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Catching the tail end of autumn, they went to see the red leaves. These red leaves were different from those in Nanjing; they possessed a grandeur that came with vast mountains and rivers. The lingering gloom in her heart simply dissipated.
After descending from the mountain, the team leader suggested heading to Gui Street for dinner.
Gui Street wasn’t far from Shang Zhitao’s company, but she had never been there before, so she signed up for the group dinner with Sun Yu. Beijing was such an open city—everyone was strangers, merely exchanging glances on the mountain—but once seated at the same table, they suddenly became familiar with one another.
Sun Yu loved lively gatherings and joined the men in drinking. Chatting about all sorts of topics with a table full of unfamiliar faces was a novel experience.
Shang Zhitao only cared about the crayfish in front of her. During her university days in Nanjing, she adored eating crayfish. The crayfish there were cheaper, shipped over from Xuyi in a short time, resulting in tender and fresh meat. Sometimes, she and her roommates would buy crayfish from the market and have them cooked at a nearby small restaurant—it didn’t cost much, but it satisfied their cravings. She hadn’t eaten crayfish in a long time, and this meal finally connected her current life to her student days.
She ate quietly while listening to their conversations. Her phone rang several times, but she didn’t hear it. It wasn’t until she went to the restroom that she realized it was Alex. Alex rarely called her on weekends; he often said work hard when working, and live well when living. After work, he played harder than anyone else. If he was calling her, it must be important.
Shang Zhitao quickly returned his call: “Sorry, Alex. I didn’t hear my phone.”
“No problem. Are you free to work a bit this weekend?” Alex asked.
“I’m still out. I might get home around eleven. Will that be too late?”
“No need to turn on your computer. Our company is organizing a basketball game with a major client, and both sides need cheerleading teams. This organizational task has fallen on our department. Can you handle it?” Alex thought Shang Zhitao, being young and recently graduated, wouldn’t find cheerleading unfamiliar and could manage it effortlessly.
“Okay.” Shang Zhitao had participated in cheerleading during college, though somewhat reluctantly. She wasn’t completely unfamiliar with it, so she agreed.
Her agreement made Alex happy: “This doesn’t count as KPI, nor is it really work. I’m glad you agreed. Flora, you’re my lifesaver. I’ll have Luke contact you shortly—he’s the captain of the company’s basketball team.”
“Who?”
“Luke. He’s a great player, and this major client is also part of his network…”
“Oh.”
Shang Zhitao thought that if she didn’t resign, she’d probably never escape the “small world” phenomenon. She returned to the dinner table, continuing to munch on crayfish. When Luan Nian called, she had just taken off her gloves and stood up to answer.
Luan Nian heard the lively chatter around her—laughter overlapping among men and women—and remained silent. Young women loved excitement, and it was natural for her to spend weekends with friends.
“It’s too noisy here. Let me step outside to take your call,” Shang Zhitao said, stepping out. “Is it quieter now?”
“Yes, it’s quiet now. We’ll meet at the gym with San Tian tomorrow at three in the afternoon. You come along and check out the venue.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll send you the address later.”
“Okay.”
“Keep it simple—three minutes max. Refer to NBA cheerleading.”
The requirements were quite high—NBA-level. Shang Zhitao inwardly resisted but still responded with “okay.”
She kept saying “okay,” not mentioning the bag at all. After sleeping on it, she had figured it out—it didn’t matter. As long as she didn’t use it, the bag wasn’t something that bought her body or spirit. Using that bag to give each other a graceful exit—he gave it, she accepted it, and that was that. As for how Luan Nian viewed her, let him think what he wanted.
“Luke, just send me the address later. I’ll be there on time tomorrow. If you don’t have anything else, I’ll hang up now?”
“Mm, goodbye.”
“Bye.” This time, Shang Zhitao didn’t follow workplace etiquette and hung up first. She ran back to continue listening to their conversation. During the meal, a man kept looking at Sun Yu. Sun Yu didn’t shy away but openly looked back. After the gathering ended, the man approached Sun Yu: “Can we exchange numbers? Maybe we can hang out again sometime.”
“Sure.”
Shang Zhitao watched them exchange numbers, politely smiled at the man, and left with Sun Yu.
“He seems to like you,” Shang Zhitao said while waiting for the bus.
“Don’t flatter yourself. At most, he’s interested, or maybe he just wants to sleep with me,” Sun Yu shrugged. After her breakup, she seemed to change overnight. That night when she fell apart, she now viewed romance as a trivial matter, unaffected by pain or joy.
Sun Yu had been deeply hurt. She hadn’t fully recovered yet. Sometimes, she cried secretly at night, but the next day, she acted as if nothing happened.
“They say the best way to get over a breakup is to quickly find someone new. I’ll try to see if it works,” Sun Yu said self-deprecatingly.
“Or I could introduce you to my boss?” Shang Zhitao joked. She and her close friend chatted freely about anything: “My boss… he’s alright.”
“Alright or really something?” Sun Yu leaned closer to Shang Zhitao, observing her expression.
Shang Zhitao thought for a moment, then burst out laughing: “Really something. After sleeping with him, he even gives you a bag. I didn’t know beforehand—you should pick a bag ahead of time if you sleep with him.”
The two burst into laughter, brushing past the awkwardness of the situation.
