The CEO Falls for the Slacker

Chapter 9

Shen Yan had had enough of their teasing and replied directly in the group chat: [Get lost!!!!]

She punched out of the office at the scheduled time and walked briskly home. Halfway there, she suddenly remembered she still hadn’t had time to buy an electric bike today.

There were no bike shops along the way either. Well, it made sense—this area was full of office buildings, and the nearest mall only sold luxury items.

The first night after they moved in, her family had visited the mall, and though there was a supermarket on the basement floor, Shen Yan had been horrified when she saw the price tag on a large, ripe peach: "360."

She had been so shocked that she placed the peach back gently, her hands shaking, afraid of dropping it and having to pay for it.

So this was how money worked in S City.

She wasn’t sure where Feng Shanshan and the others bought their groceries or if they had gotten ripped off.

When she arrived home, Shen Yan expected to see a table full of dishes and a hotpot simmering in the center. However, the living room and dining room were both empty.

Shen Yan:?

She walked further inside and found her three roommates on the balcony.

"What are you all doing?" Shen Yan asked as she approached.

Sun Jones, who was squatting on the balcony doing her eyeliner, was startled by Shen Yan’s voice and ruined her makeup. She looked up and said, "Shen Yan, you’re back?"

Feng Shanshan, who was taking selfies by the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the river, also noticed Shen Yan returning and put down her phone. "Old Shen, let me tell you something. At first, these two laughed at me for doing a full face of makeup, but now they’ve all pulled out their makeup kits to start doing theirs."

Shen Yan: "Why are you all putting on makeup?"

Feng Shanshan: "For the photos, of course! Look at the sunset outside, the river view, the soft light, and the gorgeous scenery!"

Shen Yan: "But where’s our hotpot?"

Chai Ya, also doing her makeup under the sunlight, answered, "We need to take a few pictures first."

Shen Yan: ...

Shen Yan grabbed Feng Shanshan’s phone and said, "Let me take a few pictures for you, and then you can go cook."

Feng Shanshan happily agreed: "Great! Old Shen, you’re the best at taking photos."

Shen Yan adjusted the camera settings on Feng Shanshan’s phone and set up the framing. The landmark buildings of S City were visible across the river. After a quick mental calculation, she set the scene and asked Feng Shanshan to pose.

Shen Yan clicked a few shots and then asked, "All done, do you want to change poses?"

Feng Shanshan quickly responded, "Yes!"

Chai Ya, finishing her makeup, also said, "I want one too!"

Shen Yan: "Okay, you two together."

Chai Ya quickly applied a final layer of setting powder and posed with Feng Shanshan under the lens.

Sun Jones also sped up her makeup, afraid she would miss Shen Yan’s photoshoot skills.

Though Shen Yan didn’t enjoy taking photos herself, she was the best photographer in their dorm. She had taken some of their best pictures.

Her seemingly casual click of the shutter always captured the most beautiful moments.

After a few more shots, the sun began to set, and finally, the three of them agreed to go back to the dining room and continue preparing the hotpot.

They hadn’t been idle during the photo session either. Before they started taking pictures, they had already washed and chopped the vegetables, placed the beef and lamb in the fridge, and prepared the seafood. Everything was ready. All they had to do was add the hotpot base to the pot and bring it to a boil.

The hotpot was so lively, and they had even bought alcohol. But Shen Yan thought she still had to work tomorrow. If she drank too much tonight, she might not be able to wake up in time, so she decided not to drink. She let her friends—who were still not yet corporate slaves—enjoy it themselves.

While eating, Shen Yan suddenly remembered: "Where did you buy the vegetables and hotpot ingredients?"

It couldn’t have been from the same supermarket that sold peaches for 360, but she was curious if there were any places around here with reasonable prices.

Chai Ya, dipping her meat in the hotpot, answered: "We got it from the market two streets away from your community."

Shen Yan’s eyes brightened. "Where is that?"

Chai Ya: "Just search for ‘Chunrong Road Market’ on Baidu, and you’ll find it."

Shen Yan hesitated, "Is the price reasonable?"

Chai Ya didn’t quite understand Shen Yan’s question at first but still responded: "We bought so many vegetables, meats, seafood, hotpot base, and seasonings—everything for about 300?"

Shen Yan looked at the large bowl of beef, lamb, and seafood on the table. "Does that include the meat and seafood?"

Chai Ya: "Yes."

Shen Yan felt confused about the pricing in S City. It seemed somewhat cheaper than she expected: "This seems pretty cheap?"

As a local from S City, Chai Ya had more say in the matter: "Yes, we’re near the coast, so seafood at the market is fresh and cheap."

Chai Ya continued, "We look young, so the stall owners charge us more. If my mom came, she could probably get a better price."

Shen Yan was tempted. She really had to check out Chunrong Road Market sometime.

Just as this thought crossed her mind, Feng Shanshan poured cold water on it: "Old Shen, do you really think your job gives you time to shop for groceries and cook?"

Feng Shanshan’s comment made Shen Yan feel a little down: "My life is so tough. On my first day at work, I had to stay late. Now, on my second day, they’ve assigned me to write the company-wide summary plan."

