Chapter 5
2126 Words
Zhou Xing didn’t expect that Shen Yan would see through the essence of their work on the first day, but he was also worried that a promising talent for writing materials would be scared off. So he could only say, “It’s not exactly that, today was a special situation.”
Shen Yan nodded. She had actually prepared herself to work overtime before starting her job: “As long as it’s not every day.”
Zhou Xing tried to brush it off: “We’ll try to avoid it.”
When Shen Yan was almost done eating, Shu Yan, a top student from a prestigious university whom Shen Yan had met earlier in the HR department’s meeting room, walked over with a tray.
“Shen Yan, what a coincidence! Do you remember me? We added each other on WeChat this morning when we reported in.” Shu Yan greeted Shen Yan warmly.
Shen Yan quickly nodded with her mouth full. She had a bit of social anxiety, but she wasn’t face-blind. Plus, Shu Yan was not only very beautiful, but also quite easy to recognize.
“Are you here to join us for dinner at the cafeteria?” Shu Yan noticed the empty seat next to Shen Yan and sat down.
Shen Yan swallowed her food quickly and shook her head. “I have to work overtime tonight.”
Shu Yan gave her a sympathetic look, just as Zhou Xing, who was sitting across from Shen Yan, joined the conversation: “There’s a bus back to various districts at 7:30 pm from the company.”
Shu Yan’s eyes brightened. “Does it go to District C as well?”
Zhou Xing nodded.
“I’m still debating whether to take the subway or a taxi back. The subway takes too long, and I might not even get a seat.” Shu Yan paused for a moment. “But it’s only 5:30 now, 7:30 is still too far away.”
As expected of a top student, Shu Yan immediately understood the company’s intention behind the bus schedule. “The person who set the bus time must have wanted us to volunteer for overtime, right?”
“Exactly, it’s one of the bad habits brought over from internet companies.” Zhou Xing gave her a thumbs-up. “But to ease the tension, there’s actually another bus at 5:10.”
Shu Yan replied, “But if it’s at 5:10, we’d have to leave the office as soon as we finish work and rush downstairs to catch it. Unless it’s someone about to retire, no one would take that bus.”
“Exactly,” Zhou Xing said.
It’s a transparent scheme.
Shu Yan sighed. “Well, I’ll just contribute a bit. If I don’t contribute to the company, I’d be wasting time on the subway anyway.”
Zhou Xing suggested, “There’s a gym on the 12th floor. If you don’t want to work overtime, you could go work out to kill time.”
Shen Yan suddenly thought of something. “By the way, does the company provide supper at 8:00?”
Zhou Xing confirmed, “Yes.”
Shen Yan suddenly smiled and looked at Zhou Xing with bright eyes. “So, can I get my taxi reimbursed if I take one after 9:00?”
Zhou Xing gave her another thumbs-up. “You’re really familiar with the tricks of internet companies, Shen Yan.”
Shen Yan: … She had just asked if they followed the 996 schedule, and Zhou Xing denied it.
“Actually, it’s after 9:30,” Zhou Xing corrected her.
Shu Yan seemed to be wavering. She suddenly thought the subway might not be such a bad option.
“Shen Yan, do you know that your A University alumni line is planning a gathering?” Shu Yan didn’t want to keep talking about the 996 issue.
Shen Yan was confused. “A University line?”
Shen Yan explained, “It’s for the group of us who started together, a few of your A University alumni.”
Shen Yan was surprised. “I didn’t know about that.”
Shu Yan, being enthusiastic, said, “I’ll pass your WeChat to Li Hefeng. He should be your student union president, right?”
Shen Yan quickly waved her hand. “Forget it, I don’t know them, and it would be awkward to join their gathering.”
Shen Yan was already intimidated by Shu Yan’s enthusiasm. Not to mention that she and Shu Yan had just met today. Moreover, Shu Yan wouldn’t even attend an alumni gathering, would she?
It would be worse than killing her to eat with a group of strangers.
Shu Yan tried to persuade her. “It’s okay, we were from the same school before, and we’ll all be colleagues from now on, right?”
Shen Yan kept shaking her head. “No, no, I’ll just work overtime.”
“Pfft…” Zhou Xing almost laughed out loud. He knew this junior was reliable.
Shu Yan didn’t push any further. “Alright, then let’s have a meal together sometime.”
Shen Yan reluctantly agreed. “Okay.”
Seeing that both Shen Yan and Zhou Xing had almost finished eating, and considering they would both be working overtime, Shu Yan politely suggested they leave first.
Zhou Xing, thinking of the heavy task ahead, stood up with Shen Yan and left.
Zhou Xing was also dreading tonight’s shift. He didn’t want to rush things, but the district government had made it clear they were waiting for the Lu Group’s project materials, and they would be waiting in the office tonight.
It sounded almost ridiculous. It felt as if they had to deliver the materials to the government office tomorrow.
But with the government’s clear instructions, Zhou Xing dared not be negligent. He quickly finished his meal with Shen Yan and went upstairs to work on the materials.
Jian Hong, who was dieting and skipping dinner, had already put together most of the framework. She sent Shen Yan and Zhou Xing each a copy.
“Shen Yan, look, the parts I’ve highlighted in yellow, please fill them in later,” Jian Hong said to Shen Yan.
Shen Yan nodded. She had reviewed the Link project materials in the afternoon and had already roughly organized them. It didn’t seem like a particularly difficult task.
