Sasha said, “I won’t go. Otherwise, my cats will get so angry if they smell other cats on me that they’ll meow and scold for ten to twenty minutes nonstop. I’m quite scared of it now.” 

Lu Nan laughed. “You sound like your husband is controlling you.” 

“Go away!” Sasha playfully retorted. 

After saying goodbye to Sasha, Lu Nan carried the food container and strolled to a nearby small park. 

Her intention for feeding the stray cats wasn’t to pet them, so she planned to leave after placing the container in a corner. 

“Feeding stray cats like this will make them lose their wariness. What if someone poisons them later?” The voice behind her was cold, a stark contrast to its usual warm tone. 

Lu Nan turned around, “Brother Xiao? Aren’t you supposed to be at Mr. Yang’s dinner party?” 

“Director Tong declined Mr. Yang’s brother-in-law’s post-dinner activities, so we went back to the hotel to rest after eating. I came out for some fresh air,” Chen Xiao said, sitting on a park bench. He continued, “Stray cats are very resilient in the wild. Regular feeding can make them dependent and lead them to gather in the area. This gathering can cause territorial disputes, sudden stopping of feeding by the caregiver, or even poisoning by malicious individuals—all of which can be harmful or even disastrous for them.” 

Lu Nan hadn’t considered these points while feeding, and now she realized that her actions had indeed been hasty. 

“I didn’t think it through. Thank you for the reminder, Brother Xiao.” She walked back, intending to clean up the food before the stray cats arrived. 

Lu Nan’s quick acknowledgment made Chen Xiao feel a bit frustrated, “Let it go for today. It’s too cruel to take it back after giving it.” 

Lu Nan wondered if Chen Xiao was having a bad day or perhaps, he had drunk too much and was not thinking clearly. 

Why is he being so critical? 

The hand beside her seemed to clench into a fist for a moment but quickly relaxed. Lu Nan nodded to the person on the stone bench, “Well then, Brother Xiao, you sit here, and I’ll leave first.” 

“If you’re not in a hurry to go back and ‘help your junior correct typos,’ why not sit for a while?” Chen Xiao gestured to the other end of the bench with his eyes. 

Having been reproached and threatened (yes, Lu Nan knew Chen Xiao was threatening her) three times, Lu Nan felt a bit irritated. Fine, if he wants her to sit, she would. Who’s afraid of whom? 

The stone bench was wide enough for two people to sit on either end with a 60-70 cm gap in the middle. 

After sitting down, she turned to examine him, glancing at his slightly disheveled bangs and furrowed brows. His thick, long eyelashes were genuinely enviable. “Looks like Brother Xiao is in a bad mood today.” 

The stone bench was positioned with the park’s landscape lights behind it, casting Chen Xiao’s face in shadow, making his expression unclear. “Why do you think so?” 

Lu Nan shifted her gaze, leaned back lazily, and answered casually, “Just a guess, it might not be right.” 

Chen Xiao was silent for a moment. “Hmmm, It’s true. I’m not in a good mood, so what?” 

After saying that, he was met with silence. 

Turning his head, he saw that this interesting subordinate, who was somewhat contradictory, was not paying much attention to him at all. Instead, she was focused on the small creatures around the food container. 

Feeling ignored; Chen Xiao was somewhat annoyed. 

After being irritated for half a minute, his reason returned: Right, this young woman doesn’t ask anything of me. Maybe she thinks dealing with a boss like me during her free time is quite annoying? 

After waiting for a minute without hearing any further from Chen Xiao, Lu Nan, having watched the cats long enough, finally shifted some attention back to him. “Hmm? So, you’re in a bad mood. What about it?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“So, did you drink too much today?” It seemed the other person had put away their initial aggressiveness and revealed a slightly innocent and vulnerable demeanor typical of someone who had drunk too much. Lu Nan, with what she considered to be good intentions, reminded him, “Brother Xiao, drowning your sorrows in alcohol will only make them worse. Drinking won’t improve your mood; it only numbs your senses and makes you temporarily forget your troubles.” The next day, the difficulties and problems would still be there. 

Chen Xiao didn’t expect Lu Nan to say this—he thought the girl was already upset. 

