He was exiled to Dongguan and shot by two young women with promiscuous sexual harassment.

Even after opening the car window and letting in some cool air, the atmosphere eased a bit.

"Engineer Yang," Even raised his voice, adopting a casual, condescending tone, "Do you have a girlfriend?"

Yang Jiulang's expression darkened as he stared at the road signs rushing past outside the car. After a long silence, he finally said, "There was one before it became like this."

Even smiled knowingly, knowing that he had glossed over the topic with a humorous remark, clearly not wanting to discuss it.

Even, familiar with the route, turned into a small alley and stopped in front of an inconspicuous little restaurant.

"This place is nice." Even got out of the car.

The restaurant was small and simply decorated, but it was very clean.

The lunch rush had just passed, and there weren't many people in the store.

The two of them walked to a corner seat by the window without prior arrangement.

After sitting down, Even smiled: "It seems we both like secluded corners."

"It's different. You did it so you could have better control over the overall situation, while I," Yang Jiulang chuckled self-deprecatingly, "was destined to be a scrap."

Even was amused again, her smile losing its usual aloofness and gaining a touch of girlish charm.

She only realized today that this usually quiet boy is quite interesting to talk to.

"I'm ordering."

Yang Jiulang nodded, and while helping the beautiful woman wash the cup, he gestured for her to proceed.

Even without looking at the menu, he expertly named several dishes: "Steamed sea bass, blanched bok choy, steamed scallops with garlic and vermicelli, and a winter melon soup."

The boss responded and went into the kitchen.

"Do you come here often?" Yang Jiulang asked.

"Hmm, the food here is very authentic," Even poured him a cup of tea and handed it to him. "When you're all alone here, you always need to find a place to eat something good."

The dishes were served quickly.

The steamed sea bass was tender and juicy, the blanched bok choy was crisp and refreshing, and the steamed scallops with garlic and vermicelli were incredibly fragrant. The best dish was the winter melon soup, with its clear and flavorful broth, where the sweetness of the winter melon and the umami of the seafood were perfectly blended.

"eat."

Yang Jiulang quickly picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of the fish, and his eyes lit up: "This fish is steamed really well."

"Right?" Even said proudly, "I love this kind of light and fresh Cantonese cuisine. It's not as strong as Sichuan cuisine, nor as heavy as Shandong cuisine. It's just simple freshness, the freshness of the ingredients."

Yang Jiulang remarked from his workstation, "I didn't expect our boss to be so knowledgeable about food!"

Even beamed, "Didn't Su Shi say that the most delightful taste in life is simple joy? If you don't like to eat, wouldn't life be missing out on a bit of fun?"

Yang Jiulang nodded in agreement: "Su Shi was indeed a gourmet. When he was demoted to Huangzhou, he wrote 'Ode to Pork,' which says, 'Huangzhou has good pork, which is cheap as dirt. The rich will not eat it, and the poor do not know how to cook it.' He managed to turn cheap pork into Dongpo pork."

Even's eyes lit up, and she exclaimed, "Engineer Yang, you're quite impressive! You know a lot!"

"I've always been a good student since I was little," Yang Jiulang said modestly. "I really like Su Shi, his poems, and his open-minded attitude. Wherever he was demoted, he ate whatever he could find deliciousness in, from Huizhou lychees to Hainan oysters."

Even looking at Yang Jiulang, she forgot to touch her chopsticks.

Yang Jiulang realized he had inadvertently excelled again, and hurriedly touched his chin sheepishly: "Boss, is there food on my face?"

Even shook her head, her eyes shining softly, and said quietly, "Yang Jiulang, I know you were sent here by the company and you didn't want to. Actually, I feel the same way. I didn't want to come to this desolate place alone either."

Yang Jiulang was taken aback. He hadn't considered this from Even's perspective before. He slowly nodded and said, "Boss, you have it even harder."

"So," Even picked up a scallop, "we should learn from Su Shi and make sure we eat and drink well no matter how shabby the place is, right?"

Yang Jiulang smiled smugly.

Even looked Yang Jiulang up and down, setting aside what could be ignored, and simply remarked that the clean smile blooming on his handsome face was quite attractive.

