Normally, Lu Chen wouldn’t have asked this yet. Even if he had intentions, with his personality, he wouldn’t reveal anything before the matter was settled.
But seeing the boy in front of him so unusually animated and full of energy, Lu Chen couldn’t help himself—he let the words slip out.
He Xiaoyuan froze.
Project team.
Project team?
He put down the glass, swallowed the tea in his mouth, and looked back at Lu Chen, blinking and shaking his head.
He had never thought about it before—not even a little.
Sure, he was genuinely interested in the project cases… but…
After a moment, he asked a very practical question: “Is the project team hiring?”
Lu Chen met his gaze and answered just as practically: “Not hiring.”
He Xiaoyuan: “….”
Alright then.
He hadn’t harbored any unrealistic expectations.
He shrugged lightly, said nothing, and went back to his meal.
Lu Chen found the boy’s reaction somewhat amusing and asked, “Just like that?”
“Huh?”
He Xiaoyuan looked up.
Lu Chen continued, “Not going to ask anything else?”
Chewing, He Xiaoyuan replied matter-of-factly, “They said they’re not hiring. What else is there to ask?”
Lu Chen added, “Not hiring doesn’t mean you can’t try. Getting into a department doesn’t always require that department to be recruiting.”
He Xiaoyuan immediately understood and shook his head vigorously—once wasn’t enough; he shook several times. “No need to trouble Lu Ge.”
Between answering questions and looking out for him, Lu Chen had already done a lot. Asking for Lu, a senior in the project team, to pull him in…
He Xiaoyuan: no. Absolutely not.
He was too embarrassed to make that request and would never put Lu in an awkward position. In his mind, Lu Chen was both his boss and Lu Ge; no matter how close their relationship became, he would never ask for anything excessive.
Lu Chen understood, his gaze fixed on the boy, saying nothing further, acknowledging that his earlier question about joining the project team had been a little forward.
But what could he do? He couldn’t resist, he thought with a smile.
“Really not coming?”
He Xiaoyuan had finished eating, put down his chopsticks, covered the lunch box, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and looked up silently. “Could I pretend and not go?”
Lu Chen’s eyes glinted. “If you don’t try…” he began, teasingly, “how would you know you wouldn’t succeed?”
He Xiaoyuan, finishing wiping his mouth and tossing the napkin in the trash, said firmly, “No need to try.”
Looking at Lu Chen seriously, he added, “Don’t worry, Lu Ge. I won’t make things difficult for you.”
Lu Chen wasn’t done. “Maybe it wouldn’t be difficult?”
He Xiaoyuan hesitated, wanting to say something, but stopped and stayed silent.
Lu Chen encouraged him with a look. “Hmm?”
He Xiaoyuan muttered in a low voice, “I said it… don’t get mad.”
Lu Chen: “Hmm, I’m not mad.”
He Xiaoyuan pressed his lips together, then quickly muttered, “If you really weren’t going to make it difficult, why ask me? You could have just transferred me directly.”
This answer caught Lu Chen off guard. He stared at He Xiaoyuan for a moment, then leaned back in his chair, shoulders shaking as he laughed quietly.
“Thank you… for not making it difficult.”
Lu Chen laughed heartily.
He Xiaoyuan was utterly confused by his laughter. He thought he hadn’t said anything special—why laugh like that?
Blinking, he could only silently watch Lu Chen, and with a straightforward, honest tone replied, “You’re welcome.”
Lu Chen smiled, eyes shining, unblinking as he watched the boy beside him.
At that moment, he felt an itch to reach out, just like the big dinosaur in his favorite sticker pack, and pat this “Little Yuan, little dinosaur” on the head.
So obedient.
His heart was filled with joy.
As they left the terrace, He Xiaoyuan handed Lu the empty glass. Lu didn’t take it this time. “You keep it.”
He Xiaoyuan: ? Didn’t want it again?
Just a glass, he thought, probably something Lu had grabbed from the project team’s pantry and didn’t want to carry back or wash.
Fine.
He took the second glass back, washed and dried it, placing it on the corner of his desk alongside the first.
That night, back in his dorm, He Xiaoyuan received several project case files from Lu Chen.
Lu: “Here, take a look.”
He immediately sat at his computer, on a voice call with earphones, poring over the materials with full focus, occasionally chatting briefly with Lu Chen about project details.
Time flew—he looked up only to see it was past one in the morning.
He stretched, still wanting more.
Lu Chen’s voice, carrying a smile: “Time to sleep now?”
He Xiaoyuan stretched again. “Mm.”
Unable to help himself, he sighed, “So interesting.”
Lu Chen: “I’ll send you more tomorrow.”
He Xiaoyuan, delighted: “Great!”
Lu Chen: “Go to sleep.”
Only then did He Xiaoyuan notice the time. Surprised, he asked, “Lu Ge, are you working late?”
How could he still be awake at this hour if not?
Lu Chen: “Aren’t I keeping you company?”
He Xiaoyuan realized and quickly said, “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t notice the time.”
Lu Chen: “Studying hard isn’t bad. Sleep earlier next time, wake up early, and continue looking.”
He Xiaoyuan muttered sheepishly, “Lu Ge, why didn’t you remind me?” He’d been stuck with him so long.
He paused for a moment. “Next time, you can just hang up the phone.”
Lu Chen smiled. “I volunteered… to risk my life keeping company with a gentleman,” he corrected himself with a small chuckle, “to risk my life keeping company with Little Yuan.”
He Xiaoyuan felt even more embarrassed and also thought Lu Chen was far too kind. “Thank you, Lu Ge.”
Lu Chen: “Mm. It’s late now—go to sleep.”
He Xiaoyuan: “Good night.”
Lu Chen: “Good night.”
The next day, when He Xiaoyuan received a stack of project case files from Lu Chen, he sat in front of his computer motionless, studying them with even more intensity than during the rotation.
Jiang Weiwei peeked over curiously. “Yuan, what are you grinding on now?”
He Xiaoyuan was completely absorbed, paying no attention to her and seemingly not even hearing her. His whole being felt as if it had sunk entirely into the details of the project files.
Even when the team later discussed Qin Chengfei’s identical 9.2 scores and who would ultimately receive the 400,000 reward, he didn’t participate or listen—he remained at his desk, eyes fixed on the screen.
Someone called him: “Xiaoyuan? Xiaoyuan! He Xiaoyuan?!”
Jiang Weiwei turned away. “Stop calling him—he’s in full immersion mode, king of the grind.”
Zou Fanping asked: “Grind mode?”
Xin Rui: “I’d say straight-up grind mode.”
Zou Fanping: “……”
After spending the entire day reading the files from start to finish, He Xiaoyuan finally lifted his eyes, slightly dizzy, and felt as though his soul had been cleansed, reborn anew.
He was certain—without a doubt—about one thing: he did not want to go to the Finance Department, nor the PR Department. He wanted to work on project cases.
He wanted to join the project team!