What kind of person was Lu Chen, this big boss born into a wealthy family, really?
He was one of the rare people in elite circles who had once lived as an ordinary person—someone who understood ordinary life and could genuinely empathize with ordinary people.
He had seen all kinds of people, experienced all kinds of situations.
Yet today, he had somehow been completely undone by a two-hundred-thousand-yuan watch.
It was also the first time he realized that there were people in this world who would willingly—and wholeheartedly—spend all the money they had, simply to express gratitude to someone they weren’t even that close to.
Money was something most people loved.
Did He Xiayuan not like it?
After all, he had earned a sizable bonus through his own hard work. Couldn’t he have spent it on himself, enjoyed it a little, or saved it for emergencies?
With the watch on his wrist, Lu Chen felt an overwhelming sense of presence there—or rather, it was the sincerity represented by that two-hundred-thousand-yuan watch, constantly scorching him.
What made it worse was that this bonus had originally been set up by Lu Chen himself, out of a bit of private intention. And in the end, it was that very bonus that sent his thoughts spiraling and his emotions churning.
So much so that the entire drive afterward, as he took He Xiayuan back to the dorms, Lu Chen barely said a word. In the quiet, he tried to digest his feelings. At one point, even someone as self-controlled as Lu Chen felt a sudden, dangerous impulse—to pull over, to hug the young man in the passenger seat, or at least sling an arm around his shoulders, like a big dinosaur patting a little dinosaur, giving the boy a gentle rub on the back of the head.
Thankfully, what reason he had left suppressed those ill-timed urges.
Lu Chen knew it well: the reason He Xiayuan was sometimes willing to open up to him, to interact without wariness or guard, was entirely because he was “Lu-ge.”
An easygoing, mild-mannered Lu-ge.
A Lu-ge who looked out for him and helped him solve problems.
A Lu-ge who was like an older brother.
Lu Chen drove in silence for a while longer. Once his emotions had finally settled, he spoke, chatting with He Xiayuan, who had been quietly sitting in the passenger seat the whole time.
“How did you decide on a watch?” Lu Chen asked.
He Xiayuan turned to look at him and answered, “For a guy, it feels like a watch is about the only thing that really works as a gift.”
Lu Chen kept his eyes on the road. “So you just happened to pick this one?”
At exactly half the bonus amount.
He Xiayuan answered honestly, “I actually didn’t plan on buying such an expensive one at first. I never really wore watches before, didn’t know any brands, and had no sense of how much they cost.”
“I went into a store to browse and realized even the cheapest ones were still tens of thousands.”
“I was originally looking at those, but then the sales associate recommended the one you’re wearing now. I thought it looked really nice, suited you, Lu-ge, so I gritted my teeth and bought it.”
Lu Chen couldn’t help but smile inwardly. So he knew he’d had to grit his teeth.
At least he understood that two hundred thousand for a watch wasn’t cheap, and that he wasn’t careless about money.
In a gentle tone, Lu Chen said, “I’ll accept it this time. But there won’t be a next.”
He Xiayuan turned his head. “Huh?”
Lu Chen kept driving, his voice serious. “Two hundred thousand is a lot. You should spend that kind of money on yourself. Used on you, it could buy a lot of things.”
He Xiayuan blinked as he listened.
Lu Chen glanced over at him, their eyes meeting briefly, then continued, still watching the road. “The money you earn is yours. You can spend it however you want. But before you spend it on anyone else—no matter who it is, even if they’re ‘worth it’—you need to feel a little sorry for yourself first. Spend more on yourself. Got it?”
It sounded like an adult teaching a child, or like careful mentoring at work—serious guidance on values in everyday life.
And his tone was unusually gentle, like a light breeze or a soft glow of sunlight. Listening quietly, He Xiayuan felt warmth flow through his chest. Moved, he looked at the man, his eyes shimmering—bright and moist like a kitten’s or a puppy’s. Sitting there quietly, he looked obedient and sweet, almost painfully endearing.
“Okay.”
He Xiayuan nodded earnestly, taking every word to heart.
