Dou Xun took off his sunglasses and tossed them on the table, then tugged at his collar to cool off. He was in his early twenties at most, yet he possessed the jaded maturity of someone who had experienced the world. He ordered an iced coffee, then complained to Gu Qingzhou, "You really came to this dump. I almost got lost driving in circles. Your mom is calling everyone. She even called me, asking if I knew where you went."

Gu Qingzhou's coffee was already almost cold. He picked it up, took a sip, and then said, "What did you say?"

Dou Xun crossed his legs, his eyes sweeping over the waitress's youthful face, unable to look away. "What could I say? That I didn't know, of course. But you can't hide it for long. All she has to do is ask your old man and she'll find out."

The waitress had already left, but Dou Xun's eyes were still glued to her, staring at her retreating back. Gu Qingzhou said, "Can you not be so lecherous? Anyone who didn't know better would think you haven't seen a woman in eight lifetimes."

Dou Xun's ex-girlfriends were either third-rate celebrities or young, long-legged models, each of whom could be called beautiful. In Gu Qingzhou's opinion, that waitress was at best plain fare.

Hearing this, Dou Xun snapped his fingers, speaking in a fluent Beijing accent, "This is what you don't get. The ones who pounce on you with just a crook of the finger are no fun. This one may not be drop-dead gorgeous, but she has a clean aura."

Gu Qingzhou had no interest in discussing women with him. He interlaced his fingers and asked leisurely, "I haven't asked you yet, what brings you here?"

"Business," Dou Xun's family was in the hotel industry. He stretched lazily and said, "My dad said I was just lazing around waiting for death, so he sent me out to get some experience. I can't have any fun under their noses, and since you happened to be here, I came over."

Gu Qingzhou said, "The economy here hasn't fully developed yet. It's not suitable for opening a hotel; the profit margins aren't large."

Dou Xun said, "Who cares. My dad said he's just giving it to me for practice. If I lose money, so be it. But you, on the other hand, with your brothers jumping around fighting for shares—they look like fleas to me. Your mom is so anxious she wishes she could go up there and fight for you herself, yet you have the leisure to manage some branch company."

Gu Qingzhou's lips curled into a cold smile. "That's the only thing she cares about."

Dou Xun recalled something and sighed. "Back then, she struggled for so many years raising you alone in Hai City. After finally being taken back, it's only human for her to think that way. She's been scarred by poverty."

Gu Qingzhou was silent, a sense of powerlessness welling up inside him. He closed his eyes, hiding the complex emotions that flickered within them.

When Old Master Gu was young, he was a womanizer who had affairs everywhere. Gu Qingzhou's mother's status was not respectable; to put it bluntly, she was a mistress. She was just smarter than the other women. When the original wife was dealing with the mistresses, she took Gu Qingzhou and hid far away in Hai City. In the end, she outlasted the original wife's death, and relying on her well-maintained looks and having given birth to a son who was excellent in both character and studies, she successfully rose to the position of Mrs. Gu.

Dou Xun thought for a moment, then couldn't help but sigh. "It's so boring. The parties aren't as fun with people missing. Are there a lot of beauties in Hai City?"

He and Gu Qingzhou got along quite well, and their elders had business dealings, so they naturally fell into the same circle and had a good relationship. It was fine when their group of rich young masters were just fooling around, but for some reason Gu Qingzhou had to go and run off to this place.

As Dou Xun spoke, he slapped his forehead as if remembering something. "I forgot, you're gay. You're not interested in beautiful women."

When Gu Qingzhou opened his eyes again, his expression was normal. He took a sip of his bitter coffee at those words, remaining noncommittal.

From a distance, the two of them seemed to be having a pleasant conversation. When Gu Qingzhou casually turned his head, Jiang Xu could even see a fleeting smile in his eyes. Jiang Xu handed the contract to the client for their signature, taking in the whole scene. 'I don't think I've ever seen Gu Qingzhou smile like that,' he thought. 'Could it be he's found another dog?'

