Xiao Man’s birthday was on August 11th, which fell on a Monday.
To make it convenient for everyone, the celebration party was scheduled for the day before, at a party venue near the company.
On that Sunday afternoon, Xiao Man and a few others went early to set up the place.
As friends arrived one by one, the venue became lively.
Most of Xiao Man’s friends were familiar colleagues from the company, and they all knew Xu Yan well.
After all, he had temporarily taken over as the boss for a month and often came to pick up Xiao Man, so everyone was quite acquainted with him.
As for Xu Yan’s friends, apart from Feng Qing, most had only seen photos of Xiao Man.
Naturally, they couldn’t help but glance at her a few more times when they arrived.
Due to his family background and social circle, most of Xu Yan’s friends were second-generation rich kids.
However, perhaps because Xu Yan had only invited those who knew how to behave, or maybe he had given them some warnings beforehand, aside from their genuine curiosity about Xiao Man and their interest in the couple’s relationship, they didn’t say anything unpleasant.
Xiao Man thought to herself that those clichéd scenes on social media where the rich second-generation friends of the male lead mock his ordinary girlfriend must be because the male lead was either too scummy or too incompetent.
Her man, on the other hand, was great and would never let such things happen at her birthday party.
Xu Yan had a wide social circle, and Xiao Man had heard him privately complain about the reckless behavior of some of his acquaintances more than once-like someone who crashed their car and ended up paralyzed from the neck down, or another who got into a fight over jealousy and seriously injured someone, landing themselves in jail…
Where there were cautious rich people, there were also those with a superiority complex who acted recklessly.
She could sense the subtle air of superiority that Xu Yan’s friends occasionally exuded, but it wasn’t intentional.
They called her “sister-in-law” so naturally that it actually made Xiao Man feel a bit embarrassed.
In any case, everyone had a great time at the party.
Even Xu Yan, who usually didn’t drink much, had a few extra glasses.
His alcohol tolerance wasn’t great, and after just a few beers, he already looked a bit tipsy.
Fortunately, Xiao Man had her driver’s license.
She hadn’t been drinking, so she slowly drove Xu Yan’s car to take him home.
Han Shuangshuang, who lived in the same building as her, naturally had Lin Ci to take her back.
She helped Xu Yan, who could still walk on his own, back to her place and settled him on the sofa.
She then fetched some water to wipe his face and hands.
Looking at his face, which seemed even more striking than usual due to the alcohol, Xiao Man couldn’t resist planting a kiss on his cheek.
She teased him with a laugh, “How can a CEO have such a low alcohol tolerance? How do you even negotiate business deals?”
Xu Yan seemed drunk, but his words were still coherent: “If a deal requires drinking, I won’t take it.”
Xiao Man raised an eyebrow.
“Being rich really lets you do whatever you want.”
“The companies I buy are small. Closing a deal doesn’t earn me much, so it’s not worth risking my health.”
As he spoke, he took Xiao Man’s hand and slowly pressed it against his chest muscles, then slid it down to his firm abs.
“If I drink too much, I won’t have the chest and abs you love anymore.”
Xiao Man: “…………..Is it that obvious?”
Xu Yan pulled her into his arms, and she fell onto his lap.
His voice was unusually deep, sending shivers down her spine as he whispered close to her ear, “Very, very obvious.”
Xiao Man felt a bit embarrassed, but she truly admired his well-maintained physique from consistent exercise.
She even thought it would be a waste not to see such a great body perform a seductive dance-of course, only for her eyes.
She’d give her life for that!
She couldn’t help but laugh.
Who said women couldn’t indulge in the “give-my-life” trope?
Xu Yan flipped over, pinning Xiao Man on the sofa.
“What’s so funny? Share it with me,” he said, tracing her curves with his fingers.
Xiao Man felt his skin burning hotter after drinking, and her mind was far from coherent.
She teased, “I’m laughing because you’re drunk. Are you even capable right now?”
Xu Yan:”……”
Xu Yan: “Seems like you’ve really forgotten who was begging for mercy last time.”
That night, Xiao Man paid a hefty price for her careless words.
But she loved it.
Compared to her bizarre experience of turning into a dog, Xiao Man’s relationship with Xu Yan seemed almost mundane.
Since they started dating, they had never argued.
Neither of them interfered with the other’s career plans or social circles.
Xu Yan didn’t feel threatened by the people around Xiao Man, nor did Xiao Man believe Xu Yan would fall for the “idiots” he often complained about.
After all, the companies Xu Yan took over were always small, on the verge of bankruptcy.
The talented employees had long since left, and she admired his patience in leading a team of average employees to gradually turn things around.
From this, Xiao Man discovered his pride.
He enjoyed rescuing these failing companies and found a sense of accomplishment in the process.
Once, after a quarrel with Lin Ci, Han Shuangshuang asked Xiao Man if she and Xu Yan had ever fought.
She was surprised when Xiao Man said no.
Han Shuangshuang and Lin Ci’s relationship was quite harmonious, but they occasionally bickered over minor issues.
It wasn’t serious, but it was always annoying.
After a moment of reflection, Han Shuangshuang said, “Maybe this is what they call a match made in heaven.”
Xiao Man thought about it.
Perhaps.
But if it weren’t for the incident of turning into a dog, she and Xu Yan might have only crossed paths professionally for a month before becoming two parallel lines that never intersected.
Fortunately, they ended up together.
And from what she could see, they would continue smoothly.
They might get married, or they might part ways.
Who could predict the future?
But at least for now, they found happiness in each other.