Then he added with a grin, “Anyway, this is a one-time thing. The next time I spend that much money all at once, it’ll definitely be on something big for myself.”
Lu Chen didn’t quite catch it. “Hm?”
Something big? Like what?
“A place, a car,” He Xiayuan said. “Renovations, furniture, that sort of thing.”
Lu Chen understood. “The employee dorms are a bit small, I guess.”
He Xiayuan’s eyebrow jumped, and he hurriedly said, “They’re not small at all—they’re great. They’ve got everything.”
He figured Lu-ge didn’t live in the dorms and probably didn’t know how good the conditions actually were.
Lu Chen smiled. “If they’re really that good, why not keep living there?”
Why talk about buying a place and decorating it instead?
He Xiayuan replied casually, “It’s different. The employee dorms belong to the company. My own place would belong to me.”
And besides—everyone wants a place of their own, right?
Lu Chen went along with the topic. “Where do you want to buy in the future? Near the company?”
He Xiayuan shook his head. “Can’t afford it. It’s too expensive.”
If he were to buy, it would definitely be farther out—some residential complex close to a subway station.
Though even that wasn’t certain. It would depend on how much he ultimately managed to save up.
He Xiayuan was still very optimistic about the future.
Then he asked, “What about you, Lu-ge? Do you live near the company too?”
“More or less,” Lu Chen replied. “Not far.”
After a brief pause, he added, “When you’ve got time, I’ll bring you over to hang out.”
…
The car soon pulled up in front of the dorm building. He Xiayuan pushed the door open and got out. He’d originally planned to just stand outside, wave into the car, and say goodbye—but to his surprise, Lu Chen got out as well. He walked around the front of the car and stopped in front of him, reminding him, “You’ve got work tomorrow. Go back and get some rest early.”
He Xiayuan nodded. “Okay.”
Lu Chen’s gaze settled on his face, quietly studying him.
The streetlight in front of the building cast a dim glow, not quite enough to clearly light his features, making the man’s eyes look especially dark and deep.
He Xiayuan: ?
Only then did Lu Chen speak again, circling back to the watch. “If you’d just given me something casual, the rest of that money would’ve been enough for you to eat and drink well for quite a few days.”
Why was he bringing this up again?
He Xiayuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Honestly, he said, “Lu-ge, please stop. If you keep going, I’m really going to regret it.”
Lu Chen made a show of reaching for the clasp.
He Xiayuan hurriedly said, “Don’t!”
Lu Chen dropped his hand. It was clearly just teasing. Smiling, he said, “What’s given is given. Don’t think about taking it back.”
After a pause, his dark eyes fixed on the young man in front of him, and he asked with particular gentleness, “You left yourself enough money to live on, right?”
“Mm.”
He Xiayuan nodded.
Lu Chen’s tone wasn’t joking at all. “If you’re short, tell me. Don’t be polite about it. I’ll transfer you some.”
That actually made He Xiayuan laugh. He couldn’t help it. “It’s not that bad, really. I’m not that miserable. I still have money to eat.”
Besides, he didn’t even have to spend money on most meals—other than late-night snacks, he basically ate everything at the company cafeteria.
“Really, don’t worry.”
His voice dropped along with his tone, turning soft and gentle. But his voice wasn’t naturally deep; when he lowered it, it ended up sounding a little soft, almost like he was acting cute.
It made Lu Chen’s chest tingle. The look in his eyes deepened as he stared, silently watching him for a long moment before finally saying, “Go on. Head upstairs.”
He Xiayuan took a step forward, backpack on his shoulders, raised a hand and waved at Lu Chen. “Bye. Drive safe.”
Lu Chen shifted his stance with him, but his body remained facing He Xiayuan the whole time. “Mm.”
He watched until the young man disappeared into the building, then finally turned and got back into the car.
That night, lying in bed, Lu Chen found himself unable to sleep. Images kept surfacing in his mind—He Xiayuan nervously, a little cautiously, pulling the watch out of his bag and handing it to him; the boy’s bright eyes as he stood there seriously explaining why he’d bought such an expensive gift.
