Good morning, Boss.

After work, Ming Shuzhen got home and placed her suitcase and tote by the entrance, ready to grab and go early the next morning.

Her flight was at 9 a.m., but the airport was far, so she’d need to leave early.

Double-checking the HR-provided ticket details, she settled into bed, easing into sleep.

*Beep beep—beep.*

Her phone chimed.

It was Han Shuyu, sending photos of her new apartment, inviting her for a housewarming.

“Congrats on the new place!” Ming Shuzhen texted back.

Then added, “I’m off on a work trip soon. When’s the housewarming? I’ll see if I can make it.”

“No date yet. Whenever you’re free, it’s just us two,” Han Shuyu replied.

“Huh, just us? Not inviting more people?” Ming Shuzhen typed, then hesitated.

Work wasn’t like school—casual chats didn’t mean closeness.

Her bond with Han Shuyu worked because they weren’t in the same team and rarely met, keeping things friendly.

Deleting her draft, she retyped, “Cool, I’ll text you when I’m back.”

“Mm. Your trip’s for Light Source Book House, right?” Han Shuyu asked.

“Yup. You guys handled it before—any tips?”

“Hm…” Han Shuyu’s “typing” status flickered, but she only sent, “It’s complicated.”

“How complicated? Life-jacket level?” Ming Shuzhen quipped.

Han Shuyu sent a “speechless” emoji. “The architects want awards, the government wants propaganda, locals just join the hype. It’s a rural library built for show, not use—hardly any kids go inside.”

“What? Are the books not age-appropriate, or too old, so kids avoid it?”

“The opposite. It’s high-tech, fancy design, with government-hired students cleaning and organizing shelves. Books are pristine. But that makes kids scared to enter—feels too formal. They’re afraid to touch anything, let alone read quietly.”

Han Shuyu, raised in the mountains, understood that unease.

Ming Shuzhen read her message, silent.

“Why hire an external third-party testing firm like us? The architects don’t trust local firms anymore. One says the walls are bad, another says safety’s an issue—architects hate that, aiming for awards, not wanting their project trashed.”

“Why do these firms keep finding faults? Can’t they just be honest?” Ming Shuzhen asked, confused.

“Greed. It’s a government-backed rural revitalization project. Even minor officials can climb ranks through it. Claim a problem, they don’t understand, and with funding flowing, they just pay up. Testing firms team up with contractors, pocketing the cash.”

Ming Shuzhen was stunned. “Wow, they’ll stoop to anything for money.”

“Money makes the world go round,” Han Shuyu said, unusually chatty.

“Anyway, be careful. Back up all data, don’t leak anything,” she warned. “With the boss there, it should be fine.”

“Is the boss that good?” Ming Shuzhen tilted her head, assuming Ming Shuyan was just a manager, not hands-on.

“Very,” Han Shuyu affirmed. “We’ve got our engineering team there too, so you just need to oversee the big picture.”

Ming Shuzhen sent an “mm-mm” emoji, sleep creeping in.

“Han Shuyu, I’ve got an early flight. Gotta sleep. Congrats again on the new place, happy moving!”

“Heh,” Han Shuyu chuckled. She hadn’t planned a housewarming, not being big on rituals or having many close friends.

But her landlord mentioned it, noting the area’s convenience for visitors. Thinking of Ming Shuzhen braving rain to help her, and seeing sunlight fill her new place, she felt moved.

—

Early morning, Ming Shuzhen was roused by Zhong Shuo’s voice messages.

Snoozing her alarm, she answered, “Little Shuo-shuo, I’m up.”

“Get moving, wash up. I’m back to tower-crashing,” Zhong Shuo said.

Hearing Ming Shuzhen’s slippers dragging and water running, Zhong Shuo, assured she was awake, hung up.

Freshened up, Ming Shuzhen applied light makeup. Breakfast from Ming Jianchang was still warm on the table. She ate while calling him.

“Dad, where you at?”

“Dropped breakfast off for your mom. You two busy bees. Grad school exams are coming, and her students needed her to review key points. She slept at school,” Ming Jianchang said. “Finish eating, head to the airport. You were asleep when I came by, didn’t want to wake you.”

