Not having been home for several days, Yun Li opened the windows to air out the house before starting to tidy up. While checking the refrigerator, she found a few mangoes left over from making towel rolls, which had begun to spoil after being left for so long.
The decision to go to Deng Chuqi’s place had been made in haste. Although they had later taken her home to get some changes of clothes, she hadn’t thought about this at the time.
Yun Li took them all out and placed them on the counter, staring at them.
Fu Shize had just asked her where she bought those towel rolls. Thinking about it now, could it be that he suddenly became patient and offered her advice because of the towel rolls she made?
Although her initial intention was to ask him if he had any objections to her working at EAW.
However, regardless of the reason.
Yun Li’s anxious heart finally settled back into place because of this.
At least this proved that he didn’t dislike her, nor did he feel averse to the possibility of her working at the same company as him.
Every time she encountered Fu Shize, Yun Li’s emotions would fluctuate wildly. Yet it wasn’t entirely negative.
She would be devastated and discouraged by one of his actions.
But she would also be reinvigorated and motivated by a single word from him.
Like a flat carbonated drink that, after being vigorously shaken, suddenly fizzes back to life with thousands of bubbles rising to the surface.
She stared blankly for a long while, then suddenly curved her lips into a smile.
Yun Li snapped back to reality, intending to throw away these mangoes. She grabbed a garbage bag. Remembering Fu Shize’s last words, she paused, muttering a word with each mango she tossed: “Suitable…”
Suitable.
Not suitable.
Suitable.
One more left.
Yun Li threw it into the bag, repeating without blinking: “Suitable.”
–
When Xia Congsheng sent her the WeChat contact information for EAW’s HR, Yun Li was surprised to find that the person was already on her contact list when she tried to add them.
It was He Jiameng, who had been in contact with her recently.
“…”
Yun Li clicked into her Moments.
She discovered that during this time, He Jiameng had indeed posted several recruitment advertisements in her Moments. Similar to the information Xia Congsheng sent her, the position most relevant to her major was in the R&D department. She didn’t have a habit of checking Moments, so she hadn’t noticed before.
After hesitating for a long time, Yun Li sent her a WeChat message: [Jiameng, are you the HR for EAW?]
He Jiameng replied quickly: [No.]
He Jiameng: [I’m the executive assistant. The HR department has been quite busy lately, so I’m temporarily helping out. But I only screen resumes and arrange schedules.]
He Jiameng: [What’s up?]
With the change in identity, Yun Li wasn’t sure how to proceed. She carefully worded her response, briefly explaining her intentions.
Though surprised, He Jiameng’s reaction wasn’t strong. She asked Yun Li to send her resume and asked a few questions. Soon after, she notified Yun Li of the official interview time.
After completing the process, He Jiameng left a teaser: [You might run into someone familiar that day.]
He Jiameng: [See you then!]
Yun Li was a bit confused but didn’t ask further.
She thought that since she had seen quite a few staff members during her previous visit to EAW, it would be natural to run into someone she knew. But “familiar person” probably didn’t apply to anyone she knew there.
…
After interviewing with several companies, it wasn’t until the day of her EAW interview that Yun Li understood the meaning of those words.
It turned out that “familiar person” didn’t mean “someone she knew,” but rather “peer.” Besides her, two other interviewees arrived at the same time slot, a man and a woman.
The woman was Du Gefei, who had unsuccessfully tried to get Fu Shize’s WeChat at the KTV earlier.
They were arranged to wait in one of the office rooms.
Du Gefei recognized her too and took the initiative to greet her: “Hi, are you here for an interview too?”
Yun Li nodded uncomfortably.
Seeing this, the man beside them asked curiously: “Do you two know each other?”
Du Gefei didn’t tell the truth, casually making up an excuse to brush it off.
Then, the two of them started chatting, one sentence after another. The man tried to include Yun Li in the conversation a few times, but seeing her lack of interest, he gave up.
Subsequently, Du Gefei made a joke that seemed half-true, half-false: “She doesn’t want to talk to you, don’t bother her.”
“…”
Since confirming her interview time, Yun Li has been searching online every day for potential interview questions and sought advice from Deng Chuqi. Her mood had been in a state of anxiety, neither high nor low.
Yun Li always reacted this way to similar situations.
When she had agreed to EAW’s store visit invitation earlier, she had been anxious for a while.
Yun Li’s on-the-spot reactions were poor, especially under the gaze of strangers. Often unable to think clearly, she would forget answers to even the simplest questions in those moments.
She had barely passed her graduate school interview.
This was also why many people found Yun Li difficult to get along with when they first met her.
She wasn’t good at dealing with strangers’ attempts at conversation. Combined with her naturally sharp features, when she looked at people without emotion, she appeared stern and unapproachable. Her brief responses, which seemed to reject further communication, made people think she was overly cold.
