Chapter 1: The Office's Unspoken Rules...

  On the way home, I received George's call.

  "Yang, if you don't take care of it, Avril will run away with someone else."

  "Really? I'm busy right now."

  Yang Zongbao hung up the phone resolutely, although his heart ached, but some things are not let women experience they will not be clear.

  Back at his own apartment building, Yang Zongbao asked Zhou Chuan before getting out of the car: "Go up and have a drink."

  "No, I still have work tomorrow."

  Yang Zongbao smiled indifferently and prepared to enter the gate.

  "Do you know? I have a good place, want to go relax?" Zhou Chuan asked, poking his head out of the car.

  "Of course."

  Yang Zongbao was particularly irritable today and readily accepted Zhou Chuan's proposal.

  Zhou Chuan took Yang Zongbao to a place that was not on the ground, but an underground air-raid shelter that had been renovated. As soon as Zhou Chuan stopped the car at the entrance, a young parking attendant came to help him park.

  Before entering, Zhou Chuan showed a card to the doorman. The doorman scanned the card on a machine in his hand and then stamped a seal on the back of Yang Zongbao's and Zhou Chuan's hands, only then did he let them in.

  As soon as you enter, there is a staircase going down. On the ceiling above is a mirror, and on both sides are movie and TV stars from different eras at home and abroad: Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Li Guyi, Fei Xiang...

  "Where is this?" Yang Zongbao asked.

  "Bar." Zhou Chuan led the way forward.

  Finally reached the bottom floor, opened the heavy iron door in front of which was carved with angels and demons. The scene inside was breathtaking. A "U"-shaped catwalk flashed with neon lights. Several women with voluptuous figures, not wearing tops, were swaying to the music, their large breasts heaving up and down with the rhythm of their bodies.

  The stage was surrounded by men and women. There were many people, but it was absolutely not crowded.

  "The number of people who can come in here every day is 100, and once that number is reached, no one else will be allowed to enter." Zhou Chuan took Yang Zongbao to one side of the T-stage. Immediately, a waiter came forward to ask what he wanted to drink.

  "Three shots of whiskey." Zhou Chuan said to Yang Zongbao: "Stimulate your nerves?"

  "Uh-huh."

  The waiter went down. After a while, a scantily clad waitress came to the front of Yang Zongbao and Zhou Chuang with three rows of cups, knelt down and put the wine glasses in front of them. Zhou Chuang naturally stuffed a small fee into the edge of the girl's underwear.

  "Have a drink?" Zhou Chuan raised two cups and handed one to Yang Zongbao: "Cheers."

  Yang Zongbao raised his wine cup and drained it in one gulp: "Like water."

  "Stubborn. Another cup." Zhou Chuan continued to drink with Yang Zongbao, one mouthful at a time.

  The thirty-year-old whiskey was soon gone.

  "Another one?" Zhou Chuan asked.

  "I agree."

  Zhou Chuan snapped his fingers and the nearby waiters quickly came over.

  "Bring two dozen Dracaena."

  It's the same girl as before, but this time she didn't even wear a top, directly going on stage with her upper body exposed.

  "She's interested in you." Yang Zongbao sprinkled a bit of salt at the tiger's mouth, licked it, and swallowed it all in one gulp.

  "Lemon." Zhou Chuan handed Yang Zongbao a slice of lemon.

  "Thank you." Yang Zongbao took it and bit into it.

  "I know you don't drink, what's wrong today?" Zhou Chuan finally brought up the topic.

  "You don't know?" Yang Zongbao downed another cup. Wine is really good stuff, how could he have refused it before?

  "Hmm, about what's going on between you and Director Liu? I don't believe it's true."

  "Half true and half false." Yang Zongbao was getting drunk, his whole spirit began to get excited.

  The girls on the T-stage didn't know when they all went down. The light in the bar began to dim. A woman climbed onto the T-stage, constantly twisting her body and showing off her figure.

  The people below the stage also started dancing wildly with the music, led by the people on the stage. No matter what kind of crowd, as long as they are human, they will be affected by a certain atmosphere and become crazy.

  Yang Zongbao was suddenly attracted by a figure in the field.

  "What's wrong?" Zhou Chuang found that Yang Zongbao was staring at a certain place without moving, and followed his gaze to see a girl who looked like a mixed-blood following a man dancing. The girl was slightly shy, but under the man's leadership, she became more and more open.

  "That girl's name is Avril Pharebi, she's my dream."

  "Are you drunk?" Zhou Chuan doubted Yang Zongbao's current mental state. But soon someone dispelled his doubts.

  The man walked over with a girl called Eve.

  "Isn't this my brother?" The man's tone was as if he were referring to some part of his body.

  Yang...

  Zhou Chuan found that the girl was really beautiful when he took a closer look. Her eyes were like those of a cat, her hair was flaxen, and her skin was white with a hint of red, but it didn't appear coarse or large-pored. It seemed to give off an angelic feeling of clarity.

  "Have you had a good time these past few days?" Yang Zongbao was slightly drunk.

  "Yeah, Yang Shuo accompanies me every day."

  Avril suddenly lowered her head and blushed.

  Yang Zongbao was in a dilemma with five flavors mixed together, but is there any good way to get out of it? Zhou Chuan saw Yang Zongbao's embarrassment and changed the subject, saying: "You guys are here to play too?"

  "Uh, Yang Shuo said this is the safest bar so he brought me here." Evie said softly.

