Chapter 1: The Reluctant Early Riser

  Harbin, a city that I both love and hate. I love it because there are so many beautiful women here that it's nauseating, but I hate it because apart from the abundance of beauties, there's nothing else worth loving about this place...

  When I received Mark's call in the morning, I was still thinking about whether to have lunch or not. Although sleeping until afternoon can save a meal, it's not good for my body after all. Moreover, as someone who is often praised for their figure and looks, I would be even more concerned...

  For a narcissistic person, getting up in the morning and dressing up in less than 20 minutes is a terrible thing, just like going out without zipping up, feeling anxious all day until lying in bed. The reason for rushing time is completely to cater to Harbin's poor traffic. Harbin's traffic is like the digestive tract of an elderly person with intestinal ulcers, although it is smelly and unbearable, but still has to be used reluctantly, and there is no value in replacing it. This can't blame the city builders at that time, who would have thought that there would be so many cars racing on the road today when bicycles were scarce. Fortunately, I didn't get sick much today, and I didn't arrive late for a long time when I reached my destination.

  When the elevator door opened again, I happened to see Mark holding a hand that looked like a white-collar beauty's, preparing to bid farewell. The two of them saw me and their faces simultaneously showed surprise. Mark was surprised, I think, because he was completely unprepared for my arrival, although he had called me, but from his expression, it could be seen that he didn't have any hope for my arrival. But as for the white-collar beauty's surprise, I was a bit perplexed...

  "You little scamp still knows how to get up. Come on, let me introduce you..." Ma was enthusiastically preparing to make the introduction for me.

  "Hello, Wang Ling, Manager of the Public Relations Department." The white-collar beauty made the introduction before Marco could, her every gesture revealing a mature and elegant demeanor.

  "Hello, I'm Kang Jian, I am Marco's friend and partner."

  "I've heard of you. We're alumni, I graduated two years ago." This time it was my turn to be surprised, I admit that I'm somewhat famous in HuaYuan, but when she graduated, I was just a freshman, and at that time I was very low-key and reserved. However, her words still satisfied my foolish vanity, and before I could distinguish between true or false, a warm current had already flowed through my heart. After all, hearing such flattering words from a beautiful woman's mouth, even if they're fake, is still pleasant to hear.

  "I and Hou Yu are classmates, you should know him, this time I have the opportunity to cooperate with you, it's because he introduced me." Seeing the puzzled expression, she quickly revealed the mystery.

  He and I Hou Yu were initially acquainted on the basketball court. On the basketball court, there are always two types of people who are most popular: one is a person with good ball skills, and the other is a person with a good body, especially in Heilongjiang where the folk customs are bold and uninhibited. The second type of person often has more to offer on the court. Hou Yu belongs to the latter category. When I was a freshman, I met him on the basketball court, and later he graduated and joined a pharmaceutical company. He once asked me to create a webpage for their company, saying that it's all public money anyway, so let's just treat it as a favor among brothers. But the flower he offered really helped me earn a little extra money. Later, because we were both busy with our own things, we didn't keep in touch much.

  "What a coincidence! How is he doing now? Haven't seen him for a long time."

  "He's doing quite well now, already an assistant manager, we met at our classmate gathering last month."

  "Ling Jie, you're doing great now too. You've become the department head in less than two years after graduation. I don't recall seeing you at school though, a beauty like you should have left an impression."

  In response to Marco's flattering words that were almost like bootlicking, Wang Ling only smiled and it seemed that Marco's trick didn't work on everyone.

  "I'm not as lucky as you guys. The Shoho family, they can make money and study at the same time, no need to work hard like me every day from dawn till dusk. You guys just sit in front of your computers at home, start working whenever you want, I really envy you."

  "I'm envious of you, aren't I? Graduated less than two years and already entered the white-collar class, earning a high salary every month. Unlike us, who have no idea where our next meal is coming from, just struggling to make some pocket money." Marco's humility today was somewhat unbearable.

  "Kang Jian, I also heard that you are a freelance writer for the University Weekly." It seems he knows quite a bit about my background. She's being open while I'm being secretive, things are getting a bit complicated.

  "I'm just a small-time writer, venting my feelings through those newspapers and magazines, and also earning some extra income." I've started learning to be humble like Ma Ke, after all, being humble in front of beautiful women isn't a bad thing.

  "I've seen the FSH ad you designed and the webpage you made, and I have to say, someone as creative and talented as you should be a bit sloppy, but instead you're a stylish and handsome guy." I'd heard my fair share of flattering words before, but Wang Ling's comment broke through my mental defenses once again, leaving me feeling lightheaded. I've always believed that people's tendency towards self-love is actually instilled in them by those around them. Before high school, I didn't care about how I looked or dressed, and my memories of my appearance back then were limited to photos. But one day, a female classmate suddenly told me, "Kang Jian, you look just like Louis Koo." Those words changed my life - from then on, I started paying attention to my appearance, and the more I did, the more people praised me, and the more they praised me, the more I paid attention to my appearance. It was a vicious cycle that eventually led to my becoming self-absorbed.

  "Hehe, thank you. I reckon I'll be smiling in my dreams tonight. I wonder what specific business Ling sister has found for us this time?" Despite the turmoil inside me, I still managed to keep a calm exterior, not wanting to give the beauty an impression of being shallow, especially with Marco by my side, and had to behave like a gentleman to hint that I was different from him.

  "It's nothing much, just helping our company design a webpage. I've already discussed the specifics with Marco and given him the requirements, so I hope you can help us wholeheartedly." The tone was calm, but filled with authority.

  "That's for sure, especially since you're a classmate of Hou Yu's. If there's nothing else, we won't bother you anymore, you must be busy too." I've always thought that it's not easy to get along with women like Wang Ling, because she's very clever and also very beautiful. Men are actually very contradictory, when they face a beautiful woman, they often hope she can be smarter; when facing an intelligent woman, they often hope she can be more beautiful; but when a woman who is both intelligent and beautiful appears, men become even more contradictory.

  "Alright then, I won't see you off. Marco has my phone number, just contact me if there's anything."