Bright sunlight filtered through a gap in the curtains, falling across Alex's face as he dreamed.
"Mmm..." Finding the light irritating, he rolled over and absently checked his phone.
"What? 8:30 already?" Alex leaped out of bed, frantically pulling on clothes while muttering, "This is bad—I stayed up way too late. Being late means a pay cut!"
Teeth brushing, face washing, and dressing took exactly four minutes and thirty-two seconds. Not bad—under five minutes meant he might still catch his usual subway. He'd rather not waste money on a cab this early. His sister had offered to buy him a car, but despite mastering everything else, Alex somehow couldn't learn to drive. He'd managed to crash three instructor vehicles, for reasons still unknown.
Emma Carter's door remained unlocked. He peeked in—still asleep, but at least more decently covered than yesterday. Time pressure prevented any wayward thoughts. He left some cash and hurried out.
Crossing the living room, he glanced at the building opposite. Curtains still drawn—was she still asleep or already gone?
Heading down the stairs, Alex dialed Emma Winter's number.
"On weekends I sleep till noon, ignoring the world's affairs. As long as there are pretty girls in my dreams, I don't mind starving!" A cartoon ringtone assaulted his ears.
"Hello? Who is it?" Emma's sleepy voice answered.
"Good morning, beautiful! This isn't the weekend—you'll be late for work!" Alex said irritably.
"Work? What work... Work! Oh no, I forgot I have a job now. Is this Alex? Where are you? Wait for me, I'm getting up right n—*thud*" Chaos erupted on the other end.
"I'm outside your building. Hurry up!"
"Okay, okay, please wait for me!" Emma hung up frantically.
Alex sighed in resignation. He'd hoped to find someone to wake him up, but now he was waking her instead. Come to think of it, Emma Carter wasn't up either. No wonder their skin was so perfect—they certainly got their beauty sleep!
Three minutes later, Emma Winter rushed out, struggling with her heels like slippers, frantically adjusting her clothes, hair disheveled. Seeing Alex still waiting, she let out a relieved sigh.
They walked toward the complex exit together.
"Why didn't you call me earlier?" Emma shot him an accusatory look.
"I just woke up myself. This isn't working—we'll need a cab!" Alex checked his watch, conveniently spotting one nearby.
"Driver, Carter Building, go, go, go!" Alex called out excitedly, English slipping out in his urgency.
"OK!" The driver turned with a grin—the same one from Emma's head-bumping incident.
"Meeting again! Must be fate!" He stomped on the gas, leaving only exhaust fumes behind.
"Do you always sleep in, even on workdays?" Alex glanced at Emma, remembering her ringtone.
"It's technically my first real day. I'm not used to it yet. Besides, after staying up so late playing cards, who could wake up early?" Emma pulled out a compact mirror and brush, trying to tame her wild hair.
"Don't stay up so late anymore. I was exhausted—first time I've ever stayed up that late. *yawn*" Alex demonstrated his point.
"I know, I'll sleep early tonight," Emma promised.
Their skilled driver got them to the office in fifteen minutes. Five minutes to spare—perfect. Alex took a deep breath outside the building, centering himself. This was his daily ritual before entering.
Reaching their office, everyone was already there, but they weren't officially late.
"Alex, you're amazing—always perfectly on time!" Jackie praised.
"Would've been earlier if not for someone," Alex sat down, shooting Emma a pointed look.
"Who? I have no idea what you mean!" Emma affected innocence, then added, "Besides, I promised to buy you dinner, remember?"
"That's the only reason I bothered," Alex replied, then looked around. "Sarah, where's Grace?"
"She came early but went upstairs to get stock tips!"
"Tell her to stop playing around. How can those tips be reliable?" Alex grumbled, not for the first time.
"Alex, I'll listen to you—no more trading!" Grace trudged in dejectedly, half-collapsing against his chair.
"Another drop?"
"Yes."
"Impressive—the whole market's booming except for the few stocks you managed to pick. That takes talent!" Alex teased.
"Alex! I'm suffering here and you're making jokes? I invested years of savings, and now half is gone. I'm poor!" Grace swatted his head feebly.
"I told you your intellect isn't suited for trading. That world's too complex!"
"Then what should I do?"
"With your IQ, stick to something safe—like making tofu. If it's too hard, it's dried tofu. Too soft, it's silken tofu. Too thin, tofu skin. Nothing left, soy milk. Let it spoil, stinky tofu. Can't lose—ack, stop choking me!"
"That's what you get!" Grace released him and returned to her desk.
"Didn't learn your lesson? The market's about to open—sell everything!"
"I suppose I have to," Grace sighed reluctantly, then turned to Alex. "How do you laugh away troubles?"
"That's easy!"
