**Chapter 7: The Working Soul of the Working People**
When you’re busy, time always flies by.
Even though Yao Dong said the report wasn’t urgent, Lin Siyi knew well that the capital market changes in the blink of an eye. Any information produced is time-sensitive; otherwise, by the time the market reacts, it’s already too late.
Despite it being her first day on the job, Lin Siyi didn’t dare to slack off. She quickly grabbed a meal downstairs at noon to fill her stomach and rushed back to continue listening and taking notes. She selected some targeted content and added her personal opinions and comments.
As it was nearing the end of the workday, Lin Siyi was still reading the brokerage’s research report. Yao Dong came over to tell her that the boss had already asked Cindy to book a place at a newly opened restaurant called “Zuiwengtingji.”
Since many people were out on business trips today, there was no need to book a large private room. Most of the investment research department is either on a business trip or on their way to one. To gather everyone, you’d probably have to wait until the year-end meeting.
Yao Dong glanced at the time on his phone screen, “Cindy has already sent the address of the restaurant to the company group chat. In a few minutes, it’ll be 5 o’clock, and you can clock out. You can ride with me later, and Cindy will join us.”
“But the boss said he has a video conference with some colleagues and will be a bit late. He’ll come over by himself later.”
“Okay, Senior.” Lin Siyi remembered the meeting notes she had written in the afternoon and wanted to show them to Yao Dong. Yao Dong told her to send them over, and he’d help her see if any modifications were needed.
Not long after, Cindy came over to remind them that other colleagues had already started heading over.
The three of them, along with a male colleague from the same group named Tian Yuan, who had a round face and wore black-framed glasses, were ready to go. Tian Yuan had just returned to the company before the end of the day, so Lin Siyi hadn’t seen him during the day and naturally didn’t recognize him. However, Tian Yuan took the initiative to greet her.
None of them had been to the place before, so Yao Dong used navigation to get there. As they neared the destination, they realized the restaurant was quite a hidden gem amidst the hustle and bustle.
The entrance of the small restaurant wasn’t large, with double wooden doors standing open. Entering through the doors, they were greeted by a large stone wall. Turning right along the stone path, they saw artificial hills and koi swimming swiftly in the pond, looking quite adorable.
Lin Siyi thought to herself, “Isn’t this just a welcome party? Why is it so fancy???”
The four of them followed the waiter slowly to the private room, where they saw a few colleagues scattered in the hallway chatting.
Yao Dong, with his naturally sociable personality, was never one to let a conversation die.
Colleague A: “I saw some news about the CFA Association today. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, for regions where offline exams can’t be held, the association is offering the opportunity for remote proctored exams at home, starting from April 13-15 next year.”
Colleague B: “Really? But doesn’t our city have exam centers every year?”
Colleague C: “Hey, your information is clearly wrong. I saw that news too, but the association also clarified that only students who meet the conditions for remote exams will receive emails, and it’s for overseas candidates. There’s no issue with holding exams domestically, so remote exams won’t be implemented.”
While talking, Colleague C saw Yao Dong coming over and casually asked, “Yao Dong, didn’t you have a junior sister taking the CFA last year? How did she do?”
Yao Dong pretended to be forgetful, “When did I have a junior sister taking the CFA? I don’t remember.”
Colleague C: “You’re getting old and forgetful! It was that junior who asked you for study materials, and you wanted to pursue her, but then found out she already had a long-term boyfriend!”
Yao Dong looked pained, “…The past is unbearable to recall, my friend.”
Everyone laughed.
After the jokes, they realized they hadn’t seen the main character of tonight’s welcome party.
You see, at a billion-dollar private equity firm like Yiyang Capital, it’s not common to have new hires. Even internship positions during winter and summer breaks are rare. It’s no exaggeration to say that even the year-end meeting is held more frequently than welcome parties.
Yao Dong: “What’s the rush? You’ll see soon enough.”
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
Lin Siyi had gone into the private room with Cindy earlier but received a call from a regular shopping agent reminding her to pick up a package from the community property office. Since it was a bit noisy in the private room, she stepped out into the hallway to take the call and happened to run into Yao Dong and the others on her way back.
The moment they saw Lin Siyi, someone among them couldn’t help but whistle, “Wow, she’s a beauty!”
As a newcomer in the workplace, Lin Siyi took the initiative to greet everyone, calling them senior brothers and sisters, showing no signs of arrogance or stage fright. She then pointed to the private room, “You guys chat, I’ll head in first!”
Cheng Yixiu arrived around 6:30. With the big boss present, everyone was careful not to be too rowdy, and since Lin Siyi was a girl, they were too embarrassed to keep urging her to drink.
The group of “serious people” ate, drank, and played games for about an hour until Cheng Yixiu suggested they could call it a night around 9 o’clock.
