As the saying goes, matters of the heart must be resolved by the parties involved; others can only observe.

When Jiang Hailang opened the door, Lin Xiaoran was standing barefoot on the windowsill of the bay window, not even turning around when he entered. He paused for a moment, then placed the bags of groceries he had bought on the dining table.

He walked to the bay window and asked her with a smile, "What are you looking at?"

"Look at Lancheng University. Is competition so fierce even in universities now?"

"how?"

"From what I've observed, the students aren't resting properly this weekend; they went straight to the library after leaving their dormitories."

As Lin Xiaoran spoke, she drew a virtual line between two buildings in the distance with her finger. Jiang Hailang had told her what each building did when she last visited.

She then pointed in the direction of the cafeteria and the library. "At noon they went from the library to the cafeteria, and now they're starting to walk from the cafeteria back to the library."

"You're observing so closely?"

As Jiang Hailang spoke, he reached out and held his hand in mid-air, preparing to help Lin Xiaoran down from the windowsill.

Lin Xiaoran took his hand, jumped lightly, and landed on the floor. Then she turned to look at him with a protesting expression.

"How else could I collect a lot of data to prove to you that lunchtime has passed but I'm still hungry?"

He called her over, but she ran off on her own, as if she were there to watch the house for him.

Jiang Hailang burst into laughter, never expecting the topic to take such a turn.

He took her hand and led her towards the dining table. "Come on, let's eat."

The four large bags contained snacks Jiang Hailang had bought from the supermarket. He had bought a little of each of the kinds Lin Xiaoran liked when they went shopping together last time. The other two bags contained takeout meals he had ordered from a restaurant across the street from the apartment complex.

Jiang Hailang opened each lunchbox one by one, and Lin Xiaoran went to the kitchen cabinet to get bowls and plates. Food needs to be served in bowls and plates to make eating feel more ceremonial.

Jiang Hailang placed a piece of pork rib into Lin Xiaoran's bowl and watched her eat it with a smile. He suddenly thought how wonderful it would be if these days could continue forever.

And so, they shared three meals a day, and the four seasons together.

Lin Xiaoran said, "I left right after I finished eating."

"Why?"

"I said I'd go out for breakfast, but I ended up sleeping for half the day and then having lunch. If this keeps up, my weekend is going to be wasted."

She's only allowed one day off a week lately, so she can't spend all her time eating and sleeping.

Jiang Hailang asked with a smile, "Shall we go shopping this afternoon?"

"I should go shopping with my boyfriend or best friend. It just feels weird going shopping with you."

"You can treat me like your boyfriend, or your best friend. Besides, you gave me the cufflinks, so you should at least help me pick out a few matching shirts, right?"

Lin Xiaoran looked up at him. "I was speechless."

So what if she has a best friend? It's not like she doesn't have male best friends. When she was little, there were very few girls her age in her neighborhood, so she grew up surrounded by boys, which is why all her childhood friends were boys.

After dinner, Jiang Hailang drove Lin Xiaoran to the mall.

At the men's clothing counter, Lin Xiaoran pointed to one of the two shirts Jiang Hailang had given her to choose from, and he handed it to the sales clerk. Then he picked up two ties for Lin Xiaoran to choose from; she looked at them carefully and pointed to the blue one, which Jiang Hailang then handed to the sales clerk.

The speed of their shopping was so fast that it didn't feel like they were there to stroll around, but rather like they were there to rob someone.

While checking out, the clerk offered emotional support as they scanned the barcode: "Your girlfriend has great taste."

Jiang Hailang smiled and nodded in affirmation.

A person carrying a cup of milk tea strolled around the women's clothing section on the fourth floor of the mall.

Jiang Hailang asked Lin Xiaoran, "What brands do you usually like to buy?"

“I like it…” Lin Xiaoran turned her head slightly, wanting to point out the store she often frequented to Jiang Hailang. “President Mu.”

Jiang Hailang immediately turned to look at Lin Xiaoran. What did it mean that she liked President Mu?

Then he followed her gaze to a shop on his right, where Mu Chen was sitting on a sofa with his legs crossed.

It seemed that Lin Xiaoran's voice was a bit loud, because Mu Chen also turned his head and looked out through the shop's floor-to-ceiling window. Jiang Hailang had no choice but to bring Lin Xiaoran in to greet them.

Lin Xiaoran said, "Hello, President Mu."

Mu Chen nodded slightly, then gestured with his chin towards the fitting room. Lin Xiaoran understood and smiled as she went to wait at the door.

Mu Chen turned to look at Jiang Hailang, who was sitting on the sofa next to him, and couldn't help but laugh.

Jiang Hailang has rarely dressed so casually lately, wearing a thin black sweatshirt with red trim and black jeans. It seems he searched his entire wardrobe to find this outdated outfit, which, while stylish, made him and Lin Xiaoran look like they were wearing matching clothes.

