was momentarily stunned before remembering that he had asked Ren Jiaoming to come take care of his daily needs. Seeing Ren Jiaoming’s serious expression, like he was handling official business, Chu Shangluo had nothing more to say. He yawned and staggered toward the bathroom.

Without shoes, his bare feet made a sound as they hit the floor. Ren Jiaoming lowered his gaze and noticed Chu Shangluo’s feet. Perhaps because they hadn’t seen the light for a long time, his feet were unnaturally pale, almost translucent, with visible veins. Every step he took, his toes pressed out a faint pink color.

Chu Shangluo entered the bathroom, and only then did Ren Jiaoming look away. The room was filled with the smell of smoke and alcohol. Ren Jiaoming opened the window, and then noticed the empty wine bottles on the coffee table and the clear indentation on the sofa where Chu Shangluo had presumably spent the night after getting drunk.

After a while, Chu Shangluo finished his shower and came out of the bathroom, shivering from the cold wind. He saw the window wide open and then glanced at Ren Jiaoming’s indifferent face. Anger rose in him.

“It’s February, it just snowed. Are you trying to freeze me to death?”

Ren Jiaoming apologized and walked over to close the window.

Chu Shangluo sat on the sofa, hugging his arms, shivering uncontrollably. When he saw Ren Jiaoming standing stiffly to the side, a sense of coldness pierced his heart. He tried to suppress his discomfort and said,

“You have no sense at all. Don’t you know to get me a coat to wear?”

Only then did Ren Jiaoming take action, picking up a suit jacket and draping it over Chu Shangluo.

Though Chu Shangluo felt warm physically after putting on the coat, his heart remained cold. He understood that Ren Jiaoming didn’t care about him. If he truly cared, there would be no need to speak; the other person would know what you needed without having to say a word.

Clearly, he and Ren Jiaoming did not share such understanding.

Although Chu Shangluo had decided to give up, he still felt a brief sense of loss over the matter. Not long after, the food arrived. Ren Jiaoming had ordered a four-course meal with soup for him, and there wasn’t anything he didn’t like, but it didn’t feel thoughtful. It was obvious that Ren Jiaoming had asked Lin Zhi which restaurant he usually ordered breakfast from, and Lin Zhi had a record of his preferences. Ren Jiaoming only needed to place the order accordingly, without needing to put in any effort.

Chu Shangluo thought about his previous secretary who had left him. Although the secretary had deceived him and taken his money, he could still feel the former secretary’s thoughtfulness. The secretary would always come up with different meal choices and would even give him a coat when he felt cold. Chu Shangluo ate his breakfast in silence. As expected, comparisons only made his heart grow colder.

After breakfast, it was time for work. Throughout the day, the two of them exchanged very few words. Lin Zhi, usually attentive, noticed something was wrong. There was an awkward and strange tension between the boss and Ren Jiaoming. Although Ren Jiaoming had been more serious about serving the boss than before—pouring him coffee and ordering his lunch—his service felt cold and formulaic. The boss, on the other hand, no longer teased Ren Jiaoming or played around with him, like he used to. In the past, despite the boss’s complaints, the office atmosphere was relatively relaxed. But today, though the work wasn’t much, the atmosphere felt horribly stiff. Lin Zhi had a bad feeling, thinking that the relationship between the boss and Ren Jiaoming might truly be over.

As predicted, just before the end of the workday, Lin Zhi’s hunch was confirmed. Lin Zhi was cleaning out the ashtray when Chu Shangluo suddenly spoke:

“Lin Zhi, tell HR to hire a new secretary. Ren Jiaoming will resign in a month. Tell them to speed up, and once they have candidates, you can review them first, then bring the resumes to me. After we pick someone, have Ren Jiaoming train them for a while.”

