As expected, human excitement has its limits—Lin Sangyu wasn’t able to wake up on time today.
In that state between sleep and wakefulness, she felt a heavy, large hand shaking her shoulder. She lifted her heavy eyelids and only jolted awake once she recognized who it was.
Lin Sangyu sat up as quickly as she could: “What time is it?”
“7:45,” Jiang Wenzhe raised his hand to check his watch. “Your body clock hasn’t fully adjusted yet. You should set an alarm from now on.”
Lin Sangyu gasped, her eyes set with determination: “Then I’ll get up right now, head out early, and go to the job interview with the utmost sincerity!”
“I’m making breakfast downstairs. Get yourself ready and come down. The temperature’s rising quickly today—it’s around twenty-five degrees. I’ve put your clothes in the walk-in closet, too—it’s the first closet as you walk in.”
Just as Jiang Wenzhe reached the doorway, a cheerful, melodious voice came from behind him: “Thank you, Jiang Wenzhe.”
Jiang Wenzhe turned to look at her. “You don’t need to thank me from now on.”
Lin Sangyu shook her head vigorously, like a rattle: “No, no—I have to say it, because you’re such a really, really, really wonderful person.”
Jiang Wenzhe’s hand on the doorknob paused slightly as he said, “Suit yourself.”
Then he quickly walked out the door.
After breakfast, the two walked out shoulder to shoulder. As they were about to get into the car, the driver visibly froze for a moment, his eyes uncontrollably scanning Lin Sangyu.
Could this be the boss’s wife?!
Whoa.
Startled by Jiang Wenzhe’s sudden, icy glare, the driver suppressed the urge to spout the cliché line, “Miss, you’re the first woman the young master has ever brought home,” and instead gave the pair an awkward smile. “Good morning, Mr. Jiang, and… and this young lady,” he said.
Lin Sangyu waved at the driver very politely, smiling brightly: “Good morning.”
Once in the car, Lin Sangyu was very proactive, following her instincts and pressing herself seamlessly against Jiang Wenzhe. Tilting her head back slightly, she asked him, “Where are you taking me to find a job?”
Jiang Wenzhe acted as if he hadn’t heard her, his hands casually resting at his sides as he closed his eyes and gathered his thoughts.
Seeing that Jiang Wenzhe had his eyes closed and wasn’t paying her any attention, Lin Sangyu added, “How much do you think I can earn a month?”
Mentioning money, Lin Sangyu suddenly realized she still had no idea how much debt Jiang Wenzhe was in.
Although a partition separated the front and rear compartments, it didn’t block sound. Lin Sangyu didn’t want the driver to overhear this embarrassing talk of bankruptcy, so—to avoid embarrassing Jiang Wenzhe—she lowered her voice and whispered in his ear, “Just how much money do you owe, anyway?”
A warm breath swirled around her eardrum, and Jiang Wenzhe finally opened his eyes, saying, “You’re so loud. Shut up.”
Lin Sangyu looked at Jiang Wenzhe, whose face was a picture of displeasure, and sighed inwardly: Sure enough, this really is a blow to his pride.
Jiang Wenzhe is so thin-skinned.
Looks like he owes quite a bit.
“Oh.” Lin Sangyu thoughtfully decided not to rub it in any further and turned her face away. After all, no matter the amount, she’d work hard to earn money and support Jiang Wenzhe.
“Mr. Jiang, we’re here.”
Lin Sangyu looked out the car window and saw they had arrived by the riverbank, where the milky-white river surface shimmered in the sunlight. Glancing back, she saw rows of neatly arranged small shops lining the street, with several large restaurants standing out prominently in the distance.
“Get out of the car. Find a job on your own.”
Jiang Wenzhe’s cold voice hung over her head, and only then did Lin Sangyu belatedly feel a sudden, inexplicable nervousness. She swallowed hard and got out of the car, her movements noticeably stiff, but she still managed to force a smile as she said to Jiang Wenzhe, “Bye. Wait for my good news.”
