The middle-aged man looked around the Mingde branch office.

The economy in Deep City was developing rapidly, and there were countless well-funded small and medium-sized enterprises.

This newly established company, clearly in its growth phase, had an office area that was neat and full of warmth.

However, in terms of scale or environment, it couldn’t compare to most companies he usually dealt with.

This company wasn’t even located in the bustling CBD of Deep City.

Just look at the small security booth at the gate—so shabby.

Low-profile indeed.

The middle-aged man met Jin Yaotiao’s gaze and the document folder in her hand, forcing a complex smile.

Meanwhile, Xia Ren, abandoned in the courtyard, finally finished registering and was escorted into the company by Mingde’s veteran security guards—Grandpa Liu and the others.

Having just tripped and fallen, Xia Ren felt embarrassed, especially since the guards gave him no face at all. Muttering as he walked in, he grumbled, “This lousy place…”

Today, I’ll make sure you learn a lesson.

As soon as he entered the office, he heard the hearty laughter of the middle-aged man he brought along. “Director Jin, we’re just here to see if your company is facing any operational difficulties.

Mingde is new to the area, having come from Linjiang.

You’re probably unfamiliar with many of the local market regulations here in Deep City, right?

But don’t let that hold you back—work hard and give it your all!”

Jin Yaotiao: “…Thank you.”

Xia Ren: “?”

Did I invite you to encourage them?

Xia Ren: “Wait a minute… Zheng—”

Just as he was about to call out the middle-aged man’s name, the man straightened his back upon seeing him with Grandpa Liu and the others, his smile turning even more rigid as he interrupted, “Mr. Xia!”

Father Jin recognized Xia Ren and frowned upon seeing him. “Xia Ren? What are you doing at Mingde?”

The atmosphere between the two sides was naturally tense.

Xia Ren was clearly not here with good intentions, and their exchanged glances carried an air of hostility so strong it was almost tangible.

Just as Xia Ren was about to speak harshly, the middle-aged man interrupted him again, now wishing Xia Ren was mute. “Oh, you two know each other? What a coincidence! If it weren’t for Mr. Xia leading the way, we wouldn’t have noticed such a promising company like Mingde.”

The middle-aged man was ready to shift blame if Mingde pursued the issue.

Inwardly, he was fuming.

He hadn’t wanted to come on this dishonorable errand, but he couldn’t refuse when Xia Ren brought up the Shang family.

Now it seemed the Shang family hadn’t considered his interests at all.

Thinking back to what Xia Ren said earlier, the Shang family had already tried to block Mingde’s administrative procedures but failed.

That’s why this act was happening now.

But why did they fail?

What was Mingde’s background?

He had no idea.

Did the Shang family even think this through, dragging him into this obvious mess?

Wait!

Something was off!

The middle-aged man’s thoughts spiraled as he started to suspect: Was the Shang family targeting him instead of Mingde?

Good grief!

The middle-aged man had no intention of staying in this mess any longer.

He turned and prepared to leave, glaring at Xia Ren on his way out.

Without hesitation, he instructed his assistant, “Xiao Li, leave Mingde a contact number. Later, send them detailed regulations and information about Deep City’s support channels for small and medium-sized enterprises.”

The assistants, puzzled but obedient, hurried to catch up with the middle-aged man, leaving Xia Ren standing there in the Mingde office, dumbfounded, staring at Jin Yaotiao and her father.

Jin Yaotiao looked a bit confused.

Father Jin was also a bit confused.

But Xia Ren was far more confused than the two of them combined.

Father Jin was the first to break the silence. “Xia Ren, was it Shang Rong who sent you?”

Xia Ren’s eyes followed the middle-aged man as he left, filled with uncertainty.

He could only utter a defiant, “So what if he did?” before chasing after him.

---

Outside, Xia Ren caught up with the middle-aged man, who was still fuming.

Before Xia Ren could say much, the man shook off his hand. “Mr. Xia, what do you mean by this? I should be asking what Shang Rong means by this!”

The middle-aged man felt like arguing with Xia Ren but stopped himself upon noticing Grandpa Meng near the security booth.

Grandpa Meng gave him a stern look, as if seeing through his intentions, and said in his usual serious tone, “Xiao Zheng, do your job well and live up to the trust placed in you.”

