"Brother Lin, what brings you here all of a sudden? I thought you'd forgotten about your company while staying home with your wife."

Lin Ran sat on the sofa, pouring himself a cup of tea.

"Honestly, I almost did. Not just the company—I forgot I was even a student, even lost track of time itself. Being with my wife is just too intoxicating. That’s the taste of happiness, something single folks wouldn’t understand."

Wu Zhishang: "What the—@#�0�6%… Huh? Wait, I’m not single either, why am I getting worked up?"

Lin Ran took a sip of tea, grinning as he prodded into Wu Zhishang’s love life.

"Old Wu, how’s it going with Zhang Xinyan lately?"

Wu Zhishang paused for a moment. "Well… it’s complicated."

Lin Ran knew Wu Zhishang too well—his tone alone betrayed that something was off.

"Listen, Old Wu, you overthink things. That’s not necessarily a flaw, but it’s definitely a stumbling block in relationships."

Wu Zhishang sighed. "I know, I get it. But I just can’t help feeling like I’ll get hurt if I let myself fall too deep."

Lin Ran found it strange. He was the one who came from a broken family, yet Wu Zhishang’s temperament seemed more scarred. How did he develop such indecisiveness?

"By the way, is Zhao Miaomiao still bothering you?"

Wu Zhishang looked exasperated. "She keeps harassing me, but I never respond."

Zhao Miaomiao always found ways to get his contact info, bombarding him with messages and even spreading rumors online that they were still a couple.

As far as Wu Zhishang was concerned, they’d broken up long ago—there should be nothing between them now.

But Zhao Miaomiao disagreed. Her logic was: "You said we’re over, but I never agreed, so it doesn’t count."

By now, Wu Zhishang had seen through her. She was the type to abandon him when he was down and cling to him when he succeeded.

He wasn’t stupid—he wanted nothing more to do with her.

But she was like sticky glue, impossible to shake off.

And unlike Lin Ran and Luo Yao, he didn’t have the means to make someone "disappear" permanently.

Lin Ran was surprised Zhao Miaomiao still dared to harass Wu Zhishang.

Had Shen Jingbing’s threats lost their effect?

Still, Lin Ran wouldn’t send Abo to deal with it. This was something Wu Zhishang needed to face himself.

Everyone had to grow up. Wu Zhishang had made strides in his career, but his emotional intelligence was still lacking.

If Wu Zhishang truly couldn’t handle it, Lin Ran would step in—but only if Wu Zhishang rejected Zhao Miaomiao outright.

If Wu Zhishang let himself be reeled back in, Lin Ran wouldn’t stop him.

Some lessons had to be learned the hard way.

"Where’s Zhang Xinyan? Why isn’t she with you?"

Wu Zhishang lowered his head, eyes fixed on the resignation letter on his desk.

"Nothing, she’s just out working. Brother Lin, let’s talk about something happier."

It wasn’t that Wu Zhishang disliked Zhang Xinyan—in fact, he was quite taken with her.

But her aggressive pursuit and rapid pace overwhelmed him.

They’d barely been in the ambiguous flirting stage, not even officially dating, when Zhang Xinyan stormed into his office today, pointed at him, and demanded, "Will you marry me or not?"

Wu Zhishang froze, unable to answer—his mind racing with overanalysis.

Then Zhang Xinyan slammed the resignation letter on his desk. "Either we get married, or you’ll never see me again. Lose me, and you’ll regret it for life."

Sigh.

Lin Ran frowned. "Unhappy news? What, did Zhang Xinyan force herself on you?"

"Brother Lin, what kind of person do you take me for? Do I seem like the type to cave under lust?"

Lin Ran’s expression screamed "Oh my god."

"So you’re saying Zhang Xinyan actually tried to force herself on you?"

Damn, this was juicy.

"Uh… well, not exactly. Let’s drop it."

Lin Ran suppressed his curiosity. He firmly believed in not prying when someone didn’t want to share—especially about relationships.

Digging for details wasn’t his style. He wasn’t Chen Qingtian.

Maybe it was a gender thing.

Women often shared their romantic lives, gossiped about each other’s relationships, even meddled in them.

But among men? Rarely did they dissect each other’s love lives.

It was more like: "Brother’s in love? Happy for him. Brother got dumped? I’ll be there. If he finds a wife, good for him. If not, that’s on him."

"Fine, let’s talk about something cheerful. But I’ll say this much—don’t let your indecision lead to lifelong regrets."

Boom.

Regret for life?

Zhang Xinyan had said the same thing today.

Lin Ran’s words exploded in Wu Zhishang’s mind like a bomb, suddenly clarifying things.

Wu Zhishang had been an early fan of "Luo Yao and Lin Ran’s" love story. He looked up at his blissfully married friend, envy undeniable.

Maybe it was time to take a step forward—into a new world.

Zhang Xinyan… would you be that new world?

"I understand. Thanks, Brother Lin."

Seeing Wu Zhishang’s expression, Lin Ran knew his friend had reached some clarity and let it go.

Everyone had their own path.

Wu Zhishang and Zhang Xinyan’s ending could be a mystery—or it could be sweet as honey.

"Weren’t we going to talk about something happy? Let’s discuss work then."

Sure enough, Wu Zhishang perked up at the topic.

Through him, Lin Ran caught up on recent developments.

Two rising stars in their media company, riding the wave of "Luo Yao and Lin Ran’s" popularity and their own efforts, had become phenomenons in the livestreaming world.

Shen Jingbing had surpassed Zhang Xiaolong as the top livestreaming influencer, while Zhang Xiaolong dominated e-commerce sales.

The duo was now known as Warm Yao Media’s "Twin Dragons."

Recently, they’d been promoting Women’s Day (rebranded as "Goddess Day") gift sets, which sold out instantly.

The sets came in two versions: one for wives, one for mothers.

Customers bought them as heartfelt gifts for their spouses and moms.

Other streamers were also performing well.

As for short dramas, "Reborn as My Yandere Husband’s Spoiled Darling" had started filming today, with Chen Qingtian reprising her role as the female lead.

This marked the first collaboration between Warm Yao Films (Chen Qingtian’s division) and Warm Yao Media.

Inter-company projects weren’t unusual.

Wu Zhishang rambled on, "Chen Qingtian poached a few promising talents today for ‘training’—more like outright theft. Brother Lin, you can’t let her keep doing this."

Lin Ran thought, It’s not me allowing it—Luo Yao assigned her the task.

This was just the beginning. Eventually, Chen Qingtian would recruit every pretty face in the company, leaving Wu Zhishang with a testosterone-filled office. Served him right.