At lunch, Group One and Three had already exchanged plenty about rotations and departmental work. The boys agreed—Group Three’s girls were impressively open-minded.
Unlike Group Two, they didn’t isolate other teams. They shared what they knew and actively asked Group One for information.
Ge Luming said: “There’s only one first place, and the 400,000 reward is right, but rotation scores aren’t like a final exam. High scores get good departments, lower scores get slightly less. No need to compete to the death. In the end, we’ll all be colleagues in the same company. Being polite and friendly is better than tearing each other apart.”
Ge Luming shared her views on rotations, departments, and business insights. He Xiaoyuan listened, increasingly aware that among strong players, there were always stronger ones.
After lunch, back in the office, Yuan Miao leaned back in her chair, sighing: “One Qin Chengfei, now add Ge Luming—life’s tough… surrounded by masters.”
Yuan Miao: “Xiaoyuan, your thoughts?”
He Xiaoyuan: “Give it my all.”
Yuan Miao straightened up energetically: “Exactly! Give it our all!”
Back to work.
In the evening, after some overtime, He Xiaoyuan packed up to head down to the shuttle. From behind, he heard Ge Luming call: “He Xiaoyuan.”
He turned; she jogged up, mid-heeled shoes, bag slung over her shoulder.
“You live in the company dorm too?” she chatted casually. “I applied as well. Perfect, let’s take the shuttle together.”
Walking toward the shuttle, they chatted casually.
Near the shuttle, He Xiaoyuan remembered: “Ge Luming, can I take a look at your perfect-score assignment?”
Ge Luming paused: “Now?”
Of course, he didn’t mean immediately. She quickly replied: “Sure, let’s find a coffee shop or KFC.”
He Xiaoyuan: ?
Ge Luming smiled brightly, eyes crescent-shaped: “Big handsome, you don’t just want the assignment, do you? Not going to interact with the author?”
He Xiaoyuan froze.
She continued: “Just joking, don’t mind me. I can be ‘aggressive’ sometimes.”
He Xiaoyuan caught on and said: “Then let’s find a place to sit. I’ll treat you to a late snack.”
Ge Luming: “Alright, but let’s skip the late-night meal. Take me to the nearby KFC—I love their egg tarts.”
They skipped the shuttle and went to the KFC near the company.
On the way, Ge Luming said frankly: “I could just send you the assignment, but you’re so handsome, I didn’t want to miss this chance to hang out.”
Before He Xiaoyuan could react, she added: “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not up to anything—just genuinely appreciating your looks.”
He Xiaoyuan smiled, thinking it was a mutually beneficial arrangement in a unique way.
At KFC, he bought a box of six egg tarts, two milk teas, and sat across from her.
Ge Luming logged into her cloud drive on He Xiaoyuan’s laptop and downloaded the perfect-score assignment, then focused on eating. He Xiaoyuan focused on reviewing the work.
Afterward, they discussed the assignment and naturally moved into conversations about rotations and other departments.
While they were at KFC for about half an hour, He Xiaoyuan received a message from Lu.
Holding the phone, he smiled at the sender.
He Xiaoyuan: 【Almost done.】
Proactively: 【Having a little “sparring” with top players from other groups.】
Lu: 【At the company?】
He Xiaoyuan: 【KFC near the company.】
Lu: 【It’s late, no more shuttle, right?】
He Xiaoyuan: 【No worries, the top players also live in the dorms. We’ll grab a ride together later.】
Lu: 【Then why meet outside?】
He Xiaoyuan: 【Girls, not convenient.】
After sending this, Lu didn’t reply immediately.
A moment later, He Xiaoyuan’s phone vibrated—Lu called with a voice message.
He Xiaoyuan, not wanting to disturb Ge Luming, stood and stepped out of KFC.
Facing the night breeze and city lights, he pressed “answer,” holding the phone to his ear: “Lu.”
Lu Chen: “It’s not just inconvenient because of the dorm. It’s late, and being alone together with a girl… also not appropriate.”
He Xiaoyuan laughed, surprised that Lu started off with a “lecture”: “It’s fine, we’re just colleagues, and we haven’t gone anywhere private, just at KFC.”
Lu Chen’s voice came low and calm: “Private place?”
He Xiaoyuan laughed: “I was just saying that.”
