"Li Huanming, please pour me a glass of water!"
"Li Huanming, help me go to the printing room and grab a document."
"Huanming, could you help me follow up on this case? Today is my girlfriend's birthday, so I might need to slip out early."

In every company, there is always one or more people universally recognized by colleagues as the "pushover nice guy."

And at We Fashion, that person was named Li Huanming.

Li Huanming was truly exceptionally ordinary.
He was of average height and very skinny—shriveled, even. With his sunken eyes and two eyeglass lenses thick enough to rival the bottoms of beer bottles, he was the absolute textbook definition of "blending perfectly into the crowd."

His home was in a remote rural village, and his family's financial conditions weren't great. Unlike many of his local Jianghu City colleagues, he couldn't afford to frequently treat everyone to milk tea or snacks.
Furthermore, he didn't belong to the category of people with exceptionally outstanding looks or abilities. Therefore, in order to be "liked" in the office, this honest man voluntarily took on many miscellaneous chores.

"Huanming, could you help me go downstairs and grab my takeout?"

Xiao Xiao had just returned from a grand gala event. As soon as she walked through the door, she heard a young girl in the office trying to boss Li Huanming around as free labor again.

"No!"
Xiao Xiao firmly rejected the unreasonable request on Li Huanming's behalf.

She was a Sichuan-Chongqing girl, feisty and hot-tempered, but with a very good heart. The thing she hated most was seeing people deliberately bullying an honest person.

However, to be able to become the Editor-in-Chief at such a young age, Xiao Xiao naturally wasn't someone with zero emotional intelligence who only knew how to offend people.

Right after delivering a decisive "No!", she immediately shot an exaggerated wink at the disgruntled girl. "Darling, as a text editor, you're sealed inside this office all day; you're about to turn into a soulless typing machine! Why don't you take this opportunity to grab your takeout and go for a stroll downstairs? Besides, you dressed so beautifully today. Staying cooped up in the office all day—isn't that a waste?"

Coaxed back into a smile by her few words, the girl smoothed her dress and asked uncertainly, "Does it really look good? I bought it online!"

"Of course!" Xiao Xiao affirmed confidently. "I did work at a top fashion conglomerate before, you know!"

After graduating from college, Xiao Xiao had worked at a highly renowned domestic fashion magazine, so her aesthetic sense was always on point.

The praised girl happily hummed a little tune, walked out of the office, and went to get her takeout herself.

"Thank you, Chief Editor Xiao." Still holding the document he had just fetched for someone else, a fleeting, bashful smile appeared on Li Huanming's face. "You're always helping me out of a tight spot."

At this moment, it happened to be mealtime, leaving only the two of them in the office.
The smile on Xiao Xiao's face faded a bit. With a look that mourned his misfortune but raged at his lack of fighting spirit, she rolled her eyes at Li Huanming. "I am completely speechless at you."
Although she claimed to be speechless, she couldn't resist lecturing him: "Li Huanming, could you please properly recognize your own position? You are an official employee, not an errand boy!"

Li Huanming smiled shyly: "It's all work for the editorial office; it's the same no matter who does it."

"I can't be bothered with you!" This time, Xiao Xiao didn't even bother giving him an eye roll. Tossing him a view of the pitch-black back of her pinned-up hair, she took large strides into the Editor-in-Chief's office.

For today's interview, she had worn a pair of beautiful but truly blistering high heels. Only after changing into sneakers in the inner room did Xiao Xiao feel like she had come back to life a little.

Pulling out her phone—which she had put on silent for work—she couldn't help but jump in shock. Several missed calls were one thing, but her messaging app indicated that a contact saved as [Life-Claiming Zhou the Skinflint] had sent her N consecutive messages.

She hurriedly called him back.

This "Zhou the Skinflint" was Xiao Xiao's direct superior, surnamed Zhou. He had earned this glorious title because, exactly like the greedy landlord "Zhou Bapi" from the famous folktale, he was harsh to his subordinates and loved exploiting them.
When it came to dealing with this person, Xiao Xiao was quite experienced.

The moment the call connected, she opened with a barrage of highly sincere self-condemnation. Just as she was preparing to deliver a short thesis on "why she couldn't reply to his messages and calls immediately," Zhou the Skinflint on the other end acted completely out of character. Not only did he interrupt the "short thesis" he usually loved hearing the most, but he also told her to cut the useless crap and hurry up and prepare.

Utterly bewildered, Xiao Xiao thought: Prepare what?