Yun Li lowered her head, not explaining.
But because of this comment, the courage she had just mustered deflated a bit.
She inexplicably felt like backing out.
–
Yun Li was scheduled as the last interviewee.
The interviewer was a woman in her thirties named Fang Yuning. She had neat short hair, wore thin-rimmed glasses, and had naturally downturned lips, giving her an efficient and intimidating appearance without trying.
However, with only one person present, Yun Li felt somewhat less tense.
When she went for her interview at Nanwu University of Technology, five or six professors were sitting inside. As soon as she entered and saw the setup, Yun Li’s mind went blank. At that moment, her only thought was that she had come all this way for nothing.
The interview lasted about twenty minutes.
Fang Yuning nodded, organizing her materials: “That’s about it. Do you have any questions for me?”
Yun Li had come across this question in her research, and most answers suggested not to say “no questions” and also not to ask questions too profound for the interviewer to answer.
Yun Li pretended to think, then asked a few common and official questions.
Afterward, Fang Yuning said the results of the second round of interviews would be out within three days and told her to wait for notification.
Yun Li’s mood didn’t lighten; she still felt heavy. She softly thanked her and left.
Outside, walking down the corridor, she saw He Jiameng chatting and laughing with colleagues in the work area. Catching sight of her, He Jiameng turned and greeted her: “All done?”
Yun Li nodded.
He Jiameng asked curiously: “Teacher Xianyun, I saw on your resume that you just started school this year. Why did you suddenly want to work at EAW?”
Yun Li pondered for a while, then slowly said: “Um… our supervisor doesn’t manage us much. There aren’t many graduate courses either.”
A few days before school started, her senior classmates had pulled her into a small group chat, telling her about the major pitfalls of this lab. For instance, the supervisor extremely neglected the students, so it would be best for her to cozy up to other supervisors as soon as she entered school, and attend other groups’ meetings if she hoped to graduate.
Yun Li felt she had used up all her luck in this life just by passing the interview and entering Nanda. To ask her to network with other supervisors and shamelessly attend others’ meetings on top of that…
Rationally, she told herself to do so, but in action, Yun Li kept putting it off, repeatedly emailing her supervisor in an attempt to awaken his conscience and sense of duty as a teacher.
Over a month into the semester, she had only seen her supervisor once, and that was two weeks after school started.
After sending numerous unanswered emails to her supervisor – Zhang Tianqi, once a sensation in both academic and industrial circles – he invited her to sit in his lab and discuss her development.
Yun Li thought she had finally broken through and earnestly prepared a research proposal to bring with her.
The so-called lab had already been converted by Zhang Tianqi into a leisure space for his retirement enjoyment.
The room was spotless, with bookshelves full of calligraphy and painting supplies. The desk was covered with various calligraphy and paintings, leaving only a small corner for a laptop to maintain communication with the outside world.
Yun Li showed him her research proposal. Zhang Tianqi glanced at it for five seconds, lavishly praised Yun Li, then got straight to the point: “Young lady, you’re quite good. I have a friend at Cambridge. Why don’t you go stay in his lab?”
Surprised that Zhang Tianqi would offer her such a good opportunity, and having heard of many graduate students going abroad for half-year exchanges during their studies, Yun Li showed a grateful smile. But she worried Zhang Tianqi might think half a year was too long.
“Professor, I’ll apply for the exchange program with the department later. I’ve heard it can be for half a year. What do you think…”
“Half a year?” Zhang Tianqi interrupted her, looking confused. “Why don’t you stay for the full three years?”
Three years?
Yun Li’s mind went blank, her lips barely moving: “Oh, then what about my thesis here…”
Zhang Tianqi: “You’ll write your thesis there.” He paused, “Translate it into Chinese, and that will be your thesis here.”
Yun Li’s smile froze: “Then my research content…”
Zhang Tianqi: “Oh, just discuss that with Cambridge. No need to let me know.”
Yun Li: “…”
It all sounded unreliable. Zhang Tianqi himself seemed to forget about it and never actively contacted her again.
When she applied, the supervisor seemed so friendly. Yun Li hadn’t expected it to be such a trap. While other classmates’ lives were getting on track, she alone was still without direction, worrying every day.
She could only follow her seniors’ advice and start an internship early.
Snapping out of her memories, Yun Li added a reason she had thought of beforehand: “Also, my self-control isn’t very good. When I’m making videos, my sleep schedule gets all messed up. Finding an internship might help regularize my life a bit.”
“Oh, I see.” He Jiameng indicated she understood and started to gossip, “Did Du Gefei say anything to you inside just now?”
“No.”
“A while back, she somehow found out Fu Shize works here and came directly to my boss, saying she wanted to interview,” He Jiameng complained. “Her interview had ulterior motives. My boss just dumped this trouble on me, but I couldn’t very well refuse to let her come for an interview.”
