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Luan Nian had never guarded against Shang Zhitao. If there was anyone in the company who could take him down, it would only be her. If Shang Zhitao were to casually pull out their chat records and report him to the company, he would face a career crisis.
Shang Zhitao was Luan Nian’s weakness, but also someone he trusted. He hoped she could join the planning department through the normal competitive process—but not now.
Now was not a good time.
Dony was sent by the board of directors, and within the company, two factions were at odds. Luan Nian didn’t rely on anyone; he had risen through his own abilities. One faction of the board believed that competence was key, while the other wanted to place their own people. Luan Nian remained outwardly calm, but one thing was clear: he might choose not to do the job himself, but he wouldn’t let others take it from him. At heart, he was a fighter. However, he didn’t want Shang Zhitao to get dragged into this mess.
Shang Zhitao held the bottle of water called “One Heart” to her lips but eventually set it down.
Luan Nian watched her.
She wasn’t the same naive girl fresh out of college two years ago. She had seen the facade of office politics and understood its dangers. She always listened to Luan Nian—whatever he said, she did it because she knew he had never harmed her.
“I’m not thirsty. I won’t go to the planning department, at least not until you win your battle. You don’t need to worry about whether I’ll betray you—I won’t.” Shang Zhitao unscrewed the cap and poured the water into Luke’s small bowl, calling out, “Luke, come here!”
Thirsty, Luke came over to drink. Shang Zhitao picked up the bottle Luan Nian had drunk from and finished the remaining half, then said to him, “This is what being ‘one heart’ means.”
The corner of Luan Nian’s mouth lifted slightly as he gazed toward the mountains. His hand rested on Shang Zhitao’s, and she turned her palm to meet his, their hands clasping together. Neither spoke as the gentle mountain breeze blew around them. The white-furred Luke ran joyfully in the distance, disappearing into the green grass before re-emerging moments later with a leap. They couldn’t define their relationship—they joked about being casual partners, yet deep down, they felt close and trusted each other.
Shang Zhitao’s Saturdays were usually spent walking Luke at Luan Nian’s house, after which he’d drive her and the dog home. She’d step out to study languages, eat with Sun Yuanzhu, Sun Yu, or Yao Bei, walk the dog, and study. Sundays typically involved walking Luke, studying, eating, napping, studying again, walking Luke, and eating. Occasionally, she’d take short trips with Sun Yuanzhu and the others—to places like Bashang, Baiyangdian, or Yanxi Lake, all nearby. She had grown accustomed to such weekends.
But this weekend was different. In a daze, she had agreed to Luan Nian’s invitation to the mountains. There, they enjoyed the breeze, and Luke ran freely in the hills. They found a small path, and Shang Zhitao picked up a few unknown wildflowers along the way. She loved this kind of weekend.
They lingered on the mountain until evening, then took Luke to a fishpond for dinner. Seeing the pond, Luke became ecstatic and dove straight in. Shang Zhitao screamed, “Luke!” fearing he might drown. But Luke was happily paddling, and upon spotting fish, he got excited and tried to catch them.
“You’re paying today,” Luan Nian remarked, eyeing the silly dog. Sure enough, Luke managed to retrieve two fish.
“Spit it out!” Shang Zhitao scolded him by the pond. “Hurry up!”
Luke whimpered, swam to the edge, and spat out the fish. As it flopped on the ground, the owner said, “It can’t go back into the pond now…” Before he finished speaking, Luke jumped back in.
Luan Nian pointed at Shang Zhitao and told the owner, “She’ll pay.”
Luke retrieved four fish in total, and Luan Nian didn’t settle the bill. Instead, he mocked Shang Zhitao: “Fish caught by your own dog should taste better than others’.”
Shang Zhitao carried a large bucket containing three fish—one had already been stewed by the owner. None of the fish were small, and Luke circled the bucket, barking proudly as if showing off. Shang Zhitao asked the owner for a towel and dried Luke’s fur, scolding him as she did so: “Is a pond something you just jump into? Have you ever swum before? What if you drowned?”
“Other dogs are afraid of water—why did you jump in?”
“If you jumped in, why did you try to catch fish? Do you have a problem?”
Luan Nian chimed in, “You finally realize your dog has issues.”