  "Ah, the environment here is not bad. My friend opened it, so I brought Eve to play around." Yang Shuo very generously let the waiter give Eve a cup of freshly squeezed juice, which was very considerate.

  "Let's go." Yang Zongbao didn't want to watch anymore and urged Zhou Chuan to leave.

  "Zongbao, aren't you going to play with Aiyue?" Yang Shuo said on purpose.

  "Are you going?" Yang Zongbao thought for a moment and asked Eve.

  "This...this..." Avril hesitated.

  Yang Zongbao walked away without looking back.

  After going out the door, Yang Zongbao squatted down by the side of the road and dry heaved. He had drunk too much earlier, his stomach was churning nonstop, now that he came out, he couldn't hold it in for a moment.

  "Are you alright?" Zhou Chuan asked from behind Yang Zongbao, helping him straighten his back.

  "It's nothing, I won't die." Yang Zongbao pulled Zhou Chuan to his side and they sat down together on the roadside: "This is my last time drinking. It's really not a human thing to do." Yang Zongbao spat out two mouthfuls of phlegm.

  "Who's that girl? If you like her, just go for it. Do you have to make things so complicated?" Zhou Chuan shifted uncomfortably to the side: "Why don't we change places and talk, your smell is too strong."

  Yang Zongbao's vomit was indistinguishable in color, only the taste was incredibly nauseating.

  "I want to too, but my legs won't listen." Yang Zongbao's legs are now completely numb.

  "Come on." Zhou Chuan helped Yang Zongbao up and walked him to one side.

  After sending Yang Zongbao back home, Yang Zongbao lay motionless on the living room floor.

  Zhou Chuang kicked Yang Zongbao's corpse on the ground with his foot: "Is he dead?"

  "No, I'm hoarse now and dizzy. Can you get me a towel?" Yang Zongbao said pitifully.

  Zhou Chuan had no choice but to go to the bathroom and get a wet towel, which he threw onto Yang Zongbao's face.

  Yang Zongbao covered his face with a towel, then put down his hand: "Evie's full name is Evie Ferranby, my master's adopted daughter, 3 years older than me."

  "It doesn't show at all, three years older than you. You look very old." Zhou Chuan saw that Yang Zongbao seemed to have no intention of letting him leave, so he sat down on the ground.

  "It's okay. She is my crush."

  "Have you talked to her?"

  "I said."

  "What's the result?"

  "It's not very good." Yang Zongbao's face under the towel was expressionless.

  "There are three billion women in the world waiting for you. Old and young, take your pick. No need to hang yourself on one tree." Zhou Chuan could only comfort him like this.

  "Who said I had something?" Yang Zongbao removed the towel from his face.

  Zhou Chuan found that Yang Zongbao's face didn't show a bit of sadness or grief, and was just as calm as usual.

  "You... " Zhou Chuan was completely speechless: "Didn't you say she's your goddess?"

  "Ah, it's a rather important memory." Yang Zongbao replied honestly.

  "I'm going, I've left, you rest yourself." Zhou Chuan patted his butt and prepared to leave.

  "Wait a minute, you haven't eaten dinner yet, I'll make something for you." Yang Zongbao, after being washed with a wet towel, was able to stand up shakily.

  "Never mind, I'm afraid you'll set fire to the house." Zhou Chuan still refused.

  After the house was left with only Yang Zongbao. Yang Zongbao walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. Outside, stars can be seen tonight. Now Yang Zongbao's face has no trace of drunkenness. He is completely sober, and the towel is casually thrown aside.

  Barefoot and stepping on the floor, Yang Zongbao didn't feel cold. Avril wasn't a fool, 25 years old, many things weren't blank. Plus living abroad, even if adopted by an ordinary family, she would still understand what should be understood. No one truly lives in a utopia, naive and unaware of external things. Yang Zongbao himself, even if he didn't know how to treat women, still showed his feelings, even if the other person was a wooden puppet who had been warmed up by him. Why did she always pretend to be stupid when facing his true heart? He thought he hadn't done enough, but it turned out he wasn't her type after all. Years of dedication weren't as good as someone else's few days of companionship...

  "You can go and be a thief now." Yang Zongbao saw someone behind him through the glass window.

  "Rose copied your key, and I just happened to be going with the flow. But anyway, this place is really damn luxurious." George walked out of the kitchen hugging a bucket of popcorn.

  "Is Hawthorn still okay?" Yang Zongbao asked without turning around.

  "You finally asked. She's fine, now in a stable period, and it won't be long before she comes out. By the way, you owe her a lot, taking care of Eve for you." George walked to Yang Zongbao's side: "In these years, I couldn't bear to look at it anymore, one like a princess and one like a maid. How could a proud person like Violet do this, do you know the reason?"

  "I know."

  "What about Avril? If you don't take action, your brother will overthrow you."

  "Chinese is spoken quite well." Yang Zongbao said sarcastically.

  "These past few years have been tough on her. And don't blame Avril too much, she's just simple." George spoke up for Avril.

  "I know it's because I protected her too well and thought everyone should make sacrifices for her without compensation."

  George didn't know what Yang Zongbao was thinking and could only say: "Forget it, weren't we both losers a few years ago?"

  “……”

  After a long time, George saw that Yang Zongbao had no interest in chatting and could only pull the conversation to the real topic: "Something."

  "Hmm?" Yang Zongbao finally reluctantly gave George a straight face.

  "There's something over there. You need to select this year's interns."

  "What's the material?"

  "In my email."

  Yang Zongbao didn't waste words and took George into the study.