1.
Little Chao Musheng sat in the kindergarten, a large box placed before him filled with colorful balls.
Red ones into the red box, blue into the blue box, green into the green box...
At the bottom of the box were some broken and moldy balls—rotten things could harm people, so they all had to be swept into the trash.
There were many balls, and Chao Musheng spent a long time sorting them. When he finally finished, each box spat out a beautiful piece of candy.
"One for me, one for Mom, one for Dad, one for Grandpa, one for Grandma, and one for Su Chenzhu." After distributing the candies, Chao Musheng planned to save the rest for later. But the candies seemed to grow legs, hopping and jumping straight into his body.
He glanced around furtively, relieved no one had caught him eating so much candy, then clasped his hands behind his back and dashed off to the toy area.
"Who could be so cruel, breaking all these toys?" Little Chao Musheng widened his eyes in anger, plopping onto the floor as he began piecing the shattered toys back together.
He fixed the broken roof of a dilapidated house, cleaned the grimy school building, and emptied the waterlogged toy train...
There were too many ruined toys, and it took Chao Musheng ages to barely restore them.
"Thank you," a wooden puppet said to him.
"Thank you."
"Thank you."
The toys surrounded Chao Musheng, expressing their gratitude as candies lined up and leaped into his mouth.
"Too much, too much..."
Eating too much candy would give him cavities.
Chao Musheng jolted awake in bed, grabbing his phone from the nightstand—it was already past nine. He had agreed to meet Xiaojuan at the café downstairs at 10:30.
Getting out of bed, he felt unusually refreshed, his reflection in the mirror glowing as if he had swallowed an elixir.
"Morning, Chao Chao," Su Chenzhu emerged from the kitchen, holding a plate of breakfast. "How did you sleep last night?"
"Woke up feeling amazing, though I dreamed I was a kid again, sorting toys all night in kindergarten." Chao Musheng glanced around. "Are my parents not home?"
"Uncle and Auntie had work and left early." Su Chenzhu untied his apron. "Eat first, then I'll go downstairs with you."
The porridge was perfectly warm. Chao Musheng gulped down several mouthfuls. "Have you eaten?"
"I had breakfast with your parents." Su Chenzhu handed him a couple of tissues. "The company’s arranging a holiday tomorrow, but I still need to go in today."
Chao Musheng nodded. "After I finish talking with Xiaojuan, I’ll come find you at the office."
Su Chenzhu smiled, eyes crinkling. "Alright."
In this warm home, Su Chenzhu no longer felt insecure.
"Chao Ge!" Xiaojuan waved from her seat in the café as Chao Musheng entered. When he approached, she couldn’t help staring at his face. "Chao Ge, you look... different today."
"How so?"
"You seem radiant, full of energy." Xiaojuan glanced outside. "It’s past ten, and CEO Su still escorted you here instead of going to work. Tsk tsk."
"He can’t hear you out there. Want me to call him in?" Chao Musheng smirked.
"No need, absolutely not!" Xiaojuan hurriedly waved her hands. "Just kidding."
Chao Musheng wasn’t fond of coffee, so he ordered a drink instead. Sipping it, he noticed Xiaojuan hesitating. "Just say what’s on your mind. This coy act doesn’t suit you."
"Chao Ge, about before..." Xiaojuan stumbled over her words. With other customers nearby, she wasn’t sure how to phrase it. "I’m sorry for keeping things from you. But I truly consider you my best friend."
"I get it. Given the circumstances, you were in a tough spot." Chao Musheng smiled reassuringly. "You didn’t hide things out of malice—you just couldn’t tell me. You did nothing wrong."
"Chao Ge, you’re too good." Xiaojuan’s eyes grew warm. She hadn’t cried even when her parents berated or hit her, yet on this quiet morning, she felt the urge to tear up.
"Can’t help it. A fortune-teller once said I’m a deity reborn." Chao Musheng tilted his chin up, grinning smugly. "Being a god, how could I not be good?"
The sentimental mood instantly shattered. Xiaojuan took a sip of her bitter coffee. "That fortune-teller was spot-on."
Initially, she thought she had a lot to explain, but sitting with Chao Musheng now, she realized he didn’t need any of it.
This moment felt like countless reunions before—a little awkward, but mostly joyful.
They chatted idly until Chao Musheng checked the time. "Lunch is soon. Come with me to the company for a free meal."
"Uh, maybe I shouldn’t..." Xiaojuan hesitated, dreading Manager Zhu’s wrath.
"How else will we process your onboarding?" Chao Musheng set down his cup. "A talent like you—I can’t let you go to another company."
Xiaojuan lowered her head. "Thank you, Chao Ge."
"Don’t mention it. Didn’t we agree long ago that I’d arrange a job for you when you returned?" Chao Musheng paid the bill. "I’m the boss’s boyfriend, and you’re my right-hand. By extension, you’re Su Chenzhu’s right-hand too."
Xiaojuan froze. Before, she had no connections, no safety net—only relentless effort kept her afloat in this unfamiliar city.
She pushed herself tirelessly just to stand on the same starting line as others.
Now, for the first time, she understood the comfort of having a fallback.
Home is where the heart finds peace.