Luke was different from other dogs—how to put it—he was a bit silly. When the doorbell rang at Luan Nian’s house, Luke was more excited than anyone else, running out to greet visitors. Don’t even think about relying on him to guard the house.
“Luke doesn’t have any issues!”
“Didn’t you just say so yourself?”
Looking at Luke’s silly demeanor, Shang Zhitao felt a headache coming on. Raising a dog was expensive. If she hadn’t brought him to the fishpond, maybe she could’ve saved some money. Back home, Luke went straight to sleep—it didn’t need a walk today; it was exhausted.
Luan Nian rummaged through his wine cabinet, poured a little, and said to Shang Zhitao, “You should practice your driving skills. I want to drink while eating fish, and there’s no one to drive me.”
“I drive well.”
“Have you driven since crashing my car last time?”
“No.”
...
Shang Zhitao playfully moved closer to ask for a sip: “Pour me a glass?”
“No.”
“My alcohol tolerance is better now.”
Luan Nian glanced at her and poured her a tiny amount. Dissatisfied, Shang Zhitao downed it in one gulp: “More, please.”
Luan Nian poured her a bit more and, after she sipped it, asked, “Did you deliberately train your alcohol tolerance?”
“Mmm-hmm~”
“Why?”
“I should learn to drink a little, right? Otherwise, in situations where drinking is required, if I can’t, it’d be awkward and disappointing.”
“What situations require drinking?” Luan Nian asked.
“For example, with clients? With the boss?” Shang Zhitao teased him. She wouldn’t drink with clients—girls drinking could lead to trouble. She just wanted to drink with Sun Yu, Lumi, and Yao Bei. A few girls together, sipping wine and sharing stories—it was so relaxing. Luan Nian’s expression darkened, and the atmosphere grew tense as he asked, “Do you remember what I told you after that business dinner in Guangzhou?”
“I remember. You said, ‘If you can’t drink, never drink.’”
“Can you stick to that?”
Luan Nian disciplined Shang Zhitao because he didn’t want to see her conform to peer pressure. Shang Zhitao nodded: “I can. So I shouldn’t drink with the boss either!” She pushed the wine glass back to Luan Nian.
“Do you see me as your boss now?”
“Not necessarily.”
Shang Zhitao squeezed between him and the bar counter, cupping his face: “I’m going on a business trip. One roommate is testing autonomous driving in the northwest for a month or two, and the other is conducting market research in Pingyao.”
“Hmm, so?”
“Can I leave Luke with you?”
“You can send your silly dog to a kennel.”
“No way… I can’t bear to…”
“If you leave him with me, I’ll stew him.”
“Then stew me first, then stew Luke.” Shang Zhitao knew Luan Nian was just being harsh. Even when he locked Luke’s throat, he didn’t use much force—Luke thought he was playing!
“You don’t taste good.”
“Are you sure?” Shang Zhitao stepped closer, her foot on his, and Luan Nian tapped her forehead with his finger: “If it pees in the house, I’ll beat it. If it chews my things, I’ll beat it.”
“Fine.”
Finally finding a place to leave Luke, Shang Zhitao felt relieved. She truly couldn’t bear to send Luke to a kennel—she’d heard stories of kennels beating dogs. She couldn’t bear for Luke to be hurt.
When the time came for her business trip, she left with her suitcase, leaving Luke with Luan Nian without hesitation. Luan Nian attended a management meeting at the company. Dony, newly appointed, was sharp and suggested adopting new elements as the design direction for the year, claiming it would align with international standards. This completely overturned the plan Luan Nian had established last year.
Everyone looked to Luan Nian for his opinion. Last year’s strategy had no issues—the market response was excellent, and clients approved. Yet Luan Nian shrugged: “It’s just AB testing. No strategy is absolutely correct. I support Dony.”
Dony, around the same age and with similar qualifications, was unfazed in this setting and simply said, “Thank you, Luke.”
“It’s only right. I’m very happy to have you lighten my load.” With that, he began packing up his laptop: “Shall we end here today? Dony just returned to the country. Let’s go out after work. Beijing is quite fun.”
With a smile, he exited the meeting room, his thoughts unreadable. Luan Nian’s reasoning was simple: if Dony changed the strategy, he’d have to report to the board, and the board would fight among themselves—it had nothing to do with him. Arguing with Dony in the meeting was pointless; he’d rather go home and walk the dog.