Once this thought surfaced, he couldn't suppress it. Jiang Xu muttered to himself, 'It's over, it's over.' He had originally hoped Gu Qingzhou would show some mercy for old times' sake and not be so harsh when getting revenge. But now the guy already has a new lover, so what the hell was the point?

This sudden turn of events made his already bleak future even worse. Seeing that the client had signed the contract, Jiang Xu took out his phone to send Gu Qingzhou a message, only to realize he didn't have his contact information. After some thought, he had no choice but to brace himself and walk over.

"Manager Gu," Jiang Xu walked to their table with a business-like air. He handed the folder to Gu Qingzhou, surreptitiously sizing up Dou Xun. After concluding that the man wasn't as handsome as him, he averted his gaze. "The contract has been signed."

Gu Qingzhou took it without a glance and casually set it aside. Remembering he had dinner plans with Dou Xun that evening, he said to Jiang Xu, "I have something else to attend to. You can head back to the company first."

Jiang Xu: "..."

Was this something a fucking human would do? The Building Materials Market was a good two-hour journey from the company. He would pedal himself to death cycling back. Gu Qingzhou had driven him all this way, and now that it was time to go back, he was just abandoning him?

How was this any different from a heartless scumbag who leaves after he gets what he wants?!

Seeing that he wasn't leaving, Gu Qingzhou glanced at him. "Is there anything else?"

When you're in a tight spot, you have to compromise. Jiang Xu, who was used to being arrogant, now had to learn to play along. He raised a hand to unbutton his collar, trying to keep his breathing even, and said with a smile, "No, I'll be leaving then."

Gu Qingzhou asked, seemingly nonchalant, "Going home or back to the company?"

Jiang Xu wasn't falling for his trap. "Back to the company."

My ass.

The cafe had its air conditioning on, and a wave of heat hit him as soon as he opened the door. There was no subway nearby, and the buses were packed. Jiang Xu scanned a shared bike on the roadside and was about to ride home when he saw Gu Qingzhou and the other man coming out through the glass door.

Dou Xun was half a step behind, his playboy nature unchanged. He used his phone to scan the waitress's code and add her as a friend, even throwing her a subtle wink before leaving. Meanwhile, Gu Qingzhou walked ahead, completely unaware of what was happening behind him.

Jiang Xu's gaze swept over them, and he paused his intention to leave. He then saw Dou Xun drape an arm intimately over Gu Qingzhou's shoulder and thought, 'What terrible taste Gu Qingzhou has. It was one thing to pick a scumbag like me before, but now he's found another one, and a fucking scumbag at that. His luck is just the worst.'

He had a mind to go over and warn him, but then thought that Gu Qingzhou definitely wouldn't believe him and might even think he was trying to sow discord. He decided against it, figuring he'd deal with it later, and rode away on his bike.

As Gu Qingzhou came out, he happened to see Jiang Xu's straight back being swallowed by the heavy traffic before disappearing completely. At the same time, Dou Xun's voice sounded by his ear, "Who was that guy?"

Gu Qingzhou withdrew his gaze and pulled open the car door. "An employee."

Dou Xun was a seasoned player and extremely sensitive in these matters. He rubbed his chin, and putting that together with Gu Qingzhou's gay identity, felt he had discovered some kind of illicit affair. He asked suspiciously, "Just an employee?"

Gu Qingzhou said ambiguously, "If you want to think of him as the ex who dumped me, you can."

He rarely spoke of his past, so this was a shocking revelation. Dou Xun's jaw almost dropped, and he nearly thought he'd heard wrong. He grabbed him and asked incessantly, "Holy shit, holy shit, the ex who dumped you? For real?!"

He wanted to ask for details to satisfy his furiously burning gossipy heart, but Gu Qingzhou was unwilling to say more. Being dumped wasn't exactly a glorious achievement. When the day came that he dumped Jiang Xu, then that would be something to talk about.

