Chapter 30: Why did he prioritize romance over friendship and come home specifically to watch me take a shower?

Xing Lan stood by the glass window of her office, quietly gazing at the distant scenery.

Looking out of the company window, one can vaguely see a pointed red tower. That's the iconic building of Ningbo University. Back in college, every time the bell rang, Xing Lan would leave the library and head to the school cafeteria for lunch.

Years have passed, and the spire, thanks to the school's meticulous renovations, remains as elegant and beautiful as ever. Only the students have come and gone; things have changed.

Li Baidong should be in class at school right now, sitting in a lecture hall not far from the tower.

Although he usually seems carefree and irresponsible, he is very serious when it comes to studying. He even bragged to Xing Lan a while ago that he had been receiving scholarships since his freshman year.

Xing Lan thought that if it weren't for that accident, Li Baidong might have been like all the other classmates, finding a pretty girl of similar age and going out to have fun together during holidays.

Instead of now, I spend my days at home playing games out of boredom after class, waiting for him to get off work, and on my days off I just watch him working on his computer.

From childhood, Xing Lan had always been a person with high standards for himself; he couldn't accept committing any immoral act. He always felt an unspeakable, yet inescapable, sense of guilt towards Li Baidong.

He was lost in thought when suddenly, he heard hurried and chaotic footsteps behind him.

President Liao swaggered in, stormed towards Xing Lan by the window, and angrily demanded, "Did you send Lu Yan that new video of the drinking party she posted online?"

Xing Lan made no attempt to hide anything, turning around and nodding indifferently.

At the dinner party that day, when Lu Yan was being harassed by President Liu touching her thigh, Xing Lan made two preparations. First, she recorded a video on her phone before getting up to stop it.

Although the photo was taken secretly from a certain angle, it clearly shows Mr. Liu's greasy, dirty hand reaching for her thigh under the dining table.

With this strong evidence, it would be much easier for Lu Yanruo to expose President Liu's true colors.

"Why did you do this?" President Liao roared, his eyes bloodshot with rage. "Do you know how much negative impact that video will have on the company?"

"Xing Lan, since you graduated and joined the company, the company has treated you well, hasn't it? You're young, hardworking, and capable; I've always had high hopes for you. So many people dream of getting that director position this year, and I specifically promoted you!" He pointed at Xing Lan's nose, trembling with anger. "But is this how you repay the company, repay me?!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Liao."

Xing Lan lowered his head, his dark hair hanging down, making his face appear exceptionally pale and cold.

He gently tugged at the corner of his lips and said calmly to General Manager Liao, "Since joining the company, I have always put the company first, worked hard to complete all my tasks, and fulfilled my responsibilities."

“In this respect, I don’t feel like I’ve let the company down, but regarding Lu Yan’s matter… I can’t let myself down either.”

With a loud crash, General Manager Liao, his face grim, kicked over the bougainvillea flowerpot in the corner. The force was so great that not only was the celadon flowerpot shattered, but he also nearly lost his balance, fortunately managing to grab the armchair next to him in time.

He turned around stiffly, clenched his teeth, and said, word by word, "Get out of here! Don't come to work anymore!" Every word was so cold and hard, as if it were forced out from between his teeth.

Xing Lan remained silent for a long time before nodding.

Since President Liao has already made such a statement, there's no need for him to try to salvage the situation.

He grabbed his coat from the back of the chair, lowered his eyes, and strode out of the office.

Throughout the journey, his face showed no sign of embarrassment; his expression remained as indifferent as ever, exuding an air of noble arrogance that seemed to emanate from his very bones.

It was as if nothing had happened; he was still the same aloof and powerful Director Xing.

There was quite a commotion in the office just now. After Xing Lan came out, many people stared at him with stunned and frightened looks.

Ignoring the stares of everyone, he raised his hand, took off the name tag pinned to his chest, and threw it into the trash can without looking at it again.

Deng Hao appeared particularly gloating among the group. He crossed his legs and sneered at his colleague beside him, "See? I told you he wouldn't last more than a few months there. He's unworthy of his position and will be in trouble sooner or later."

The office was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and everything he said reached Xing Lan's ears.

He suddenly stopped, turned around, and gave Deng Hao a sarcastic look. His voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for everyone in the office to hear clearly.

"Don't worry, with your usual performance level, even if I leave, you won't get a promotion or a raise."

He looked at Deng Hao, a hint of pity in his eyes.

"We participated in the same design competition in college. You racked your brains to beat me, and even secretly copied a niche idea from a foreign designer. Although the judges didn't notice, you only received a consolation prize in the end, and you didn't even have the right to go and receive the award."

"Whether I'm at the company or not, you'll always be someone I can easily crush, a thief who only knows how to parrot others and will never amount to anything."

"Keep your rampant and useless jealousy to yourself, Deng Hao. It will only make your pathetic life look even more ridiculous."

The dirty deeds he had committed in his eagerness for quick success were exposed by Xing Lan in front of everyone with such ease. Deng Hao's face turned redder and redder, and he was so angry that he couldn't speak.

Xing Lan smiled slightly, slammed the glass door of the office lightly, and strode away.

-

Xing Lan had already anticipated being fired when she sent the video to Lu Yan.

Although he loves his job, he can't stay at a disgusting company that relies on selling female employees to attract customers.

If losing a job could clear a girl's name and bring justice to society, he felt it was worth it.

After leaving the office building, Xing Lan stood by the roadside lined with sycamore trees. A gust of cold wind unexpectedly caused her usually clear-headed mind to go blank.

