Dinner

After the end of summer, the evening breeze brought a touch of coolness.

Gu Nan rubbed his arms and casually strolled into a milk tea shop to kill time. His phone, which was on the table, lit up and then went dark, but the lock screen didn't show any specific message content.

I can guess roughly.

Ye Xu brought Su Wanting to the party, most likely with the intention of bringing Su Wanting into his team.

She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, dispelling the irritation between her brows.

Turn on your phone.

Master, I apologize for my mistake.

Inside the milk tea shop, college students were chatting in small groups.

Gu Nan closed her phone, took out a cigarette and twirled it between her fingers. The lighter clicked in her hand. She glanced around but didn't light it. She took a big gulp of milk tea, the popping boba bursting in her mouth. The strong minty flavor even masked the sweetness of the milk tea itself.

The milk tea without sugar tasted bland and indescribable, just as she couldn't quite grasp her own feelings at that moment.

It's like eating ginger shreds in stir-fried potatoes, ginger chunks in stewed potatoes, and ginger slices in fried potatoes.

If the ginger is the problem, the potatoes are an accomplice.

My playing style is quite different from Ye Xu's. You can learn from her how to counter moves, but try not to force yourself to change your style.

Su Wanting replied instantly: 【Huh? No.】

As Gu Nan continued typing until the phone screen went out, he held the milk tea in a daze. Was he preparing to write a short essay for her?

Five minutes later, the short essay contained only two words: 【Master.】

She looked at the two words from left to right, suspecting that Su Wanting had used modern high-tech methods.

This is actually two thousand words, but technology is advancing so fast that she is too outdated to tell.

He sighed, "The development of artificial intelligence is indeed rapid."

This attracted the attention of several college students.

Gu Nan asked without any hesitation, "Is there a way to make it so that even though I can only see two words in the chat box, the other party actually sent me two thousand words, every word filled with blood and tears, a truly moving story?"

"The Emperor's New Characters?"

The college student stared at her with caring eyes for a few seconds, then kindly asked if she had broken up with her boyfriend.

Gu Nan said she had just found a boyfriend, but they hadn't started dating yet. She sincerely apologized to her boyfriend, whom she hadn't even started dating yet. Compared to Su Wanting, Lu Yushi's reply speed was comparable to Chang'e 6 (the lunar probe).

"It's alright, don't worry. All things considered, Ye Xu is indeed more suitable to be your mentor than I am. Your choice of her is only natural, and I understand."

The message was sent out, but it disappeared without a trace.

Gu Nan tapped her phone screen and smiled inexplicably. Where else could she find someone as moving as her?

Even after being "kicked out" by her apprentice, she still cared about his life. For a moment, she felt that she had to accept an award to make up for her 40-second period of disappointment.

Su Wanting single-handedly extended her disappointment by three minutes.

During the half-cup of milk tea that passed without a reply, the chat window was as quiet as if someone had deleted you from their friend list.

She tentatively sent an emoji.

Without a red exclamation mark, I chewed the last pearl, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Half a minute later, she had her answer.

I still don't know whether to cry or laugh.

"Master, what are you saying? I think I've gotten myself into a huge mess."

Gu Nan didn't take it seriously. What kind of disaster could he cause at a party, like smashing the champagne tower to pieces?

I imagined the scene in my mind, and it was indeed quite shocking.

The ringing of the phone broke her shock, and Su Wanting apologized first: "Master, I'm sorry."

"Tsk."

There was only one cigarette left in the pack. She twirled the pack in her palm, got up, and went outside. The lighter clicked, and a crimson flash appeared in the darkness.

If Su Wanting had even the slightest bit of self-righteousness, she could have easily and comfortably become strangers to her.

The moonlight was beautiful, outlining her silhouette on the ground. She lifted her foot and touched the darkened area, feeling grateful that she was such a good person.

"There is no right or wrong in personal choices."

"Huh?" Su Wanting was puzzled and, as if afraid that she would hang up, suddenly quickened her pace, "No, Master. I'll explain about Sister Ye Xu later. It's...it's because I accidentally mentioned you."

Gu Nan: ...

I felt even more melancholy.

"Talking to Ye Xu about me?"

If she remembered correctly, Ye Xu had always been somewhat suspicious of her.

"No!"

Gu Nan breathed a sigh of relief: "Good boy."

She didn't think much about hiding it from Ye Xu. Considering that it would be too troublesome to explain if Ye Xu knew Yan Yi's identity, she simply decided to keep it a secret.

"Do you remember the Lu family who sent you the invitation before?"

"hiss."

My right hand unconsciously clenched, and the cigarette butt burned my palm.

For a few seconds when my breathing stopped, it was as if I lost the sensation of pain.

"You told Lu Yushi about me?"