"Tell me!" Grace leaned in eagerly.
"Go insane!"
"Pfft!"
"Hahaha!" The office erupted in laughter.
"Alex!"
"Okay, okay, back to work!" Alex grinned at Grace's outrage.
"How can I work in this state?" Grace slumped over her desk.
"By the way, Emma's joining our dinner rotation," Alex mentioned.
"Not today—no time!"
"Another sucker lined up?"
"Mm-hmm, a blue chip. Need to observe carefully!"
"Grace, you've got it made! Look at me and Rachel—we've never even had dinner with a guy!" Jackie chimed in.
"You live with your parents. I live alone. Totally different!" Grace protested.
"Who told you to move out?" Alex pointed out.
"I wanted freedom!"
"You need to vent. Want some advice? If you're tough enough to take it," Alex offered.
"If you don't say something useful this time, I'll knock your teeth out!" Grace threatened.
"Tonight at dinner with your blue chip—order the most expensive dishes, eat the priciest items. Keep it up until you've eaten back your market losses!"
"Alex, that's so devious," Tom commented from across the room.
"Actually, Alex has a point..." Grace appeared to be seriously considering it.
"Haha, I knew it! You guys don't know her well enough!" Alex laughed, returning to work.
At lunch, Emma dragged Alex out alone, ostensibly to treat him for last night but clearly with questions in mind.
"I knew you had ulterior motives. Out with it," Alex said as they settled at a decent restaurant.
"First, you have to promise to set aside your prejudices about me while we discuss this. Can you do that?" Emma asked seriously.
"Are you kidding? You're the one with prejudices these past few days!"
"Never mind who's prejudiced against whom, just put it aside..."
"Either get to the point or I'm leaving," Alex cut her off.
"Fine. We had dinner together yesterday, but as you saw, I couldn't get a word in. Only Sarah showed any concern for me. The rest... seeing how happily everyone chatted while working this morning made me so envious! What should I do?" Emma looked at Alex beseechingly. Back in Shanghai, at her father's company, everyone had courted her favor. People had fallen over themselves to befriend her. Now, hiding her identity in a new place, combined with the haughtiness her privileged upbringing had instilled, Emma felt lost about how to integrate into this tight-knit group.
"That is a challenge," Alex acknowledged. He'd faced similar issues himself. Despite his outstanding performance attracting numerous headhunting offers with better compensation, Alex had never considered leaving. Why? Because he'd developed genuine connections with his officemates. They helped each other selflessly, without the scheming common in other companies. Money? That meant nothing to Alex.
"You were always pampered growing up, weren't you?" Alex studied her.
"Mm-hmm," Emma admitted reluctantly.
"Proud and aloof?"
"A... a bit."
"Used to being the center of attention, having people pursue your friendship, and now it's not working?"
"Yes."
"Want to know why?"
"Why?" Emma leaned forward eagerly.
"Because the people in this office are different. Simply put, no one plays office politics here. Everyone treats each other sincerely, building real trust. I worked part-time for this company in college, did well enough that management let me choose my department. But the suffocating atmosphere of scheming and calculation in other teams was unbearable. So I proposed creating a new department. Sarah mentored me, and Grace was there too. Don't let her casual attitude fool you—she's brilliant with male clients. The three of us handled a quarter of the company's accounts, so management couldn't refuse. That's how Team Six was born. As for Tom, Jackie, and Rachel—Sarah and I personally selected them. Team Six doesn't necessarily need the best performers, but character is non-negotiable. You know what? We started with more people, but after a while, those who played games and calculated angles all got transferred back to their original departments. Sarah and I have that authority here! The others don't even know this. When people are happy and the atmosphere is good, efficiency naturally improves. That's how we became the elite team."
"So you're saying I'm still under observation?" Emma interrupted, surprised to encounter such standards in her family's company.
"Exactly."
"Then... what about our subway incident?"
"That's not an issue. I consider everyone's input, but don't try too hard to please anyone. It'll seem fake."
"How do I earn everyone's trust and fit in?"
"Simple. First, be a good listener. It's harder than learning to speak well. When someone's pouring their heart out or rambling about something, it's easy to get impatient. But you have to stay engaged and really listen. Second, be consistent. Even small promises matter—breaking them destroys trust. Finally, treat everyone equally. People aren't stupid. If you only get close to the talented ones or those you click with while ignoring others, you'll invisibly damage their trust in you. You've seen how close Grace and I are, but did you know the four women in the office often go shopping together on weekends? That they have sleepovers? Tom even asked our opinions before getting married. Just... handle things as you see fit. Huh? I don't know why I'm telling you all this—aren't we supposed to be adversaries?" Alex caught himself, wondering what had possessed him to share so much.