Shame surged within the middle-aged man.

Clenching his fists, he lowered his head. “Yes.”

Grandpa Meng coughed lightly, watching some familiar Mingde employees approach from the subway station.

As the middle-aged man passed by, Grandpa Meng waved him off. “Go on.”

After the group left, the employees walked into the office, whispering about the visitors.

At the security booth, they greeted Grandpa Meng with cheerful smiles. “Good morning, Uncle Meng!”

Grandpa Meng returned their smiles warmly. “Good morning. It’s quite cold today, isn’t it?”

---

Xia Ren, meanwhile, walked out into the cold wind, utterly bewildered.

The middle-aged man had left without waiting for him, taking the car.

Glancing back at Mingde, Xia Ren felt a surge of anger and kicked the wall in frustration.

The moment he did, he felt something was wrong.

Slowly turning around, he saw a black car parked nearby. Its window rolled down to reveal several dark-faced men staring at him intently.

Xia Ren: “???”

What the heck? Why are you watching me kick Mingde’s wall? What’s it got to do with you?

The men got out of the car, each towering over Xia Ren. They started walking toward him, looking far from friendly.

Xia Ren: “!!!!”

Terrified, Xia Ren ran for his life. As he sprinted away, the men called out, “Wait!”

No way!

Is this a bad luck day?

He ran faster than ever, leaving the men stunned.

One of them muttered, “What’s with him? We just wanted to ask what he was doing.”

Another replied, “Forget it. It’s just a wall. Let’s go back; we don’t want to cause trouble.”

---

Back at Mingde, Jin Yaotiao received a call from her husband’s friend, who offered help after catching wind of the situation.

Politely declining, she turned to her father.

“Who was that just now?” she asked.

Father Jin, deep in thought, replied, “Xia Ren, Shang Rong’s cousin.”

Jin Yaotiao looked at the organized but unused files in her hand, her mind drifting to why those people had just left in such a hurry.

There was some noise in the company, and when she turned her head, she saw Xu Wan leading a freshly tidied-up Shen Qiming out from inside.

Shen Qiming’s clothes seemed to have been soiled while moving something and were wiped down with water.

The high-quality black fabric bore large and small wet marks, and his hair, re-combed, hung in semi-dry strands over his forehead, loosely framing his face.

The morning sunlight enveloped his tall silhouette, lending him an unusually relaxed aura.

But Jin Yaotiao clearly didn’t think so.

Given Shen Qiming’s usual meticulous demeanor, this could be considered downright disheveled.

He rarely showed any discomfort that others could notice, but now, he frowned slightly, glancing at the water stains on the hem of his clothes from time to time.

Xu Wan seemed to sense his unease but couldn’t figure out its cause.

Jin Yaotiao glanced at Xu Wan’s pleading look and Shen Qiming’s wide, black-and-white eyes, feeling that this mother and son looked remarkably alike in this moment.

Jin Yaotiao: “…”

Her peripheral vision caught sight of the water cooler in the corner with a freshly changed bucket.

She tossed a box of tissues to Shen Qiming and said, “Here, consider it a reward for changing the water. Stop staring—it won’t dry itself.”

Shen Qiming caught the tissue box and indeed glanced at the hem of his clothes again.

Xu Wan froze briefly before realizing what the problem was.

She sighed softly. No wonder her son wasn’t close to her—she didn’t even know he had a cleanliness obsession.

Just as Jin Yaotiao was about to take the mother and son duo to the cafeteria for breakfast, Shen Qiming’s phone rang.

When he answered, his expression turned calm and serious. “Got it. Wait for me outside.”

After he hung up, Xu Wan asked, “What’s wrong? Is the company calling you back?”

Shen Qiming nodded but looked at Jin Yaotiao as he explained, “There’s an emergency meeting.”

Xu Wan appeared a little distressed. “Really? I was hoping you could have breakfast before you left. Do we still have time to eat at the cafeteria?”

Shen Qiming: “No time.”

Xu Wan sighed. Half a minute passed, and she noticed Shen Qiming hadn’t moved. “?”

Jin Yaotiao met Shen Qiming’s gaze and pondered for two seconds. “…Should I ask someone to pack you a meal?”

Shen Qiming: “Sure.”

