On Monday morning, Shen Yumian received a call from Shengjin Group for the second round of interviews. She had passed the first round, and the second would be held at their headquarters.
Shen Yumian changed into a professional outfit early that morning. She didn’t have much in savings, so she hadn’t splurged on anything expensive—something proper and elegant was more than enough.
Even though she had heard plenty about Shengjin Group, Shen Yumian still felt a thrill of novelty when she arrived for the first time. The company was one of Jiangbei City’s largest enterprises, spanning finance, real estate, and more. It was the kind of place fresh graduates fought tooth and nail to join.
Shen Yumian sat in a reception room with more than a dozen other applicants, waiting for the staff to call them in one by one. It wasn’t until ten-thirty that her name was called.
She took a deep breath, reminding herself to give it her all. Landing a job soon meant she could start earning money to repay Jie Jie. As she stepped into the conference room, she faced seven or eight people in crisp business attire, and an inexplicable wave of nerves washed over her.
“Miss Shen, please have a seat. We have a series of questions for you. Go ahead and sit…” A woman in her early thirties on the left spoke first.
Shen Yumian had interviewed at a few companies before, so she answered their questions thoroughly. Midway through explaining her understanding of the company culture, the conference room door swung open from the outside.
She heard the sound but kept going without turning around.
The HR staff across from her, however, all rose to their feet and nodded greetings to the person who had entered behind Shen Yumian. She paused mid-sentence.
The woman strode forward a few steps, casually pulled out a chair at the table beside Shen Yumian, sat down, and gave her a glance. “Go on.”
Only then did Shen Yumian turn to look. The woman exuded sharp competence, probably around thirty, with porcelain skin. Her bright eyes carried a touch of languid allure, her nose was elegantly straight, and her lips—tinted with a soft orange-brown gloss—were vividly enticing. She wore a warm white summer casual blazer over matching trousers. Dark, softly curled hair cascaded loosely down her back, and a platinum necklace accented with rubies graced her slender neck, only heightening her refined beauty.
Shen Yumian averted her gaze and picked up where she’d left off. All the while, the woman listened, flipping through Shen Yumian’s resume. Once Shen Yumian had fielded all the questions, the woman’s eyes settled back on her. “You’re this year’s fresh graduate. What’s your personality like day-to-day? Are you good at looking after people?”
Shen Yumian hesitated, wondering why she was asking, but the deference the HR staff showed her suggested she was company leadership. Quickly gathering her thoughts, Shen Yumian replied, “I’m like this most days. Taking care of people? No problem at all. Actually, Jie Jie and I were raised by our Paternal Grandmother. My parents divorced when I was little, and she passed when I was in my early teens. Jie Jie had just started university, and I was still in middle school. We fended for ourselves most days—Jie Jie juggled classes with part-time jobs. Those years were brutal for her. I don’t want to be a burden anymore.”
Shen Yumian pressed her lips together, regretting the family details. The HR folks might find it off-putting. She hurried to add, “Sorry, I went on too long. But it’s all true.”
The woman studied her for a moment, then nodded. “Not too much—just right. You can head back and wait for our call.”
“Thank you.” Shen Yumian rose, offered her thanks, and left the small conference room. She let out a sigh, convinced the interview had tanked. Everyone else touted glittering resumes; she’d dwelt on the rock-bottom struggles with Jie Jie.
Determined, Shen Yumian headed back to prep for the next one. She was overdue to vacate the dorm. Only her rapport with the dorm Auntie had bought her an extra half month—otherwise, she’d be homeless. Grown as she was, she refused to trouble Jie Jie further. She desperately needed a job with company housing.
Back in the conference room, the HR manager in charge of recruitment stood respectfully beside the woman. “President Sheng, most of these new hires will go to the branches. A few interviews remain. Anything else you need from us?”
“The rest can follow the normal interview process. As for that Shen Yumian just now…” Sheng Yang turned her gaze to Qi Qian and continued, “Have someone investigate her background information and see if what she said earlier is true. To be my assistant, she must be completely clean. Got it?”
“Understood. I’ll bring you all of Shen Yumian’s information shortly,” Qi Qian quickly replied.
“Alright then. You all continue with the interviews.” Sheng Yang rubbed her fingertips, stood up, and strode out of the conference room, followed by several secretaries.
It wasn’t even noon yet when Qi Qian delivered Shen Yumian’s file to Sheng Yang. Sheng Yang set aside the documents in her hand and began reviewing Shen Yumian’s past experiences.
Her life history and family situation matched pretty much what Shen Yumian had said earlier. Shen Yumian’s family wasn’t well-off. After her paternal grandmother passed away, only she and her sister were left to depend on each other. However, Shen Yumian had always excelled academically, got along well with people at school, and never felt inferior because of her family circumstances.
By now, Sheng Yang had set aside her thin summer suit jacket and was wearing only a white chiffon short-sleeved blouse. She glanced at the photo on Shen Yumian’s resume, her fingertips tapping lightly on the desk as if deep in thought.
Shen Zhirou received a call from her sister during lunch. Shen Yumian had already returned to her dorm and was holding her phone, telling Shen Zhirou about her morning interview.
“Sis, I went to interview at Shengjin Group today. As expected of Jiangbei City’s leading enterprise—their headquarters is magnificently luxurious. But I didn’t perform well, so I probably won’t get into Shengjin Group,” Shen Yumian said. She hadn’t held out much hope anyway, so her tone remained upbeat as she shared this with Shen Zhirou.