"No."

As the weight lifted from her throat and her breathing evened out, a sharp pain shot through her palm. She clenched her fist tightly, replacing the sting with a numbness, and whispered, "That's good."

"It's his assistant."

"...Say it all in one go, thank you."

She admitted that Sun Qian was ill, but did not deny that anyone Lu Yushi kept by his side could not be a real fool.

"I'm sorry, Master, but it's really his assistant who's such a jerk that I couldn't hold back."

"Agreed."

“Sun Qian said there were rules for the party: everyone had to enter with an invitation, and only one person could enter with one invitation. I was afraid of implicating Professor Ye Xu, so I wanted to try to build a relationship with him.”

The speaker played Su Wanting's angry words without missing a single one. Gu Nan's expression gradually froze, and guesses began to form in her mind. She silently pulled the phone away, as if that would prevent the event from happening.

The wind had smoked half her cigarette, but she didn't have time to argue with it. She asked in a trembling voice, "So you're saying... you're Yan Yi's apprentice?"

Su Wanting angrily chimed in, "That's right! Sun Qian even pretended to be stupid with me, saying he didn't know Yan Yi at all. I said, Lu's Group sent an invitation to my master, how could he not know her! Luckily, I have a good memory and still remember the date on the invitation, otherwise I would have been fooled by him... Master, are you still listening... Master? Are you still there?"

Gu Nan: "Some people are alive, but they are already dead."

She gazed resolutely into the darkness in the distance.

Some people are dead, but they still live on.

To Sun Qian!

"master?"

"Your master will avenge you; you'll see him on the news tomorrow."

Su Wanting nearly cried out, "Master, murder is a crime!"

Gu Nan: "...He's on the social news, not me on the legal channel, understand? Okay, we'll talk later."

After hanging up the phone, she immediately switched systems and focused on editing the text. Having not used the software for a long time, her photo editing skills were a bit rusty. She arrived at the restaurant just in time.

The moment she put her phone away, Sun Qian appeared before her like a ghost.

She rarely felt guilty, but when that innocent face suddenly loomed large before her eyes, she unconsciously touched the tip of her nose.

In the blink of an eye, he convinced himself that Sun Qian's ability to provoke Su Wanting into revealing her master's identity proved that she was no pushover either, and that her current dazed and foolish appearance was mostly an act.

She stared at that fawning smile, unable to imagine what kind of expression it must have made to frighten Su Wanting into telling the truth.

"I have a friend who can cure schizophrenia."

Sun Qian didn't understand, but she couldn't let the words fall to the ground: "Your friend is really amazing."

Gu Nan couldn't detect a trace of sarcasm in his sincere tone.

"Is Miss Gu unhappy?"

Gu Nan tilted her head: "Would it make you happy to tell you?"

"You're joking, aren't you?" Sun Qian raised his arm to block the elevator door, bowed to let her go first, and said with a smile, "If you need my help, just let me know."

Gu Nan stepped into the elevator and said, "Help me get rid of Lu Yushi."

Sun Qian: "..."

"If that's not possible, getting rid of his assistant will do."

"The boss has five assistants."

Gu Nan raised an eyebrow and lazily rolled up her sleeves: "Really? I thought you were the only one."

Sun Qian lowered his eyes, his right hand busy in his pants pocket. After a moment, he raised his chin towards the upper right corner of the elevator and reminded her, "Miss Gu, there are security cameras here."

Gu Nan nodded, popped a piece of chewing gum into her mouth, glanced at his right hand, and said dismissively, "Are you going to pull out a knife, or are you going to throw a punch?"

"I?"

"Don't tell me you're cooking with your right hand in your pocket."

Sun Qian gritted his teeth, tightening his grip on his right hand in his pocket.

Fortunately, he had plenty of time in the afternoon and was able to rush to the jewelry store to have a large "忍" (ren, meaning patience/endurance) character made.

Judging from the boss's intentions, he wanted to spend some time with this Miss Gu. He decided to have one engraved for the boss when he had time, so that he could replace her and become the boss's number one assistant.

The beautiful illusion shattered five minutes later.

When Gu Nan grabbed Lu Yu, she solemnly complained, "Your assistant is trying to get rid of me."

Su Qian: ?

Lu Yushi lifted his eyelids slightly, his face expressionless, but the oppressive aura emanating from his dark pupils made Sun Qian swallow the explanation he was about to utter.

"Young Master Lu, you have to stand up for me!" Gu Nan clung to Lu Yushi's arm and shook it, trying her best to squeeze out a single tear, but couldn't. So she simply spit some saliva and wiped it on the corner of her eye under Sun Qian's incredulous gaze.

"I reasonably suspect that Sun Qian is your mother's man, and that he wants to secretly kill me in order to prevent you from being with me."