For a brief few seconds, he didn't know where he should go or what he should do.

For the first twenty-odd years of his life, his life was like a pre-programmed machine, with both his studies and work handled in an orderly manner. When the order he had become accustomed to was suddenly broken, he felt a sense of bewilderment he had never experienced before.

Xing Lan particularly hated this feeling of confusion, which made him feel that he was not mature enough to fully control his own life, but rather isolated and helpless like a stupid child.

It's noon now, and the school's clock tower in the distance has struck twelve times in unison.

Just then, Xing Lan's phone rang; it was a message from Li Baidong.

Li Baidong: [Image.jpg]

Li Baidong: [Bro! Have you had lunch yet? I just got the last chicken leg in the cafeteria, aren't I lucky today?! (^3^)]

I don't know when it started, but Li Baidong always sends Xing Lan pictures of his daily life.

For a while, he sent messages too frequently, and the chat window would get 99+ messages if he didn't check it for a short time. Xing Lan ruthlessly set it to Do Not Disturb mode and almost blocked him.

Later, he cleverly learned to control the frequency, sending only 3 to 5 messages a day, which satisfied his strong desire to share without bothering Xing Lan.

Because Xing Lan rarely replies to him, and WeChat doesn't have a read receipt function, Li Baidong usually doesn't know whether Xing Lan has seen his messages or not.

But today, Xing Lan replied to him instantly, which was unusual for her.

A familiar emoji appeared on the chat interface: a golden retriever puppy lying pitifully on the carpet, rolling its big black eyes, looking gloomy.

This emoji was one that Li Baidong had sent to Xing Lan before, used to express his deep sadness and frustration when Xing Lan was working overtime at night and couldn't come home to have dinner with him. Xing Lan had secretly saved it sometime during the night.

Although he immediately withdrew his message, Li Baidong, who was waiting in the chat interface, still managed to catch it instantly.

He looked at his phone, frowned, and muttered to himself, "...Sad little dog?"

Realizing something was wrong with Xing Lan, he immediately sent several messages asking what was wrong and if she was unhappy. He even made a hasty phone call. Xing Lan didn't answer the phone, and after a while, she casually replied with "Nothing" on WeChat.

Li Baidong didn't think Xing Lan seemed genuinely alright at all. He immediately lost his appetite for the chicken leg, hurriedly ate a couple of bites of rice, slung his bag over his shoulder, and prepared to leave.

Zhou Lu, who was eating in the cafeteria next to him, looked up at him strangely: "Hey buddy, you finally managed to snatch the last big chicken leg from those hungry ghosts, and you left without even taking a bite? What a waste!"

"Enough with the nonsense. If you want to eat, just eat," Li Baidong said without looking up, eager to make his escape.

Zhou Lu had been waiting for him to say that. He chuckled and immediately used his chopsticks to put the chicken leg into his own bowl: "Thanks, buddy, you're really kind."

Li Baidong's mind was entirely focused on Xing Lan. He casually patted Zhou Lu's shoulder twice and said, "Hey, I skipped class this afternoon. If the teacher calls roll, remember to call me 'present' for me."

"He who takes a bribe is bound to be obligated to serve it," Zhou Lu nodded hastily, patting his chest: "It's all on the house, brother."

Zhou Lu was in the same grade as Li Baidong and was also Li Baidong's former roommate.

He's a slow-moving Virgo, a bit fussy. In the time it takes to eat a meal, he can use up more than half of the tissue box, and he can wipe the tables within a half-mile radius spotless.

While slowly chewing on his chicken leg, he mumbled to Li Baidong, "Hey, why are you in such a hurry? Are you rushing to see your roommate?"

"Look at you, prioritizing your boyfriend over your friends. Our dorm is so nice, it was just renovated before the New Year, with a private bathroom and air conditioning, and you can even smell the osmanthus when you open the window. You insist on moving out for him, which is so inconvenient to commute every day. I really don't know what you're thinking."

After he finished speaking, he looked up again, but Li Baidong had completely disappeared.

"...Awesome!" he exclaimed. "He became a speedster for love!"

-

Xing Lan took a taxi home.

Without a job, he was suddenly thrown off his life's original plans, like a fish suddenly pulled out of a fish tank, facing the boundless sea before him, not knowing where to go or what to do. His thoughts became chaotic, and his body became very tired.

He tidied up the dog toys that his little prince had picked up and thrown around, fed the fox some cat treats, played with the puppies and kittens for a while, and then planned to take a relaxing bath.

He bought a few new bath bombs when he passed by the supermarket a few days ago. He hadn't had time to try them out until today.

Xing Lan filled the bathroom with hot water, took off all her clothes, closed her eyes, and imagined herself as a transparent stone at the bottom of a hot spring, lying quietly in the warm water of the bathtub.

The man's fair, slender shoulders were partially exposed in the cool air, surrounded by the faint scent of rose and apple from the scented bath bombs. The fragrance was very pleasant and had a calming effect.

He rested his cheek on his hand by the edge of the bathtub, relaxed his whole body, and gradually felt himself drifting off to sleep.

Just then, a loud "Bang!" came from the doorway, and the veins on his forehead throbbed, instantly jolting his previously drowsy nerves back to full alertness.

The bathroom was filled with mist. He blinked slightly and keenly caught a familiar scent of perfume coming from the uninvited guest standing at the door.

Xing Lan raised her eyes expressionlessly, staring at Li Baidong who had suddenly barged into the bathroom, her tone cool.

"...Why didn't you go to school to watch me take a shower?"