Lu: “Mm,” then reminded him, “It’s late, finish up and head back soon.”
He Xiaoyuan: “I know, I’ll leave in a bit. Lu, are you off work?”
Lu: “Got some things to handle outside.”
At the KFC, Ge Luming looked up from the screen, didn’t see He Xiaoyuan, and curiously scanned around. She soon realized he was standing outside, talking on the phone.
Observing him, she noted his expression—bright and relaxed, nothing like the reserved, subdued first impression. She knew he was speaking with someone familiar.
Friend?
Not a girlfriend, surely?
Her mind raced—actually, it could even be a boyfriend.
After leaving KFC, while sharing a taxi back to the dorm, Ge Luming asked bluntly: “He Xiaoyuan, can I ask… are you straight or gay?”
He Xiaoyuan froze.
Straight or gay? Was she asking if he was… a gay?
He didn’t answer immediately, just blinked at her.
Ge Luming laughed: “Why that reaction? Is it awkward to ask?”
“No, not at all,” he said, calm.
He then countered with a teasing question: “I don’t look straight?”
Ge Luming suddenly realized: the handsome guy isn’t gay.
She waved her hands quickly: “No, no! You know, these days, lots of guys aren’t straight. I just wanted to be clear to avoid misunderstandings later.”
Misunderstandings?
She explained: “Say you’re single and I know someone suitable. If I don’t know your orientation, how would I know whether to introduce girls or boys to you?”
Ah, that made sense.
He Xiaoyuan teased: “Or don’t introduce anyone at all.”
She grinned and gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up: “No problem!”
He Xiaoyuan thought quietly: he definitely wasn’t gay. Over all these years, he’d never felt anything for another guy. As for girls… he’d never had a crush either. His instinct told him his orientation was straight.
His thoughts shifted: right! Small appliances, the fridge. Busy all day, he’d forgotten to check online.
Back at the dorm, stepping out of the elevator, key in hand, he saw a stack of boxes piled at the door.
Delivery?
A prank?
He moved closer, noticing a note: these were delivered to Room 1701 by the property management because no one could be reached by phone during the day.
He was surprised—all his? All deliveries?
Seeing the appliance logos, he realized: fridge? egg cooker? Was this from Lu Chen?
He Xiaoyuan carried the boxes inside, sending Lu a message to confirm if he had arranged these through the company.
Lu: 【Back at the dorm? See them?】
He Xiaoyuan: 【So many!】
He sent a voice note: “Thanks, Lu.”
He had told Lu not to trouble himself, yet Lu still arranged it.
Lu replied with another voice note: “Check if you’re missing anything. Anything else, tell me.”
He Xiaoyuan thought while unpacking: how could there be anything missing? The dorm might not even fit all of this.
Boxes opened: egg cooker, microwave, blender, and more. A fridge stood chest-high.
He placed the fridge by the desk, smaller appliances on the kitchen counter. Everything seemed complete.
He snapped a group photo and sent it to Lu: 【Photo】【All set.】
For emphasis, he added jokingly: 【Feels like I could make a full banquet.】
Lu’s voice note: “Then what you’re missing isn’t small appliances, it’s a proper kitchen.”
He Xiaoyuan laughed into his phone: “Just joking. All set, thanks, Lu.”
He sent a message: 【I don’t even know how to thank you for this.】
Lu replied plainly: “Simple. Get first place in the assessment. Show everyone how good my guidance is.”
He Xiaoyuan laughed while replying: 【Okay! Tiny dinosaur nods hard.jpg】
Lu: 【Big dinosaur pats tiny dinosaur’s head.jpg】
Lu: 【It’s late, still reviewing materials?】
He Xiaoyuan: 【Yes.】
Lu: 【Mm, I have some things to check too tonight.】
He Xiaoyuan: 【Perfect, together then.】
By “together,” he meant staying up together. Soon, Lu called with a voice line.
He answered: “Lu?” Weren’t they supposed to be reviewing materials?
Lu: “Together.”
He Xiaoyuan instantly understood: a voice call while working.
Okay, that works.
He sat at the desk, laptop open, phone on speaker beside him, and began reviewing the materials while connected.
Both worked quietly, occasionally hearing the other typing or flipping pages.
Late at night, he felt a warmth—he was keeping Lu company, and Lu was keeping him company.