Volume 10: Pro and Con
Chapter 16: The Burnt Fish
“My name is Liang Xiaoqi. Er, I am, I am a student of the digital game design major at Mulan University…” She stammered and hesitated, her eyes constantly falling on Chen Jianing. Having been at Chuanhai No. 1 High School for so long, he had almost forgotten what an ordinary person should look like. Lu Li flipped through the resume. “You’re a student of the digital game design major, right? But I see you’ve applied for an administrative position. Why is that?”
Liang Xiaoqi didn’t answer for a long time. She hadn’t expected Lu Li to ask such a tricky question right off the bat. Why apply for an administrative position? Wasn’t it because the threshold for administrative positions was low? Wasn’t it because she hadn’t been serious enough in her own major? She glanced at Chen Jianing for the seventh time. “Because, because my personal character prefers administrative work. I feel I can perform better in an administrative position.”
Lu Li grunted in acknowledgment but offered no evaluation. “You seem to be a third-year student, graduating next year. Can you start work now?”
Liang Xiaoqi was stunned. “Can I be an intern? Before I get my graduation certificate, I can be an intern at your esteemed company.”
Lu Li said, “Classmate Liang, our company’s recruitment notice has already emphasized that we need official employees. The company can’t support many interns right now. We need employees who can immediately jump into work after being hired. If you’re an intern, I’m afraid you’ll have to devote half your energy to dealing with your studies, right?”
Liang Xiaoqi lost her composure a little. “No, that’s not it. My boyfriend said your company is hiring interns. Jianing, isn’t that right?”
Chen Jianing let out a sound of surprise. She had been listening to Lu Li’s questions in a daze and hadn’t expected Liang Xiaoqi to throw the topic to her. She knew Liang Xiaoqi was “kidnapping” her, hoping she would say a few words for her. She also knew that students from the digital game design major basically couldn’t find jobs. Chen Jianing was not good at handling others’ requests. Her fingers poked at the chair under the table. She was afraid that if she refused, there would be more unpleasant rumors about her at school. If she didn’t refuse, she felt she would be a burden to Lu Li.
Lu Li looked at the Little Tiger. He was also very curious, what weight did “Lu Li” hold in her heart?
He had heard a saying before: don’t test human nature. Perhaps it’s because human nature cannot withstand being tested, or perhaps the person doing the testing has already lost their own humanity. When Lu Li saw the Little Tiger’s face flush red with conflict, he sighed and wanted to answer for her. But just then, Chen Jianing’s voice came: “I’m sorry… our company… indeed does not hire interns…”
Liang Xiaoqi’s voice turned shrill. “Jianing, we’ve eaten and lived together in the same university for two years, and you…” She was extremely concerned with saving face. In the dorm, she loved to put on the airs of a big sister. At this moment, being rejected by Chen Jianing, whom she had always looked down upon, the gap in her heart made her fly into a rage from shame.
Lu Li stood up. “Please leave, Miss Liang.” Lu Li’s form of address changed from Classmate Liang to Miss Liang.
Liang Xiaoqi shot a hateful glare at Chen Jianing and stormed out the door.
“Lu Li, is it okay?” Chen Jianing’s voice was very faint, as if she had shrunk into a crack in the floor. It was the first time Lu Li had heard her sound so pitiful. Even when she was trapped in the hotel back then, her voice was louder than this. “Liang Xiaoqi said her boyfriend has connections with you. Did I… make you offend someone?”
What connections? Lu Li had dealt with self-media more than once or twice these days. Most of the time, they would only chat once or twice and then there would be no follow-up. If that counted as having a connection, then there were countless connections in the world. Even Lu Li couldn’t remember who Liang Xiaoqi’s boyfriend was. Was he afraid of offending him?
Lu Li felt that the Chen Jianing of this moment was much more lovable than usual. When the Little Tiger retracted her claws, she wasn’t much different from a big cat.
“Are you worried about me?” Lu Li said with a chuckle.
This sentence seemed to flip a switch. Chen Jianing’s tone suddenly rose. “Who would be worried about you?” After speaking, she also felt her words were insincere and sullenly lowered her head to look at the resumes.
Lu Li shook his head. He felt that the girls around him more or less all had some personality problems. Among them, Chen Jianing’s problem was particularly serious. He was also very curious, how did this Annoying Ghost develop the habit of speaking sarcastically?
…
The rest of the interviews were much simpler. Most of the young men and women who came with Liang Xiaoqi left in disappointment. At the end of a day of interviews, only two candidates were finalized: a female master’s student who had returned from overseas, and a taciturn, bald programmer. After all the trivial matters were handled, it was already evening. The Mulan sky was ignited by a line of red light. Half the clouds were a bright orange-red flame, while the other half were a dim, fish-belly white. This reminded Lu Li of a text he had studied before. It should be “Burnt Fish.”
“It’s ‘Burning Clouds’!” Chen Jianing corrected, following behind him. “Who taught you elementary school Chinese?”
Lu Li’s elementary school was actually more distant than he imagined. His elementary school was two distances away from him, this life and the last. The ordinary memories of his childhood were like a scratched mirror, no longer very clear. He gave an awkward laugh. “Of course I know it’s burning clouds. I was just testing you.”
“As if anyone would believe that.” Chen Jianing’s laugh was crisp and her voice clear. She was only this at ease when she was alone with Lu Li. In front of others, she was as stiff as a manipulated puppet.
“Jianing, why do you always love to speak sarcastically?” Half of Lu Li’s body was set ablaze by the burning clouds, so beautiful it was as if he were in a dream. Birds flew by in the low sky; they should be black-naped orioles.
“Don’t call me Jianing. You have to call me Senior. Don’t forget, from today on, I am your true senior! You can’t be so disrespectful anymore!”
“Senior.” Lu Li looked into the distance.
“What?” Chen Jianing’s face was full of impatience.
“Do you like younger students?”
The orioles’ calls disappeared in an instant. Only the clouds on the horizon rumbled, as if they were really flames burning. Chen Jianing stammered, “Wha-what?”
Lu Li felt his skin should be a little thicker. “What do you think of me?”
Chen Jianing kicked him, and it hurt a little. “W-what nonsense are you talking about? Your small frame is not my type at all, okay!”
Her answer was exactly the same as in his memory, like a stereotyped answer from the back of a textbook, following the rules, unable to be flexible.
Lu Li rubbed the spot where he had been kicked and, in his heart, tentatively forgave this girl who didn’t know her own strength. “I was just joking. Why are you reacting so strongly?”
“Who jokes like that!” Chen Jianing said quickly, her speech three times faster than usual. “The one I like is—”
Lu Li cut her off. “Is one meter eighty tall, has a broad back and a solid build from working out, a buzz cut, preferably good at outdoor sports, and a bit of stubble, a sunny and cheerful big boy, right?”
Chen Jianing muttered a few words. “It’s good that you know. Someone as thin as a beanpole like you, who looks like a girl, is not my type at all.”
Lu Li looked at his arms and was sure this was an exaggeration from the Annoying Ghost. No one had ever said he was as thin as a beanpole, nor had anyone said he looked girlish. Although this was Chen Jianing’s deliberate exaggeration, Lu Li still wanted to give this girl a good beating after hearing it.