Jiang Hailang raised an eyebrow at Mu Chen: You have a problem with that?

Mu Chen then turned his head to look in the direction of the fitting room: There was none.

As soon as Song Yunxi pushed open the fitting room door, Lin Xiaoran skipped over. "Unnie, it looks great!"

A light purple floral dress made Song Yunxi appear even gentler than usual. She smiled, took Lin Xiaoran's hand, and glanced at Jiang Hailang sitting next to Mu Chen on the sofa, then understood everything.

"Let's go pick out some clothes." The two girls linked arms and went to the clothes rack outside to look at the various styles.

Shopping with girls is much more fun than shopping with a man and a woman. They each pick out their favorite clothes, try them on together in the fitting room, and exchange opinions. After visiting one store, they head to the next. The men, on the other hand, carry the bags and follow behind, accompanying them with smiles and without complaint.

What was supposed to be an afternoon for individual dates turned into a double date without warning.

Tired from shopping, the four of them went to rest together in a cafe on the first floor of the mall.

Lin Xiaoran suggested, "Unnie, let's go see a movie together later?"

Song Yunxi quietly squeezed Mu Chen's hand to comfort him, then smiled and nodded at Lin Xiaoran: "Okay."

Jiang Hailang's phone rang, and when he answered, he heard Yuan Qingqing's voice. "Honey, let's have dinner together tonight?"

Actually, ever since Jiang Hailang left her alone in the hotel in the early hours of the morning, Yuan Qingqing had been waiting for him to contact her and explain. But after waiting all morning and half an afternoon, she decided to take the initiative.

To be honest, when Jiang Hailang first left her at the hotel, she wondered if he had some kind of hidden physical defect or illness. If Jiang Hailang hadn't already been coaxing her for several days and given her the bag she wanted, she wouldn't have really wanted to talk to him yesterday.

But after they ate and drank, and then naturally went to a hotel to check in, Yuan Qingqing thought Jiang Hailang was really amazing. Not only was he highly skilled, but he also had incredible stamina, like a beast that would send her to one peak after another.

Jiang Hailang glanced at Lin Xiaoran, then got up and walked outside before speaking to Yuan Qingqing on the other end of the phone: "Qingqing, I'm sorry. I can't be with you anymore."

Yuan Qingqing paused for a few seconds before asking him, "Why?"

She felt she had performed very well yesterday. Because of her hard work, the two of them worked together seamlessly, and she didn't think Jiang Hailang would never want to sleep with her again after just one time.

Jiang Hailang said calmly, "I've fallen in love with someone else."

"Heh..." Yuan Qingqing laughed. He slept with her yesterday, and today he's fallen in love with someone else?

However, she wasn't the type to cling on. Sleeping with a man like him wasn't a bad deal for her, and she was open to a clean break.

When Jiang Hailang hung up the phone and returned to his seat, the other three had already started talking about work before the movie started. Or rather, Mu Chen and Song Yunxi suddenly brought it up, and Lin Xiaoran quickly joined the discussion.

He glanced at Lin Xiaoran, but she seemed completely unaffected by the phone call, even though she knew perfectly well that it was Yuan Qingqing calling.

Lin Xiaoran said, "I agree with Oni's opinion. If we cooperate with travel agencies, it will definitely greatly increase the hotel's occupancy rate."

Platinum Inn has always positioned itself as a high-end brand. Although it has cooperated with travel agencies before, it has only partnered with a few major agencies, and the agreed rates do not offer much discount. As a result, there have always been very few tour groups staying at its hotels.

Occasionally, some bookings are made by travel agencies that have already booked high-end tour groups and have carefully considered the hotel's brand, service, and reputation. This is similar to the conference group involved in the food poisoning incident last time.

Therefore, Song Yunxi suggested that since the goal is to transform into a resort hotel, it is essential to cooperate closely with other related industries. Travel agencies are the most crucial link in the tourism industry.

For group travelers, hotel accommodations are arranged by travel agencies, with very few opportunities for individual choice. Losing the support of travel agencies would mean losing a significant portion of customers, unless hotels are fully booked every day. However, most five-star hotels, including Platinum Hotels, consider a 50% occupancy rate a very good achievement these days.

Mu Chen, however, also had his own concerns: "If the occupancy rate increases significantly, the maintenance costs will also increase accordingly. Most importantly, too many guests may lead to a decline in service quality."

"We don't need to raise the occupancy rate too high; 60% or more would be great. Even when cooperating with travel agencies, we'll only slightly lower the agreed room rate to show them our sincerity in cooperating."