Although it was a common piece of advice, it inadvertently touched on his worries. “Lu Nan… do you think these stray cats want to be kept in captivity?” 

Lu Nan honestly said, “I’m not one of them, so I can’t answer that.” 

Chen Xiao looked at the little guys circling around the leftover food, squinting his eyes. “If the price for having no worries about food and clothing is losing freedom, cats that are used to roaming freely probably wouldn’t want that.” 

Lu Nan realized that Chen Xiao wasn’t really looking for a conversation; he was just talking to himself. 

“If it were people…” He didn’t finish his sentence. 

Lu Nan stood up, “I see Sister Lin coming this way, so I’ll leave first.” 

“Lu Nan.” Chen Xiao stood up too and called out to her with a slightly loud voice. 

Lu Nan was certain that Chen Xiao was doing it on purpose. 

Leaving now would only draw more attention, so Lu Nan put on a smile and greeted He Manlin, who was walking over: “Sister Lin.” 

“Were you two… talking about work?” He Manlin asked cautiously. 

Who talks about work in a small park late at night? 

“I came over to feed the cats and happened to run into Brother Xiao. He criticized my thoughtless kind-hearted actions,” Lu Nan said, holding a plastic bag she had picked up at some point and pointing to a few stray cats nearby. 

He Manlin’s expression visibly relaxed. “Brother Xiao has always been very caring.” 

“Indeed, I saw that today,” Lu Nan nodded in agreement and added, “Well, I’ll be going now.” 

“Let’s go together,” Chen Xiao said, opening his right hand and rubbing his temples with his thumb and middle finger. Turning to Lu Nan, he continued, “Sister Lin is probably out for a night run. I’m sober enough now, so I won’t disturb her.” 

He took a few steps forward, then turned back and asked Lu Nan, who was still standing, “Shall we go?” 

Lu Nan could only smile politely and bid farewell to He Manlin. 

After walking a few hundred meters, Lu Nan sighed. 

She felt that she could still sense He Manlin’s gaze lingering on them even without turning back. 

A handsome man can also be a problem, and his affection can be annoying due to his ruthlessness. 

“What’s wrong?” Chen Xiao asked knowingly. 

“Nothing.” Lu Nan had a feeling that Chen Xiao was very different tonight than usual. She had a strong desire to survive and didn’t want to provoke him. 

Chen Xiao pressed on, “Why did you leave when you said Sister Lin was coming? Did you hear something or know something?” 

Before Lu Nan could come up with an excuse, her phone vibrated. 

As soon as she saw the caller ID, she lost all interest in chatting. Her face darkened, and she signaled to Chen Xiao that she wanted to answer the call. The other party made a “go ahead” gesture. 

Some calls come once a week, usually on Friday or Saturday evenings around eight or nine, always late but never missing. 

Lu Nan looked at the half-meter distance between them and lowered the volume of the call the moment it was connected. “Hello, Mom.” 

Hearing the first part, Chen Xiao took a few more steps forward. 

Only then did Lu Nan feel relieved that Chen Xiao wouldn’t hear her mother’s voice. “Not yet, because I don’t understand it well, so I haven’t picked one out.” 

On the other end of the phone, Lu Nan’s mother panted and said angrily, “I just found out today that the mistress bought a car. How could a woman like that have the money to buy a car? And it was your dad who paid for it?! Your dad is so vicious. He knows I have heart disease and high blood pressure, and he just wants to piss me off to death! I tell you, don’t save money for your dad. Spend whatever he gives you to buy a good car. If it’s not enough, ask him for more!” 

Listening to her mother’s complaints, Lu Nan absentmindedly responded. 

After about ten minutes, her mother finally hung up. 

Lu Nan stopped, looked around, and was stunned. 

She had been so distracted while on the call that she had followed Chen Xiao’s steps all the way to the entrance of his apartment complex. 

She gave Chen Xiao an awkward smile and turned to find her way home—though it wasn’t really home, just a dormitory, a temporary place to stay. 

“Wait a moment.” Chen Xiao quickly went to a nearby convenience store and came back with two boxes of yogurt. “Consider this a thank you for seeing me home?” 

It felt a bit odd for a girl to escort a guy home late at night. 

