Living under the same roof, it was impossible for the girls downstairs to miss Lu Nan’s bright appearance.

Dong Hui had learned her lesson and no longer attempted to sow discord between Xiang Feifei and Lu Nan. She had only recently found out from Hong Danni that Xiang Feifei had actually majored in psychology at university. She loved analyzing people’s mental states and behavior patterns, which was honestly quite unsettling. 

After giving up on winning over Xiang Feifei, Dong Hui also abandoned any effort with her roommate, Hong Danni. Living together had made it clear to her that Hong Danni was a softhearted girl. She never lost her temper and disliked gossiping about others behind their backs. In short, she was useless. 

As for Lin Yan, Dong Hui had always felt that she was plain-looking and dressed unfashionably. After becoming dormmates, Dong Hui once condescendingly offered her fashion advice, but Lin Yan ignored her. Feeling slighted, Dong Hui’s interactions with Lin Yan gradually became indifferent. 

Right now, the person Dong Hui wanted to win over the most was Jiang Xiaoyun. After all, Jiang Xiaoyun had a special status—she worked as an internal staff member at the municipal office. Her income wasn’t as high as those in sales, but she still ranked higher in the provincial and municipal office hierarchy than regular salespeople. Just look at He Manlin and Wu Fang—they were proof of that.

It took Dong Hui nearly a month to sort out the dynamics within the dormitory and determine who she could befriend and who she needed to guard against. 

And at the top of her list? Of course, it was Lu Nan.

But right now, the person she was concerned about obviously had no time for childish scheming. 

Whether she subtly hinted at helping Lu Nan with drinks at a tasting event or complained about splitting the air conditioning bill at the end of the month, Lu Nan stayed indifferent.

Soft tactics, hard tactics—Lu Nan wasn’t buying any of it. 

A secured distributor was like a meal in her own bowl—no one else was getting a bite. 

As for the air conditioning bill in single rooms? Well, since she barely spent any time in the downstairs living room, how should the cost of the communal air conditioning be split? If it had to be counted, then it had to be done precisely. 

Lu Nan would pay every cent she owed—no more, no less. 

On this point, the four other girls downstairs sided with Lu Nan. If they really wanted to be precise, Lu Nan almost never stayed in the living room, so why should she be charged for its air conditioning? She also hardly cooked in the kitchen—wasn’t she already at a disadvantage by splitting the gas bill equally? 

Clearly, Dong Hui had miscalculated. She had assumed that the four girls from Yunan, who carefully split the cost of groceries down to the cent, would be equally particular about every expense. But she hadn’t expected that while they were meticulous with money, they weren’t the type to take advantage of others. 

Her attempt to paint Lu Nan as a freeloader had completely backfired. 

Frustrated, Dong Hui vented to Wang Xiaoxue. 

But to her surprise, even Wang Xiaoxue disagreed with her. 

After all, Wang Xiaoxue also lived in a single room. 

“Utility bills aren’t calculated like that,” Wang Xiaoxue said. “Look at me and Sister Lu—we both have single rooms, but in our apartment, the electricity and water bills are split evenly among the four of us. Besides, the company already covers our rent. These expenses come down to barely a hundred per person each month—it’s really not worth arguing over.” 

With nowhere to vent her frustration, Dong Hui scrolled through her contacts on WeChat. Complaining about Lu Nan to her former classmates and friends would mean explaining her workplace environment first, and even then, they might not relate. Most importantly—back in school, she had been a prominent figure. If she told them she was being overshadowed by Lu Nan now, wouldn’t that be embarrassing? 

Her finger quickly moved over her classmate’s name, and Dong Hui’s eyes landed on Chen Xiao’s name. 

She added Chen Xiao on WeChat for work purposes. Over time, she had tried to start casual conversations with him every few days, but his replies were always strictly professional. Eventually, he even told her outright to send work-related matters via email. 

That had been a huge blow to her pride, and whatever fleeting attraction she had felt for his appearance quickly faded. 

While browsing through her contacts, Dong Hui found Zhou Lei’s name. 

She didn’t have much contact with Zhou Lei before, and they only exchanged contact information at the gathering Yi Wei organized for everyone to drink. But Dong Hui has a good impression of him. Tall and slim, he had joined the company last year through campus recruitment and had already become a business supervisor. 

Without much thought, Dong Hui opened the chat window. 

Of course, she wouldn’t complain about Lu Nan to Zhou Lei right away. She had to take it slow—starting with small talk, guiding the conversation until the other person naturally saw things her way, and then bringing up the issues.

Dong Hui was confident about this. 

Lu Nan is so self-righteous. Except for Manager Wang, Chen Xiao, and Yan Kai, she has no contact with other guys in the city office. As for me, I’m always good at dealing with guys, and once we’re familiar, whatever I say, they’ll definitely be on my side. 

Dong Hui started talking to Zhou Lei more often, until they were chatting every day. In the dorm, she would often say, “Zhou Lei said this… Zhou Lei said that.”

Her roommate, Hong Danni, asked, “Are you and Zhou Lei dating?” 

Dating? Dong Hui didn’t think so. Zhou Lei was just easy to talk to. He believed whatever she said and even shared little office secrets on his own.

But they were just ordinary friends. 

Zhou Lei didn’t meet her standards for a boyfriend. 

In response, Xiang Feifei told Hong Danni, “The office doesn’t prohibit relationships. Maybe they just don’t want to make it public. You don’t need to worry about it.” Based on her professional analysis, Zhou Lei was no fool. Dong Hui might seem smart, but she was only sharp in small matters. If these two were to get together, it was easy to predict who would have the upper hand. 

