Even if Lin Xinyue was unreliable, as a junior employee, Chi Shuo couldn’t possibly refuse or defy a task personally assigned by him.
Leaving the supervisor’s office, Chi Shuo’s mood had nothing to do with brightness. Her lips were pressed down. Seeing her like this, colleagues around her couldn’t help but start whispering, wondering if Chi Shuo had been reprimanded or something.
Everyone knew Chi Shuo’s work ability. Although not the absolute top in the company, she was definitely among the front runners of the younger staff. She was gentle and meticulous, sometimes appearing somewhat carefree on the surface, but everyone knew Chi Shuo was very reliable. She also seemed to never have a bad temper. Any questions asked, she would try her best to answer, and tasks assigned from above were always completed to near “perfection.”
Because of this, everyone felt somewhat worried about Chi Shuo at this moment. They had never seen Chi Shuo look so downcast before.
Chi Shuo herself felt somewhat bewildered, because Lin Xinyue’s request was both simple and not simple—just “make Little Teacher He happy.”
Happy? What kind of happy? Would a smile count as completing the task? The request had no limits. Chi Shuo couldn’t grasp Mr. Lin’s thoughts. Pondering as she walked, a colleague called out to her as she passed their workstation: “Chi Shuo.”
It was Xiao Cheng. He had been back from his business trip for a long time and had been enjoying the office air conditioning lately, not going out again.
He looked up slightly at Chi Shuo, afraid of hurting her feelings, and asked cautiously, “Did the supervisor scold you?”
Chi Shuo paused, not understanding what he meant. “No, why do you ask?”
Xiao Cheng awkwardly rubbed his nose, shook his head, and waved his hand. “Nothing, just saw you looking down, asked casually, don’t mind it.”
Chi Shuo let out an “Oh” of realization, smiled slightly, and said, “No, just assigned me a task that I need to complete today.”
If she couldn’t make He Lindi happy today, she’d have to try again tomorrow. Thinking of this, Chi Shuo’s heart started pounding again. Knowing her own tendencies, it wasn’t impossible that she might clash with He Lindi.
Although things had been relatively harmonious lately, rarely happening anymore.
Returning to her workstation and sitting down, Chi Shuo began tidying the documents on her desk. She needed to hand them over to the intern later, as she couldn’t handle them now.
Fang Xiuxiu watched her actions, her expression slightly hesitant. She looked at Chi Shuo, seeming to want to say something but not knowing how to start.
Chi Shuo, while stacking the documents, asked, “What’s wrong? Something you want to say? Xiuxiu.”
Fang Xiuxiu nodded lightly, then lowered her head and voice simultaneously, leaning closer to Chi Shuo, and asked with no small amount of worry, “Shuo Shuo, you… are you getting fired?”
Chi Shuo paused, her actions stopping mid-way. She couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, coming to see me off?”
Hearing this, Fang Xiuxiu’s face crumpled into a frown. “Really?” Her lips turned down in a large arc. “Why fire you, why…”
Only after speaking did she realize the teasing glint in Chi Shuo’s eyes. Fang Xiuxiu straightened up, then couldn’t resist giving Chi Shuo a punch. The force was like a cat’s paw, landing on Chi Shuo’s shoulder.
Chi Shuo feigned pain: “Woman! You’re so vicious!”
“You liar, you scared me to death.”
Chi Shuo curved her lips into a smile, holding the organized documents. “I’m just going out for another task.” Her own face fell. “Ai, it’s hard to explain.”
Soon, Chi Shuo contacted He Lindi, asking where she was now.
She sent the message from the company break room, but He Lindi didn’t reply for a long time. Chi Shuo eventually called her to get through.
She had seen He Lindi at the company before the morning meeting, but when she called, He Lindi was already back home, lying on the sofa eating fruit. Her answers to Chi Shuo’s questions were somewhat mumbled: “At home.”
Chi Shuo was shocked: “When did you go back?”
“After giving your boss the USB drive.”
Chi Shuo couldn’t help criticizing: “Such a corrupt life! Not working! Don’t want your salary!”
He Lindi’s tone was nonchalant: “I’m different from you guys. I’m a photographer. Just the salary from this business trip is enough for me to quit.”
“……” Fuck, Chi Shuo felt like she had turned into a lemon spirit at this moment.
“So you know what you need to do today?” After two seconds, He Lindi got straight to the point herself. “Know how to cook? How about coming to my place first and making me lunch, see if I’ll be happy?”
Chi Shuo: “……”
Chi Shuo held back: “Coming, old bro.”
He Lindi burst out laughing with a “Pfft.” “I’ll contact the security guard later, let them bring you straight in.”
“……” Chi Shuo felt like a fish on the chopping block, at the mercy of others.
Because she had driven He Lindi home before, and Chi Shuo’s memory wasn’t bad, she hailed a taxi, gave the address, and complex feelings filled her as she headed towards He Lindi’s home.
