'A 20g gold bar?'
This reward took Lin Shen by surprise.
He had gotten money when he went shopping in Wujiaochang, and a Constitution-improving attribute when he went hiking.
Following the pattern, Lin Shen had expected a literature-related reward for coming to campus to clear his head. Who would have thought it'd be a gold bar!
'Tacky!'
'So tacky!'
'But I like it.'
Lin Shen casually checked the real-time price of gold. It was 850 RMB/g, making 20g worth 17,000 yuan.
'Sold!'
Although gold was one of the best investment products, Lin Shen desperately needed the cash to complete the [ReceivePal] mission and increase his daily income.
So, he sold it without hesitation.
"Construction Bank: Your account ending in 7946 received a deposit of RMB 17,000 on August 4th at 16:32. Current balance: 184,000."
*
「5 PM, at the east gate of Shanghai International Studies University.」
Jiang Wan smiled and extended her right hand to Gu Wanqing.
"Welcome to the family here at the Shanghai International Studies University English department. If you have any questions or need anything, just message me on WeChat."
"Okay, thank you, Jiang Wan."
After shaking Gu Wanqing's hand, Jiang Wan turned to Lin Shen, who was standing to the side, and smiled.
"Let's keep in touch."
"Would you like to have dinner with us tonight?"
Lin Shen took the initiative to invite her.
"We've taken up your whole day. I feel bad about it."
"I have plans tonight."
Jiang Wan gave Lin Shen a mischievous smile.
"How about you take me up on that offer next time?"
"Alright."
Lin Shen didn't press the issue. He watched her elegant figure walk away, feeling a little disappointed.
Just then, Gu Wanqing couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"Jiang Wan is so gentle!"
"She is."
"So, Lin Shen, do you like Jiang Wan?"
"I do."
Seeing Gu Wanqing's knowing, mischievous grin, Lin Shen gave her a light flick on the forehead.
"Who wouldn't like a beautiful, gentle woman like her? Don't get the wrong idea. We're just friends."
"Of course I know that!"
Gu Wanqing clutched her forehead with a wronged expression, which made Lin Shen chuckle.
"We're eating out tonight. You pick a restaurant, my treat."
"Haidilao, then!"
Gu Wanqing's eyes lit up, and she grinned triumphantly.
"I have a student discount, you know. We get 12% off!"
"Deal."
Lin Shen hadn't expected to be enjoying this kind of perk so many years after his own graduation.
'It's been a while. A hot pot dinner sounds nice.'
*
*
「Six in the afternoon.」
The Operations Director's office on the third floor of Huamao Mansion.
"You still haven't compiled and summarized the customer issues reported in the app's online community."
Behind her desk, Qin Yuenan slammed the report in her hand down in front of Yang Qian, the leader of Operations Team One. Her expression was glacial.
"If you can't even complete a small task like this on time, then you don't need to be a team leader anymore."
"President Qin."
Yang Qian picked up the report from the desk, her expression bitter.
"This used to be Lin Shen's responsibility. His resignation was so sudden, and the new hire hasn't fully adjusted yet."
"Are you telling me that in the three days since he resigned, your team's efficiency has dropped by half?"
Qin Yuenan steepled her fingers, her gaze cold and hard.
"Are you all completely useless?"
...
Faced with Qin Yuenan's blunt accusations, Yang Qian broke out in a sweat. She could only nod and force an apologetic smile before finally scurrying out of the office in disgrace.
Letting out a long sigh, Qin Yuenan leaned back in her office chair and covered her eyes with her arm.
Ever since she'd come to understand the true extent of Lin Shen's competence, she had anticipated that Team One would need an adjustment period after he left.
But she truly hadn't expected the team's productivity to be cut by more than half during this period!
'Eight or nine people can't even match the output of a single Lin Shen?'
Qin Yuenan shook her head in frustration.
Only now did she finally understand who on Operations Team One was actually working and who was just slacking off.
But it was too late.
Qin Yuenan rubbed her aching temples, stood up, and grabbed her nearby backpack before heading to the fourth floor.
Besides keeping fit, working out was her main way of relieving her inner frustration.
After changing into her quick-dry workout clothes in the locker room, Qin Yuenan subconsciously scanned every corner of the gym, but she didn't see the familiar figure she was looking for.
She felt a slight pang of disappointment.
Qin Yuenan took out her phone, intending to message Lin Shen, but after a two-second pause, she placed it on the treadmill and muttered to herself in a slightly petulant tone.
'I'll have to ask him tonight why he didn't come.'
*
*
"I'm so stuffed!"
At eight o'clock, after leaving Haidilao, Gu Wanqing wanted to walk off their meal before heading back.
Lin Shen felt the same way.
So the two of them wandered around, eventually ending up in front of a bookstore.
"Any books you'd recommend?"
'Books?'
Gu Wanqing was genuinely surprised that Lin Shen liked to read. She immediately perked up and said excitedly,
"Of course! Living!"
'Of course it would be this book.'
Lin Shen had seen it said online that any home with a bookshelf was bound to have a copy of Living.
'I might as well buy it and see for myself.'
Lin Shen wanted to see if the book was as good as everyone online claimed, so he asked the shopkeeper, who promptly fetched him a copy.
The blue and white landscape on the cover and the large, simple word "Living" were strangely moving.
"Let's go."
"Okay."
Back home, Lin Shen washed up and got into bed. He was just about to start reading Living when a message from Qin Yuenan suddenly came through.
Qin Yuenan: You haven't been working out lately?
Lin Shen: I have been. Why?
Qin Yuenan: Then why haven't you been coming to the company gym?
Lin Shen: I can still go even though I resigned?
Qin Yuenan: Why else do you think I signed that contract with you in the company's name?
Lin Shen: You should have told me! I'll come by soon.
Qin Yuenan: Good. I'll be waiting.
'Waiting for me?'
Qin Yuenan's message made Lin Shen's mind wander. An image of her stunning figure in yoga pants and a tank top suddenly surfaced in his thoughts.
'Having a workout buddy like that would certainly be motivating!'
Lin Shen put down his phone and opened the first page of Living.
He planned to read for two hours and get to sleep before midnight.
After all, he'd promised to take Gu Wanqing to Disneyland tomorrow, so he needed to be well-rested.
However, as Lin Shen moved past the simple words on the page and sank deeper into the story they wove together, he lost all track of time.
Under the dim, warm lamplight, his expression shifted from solemn to sorrowful.
「Two in the morning.」
Letting out a long, heavy sigh, Lin Shen dog-eared the page and closed the book.
He had stopped reading at the point where the protagonist, Fugui, was captured on the battlefield and then sent back to his hometown.
The simple, unadorned prose wove a deeply moving story steeped in sorrow.
That was Lin Shen's strongest impression after reading.
He had never lived through that era, but through the book, he came to understand the true meaning of the word "living."
'Financial freedom?'
'The power and admiration of the masses?'
'None of it compares to a healthy body.'
'Just being alive is enough.'
'Time for bed. I shouldn't stay up any later.'
Glancing at the time on his phone, Lin Shen turned off the light, rolled over, and went to sleep.
"Construction Bank: Your account ending in 7946 received a deposit of RMB 4,000 on August 5th at 00:01. Current balance: 188,000."