Draw a Prison Around Oneself

The moment Manager Zhong saw Liu Shang appear, he froze for a second before breaking into instant delight. Laughing loudly, he strode out of Xu Tiande's office.

"Liu Shang! You actually came in today?"

"Haha, perfect timing. Get to my office, now!"

"To tell you the truth, I was this close to going to your school to find you myself!"

Under the astonished gazes of everyone in the office, Liu Shang was dragged straight into Manager Zhong's office. They immediately got down to business, continuing to refine and improve the specific tool design for surface-controlled zonal injection.

After an entire day of work, with Liu Shang's assistance, Manager Zhong had nearly finalized the complete process flow, along with the designs for the relevant pipe strings and tools.

They would probably be able to finalize the draft tomorrow, then send it to the factory to have several sets custom-made.

Within the next few days, they could begin testing and determine whether the technology would succeed.

During their brief lunch break, a stranger named Draw a Prison Around Oneself sent him a QQ friend request.

Liu Shang frowned and accepted it. The other party politely introduced himself.

"Hello, I'm Zhou Liang from the Student Union, and I'm also the deputy group owner of our freshman group."

Liu Shang understood and exchanged a few polite but meaningless pleasantries with him.

Only then did Zhou Liang send the actual invitation, asking him to attend the group dinner gathering on Friday night.

The venue was the well-known Kaiyue Grand Hotel near the school.

With so many things on his plate at the moment, Liu Shang naturally had no interest in it and politely declined.

However, his refusal made Zhou Liang frown on the other end of the internet.

Their original purpose in creating the group had been simple: to give Tan Feng more opportunities to get close to Jiang Ruolin.

They had even imagined holding a grand, sensational, romantic ceremony at the planned gathering, then using the crowd's influence to encourage Jiang Ruolin to accept Tan Feng's pursuit.

But they had never expected the freshman group to become a stepping stone for Jiang Ruolin and Liu Shang to meet and get to know each other.

Before the gathering had even begun, Jiang Ruolin had already fallen for Liu Shang and become his girlfriend.

If this had been before Liu Shang and Jiang Ruolin confirmed their relationship, Zhou Liang would not have cared what Liu Shang did.

In fact, it would have been better if he did not attend the gathering and stayed farther away from Jiang Ruolin.

But now, the gathering, which had been moved up by a week and hastily arranged for Friday night, had changed into an effort to suppress Liu Shang and make him back off in the face of difficulty.

So how could the star of this gathering, Liu Shang, be allowed to refuse?

"Heh heh, Liu Shang, you may not know this, but many of us here are Jiang Ruolin's high school classmates and friends."

"A lot of people are curious about you and want to meet you."

"Besides, Jiang Ruolin, as one of the group administrators, has already confirmed that she'll be attending."

"She's a girl. You can come help her fend off some drinks, can't you?"

Since Zhou Liang had put it that way, Liu Shang, who did not particularly care whether he went or not, nodded and agreed.

Just like yesterday, after everyone in the office got off work, Liu Shang was once again kept behind by Manager Zhong.

Perhaps knowing that Manager Zhong intended to finalize the design today, Liu Shang sent Jiang Ruolin a text message, then threw himself wholeheartedly into drafting and work.

By the time the two of them wrapped up, it was already nearly nine at night.

No matter what, Liu Shang's plans to meet Jiang Ruolin that night had fallen through.

"Kid Liu, I kept you working overtime tonight, so you couldn't spend time with your little girlfriend. Feeling unhappy about that?"

Inside a tavern with an excellent reputation and great popularity in the city, Manager Zhong looked at Liu Shang and laughed heartily.

Ever since Liu Shang joined the company, Manager Zhong's technical project had progressed exceptionally smoothly, practically perfectly.

It allowed the old man to finally set down a heavy stone in his heart. At the very least, he could catch his breath and relax for the rest of the year.

Naturally, he was in an extremely good mood.

Hearing this, Liu Shang smiled and waved his hand. "Being in a relationship doesn't mean two people have to stick together every day, right?"

"Besides, honestly, Manager Zhong, this kind of atmosphere, where you lose yourself in technical research, is amazing."

"Especially when a technical problem is on the verge of being solved. It feels as though every pore in your body is buzzing with excitement."

Liu Shang's first sentence was naturally against his true feelings. He wanted nothing more than to be glued to Jiang Ruolin every moment of every day, even for the rest of his life.

But the latter half was a genuine reflection of his thoughts. Deep down, he was also a technical fanatic.

"Good!"

"You brat are practically the apprentice Heaven specially sent me. You're completely to my liking."

"Liu Shang, drink properly with me today. If it gets too late, don't bother going back to the dorm. I'll get you a room at the star-rated hotel next door."

People who worked in petroleum technology, especially those who frequently operated on the front lines, loved strong baijiu.

Most oilfield production areas were alkaline wastelands in remote wildernesses. They were either freezing cold or battered by storms, and the natural conditions were harsh.

After a long, exhausting day, nothing felt better than a rich, greasy meal and a round of strong liquor.

Liu Shang, who had also struggled on the front lines, could not forget that feeling or sentiment.

So the two of them ordered a table full of dishes and drank the equally potent Qinghuaci Erguotou.

That made Manager Zhong drink with even greater enthusiasm, and he was reluctant to put down his cup and call it a night.

In the end, still not entirely satisfied, Manager Zhong drove Liu Shang back to school before the dormitory gates closed. As they parted, he continued complaining.

"Damn it! We were just starting to get into it, and we already have to call it a night. What a letdown."

"Liu Shang, next time, no matter what, you have to drink your fill with me. The two of us have to drink until we can't make it home sober!"

The next day, Liu Shang worked for half the day.

When he arrived at the company, Manager Zhong was not in the office. He heard that early that morning, Manager Zhong had taken people directly to the factory to oversee the custom production of the various tools.

After handling some specific tasks, Liu Shang informed Xu Tiande and returned to school without eating lunch.

Jiang Ruolin had no classes that afternoon, and they had agreed to visit the park together.

"Liu Shang, don't you have a large lecture this afternoon?"

"Is it okay to skip it?"

Liu Shang shook his head. "Several classes have it together, so it's easy enough to get away with. The teacher can't possibly take attendance for everyone."

On a forest path in a scenic area bathed in afternoon sunlight, the two of them held hands and wandered forward without any particular destination, letting the warm sunlight fall over them.

Quiet, comfortable, peaceful.

After a long while, Jiang Ruolin lifted her head and looked at Liu Shang. "Liu Shang, there may be a freshman group gathering on Friday."

"People from all kinds of majors will be there, and I don't know many of them. It will probably be pretty boring."

To Jiang Ruolin's surprise, Liu Shang nodded. "Mm, I know about that gathering. They invited me too."