He Xiaoyuan and Lu Chen played together for quite a while. The few young men on the other court had already dispersed, but the two of them were still playing. He Xiaoyuan might not have been good, but his enthusiasm was sky-high.
Eventually they got tired and stopped playing, heading to the rest bench at the edge of the court.
There happened to be water in the bag by their feet. Each took a bottle and tilted their heads back, gulping it down.
Refreshing!
He Xiaoyuan was drenched in sweat from head to toe. After finishing an entire bottle of water, he felt both body and mind completely refreshed.
It had been far too long since he’d moved like this. The feeling was both unfamiliar and joyful, and even after exercising, he was still a little excited.
At the moment, he was like an owl—eyes bright and sparkling, brimming with vitality.
Lu Chen noticed it. He quietly curved his lips into a smile and continued drinking his water.
He Xiaoyuan leaned back against the bench, calming his still-rising chest. He turned his head and asked, “What are you laughing at?”
Lu Chen set down the empty water bottle, screwed the cap back on, and said, “Do you know what usually gets more excited the more it runs?”
Huh?
Lu Chen replied, “Siberian Husky.”
“……”
He Xiaoyuan laughed and complained, “Brother!”
Lu Chen continued teasing, “Alaskan Malamute, Husky, Samoyed— which one do you like?”
He Xiaoyuan’s bright eyes widened. “I’m not! None of them!”
Lu Chen stopped teasing, smiling silently. He Xiaoyuan went on drinking his water.
They sat quietly for a while, saying nothing. Lu Chen turned his head, just about to speak, when He Xiaoyuan spoke first.
“Oh right—just now, Chen Jun,” the man who brought the shoes and the ball, “he’s your butler?”
A butler!?
He hadn’t misheard, right?
He Xiaoyuan asked with curiosity, “The kind of butler I’m thinking of?”
Lu Chen gave a short “Mm.” “There are some everyday things I find troublesome to deal with myself, so I just hired someone to take care of them.”
He Xiaoyuan felt even more amazed. It was already the twenty-first century. The last time he’d heard the word ‘butler’ was in an ancient costume drama Xu Ruomeng had been watching.
He Xiaoyuan was puzzled. “Take care of what? Like what, for example?”
Lu Chen explained patiently. “For example, arranging cleaners for household chores, paying utilities and internet and all kinds of daily expenses, car maintenance and repairs, property management fees,” and so on.
He Xiaoyuan thought to himself—couldn’t you just do those things yourself?
Lu Chen saw through what he was thinking and smiled. “You can’t. This also reduces time costs and improves life efficiency.”
What else could He Xiaoyuan say?
First, it was Lu Chen’s own choice. Second, hiring a butler wasn’t spending his money.
He Xiaoyuan nodded repeatedly to show his understanding, then raised his hand and gave a thumbs-up.
Lu Chen asked what the thumbs-up meant. “Being rich is great?”
He Xiaoyuan kept his thumb up. “Great. Rich.”
Then, half-joking but half-serious, he said, “When I’m as rich as you someday, I’ll hire ten butlers!”
As he spoke, he raised both hands, spreading all ten fingers wide.
Lu Chen laughed. “What would you do with that many?”
He Xiaoyuan replied cheerfully, “Reduce the time cost of daily life and improve efficiency.”
Lu Chen said, “Old Chen’s annual salary is over three hundred thousand.”
Ten butlers would be three million.
He Xiaoyuan immediately changed his tune. “Then I’ll just pay my own utilities.”
He flipped directions as easily as a piece of grass that bends the instant the wind blows.
Yet in Lu Chen’s eyes, he was a piece of grass that was both handsome and tender.
Lu Chen’s gaze carried indulgence.
After chatting about a few other topics, no one spoke for a moment, and the space between them fell quiet again.
It was a relaxed, comfortable kind of silence—not awkward at all—the kind that only exists between people who are familiar with each other.
He Xiaoyuan leaned back against the bench, long legs stretched out, his body and mind completely at ease.
All of a sudden, he had the feeling that today had really been a good day.
