Chapter 27

"What do you want?" Luan Nian's tone softened as he sat by Zhang Xin's bedside, looking at her calmly. "I never thought you were the type to threaten suicide after a breakup. I thought we had a good talk."

"I fell into your trap. You gave me the cold shoulder, forcing me to be the one to end things."

Luan Nian had thought Zhang Xin was like him—someone who disliked being tied down, who believed a comfortable relationship meant mutual trust, leaving room and space for each other. At first, Zhang Xin had been like that, but later she changed. She began testing him, checking up on him, clinging to him, even hiring someone to follow him. It left him utterly exhausted and annoyed. When he brought up breaking up, Zhang Xin clung to him relentlessly.

"I came to see you today not to get back together." Luan Nian took the fruit from Zhang Xin's hand, examined it, and placed it back in her palm. "Eat your fruit, focus on recovering, and don’t call me again. As I said before, let’s part on good terms."

"You’re truly heartless." Zhang Xin blinked, tears clinging to her long lashes, looking pitiful and fragile.

Luan Nian wasn’t moved by this act.

Luan Nian was someone who couldn’t be swayed by either softness or hardness.

Once he made up his mind, even if you were the king of heaven, it wouldn’t matter.

"Compared to the rumors you spread about me, I’m much kinder." Zhang Xin had tried to ruin his reputation to force him back. Luan Nian didn’t care—his reputation wasn’t great anyway. He took out a voice recorder and showed it to Zhang Xin. "If you keep this up, we’ll see each other in court."

With that, he stood up and walked out.

Some people could end a relationship amicably, while others would make a scene. Luan Nian had witnessed the ruthlessness of women—when pushed to the edge, they would even harm themselves. Suddenly, he grew tired of intimate relationships. He had never been one to invest much in them anyway—he was simply a person with little heart. The kind of man people called a scoundrel.

He drove to the office and ran into Lumi and Alex in the elevator.

"Morning, Luke." Lumi and Alex greeted him, and then Lumi started talking about Shang Zhitao. "Flora really knows how to tough it out. That awful place we shot the commercial—I never want to go back there again. But Flora really stuck it out. The director said she took great care of the entire crew’s logistics, and on top of that, she even went out yesterday to scout new locations. Impressive."

Alex was puzzled by her sudden mention of Shang Zhitao, but since she was his team member, he felt he should praise her too. So he nodded and said, "Flora is really good, definitely someone to rely on."

Luan Nian glanced at them coolly. Their deliberate performance was rather clumsy. He looked at Lumi and slowly said, "It must be exhausting to mentor a disciple like that, right?"

Lumi was taken aback by the question. The elevator doors opened, and Luan Nian smiled at them before stepping out. What puzzled Luan Nian was how Shang Zhitao, that clueless goose, had managed to make friends in the workplace, with people finding ways to speak well of her.

He walked into his office and had just turned on his computer when a message from Shang Zhitao popped up: "Luke, I’ve scheduled a report with Alex. It’s on Tuesday, the week after next."

"? What does that have to do with me?"

"Manage upwards!" Shang Zhitao applied what she had just learned, sincerely believing Luan Nian was right—it’s all about managing upwards. Otherwise, how would your superiors know what you’ve accomplished? Waking up that morning, she suddenly had an epiphany: she needed to manage not just Alex, but also Tracy, Luke—basically, everyone who needed managing.

What if Luke finds me annoying? Shang Zhitao asked herself.

Why worry? He’s already annoyed anyway. She quickly answered her own question.

…

Is she an idiot? Luan Nian thought to himself.

Perhaps it was Lumi praising Shang Zhitao in the elevator that suddenly inspired Alex. He had Lumi quickly create a group chat on the internal network, adding the filming team, Shang Zhitao, himself, Kitty, Luan Nian, and others.

Lumi thought to herself that Alex had finally caught on and learned to use his privileges. So she wrote in the group: "Joint project—the folks on the front lines have worked hard. Please communicate any issues in the group. Alex says there’ll be extra chicken drumsticks when everyone gets back."

