Chapter 001　I've gotten myself into big trouble.

  *

  The alarm clock rang. Su Xian habitually fumbled for her phone by her pillow, but after a fruitless sweep, she immediately became alert. Moreover, she realized the sound wasn't her ringtone!

  Opening her eyes, she found out as expected: she was totally naked!

  Her heart pounded violently. She grabbed the sheet to cover her body and, like a wound-up tin doll, slowly turned her face 15 degrees at a time, only to despairingly find Li Chengshi, equally naked, right beside her!

  He was the newly arrived intern in Design Team 2.

  Screaming was an instinct, but she quickly covered her mouth, because the most important thing now was to calmly escape.

  She reached her hand over Li Chengshi's body to press off his phone's alarm, then, wrapping herself in the sheet, slid off the bed. Only then did she realize they were sharing one large sheet; she had rolled it away, leaving Li Chengshi completely exposed to the air.

  Su Xian quickly turned her back, crouched down, found her clothes, frantically threw them on, and tiptoed toward the door. Just one step from freedom, Li Chengshi's voice boomed behind her like thunder.

  "Team Leader, why are you in my room?"

  *

  Su Xian flinched, slowly turning back. She saw him sitting up, rubbing his eyes with a confused look, completely unaware of his own state. Her gaze immediately darted elsewhere.

  His brain was still a chaotic mess. Li Chengshi frowned, struggling to figure out what had happened. When he unconsciously glanced down, he finally realized the seriousness of the situation, his eyes widening in horror, mouth agape.

  Su Xian lunged back to cover his mouth, "Don't scream!"

  Li Chengshi's face turned beet red, but he couldn't push away Su Xian's hand. Instead, he struggled to pull out what was pressed under him and wrapped it around his waist.

  Su Xian took one look—wasn't that her Hermès silk shawl?!

  It was then Li Chengshi finally managed to yank away Su Xian's hand and said angrily, "Team Leader, are you trying to rape and then kill me?!"

  "Don't say such outrageous things at your age! We haven't even figured out how this happened yet, don't rush to cry foul. Come, let's review."

  "I don't care! Getting paid 3000 a month and still being propositioned by you is too much bullying!"

  "Hey, Li Chengshi, be reasonable. Our company's interns only get a 1000 yuan subsidy. I thought you were capable, so I personally asked General Manager Liang to increase it to 3000 for you!"

  "Uh, thank you. But, separating the matters, I’m not eating this loss for free—I, I, I’m a virgin!"

  Su Xian rolled her eyes in disdain, then, after a thought, asked with a face full of question marks, "What?"

  Li Chengshi lost face and said angrily, "Get out!"

  Su Xian turned to leave but immediately spun back. "Give me back my shawl." Although a shawl that had been wrapped around a man's butt was unusable, it wasn't good for it to remain in his hands.

  "Don't even think about it. I need to keep it as evidence." He wasn't stupid, after all.

  Su Xian said no more and quickly slipped out of the room.

  *

  Looking out from the floor-to-ceiling windows of the villa's living room, the morning light was beautiful. A few people were leisurely strolling on the forest path—they were company colleagues. Anliang Construction was having a team-building weekend at Youlu Island Forest Park, staying in the scattered mountain villas. This was a project she had designed, so she had priority in choosing her favorite house.

  Yet, this absurd thing had happened.

  Team building... totally sucked!!

  Su Xian was processing her chaotic thoughts when Xu Shuyi, another team member, walked out of her room and groggily said hello, "Good morning, Team Leader."

  "Good morning. How did you sleep last night?"

  "I drank too much and slept like a log, hehe."

  That was good, Su Xian sighed in relief, pointing outside. "I just saw General Manager Liang take the structural department over there. Let's wash up and go to the restaurant too."

  "Okay."

  Su Xian returned to her room and took a hard shower.

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  *

  The morning activities were various sports competitions. Because there was prize money, everyone was very enthusiastic.