Lin Zhi instinctively glanced at Ren Jiaoming, only to see him with a neutral expression, as if he had been waiting for this day. Although Lin Zhi didn’t like Ren Jiaoming, he couldn’t deny his abilities. In fact, he hoped Ren Jiaoming would stay because the boss was tired doing everything alone, and he wanted Ren Jiaoming to help share the load. But more than that, he felt it wasn’t fair to the boss—he had been so good to Ren Jiaoming, so why couldn’t Ren Jiaoming just stay?

Seeing Lin Zhi staring at Ren Jiaoming in a daze, Chu Shangluo turned to look at Ren Jiaoming as well, but quickly shifted his gaze away. He still couldn’t face the indifference in Ren Jiaoming’s eyes.

Chu Shangluo spoke up:

“Lin Zhi, what are you thinking? Did you hear me?”

Lin Zhi snapped back to reality.

“Ah, yes, okay, I got it.”

That evening, when Ren Jiaoming drove Chu Shangluo home, the atmosphere in the car was suffocatingly tense. Chu Shangluo felt like he was suffocating in it as well.

After getting out of the car, he inhaled the cold air outside, watching the captivating Ren Jiaoming in the car. He wanted to touch him but restrained himself.

He forced a light tone and said, “Lin Zhi is very efficient. It won’t be long before the new secretary arrives, and our time together is running out, so don’t be so indifferent. Try to be serious tomorrow.” After saying this, Chu Shangluo left without waiting for Ren Jiaoming’s response.

Ren Jiaoming stared at Chu Shangluo’s retreating figure, lost in thought. By the time he came to his senses, Chu Shangluo had already disappeared into the vast night. He turned the steering wheel, but the car didn’t move. Only then did he realize he had forgotten to press the gas pedal. Forgetting something so basic, Ren Jiaoming fell silent.

The next day, Lin Zhi began searching for a suitable secretary for Chu Shangluo. He was cautious during the search, especially since the boss had been deceived by secretaries in the past. Chu Shangluo had always trusted those he employed. The previous secretary, despite being thoughtful in his actions, had taken advantage of the boss’s trust by embezzling money from a project. Once discovered, the secretary explained that he had personal issues at home and left. In the end, the boss didn’t pursue the matter, choosing instead to cover the loss out of his own pocket. Because of this, Lin Zhi often thought that being an employee of the boss was a stroke of luck, but how could they be so ungrateful?

Jiang Jia was the first to know about Chu Shangluo replacing his secretary, and he was the first to submit his resume to Lin Zhi. He even bribed Lin Zhi with a box of cordyceps, asking him to help him secure the position. Lin Zhi, looking at the overly simplistic Jiang Jia, dared not accept the bribe. If he were to pass Jiang Jia’s resume to Chu Shangluo, both he and Jiang Jia would likely have their heads knocked open to see if there was any sense inside.

Chu Shangluo and Ren Jiaoming were still awkward with each other, and Lin Zhi was almost suffocating from the tension every day. One day, while Chu Shangluo was discussing a new project with Ren Jiaoming, the office door was suddenly pushed open. Chu Shangluo thought it was Jiang Jia again, about to get dragged away by Lin Zhi, but then he heard something that made his scalp tingle: “Luo Luo!”

Before he could react, a white figure quickly rushed toward him, and suddenly, he was pulled into an embrace. Chu Shangluo, irritated, pushed him away. “You damn… let go of me…”

Ren Jiaoming reached out, grabbing the man’s arm and pulling him away from Chu Shangluo. The man frowned and shouted, “Ah! Ah! It hurts!!”

Lin Zhi hurriedly said, “Secretary Ren… you, you need to be gentler. This is the boss’s older brother, Chu Shangyue!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Ren Jiaoming yanked Chu Shangyue off. Chu Shangyue rubbed his wrist, looking at Chu Shangluo with a pitiful expression. “Luo Luo, he hurt me!”

Ren Jiaoming glanced at Chu Shangyue. He knew that Chu Shangluo had an older brother, but this was the first time he’d seen him in person.

Chu Shangluo rubbed his temple, letting out a tired sigh. “Why are you back?”

Chu Shangyue pouted. “Luo Luo! Big brother, hug! Luo Luo, why won’t you hug me?”