Feng Shanshan curiously asked, "How did your mom manage to get you into Lu’s Group? That’s a huge deal!"

When the topic came up, Chai Ya was also interested: "Yuzhen’s GPA and the number of certificates didn’t even make the cut."

Shen Yan confessed, "My mom has a rich friend who’s really close with Lu’s Group’s chairman’s wife."

Sun Jones remarked, "But your family has the money to buy this house, and you’ve connected with Lu’s Group’s chairman’s wife. It all makes sense."

Shen Yan thought about their chat in the group earlier and pulled out her employee badge, "Aya, do you want to show this to Yuzhen? But I’ll have to blur my picture first."

Chai Ya took the badge from Shen Yan and looked at it. Perhaps it was the alcohol, but Chai Ya’s eyes seemed a little misty. She shook her head and said, "Forget it. I mistook you for someone else. If you can’t handle the pressure from Yuzhen, you’ll just end up cold-shouldering him. Can you imagine being treated like that every day if you ended up with him?"

Feng Shanshan put an arm around Chai Ya’s shoulder: "As long as you see things clearly, when we go to the capital, there will be plenty of great guys."

Sun Jones chimed in, "Exactly. H University is famous for its science programs, and there are so many guys, none of them are like that bookworm."

Feng Shanshan sighed: "It seems like all of us in the dorm have some struggles in the love department."

Chai Ya: "Zhong Cheng is such an i***t for not knowing what he had."

Sun Jones, reminded by Chai Ya, quickly pulled out her phone, lamenting, "Why didn’t we think to take a picture before we started eating?"

Chai Ya: "We were probably too hungry."

Sun Jones held up her phone, switching to selfie mode. "How about we take a group photo?"

Since Shen Yan was the only one not wearing makeup, they graciously let her sit at the end, making her face look the smallest.

After the photo was taken, everyone edited the picture, and when it came back to Shen Yan, she noticed the lines on the floor tiles in the background were crooked.

She tried to straighten the tiles in the photo and sent the phone back to Sun Jones.

Sun Jones picked a group photo, a picture Shen Yan had taken of her earlier on the balcony, and another shot of the river view, planning to post them on social media.

When Shen Yan realized what Sun Jones was doing, she quickly stopped her: "Don’t post it! What if someone asks about it?"

Sun Jones paused, thinking about their classmates being so gossipy, and then said, "Should I post it but set it to be visible only to Zhong Cheng?"

Shen Yan quickly protested: "No, what if he sees it and decides to try to get back together with me?"

Sun Jones was taken aback: "You’d soften?"

Shen Yan was shocked by the way Sun Jones thought: "Of course not!"

Sun Jones raised an eyebrow: "So why are you worried?"

Shen Yan: "I just don’t want to get involved with him."

Chai Ya added, "I get you, I feel the same way about Yuzhen. I’m glad I figured him out early."

Shen Yan unconsciously grabbed the alcoholic beverage on the table and took a large gulp. After putting the can down with a sigh, she said, "Yeah, it’s not worth it."

Chai Ya followed suit and took a sip: "He wasn’t in the same department anyway. Once we graduate, we’ll just be alumni. No big deal."

"Exactly," Shen Yan said, forgetting for a moment that she still had to work tomorrow, raising her cup to toast with Chai Ya, "If he can’t be with me, it’s his loss."

"Ha!" Chai Ya couldn’t hold back her laughter. "Did you hear that? Our circle doesn’t have boyfriends or girlfriends, just ‘followed’ relationships?"

Shen Yan squinted, "What’s that supposed to mean?"

Chai Ya laughed: "It’s nothing. If he didn’t follow you, it’s just bad luck for him."

Shen Yan nodded in agreement: "If Yang Ming can end up with Zhong Cheng, I can’t respect her."

Feng Shanshan interrupted, "By the way, Yuzhen, Zhong Cheng, and Yang Ming are all from the Business School."

Sun Jones added, "Forget about Yang Ming, but Yuzhen and Zhong Cheng seem to have a hard time finding jobs. The Business School really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be."

Feng Shanshan, realizing something, chimed in: "Yeah, most of us in the dorm either got into graduate programs, found jobs, or are taking civil service exams. Most people in our class seem to have secured three-party agreements, but the Business School seems to be struggling. Could it really be the economy is declining?"

Shen Yan: "A bunch of us from the same year joined Lu’s Group, including that Shen… what’s his name again? The student council president. He’s from the Business School too, right? Also, Yu Xinnian, he’s from the Business School as well."

Chai Ya concluded, "So it’s not that the Business School is bad, it’s just the Business School’s trashy guys."

Shen Yan raised her glass to toast again: "Well said!"

Feng Shanshan, hearing Shen Yan mention Yu Xinnian, was a little surprised: "Old Shen, do you know Yu Xinnian?"

Shen Yan replied, "Yeah, I didn’t know him before, but he has this attitude, like, ‘I’m the student council secretary, how could you not know me?’ so I ended up knowing him."

Feng Shanshan was taken aback: "He’s in Lu’s Group too?"

Shen Yan: "Yes, he’s interning in the marketing department."