58. What should we do?

"Zhang Tan, could you wait a moment?"

After the meeting ended, just as Zhang Tan was about to leave, Song Wen called out to him.

Everyone looked at him and then at her. None of them were fools; as veterans of the workplace, they could sense subtle signs of romance. Hearing her call, they exchanged knowing smiles and hurriedly accelerated their departure, leaving the meeting room to the two of them.

Glancing at Song Wen's big, twinkling, bling-bling eyes, Zhang Tan felt a slight tingling in his scalp. Being handsome was truly such a bother. If he could live his life over again, he would choose to be like Li Bai, valuing only poetic talent and leaving worldly things behind.

...

Back in the office, Jiang Rong and Xu Jian were arguing over the plot, and Xu Jian was clearly out of his depth.

Seeing Zhang Tan return, Jiang Rong let Xu Jian off the hook and asked, "Boss, why did the meeting take so long today?"

Zhang Tan replied, "We finished the regular project meeting, and then I had to attend the meeting for *The Lantern Bearer*."

Jiang Rong asked, "What about *The Lantern Bearer*?"

Xu Jian was more attentive and asked directly, "Are the metrics out?"

Zhang Tan nodded. "That's right. The single-day viewership reached 1.8 million, and the overall online popularity index is 20..."

Jiang Rong commented, "The viewership is decent, but the popularity index is a bit low."

Seizing the opportunity to mock her, Xu Jian retorted, "You don't understand. The popularity is low only because the distribution channels are too limited. Once we expand the channels, the popularity will shoot right up. The most crucial part is the single-day viewership—1.8 million is definitely fantastic. It shows enormous potential. This is going to be a blockbuster anime."

With that, he looked at Zhang Tan and said with a hint of envy, "Team Leader, your very first anime is a massive hit. Your career path ahead is going to be so much smoother."

He recalled the time he had competed with Zhang Tan for *The Lantern Bearer* and felt a deep sense of regret.

Hearing this, Jiang Rong felt genuinely happy for Zhang Tan. "Is that so? Boss, congratulations! Wherever you go in the future, don't forget to take me along."

The rest of the screenwriting team offered their congratulations one after another. Even though Zhang Tan was only adapting the work, his name appeared clearly in the screenwriter column. This alone made for a dazzling resume.

...

At the end of the workday, Zhang Tan was the last to leave. Jiang Rong had already departed, but she suddenly turned back, hesitated for a moment, and asked if he had any plans for the weekend.

"Pei Ju's five-year-in-the-making film *The Fall* was released early this morning. As a screenwriter, it would be awkward not to go see it."

Zhang Tan was momentarily stunned. He had heard of this film; it had been heavily promoted since the beginning of summer, and he had even seen promotional trailers on television. The plot seemed as explosive as the summer weather.

However, Zhang Tan politely declined.

Returning to the Little Red Horse Kindergarten, he saw another woman sitting in the guard booth alongside Old Li.

"Young Master Zhang is here."

Seeing Zhang Tan return, Old Li stood up and made introductions. This woman was the one who had been dead drunk the day before.

Zhang Tan looked her over. She had an oval face, permed hair with soft waves, and a cool tea-brown hair color. She was very pretty, but entirely unfamiliar to him; he only remembered her name was Li Jia.

In fact, he had just seen her that morning, but back then she had used her hand to cover most of her face.

She had come to express her gratitude, bringing along a few small gifts. Having arrived early, she had sat with Old Li in the guardhouse to wait for Zhang Tan's arrival.

She had already thanked him earlier that morning, of course.

Zhang Tan exchanged a few casual pleasantries with her, completely avoiding any mention of her drunkenness the previous night. They added each other on WeChat, and just as she was about to leave, she suddenly remembered something and asked, "Where is that little girl from yesterday?"

She remembered the little girl, Xiaobai, who had fed her water last night. In truth, she actually remembered the process of being found by Xiaobai. Although she had collapsed by the roadside, she had remained conscious; her tongue had simply felt too thick and heavy for her to speak.

"You mean Xiaobai? She should be arriving any minute now," Zhang Tan said.

It was currently six o'clock, which was usually the exact time Xiaobai arrived at the kindergarten.

Just as he finished speaking, Old Li laughed. "Speak of the devil, and she shall appear. Here comes Xiaobai."

Everyone looked toward the entrance. Xiaobai could be seen carrying a blue baby water bottle, strolling along unsteadily while darting her eyes everywhere. She looked here and there, suddenly breaking into a quick run for a couple of steps before squatting on the ground to stay motionless. Even a small bug on the pavement could capture her rapt attention. If not for her aunt keeping a close eye on her, a walk of less than a hundred meters would take her a whole hour.

