Chapter 1: Worker’s Lunch Box

## Chapter 1: The Daily Grind

“Redo it!”

Yun Fan, who had just poured a cup of hot water, flinched at his boss’s roar, spilling half the water.

*This damn job, I don’t want to do it for another day!*

He sighed, reaching for the tissue box. His hand met empty air, but on the second try, the box was shoved into his hand.

The guy at the next desk grinned sheepishly at Yun Fan. “Used a couple sheets. Here, wipe it quick.”

“Relax, kid,” the guy added.

Yun Fan glanced at the half-empty tissue box and thought, *This guy truly knows when to pinch pennies and when to splurge.*

Their company was notoriously stingy, even refusing to provide tissues under the guise of environmental protection. His deskmate routinely mooched everyday supplies from others, but when it came to buying novels, he never held back.

He devoured them one after another, day in and day out. If a novel was good, he’d subscribe to the full series without a second thought.

Yun Fan worked at a financial trust company as a wealth advisor. Specifically, he handled clients’ family trust businesses, providing personalized wealth management solutions for high-net-worth individuals to meet needs such as asset protection and isolation, inheritance and allocation, and philanthropic endeavors.

But in short, he was still just a “beast of burden.”

At 6:30 p.m., Yun Fan sat in his office, facing a dilemma.

The office building had 55 floors, and their company was on the 53rd. Looking out the window… Yun Fan didn’t dare look too closely—he was a bit afraid of heights.

At this hour, going downstairs to eat meant facing the soul-crushing wait for the elevator. But if he didn’t eat, his stomach would start protesting. He cursed himself for rushing that morning and not grabbing a snack.

Then again, it wasn’t entirely his fault—it was their manager’s. They’d been in meetings all day, giving no one a moment’s peace.

This was one of the things Yun Fan couldn’t understand since starting work. The managers didn’t make decisions; they just called meetings. A meeting could drag on for one or two hours, with everyone chiming in, yet nothing would be accomplished.

The manager would sit at the head of the long table, nodding mysteriously, and finally say, “Discuss this further after the meeting.”

*Discuss it further?!*

Then what was the point of the meeting?

From just after 9 a.m., when he arrived at the company, Yun Fan had barely spent any time at his own desk. He’d been shuffled from large conference rooms to small ones, dazed and dizzy after a full day of meetings.

Now, finally back at his desk, he’d been shouted at by the boss, leaving his heart racing.

In his opinion, the company should just install an EKG machine and run tests on everyone now and then to see who *wasn’t* having heart palpitations.

Yun Fan glanced sideways at his deskmate. He had a feeling this guy would pass with flying colors.

Who said companies didn’t have idle employees? The guy next to him was living proof. While everyone else was taking a break, he was listening to another novel. Of course, he also listened to novels when others were busy. His main daily tasks at work were waiting for his wife and losing himself in the world of fiction.

Yes, the guy was a live-in son-in-law. His wife was one of the company’s executives. Every year, she’d casually assign him just enough business to meet his annual quota in the first quarter. The rest of the time, he could twiddle his thumbs.

Yun Fan, forcing himself to relax by gazing out the window, overheard a bit and realized the guy was listening to his favorite genre: live-in son-in-law stories.

But wait… it seemed the guy had changed his taste. This one sounded like a Boys' Love (BL) novel.

What was going on? Was the guy having new thoughts?

Yun Fan quickly scanned the office, looking at the married male bosses and male clients, and inwardly shouted, *Bro, you’re not bad-looking, and with some effort you might manage to marry into another family, but you’ve got to have some moral boundaries!*

The guy chuckled gleefully, muttering things like “So melodramatic!” “This is fun!” “I need to find another one like this!” Yun Fan saw him laughing and laughed along. Although many people in the company resented the guy’s presence, Yun Fan thought having someone like him nearby wasn’t so bad. It was better than dealing with an overachiever who’d send daily reports in the work group chat at 2 a.m. just for the sake of it.

“Oh, honey!” the guy answered loudly, flashing a bright smile.

He jogged toward his wife’s office, leaving in such a hurry that he forgot to turn off his novel app. The mechanical female voice continued reading.

Yun Fan, not wanting to work or eat just yet, relaxed and half-listened to the unhurried but emotionless voice emanating from the phone.

*

The novel was about a dramatic, melodramatic story in a wealthy family.

It followed a minor celebrity who convinced his boyfriend to marry into a rich family as their butler, using the opportunity to gain access to the family, and then tried to marry into it himself.