As someone who’d never had roots, she finally felt she’d found a place to rest.
They stepped out of the café. The autumn sun shone brightly, and Xiaojuan looked up at the sky, smiling with crescent eyes.
She was grateful she’d once taken the initiative to approach the young man ahead of her.
"Xiaojuan." He turned back. "The car’s here. Let’s go."
The divine loves all living things.
"Coming, Chao Ge!"
2.
Manager Zhu had heard rumors about a brilliant game planner recently parachuted into the gaming department—her project’s revenue had skyrocketed in just a week.
Hugging his thermos, his plump frame exuded faint gloom.
Once, he too had pinned hopes on a promising talent. Pity they’d brushed off his pleas to stay.
Months had passed, yet he still couldn’t shake the question: why choose hospital janitorial work over Kunlun?
Later, he visited the hospital again, only to learn the person had quit shortly after their meeting.
Had they left to avoid him? Was he really that unbearable?
"Sigh." Manager Zhu exhaled heavily, stepping into the hallway for air. Spotting the logistics manager also loitering there, he sidled over. "What’re you flipping through?"
"Pull up the intern records from a few months ago." The logistics manager looked troubled. "Yesterday, one of our employees found a watch in a crevice—probably left behind by an intern assigned to the logistics department months ago."
"Today, I checked that intern's records and realized the home address was incorrect, and the phone number didn’t work either." The logistics manager wiped his face. "Other departments also noticed that many of the interns who joined the company a few months ago had issues with their addresses and contact details."
"Your customer service department was assigned several interns back then." The logistics manager turned to Manager Zhu. "I remember you were particularly fond of one intern. Were her registration details accurate?"
Manager Zhu, no longer in the mood for tea, returned to his office and dug out the intern records. He found Wang Xiaojuan’s contact information and dialed the number.
After a few rings, the call connected.
"Manager Zhu."
Recognizing Wang Xiaojuan’s voice, Manager Zhu cleared his throat. "Oh, it’s nothing. I just wanted to remind you that Kunlun will soon be hiring new employees. Keep an eye out."
With that, he quickly hung up.
It was just a casual reminder—he didn’t actually care whether she took the opportunity or not.
Hah. He truly didn’t care at all.
"Old Zhu." The logistics manager walked in. "HR just contacted me. Apparently, there was a system glitch when registering that batch of interns, so some of their information was entered incorrectly."
"Who were you calling?" the logistics manager asked, noticing the phone still in his hand.
"No one." Manager Zhu set the phone down. "Next time, don’t make such a fuss. You had me thinking there was something wrong with those interns."
A week later, Manager Zhu heard that the new game planner’s project had received widespread praise online.
Two weeks later, he learned that the same game planner had been promoted.
"If Wang Xiaojuan had agreed to stay with the company, she might have achieved something like this too."
"What a shame—she insisted on being a cleaner instead."
Xiaojuan walked through the company doors holding a cup of bubble tea, only to slip and drop the half-finished drink onto the floor.
"My tea!" Xiaojuan’s heart ached—she hadn’t even gotten to the toppings at the bottom.
Worried someone might slip on the spilled drink, she asked the front desk for a rag and bent down to wipe the floor.
"Wang Xiaojuan?" Manager Zhu stared at the figure crouched on the ground, scrubbing away, for a full ten seconds before speaking in disbelief. "Why are you doing this again?"
So she had returned to Kunlun—but as a cleaner!
What was so great about cleaning that she was this obsessed with it?!
Manager Zhu couldn’t understand it. He couldn’t accept it.
"Manager Zhu." Xiaojuan glanced at the tattered rag in her hand, then at Manager Zhu’s stunned expression. Was cleaning up spilled tea really that shocking?
Manager Zhu took a deep breath. "When did you come back to Kunlun?"
"Just recently." Xiaojuan finished wiping the floor and cleaned her hands with a wet wipe from her bag. "Manager Zhu, long time no see."
She’d been too embarrassed to face him all this time.
"Not that long." Manager Zhu held back for a moment but finally couldn’t resist asking, "Are you happy with your current job?"
"It’s great." Xiaojuan smiled. "My colleagues are easy to work with, and everything’s going smoothly."
The tech team knew she was Chao Musheng’s trusted aide, so they cooperated well with her.
The planning team recognized her as the best liaison between departments and followed her suggestions.
Seeing her bright expression, Manager Zhu hesitated before finally saying, "As long as you’re happy. If you ever want to switch roles, you can come to me."
"Thank you, Manager Zhu."
"You’re welcome." Manager Zhu kept his expression stern.
Fine, if cleaning made her happy, so be it. It was just a waste of her potential.
"Manager Zhu, I’m actually working in the game planning team now." Xiaojuan stopped him. "Thank you for always looking out for me."
"You’re the planner who’s been doing so well lately?" The corners of Manager Zhu’s lips lifted. "Congratulations on the promotion."
Xiaojuan grinned. "Thank you, Manager."
"This is good." Manager Zhu beamed. "Young people should always aim higher."
Those with talent shouldn’t be overlooked. Those with ambition should see it fulfilled.
This was the best outcome for those who worked hard.