He hurriedly drove home, worried that Luke might have wreaked havoc in his absence. Upon arriving, he found the house dark and quiet. Turning on the lights, he was greeted by chaos—flowerpots shattered everywhere, and Luke had chewed his carpet.
Where was Luke? It leaped up to greet him, its paws bouncing like springs. Luan Nian grabbed a slipper and chased after it. Luke barked and ran. One chased, the other fled, turning the house upside down.
Exhausted, Luan Nian sat on the sofa and waved at Luke: “Come here.”
Luke tilted its head, tongue out: “Woof! No.”
“Come here.”
“Woof! No!”
Luan Nian retrieved some dog treats Shang Zhitao had left behind, placed them on the floor, and coaxed softly: “Come, silly dog.”
How could Luke resist such temptation? It ran over, lowered its head to eat the treats, and was promptly pinned down by Luan Nian: “Still running from me? You think you can fight me?” He raised his hand to scare it but saw those round eyes filled with confusion, looking just like its foolish owner. He placed his hand on its head and rubbed forcefully, gritting his teeth: “If you wreck the house again tomorrow, you’ll become a stray dog!”
Surprisingly, Luke’s head was quite fun to play with—soft fluff. As Luan Nian rubbed its head, it rested its face on his lap, tilting its ears for him to rub. After the left ear, it tilted the right one—it was obedient, just like Shang Zhitao.
Was it true that a dog resembled its owner? As Luan Nian ate dinner, he observed Luke’s antics—it was exactly like Shang Zhitao, with that comical monkey-like face constantly smiling as if it had encountered something delightful.
There was cabbage at home. He chopped two leaves, blanched them in a frying pan, and Luke sat drooling beside him, eager to eat. What was so tasty about cabbage? Luan Nian gave it a piece, which it swallowed whole, then demanded more. Bite by bite, it ate half a cabbage.
In the evening, after Luan Nian showered, he heard Luke whining restlessly. He sternly asked, “What’s wrong, silly dog?”
Luke stared at Luan Nian, motionless, then suddenly squatted on its hind legs—and just like that… it had diarrhea… Luan Nian gagged, and before he could clean it up, Luke did it again. Just like that, Luan Nian’s house was ruined.
He called Tan Mian: “Why might a puppy have diarrhea?”
“If it’s a puppy, it could be parvovirus—it can be fatal. Take it to the vet. Did you get a dog?”
Before Tan Mian finished speaking, Luan Nian hung up and rushed Luke to the car. As much as he disliked it, it was still a dog’s life. If it died in his care, he wouldn’t be able to face Shang Zhitao. He found a 24-hour pet hospital, where they drew blood and conducted various tests. Finally, the veterinarian told Luan Nian, “It’s not parvovirus. It’s just diarrhea from eating something wrong. What did it eat?”
“Cabbage.”
“How much?”
Luan Nian thought for a moment: “Two leaves.”
“That shouldn’t cause this.” The vet prescribed medicine and instructed Luan Nian to feed it to Luke at home.
This trip cost two thousand yuan. Luan Nian thought, Shang Zhitao is so poor yet dares to keep a dog. Returning home, he saw the cleaning lady preparing to leave and tipped her an extra five hundred yuan.
After all this commotion, both were exhausted. Luke lay there looking dejected. Dogs were simple creatures—it had thought Shang Zhitao abandoned it and now felt sad. Even the next morning when Luan Nian left, it was still listless.
Luan Nian felt sorry for the dog after its bout of diarrhea. During the day, he learned online how to make dog steamed buns. When he had free time at noon, he bought ingredients. He thought the kibble smelled nice but probably tasted awful. He ground meat into a paste, chopped carrots, apples, cabbage, sausages, and other ingredients, mixed them with flour, shaped them into balls, and steamed them. Luke sat beside him, waiting patiently. Once ready, he fed it a bite, which it swallowed whole, then sat obediently waiting for more.
It gave him a sense of accomplishment.
For three consecutive days, he left work early, catching Tracy’s attention. While feeding Luke, she called him: “Are you dissatisfied with this appointment from headquarters?”
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