Yun Fan took a sip of water and thought, *Well, there’s always someone better.* Compared to these characters in the novel, the guy next to him was downright simple.

The mechanical voice continued, now mentioning four key figures in the wealthy family. As per novel tropes, these four were undoubtedly dazzling, leaving the minor celebrity spoiled for choice, unsure of whom to marry into the family.

Wen Zhaofu, 28, was the abstinent big shot of Hong Kong circles and the future head of the Wen Group. He had godlike looks, and though he used a wheelchair due to a leg disability, he remained the most eligible bachelor in Hong Kong.

Cheng Yu, 28, was Wen Zhaofu’s cousin and a refined president from Shanghai circles. He often wore gold-rimmed glasses and was elegant and reserved. He had extremely high standards for both work and life, making him an elusive rising elite.

Wen Haochen, 22, was Wen Zhaofu’s half-brother and had a twin sister. He was still in university, nearing graduation. He’d inherited the Wen family’s good genes—sunny and handsome, he was the school heartthrob.

The last one was Liu Erxing, 25, who was unrelated to the other three. He was the adopted grandson of Wen Zhaofu’s third grandfather. Active in Beijing circles, he was a dashing playboy and also a pilot for an aerial rescue team.

Liu Erxing raced pigeons and cars, could fly up to the skies and dive into the seas—truly dashing and rebellious.

Hearing this, Yun Fan laughed. *This guy… each of them was a dragon among men.* Now that was a classic novel setup.

Just as Yun Fan wanted to hear more, the guy came scurrying back. “Whoops!” he exclaimed, quickly shutting off the novel app. “Sorry about that,” he said to Yun Fan.

Then, he swiftly packed his bag, shaking his head. “I’m clocking out. Today’s my wedding anniversary with President Zhao. We’re going for a candlelit dinner.”

As soon as he finished, a chorus of “tsk-tsk” sounds arose around them.

Yun Fan watched his retreating back and muttered, “You can enjoy yourself, but don’t rub it in. Or at least leave your phone behind—I still want to hear what happens next.”

The girl across the desk peeked over, her eyes sparkling, and she laughed along with Yun Fan.

By 7:30 p.m., some people had started leaving the office. Yun Fan exchanged glances with colleagues from his department, and everyone was restless, waiting for the right moment to slip away.

However, just as Yun Fan was about to make his move, the boss pushed open his office door and boomed, “Meeting, now!”

*

Sitting there in a daze, Yun Fan listened to the boss’s impassioned speech and really wanted to ask where he got all his caffeine.

Why did he have an endless supply of drive and insist that everyone else maintain the same intense work ethic?

Didn’t he know that lack of vitality was the norm for modern young people?

“Look at your performance this quarter—can it even compare to Group Two’s? All you see is Yu Xian lazing around, but you didn’t notice he’s already exceeded his KPI for the year again!”

The colleagues collectively glanced up at the boss. Yun Fan figured everyone was thinking the same thing: *Boss, either step up your game and improve your own abysmal performance, or go become a live-in son-in-law yourself.*

If a manager could only act as a middleman, relaying higher-ups’ demands and delegating tasks downward, what was the point? They might as well get a robot. Or everyone could communicate directly with upper management to avoid intermediaries distorting messages or adding unnecessary pressure.

If everyone could transmit information equally and eliminate information gaps, the workplace would become a paradise.

Amid the flying spit and ear-splitting shouts, Yun Fan grew drowsy. He lowered his head, idly scribbling on his notepad.

“Zhao Fu,” “Cheng Yu,” “Wen Haochen,” “Liu Erxing”…

When this totally awful day finally ended, he realized he had actually written the names of characters from the novel in his notebook.

*Hey,* Yun Fan wondered, *how did I remember that?*

At one in the morning, as Yun Fan lay in bed preparing to sleep, he noticed the boss had posted something in the work group chat again.

[Received, will ensure the task is completed.]

[Received, will ensure the task is completed.]

...

Yun Fan let out a "tch," locked his screen, and went to sleep. *Who wants to do digital bootlicking? Everyone can just get lost!*

To avoid repeating past mistakes, Yun Fan pre-ordered an "office lunch special" early—three dishes and a soup, filling but not satisfying.

Stir-fried in a large wok, it was greasy.

But for the sake of speed and convenience, the vast majority of his colleagues also opted for the office lunch special.

Except for the coworker in the next cubicle.

However, the coworker in the next cubicle didn’t show up at all today, and Yun Fan had no idea what he’d have for lunch. His wife did come in, though, still her cheerful self.

