He Xiaoyuan’s report flowed smoothly and was highly organized. He concisely showcased the project team’s achievements over the past year and summarized the key figures and data the executives were interested in, using charts and graphs—a presentation that was nearly flawless.
The executives in the audience listened with general satisfaction.
Lu Chen, seated among them, carried a subtle smile: Very good.
After the report, questions came rapidly from the executives, led by Tang Xingzhou. He Xiaoyuan remained calm, answering each in turn.
Lu Chen watched silently, not speaking. Tang Xingzhou, leaning over, murmured his praise: “Looks like your preparation was thorough—you answered everything.”
Lu Chen glanced over and casually remarked: “Not scolding now?”
Tang Xingzhou: ???
Soon, the report ended. He Xiaoyuan stepped down confidently, walking out of the meeting room.
Outside, with no one around, he wiped his palms on his trousers, brushing away the faint sweat—though his speech and PPT were thoroughly prepared and he was confident, the live Q&A required thinking on the spot and answering smoothly, which naturally created some tension.
Moreover, for some reason, once on stage, he had been unusually eager to perform well—a rush of adrenaline and excitement that wasn’t typical of him.
He raised an eyebrow, realizing he had been a little impulsive.
At that moment, his phone vibrated.
He pulled it from his pocket.
Lu Chen: “You did well.”
He Xiaoyuan smiled instantly.
Standing in the corridor, he typed: “What score would you give me?”
Lu Chen: “101.”
Lu Chen: “One extra point to make you proud.”
He Xiaoyuan grinned, unable to keep his smile contained.
He then asked: “Was the person sitting next to you Tang Xingzhou?”
Lu Chen: “Yes, why?”
He Xiaoyuan: “He didn’t scold anyone.”
Lu Chen: “You already scored 101. What would he scold you for?”
He Xiaoyuan typed: “Would he scold me for performing too well today?”
Lu Chen: “Or for dressing too well?”
He Xiaoyuan distilled the key point in his mind: in Lu Chen’s eyes, he had looked good and performed excellently today.
He laughed again.
He typed: “I’m back at the office now, you continue your work.”
He added: “Thank you, Mr. Lu.”
“Little dinosaur hopping around.jpg”
Back in the office, everyone asked him how the report had gone.
He Xiaoyuan modestly replied: “It was okay.”
Chang Bei teased: “Not getting scolded is already half the victory. The big boss not saying anything is the other half.”
He Xiaoyuan assumed Chang Bei referred to Tang Xingzhou—so he thought he’d only achieved half the success.
Sitting down, everyone got back to work. He Xiaoyuan reviewed some work documents on his computer, then paused, recalling how on stage he had felt a rush of adrenaline, that unusual drive to perform perfectly, unlike his usual self.
He puzzled over it: why had he felt that way?
Eventually, he concluded it might have been because Lu Chen was in the audience. Perhaps he wanted to perform well to avoid embarrassing the project team’s boss… or perhaps he simply wanted to impress Lu Chen.
He pondered the strange feeling, unable to fully explain it.
Later, in the afternoon, during a free moment, he messaged Lu Chen playfully: “Did anyone else perform better than me?”
Lu Chen: “No.”
He Xiaoyuan: “So that means I performed the very very very best?”
Lu Chen: “Yes, the very very very best.”
He Xiaoyuan’s smile stretched ear to ear.
That evening, He Xiaoyuan arrived at Yanlan Bay first.
The house was empty; Lu Chen was still busy and hadn’t returned. He picked up He He (the Maine Coon) and ruffled him: “Big brother did great today—101 points for the meeting!”
He He: “Meow~”
He Xiaoyuan held the cat’s front paws, stretching him out: “Big brother was the very very very very best today!”
He He: “Meow~”
Lu Chen returned; just as the elevator doors opened, He Xiaoyuan’s head popped out, playful and cheerful: “Yo! Mr. Lu is back!”
Lu Chen stepped out, casually flicking He Xiaoyuan’s chin with a finger: “You’re really proud of yourself, huh?”
He Xiaoyuan followed, draping his arm over Lu Chen’s shoulder, leaning in like two close friends: “Yeah, proud because you gave me reason to be.”
Lu Chen tilted his head, noticing He Xiaoyuan’s excitement, his body pressing closer. He liked this kind of initiative; unable to resist, he draped an arm over He Xiaoyuan’s back, sliding down to hold his waist, playfully pinching a little soft flesh.
He Xiaoyuan squirmed, laughing: “Don’t pinch, it tickles.”
Lu Chen hugged him: “All this excitement over a single report?”
He Xiaoyuan laughed, saying, “Of course I’m happy—why wouldn’t I be? Didn’t you say I performed the best?”
Feeling Lu Chen pinch his side again, he squirmed and laughed, teasingly: “Don’t pinch me!”
