### Chapter 10: “You, a Perpetual Bachelor…”
Back home, Lin Siyi was using a food delivery app to order dinner when she realized that the coupons for this month’s delivery membership had already been used up at some point. Luckily, she noticed this at the payment screen and went back to buy an extra package.
For someone who frequently uses delivery apps to order meals, buying an extra package before placing an order can really save a lot of money. However, the platform limits each consumer to buying only one extra package per month for each type of meal plan.
For someone like Lin Siyi who ideally would outsource all three meals a day, one delivery app simply isn’t enough. So she juggled multiple platforms, rotating between them and comparing which offered the best deals and coupons for the same restaurants.
In her view, the time and opportunity cost of buying groceries and cooking herself paled in comparison to ordering delivery. As an investor, she naturally knew how to calculate returns. While accepting average market risk, she aimed for outsized gains. Cooking for herself was the opposite—high effort with minimal payoff.
Of course, the main issue is that she’s just too broke lately!!!
It was late at night, and there weren’t many people ordering food, so the delivery guy was super fast. Since the elevator in her apartment building had access restrictions, Lin Siyi asked the delivery guy to wait for her downstairs for a moment.
After getting her food, Lin Siyi quickly filled her growling stomach and didn’t even care that it’s not advisable to shower right after eating. She went straight to the bathroom for a quick wash.
After coming out, she suddenly remembered to check the washing machine to avoid any accidents.
After the chaos of the past few hours, this matter had left a psychological shadow on her.
Remembering that she hadn’t taken the medicine prescribed by the doctor earlier, she went to the kitchen to boil water with the kettle to prepare for taking her meds.
Before going to sleep, she set her phone alarm to 11:30 AM, and only after slowing down and lying down did she feel at ease to sleep.
Lin Siyi arrived at the company at 12:50 PM.
In the large office area, there were only a few colleagues at their desks, and those who were there were yawning, clearly just waking up from a nap.
She learned there was an in-depth report sharing session in the conference room, but only for researchers past their probation period. Newbies like Lin Siyi weren’t invited yet—they’d likely be lost anyway.
Due to the unexpected incident in the early morning, she had already wasted most of the morning, so Lin Siyi forced herself to focus and get things done quickly.
Not long after, Cindy came over to her, “Siyi, there’s a fire safety training and emergency drill observation event organized by the Securities and Futures Fund Industry Association this Saturday. I originally arranged for a female colleague from the derivatives group to go, but she told me at noon that she has to go on a business trip for research over the weekend, so I need to find someone else to replace her.”
“I was thinking of sending you, but Mr. Cheng told me this morning that you had a fall last night, so I guess you can’t go either. It’s really a headache because the association requires one male and one female participant. Do they really think pairing up makes the work less tiring?”
Lin Siyi considered it for a moment, “Cindy, I think I can do it. I rested for half a day this morning and feel much better. Besides, it’s just an observation, not a sports event, so it shouldn’t be a big problem.”
Cindy clapped her hands, “Perfect! Saturday at 8:30 AM then. Make sure you’re up and ready. You can ride with Mr. Gu.”
“Okay, no problem. I’ll contact Mr. Gu in advance.”
“Do you have Mr. Gu’s phone number?”
“I’ll just contact him through WeChat in the group.”
Time flew by, and it was Friday afternoon. Lin Siyi hurried to complete the work handover with Cindy before the end of the day and personally saw her off downstairs.
Cindy’s husband came to pick her up from work, and Lin Siyi didn’t want a pregnant woman to stand for too long. Before she got into the passenger seat, they hugged for a moment and agreed that Lin Siyi would visit the new baby later.
Afterward, Lin Siyi rushed back to her desk to continue working overtime.
On Saturday morning at six, Lin Siyi wasn’t woken up by her alarm but by a call from Cheng Yixiu.
Still groggy, Lin Siyi fumbled for her phone and swiped the screen, “Hello, who is this?”
“Wait for me at the elevator at seven. I’ll take you there.”
“…Who are you???”
The person on the other end paused for a few seconds, “It’s me, your neighbor and boss—Cheng Yixiu.”
Lin Siyi’s mind snapped back to reality, “Boss? Why are you contacting me?”
Cheng Yixiu’s tone was a bit off, but he tried to explain clearly, “Your Mr. Gu just called me, asking me to replace him at the fire safety observation event. He said his wife just found out she’s pregnant, and he’s too excited to go…”
Lin Siyi: “…Well, congratulations to Mr. Gu then.”
“In short, you’d better get up now and get yourself ready. I’ll be waiting at the elevator at seven sharp, no waiting. That’s it.” With that, Cheng Yixiu hung up the call without waiting for Lin Siyi’s response.