At three in the afternoon, Yun Fan went to meet a client. The project had reached its final stage, requiring the family members to be invited together for a ceremony to sign the Family Trust.

"Wealth advisor"—in his work, Yun Fan only wanted to focus on the first two words, but in reality, he had to take care of everything and ask about everything.

The wealthy aren’t reckless spenders; on the contrary, they are even more careful with money. What they entrust is not just wealth, but also trust and credibility, along with a whole family’s grudges and entanglements.

If the client has a large family, the business becomes even more complicated. Yun Fan has to consider the personalities of everyone involved and their interests and needs.

Although they are family, when faced with significant benefits, every side of human nature is exposed.

For example, this family today: the patriarch was quite the womanizer, with countless illegitimate children.

Halfway through the ceremony, Yun Fan watched the expressions of those present nervously. Suddenly, the family’s youngest son rushed out, furiously accusing his grandfather of unfair allocation.

Where there’s one rebel, there’s bound to be another. Soon, as Yun Fan had anticipated, the situation turned chaotic. But beyond his expectations, they completely ignored the cameras on site and started fighting!

High-net-worth individuals fight using the same common moves: hair-pulling, slapping, and a lot of noisy shouting.

A black, flat object flew through the air—turns out the patriarch’s wig had been snatched off. His new young partner, a girl who looked about Yun Fan’s age, screamed, "Stop fighting! He’s wearing false teeth!"

The boss pointed at the chaos in front of him and backed away quickly.

Yun Fan and his colleague rushed over to break up the fight, but they were too few to handle it. Yun Fan thought about calling the police, but as soon as the idea crossed his mind, someone shouted, "Let’s see who dares to call the cops!"

As Yun Fan quickly assessed the situation, trying to find a solution, suddenly, a slap came swinging toward the side of his face. He instinctively turned his head, and then immense pain enveloped half his head including his ear.

Bzzzz—zzzz—

Amid the buzzing in his head, Yun Fan’s body went limp and he landed heavily onto the red carpet.

**Author's Note:**

----------------------

Hey, everyone, my next book will be "My Childhood Friend Won’t Let Me Leave"—please add it to your collections!

Pilot x Air Traffic Controller, 1v1, Happy Ending. A little story about growth and love.

**Synopsis:**

Shen Yunchi lived happily as the young master for six years, until one day, everything turned upside down—he wasn't the real young master after all.

Little Shen Yunchi was sent to Mengyang County, where he was blocked by Mo Heng, who was holding a big steamed bun. Mo Heng asked him who he was and demanded his name.

His great-uncle scolded Shen Yunchi for walking too slowly, and without hesitation, Shen Yunchi complained, "He won’t let me leave!"

Before Mo Heng could adjust to the fact that he now had a new brother, Shen Yunchi was taken back. Mo Heng ran after the car, panting, shouting, "I won’t let you leave!"

*

At 17, Shen Yunchi felt his life was a joke—he was sent back to Mengyang County again.

Mo Heng, just out of school, stared at him in surprise, the steamed bun in his hand falling to the ground. He yelled, "I won’t let you leave! You owe me for that bun!"

Once again, Shen Yunchi was blocked by Mo Heng, who shoved a love letter into his hand. The boy avoided his eyes, clenched his fists, and demanded he give an explanation to his sister.

A teacher passed by, eyeing them suspiciously. Mo Heng suddenly blushed, acting flustered: "I don’t like Shen Yunchi!"

The usually lazy Shen Yunchi suddenly reacted, his eyes reddening: "You won’t let me leave, I didn’t leave, you..."

*Wah~~* Shen Yunchi can cry! Mo Heng’s eyes widened, and he hooked his pinky finger around Shen Yunchi’s. Shen Yunchi clasped back, interlocking their fingers tightly.

*

Shen Yunchi and Mo Heng got into university—one studying flight, the other air traffic control. After graduation, one became a pilot, the other an air traffic controller.

Pilot Shen Yunchi sat in the aircraft cockpit, listening to Mo Heng’s all-too-familiar voice calmly say over the frequency, "Continue to hold position."

The captain in the left seat let out an impatient "tsk." Shen Yunchi complained, "He won’t let me leave again!"

Shen Yunchi waited and waited, wondering why Mo Heng wasn’t blocking his path anymore. If he wasn’t blocking him, would he block someone else instead? Anxious, he blocked Mo Heng’s path and also silenced his talkative mouth.

"I won’t let you leave again."