022 Active Duty JK?
“Manager Wang, this timing is just not… Find Director Yun? Director Yun isn’t here! …Nonsense! You guys rush us day and night, Sister Yun has only slept 8 hours in two nights! What are you going to use to make it for you? Your life?”
…
In the company, Qin Ren’s voice grew louder, his tone deeper. The entire Department V could feel his anger.
“Hey, hey, Zhou Chi, look how domineering your Brother Ren is.”
“What do you mean ‘my’ Brother Ren…”
A female colleague with pigtails at the workstation next to Zhou Chi teased him. Zhou Chi immediately corrected her seriously.
“Sister Sun, do you know that forcing your fujoshi tendencies on others can get you flamed online?”
“Alright, alright, my mistake, okay?”
The younger generation these days had such sharp tongues. Sister Sun gave Zhou Chi the middle finger.
“What’s the use of getting all high and mighty with me? Look at Qin Ren’s attitude towards the client. They definitely wouldn’t believe he’s a fresh graduate who’s only been at the company for a year. You should learn from him…”
“I’m learning, I’m learning.”
Zhou Chi gave a perfunctory reply. Qin Ren had also hung up the phone and immediately made a voice call to [Clouds Roll, Clouds Unfurl].
“Hello, Sister Yun. I’ll take care of the proposal. You get some rest… No! If I say rest, you rest… Aiya, I know you’re the department head, I’m not ordering you… Yun Wanhe! Can you just listen to me for once! Cough… no, you misheard, I said Sister Yun…”
…
Qin Ren’s second phone call made Sister Juan from the department unable to sit still. After giving Sister Sun a look, the two of them huddled together, whispering.
“Hehe, Sister Sun, Sister Juan, what are you talking about?”
“Go draw your blueprints!”
Sister Juan shooed away Zhou Chi, who was trying to eavesdrop, then, in the lowest possible voice, she winked at Sister Sun.
“Sister Sun, did you feel it? When Little Qin calls Sister Yun, it’s just like that thing.”
“That thing? What thing?”
“Tsk! It’s just, sometimes firm, sometimes gentle, just like…”
Sister Juan glanced up to confirm that Zhou Chi wasn’t eavesdropping.
“…just like coaxing his wife, you know?”
“Wife my ass!”
Sister Sun couldn’t help but laugh, then she rolled her eyes at Sister Juan.
“Don’t joke around like that. If Sister Yun hears you, you’re dead!”
“Then we just won’t let her hear…”
Sister Juan pursed her lips. Just then, Qin Ren also hung up the phone and walked towards her. She turned around with a secret smile.
“Sister Sun.”
“Aye.”
“There’s a rather urgent project, and Sister Yun can’t make it. If you have time, could you help me out?”
“No problem. Tell me what to do.”
————————
This “doing” went on from Monday to Friday.
After a whole week of exhaustion, even with Qin Ren’s constitution, he finally couldn’t take it anymore. For the first time, he truly tasted the ache in his back and waist.
“Luo Yao—”
“Luo Yao is here~”
On Friday night, after his shower, Qin Ren was completely drained. He sat down on the sofa and called over the Spirit Beast, who was changing clothes in the bedroom.
“Where are your clothes…”
“I’m wearing them.”
“I mean, on the bottom…”
“Oh, oh.”
Luo Yao realized and pattered back to the bedroom, then pattered back out a moment later.
Today, for a change, she wasn’t wearing a dress. She had put on one of Qin Ren’s T-shirts and her own little panties. The reason was that the logo on the T-shirt looked like Ultraman, so it had been requisitioned by the High Immortal.
“What do you want this eminence for?”
“Give me a shoulder rub.”
“Five bags of Want Want Little Crisps.”
Qin Ren’s eyes widened.
“A Pixiu with a big mouth, are you? One bag!”
“Three bags.”
“Two bags! One black pepper and one scallion oil. Take it or leave it.”
“Deal.”
Luo Yao got busy. But after comparing, she found that her hands were small, and Qin Ren’s shoulders were broad. She couldn’t help but wonder if two bags of Little Crisps was a loss.
Meanwhile, Qin Ren was pouring out his grievances in the [213 Fatherly Love, Filial Piety] group chat, complaining about his suffering this month. He had expected to be the group’s pet, but Li Wei in the group suddenly stole all the attention with one sentence:
[Li Wei: Brother Ren has it so bad. Not like me, I’ve already quit without a new job lined up. I’m preparing to change careers.]
[Zhang Fei: ???]
[Qin Ren: ???]
[Zhou Chi: !!!]