Yun Li made a sound of acknowledgment.
“She just came out and asked me where Fu Shize was. I said I didn’t know,” He Jiameng said. “Then she asked if he hadn’t come to work. I said he had. Then she left.”
Yun Li unconsciously glanced around, indeed not seeing Fu Shize anywhere. Feeling it would be ungrateful not to say something, she forced out a comment: “Sounds like she came to supervise his work.”
He Jiameng laughed at her joke: “Now that you mention it, it does seem that way.”
Not wanting to linger, Yun Li excused herself, saying she didn’t want to disturb their work and headed out. Just as she took out her phone after leaving the office, it rang.
It was a call from her mother, Yang Fang.
Finding an empty corner in the basement, Yun Li answered: “Mom.”
A couple of days ago, when Yun Li called home, she had casually mentioned her interview today. As expected, Yang Fang was calling to ask how it went.
Yun Li’s mood was low: “It doesn’t seem to have gone well. I’m not sure.”
“It’s nothing, these are all social experiences that need to be accumulated,” Yang Fang consoled her. “Whether or not you get a good result this time, it’s all valuable experience for you.”
Before she could respond, her father Yun Yongchang’s voice suddenly came through: “This silly girl was already introverted, could barely talk to strangers, and insisted on going all the way to Nanwu by herself. Did she think it would be fun? Regretting it now, aren’t you?”
Yun Li was stung by these words.
In a flash.
A surge of anger rose within her.
Somehow, at some point, being introverted had become a derogatory term.
It was originally a very normal word, but hearing it from others made her feel they were implying she was unsociable, inarticulate, solitary, and didn’t fit in. When someone used this word to describe her, Yun Li felt resistant, unable to accept it calmly.
It had become a flaw she didn’t want others to notice or mention.
Yun Yongchang’s attitude was also his usual tactic. He had always been stubborn, finding it harder to admit his mistakes than to climb to heaven, whether to his wife or children. These words seemed to be scolding Yun Li, but in reality, were his way of making her back down and accept his olive branch.
In the past, Yun Li didn’t want to argue with him for long and would always go along with his wishes.
But this time, she had no intention of doing so.
Yun Li tried to keep her voice calm: “Well, it’s not a big deal. If this company doesn’t want me, I’ll just apply to the next one.”
Yun Yongchang’s tone grew fiercer: “What kind of talk is that? Is Xi Fu no longer good enough for Your Highness?”
Yun Li: “I didn’t say that.”
Yun Yongchang: “Then book a flight back home right now!”
Yun Li: “I don’t want to.”
The atmosphere became tense.
After a moment, Yun Yongchang said coldly: “Fine, if you don’t come back now, don’t ever come back.”
This ignited Yun Li’s anger: “What’s wrong with me studying and working in another city?”
Yun Yongchang didn’t speak.
“I never said I wouldn’t come back forever. Every time I try to discuss things with you properly, when have you ever listened?” Yun Li’s eyes reddened, her voice choked with emotion, “What else can you say besides things like this?”
Then, Yang Fang’s voice came through, trying to mediate: “Why do you two always argue as soon as you start talking…”
Yun Li pressed the back of her hand to her eyes, quickly saying “I’m going to eat” before hanging up.
…
After composing herself, Yun Li took out a powder puff from her bag and touched up her makeup, then put on a mask. Only after ensuring no other emotions were visible did she return to the first floor through the fire escape.
Exiting this door led directly to EAW’s main entrance.
Yun Li glanced casually in that direction and saw Fu Shize and Du Gefei standing in front, talking about something. Her mood was extremely bad at the moment, and she had no mind to consider anything else, so she turned to walk towards the exit.
The next moment, Du Gefei suddenly called out to her: “Xian- Xianyun! Where are you going? Why aren’t you coming over?”
Yun Li was puzzled: “What?”
“Didn’t you just ask me to help you get this handsome guy’s WeChat?” Du Gefei came over and grabbed her arm affectionately, “He thought I was asking for myself. It was so embarrassing.”
“…”
Yun Li understood.
So she felt embarrassed about failing to get his WeChat and wanted to pass the buck to her.
Before she could speak, Fu Shize asked calmly: “You want it?”
Yun Li looked at him following his words.
Fu Shize was wearing a light-colored shirt and black suit pants today, with a work badge on his chest. He seemed to have just finished fixing something, with some dust on his hands and was carrying a toolbox.
Now he stood quietly, waiting for her answer.
Du Gefei jumped in to reply for her: “Yes, she’s just too shy to say it.”
Fu Shize lowered his eyes, seemingly in thought, without any unnecessary movement. After a few seconds, he met her gaze again and asked casually, “Didn’t I give it to you already?”