And then there was that moment downstairs in front of the dorms, that soft-spoken, “Really, don’t worry.”
Lu Chen rolled over and reached for the touch panel on the bedside table. The ambient floor lights around the room lit up.
He picked up the watch resting on the nightstand, lifted it in front of him, and stared at it in silence—wide awake, lost in thought.
The next day, Yang Yun was summoned straight to the 36th floor by a call from Lu Chen.
On the elevator ride up, Yang Yun couldn’t help thinking—what kind of serious business warranted a personal call from their perpetually busy big boss? Even during major projects, it hadn’t been like this.
Just a couple of days earlier, Qiao Sixing had casually mentioned that Lu Chen had told him to come upstairs for tea sometime.
Yang Yun hadn’t taken it seriously back then and hadn’t gone up these past few days. Thinking about it now, he frowned slightly. Could something really be going on?
Was there about to be some major decision-level change at the company?
Or had something happened on the board’s side?
The more he thought about it, the deeper his thoughts spiraled.
By the time he entered Lu Chen’s office, the door closed behind him, and he took a seat, Lu Chen handed him a glass of water.
Yang Yun took it but didn’t drink right away. Instead, he admired the cup in his hand and casually remarked, “Stuff auctioned at Christie’s really is something else. Looks no different from a fifteen-yuan cup from the supermarket, but once it goes under the hammer, the average price is over twenty thousand.”
He sighed. “If it hadn’t been under the banner of charity donations, I’d have thought those art auction people were straight-up robbing everyone.”
Shaking his head, he finally took a sip.
Lu Chen adjusted his suit pants and sat down across from him with the coffee table between them.
As Yang Yun drank, Lu Chen leaned back against the sofa, watching him, and spoke unhurriedly. “There’ll be a young guy heading your way in the next couple of days. Do you want to take him to the project team yourself, or should I just transfer him up directly?”
Huh?
Yang Yun set the cup down, confused.
A young guy?
His place?
His department was basically a retirement home—aside from himself, who else could there be?
Oh—right. There was a management trainee coming through. A guy.
Holding the cup, Yang Yun prepared to take another sip and asked, “What about the management trainee?”
He tipped his head back to drink.
Lu Chen looked at him and said calmly, “I like him.”
Yang Yun: “Pfft—!”
—
On the HR floor, the management trainees who had just finished their rotations were holding a so-called “Rotation Graduation Ceremony.”
The “ceremony” actually looked pretty legit. There was a red carpet, balloons, and even a red signing board with gold lettering.
After walking the red carpet, each trainee stopped in front of the board to take photos, then signed their name on it—full of ritual and formality.
After that, just like when they’d first joined the company, the HR managers and supervisors gave speeches. Once the speeches ended, there was a special award presentation for the first-place trainee, He Xiayuan.
In addition to the first-place certificate, the prize included an oversized check board with 400,000 written on it.
Holding the certificate in one hand and the check in the other as he posed for photos with the HR manager, He Xiayuan couldn’t help feeling both amused and happy—it was incredibly cheesy, in the most earnest way possible.
After finishing the photo with the HR manager, it still wasn’t over. He took pictures with the supervisors, then with other colleagues from HR, and after that, with everyone from Group One and Group Three—each individual he was familiar with, one by one.
Holding that oversized check, He Xiayuan asked helplessly, half-laughing, “Why do I feel like I’ve turned into some kind of mascot?”
Zou Fanping, standing nearby, replied flatly, “That’s the price of being first place.”
Standing next to He Xiayuan, behind the big checkboard, helping hold it up, the other person freed one hand to flash a peace sign and smile. “Cheese.”
Click. The moment was frozen.
After that, the entire Group One took countless photos together—big group shots, small group shots—everyone’s face lit up with bright, happy smiles.
—
CEO’s Office
After spraying water everywhere, Yang Yun wiped down the front of his shirt and the water splashed onto his pants with a napkin. He looked up, dazed and stunned, and asked a single, extremely plain yet profoundly to-the-point word:
“…What?”