Actually, what I just want to tell travel agencies is: Platinum Inn welcomes them with open arms. As for the travel agencies, they also need to make a profit through tours; they won't send every tour group to our hotel. We're happy with just two or three more tour groups each month.

Song Yunxi pulled up the analysis spreadsheet she had prepared earlier on her phone and sent it to the newly formed four-person group chat. The spreadsheet included a detailed comparative analysis of how much revenue, including catering and entertainment, could be generated based on occupancy rates.

Mu Chen nodded. "I think we can try it on a small scale first and see how it goes."

Lin Xiaoran immediately responded positively: "Then I'll compile a list of travel agencies tomorrow, and let's select the first batch of travel agencies to discuss cooperation with?"

“Okay. Let’s start with the larger travel agencies. They have high brand recognition, which meets our cooperation needs.” After saying that, Song Yunxi turned to look at Jiang Hailang. “We’ll have to trouble Mr. Lang and the sales department colleagues to work a little harder to talk to the travel agencies.”

Jiang Hailang agreed: "No problem."

Having reached a preliminary consensus, Lin Xiaoran cautiously asked, "Then can we go see a movie?"

She was afraid of ruining the pleasant working atmosphere. But since she had booked the movie tickets on her phone, she felt obligated to inform everyone that the movie was about to start.

After leaving their purchases at the service desk, the four of them took the elevator to the cinema on the top floor of the mall. Just as they finished buying drinks and popcorn, they turned around and saw Gao Jiali.

"Waves, it's been a long time."

After Gao Jiali finished speaking, she nodded slightly to Mu Chen beside her in greeting. However, she didn't treat Song Yunxi and Lin Xiaoran with the same warmth.

Jiang Hailang also greeted him politely: "Hello."

Gao Jiali asked, "Would it be convenient for us to talk?"

Before Jiang Hailang could speak, Lin Xiaoran answered first, "It's inconvenient, our movie is about to start."

Gao Jiali glanced at Lin Xiaoran, who was standing beside her holding popcorn, and smiled with a hint of disdain. Then she turned to look at Jiang Hailang.

"If I had held on to you as tightly as this young girl did back then, she probably wouldn't be in this situation today, would she?"

"It's a pity you didn't catch it. So many years have passed, it's even less likely you'll catch it now." After saying that, Jiang Hailang put his arm around Lin Xiaoran's shoulder and prepared to take her away.

He hadn't even taken two steps when Gao Jiali's mocking voice came from behind: "How is this girl any better than me? She's only clinging to you because you're rich now. If this were back in the day, when you were still a penniless student, she would have left you just like I did. Jiang Hailang, stop fooling yourself!"

Some people, if they can't have something themselves, will try to make others unable to have it either. They are not only psychologically dark, but also have a penchant for perverse pleasures.

Jiang Hailang turned around, about to say a few words, when Lin Xiaoran stopped him. She shoved popcorn into his hand and took a few steps forward to stand in front of Gao Jiali.

"You only see that he is rich now, but you don't see how hard he worked to earn that money over the years. You didn't contribute a single bit to it, and you have no right to make sarcastic remarks."

I am indeed not as good as you; I lack your abilities and am not even as good-looking. But my parents taught me from a young age that girls should respect themselves and not be tempted by money and fame. Therefore, I will not be like you, losing myself for the sake of so-called future prospects.

Believe it or not, if it were me back then, even if he had nothing, I wouldn't have left him. I would have been there for him from scratch, and I would have stood by him through hardship to achieve success.

A crowd had already gathered to watch. Gao Jiali's friend, who had just picked up the movie tickets, turned around and saw her arguing with someone. She quickly stepped forward and pulled her aside. "Jiali, let it go."

Gao Jiali chuckled lightly. She had intended to mock someone, but instead, she was humiliated in such a merciless manner.

Yes, she felt humiliated because Lin Xiaoran said she didn't respect herself.

This is the difference in choices that one's background brings. Children with good upbringing and accustomed to a privileged life naturally disdain selling themselves for fame and fortune.

Even though she embellished everything as a pursuit of dreams and a future, she could not escape the fate of being humiliated and ridiculed.

Jiang Hailang took two steps forward and hugged Lin Xiaoran tightly.

Lin Xiaoran thought he was upset about Gao Jiali, so she reached out and hugged him back, then gently patted his back twice to comfort him.

Poor kid, there's always a troublesome ex-girlfriend popping up.

After a while, Lin Xiaoran spoke softly, as if coaxing a wounded child, "The movie has started, let's go in."

As the saying goes, matters of the heart must be handled by the parties involved; others can only watch.

Song Yunxi was thoroughly implementing this unspoken rule, because she was standing next to them with popcorn in her hand, watching the melodramatic plot while stuffing popcorn into her mouth.

After thinking about it, she felt she couldn't neglect Mu Chen, so she put another one in his mouth.