In the car, Chi Shuo received a message from Han Yu. Han Yu asked if she was free tomorrow night after work, they could go to the bar together… to pick up girls.
Chi Shuo felt somewhat uncomfortable looking at the words “pick up girls.” She replied: 【Drinking is fine, I’m not picking up girls.】
【I want to!】
【I’m going to stick to my player persona! Flirt and run.】
Chi Shuo: 【……】
Chi Shuo was puzzled: 【Are there really that many girls who like girls every day? How do you know you’re not picking up a straight girl? What if she’s not moved.】
Han Yu replied: 【So I’m taking you to a lesbian bar. Discovered it last week. All sorts of girls you could want are there.】
Chi Shuo didn’t know what to reply. In the meantime, Han Yu typed again: 【Maybe you’ll even have a wonderful sex/life.】
Chi Shuo couldn’t resist cursing her: 【Get lost, get lost, get lost.】
She bickered with Han Yu the whole way. Finally, the driver reminded her they had arrived. Chi Shuo got out, was immediately spotted by the security guard at the entrance. A guard with a build like a fitness coach walked over and asked directly, “Hello, are you Miss Chi?”
Chi Shuo nodded: “I am.”
“I’ll lead you in.”
“Thank you.”
Chi Shuo was full of questions. She had only been to He Lindi’s complex entrance once before and had encountered these guards, but had they remembered her face in such a short time?
What kind of security guards were these, human face recognition devices?
Chi Shuo kept her thoughts hidden on the surface. She followed the sturdy guard into the complex. Chi Shuo knew the housing prices in this complex; she had specifically looked into it before, because back then she wanted to buy an apartment herself and had set her sights on the “Yunshang Garden,” where prices were terrifyingly high in Yuncheng.
Chi Shuo liked the name “Yunshang Garden,” and it wasn’t just the name. The scenery and layout inside the complex were so exquisitely dreamy that even after so long, Chi Shuo was still moved, still wanted to buy a place here.
It was just… unaffordable.
The guard was relatively quiet. Noticing Chi Shuo’s expression, he thought for a moment and asked, “Is Miss Chi a Yuncheng resident?”
“Yes.”
“The down payment is only 1.5 million yuan, and you can buy a house here.”
“If you’re from out of town, Yuncheng has implemented purchase restrictions now, only other channels are available.”
Chi Shuo didn’t ask what the other channels were. She smiled faintly in response, but felt it wasn’t appropriate, so after entering the elevator, she said, “Okay then, I’ll definitely buy it in my next life.”
“Miss Chi has a great sense of humor.”
The elevator was also luxuriously decorated. During the ascent, Chi Shuo felt increasingly sour. 1.5 million down payment, how long would she have to earn that?
Soon, the elevator dinged, reaching He Lindi’s floor.
“Yunshang Garden” had a total of three buildings, with only three units per floor. Even with so few units, it still had a “one unit per elevator” configuration. Chi Shuo truly couldn’t be envious.
The guard nodded slightly at Chi Shuo: “I’ll head down first then.”
He pressed the button, the door slowly closed, leaving Chi Shuo alone on this floor.
Chi Shuo looked left and right, then slowly walked to the door number He Lindi had told her. She pressed her lips together, rang the doorbell, then cleared her throat softly, stared at the peephole, and stood ramrod straight.
Five seconds later, the door opened.
He Lindi appeared before her, holding a cat. Seeing the cat, Chi Shuo instinctively shrank back, her voice trembling slightly: “You have a cat?”
He Lindi was also somewhat surprised by her reaction: “Yes.” She asked, somewhat unexpectedly, “Are you afraid of cats?”
The cat in He Lindi’s arms looked extremely docile, its large eyes lazily half-open. It glanced at Chi Shuo, then looked away, seemingly uninterested.
Chi Shuo swallowed: “A little.”
It wasn’t just a little; she was terrified.
Back in elementary school, Chi Shuo wasn’t afraid of cats then, even feeding the stray cats in the neighborhood. But one time, a stray cat suddenly went crazy and bit her hand viciously.
Chi Shuo’s parents were still very concerned about her back then and immediately took her to the hospital.
Later, Chi Shuo developed a psychological shadow. That stray cat had even been her favorite one.
“Then wait a moment.”
“I’ll put it over here, we’ll go to another room.”
Chi Shuo stood rooted to the spot: “Another one?”
“Yes.” Before putting the cat down, He Lindi gestured with her chin towards the other two doors outside. “I don’t usually live in these two.”
Hearing this, Chi Shuo’s mouth opened slightly, and she called out the other person’s name: “He Lindi.”
He Lindi was puzzled: “What’s wrong?”
“Teach me photography? I’ll switch careers and become a photographer, what do you think?”
He Lindi’s eyes curved into crescents: “Yo, trying to steal my job?”
Shoutout and huge thanks to Grey and Karashin for picking up the complete EPUB book on the Ko-fi shop! Really appreciate the support!
If you’d like to read ahead and support me, you can request extra chapters or get the full novel as an EPUB.