He had changed dorms, moved into a new place, finished setting up the apartment, gone grocery shopping, eaten a big crab he loved, and even played basketball.
A day of rest that belonged entirely to him—doing what he wanted to do, what he needed to do, what he’d once regretted never having done—without worrying about work, without worrying whether he had enough money.
It was really nice.
So much better than before.
He Xiaoyuan felt content, genuinely happy.
In his heart he sighed, “This is really nice,” and then he said it out loud, “This is really nice.”
Lu Chen beside him looked over. He Xiaoyuan turned his head as well. When he saw Lu Chen looking at him, the young man smiled, and Lu Chen immediately understood what that “really nice” meant.
Lu Chen didn’t say anything. He lifted his hand and affectionately ruffled the young man’s hair.
—
On his first night living in the apartment, He Xiaoyuan slept exceptionally well. The next morning, at exactly eight o’clock, he woke up without an alarm.
Fifteen minutes later, refreshed and energetic, he came out of the bathroom and went to the wardrobe. He slid the door open and took out a dress shirt and a suit.
Before long, neatly dressed, He Xiaoyuan walked briskly down the loft stairs to the first floor.
He picked up the remote control from the low cabinet beside the stairs, aimed it at the window, and pressed a button. The motorized curtains—over six meters high—slowly parted to either side, revealing the daytime view outside and announcing the arrival of a new day.
He Xiaoyuan glanced outside, his mood bright.
Before nine o’clock, He Xiaoyuan appeared downstairs at the company.
Basking in the sunlight and facing the towering Sipu building, he thought happily: Living close really is great—this fast and I’m already at work.
Entering the department, full of energy and smiling, he greeted his colleagues. “Morning.”
…
There was still some wrap-up work left on the Barre project—nothing difficult, just minor details—and handling it felt effortless.
He Xiaoyuan began thinking about what kind of work he should take on next.
Perhaps because the Barre project had wrapped up so successfully, lately several executives—Yu Xun, Xue Jinming, Xiao Qiyi, and even Chang Bei—had been frequently inviting him to join their projects.
He Xiaoyuan didn’t act on impulse, nor did he get dizzy from the bosses’ enthusiasm and pick one at random.
He started reviewing those projects through the OA system, wanting to choose a suitable case based on the actual situation of the projects and his own circumstances.
He didn’t rush this process. He moved forward steadily, step by step. The Barre project was finishing up anyway, and he also wanted to take the chance to relax for a few days after tying up loose ends, without pushing himself too hard.
So over the next few days, if there was work at the company, he went in. If there wasn’t much to do, he slipped out—either to practice Subject Three for his driver’s license, or to play basketball.
Subject Three wasn’t hard. After driving a few times, he got the feel for it—daring to step on the gas and knowing how to check the mirrors and change lanes was enough.
As for basketball, he went to the same court where he’d run into Lu Chen before. If he went during the day, there was basically no one there. In the afternoon, there would be five or six younger guys—faces still carrying a strong student vibe, high schoolers.
They weren’t very perceptive. Seeing that He Xiaoyuan was also young and playing basketball, they assumed he was just another nearby college student like them. After running into each other a few times, they grew familiar and started playing together.
“You’re really bad,” the boys teased him bluntly.
He Xiaoyuan really was bad, but playing together was much more fun than playing alone. He didn’t mind the high schoolers’ trash talk—bad was bad.
Besides, these boys were incredibly easy to win over for He Xiaoyuan. Buy them water a few times, grab some ice cream from the nearby convenience store, and they immediately started calling him “bro” sweetly. In casual conversation, they also learned that He Xiaoyuan wasn’t a student but a nearby office worker.
One of the boys was puzzled and asked him, “You don’t work on weekdays? You can just come out and play basketball?”
He Xiaoyuan fooled them. “Because I’m management.”
“Wow~~”
The boys didn’t believe him. “You’re lying.”
Mainly because He Xiaoyuan didn’t look much older than them—he was too young.
He Xiaoyuan smiled. “I’m serious.”
One day, he even deliberately brought business cards to show them.
The boys crowded together to look at the cards. “Wow~!”
