Chapter 16: Busy (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Lin Manzhi’s WeChat profile picture showed a woman wearing a long trench coat, dark sunglasses, and holding a bouquet of flowers.

It looked highly artistic, stylish and beautiful, exuding a strong sense of elegance.

“Her name is Jiang Tingyu. She’s the same age as you. Currently works at an aquarium. Had a boyfriend in college, but they broke up long ago—now she’s single…”

Lin Manzhi sent over more details about her, thoroughly, even mentioning the past boyfriend without hiding anything.

Shen Siyuan didn’t mind that she’d had a boyfriend; after all, a 26-year-old woman who was this beautiful would naturally have had suitors—having a romantic history wasn’t surprising.

Besides, Shen Siyuan was only planning to meet her; whether it would work out was still uncertain, so there was no need to overthink it.

“Thank you, Sister Manzhi,” Shen Siyuan said politely.

“I’m done with the rest—you two talk on your own. Take the initiative,” Lin Manzhi added.

Shen Siyuan replied with an “OK” emoji.

Then he put down his phone, leaned on his desk, and prepared for a midday nap.

He had always napped at noon; if he didn’t sleep, he’d be dead tired in the afternoon.

As for contacting Jiang Tingyu, he’d wait until work hours—personal matters should be handled during work time.

But as Shen Siyuan leaned on his desk, he found he had no sleepiness at all—his mind felt unusually alert.

Shen Siyuan had noticed this last night: ever since swallowing the soul of the Nine Youmingjun , he’d gained spiritual sense, and his energy had become extraordinarily vigorous, his eyes gleaming with an almost soul-piercing radiance.

So last night, he’d replaced sleep with meditation—and it seemed he’d have to do the same at noon.

Thinking of this, Shen Siyuan felt himself falling downward from empty space—a slow descent, his body light as air, weightless.

Eventually he landed on a lake, like a fallen leaf touching the water’s surface, creating faint ripples; his spirit stirred slightly, but soon, as the ripples faded, the lake calmed again, and his mind slipped into a state of thoughtless stillness.

Ordinary people had too many distracting thoughts and found it hard to enter such a state, but for Shen Siyuan, who carried the memories of the Nine Youmojun , entering this state was as easy as eating or drinking.

In this state, not only did his spirit achieve extreme relaxation, but his body did too—even his bodily functions slowed, as if entering hibernation.

But soon, he was jolted awake by the ringtone of his phone.

Shen Siyuan quickly opened his eyes—it felt as if he’d just closed them, and it was already time for work.

In truth, this was the result of losing track of time while in meditation.

Although slacking off at work went unmonitored, openly sleeping at your desk was out of the question—you had to at least pretend to be working.

At this moment, those who had been napping all rose: some stretched, some got up to get water, some headed to the restroom to wash their faces… the entire office instantly came alive.

Shen Siyuan also stood up to pour himself a glass of water; others noticed the cola on his desk and offered to transfer him money.

“I sent the red packet in the group.”

The red packet group was an internal WeChat group for the Operations Department—everyone was in it. It was named that because it was used solely for collecting red packets; no actual conversation ever happened there.

Shen Siyuan didn’t refuse—he claimed the red packet outright. Even though a cola was only three yuan, a deal was a deal.

Li Wenjuan’s liangpi money was also settled, of course.

If he were one of her sycophantic suitors, he’d refuse her money—but clearly, Shen Siyuan wasn’t, so he accepted it without guilt.

The office noise quickly quieted down again, and everyone returned to their slacking-off routines, each attending to their own tasks.

Shen Siyuan then picked up his phone and added Jiang Tingyu; she accepted quickly.

He immediately sent her a classic opening line.

“Hello, are you available?”

“?”

Jiang Tingyu’s reply was equally classic.

“I’m Shen Siyuan, Lin Manzhi’s colleague. Did she tell you about me?”

“Oh, I know—you’re the fresh young lad she keeps raving about.”

“Uh… did Sister Manzhi really describe me that way?”

Shen Siyuan glanced back at Lin Manzhi; she was focused on her work, unaware of his gaze.

But her description wasn’t wrong—though Shen Siyuan was already 26, he looked much younger: his skin was fair, his brows clear, giving off an impression of innocence and freshness—the kind of youthful aura people called “boyish charm.”

Perhaps because of this, he especially attracted older women.

“Yes, she won’t stop praising you to me. Are you really that good? Then why do you block your Moments?”

“I didn’t block my Moments—I just rarely post on them.”

Her words reminded him—he opened her Moments and scrolled through them.

Her Moments were clean: mostly food, or photos of various animals from the aquarium. The few selfies she’d posted were all in diving gear or mermaid performance costumes, strikingly radiant.

Such a beautiful girl must have no shortage of suitors—Shen Siyuan couldn’t understand why she’d ended up on a blind date.

But they’d just met; he couldn’t ask her outright.

Seeing she posted mostly Sichuan cuisine, he followed that topic to start chatting.

Then he learned she was a Sichuan girl.

“You’re from Chongqing—why did you come to the coast?” Shen Siyuan asked, surprised.

“Because I love the sea. Are you a local here?”

“Sort of?”

“What do you mean, ‘sort of’?”

“I was born here, but my parents aren’t—so I’m half a coastal person…”

They chatted like this—the girl was talkative and unpretentious. They talked for over half an hour, agreed on a meeting time and place for Friday night, then ended the conversation.

From the chat, they’d each formed a preliminary impression—whether they were compatible would have to wait until they met.

Soon after, Lin Manzhi looked up, slightly excited: “Shen Siyuan, Tingyu liked you a lot. Keep it up.”

Clearly, Jiang Tingyu had immediately reported back to Lin Manzhi—evidently, they were very close.

Her words were like a stone dropped into still water—the office instantly burst into lively chatter.

First, Chen Hao, sitting across from her, leaned forward.

“What’s going on? Lin Jie, did you set him up on a date? Are you discriminating? Why didn’t you set me up? Doesn’t matter if she’s pretty—the key is, is she rich? If she’s rich, I’m seriously mad.”

“Beautiful people pair with beautiful people—Lin Jie’s friends must be gorgeous too.”

That was a well-placed compliment.

“Damn it, Lin Jie, I’m offended. Why didn’t you set me up? You’re my real sister!”

“Damn, you’ve got a girlfriend—what are you butting in for?”

“I’m thinking of breaking up with her.”

“Fine, I recorded that. If you don’t buy me lunch for a week, I’m sending it to your girlfriend.”

“Pfft, you bastard—you play dirty…”

“Big Brother Shen, got a photo? Show me…”

“Don’t show him—otherwise before you even meet, he’ll already be charging in…”

…

The office was filled with cheerful energy.