On the other end of the line, seeing she still hadn't grasped the situation, Zhou the Skinflint grew a bit anxious, his tone sharpening: "Aiya, President Chu—Chu Huainan—is arriving any minute!"

Chu Huainan?
Instantly, Xiao Xiao's thoughts became a chaotic, jumbled mess.

Because of a single email and a single news article, she had already been interrogated in turns by two different forces over the past few days—capital and the police.

Admittedly, working in the entertainment sector wasn't bad. Not only was the income generous, but she could also use the excuse of work to have close contact with the idols and artists she loved from time to time, mixing public duty with personal gain.

But back in college, Xiao Xiao's original intention in majoring in journalism was to become a reporter—the kind dedicated to reporting social news.

By sheer coincidence, last week, an email completely unrelated to entertainment was actually sent to the inbox she dedicated solely to receiving tips and scoops.
Although the nature of the news was different, this tip was simply far more explosive than some highly popular young actor suddenly announcing a romance!

The email tipster vowed with absolute certainty that in the "pedestrian street body-dumping case" currently causing a nationwide uproar, the fingerprint on the note left at the scene belonged to Li Guangqiang—the killer from the "random murder case" that occurred at the exact same location fifteen years ago.

Upon receiving this email, the highly perceptive Xiao Xiao made a prompt and decisive judgment. Rapidly employing the characteristic shadow-chasing, mystifying style of gossip tabloids, she ambiguously published a probing news article.

This article acted like a massive bomb dropped right into the masses, who were already intensely agitated over the murder case!

Overnight, the volume of discussion regarding the owner of the fingerprint skyrocketed, almost reaching world-shocking proportions! Not only did mainstream media report on it sequentially and dig deeper, but even foreign internet outlets featured long articles about the mainland's Ghost Slayer.

Under the heavy pressure of public opinion, the police had no choice but to tacitly admit that the fingerprint did indeed belong to Li Guangqiang.

An entertainment editor managing to excavate the latest news on such a massive, vicious criminal case faster than anyone else!
In her small circle, Xiao Xiao practically became famous overnight. Relying on this single report, she effortlessly completed her KPIs for the entire year.
Even the usually stingy Zhou the Skinflint exceptionally and generously issued her a massive bonus.
But not long after receiving the bonus, trouble followed close behind.

First, it was Yuannan's Chu Huainan, who suddenly specifically requested to see her.

For Xiao Xiao, this could be considered an utterly unprepared "audience with the Emperor."

God knows how fast poor Xiao Xiao's heart beat when she saw the man in person. —Half out of sheer terror, and half out of being utterly starstruck.

Although she didn't pay much attention to financial news, as someone on the fringes of the entertainment industry who was exceptionally sensitive to handsome men, her impression of Chu Huainan was incredibly profound!

After all, the other party wasn't just some ordinary rich guy who frequently showed his face on financial channels!
With a face like that, even if he debuted as an idol, he could single-handedly sustain massive hordes of fangirls and auntie fans.

Fortunately, the capitalist Chu Huainan—who had been described by Zhou the Skinflint as someone who eats people without spitting out the bones—was actually very gentlemanly in person.
When someone is that good-looking, even their appearance during an "interrogation" makes the "interrogee" feel very pleased to the eye.

Xiao Xiao didn't know that her boss, Zhou Zhen, had actually tried to protect her initially. He only sold her out when he truly couldn't withstand the pressure from Yuannan.

However, Xiao Xiao herself wasn't someone with strong willpower either. Faced with "such beauty," she was highly cooperative. Within a few sentences, she handed over absolutely every piece of information she had regarding the tipster.

Yet, not long after, the police suddenly visited, subjecting her to a private interrogation once again.
Fortunately, the criminal investigator who came to question her wasn't nearly as stern and difficult to deal with as those depicted in TV dramas. The officer not only had a sweet appearance but also, coincidentally enough, happened to be her good sister from the same fan group who passionately shipped the real-life CP of Lu Xinghe and Lin Youfei.

Although this "sister," due to the special nature of her work, had always claimed in the group chat that she was a college student... Xiao Xiao had always been exceptionally tolerant of fellow fans. Not only did she understandingly forgive the other's white lie, but she was also incredibly cooperative, telling her everything she knew without holding back a single word.

Under Pan Xiaozhu's pressing question, "Do you have anything else to add?", she lowered her eyes, thought for a few seconds, and decisively confessed the fact that Chu Huainan had also come looking for the tipster earlier.