For a moment, one tried to pull away while the other wouldn’t let go. Amid the playful struggle, He Xiaoyuan looked up and met Lu Chen’s gaze face-to-face. Lu Chen’s eyes were deep and intense, and as their eyes held, the air between them suddenly grew quiet, almost charged.
He Xiaoyuan immediately realized that their hugging and leaning against each other didn’t exactly look appropriate. He hurriedly stepped back, and Lu Chen relaxed his hold as well.
He Xiaoyuan, averting his eyes and sniffing slightly like a child caught misbehaving, tried to shift the mood: “When did you guys finish? Have you eaten?”
Lu Chen composed his expression, especially his eyes, and casually replied, “Haven’t had time.”
He Xiaoyuan immediately stepped toward the kitchen, a hint of playful avoidance in his movements: “Then just eat a little.”
“Mm.”
Lu Chen didn’t say more. He watched He Xiaoyuan, eyes calm but observant, silently analyzing.
In the kitchen, He Xiaoyuan pulled a frozen meal from the fridge, preparing to steam a bowl of Eight-Treasure Rice.
As he grabbed a plate and tore open the packaging, Lu Chen followed, standing to the side and leaning casually against the counter.
He Xiaoyuan turned his head, adopting a nonchalant expression. Seeing Lu Chen watching him, he blinked, then returned to unwrapping the meal.
Lu Chen kept watching.
He Xiaoyuan glanced back and muttered, “What is it?”
Lu Chen, expression composed: “Nothing.”
“Oh.”
He Xiaoyuan returned to his task.
After a short moment, Lu Chen reached out and brushed some stray hair at He Xiaoyuan’s ear.
He Xiaoyuan turned again to meet Lu Chen’s gaze but didn’t ask anything, didn’t speak. His ears visibly flushed.
Lu Chen withdrew his hand, smiling. He Xiaoyuan glared lightly and instinctively touched his ears.
Lu Chen leaned closer, his breath near He Xiaoyuan’s cheek, low and soft: “Why are your ears red?”
He Xiaoyuan muttered: “I don’t know.”
Lu Chen’s voice, almost a whisper: “How can you not know?”
He Xiaoyuan’s mind: I really don’t know.
He interrupted the slightly strange tension with a half-serious, half-playful: “Are you going to eat or not?”
Lu Chen finally replied: “Yes,” lightly placing a hand on the young man’s back in a reassuring gesture, then turned to leave.
Left alone, He Xiaoyuan froze, expression cracking in disbelief: What were we just doing hugging like that?!
For the rest of dinner, he tried to pull himself out of the awkward, indescribable, strangely flustered feelings.
After eating, Lu Chen took a phone call by the floor-to-ceiling window. He Xiaoyuan, leaning in the kitchen doorway and sipping water, quietly observed his back, face calm but eyes thoughtful.
He pondered something he couldn’t quite analyze—his subconscious insisting it couldn’t possibly be real.
So, was he overthinking?
He Xiaoyuan reassured himself: he must be overthinking.
Lying in bed that night, he muttered: Overthinking? Overthinking?
It’s just me overthinking, right?
A few days later, February 12, Xu Ruomeng reminded He Xiaoyuan via OA: “Valentine’s Day on the 14th.”
Xu Ruomeng repeated: “Valentine’s Day on the 14th.”
On the 13th, she messaged him on WeChat: “Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day.”
“Valentine’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Valentine’s Day.”
He Xiaoyuan: “What does this holiday have to do with either of us?”
Xu Ruomeng: “Frown.jpg”
“Heart bleeding.jpg”
“Then the two of us, single as we are, can just celebrate together?”
“I was also planning to introduce you to a female friend in a few days—just giving you a heads-up now.”
He Xiaoyuan: “I’m working overtime tomorrow.”
Xu Ruomeng: “Villain flying across the table.jpg”
On the 14th, the temperature suddenly dropped, and snow began to fall that morning. For this southern coastal city, it only happened once or twice a year. People eagerly pressed to the windows, exclaiming: “It’s snowing!”
“It’s snowing!”
He Xiaoyuan sent a message to Lu Chen, including a photo of the falling snow outside.
Lu Chen replied with a photo taken from indoors—the streets blanketed in white.
He Xiaoyuan smiled and teased: “You didn’t go roll around outside?”
Lu Chen: “Like this?”
“Big dinosaur rolling around in the snow with little dinosaur.jpg”
He Xiaoyuan: “Why don’t I have this sticker?”
That evening at nine, He Xiaoyuan stepped out of the SiPu building, tilting his head to feel the falling snow.
Standing still for a moment, he noticed a figure not far ahead holding an umbrella. A passing car’s headlights briefly revealed it—he realized it was Lu Chen.
Surprised, he smiled and quickened his pace: “You’re back from your trip?”