After saying this, both of them, who had almost clashed earlier, smiled. 

Lu Nan took the yogurt, waved goodbye to Chen Xiao, and left. 

Chen Xiao stood for a moment, watching Lu Nan leave. Then he took out his phone from his pocket. It had been silent for a while, and there were several missed calls. He finished the yogurt in one go and pressed the redial button, “Hello, Mom…” 

…… 

By the time Lu Nan returned to her dormitory, it was just past nine in the evening. 

She greeted the people downstairs and then went up. 

Back in her room, she opened her computer. The progress of her quick-transmigration novels was satisfactory, and the backend earnings were stable at over 200 per day. Lu Nan calmly glanced at it, opened the document, and continued working on her drafts. 

Her mood was poor today, which was suitable for writing. 

She finished three chapters in three hours. After writing, her mind went blank, and she easily fell asleep. 

On Saturday morning, Director Tong, along with General Director Xiang, Manager Wang, and others, went to their appointment with Green Trading. 

As the brand specialist for Classic Wine, this matter was unrelated to Chen Xiao, so he didn’t go. 

Since there was no morning meeting on Saturday, he sent Lu Nan a message: “Explain our company’s brand store renovation design template and cost standards to the people from Feixiang. The details are in the email attachment.” 

It goes without saying that this matter must be handled by Mr. Yang’s wife, Mrs. Pei. 

Lu Nan called Mrs. Pei and learned that she had not gone to the office today. 

Mrs. Pei, “It’s Saturday today, and I’m at home with the kids. Why, is it urgent?” 

Lu Nan thought about it. Chen Xiao hadn’t mentioned any deadline. “It’s not urgent, but there is some specific data I need to give you. How about this: I’ll send you the key data via text message first, and then I’ll come to the office on Monday morning to explain the details. We can finalize everything then.” 

“That works.” Sister Pei agreed, “No need to be so formal, just call me Sister Pei.” 

Today’s work was completed. 

“I’m leaving next week, aren’t you going to watch a movie with me?” Sasha whined on the phone. 

Lu Nan glanced at the time. “How about after lunch? I have something to do this morning.” 

Sasha was satisfied. “Okay, after the movie, I can make it back to the office for the weekly meeting.” 

Before the movie started, Sasha held a drink and said carefully, “I want to clarify that I wasn’t following you or Chen Xiao last night. I just remembered after you left that you had clothes in my trunk, so I turned back to find you, and then…” 

“And then you saw me and Chen Xiao in the park, sitting together?” Lu Nan asked, “You didn’t think we had planned to meet, did you?” 

“Of course not!!! I know it was a coincidence, but you two seem to have quite a bit of fate together.” Sasha mumbled, “Then I saw He Manlin, and I didn’t want to show up even more. What were you talking about yesterday? After you left, He Manlin looked really upset.” 

Lu Nan first said seriously, “Miss, being so gossipy doesn’t suit you.” 

Then, considering Sasha was her friend in this life and the previous one, she was willing to explain, “Chen Xiao must have had something on his mind yesterday. He was saying some strange things.” She briefly recounted Chen Xiao’s argument about feeding stray cats being harmful, leaving out the part where he compared it to humans. 

Sasha nodded after listening, “There must be something going on; otherwise, he wouldn’t speak so rudely.” Seeing Lu Nan’s half-smiling expression, she quickly pleaded, “I was just curious. I am concerned about you and not him! I swear.” 

“I’ll reluctantly believe you.” Lu Nan took the drink from Sasha’s hand, “They’re checking tickets, let’s go in.” 

They sat down for the movie, and during the opening credits, Sasha was still pestering, “I really think Chen Xiao has something special for you. Didn’t you feel it? He really trusts you with work. Anyone can see that Feixiang is definitely yours.” 

“That’s a misunderstanding. I was just there when he needed help, and I was able to assist.” Lu Nan was frustrated. She couldn’t explain Chen Xiao’s complicated background to Sasha—there was no way to tell her how she knew these things. “Let’s drop it. The movie’s starting…” 

Whether it’s special or not, one must have self-awareness. The worst thing is to indulge in self-imagination and self-promotion, which leads to self-delusion.