Everyone in the group chimed in, except for Shang Zhitao. What was she doing? Looking for extras. The creative center had discussed with the director and temporarily changed the script, requiring an elderly extra—a clean, gentle-looking, gray-haired grandmother, with very specific requirements.

Kitty said to Shang Zhitao, "Flora, we’re counting on you."

"Aren’t you guys looking?" the director asked Kitty.

Kitty shook her head: "Things like this are better handled by the marketing department."

Shang Zhitao thought it was just work, and a chance to get out and walk around—not bad at all. So she left.

She was strolling through the town, trying to find a suitable elderly extra. From one end to the other, she finally found an old woman sunbathing under an ancient tree. Shang Zhitao approached her, smiled, and said, "Granny, want to be in an ad?"

The old woman waved her hand—she didn’t understand what Shang Zhitao was saying.

After gesturing for a while with no success, Shang Zhitao simply took the old woman’s hand and led her to the set. Seeing the camera, the old woman quickly backed away, clearly frightened. Shang Zhitao had no choice but to escort her back to the tree.

Finding someone was too hard. She decided to find the driver, Liu Wu: "Could you take me to the county?"

"Let’s go."

Liu Wu drove Shang Zhitao to the county. She remembered a grandmother at the noodle shop they’d visited before who roughly fit Kitty and the director’s requirements. After a bumpy journey, they arrived and explained their purpose to the shop owner, who asked, "How much are you paying?"

"Two thousand! Originally it was one thousand, but since she’ll have to come with us to the town, the road is a bit rough." This was the first time Shang Zhitao had proactively raised the price. Old people have it tough—to earn this little money, they might get their backsides shaken to pieces. For the first time, she also felt the joy of managing funds: the freedom to decide how much to pay, within reason, felt wonderful.

"Deal!" The shop owner was overjoyed. "Wait here, I’ll go ask. If there’s no problem, you can come pick her up tomorrow!"

"Great, thank you."

Shang Zhitao was hungry. While the shop owner went to find someone, she treated Liu Wu to a bowl of noodles and even added a chicken leg for him. Seeing how much she enjoyed her meal, Liu Wu asked her, "Don’t you think some tasks shouldn’t be your responsibility?" Liu Wu thought Shang Zhitao was quite naive—no matter what work she was given, she did it without complaint, truly never picking and choosing. Kitty, on the other hand, spent her days mingling with the director without doing any real work, yet the director praised her to everyone.

"I know, but there’s nothing to do back there. Coming to the county town is nice, and there’s delicious noodles to eat."

Her phone rang, and Shang Zhitao quickly answered, hearing Lumi say, "Oh my goodness, where are you?"

"I’m looking for extras."

"Oh." Lumi hung up and called Kitty: "Where are you?"

"I’m on set!"

"What did you mean by what you said in the group chat? How is finding extras Shang Zhitao’s job?" Lumi grew angrier just thinking about it. In a group chat with the bosses present, how dare you stir the pot?

"Shang Zhitao said she could handle it."

Furious, Lumi hung up. She then posted in the group chat: "I just called Flora. Flora volunteered to take on the task of finding extras and is now on her way to the county town."

Shang Zhitao had no idea about any of this. By the time she finished discussing the scene with the elderly woman, it was already dark. They slowly drove back but encountered an unexpected problem—it started raining, and the car got stuck in the mud. Liu Wu tried many methods, but the car stubbornly remained lodged in the mud.

Liu Wu sighed, got back into the car, and began calling for roadside assistance.

In this godforsaken place, roadside assistance would take hours to arrive, and there were no passing vehicles in sight.

Surrounded by wilderness and pitch-black darkness, Shang Zhitao even thought she heard the howl of wolves. Sitting next to a man she wasn’t very familiar with, she thought it over and sent a message to Lumi: "Liu Wu and I are stranded on the road with a broken-down car."

