The CEO Falls for the Slacker

“Of all the ways to be unfilial, not landing a stable post is the worst” “Just tell me—you’re a senior, so why can’t you be like Xiao Tian upstairs, juggling preparation for the civil service exam, the institution exam, grad school entrance, and even job hunting all at once?” Sitting on her sofa and listening to her parents’ ceaseless nagging, Shen Yan’s head hurt. She pressed her temple and said, “No one can handle preparing for the civil service exam, the institution exam, and grad school entrance while also finding a job. No one can do all that.” Her mother, Xu Yue, quickly shot back, “Aunt Tian told me the same thing—she wouldn’t spout nonsense, would she?” Shen Yan replied incredulously, “No way.” Her father, Shen Wei, sighed and tried to console her: “Xiao Tian might just be too exceptional for you. Look at the son from the Wang family next door—he used to play in the mud with you when you were little, and you’d follow him around calling him ‘big brother,’ remember? He’s so accomplished; he graduated last year and landed a position in a local public institution.” Shen Yan remembered Xiao Wang—he was a year older than her. A few winters ago, she even added him on WeChat. It’s true he did secure a public institution post, but she recalled his recent post on social media: “A monthly salary of 3500, plus writing reports and working overtime until the wee hours?” “Honestly, what’s gotten into you?” Xu Yue couldn’t stand her daughter’s tone. “Even if it’s only 3500 a month, he’s serving the people! And besides, he’s a civil servant—those hidden benefits are top-notch!” “Mom, watch your mouth! With what you’re saying, wouldn’t you and Xiao Wang end up together?” Shen Yan gasped, quickly warning her mother not to say such things. Xu Yue snapped, “Shut up!” Shen Yan couldn’t help but fire back, “Besides, how does a public institution post equate to being a civil servant?” Xu Yue was left speechless. Hearing his daughter’s sharp retorts—which had infuriated Xu Yue even more—Shen Wei snorted and said, “At home, you’re always a contrarian, talking back every time. How come you always get such low scores in your interviews?” Hearing her father mention interviews struck a nerve in Shen Yan. “What can I do? In the provincial exam, my written score was ten points higher than the runner-up’s. But then in the interview, everything flipped—what was I supposed to do?” Shen Wei lamented, “If you could speak like that in the interview—if someone got 70 points, would you only get 50?” Then, suddenly, Shen Wei recalled, “You always score 50, right? You’re not arguing with the examiners during the interview, are you?” In a low voice, Shen Yan retorted, “It’s a structured interview—there’s no back-and-forth with the examiners. And besides, I don’t score 50 every time.” Shen Wei nodded, “Yes, yes, yes. This time you managed a 60 in the public institution interview, but the person in third place scored 80 in the end.” Staring at the freshly printed A City public institution written exam results on the coffee table, Shen Yan felt a mix of emotions. She’d thought this time would be different, but then a so-called “interview master” emerged—someone who, despite scoring third on the written exam (10 points below her and 8 points below the second-placer), blasted his interview score up to 80. Even though she’d worked hard and achieved her personal best of 64 in the interview, the master had easily outdone her. Shen Yan lowered her head in silence. There was nothing she could do—she just couldn’t bring herself to speak loudly in front of strangers. Seeing his daughter so downcast, Shen Wei fumed, “Where did this problem come from? You’re a college graduate—why are you so scared of interviews? What are you afraid of? Just pretend there’s no one in front of you!” The angrier he got, the more he ranted, “Didn’t you watch those inspirational movies as a kid? Remember that Wells? He had a stutter from childhood and practiced by putting a stone in his mouth when speaking—and in the end, he became a king. You should do the same! Nobody is born ready to speak in front of a crowd. Go practice—I’ll drive you back to the countryside, and you can stand in the village square and give a speech!” Shen Yan couldn’t help but correct her father as he got more and more outrageous and excited: “Are you referring to the orator Demosthenes, or Colin Firth in The King’s Speech?” Shen Wei, confused by her question, replied, “What ‘Moss’ and ‘Fat Four’?” He clicked his tongue and said, “Don’t get off-topic. I told you to practice more, talk more!” After a moment of frustration, he added, “You signed up for an interview class, didn’t you? Doesn’t the class have mock exams? During the mock exams, you couldn’t even speak, right?” Shen Yan lowered her head further. She really wanted to say that if she scored over 60 in the interview, it was already the best result from all the mock interview classes she’d taken. Xu Yue, who had been listening to Shen Wei scold their daughter, had had enough. She pulled Shen Wei aside, saying, “Why are you pushing Yan Yan so hard? You know she’s shy.” Shen Wei frowned as he looked at the mother and daughter pair and sighed. His daughter was growing up—he couldn’t scold or hit her anymore. With graduation approaching and no job in sight, their expectations weren’t even that high. They just wanted her to get a civil servant position, but why was it so difficult? Why couldn’t their family have a little luck? Maybe they could have one civil servant. Luckily, their family had a bit of money. If Shen Yan didn’t find a job after graduation, they could afford to