… 

On August 1st, Lu Nan had gathered all the necessary documents for Feixiang’s expenses. Her task for the day was to organize and verify the documents at the office. 

In the afternoon, she finished attaching receipts for both distributor and personal expenses. The former was reviewed by Chen Xiao, and the latter was directly handed over to Jiang Xiaoyun. Yes, after over twenty days of handovers, Wu Fang had started her maternity leave a week ago, and Jiang Xiaoyun had officially taken over the internal duties at the city office. 

Chen Xiao was always fair in such matters. He reviewed the documents for Lu Nan, and naturally, he did the same for Xiang Feifei. 

The documents Lu Nan submitted were fast and accurate, and even if sent directly to the provincial office’s accountant, they wouldn’t be rejected. 

In comparison, Xiang Feifei’s personal abilities were also good, but the details of the documents still needed some refinement. 

Chen Xiao pointed out the areas Xiang Feifei needed to revise. After she left his office, she saw that Lu Nan was still there and quickly asked for her help. 

Without hesitation, Lu Nan generously shared some tips for the report: “Haortei Wine’s smaller events have fewer sessions, and they don’t like our people participating. So Sasha said every time we report expenses, we need to get a few guest names and contact details from Sister Ying (the wife of Haortei Wine’s owner). Never make up those names because, at the end of the year, headquarters will randomly check the guests at small events. If they find any falsified guest information, it’s over.” 

“I’ll go again tomorrow morning to make sure Sister Ying helps me fill out the guest details,” Xiang Feifei said, learning the lesson. “Looks like my relationship with Sister Ying isn’t strong enough yet.” 

“Not exactly, it’s mainly because Haortei Wine has some small issues with the office. They’re worried that Feixiang will take over their restaurant channels. But Feixiang’s distribution contract is all-channel, and it’s only a matter of time before they get into restaurant… These things depend on each side’s abilities. As the manufacturer, of course, we hope both distributors’ sales will grow steadily,” Lu Nan reassured Xiang Feifei. “But Haortei Wine is holding their resources tightly and not allowing the city office to intervene. Sasha couldn’t do anything about it before, so you don’t need to feel too burdened.” 

Xiang Feifei nodded and quietly said, “Actually, this is fine. I don’t need to attend any small events or socialize with drinks. I just need to focus on Haortei Wine’s payment collection at the end of the year.” 

….. 

Lu Nan was right. Feixiang, which had successfully opened up its market through group purchasing channels, had already started considering expanding into other sales channels. 

At the beginning of August, Mr. Yang called Chen Xiao and said he planned to distribute goods to several five-star hotels in Hailin City within the month and also wanted to discuss setting up displays in the private rooms of hotels like Shangri-La, InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, and Marriott. 

With the distributor so motivated, Chen Xiao was naturally willing to offer maximum support.

He spent the whole morning talking with Mr. Yang and finalized some subsidy arrangements and was about to head back to the office to submit the approval documents. 

On the way back, Lu Nan suggested, “Since Mr. Yang is making such big moves in the foodservice channel, I’m a bit overwhelmed. It might be better for Dong Hui to help me keep an eye on the hotel entrances and private room displays.” 

Chen Xiao had always felt that Lu Nan’s strength lay in group purchasing, and it seemed a bit of a waste to divert her attention to the foodservice channel, but he was still considering how to word it so that Lu Nan wouldn’t think he was trying to take away some of her authority. Chen Xiao himself felt that his attitude was off. Should he really have to be so cautious with his subordinates? In the end, he concluded that he still owed Lu Nan from that creative incident, which was why things had ended up like this. 

After receiving the buyout fee, Lu Nan had been quietly working. Even when she saw the promotional videos in red-headed documents from the headquarters, she showed no reaction, which made Chen Xiao feel even more guilty. 

Now, hearing Lu Nan’s words, Chen Xiao couldn’t help but glance back at her from the front passenger seat. 

Lu Nan tilted her head slightly and raised an eyebrow, saying, “I understand the need to focus on the big picture. Besides, isn’t Dong Hui a reserved member of our department? It makes sense to ask for her help when I’m busy.” 

It seems like she’s being sincere. Chen Xiao nodded, “But just Dong Hui alone probably won’t be enough. I’ll call two more people from the Harmony Wine Group Purchasing Department to assist you.” 

If he was right, Chen Xiao’s suggestion had good intentions. First, it would help manage multiple hotels at the same time and speed things up. Second, adding three more people under Lu Nan would balance the power, giving Lu Nan more control instead of relying only on Dong Hui.

Lu Nan tentatively asked, “How about Lin Yan and Hong Danni?” 

Chen Xiao replied straightforwardly, “They’re fine. Let’s borrow both of them then. I’ll speak to Manager Wang and Manager Zhou about it.” 

“Okay, Brother Xiao.” Lu Nan’s eyes curved in a smile, clearly in a good mood now that her goal was achieved. 

This easygoing expression made Chen Xiao curious. “Why choose those two? Is it because they’re your roommates?” 

“Sister Lu has to go to Green Trading from time to time, and Wang Xiaoxue is too fragile—supervising the display is tough work,” Lu Nan said seriously, as if that were the real reason. “But Brother Xiao, you’re the one making the final decision. I was just making an immature suggestion, right?” 

Chen Xiao gave Lu Nan a deep look.

What she meant was that the people in the office should only know that it was his decision to have these two help out with Feixiang 

As always, she understands the boundaries and avoids trouble from start to finish. 

Having known Lu Nan for a little over a month, Chen Xiao’s understanding of her was growing day by day. 

But it’s nothing serious. 

As long as the work instructions he gave could be carried out smoothly, that was enough. 

“Yes.” Chen Xiao nodded, then turned to face the road ahead, looking forward without looking back. 

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