"Right now?"

"Right now."

"Alright, I understand. I’ll let them know right away that you and Liu Wu are on the road. Liu Wu is Luke’s driver, so he should be reliable. Don’t be afraid."

Lumi reassured Shang Zhitao and then posted in the group chat: "Flora is having such a rough time—her car broke down in the middle of nowhere late at night. Even Liu Wu couldn’t do anything about it."

Luan Nian hadn’t spoken in the group chat until now. Seeing this message, he replied, "Flora has worked hard."

Lumi waited for Luan Nian to say something more considerate, but he fell silent and didn’t continue in the group chat.

He called Liu Wu: "Car broke down?"

"Yes. There are no passing vehicles, and roadside assistance won’t arrive for a few hours."

"You’ve worked hard. Take good care of Shang Zhitao. Pass the phone to her."

Shang Zhitao sat there trembling, her mind already conjuring several versions of stories about young women being murdered and abandoned in the wilderness. Taking the phone, she heard Luan Nian ask, "Are you scared?"

Shang Zhitao nodded, forgetting once again that Luan Nian couldn’t see her. But Luan Nian could roughly imagine her state—a recent graduate, trapped in the wilderness with a stranger, and brave enough not to cry.

"Liu Wu was hired after I interviewed him. He’s a retired soldier with a stable family. You don’t need to be afraid." Luan Nian spoke with rare gentleness. "Did you eat dinner?"

"I had noodles."

"Is there any cold-weather clothing in the car?"

"There's a blanket. Liu Wu gave it to me." Shang Zhitao's voice trembled with tears, but she gritted her teeth, refusing to let herself cry. She had to be strong—what was there to cry about? Yet sometimes, fear was unstoppable.

Luan Nian chuckled softly. "Shang Zhitao, not bad."

"Huh?"

"I said you're not bad—you didn't cry from fear. Though a bit foolish, at least you're brave."

"Oh." Who the hell wants to be brave? What I want is a warm bed and light!

Luan Nian wasn’t one to comfort others either. He was simply concerned about his subordinate’s safety. Having said what needed to be said, he hung up and left the office. He had dinner plans with Tan Mian that evening.

When he arrived, Tan Mian was already there, ordering dishes. Seeing him enter, Tan Mian teased, "Heard you’re juggling four women at once?"

Luan Nian shrugged, ignoring the jab. But Tan Mian pressed on. "Honestly, you should just stop dating altogether. Find a bed partner for your physical needs, no strings attached. Much better."

"Sounds good." Clearly not wanting to discuss it, Luan Nian changed the subject. "Playing ball this weekend?"

"Sure."

"No cheerleaders." Luan Nian hated cheerleaders—they were too noisy and gave him a headache.

"But cheerleaders are all pretty girls. How else are you going to find a bed partner without them?"

"Did you switch to pimping?" Luan Nian shot him a cold glance, then checked the time. It was past ten. Would Shang Zhitao be so scared she’d wet herself? The thought suddenly crossed his mind. Remembering the drama that had unfolded in the group chat earlier, he finally called Kitty. "Come back tomorrow."

"Is there urgent work?" Kitty sounded surprised by his call.

"If the extras are all being sourced by the marketing department, then there’s no point in you being there." Luan Nian didn’t mention Shang Zhitao’s name. He didn’t think he was standing up for her—it was purely about team management. In his team, those who shirked responsibility had to be replaced by those who stepped up. He was just that direct.

Kitty reacted quickly. "I should explain—it wasn’t about pushing work onto others. The script was changed last minute, and it required in-depth communication with the director. I was stretched too thin, so I asked Flora for help. I’ll be more careful in the future, Luke."

"Mm. Come back for a debrief." Luan Nian softened his tone, giving Kitty a chance to correct herself.

"You’re micromanaging something this small?" Tan Mian remarked, surprised.

Luan Nian shrugged. "Just enjoying the occasional thrill of holding power over subordinates."

"I don’t believe it."