Sipuprise!
“You’re a manager!”
He Xiaoyuan said, “See? I didn’t lie.”
One of the boys gave him a thumbs-up. He Xiaoyuan was laughing inside, thinking that high schoolers were really too easy to fool.
A couple of days later, Lu Chen—who had found out that He Xiaoyuan had been slipping out to play basketball—also came by. When he arrived, he was surprised to see He Xiaoyuan playing together with a group of high schoolers.
And the boys, still utterly lacking in social awareness, kept calling He Xiaoyuan “bro.” Seeing that Lu Chen had a steady aura and was clearly older, no one knew how their thought process worked, but they collectively opened their mouths and called him “uncle”—
“Hey, that uncle over there!”
Lu Chen: “……”
He Xiaoyuan nearly died laughing. He introduced Lu Chen to the boys, saying that Lu Chen was his boss. The boys immediately went “Wow~~” again. They stopped calling him uncle and switched to calling him leader instead—
“Leader, pass the ball, pass the ball!”
“Thanks, leader, for the water!”
He Xiaoyuan was drenched in sweat from playing. While wiping his forehead, he handed a bottle of water to Lu Chen and joked with a grin, “Leader Uncle, have some water.”
Lu Chen took the bottle, quietly sweeping his gaze over He Xiaoyuan. After savoring the moment, he caught a hint of something—like the young man had slipped back into his student days, freely sweating it out on the court, youthful and spirited.
Lu Chen liked it very much. Not because he liked youthfulness or a student vibe, but because he liked this He Xiaoyuan.
He drank his water, saying nothing at first, silently sketching the scene before him with his eyes.
After a while, still drinking, he finally said to He Xiaoyuan, “Stop calling me random things.”
He Xiaoyuan teased, “Which one counts as random—leader, or uncle?”
He knew perfectly well.
Lu Chen raised his hand and pinched He Xiaoyuan’s chin. “It’s fine if those kids call me that. You too?”
There was unmistakable indulgence in his tone, the kind of closeness that only exists between familiar people.
Then Lu Chen added, “You really get along with high school kids that well?”
He Xiaoyuan smiled back. “I don’t know. We didn’t do anything else—just played basketball together.”
They just happened to be at the same court.
Since they were already talking about it, He Xiaoyuan took the initiative to continue. “We added each other on WeChat and even made a group chat. At first I thought it was for scheduling games. Turns out they wanted me to help with homework.”
Amusing and helpless.
But Lu Chen could tell—both from what he saw and what he heard—that He Xiaoyuan was actually quite happy.
Maybe because he had people to play basketball with?
Or maybe because he was meeting more people, his life gradually getting back on track?
Lu Chen understood. His gaze softened as he looked at He Xiaoyuan. “As long as you’re happy.”
He Xiaoyuan looked bright and open, jokingly complaining, “Not at all. I already graduated college, and now I still have to recall the binomial theorem.”
Lu Chen followed along. “Is the binomial theorem hard?”
He Xiaoyuan was speechless. “Brother, you should just drink your water.”
Say less. Please stop showing off.
Lu Chen laughed. He Xiaoyuan laughed too.
That day, He Xiaoyuan again slipped out during some free time to play basketball. Afterward, he went back to the apartment to shower and change clothes, then returned to the office.
He had just sat down when Yu Xun, who was standing in the aisle chatting with Chang Bei with an arm draped over his shoulder, turned his head, looked at He Xiaoyuan, and asked in confusion, “Did you shower?”
He Xiaoyuan explained, “I was sweating, so I went back to wash up.”
Yu Xun asked casually, “What were you busy with?”
He Xiaoyuan didn’t hide it. Everyone in the office knew he was half-working, half-resting lately. “Playing ball.”
The moment Yu Xun heard “playing ball,” his interest was piqued. “Nearby? There’s a court around here?”
He Xiaoyuan said there was and described the location roughly.
Yu Xun nodded. “Oh, that place. Yeah, that’s pretty close.”