Cheng Yixiu had been working overtime until past three in the morning and was woken up before six by Gu Zhaoyang’s urgent call. He didn’t hide his bad mood, “You’d better have a damn good reason for calling me now, or else…”
Gu Zhaoyang kept it brief and asked Cheng Yixiu to replace him at the fire safety observation event today.
Cheng Yixiu was impatient, “You’re missing the point. It’s your wife who’s pregnant, not mine. Besides, you’re the one handling external affairs.”
Gu Zhaoyang coaxed, “Brother Xiu, you’re the face of our company, and Cindy arranged for your assistant Lin Siyi to go with you. I figured since you two live so close, it would be convenient for you.”
“Plus, since it’s an event organized by the association, we industry folks need to maintain good relations to make things easier in the future.”
Cheng Yixiu relented, “Just this once.”
Gu Zhaoyang: “Great, Brother Xiu, thank you for your understanding and sacrifice.” Just as he was about to hang up, he couldn’t help but tease, “But Brother Xiu, you’re a perpetual bachelor, always the top player on Singles’ Day, and you don’t even have a wife, hahaha…”
“Get lost.”
Lin Siyi internally grumbled about how her boss next door seemed to have eaten explosives this morning, acting like someone owed him millions. But then she thought, with such a wealthy boss, maybe someone really does owe him millions to make him act like this!!!
Not wanting to keep the big boss waiting for a small employee like her, Lin Siyi quickly got out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash her face. For convenience, she tied her long curly hair into a ponytail, as even a little movement in the summer made her sweat.
Just in case, Lin Siyi applied two patches she bought from the pharmacy to her sprained lower back. She felt a pang of pain when buying them; they were expensive, thirty yuan each.
Lin Siyi decided that wearing sporty casual clothes would be suitable for today. She picked a mini backpack from her wardrobe to carry tissues, keys, her phone, and access card. Then she found a pair of white sneakers from the shoe cabinet by the door.
Opening the door, then closing it. Sure enough, there was a guardian deity standing at the elevator.
Oh, no, it was the boss.
Cheng Yixiu, realizing his tone on the phone might have been harsh, took the initiative to ask Lin Siyi, “Have you eaten?”
“Not yet. Is the boss going to treat me to breakfast?”
“I haven’t eaten either. Want to join me?”
“Sure, I’d love to.”
And so, the two of them set off on a pretend breakfast date.
Cheng Yixiu took her to his usual breakfast spot, “Pick whatever you want.”
Lin Siyi eyed the breakfast spread with determination. “I’m not holding back, boss! I could’ve slept in, but here I am working overtime. If I’m spending money on expensive eye cream, I need to eat well to make it worth it.”
Lin Siyi offered eagerly, “Boss, do you need me to help you with anything?”
“No need, I’ll handle it myself. You take care of yourself.”
And with that, Lin Siyi didn’t hold back, mercilessly piling her tray with food.
Cheng Yixiu waited at checkout for them to pay together. When Lin Siyi carefully carried over her tower of food, he was at a loss for words. “You’re actually going to finish all that?”
Lin Siyi noticed his shock at her appetite. “Trust me, boss. I’ve got this.”
Ten minutes later, after watching his assistant demolish the pile of food, Cheng Yixiu decided to skip the commentary. Just observing made his stomach ache.
Cheng Yixiu couldn’t help but rub his forehead, “Take care of yourself later.”
Lin Siyi patted her face, “I do seem to have gained some weight recently.”
Cheng Yixiu: “…”
As they got into the car, Lin Siyi checked her phone, which showed it was 7:30 AM, “Boss, where are we going for the fire safety observation event?”
Cheng Yixiu pulled up the location Gu Zhaoyang had sent him on WeChat, showing it was at the Dongfang Securities Renmin Road Branch in the city center, “Driving there, we’ll arrive around eight, so we’re on time. If you’re tired, you can take a nap.”
Lin Siyi: “I’m fine. I went to bed early last night. How about we chat?”
“But I’m actually very tired. I worked until three in the morning.”
Lin Siyi worried he’d think she was lazy. After all, the big boss was raking in money daily while sacrificing his hairline to work late.
There was a saying: “Burn the midnight oil to earn more.” If not him, then who?
So she quickly added, “Actually, I was working until midnight last night too.”
Cheng Yixiu clearly didn’t buy it, glancing at her. “Really? Then who was using a home theater to binge-watch dramas at midnight? And with the volume cranked so high the deaf could hear it. High-end community or not, the soundproofing has its limits.”
Lin Siyi: “…”
Alright, boss, just pretend I didn’t say anything earlier.
In her mind, Lin Siyi made a gesture of zipping her lips shut.