Could it be that Chu Huainan is coming this time because I "tattled" on him to the police last time?

Suspecting Chu Huainan was coming to settle the score, Xiao Xiao rebooted her crashed brain, let out a dry laugh, and asked: "Boss, why is President Chu coming again? Everything I know about what he asked last time, I've already told him!"

This small temple of We Fashion had already welcomed several rounds of great bodhisattvas within the span of a single short week. She truly didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse.
Zhou Zhen, already highly annoyed, snapped back: "If you're asking me, who the hell am I supposed to ask?"
He was just about to add a few more words when he spotted a car suspected to be Chu Huainan's pulling up to the building's entrance. He hastily said: "I'm not talking to you anymore, he's here. Hurry up and prepare yourself!"

That iron-gray convertible Bentley bore the highly conspicuous license plate [Jiang A00000].

Everyone in Jianghu City knew that this was the "ancestral" license plate of the Chu family from Yuannan.

As the owner of Jianghu City's very first Ferrari, Chu Qiaoxin had specifically chosen the plate [Jiang A00000] for that memorable sports car back in the day.
From then on, [Jiang A00000] became the exclusive license plate representing the vehicle of the Chu family's current head.

As soon as the car parked, Zhou Zhen rushed forward, his face full of smiles, wanting to open the door for Chu Huainan. Unexpectedly, someone else beat him to it.

Chu Huainan stepped out of the car. Looking up, he met a pair of slightly raised, smiling eyes.

Shen Ting opened the door for him with one hand, while his other hand tugged lightly at the decorative chain on his gold-rimmed glasses. He teased, "Oh, you're here? I've been waiting for you for ages."

First thing in the morning, Chu Huainan skipped his company's morning meeting and headed straight for We Fashion.
Before leaving the house, he specifically went to check on the guest who had stayed the night.
The young man smiling slyly before him had clearly still been sleeping in the guest room at that time. He hadn't expected him to arrive here even earlier than himself.

As if seeing through his doubts, the raised corners of Shen Ting's eyes lowered, forming a half-oval smiling arc: "Jianghu City's morning rush hour is terrifying."
His eyes gleamed with a cunning cleverness. "I took the subway."

Seeing Chu Huainan purse his lips into a knowing smile, Shen Ting complained, half-joking and half-serious: "President Chu, you're really not being a bro! After we 'exchanged so much' last night, you actually went behind my back and sneaked over here by yourself today!"
The word "exchanged" was deliberately emphasized, making what was actually a perfectly innocent overnight stay sound highly ambiguous.

Chu Huainan recalled the accident from last night, then looked at the slightly reddened tips of the young man's ears and cheeks before him. He said with extreme consideration: "I kept you up late yesterday, so I couldn't bear to wake you up this morning."

This time it was his turn to put a heavy emphasis on "couldn't bear." His palm covered the hand that was still gripping the car door handle. Perhaps because he had been waiting in the cold wind for a while, the back of his hand was a bit cold.

Applying slight pressure, Chu Huainan used Shen Ting's hand to gently push the car door shut.

The hand encased in his palm struggled somewhat uncooperatively. The force was insufficient, and the door didn't close completely.
The smart soft-close door immediately emitted a soft hiss as it automatically pulled itself shut, locking tightly against the car body—just like the hand Chu Huainan had pressed against the back of his, refusing to let go once it had grasped on.

Continuing tomorrow at midnight~ Love you all!

Blending perfectly into the crowd / Min ran yu zhong ren (泯然于众人): A famous phrase from the classical Chinese essay The Injury of Zhongyong (伤仲永), describing a child prodigy who, due to lack of education, eventually loses his talent and becomes utterly ordinary, indistinguishable from the masses.

Zhou the Skinflint / Zhou Bapi (周扒皮): Literally "Zhou who peels the skin," a famous fictional greedy landlord from modern Chinese literature who was infamously cruel and exploitative to his workers.

Audience with the Emperor (进京面圣): A historical term meaning traveling to the capital to meet the Emperor face-to-face; used here metaphorically because of Chu Huainan's overwhelming status.

Great bodhisattvas (菩萨): As noted previously, used sarcastically to describe highly powerful VIPs who cause massive disruption when they visit small or ordinary places.

Chu Qiaoxin (楚常新): The raw text briefly writes "Chu Changxin" here, but in previous chapters, the grandfather is named "Chu Qiaoxin" (楚乔新). So I translated it as Qiaoxin to maintain character consistency.