“I can’t lift a finger, I’m just a weak little girl, and he… he…” Gu Nan glanced at Sun Qian and felt a pang of heartache. Sun Qian looked only slightly taller and stronger than her. The words were already on the tip of her tongue, and she decided to say it anyway, “If a man blocks me, the chances of me being killed are too high.”

“We’ve only just started, we haven’t even gone that far physically, and you’re already going to be a widow for me? That’s so unfair to you.”

While she delivered a stellar performance, Lu Yushi remained calm and silent for a while.

"He can't beat you."

Gu Nan: "..."

Sun Qian: "..."

One sentence made two people unhappy.

Gu Nan responded with ease: "Oh."

After thinking for a moment, he still humbly bowed slightly: "You don't need to have such high expectations of me. As the saying goes, there are always people more capable than you, and heavens..."

"Young Master Lu." A middle-aged man turned in from the side corridor. His suit was neatly pressed, and even his hair was combed back in perfect order. His shrewd eyes swept over Gu Nan. He pushed open the door to the private room, smiled, and bowed slightly. "Please."

"Elder Shen," Lu Yushi greeted him calmly, then entered the room without looking to the side and went straight to the head of the table.

Gu Nan thought to herself, "How rude! Doesn't she know how to respect the elderly and care for the young?"

Then he followed closely behind Lu Yushi into the room, reluctant to linger his gaze on Old Man Shen, instead scanning the faces of the people in the private room one by one.

Unknown, Ugly Thing Number One, Shen Ming, Ugly Thing Number Two, Ugly Thing Number Three, Ugly Thing Number Four...

Forget it, I'm not watching anymore.

Just as he was about to look away, "Hiss."

It's starting to look a little familiar.

The man looked directly at them.

I recognize about 80% of the face.

The man stood up, his eyes clearing for three seconds: "Old..."

Gu Nan rushed forward and cut him off before he could finish saying the word "big": "Hello, teacher."

The air was silent for three seconds. The man's gaze, which had been fixed on her as if she were mentally challenged, lingered on her face for a long while before he finally managed to utter three words: "Hello, teacher."

Old Shen stepped in to smooth things over: "Miss Gu knows Teacher Jin?"

Jin Yan: "I...I don't know him."

Gu Nan: "I don't know him."

Old Shen introduced everyone one by one, and finally emphasized Jin Yan: "This is the top-notch engineer I mentioned to Young Master Lu, a graduate of a top German university, who has conquered many..."

Jin Yan waved his hand, indicating that he should keep a low profile.

Old Shen nodded and continued playing.

Gu Nan rubbed his ears, moved his phone under the table, opened the internal encrypted system he hadn't logged into for many years, and tapped on a certain avatar.

Before she could even make a sarcastic remark, Jin Yan shut her down.

Jin Yan: [Boss, you're bankrupt?]

Gu Nan: [?]

Jin Yan: [I really can't think of any other reason why you would be someone else's girlfriend.]

Gu Nan: [...]

Jin Yan: [I've always believed no man is good enough for you. It's only been two years, and you've gone off to be someone else's girlfriend? Where's my mighty and powerful Nan-jie? Why can't you be anything else, let alone a girlfriend! Have you fallen so low? My strong and capable Nan-jie is someone else's girlfriend? Who would believe that?]

Gu Nan: [...I'm missing a part, so I can't be a boyfriend.]

"Pfft." Jin Yan spat out a mouthful of tea.

Gu Nan smiled with satisfaction, sipping her tea to suppress the upward curve of her lips.

Just as I was about to put my phone away, another message came in.

Jin Yan: [Why did you become his girlfriend? Because of love?]

Gu Nan: [Because... he's good in bed?]

"Cough cough."

Old Shen had to stop his conversation with Lu Yushi again and asked with concern, "Is it because the food doesn't suit Teacher Jin's taste?"

Jin Yan wiped his mouth and forced a serious expression: "I just got back to the country and I'm not used to it yet. Please enjoy your meal. I'm going to the restroom."

Before leaving, he gave Gu Nan a wink.

Gu Nan slowly finished her tea, turned around, and was caught off guard by a pair of probing dark eyes. Lu Yushi even said before she could speak, "Go."

Gu Nan thought about many things in an instant, rubbed the tip of her nose, and went out.

Jin Yan had been waiting outside the door for a long time.

"What's going on? From what Elder Shen is saying, is your boyfriend trying to win me over?"

Gu Nan patted his shoulder and nodded.

"With you by his side, what could he possibly need from me?"

Gu Nan hesitated for a long time before finally saying in a deep voice, "Deal with me."

Jin Yan rubbed the back of his head and said suspiciously, "As expected of the boss, even his love life is more exciting than others."