“Assistant Zhou, make sure you’re quick. I’ve assigned a few sections to you as well. Look at the blue-highlighted subheadings, and fill them in.”
Zhou Xing nodded. “Got it, let’s get started.”
The Link project was all about merging Lu Group’s core real estate business with the internet technologies brought in by Lu Yu’s team. In simple terms, it was about creating a trendy neighborhood as a base for incubating internet celebrities.
Recently, Lu Group had purchased a 90,000 square meter plot in East City for the project, which was also a key strategic development for the district government as part of T District’s transformation.
Although Shen Yan didn’t know much about algorithms or real estate, the materials Zhou Xing gave her were easy to understand, and Jian Hong’s framework was clear and precise. After a quick glance, she had a good understanding of the task.
Though it was Shen Yan’s first day at work, it wasn’t her first day working. She had already organized most of the materials in her hands and was preparing to check on Jian Hong and Zhou Xing’s progress.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Xing immediately noticed. “Done?”
Shen Yan: …
But she still forced herself to shake her head. “Just a bit more.”
Zhou Xing checked the time. It was 7:40. “Then hurry up. Can you finish in 20 minutes? Once you’re done, send it to me. At 8:00, Jian Hong will take you downstairs for supper.”
What is this, a callback? Hadn’t they just talked about supper in the cafeteria at 8:00 during dinner? Was the whole point of her overtime to go downstairs for supper at 8:00? Shen Yan was exhausted.
Shen Yan looked at Jian Hong. “Isn’t Jian Hong dieting?”
Jian Hong nodded. “… So, I’ll take you down.”
Shen Yan: “Thanks, Jian Hong.”
Thinking about supper, Shen Yan quickly organized the materials and finished them. Seeing that she still had some extra time, she lingered for a bit before sending it to Zhou Xing at 7:50.
Jian Hong had already packed up and was waiting for her.
“Jian Hong, won’t you be coming up later?” Shen Yan asked.
Jian Hong replied, “No, I’m going to work out downstairs later.”
“Can I just grab my things and go home after eating?” Shen Yan asked.
Jian Hong answered, “Of course. But at this time, you’ll have to take the subway or a bus home.”
Shen Yan immediately realized that only after 9:30 could the company reimburse taxi fares.
However, since she lived nearby, it wasn’t a big deal.
She followed Jian Hong once more to the cafeteria.
In just one day, she had visited the cafeteria three times. Back in school, she’d never gone to the cafeteria so often.
She had worked overtime but had eaten three meals at the office. Shen Yan wasn’t sure if she should consider herself lucky or unlucky.
Well, she might as well try the braised beef noodle soup with lots of beef that she had only seen in short videos before.
She had just prepared her noodles when she turned and saw Jian Hong sneaking in with a box of skewers.
Shen Yan felt it might be impolite to ask, but she couldn’t help herself and asked again: “Jian Hong, aren’t you dieting?”
Jian Hong rubbed her nose, blushing a little. “The skewers from the cafeteria are delicious, better than those from outside barbecue places. Not eating them would be a loss.”
Shen Yan was charmed by Jian Hong’s cuteness. “Exactly, it’s the company’s benefit, we should make full use of it.”
Jian Hong perked up. “Exactly. I’m not going to skip the company’s food and still work overtime. What’s in it for me?”
Shen Yan nodded repeatedly. “Right, and you’re going to work out later.”
Jian Hong, without any guilt, said, “Exactly. Let’s eat together.”
Shen Yan finished a big bowl of noodles and drank a bottle of AD calcium milk. After eating and drinking, Jian Hong went up to the gym on the elevator, while Shen Yan took the elevator down, ready to go home.
When the elevator door opened on the lower floor, a young man in a suit was already inside, carrying a backpack. He didn’t look too old.
Shen Yan stepped in and stood in the corner.
“You’re new today, right?” the young man suddenly asked.
Shen Yan didn’t expect him to speak. After confirming that there were only the two of them in the elevator, she could only answer, “Yes.”
The young man continued, “You’re from A University too?”
Shen Yan thought, “Did I have A University written on my forehead today? Why is everyone asking this?” She replied, “Yes.”
“You don’t know me?”
Shen Yan: “Huh?”
Should she know him? Probably not, Shen Yan thought. She wasn’t face-blind. She had even recognized the president of the student union earlier this morning.
“Do you know Li Hefeng?” the young man continued.
“Yes, I know him.” Though Shen Yan only knew him by name.
She really wished the elevator would go faster.
The young man scratched his head. “Looks like the student union has more influence after all.”
Shen Yan: …
“You are…?” The elevator was still descending, so Shen Yan had no choice but to engage in small talk.
“My name is Yu Xinnian. I used to be the secretary of the school’s youth league committee, now I’m interning in the marketing department.” Yu Xinnian spoke while opening WeChat. “Let’s add each other on WeChat?”
Shen Yan had no reason to refuse, “I’m Shen Yan, interning in the CEO’s office.”
Yu Xinnian, quite familiar, said, “Yeah, I know. I heard Assistant Zhou call your name this morning.”
Shen Yan awkwardly didn’t know what to say, and luckily, just then, the elevator reached the ground floor.
“I’m off work, bye.” Shen Yan hurriedly left.
Yu Xinnian, also preparing to leave, rubbed his nose and muttered to himself, “I’m off too. Why is she running so fast? Maybe we could have walked to the subway together.”
- Writer