Fearing that his older brother might cry, Lin Zhi quickly pulled out a lollipop to give to Chu Shangyue, coaxing him to sit on the sofa.

Two years had passed, and Chu Shangyue now seemed a little more mature compared to when he went abroad for treatment. His emotions were better controlled, and he no longer cried when upset. It looked like he’d been well taken care of abroad. He had always been handsome, but now his face was rounder, giving him a childlike innocence. It was hard to connect him to the young genius Chu Shangyue from before.

Chu Shangluo watched his brother lick the lollipop, feeling a headache coming on. Just as he was about to make a call, his phone rang.

On the other end, a woman’s anxious voice came through. “Shangluo, is Shangyue with you? This child secretly stole his passport and ID, booked a flight back to the country, and even took your dad’s and my IDs and passports. We can’t go look for him now, you have to find him quickly!”

Chu Shangluo glanced at Chu Shangyue, who was tearing up paper on the sofa, unable to believe that he had actually flown back on his own. “He’s with me. Don’t worry, I’ll have someone personally take him back to you tomorrow.”

After hanging up, Chu Shangluo called Chu Zong. Chu Zong was his cousin, a senior executive at the company, and someone who was calm and reliable. He had a good relationship with Chu Shangyue growing up, so having him take care of his brother for the night and then send him back was the best solution.

Not long after, Chu Zong arrived. When he tried to take Chu Shangyue away, Chu Shangyue stared at Chu Shangluo with longing, tears in his eyes. “I don’t want to leave. I want to stay with Luo Luo.”

Chu Shangluo was getting frustrated. He waved his hand. “Hurry up and take him away!”

Just as Jiang Jia came to cling to Chu Shangluo, he caught sight of this scene, which looked like a tearful farewell. Being someone who never did anything productive and loved gossip, Jiang Jia quickly found out the backstory.

As Chu Shangluo tried to push his brother away, Jiang Jia leaned toward Ren Jiaoming and whispered, “It seems like it’s true. Chu Shangluo hates his brother. He even collided with him, all for the family inheritance. The guy’s so dumb, he’s not even giving his brother a good face.”

He chuckled, raising an eyebrow. “But I like it. I don’t love a man who’s too good!”

Ren Jiaoming glanced at Jiang Jia and then tossed a file into his lap. “Why is there a million missing from the Jiang family’s accounts?”

Jiang Jia froze and immediately ran off. He certainly didn’t dare tell Ren Jiaoming that he had lost it all gambling on horse races.

Because of Chu Shangyue’s return, President Chu was really irritated, but he still had a project to discuss that evening. The CEO of the project was quite playful, and the place they chose to discuss business was a chaotic gay bar.

As Chu Shangluo and Ren Jiaoming walked toward the private room, dozens of men surrounded them, asking for contact details. They finally made it to the private room, and as soon as the door opened, they saw the playful CEO, Mr. Chen, with one man on his left arm, another on his right, and one crouching beneath him. Although the room was dim, it was obvious what was going on. After all, Mr. Chen had that kind of reputation in the circle—famous for being able to enjoy himself.

Chu Shangluo glanced at Ren Jiaoming, concerned that he might not be comfortable with the situation, but apparently, he worried too much. Ren Jiaoming remained calm, as if watching a nature documentary.

Seeing Chu Shangluo look at him, Ren Jiaoming said, “President Chu, let’s sit and wait for a while.” Then he leaned closer to Chu Shangluo’s ear and whispered, “I’ve met Mr. Chen a few times before. When things like this happen, he likes others to watch from the side.”

Ren Jiaoming’s cold breath brushed against Chu Shangluo’s ear. Though Chu Shangluo had seen similar things in his years of experience and had no particular interest in them, he still saw it as just entertainment. However, when Ren Jiaoming whispered in his ear, it made him uncontrollably think of things he shouldn’t.

Chu Shangluo cursed himself inwardly: Damn it! Why can’t I control myself!