He turned back to continue chatting with Chang Bei. The conversation didn’t seem important. After a while, he turned around again and asked He Xiaoyuan, “What kind of ball do you play—tennis? Badminton?”
“Basketball,” He Xiaoyuan replied.
Yu Xun’s eyes lit up in surprise. “Basketball!”
That was perfect—he liked basketball too.
“We should play together sometime,” Yu Xun said with a grin.
It was rare to find someone in the office who also played basketball.
Still busy with his work, He Xiaoyuan replied, “Sure. We can set something up when we’re free.”
Yu Xun was just about to turn back when he suddenly remembered something. He looked at He Xiaoyuan again, suddenly animated. “Then you can play in the tournament with me!”
He Xiaoyuan: ?
Tournament?
Not long after, Yu Xun sent him a private message through the OA system, attaching an image.
He Xiaoyuan opened it and saw text announcing an upcoming CBD district basketball friendly league.
He stared at the screen in surprise. There really was a tournament? In the CBD? Against other companies?
Yu Xun: Xiaoyuan, are you in?
Yu Xun: Come join.
Yu Xun: Let’s do it together.
Yu Xun: Bring glory to Sipu!
He Xiaoyuan didn’t agree right away and asked first: Does our company have a basketball team? Anyone else?
Yu Xun: Of course we do.
Yu Xun: This tournament’s been around for years. HR mobilizes people every year, and some sign up on their own.
He Xiaoyuan: You’ve participated before, President Yu?
Yu Xun: Yeah. I treat it like exercise. Better than sitting in the office all day.
Yu Xun: So? You in?
He Xiaoyuan thought about it. He had time lately, was already in the mood to play ball, and had never participated in a tournament before. Okay.
The moment he agreed, Yu Xun was at his desk, instantly. He didn’t forget to say to Chang Bei across the aisle, “Don’t need you anymore. I’ve got Xiaoyuan now.”
Chang Bei snorted.
Only then did He Xiaoyuan realize that Yu Xun’s “claws” had originally been reaching for Chang Bei for the tournament. Chang Bei had been too lazy, too busy, completely unmoved—and He Xiaoyuan had delivered himself right to the door.
Feeling both amused and helpless, He Xiaoyuan immediately clarified, “I just started playing again recently. I’m really bad.”
Yu Xun waved it off. “No problem. I’m bad too. Playing twice a month already counts as a lot for me. At least you’re skinny and tall. I’m not even as tall as you, and I’ve got a belly.”
He Xiaoyuan asked how soon the tournament was and whether the team was complete.
Yu Xun said, “It’s all set. I’ll pull you into the group.”
That evening, since He Xiaoyuan already had plans to play basketball with the guys from the court, he simply brought Yu Xun along to get some practice in together.
The result—Yu Xun had barely arrived when the boys looked at him and said to He Xiaoyuan, “Another uncle showed up.”
Yu Xun: ?????
Uncle?
Uncle!?
Yu Xun was not having it. He thought, I’m only thirty-one, damn it. What are these little brats calling me?
Seeing Yu Xun glaring angrily at the boy who had called him uncle, He Xiaoyuan rushed over to intervene, trying to smooth things over with a laugh. “They’re kids. All kids. The oldest one’s only a junior in high school.”
Then he added, “Later I’ll buy some snacks and water. They’ll even call you Dad if you want.”
Yu Xun: Infuriating!
A few days later, He Xiaoyuan, Yu Xun, and several other male colleagues formed a temporary squad and went together to participate in the tournament.
It was a pretty casual competition, but it was organized quite formally—there was a dedicated indoor court, and even the referees were professional hires.
Sipu was flush with cash. The Human Resources Department specially allocated funds to order uniform jerseys for the team—white, with numbers on the front and names on the back.
Once they put them on, the other members of the small squad each had their own look. It wasn’t that they looked bad, but the aura of office workers didn’t quite match basketball jerseys. Yu Xun especially—his hair slicked straight back with styling wax—looked like he and the uniform belonged to two completely different worlds.
Only He Xiaoyuan was different. After changing, he looked just like those young upperclassmen who played ball on college courts—tall, handsome, youthful, and full of presence. The rest of the squad was green with envy.