Lin Siyi had come with Yao Dong, but when it was time to leave, Yao Dong had already called a designated driver for himself and was shouting in the crowd if anyone wanted to share a ride, completely forgetting to offer Lin Siyi a ride home.
Cindy’s husband, worried about her taking a car alone at night, came to pick her up himself.
Seeing everyone arranging their rides home, Lin Siyi was left thinking, “…”
But Lin Siyi forgot that she had mentioned to Yao Dong in the morning that Cheng Yixiu had given her a ride to work. In Yao Dong’s mind, since Cheng Yixiu and Lin Siyi were neighbors living across from each other, it was only natural for her to ride back with Cheng Yixiu.
But is the boss’s passenger seat something you can just hop into? This was something Yao Dong, the straightforward guy, probably hadn’t considered.
After everyone had left, Lin Siyi walked to the roadside, looking up to see if any taxis were passing by.
The mosquitoes were a bit much at night, and Lin Siyi occasionally bent down to scratch. She was prone to mosquito bites, and in summer, a bite would quickly swell into a big bump.
“Beep beep—” Suddenly, a car horn blared loudly.
Lin Siyi looked up to see the car window rolling down, revealing Cheng Yixiu in the driver’s seat.
Lin Siyi was surprised, “Mr. Cheng, didn’t you already leave? Why are you back?”
“I remembered halfway that I forgot about you, so I turned back to see if you were still here. It’s not easy to get a taxi around here at night. Hop in, I’ll give you a ride since it’s on the way.”
“Oh, oh… Thank you, boss!”
“Mr. Cheng, when we get close to the entrance, could you drop me off? I need to pick up a package from the property office.”
Cheng Yixiu: “Just remind me when we get there. How was your first day at work?”
Lin Siyi replied without hesitation, “The office atmosphere is great, the colleagues are very nice, Cindy takes good care of me, and Senior Yao Dong is also very helpful. Of course, it’s all thanks to your excellent leadership, Mr. Cheng.”
“You sure know how to flatter,” Cheng Yixiu said, glancing at her while steering.
Lin Siyi, with her thick skin, showed no embarrassment at being caught by the boss.
Nicholas Jintao from ZhongX Securities once said, “In life, getting rich depends on the economic cycle.”
Lin Siyi didn’t know if she could rely on the economic cycle to get rich, but hugging the boss’s leg 24/7 seemed like a foreseeable way to quickly achieve wealth.
The term “financial laborer” already deeply reflects the essence of a working person.
Lin Siyi: “Working people, working soul, all working people dream of becoming ‘people above people,’ Mr. Cheng!”
Cheng Yixiu: “…Young people shouldn’t think too much. Just one word, ‘Gan’ (work hard)!”
“…” Lin Siyi was rarely at a loss for words.
Wow, who knew her boss was someone who kept up with internet slang?
Lin Siyi chose to stay silent until her residential area came into view.
“Mr. Cheng, please stop the car up ahead, thank you!”
Cheng Yixiu glanced at her, acknowledging her request to stop.
The car slowly came to a halt in front of the community entrance. “Goodnight, Mr. Cheng!” Lin Siyi casually said as she opened the car door and dashed out as if being chased by a ghost.
Lin Siyi’s package was quite large today, and since it couldn’t fit in the smart locker, the shopping agent had left it at the property office.
Fortunately, there was still staff on duty at night. After signing for the package, Lin Siyi declined the staff’s offer to help, swung her shoulder bag to her back, bent slightly, and picked up the large box, quickly heading towards the building entrance.
The elevator showed it was coming up from the basement. With her hands full, Lin Siyi quickly used her elbow to press the up button.
In just a few seconds, the elevator arrived on her floor. As the doors slowly opened, Lin Siyi found herself face-to-face with Cheng Yixiu, who had left her speechless just minutes ago.
“…” Lin Siyi was speechless for the second time in a short span, her white high-heeled shoe hovering in the gap between the elevator and the floor.
Cheng Yixiu held the elevator door open, gesturing, “Are you coming in?”
“Yes, yes, yes…” Lin Siyi entered the elevator and placed the large box on the floor, then stood with her hands on her hips, taking deep breaths.
Cheng Yixiu spoke up, “What’s in this box? It’s so big and looks heavy. Need a hand?”
“Sunscreen spray.”
Cheng Yixiu was speechless, “Do you need that much sunscreen spray for one summer?”
Lin Siyi gave him a look, as if to say, “You just don’t get it,” “Mr. Cheng, haven’t you heard the saying, ‘If you don’t use sunscreen in summer, you’ll age faster in winter!'”
“I was born with skin that doesn’t tan, so I don’t have that problem!” Cheng Yixiu’s tone was as pretentious and annoying as ever.
Lin Siyi: “…”
Goodbye, Little Boss Cheng!