Jiang Wenzhe instinctively prepared to remain silent again; after nodding in acknowledgment, he ruthlessly rolled up the car window. But out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Lin Sangyu’s lips, tightly pressed together from nervousness—her normally rosy lips now taking on an unhealthily pale hue.
It’s her first job—she probably needs some encouragement, right?
So Jiang Wenzhe rolled down the window again and said, with a forced and awkward tone, “Good luck. I’ll pick you up after work.”
“Okay, I’ll send you my location then.”
Jiang Wenzhe lowered his gaze and, in a rare moment, gave a distinct smile: “Mm-hmm.”
The car started moving again, and Jiang Wenzhe’s smile gradually turned somewhat menacing. His hands, with their prominent knuckles, propped up his head as his dark eyes fixed on the slowly moving dot on his phone.
Lin Sangyu would probably never know that, no matter when, Jiang Wenzhe didn’t actually need her to “send” her location to find out where she was.
Because all her shoes—and her phone—were equipped with tiny tracking devices that transmitted her location nonstop, round-the-clock, to the obsessive, brooding man sitting before her.
Every step she took in this murky situation could perhaps be described as walking from the frying pan into the fire.
But at this very moment,
one was completely oblivious,
and the other had no idea what was happening.
[Mr. Jiang, Miss Lin has just entered a small restaurant.]
[Image jpg.]
Jiang Wenzhe tapped open the image and stared for a moment at Lin Sangyu’s slender silhouette before typing: [Keep following her. Report back at any time.]
Lin Sangyu was just starting out in the world and didn’t know any better; doing this was simply to protect her—there was nothing wrong with that.
Jiang Wenzhe told himself this.
Lin Sangyu psychically prepared herself for quite a while, deliberately ignoring the lavishly decorated luxury hotel a few hundred meters away—a place she could tell at a glance was far beyond her reach.
She turned a corner and walked straight into a restaurant that served both noodles and fried rice. Seeing someone at the front desk, she asked politely, “Hello, do you happen to be hiring dishwashers here?”
A middle-aged man dressed simply was bent over the counter, keeping track of the accounts. Upon hearing her voice, he looked up at Lin Sangyu. At just that glance, a wide grin instantly spread across his face, with wrinkles piling up at the corners of his eyes, as if he’d heard something hilarious.
Lin Sangyu had taken special care to pick out her outfit before leaving home today. Drawing on her past experience wandering the human world, she wore a white satin silk blouse with the cuffs rolled up to her elbows, paired with a simple black A-line skirt.
Though the clothes had no logos, their exquisite craftsmanship was evident. Paired with Lin Sangyu’s tall, slender figure, they made her appear graceful, radiant, and captivating.
So naturally, to the middle-aged man, she looked like some young lady from a wealthy family who’d come out to experience life.
He had just a small shop—he couldn’t afford that kind of hassle.
“Young lady, are you here to wash dishes? Looking for a long-term job?”
“Yes, yes,” Lin Sangyu replied hurriedly.
“You see, we get a lot of customers,” the middle-aged man said, pointing into the shop with a sympathetic tone. “You won’t be able to handle this work—it’s exhausting. A young person like you should go out and see the world; you’d be wasting your talent in a small shop like mine.”
Even after being turned down, Lin Sangyu persisted in selling herself: “Boss, I’m really capable. Please trust me—I’m truly, truly hardworking.”
“Oh, come on, just go. I’m not short on staff here,” the middle-aged man said, giving her the final shoo-away. “Don’t just stand there—you’re getting in the way of my business.”
“All right, thanks, boss,” Lin Sangyu finally handed him the business card she’d made the night before. She didn’t let the rejection get her down and said politely, “If you ever need someone in the future, feel free to give me a call.”
After letting out a deep sigh, Lin Sangyu walked out of the restaurant and mustered up the courage to keep asking at one shop after another.