“Shengjin is tough to get into. You did your best, Mianmian. Don’t push yourself too hard—you’ve got me,” Shen Zhirou replied while eating the food from her tray and chatting with her sister.
“I know, Sis. I’ve sent out a bunch of resumes these past few days. I have interviews at two companies tomorrow, so don’t worry. I’ll definitely find a decent job within the month,” Shen Yumian assured her, not wanting her sister to fret.
“Alright, then. Once you land a job, I’ll check if Yaoyao has time, and we can all have a meal together. It’ll be a chance for you to meet her,” Shen Zhirou said with a smile.
“Sure! I’ve been curious what your girlfriend looks like anyway. You eat first, Sis. I’m going to grab lunch too.”
After hanging up, a smile lingered on Shen Zhirou’s lips.
Zhao Tongtong called out to her, “Zhirou, what are you thinking about? You’re smiling so happily.”
“Mianmian has graduated. My little sister is all grown up now,” Shen Zhirou said, her eyes full of warmth. Her sister was six years younger than her, and Shen Zhirou and her paternal grandmother had raised her together. With their paternal grandmother gone, her sister was the only family she had left.
“That’s wonderful. You’ve both finally come through the hard times, Zhirou. Good days are ahead for you. Your sister graduated, and you’ve gotten yourself a girlfriend this year—everything good is happening at once. Don’t you think you should buy a scratch-off lottery ticket lately? Your luck has been incredible,” Zhao Tongtong teased with a wink and a grin.
“Cut it out. I’ve never bought a scratch-off in my life,” Shen Zhirou said with a chuckle and a shake of her head.
After chatting with Zhao Tongtong for a bit, Shen Zhirou opened WeChat. She thought about her interactions with Lu Yao lately, then tapped into their chat. It was all her own messages; Lu Yao had only sent the restaurant address once before and hadn’t said another word since.
Shen Zhirou pouted, recalling how her girlfriend’s attitude differed so much in and out of bed, and how it varied greatly depending on whether Lu Yao was in a good mood or not.
Shen Zhirou sighed. Who could she blame but her Yaoyao for being like that? Even knowing Lu Yao might see it but not reply, Shen Zhirou still typed out a message and sent it.
Shen Zhirou: Remember to eat lunch on time~ I’ll be waiting for you to come home so we can have dinner together tonight.
Lu Yao received the WeChat message right away. She frowned at it, thought for a moment, and finally replied to Shen Zhirou with a single “Okay,” though she also found it a bit troublesome.
When Shen Zhirou saw Lu Yao’s reply, her eyes lit up. Even though it was just one word, her Yaoyao was aloof—getting any response was already a big deal. A smile tugged at Shen Zhirou’s lips as she fired off several more messages in a row.
Shen Zhirou: What are you up to? Busy right now?
Shen Zhirou: Yaoyao, what do you want for dinner tonight?
Shen Zhirou: Why aren’t you replying? Got busy again?
Lu Yao frowned as she looked at WeChat, thinking these words were completely unnecessary. After all, she and Shen Zhirou weren’t dating, so they didn’t need to act like ordinary couples. As Lu Yao read the series of messages Shen Zhirou had sent afterward, she inexplicably felt irritated and even regretted the single character she had just sent.
As expected, boundaries were still necessary. It must have been her recent behavior that led Shen Zhirou to misunderstand. Lu Yao sighed, recalling how clingy she had been at home lately—no wonder Shen Zhirou had the illusion they were in a relationship.
Lu Yao sighed and decided she couldn’t be so clingy tonight.
In the afternoon, Shen Zhirou did a bit of work, and while heading to the pantry, she received a call from an unknown number. She assumed it was a delivery service or something similar, so she answered. But the other end stayed silent for three or four seconds. Shen Zhirou found it baffling and was about to hang up when she heard a man’s voice.
“Wait a second, it’s Ye Qi.”
Shen Zhirou’s brows furrowed slightly. She didn’t understand why Ye Qi was calling her, so she asked, “Is there something you need?”
“I do have something to tell you. Has Yaoyao ever mentioned Wen Jin to you? That’s Yaoyao’s first love.” There was a hint of smugness in Ye Qi’s voice, as if he were boasting about knowing more about Lu Yao’s past than she did.
“You just said it was her first love, so that must have been many years ago. People should live in the present—I don’t care who she was with before. But now, she’s with me. If Mr. Ye has something to say, he can say it to Lu Yao’s face instead of gossiping behind her back.” Shen Zhirou knew about Ye Qi’s feelings for Lu Yao, so she assumed he was just trying to stir up trouble between them and didn’t take it seriously.
“Gossip? I’m just kindly reminding you—Lu Yao still thinks of Wen Jin fondly. Do you know why she’s with you? It’s only because your eyes look like Wen Jin’s. You don’t actually think Lu Yao really likes you, do you?” Ye Qi’s voice dripped with mockery, as if he had already won.
“Sorry, Yaoyao is my girlfriend. I have no reason to distrust her and believe you instead. Mr. Ye, we should contact each other less from now on. I have something to do—I’m hanging up first.” Shen Zhirou decisively hung up the phone, finding Ye Qi utterly pointless—a grown man who liked badmouthing people behind their backs. As for what he had said, she didn’t believe a word of it. After all, why would Ye Qi be so kind as to tell her this? He just wanted to create a rift between her and Lu Yao.