Everyone’s interest was piqued. After Li Wei briefly explained the situation, everyone sighed, but felt that just chatting wasn’t enough. So they proposed a long-overdue drinking session.
[Zhou Chi: Sunday, Jianghu Tavern, how about it?]
[Li Wei: Can we do Saturday? I have a date on Sunday.]
[Zhang Fei: Date my ass. I have to work overtime on Sunday. I’m free on Saturday.]
[Li Wei: Alright, Saturday it is then. I’ll bring my girlfriend.]
That wouldn’t do. Everyone objected.
[Qin Ren: Men’s night out. Don’t come if you’re bringing a woman.]
[Zhou Chi: I second that.]
[Zhang Fei: Me too.]
…
So, at 7 p.m. the next evening, Qin Ren went out to drink with his brothers.
“Come back early,” Luo Yao stood at the door, waving her little hand.
“Can’t be early. Probably one or two. If you can’t wait up, try to sleep on your own.”
“Oh, that’s fine.”
Just one or two o’clock. Luo Yao could wait.
Qin Ren left the community and walked towards the bus stop.
“Quitting and changing careers… Old Li is probably the first in our class. Sigh, it feels so unreal.”
Qin Ren was filled with emotion. As he contemplated life, he habitually spun his phone in his hand. Then, in a moment of carelessness, smack, it fell to the ground.
“Damn my clumsy hands…”
No fear, he had a case.
But unfortunately, the screen didn’t have a tempered glass protector.
As the saying goes, misfortune strikes when you least expect it. As Qin Ren bent down to pick up his phone, accompanied by a gust of faint, fragrant wind, a size 37 “AJ Fragment” suddenly stepped on the fragile screen of his Meizu 17, right in front of his face.
“Don’t!”
In his alarm, Qin Ren also noticed that this was a very Putian pair of AJs. The Jordan logo on it was even playing ping-pong.
And from the blue and white track pants, he could tell that the person was probably a student.
“Leg! Lift your leg!”
“Oh.”
The other person had a female voice, pleasant, but her tone was flat, not cold, but devoid of emotion, as if she didn’t think stepping on a phone was a big deal at all.
The size 37 Putian AJ moved off the phone. Qin Ren quickly picked it up to check. Fortunately, apart from some dust, it wasn’t cracked.
Thank goodness I didn’t buy a curved screen…
He felt relieved, then looked up at the girl in front of him.
She was about 170cm tall, slim and slender. Her pretty face looked fresh and beautiful, and her skin was as fair and translucent as Luo Yao’s.
Standing before him, her posture had the air of a dancer, but with an added, indescribable sharpness. Her slightly deep brown hair was tied in a rather high ponytail. It should have been full of youthful energy, but her expressionless face made her seem a bit dorky.
Active duty JK?
Qin Ren sized up the blue and white school uniform on the girl and still decided to nag a little.
“Classmate, watch where you’re going. Don’t be in such a rush. A phone is a small matter, but the main thing is there are a lot of cars around here. You need to be careful.”
“…”
After speaking, Qin Ren continued towards the bus stop. The JK clearly didn’t take his words to heart. She looked around, seeming very absent-minded, and continued to rush along the side of the road.
However, after walking about ten steps, her pace grew slower and slower. She looked back, a hesitant and uncertain look in her dark, clear eyes.
Was it an illusion…
That mortal just now seemed to have the scent of that Pixiu on him…
Translator’s Notes
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Fujoshi (腐女): A Japanese term for female fans of manga, anime, and novels that feature romantic relationships between men (yaoi). It literally means “rotten girl.”
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Want Want Little Crisps (旺仔小小酥): A popular brand of savory, crunchy snacks in China.
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Meizu 17: A real model of a Chinese smartphone.
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AJ Fragment: A highly sought-after and expensive collaboration between Nike’s Air Jordan brand and Hiroshi Fujiwara’s Fragment Design. The “little lightning” (小闪电) refers to Fragment’s signature double lightning bolt logo.
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Putian (莆田): A city in Fujian province, China, that is infamous for being the center of the country’s high-quality counterfeit sneaker industry. “Very Putian” is a sarcastic way of saying the shoes are definitely fake.
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Jordan playing ping-pong: A humorous way to describe a fake Air Jordan “Jumpman” logo. The logo is often poorly replicated on counterfeits, with the figure holding a ball looking more like it’s holding a ping-pong paddle.
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JK (JK): Japanese slang for “joshi kōsei” (女子高生), meaning a high school girl. It’s widely used in East Asian internet culture.