When it was time to take the court, the spectators in the indoor arena—the colleagues from various CBD companies who had come to watch—caught sight of He Xiaoyuan in Sipu’s white number ten jersey and collectively let out gasps of amazement.
So handsome!
In the stands, Xu Ruomeng, who had come specifically to watch He Xiaoyuan play, covered her mouth as she screamed internally: Xiaoyuan is insanely handsome today!
After her silent screaming, she heard two girls beside her discussing Sipu’s number ten. She immediately turned her head and said, “His name is He Xiaoyuan. He’s our colleague at Sipu, not a hired ringer.”
The two girls were excited. “Your company has someone that handsome?”
Xu Ruomeng was just as excited. “Of course! He’s the kind of guy who gets secretly photographed just walking to the cafeteria, and the pictures get shared in every big and small company group chat.”
One of the girls asked, “Does he have a girlfriend?”
Or a boyfriend?
Xu Ruomeng replied, “Single.”
The two girls: “Wow!”
On the court, the game began with the sound of the whistle…
It was He Xiaoyuan’s first time playing in an actual match. Bad as he was, he played with total focus and still managed to score a few baskets.
When the first twelve-minute quarter ended, he received a message from Lu Chen asking how the game was going.
He Xiaoyuan hadn’t had his phone on him. He only saw it during halftime, while resting, and replied:
【I scored.】
【Not bad.】
【Little dinosaur hopping around.jpg】
The other members of the small squad were also resting and checking their phones.
Yu Xun complained, “Seriously, you still have to reply to work messages at a time like this?”
Another teammate said, “That’s pure corporate slave life.”
As they were talking, three young women walked over together from not far away, clearly heading straight for He Xiaoyuan. The one in front held up her phone, leaned in, and said something to him—it looked like she wanted to add him on WeChat.
The rest of the squad: well, well, well.
The man who had just complained about corporate slave life said, “This counts as corporate slave life too?”
Yu Xun glanced over, drinking water, and said slowly, “This is called the power of being ridiculously handsome.”
……
Over that weekend, Saturday and Sunday, they played a total of three games. In the third match, they fell three points behind the opposing company and were eliminated.
Everyone took it in stride. A loss was a loss—it was just a friendly tournament, played for fun.
As usual, they shook hands with the opposing team afterward. Just like in the previous two games, after the handshakes everyone clustered together to add each other on WeChat, exchanging polite, familiar remarks about playing ball or having a meal together sometime.
They were all office workers, so once contact was made, a bit of extra chatting was inevitable—especially since Yu Xun was naturally skilled at social interactions.
When others exchanged pleasantries and praised He Xiaoyuan for being young and handsome, Yu Xun would sling an arm over He Xiaoyuan’s shoulder and say, “You know Meow Wu Meow, right? That’s his project.”
That single sentence instantly made He Xiaoyuan the center of attention—the focal point of the conversation, the person everyone was paying attention to.
And with Meow Wu Meow as the topic, the conversation flowed naturally.
They stood right there on the court chatting.
On the surface it looked casual—and it really was—but beneath it was the unmistakable purpose of workplace adults using the opportunity to expand their networks. Call it utilitarian if you want, but it was also genuinely practical. Adults don’t talk about purity in relationships; they talk about usefulness.
He Xiaoyuan had originally just come to play a game. It was his first time realizing that participating in events like this could also be a way to expand his own professional network.
He handled it well—calm and natural, neither humble nor arrogant. With Meow Wu Meow as his “representative work” and a big platform like Sipu behind him, everyone was willing to regard him highly and didn’t dare slight him.
While keeping all this in mind, He Xiaoyuan quietly reflected and summarized his experience. He knew that if similar occasions came up in the future, he could also take the initiative to build connections. At the same time, he was genuinely happy to meet and get to know professionals outside his own company.
As he chatted and joked with others, He Xiaoyuan also discreetly observed how Yu Xun navigated social interactions with such ease, determined to learn whatever strengths he could.
All in all, it was a fulfilling, happy weekend—and he gained something from it.