[Ding! Even's favorability +5, current favorability: 50.]

The two were enjoying their meal when Even's phone rang.

She took it out and looked at it, her expression changing slightly: "Hu Weimin."

Yang Jiulang waved his hand: "Don't accept it."

Even was taken aback for a moment, then understood what he meant and nodded with a smile.

She placed her phone on the table and let it ring.

"He wouldn't answer my calls when I was in a hurry, now it's his turn to be in a hurry."

Yang Jiulang also turned off his cell phone.

The two exchanged a smile, feeling like they were having an affair—exciting and wonderful.

After the meal, Yang Jiulang insisted on paying the bill.

"I promised I'd treat you!" Even said, glaring at him with dissatisfaction.

Yang Jiulang waved his hand: "To put it simply, I'm a man and you're a woman; to put it more broadly, I represent our motherland and you're a wanderer waiting to return home. It's our first meal together, so I should pay the bill no matter what."

Even chuckled and gave him a reproachful glare: "You're so good at talking. Okay, I'll pay next time."

Yang Jiulang was secretly pleased and quietly arranged his next meal with the beautiful woman.

【Ding! 】

[Host has invested 208 yuan! Triggering a 10x return!]

[Congratulations, host, you have received a rebate of 2080 yuan!]

The two drove back to the construction site, and Yang Jiulang turned on his phone and saw a text message.

[Bank XX: A deposit of 2080.00 yuan has been received into your bank card ending in 8866. Current balance: 68450.00 yuan.]

I checked the time; it was 3:30 PM.

He suggested to Even, "Boss, why don't you go back and rest first?"

Why?

"Hu Weimin will definitely come looking for you," Yang Jiulang smiled. "Let him hold back a little longer; the longer he holds back, the faster he'll soften up."

Even nodded thoughtfully and asked, "And what about you?"

"Would you agree to go back and rest with me?" Yang Jiulang wondered.

"I'm fine. I'm a man, I'm not afraid of him bothering me," Yang Jiulang said.

"Well, thank you for your hard work."

Yang Jiulang got out of the car and went into the construction site alone. He returned to his office and had just sat down when a black Mercedes-Benz rushed into the construction site.

It was obvious that there was a mole in the supervisor's office next door who tipped off Hu Weimin.

Hu Weimin stormed into the office, his face filled with anxiety and anger.

He spotted Yang Jiulang immediately, rushed over, and yelled, "Engineer Yang, what do you mean by this? You've got my man arrested, and now you're not even here, not answering your phone!"

Yang Jiulang slowly stood up, looking at him coldly.

The project manager of a state-owned construction company is so impatient.

To be honest, Yang Jiulang was quite disappointed.

"Mr. Hu, I'll pretend I didn't hear you. Please say it again."

Hu Weimin was taken aback.

He saw Yang Jiulang's eyes, and then realized that the initiative was completely in someone else's hands.

The arrogance vanished instantly.

"Oh, Mr. Yang, I'm so sorry, so sorry..." Hu Weimin quickly took out a cigarette and offered one to you. "I heard that your men attacked you today. Don't worry, I'll definitely give them a piece of my mind and make them come here to apologize in person."

Yang Jiulang took the cigarette and put it in his mouth.

Hu Weimin quickly lit another one for him, smiling ingratiatingly, "Engineer Yang, those people were just confused for a moment. You're so magnanimous, could you talk to Even's manager and ask for their understanding?"

Yang Jiulang took a drag of his cigarette and said slowly, "President Hu, I only went too far today, which was when your people were about to attack Even, I went to stop them."

"Oh dear," Hu Weimin quickly said, "You did a good thing, Engineer Yang! If you hadn't stopped them, the consequences would have been unimaginable if they had actually attacked the client's leaders!"

"Mr. Hu is a wise man," Yang Jiulang nodded. "So, whether or not he forgives me is not up to me, it's up to Even."

"Yes, yes, yes," Hu Weimin nodded repeatedly, "But Engineer Yang, Even isn't answering my calls. Tell me, isn't that worrying?"

"Oh, why?"

Hu Weimin was taken aback, and his face flushed slightly.

Why? What the hell could be the reason? It's because I didn't answer their calls first.