Yesterday, this little kid had worn a red and white jersey, but today she wore a blue striped polo shirt that was obviously way too large. The hem completely covered her bottom, making her look like a child playing dress-up in adult clothes.

While yesterday's jersey could arguably be worn by a girl, this shirt was unmistakably a boy's garment.

"Xiaobai~~" Zhang Tan called out.

Xiaobai paused, tilting her little head to peer around blindly.

Her aunt reminded her, "Little melon head, where are your eyes wandering? You're at school now."

Only then did Xiaobai notice Zhang Tan in the guardhouse. Instead of running over, she darted her eyes about and whispered to her aunt, "Auntie, the Zhang Boss is talking about taking me to climb a mountain again. What should I do? Can I agree?"

Her aunt glanced over at Zhang Tan's direction and replied in an equally hushed tone, "You little melon head! So foolish and scatterbrained. How many times did I tell you last night? What do you even want? Do you still want to go climb a mountain? If you get sold off by the Zhang Boss, how am I supposed to find you?"

Xiaobai thought about it, nodded, and let out an "Oh." Then she said, "Then I won't go."

Judging by her expression, she actually wanted to go very much, but her aunt's vivid description had frightened her, making her torn between wanting to go and being too afraid.

"Why do you keep calling me foolish and scatterbrained? You make me so mad I'm seeing green flames."

Xiaobai suddenly remembered that her aunt had just called her foolish again. It was truly aggravating; protesting countless times had been utterly useless.

"Stop chattering away. Hurry into the school, your aunt still has work to do."

Xiaobai ambled slowly into the kindergarten compound with an arrogant swagger and asked, "What?"

Zhang Tan didn't mind her attitude. They knew each other inside and out, and he was well aware that little Xiaobai always put on this "baby is adorable, but baby is fierce" persona. Everyone who interacted with her knew she was tough on the outside and soft on the on inside.

Li Jia, however, was completely taken aback by Xiaobai's demeanor. She thought to herself: *What a cool kid! How interesting. If I pinched her cheeks, she probably wouldn't cry, right? Just what would it take to make her cry??*

"Do you remember this big sister?" Zhang Tan asked.

Xiaobai tilted her small head, stared up and down at the "malicious" Li Jia, slung her water bottle over her shoulder with a flick, and simply walked away.

Zhang Tan: "..."

He hurriedly called out to Xiaobai, who was ready to leave at the slightest provocation.

"What do you want~~~ I'm not going to climb any mountains, you hear me? I certainly won't count money for you."

"Climb a mountain? Count money? I didn't mean any of that. I'm asking you, do you recognize this big sister?"

Xiaobai looked Li Jia over once more, still failing to recognize her, though it was clear the other person recognized her.

So many people recognized her; why on earth did she have to recognize all of them? Therefore, Xiaobai shook her head.

Li Jia smiled and said, "Hello there, Xiaobai. Last night you gave me water to drink... Do you remember?"

Prompted by her words, Xiaobai finally remembered. Her little mouth opened wide in a O-shape. After staring blankly for a long moment, she loudly declared, "Oh, I know now, you shovel-head~~~ You're that *blech-blech-blech* big sister, huh."

*Blech-blech-blech*??

Xiaobai hugged Zhang Tan's leg, bent over, and made exaggerated retching noises, continuously repeating the sound of vomiting.

Everyone immediately understood—she meant throwing up.

This little melon head!

Li Jia was mortified. Xiaobai's aunt tapped Xiaobai lightly on the head. "Little melon head, stop talking nonsense."

"Ouch," Xiaobai cried, wrapping both hands around her small head with extreme dissatisfaction. "How am I talking nonsense?"

Having a child who spoke without any filter could sometimes bring boundless joy, and at other times, excruciating embarrassment.

Through mutual introductions, Ma Lanhua finally realized that the pretty young woman before her was the very person Xiaobai had "picked up" the previous night.

Xiaobai insisted stubbornly that she had picked her up, so Ma Lanhua subconsciously treated the woman as someone Xiaobai had rescued. Xiaobai was truly amazing.

Having safely delivered the person, she prepared to leave.

"Wait a moment, Sister Ma, please wait a moment. There's something I need to discuss with you," Zhang Tan called out to stop her.

Ma Lanhua's heart skipped a beat. *Damn it! Is the Zhang Boss about to bring up taking Xiaobai to climb the mountain?*

In her mind, Xiaobai's earlier words echoed clearly: *What should I do?*