“Oh, eating now,” Ming Shuzhen mumbled, understanding his whereabouts.

“Geez, the school cafeteria’s got everything. You didn’t need to run food to Mom.”

“It’s still a walk from the dorm to the cafeteria. I save her steps,” Ming Jianchang said, chuckling at her cluelessness.

“Walking’s good for you—live longer,” Ming Shuzhen teased.

He laughed. “Eat up, don’t be late for the airport.”

“Got it, don’t worry.”

Hanging up, she wolfed down breakfast, grabbed her suitcase, and left.

Yesterday, she’d arranged for Ming Shuyan to pick her up for the airport.

Qian Duoduo had complained about the long drive, worse with city traffic. Ming Shuzhen mentioned the boss picking her up and offered to include Qian Duoduo.

Qian Duoduo agreed but didn’t want to leave Chen Hao out.

So they looped in Chen Hao, saying the boss would pick her up too.

This morning, Ming Shuyan first fetched Chen Hao, then swung by Ming Shuzhen’s place.

Outside her complex, Ming Shuzhen didn’t see the familiar silver car but spotted a heavy-duty Cadillac Escalade flashing its hazards twice.

Approaching cautiously, she saw Ming Shuyan and Chen Hao inside.

The driver, a buzz-cut man she didn’t recognize, might’ve been hired or Ming Shuyan’s private driver. Guessing no one drives an Escalade for ride-sharing, she leaned toward it being Ming Shuyan’s.

The driver took her luggage, and Ming Shuzhen slid in beside Chen Hao.

“Morning, Boss!” she chirped, nodding at Ming Shuyan in the front passenger seat.

Knowing Ming Shuyan had to zigzag to pick everyone up, she played cute to lighten the mood.

Ming Shuyan glanced at her in the rearview mirror, silent, her mood unreadable.

Chen Hao, relieved to have a colleague, relaxed. A top-tier grad with exchange experience in Hong Kong, she was highly skilled but quiet, working in another aisle, not close to Ming Shuzhen.

With just the boss and driver, Chen Hao was glad for Ming Shuzhen’s presence.

No one spoke. Ming Shuzhen, not seeking topics, scrolled her phone.

Checking Moments, she saw Ming Shuyan posted last night—not a bot repost, but a photo of the chocolates, gift box, and card she’d given.

“Hiss, that’s my gift. Posted it? Not just visible to me, right?” Ming Shuzhen mused.

Muttering internally, she glanced at Ming Shuyan, who was focused on her iPad.

“Must’ve been touched—gift box, card, so thoughtful,” Ming Shuzhen blinked, smug.

Ming Shuyan sensed a stare, looked up, and saw Ming Shuzhen’s goofy, self-satisfied grin in the mirror.

She snapped a photo of her via the mirror.

Ming Shuzhen snapped out of it, catching Ming Shuyan’s gaze, embarrassed.

“Boss, you taking my picture?” she asked shamelessly.

“…” Ming Shuyan pocketed her phone, avoiding her eyes.

Ming Shuzhen pouted, scrolling again.

Refreshing Moments, she saw Ming Shuyan’s new post.

Caption: “How can someone just sit there and look so happy?”

The photo was the mirror shot—her expression was indeed silly.

“What! No way!” Ming Shuzhen protested, yelling in the car. “Boss, you made me look so ugly!”

“Ugly?” Ming Shuyan, in the front, was calm.

“No, delete it! People will laugh!” Ming Shuzhen leaned toward the front, tempted to grab Ming Shuyan but lacking the nerve.

If it were Zhong Shuo or Zhang Baobao, she’d have playfully wrestled them into submission.

Now, she just muttered, “So ugly.”

Skipping that post, she liked Ming Shuyan’s chocolate post.

*No like for that one—my protest.*

Ming Shuyan, seeing the like notification, chuckled, catching her petty move.

Because Ming Shuzhen liked the chocolate post, she got notifications from mutual friends—Meilin-jie, Xu Dazhi—liking it too, but not the new post.

*Huh, is the new one just visible to me? Why?*

She glanced suspiciously at Ming Shuyan.