Jin Yaotiao: “…”

Xu Wan: “…”

Doesn’t Jingmao have a cafeteria?

Are you really that desperate for this breakfast?

Later, the Jingmao driver, who had been waiting at the gate of Mingde, finally saw his boss coming out into the morning light.

One hand carried a plastic bag full of packed breakfast boxes, while the other held… a tissue box?

Not a pack of tissues—a full, open box of tissues, with a single white tissue sticking out and fluttering in the wind.

The Jingmao driver: “???”

He glanced at his boss and then at Mingde’s office building. Did his boss swipe a box of tissues from Mingde?

Inside the company, Jin Yaotiao, who watched Shen Qiming actually leave with the “reward for changing the water,” was speechless.

Xu Wan stood at the door, also baffled as she watched her son leave.

When Shen Qiming arrived at Jingmao, people in the office park sneaked curious glances at him.

Though he still felt uncomfortable about his soiled clothes, he seemed indifferent now.

He faced Jiang Sen, who came out to greet him, with his usual composed tone. “Is everyone here?”

Jiang Sen stared at the tissue fluttering on the box and racked his brain, unable to make sense of it.

He nodded. “Yes, everyone’s upstairs waiting.”

Then he caught a whiff of a delicious aroma and noticed the plastic bag in Shen Qiming’s other hand, filled with breakfast boxes. “What’s that?”

Shen Qiming: “Breakfast.”

Jiang Sen estimated the number of boxes in the bag—enough for three or four people.

His eyes lit up with surprise. “You brought breakfast?”

Shen Qiming nodded.

Jiang Sen eagerly offered, “Here, let me help—”

But Shen Qiming dodged him with a simple wave of his hand.

Jiang Sen: “?”

Shen Qiming headed straight upstairs to his office.

After setting down the bag of packed meals, he opened a drawer and placed the tissue box inside.

Then he looked at Jiang Sen, who was still standing at the door. “Let’s go.”

Jiang Sen glanced at the bag of breakfast on the desk. “Breakfast—”

Shen Qiming: “We’ll eat after work.”

Jiang Sen, half-understanding, nodded.

After finishing his tasks, he wanted to join Shen Qiming back in the office but was stopped by a question. “Do you need something else?”

Jiang Sen: “…Breakfast?”

Shen Qiming, inexplicably: “The cafeteria’s on the basement level.”

Jiang Sen: “???”

Wait—so all four or five packed meals were for you alone?

Jiang Sen, aggrieved, stormed off to the cafeteria for a steaming bowl of ramen, silently fuming.

You heartless boss! Are you a pig? How can you eat that much?

---

Meanwhile, Mingde continued as usual, even after losing a tissue box, and their new store preparations seemed to proceed more smoothly than ever.

A mysterious rumor began circulating in a small circle in the city.

One day, Father Jin came home and solemnly told Jin Yaotiao, “Be cautious in your dealings outside.”

Jin Yaotiao asked, “Why?”

Father Jin said, “I heard there’s an incredible little company in our area with deep connections.”

Curious, Jin Yaotiao thought about their nearby neighbors, all seemingly ordinary. “Which one?”

Father Jin frowned and shook his head. “I’m not sure. I’ve overheard it at some events recently. The news came from a small local circle, but those in the know are tight-lipped.”

As the New Year approached, Mother Jin, busy cleaning the house, felt alarmed. “Oh my, and we’re practically in the suburbs. If we offend someone, what would we do?”

Jin Yaotiao reassured her, “Don’t overthink it. We’re not the type to offend anyone.”

Father Jin nodded, feeling slightly relieved.

But then he remembered another concern and grew serious again. “Oh, by the way, our company’s area has been unsettled—there’s talk of gangsters. Inform the employees to be cautious.”

Jin Yaotiao frowned. “Really? That sounds far-fetched. It’s not that bad, is it?”

Father Jin replied cautiously, “The rumors are widespread. Someone was nearly attacked nearby and had to flee four streets before finding safety.”

Jin Yaotiao, concerned, picked up her phone. “I’ll notify HR.”

Mother Jin, shocked, murmured, “No wonder Deep City is a big metropolis—hidden dragons and crouching tigers everywhere. We outsiders need to keep a low profile.”

Father Jin nodded in agreement.