keep her as a full-time daughter. “It’s okay, daughter. If you can’t make it this year, we’ll try again next year. We won’t pay social security, and you’ll still be a fresh graduate for the national exam. For the next year, your job is just to study for exams. We’ll go through all of them—national exams, provincial exams, civil service positions, or even the military and auxiliary positions. We’ll get there eventually.” “Dad, Mom… I actually…” Before Shen Yan could finish her sentence, Xu Yue’s phone rang. “Who’s calling at this time?” Xu Yue was not pleased. Shen Wei quickly gave Shen Yan a look, signaling her to help her mom get the phone from the kitchen. “Dad, are your eyes bothering you?” Unfortunately, Shen Yan didn’t catch the signal. Shen Wei: … This child was so thick-headed. He shook his head, stood up, and went to grab the phone himself. Looking at the name on the screen, Shen Wei was surprised: “A Yue, is this your leggy best friend from S City?” When Xu Yue heard the words “leggy best friend,” she quickly got up from the sofa, ran over to Shen Wei, and upon seeing the name on the screen, her mood changed from sorrow to joy. She quickly answered the call, “Hello? Xin Xin? Oh, yes, yes, Shen Yan, ‘Yan’ as in ‘fireworks,’ a graduate from A University with a major in Chinese Language and Literature? Great, she’ll report next Monday? Thank you!! Xin Xin, you’ve really helped us out! We’ll treat you to dinner when we come to S City!” Shen Yan and Shen Wei exchanged confused glances, both wondering what had just happened. After hanging up, Xu Yue saw the confusion on both their faces, and her smile froze. Once again, she couldn’t contain her anger: “What use are you two? One can only score 50 points in an interview, the other is reluctant to use connections to get into a state-owned enterprise.” “Isn’t the rule now that everyone must take an exam to get in?” Shen Wei was aggrieved, but hearing Xu Yue’s words, he suddenly realized. He asked excitedly, “Honey, did you… get it sorted?” Xu Yue proudly smiled, “Of course. Yan Yan, pack your bags. We’re going back to S City.” Shen Yan was still confused: “Huh?” Shen Wei explained, “Your mom contacted her old best friend from S City while you were preparing for the exams. You’ve met her before when you were little—Aunt Chu, remember?” Shen Yan still shook her head, bewildered. “That’s not important. Have you heard of the Lu Group in S City?” Shen Yan nodded: “I’ve heard of it. A lot of students from our school have applied there, but I heard it’s tough to get in.” Xu Yue nodded proudly, “Xin Xin is a close friend of the chairman’s wife of the Lu Group.” Shen Yan blinked in disbelief: “Mom, your connections are amazing.” Xu Yue smiled mysteriously. “Pack your things. We’ll head to S City tomorrow and get familiar with the place,” Shen Wei said, though there was some regret in his voice. “It’s a pity that even though the Lu Group is great, it doesn’t offer positions with a public servant status.” When Shen Yan heard her dad’s “It’s a pity,” she shuddered. She knew the Lu Group because her roommate once had a crush on the top student from the neighboring economics department, who had applied there but got rejected. That student had even won three national awards, but even he didn’t make it into the company. Shen Yan didn’t know who the Lu Group accepted, but it definitely wasn’t just anyone. She glanced at her mom, and to her surprise, Xu Yue was nodding in agreement: “It’s a pity. If only we had moved our company to S City.” Shen Wei looked at Xu Yue in shock: “Does S City even have coal?” Xu Yue: … Shen Yan obediently went to her room to pack. While organizing her things, she found the Bluetooth speaker in her drawer. She hesitated. The speaker was the only valuable gift her ex-boyfriend, Zhong Cheng, had ever given her. She liked it, and it was practical. She still remembered the breakup conversation clearly, especially the “good person card” he sent. He said that he still liked her, but because they were both from out of town, living in a place like S City would make it impossible for them to buy a house without decades of hard work. He didn’t want to delay her. Shen Yan was stunned at the time and was about to tell him that it didn’t matter if he couldn’t afford a house in S City—her family could afford it. Before she could speak, Zhong Cheng continued, “Look at Yang Ming from our class. The clothes we wear, even combined, are worth less than her hairpin.” She remembered Yang Ming’s hairpin. She had seen it often because Yang Ming wore it almost every time they met. The hairpin was something she and her mom had seen while shopping, and it wasn’t even pretty. Besides a big logo, it wasn’t much different from the ones in street accessory shops, which were even more stylish. Shen Yan never thought Zhong Cheng would pay attention to these things. She always thought he was a hardworking, earnest student. She summarized: “So you’ve decided to date Yang Ming and want to break up with me?” Zhong Cheng actually blushed a little. “She hasn’t agreed to be with me yet, but I think we should break up first. After we break up, I’ll pursue her.” Shen Yan: … She thanked Zhong Cheng for his honesty. When Zhong Cheng broke up with her, it was the time she was overwhelmed with the public servant and civil service exams. She left right after hearing his breakup speech, too busy to say much more. But now, as she calmed down and thought carefully about what he said, the anger inside her couldn’t be contained. Wasn’t this the kind of situation discussed online—when you emotionally cheat in a relationship, should you tell your partner？