  Su Xian won first place in the plank competition, claiming a 500-yuan prize. She raised her arms in triumph on the podium. Her gaze swept over the crowd and caught Li Chengshi staring back, like an angry little puppy.

  Su Xian quickly looked away, high-fiving the approaching Xu Shuyi and shouting "Yeah!" But she was thinking, I must find a reason to make him resign as soon as possible.

  *

  The last event was the three-legged race, which required no skill and was prepared specifically for employees without athletic talent; participation was mandatory.

  Su Xian opened a bottle of lychee wine and chatted leisurely with Xu Shuyi, watching the fun.

  Pairs were completed on the field, and they were tying their legs.

  Xu Shuyi shouted to the center of the field, "Li Chengshi, go!"

  Li Chengshi waved back at them, smiling shyly.

  Su Xian gave an awkward laugh in response.

  Li Chengshi said something to his partner, Lao Gao (Lao: the prefix when you call an older colleague's first name), tossed aside the standard-issue leg strap, and pulled out a large shawl from his denim shorts pocket.

  Su Xian was astonished, nearly spitting out her wine. Her eyes widened in horror, and she cursed under her breath, You little brat, are you trying to kill me?!

  Xu Shuyi looked for a moment and asked confusedly, "Team Leader, why does he have your shawl?"

  "I don't really remember. I drank too much last night, maybe I left it on the living room sofa, and he picked it up." Su Xian made up a quick excuse.

  Xu Shuyi didn't doubt it. Last night was the team-building party; everyone ate, drank, and played games, and almost everyone got drunk.

  "I'll go get it back for you."

  "No need to rush..."

  But Xu Shuyi had already run over.

  *

  Su Xian's blood pressure soared. She didn't know whether to follow or quickly come up with a countermeasure. She watched Xu Shuyi talk to Li Chengshi for a few moments; he looked over here, folded the shawl, and put it back in his pocket.

  Xu Shuyi ran back empty-handed. "He said the shawl fell on the living room floor last night, and he stepped on it, so he plans to take it home, wash it thoroughly, and then return it to you. The post-00s boys are indeed gentler than us post-90s people..."

  "That's true," Su Xian sighed in relief.

  Looking back at Li Chengshi, he and Lao Gao were stumbling forward, running. But that figure suddenly struck her as somewhat sinister.

  **

  Admiring the magnificent sunset over the sea, the ferry slowly docked. Employees first took the company-rented bus back to the city center, then went their separate ways home.

  Xu Shuyi's husband drove her away. Su Xian hailed a taxi, and just as she was about to get in, Li Chengshi walked over holding a small foam box and said, "Team Leader, we're going the same way, give me a lift."

  Where are we going the same way?!

  But she had to settle things with him tonight, or who knew what trouble he'd cause when they went back to work tomorrow.

  After half the ride in silence, Su Xian pondered how to start the conversation. After much thought, she finally turned her face, only to find he had already fallen asleep with his head tilted.

  How infuriating!

  "Li Chengshi," Su Xian woke him up unceremoniously.

  "Are we there?" He looked outside groggily for a few moments and complained, "We've only gotten this far, why did you wake me up?"

  Su Xian suppressed her anger. "I want to talk properly about what happened yesterday. There's a coffee shop up ahead; it's on me."

  "Not today. I bought sea urchins and I'm in a hurry to take them home for my mom to try."

  "Then when do you plan to talk?"

  "Let's talk about it tomorrow at work."

  "Then you have to promise me not to tell anyone until we've settled this."

  "How can I promise? Pinky swear? You're so childish."

  Su Xian was so angry her liver ached. Li Chengshi had been very gentle for the two months he'd been in the team. Why had he suddenly become so sharp when something happened?

  Oh, he's a virgin. So, maybe, he was traumatized.

  This is it, I've gotten myself into big trouble.

  The rest of the way was silent. She dropped him off at the entrance of his residential complex. He got out, holding the box, and left without even a goodbye.

  **