There were quite a few newcomers at the Saturday afternoon meeting. 

Towards the end of the weekly meeting at the Hailin City office, Director Xiang made a sudden appearance. He patted Manager Wang’s shoulder, “You stay seated, I just came to say a word. Tonight, we’re having a welcome party to greet our new colleagues. Little He (He Manlin, the provincial office clerk) has already booked a private room at Zui Qian Wei. At 5:30 PM, Zui Qian Wei, Room A888, everyone is invited. Manager Wang, the provincial office will cover the meal expenses, you just need to pay for the drinks, alright?” 

What else could Manager Wang say? Of course, it was no problem. 

At around four o’clock, the meeting had just ended. Manager Wang waved his hand, “Let’s get off to work.” He also added, “Since Director Xiang has already arranged it, tonight, let’s all have a good time!” 

“Great!” 

“Absolutely!” 

“Thanks, Director Wang!” 

Soon, the people in the meeting room begin to disperse. 

“Lu Nan,” Yan Kai calls her. 

Lu Nan turns around, “Senior, what’s up?” 

“Let’s talk while we walk.” 

“Sure.” 

There are other colleagues in the elevator. Dong Hui looks at Yan Kai and then at Lu Nan. 

After stepping out of the elevator, she said enviously to Hong Danni and the others, “See, I told you she already knows people in the office. Senior, right~” 

“Didn’t you say you were going back to wash your hair and change clothes? Let’s hurry.” Xiang Feifei didn’t know how to judge Dong Hui. “She seems a bit scheming, with a lot of thoughts, and a bit petty-minded too.” 

Speaking of washing hair, Dong Hui said “Oh” again, thinking that Lu Nan had only moved in a few days earlier than her, and she couldn’t shake the feeling of discomfort knowing the entire second floor of the attic belonged to Lu Nan. “It’s fine, Lu Nan has the upstairs to herself. Her bathroom must be free. Who will come up with me later to wash?” 

The other four thought about it. There was still over an hour until dinner, and everyone wanted to freshen up. It was indeed a bit tight to cram into the downstairs bathroom. 

So, they all agreed to Dong Hui’s suggestion. 

… 

Having been delayed for a few minutes due to chatting with Yan Kai while walking, Lu Nan returned to the dorm and found the second-floor bathroom door closed, with the sound of water running inside. 

She knocked lightly three times. 

As expected, it was Dong Hui inside. “Lu Nan, the five of us using one bathroom downstairs is too crowded, so I’m using the one upstairs. You don’t mind, right?” 

“Of course, please feel free to do as you wish,” Lu Nan replied nonchalantly. Leaning her head out from the stairs, she called down to the people below, “Xiang Feifei, I forgot to tell you that if coordinating bathroom times downstairs is difficult, just come upstairs. Oh, but there’s one small rule—immediately clean up after using the shower, and for the rest, let’s stick to what we agreed upon a few days ago. That’s not too much to ask, right?” 

Xiang Feifei laughed, “Totally fine!” No problem. 

They were all girls, most with medium to long hair, so after washing their hair or taking a shower, the floor inevitably ended up covered in hair. They had agreed early on to rotate the cleaning of the common areas. On their first day of moving in, Lu Nan had announced that she would take care of the upstairs bathroom. Since she doesn’t use the kitchen much, she would only clean up after cooking for herself. 

They had divided the household chores fairly among themselves (Dong Hui hadn’t reported yet). Everyone was fine with this arrangement. 

Now, Lu Nan took the initiative that they can use the second-floor bathroom and promptly clean up after using it (excluding cleaning the shower and taking out the trash, which were handled separately). Xiang Feifei saw no issues with this. Lu Nan’s straightforwardness suited her well. “I’ll go upstairs after Dong Hui uses it; I’ll be quick.” 

Lu Nan told Xiang Feifei, “No problem. I didn’t sweat much today, so I’m too lazy to change clothes.” She returned to her room, turned on the air conditioning. Realizing it was still early and knowing she’d likely return late that evening, she decided to quickly write another chapter of her manuscript. 

While typing, Lu Nan’s phone rang. 

She checked the screen to see a notification about a bank transfer. 

Ending in xxxx, her bank account received a transfer of 250,000 yuan. 

Half a minute later, the phone rang. 

“Hello, Dad…” Lu Nan only managed to say a greeting before her father got straight to the point of the call. “The money you just received was sent by me for you to buy a car. Technically, you’re already an adult, and I no longer have a legal obligation to support you. But you’re still my eldest daughter, and to celebrate your university graduation, Dad decided to send you the money so you can choose a car you like.” 

Lu Nan thought to herself, “Was I moved at that time, or did I just think ‘beggars can’t be choosers,’ so I agreed with what he said next?” 

Her father continued, “Also, your mother is really going too far, she constantly harasses me with calls and messages, even threatening me, saying she’ll find someone to make my company fail. Lu Nan, let me tell you, you need to talk some sense into your mother. We’ve been divorced for over four years, and we’ve already settled the assets. If she continues to behave unreasonably like this, I’ll have to call the police.” 

Lu Nan clenched her phone so tightly her knuckles turned white. She bit her cheek hard with her back teeth, took a deep breath, and said, “Okay, I’ll convey your message. Thank you for the money.” 

After her father hung up, Lu Nan heard the busy tone on the other end. 

How generous, giving me two hundred and fifty thousand yuan to buy peace and quiet. 

How absurd, I couldn’t even bring myself to say no. 

At thirty-three, Lu Nan had long prepared herself mentally—regarding money, she never asked for it herself, but if her father and mother were willing to give, she wouldn’t refuse either. 

Though she felt her inner strength was already sufficient, she still found that without financial independence, all her psychological strength was just self-comfort. 

Because she wasn’t wealthy enough, she couldn’t refuse their ‘gifts’; 

And once she accepted their ‘gifts’, she could no longer stand tall and speak firmly. 

There was a knock at the door. 

“Come in.” 

It was Dong Hui, who had just finished showering. 

“I came to… borrow the hair dryer.” Dong Hui’s eyes were restless, taking in everything—the working air conditioner, the half-open closet, the still-open laptop— all subjects of curiosity to her. 

Lu Nan felt uncomfortable under Dong Hui’s scrutinizing gaze and instinctively wanted to hurry her away. “It’s in the bathroom, behind the mirror cabinet.” 

“Oh, okay. Hey, what are you writing? A work report?” Dong Hui suddenly seemed interested, stepping into the room, intending to get closer to see Lu Nan’s document page. 

Lu Nan closed her laptop without directly answering what she was writing. “Sorry, I’m not used to having someone around when I’m writing.” 

She spoke bluntly because she wasn’t in the mood to entertain the other person. 

Dong Hui didn’t expect that Lu Nan, who was praised as easy-going by Hong Danni and others, would speak so harshly in private conversations. She rolled her eyes when she turned away, sneering inwardly. ‘What are you pretending for!’