It was almost the end of the workday. With Jiang Xu's personality of slacking off whenever possible, he naturally took the chance to slip away. He didn't even go back to the company, buying a new bicycle and riding straight home. The deduction for being late wasn't much, but every little bit counted. In any case, he couldn't let Gu Qingzhou catch him slipping up again.

The order had been signed, and they could contact the construction team to start work the day after tomorrow. The next two days would be a little more relaxed. That evening after showering, Jiang Xu arranged to team up with Li Si'ao for a game. He was listening to music while waiting for the match to start when his phone suddenly vibrated twice.

Li Si'ao had sent a message: I'm pulling two people in for the game later.

Jiang Xu wondered who he could possibly be inviting. It was probably that game-ruiner Fang Qia again. He sent back a "Whatever".

The shooting game they were playing was a team battle. They scraped together seven people and started the match. Jiang Xu played point, his skill high and his shots accurate. He could have been on a winning streak, but he couldn't stand Fang Qia, who always stuck close to him. His headset was filled with her panicked screams: "Aahhh Jiang Xu, save me! I've been shot!! What do I do, what do I do, I'm out of bullets!"

Startled by her, Jiang Xu's concentration wavered, and he took several shots to the back. While maneuvering his character to kill the enemy, he threw her a health pack. "Sister, if you're scared, just hide in the back. The enemy didn't kill me, you did."

Fang Qia huffed at his words but didn't say anything, reluctantly retreating to the rear.

A randomly matched teammate heard their exchange and thought they were a couple having a spat. He laughed and teased, "Number Three, that's not right. You have to coax your girlfriend. How can you act like that?"

Jiang Xu was about to deny it when Fang Qia spoke up first, "Who's his girlfriend? Stop talking nonsense!"

It was a serious explanation, but her coy tone made it sound a bit like she was protesting too much.

Jiang Xu thought to himself that Li Si'ao was still online, so he'd better stay far away from this difficult princess, Fang Qia. For the latter half of the firefight, he basically broke away from the team and charged ahead alone. However, two fists are no match for four hands. He was eventually worn down by three opponents until he was out of ammo, and his health bar plummeted.

Just as Jiang Xu was on his last sliver of health, Number Six happened to maneuver their character past him.

Seeing it was a teammate, Jiang Xu instantly perked up. "Quick, quick! Bro! Throw me a health pack! I need a heal!!!"

Number Six paused for a moment at his words but, for some reason, ignored him and walked straight on.

Jiang Xu: "..."

What a cold and cruel world.

Jiang Xu had never met someone with so little team spirit. He figured it was probably some elementary school kid from the random matchmaking pool. He had no choice but to wait for Li Si'ao and the others to catch up. Seeing that Fang Qia's coordinates were closest to his, he sent her a distress signal in the public chat. But who would have thought that Number Six, who had just left, would turn around and come back.

Jiang Xu raised an eyebrow. "???"

Heh, weren't you leaving? What are you back for? Even if you give me a health pack now, I don't want it.

Number Six stopped in front of him, said nothing, raised his hand, loaded his gun, and then fired a shot at him.

"Bang!"

Game over.

Jiang Xu was forced offline. Number Six, for killing a teammate, was suspended for one round.

Tonight was destined to be a sleepless one. Jiang Xu never would have thought he could get so angry playing a game in the middle of the night that it felt like a heart attack. He stared at the 'Game Over' screen that popped up on his computer, his hands shaking with rage. He vaguely remembered that Li Si'ao was the one who had invited Number Six. Trembling, he sent him a message: Who was that?!!!!

Li Si'ao's character was still alive. He took a moment to reply with a single word: Huh?

Jiang Xu was burning with rage, his fingers flying across the keyboard: Who is that Number Six!!!! Dammit, he actually killed me?!! Is he blind? I'm his teammate!

There was no immediate reply from the other side. After a moment of silence, two words came back—

Manager Gu.