The snow in Jiangcheng became a trending topic today. Gong Yao glanced at the Spring Festival duty roster he had prepared; it was a rare long holiday.

He casually fiddled with the Newton billiards figurine on his desk, then turned to look at the snow-covered street.

Jiangcheng has always been known for its pleasant weather, which is like spring all year round. Such a magnificent snowfall is enough to excite the uninformed people of Jiangcheng.

But so what? Lin Zhenzhen hadn't contacted him for a week. Gong Yao belatedly realized that he might be being used as a backup option.

A cell phone ring interrupted Gong Yao's self-pity. Huang An's voice was noisy on the other end: "Young Master Gong, are you off work yet? Come to Nanshan for a while."

"No fun, no fun."

Huang An quickly stopped him: "Don't hang up on me, Gong Yao! Didn't you have your eye on a girl? I have some inside information about her. If you want to hear it, hurry up, or forget it."

When Gong Yao arrived by car, men and women were having a barbecue on the lawn at the top of Nanshan Mountain, while Huang An had set up some sound equipment and was singing loudly in a corner.

Gong Yao ripped off Huang An's headphones: "I really don't know when your taste will improve."

Huang An hugged Gong Yao and blew him a kiss on the cheek: "Just a common man, that's all the taste you have."

Gong Yao rubbed his right cheek in disgust: "If you fucking kiss me again, I'll rip your pig snout off."

Huang An pleaded dramatically, collapsing beside Gong Yao: "No, you have to beg me, only if you beg me will I tell you about Lin Zhenzhen."

Gong Yao shoved Huang An away without any mercy: "Say it or don't, I don't want to hear it."

"Heh!" Huang An said in surprise, "You've gotten tough now? Then why did you come running over here as soon as you heard their name?"

Gong Yao said expressionlessly, "Can you speak Chinese? Do you even know what 'begging on your feet' means? You're just using it randomly."

He crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair, saying, "I just want to eat barbecue."

Huang An grabbed a chicken wing from the baking tray next to him and stuffed it into Gong Yao's mouth: "Eat, eat, eat. What girl? There's no need for that."

After making a couple of sarcastic remarks, Huang An returned to the center of the butterfly dance floor, leaving Gong Yao alone sitting quietly eating chicken wings.

Several people recognized Gong Yao and greeted him, but he received only lukewarm responses.

It's not that Gong Yao is showing off; his face blindness is something that could be turned into a joke.

During his high school years, Gong Yao was a prominent figure. Not only did students talk about him, but many teachers from other grades also knew him.

That day, Gong Yao was on his way to his destination when a male voice called out to him, "Gong Yao, wait a moment."

Gong Yao stopped, and a middle-aged teacher in a shirt jogged up to him: "Have your class's labor committee member hand in the duty roster this morning."

Gong Yao nodded and turned to leave.

He took two steps and then turned back: "Excuse me, where should I hand this in?"

"Just hand it over to my office."

Gong Yao nodded, his dark eyes fixed quietly on the other person, as if waiting for what was to come.

"I'm Teacher Zhang, you don't not recognize me, do you?" Teacher Zhang said incredulously, "I taught your class PE last semester..."

Gong Yao explained, "I've never been able to remember faces very well since I was little."

But... you're the sports representative for your class.

"So what?" Gong Yao had little patience for Huang An, who enjoyed making fun of him about his face blindness. "You use your brain for useless socializing."

Humiliated for being brainless and associating only with scoundrels, Huang An navigated his social scene, leaving Gong Yao, a lone flower on a high mountain, sitting in the shade of a tree, lost in thought.

Gong Yao sat under the shade of a tree playing games. After two rounds, he got bored and threw his phone aside. The glare from the phone screen at noon affected his performance.

In the dead of winter, the sunny days in the south are particularly unpredictable, with people being two-faced and backstabbing each other.

It seems quite sunny, but once the cold wind blows, you'll realize that the sunlight is all hype and no substance, it's completely useless.

To throw a party here in the wind and cold is either stupid or weird.

Gong Yao muttered a couple of complaints to himself before getting up to leave.

"Handsome, do you need my help?" Gong Yao turned around and saw a heavily made-up woman with wrinkles on her face as she smiled.

Gong Yao nodded, picked up the half-eaten lunchbox and handed it to her: "Thank you."

The woman froze, then realized what she was doing, her face contorted with rage: "Do you think I'm a waiter? I'm wearing a piece from last month's Paris runway show, you ignorant brat!"

"I'm sorry," Gong Yao apologized sincerely, "I don't need any other help for the time being."

"Wait!" Zhou Jingjing remembered the purpose of her visit and suppressed her anger. "Brother An said he needs to talk to you. He's waiting for you on the second floor of the rest area."

Gong Yao looked up and carefully examined Zhou Jingjing: "What's your name?"

Zhou Jingjing felt a little guilty under his gaze and smiled awkwardly, "Just call me Zhou Zhou."

"Oh." Gong Yao stopped pressing the matter and turned away indifferently.

"But Huang An is still here..."

Gong Yao interrupted, "If you see him, tell him to call me. If his phone falls into a ditch, please lend him your phone."

Zhou Jingjing was about to speak when Gong Yao turned around and added, "Oh, if he's drunk and falls into the water, please call 120. We need to be quick about this."

Zhou Jingjing pushed open the door to the corner room on the second floor. Zheng Rong was sitting there playing with a wooden carving in his hand. He looked up and saw that it was Zhou Jingjing, and he didn't seem surprised.

Zhou Jingjing said aggrievedly, "Young Master Rong, who exactly is that person? He doesn't even respect Brother An."

Zheng Rong seemed to recall some past events and smiled, "A somewhat troublesome person."

[Host, Gong Yao has already gained 50 points of favorability with his target, along with +50 wealth points, +50 political acumen, and is ahead in main quest progress.]

Zheng Rong's expression twisted for a moment. He sat there, thought seriously for a while, and then dialed a phone number.

The call connected, and a very young female voice answered.

"What's up?"

Zheng Rong's lips slowly curled up, and he casually tapped the table with his fingers: "Can't I greet you if there's nothing wrong? Xiao Zhen."