As expected, she hit a wall every time, and the reasons for rejection were all more or less the same. Either they didn’t need anyone, or they thought a young person like Lin Sangyu couldn’t handle such physically demanding work.
Darn it, why is the job market so tough?
Feeling down, Lin Sangyu leaned against a large tree by the roadside. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting patches of soft light. Adopting the classic melancholic pose—gazing up at the sky at a 45-degree angle—she called Jiang Wenzhe.
The first call went unanswered.
The second call went unanswered.
Before the third call had even rung for two seconds, it was abruptly hung up on her, displaying the message: “The number you have dialed is currently busy. Please try again later.”
However, Lin Sangyu didn’t realize this meant Jiang Wenzhe had hung up on her; she simply assumed he was actually on the phone with someone else.
Well, if I can’t get through, I can’t get through.
Busy—it’s better to be busy, after all.
Knowing she couldn’t dwell on the moment, Lin Sangyu gathered her composure, shook out her legs—which had gone a bit numb from leaning against the tree—and shook her head to clear her thoughts before getting back up to continue her job search.
This time, her only option seemed to be the towering restaurant not far away—the most imposing structure in this concrete jungle. The four large characters “Jinglan Huaxi” reflected a cold glow under the direct sunlight, exuding luxury and grandeur.
Stepping into the lobby with its porcelain-white floor, where crystal chandeliers hung overhead, Lin Sangyu walked up to the front desk once more and politely asked, “Excuse me, are you hiring dishwashers here?”
A pretty receptionist wearing black-rimmed glasses and her hair tied in a bun responded warmly, “I don’t think we’re hiring dishwashers right now, but we’re actually planning to hire a front desk clerk—we’re even going to post the job listing tomorrow. What a coincidence! My name is Zhao Ran. Would you like to work with me?”
“Front desk?” Lin Sangyu blinked. “What does that entail?”
“The main duties are greeting guests, registering and verifying reservations, and things like that,” Zhao Ran said. “It’s just a bit tiring to be on your feet.”
Lin Sangyu got excited: “I’d love to! I’d love to!”
The scene was like a successful marriage proposal. The person across from her chuckled and whispered to Lin Sangyu, “Then I’ll go get the manager for you right now. He should be around here somewhere.”
Under Lin Sangyu’s watchful gaze, Zhao Ran dialed the number on the front desk phone. Soon, a man in a sharp suit strolled over from the other side of the hotel lobby.
“So this must be the young lady you mentioned on the phone,” Manager Wang nodded at Zhao Ran, then turned sideways and gave Lin Sangyu a quick once-over from head to toe. “She’s quite a looker—we’re actually in need of a receptionist with good looks.”
Manager Wang then led Lin Sangyu into his office and asked a few standard questions in a strictly businesslike manner—
“Do you have any experience working at a front desk or in the service industry?”
“No, but I’m a quick learner, and I’ll work hard to pick things up.”
“Are you willing to work rotating shifts or on holidays?”
“Yes.”
“Can you handle overtime and working only one day off per week?”
“That’s fine, too.”
……
She’d struck gold—the manager grew more and more delighted as she asked questions, a smile spreading across her face.
“Then that’s settled. Someone will take you through the onboarding process in a moment…”
Before Manager Wang could finish her sentence, Lin Sangyu’s sudden ringing phone interrupted her, and the smile that had been forming on her face faded slightly.
Lin Sangyu immediately fumbled through her pocket to pull out her phone, catching a glimpse of the words “AAA Jiang Wenze” in her haste.
But the very next second, without a second thought, she hung up and switched her phone to silent mode.
Lin Sangyu offered a slight apology: “Sorry, Manager Wang. Please continue.”
Jiang Wenze assumed she had accidentally hung up.
Thinking she was being especially patient and considerate, he dialed her number again, but even after the ringtone stopped, there was no answer.
“……”
For the first time in his life, Jiang Wenzhe had been hung up on for no reason. His heart pounded wildly, and the knuckles gripping his phone gradually turned white.
Is she trying to copy me by not checking her phone while working?