The next day, Shang Zhitao and Sun Yu went out for grilled fish. After returning home and taking a shower, Shang Zhitao set off early for the basketball court. She disliked being late. Her father always told her not to emulate bad social habits—being punctual a few minutes early showed respect for others and herself. On the bus, Shang Zhitao memorized movie lines. Long Zhentian had assigned her homework before going out to play, saying he’d test her next week.
Alternating between reciting lines and listening to music, time passed quickly.
When she arrived, Luan Nian was already there, playing basketball. Shang Zhitao chose an inconspicuous corner and continued memorizing her lines.
Luan Nian made a shot, and as he turned, he spotted Shang Zhitao sitting in the corner. She always seemed like this—at meetings, she sat in the second row, avoided toasts, left a note after their encounter without mentioning it, accepting whatever happened without complaint.
There was no expectation of her handing him a bottle of water during halftime. It wasn’t that she lacked awareness—it was just that she assumed someone else would do it. She simply didn’t want to compete.
She focused solely on her own efforts.
Luan Nian was well aware of Shang Zhitao’s feigned nonchalance. He had seen through her from the beginning.
There are people in this world who never envy what others have, fully accepting their own limited possessions and experiences. Shang Zhitao was one of them. Luan Nian felt he had treated Shang Zhitao unfairly. There were plenty of carefree girls who wouldn’t think twice about such matters—why did he treat her this way? Did he lack women? Rarely did he feel he had done wrong. In Hong Kong, near the hotel, there was a mall. He never shopped during business trips but made an exception this time. The bag he bought wasn’t cheap—it cost more than 30,000 RMB after currency conversion.
Luan Nian refocused on the game, and when Lingmei’s people started arriving, he stepped off the court. Drenched in sweat, his hair soaked, he wiped himself with a towel and gathered everyone: “Let’s meet up.”
Shang Zhitao received earplugs and stuffed her materials into her backpack. As the only female colleague present, she was completely shielded by her male colleagues. She listened quietly as they discussed the venue and tactics. Xin Zhaozhou also played basketball and would drag Shang Zhitao to watch, explaining the rules and insisting she attend his games.
After listening for a while, she found it unrelated to her and started zoning out when she heard Luan Nian call her: “Flora.”
“Hmm?”
The male colleagues remembered Shang Zhitao behind them and chuckled, stepping aside to reveal her.
“I’ve already spoken to Alex. He’s recruiting cheerleaders from various departments,” Luan Nian informed her.
“Okay, okay.” Organizing rehearsals would be challenging—Lingmei’s unique female classmates were notoriously difficult to deal with. Shang Zhitao even feared they might fight.
“But Alex said there aren’t enough people, so you’ll need to join too,” Luan Nian added.
“What?” Shang Zhitao looked like a startled goose, eyes wide with disbelief. Me? Are you talking about me?
Apollo from the sales department laughed: “Flora, you’ll have to work hard.”
“But I don’t know how to dance.”
“You should be fine,” Luan Nian said unexpectedly. Her flexibility was excellent—she could easily handle aerobics.
Only Shang Zhitao understood the deeper meaning behind his words, flushing red instantly. Was Luan Nian teasing her? But his face remained serious, giving nothing away, as if he were making a casual comment.
“Alright, let’s wrap it up. Everyone, thank you for your hard work. Flora, stay behind—the opposing cheerleading team requested interaction. I’ll talk to them shortly. Listen in.”
“Okay.”
Everyone dispersed, leaving Shang Zhitao standing somewhat awkwardly. Luan Nian glanced at her and said: “Wait a moment. I’ll go change.”
“Okay.” Shang Zhitao caught a glimpse of Luan Nian’s biceps and chest muscles outlined under his shirt and quickly averted her gaze—out of sight, out of mind.
Luan Nian took an unusually long time to change, so long that Shang Zhitao thought he might be doing a full makeup routine like a woman. By 4:30, she finally saw him emerge in casual wear. Creative people truly had excellent taste; his outfit looked very stylish, drawing glances even from the men playing basketball inside.
“Let’s go make the call in the car. It’s noisy here.”
“Okay.”
Another “okay.”
Luan Nian didn’t say much, leading Shang Zhitao to the parking lot. Once in the car, Luan Nian’s call was abruptly cut off by the other party: “Hold on a moment.”
They sat silently in the car, neither speaking. During this time, Luan Nian received three calls—two were from women, which he handled briefly before hanging up. The third was from his mother.
Shang Zhitao held her breath, listening intently to Luan Nian’s conversation with his mother, feeling inexplicably tense. Luan Nian’s mother seemed like a kind person, possibly a doctor. She told him about treating a couple of patients, her voice tinged with sadness. Luan Nian comforted her: “You did your best.” Their mother-son relationship was warm.
At the end of the call, Luan Nian’s mother said: “Aunt Liu introduced you to a girl. Go take a look. Whether you date or not doesn’t matter, but be polite.”
“Okay.”
So even Luke needed to go on blind dates. Right, he was 28—it was time. By the end of the call, Shang Zhitao had relaxed considerably. She even perked up, showing keen interest. Luan Nian, noticing her ears twitch, casually reached out to pinch her earlobe. The warmth of his fingertips touched her burning ear, and she tilted her head to escape the strange intimacy, only to hear Luan Nian ask: “Come home with me?”
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