Shen Yan had enough of their teasing and replied directly in the group chat: “Get lost!!!!”
She clocked out on time and walked home quickly.
Halfway there, she suddenly realized she still hadn’t had time to buy an electric scooter today.
There were no scooter shops along the way.
It made sense since this area was full of office buildings, and the nearest large shopping mall only sold luxury goods.
On their first night after moving in, the three of them had gone to check out the mall.
There was a supermarket in the basement, but when Shen Yan spotted a large, juicy peach and checked the price tag, it read: “¥360.”
Shen Yan was so shocked that her hands trembled as she put the peach back.
She was afraid that if she dropped or damaged it, she’d have to pay for it.
S City truly had its own currency system.
She wondered where Feng Shanshan and the others bought their groceries and if they had overpaid.
When she got home, Shen Yan expected to see a table full of ingredients with a simmering hot pot in the center.
Unexpectedly, the living room and dining area were completely empty.
Shen Yan: ?
She walked further inside and finally found the three of them on the balcony.
“What are you guys doing?”
As Shen Yan approached, Sun Qiongsi, who was squatting on the balcony drawing her eyeliner, was startled by Shen Yan’s voice and ended up smudging it.
She looked up.
“Yan Yan, you’re back?”
On the other side, Feng Shanshan, who had been taking selfies against the river view through the floor-to-ceiling windows, finally noticed Shen Yan’s return.
She put down her phone.
“Ah Shen, let me tell you something.
At first, these two were making fun of me for doing full makeup.
But the moment they got to your place, both of them took out their cosmetics and started doing their makeup.”
Shen Yan: “? Why are you putting on makeup?”
Feng Shanshan: “For photos, of course!
Look at the sunset outside, the river view.
The lighting is soft, the water is enchanting it’s the perfect scene!”
Shen Yan: “And what about our hot pot?”
Chai Ya, who was also applying makeup under the golden sunlight, said, “Let us take a few photos first.”
Shen Yan: …
She grabbed Feng Shanshan’s phone.
“I’ll take a couple of pictures for you, then you’ll help me cook.”
Feng Shanshan was delighted.
“Great!
Ah Shen, your photography skills are the best.”
Shen Yan adjusted the camera settings on Feng Shanshan’s phone, framing the shot to include the landmark buildings across the river in S City.
Then she signaled Feng Shanshan to pose.
She clicked the shutter a few times.
“Alright, do you want to change poses?”
Feng Shanshan responded immediately.
“Yes!”
Chai Ya, who had just finished her makeup, added, “Me too!”
Shen Yan: “Then both of you, get in the frame.”
Chai Ya quickly applied the last layer of setting powder on her face and joined Feng Shanshan in front of the camera.
Sun Qiongsi sped up her makeup routine, afraid she’d miss the chance to have a “Shen Masterpiece” photo taken.
Shen Yan herself didn’t enjoy taking pictures, but among their dormmates, she was the best at photography.
She had taken “the best photos of their lives” for all three of them before.
She appeared to press the shutter casually, but every shot perfectly captured their most beautiful moments.
After taking several shots, the sun finally set, and they were willing to return to the dining area to prepare the hot pot.
That said, they hadn’t spent the entire afternoon just taking photos.
Before their impromptu photoshoot, they had already washed and chopped the vegetables.
The beef and lamb were stored in the fridge, and the seafood was soaking in a basin.
All they had to do now was add the hot pot base into the pot, pour in some water, and bring it to a boil.
As they enjoyed the bubbling hot pot, the atmosphere became lively.
They had even bought alcohol, but Shen Yan refrained from drinking.
She had work the next day, and if she got tipsy, waking up would be a nightmare.
She let the others, who weren’t working yet, drink instead.
Halfway through the meal, Shen Yan suddenly thought of something.
“Where did you buy the ingredients and the hot pot seasoning?”
It definitely wasn’t from the supermarket where a single peach cost ¥360.
But she wanted to know if there was a place nearby where she could buy groceries at reasonable prices.
Chai Ya dipped a piece of meat into the broth and replied, “At the market two streets away from your neighborhood.”
Shen Yan’s eyes lit up.
“Where exactly?”
Chai Ya: “Just search for ‘Chunrong Road Market’ on Baidu.
It’ll come up.”
Shen Yan hesitated.
“Are the prices normal?”
Chai Ya didn’t quite understand why she was asking but still answered, “We bought all this vegetables, meat, seafood, plus the hot pot base and condiments for about ¥300.”
Shen Yan glanced at the table.
A huge plate of beef, lamb, and a generous portion of seafood.
“All this meat and seafood included?”
Chai Ya nodded.
“Yep.”
Shen Yan was confused about S City’s pricing.
It seemed so inconsistent.
“That actually sounds pretty cheap?”
As a local, Chai Ya had more insight into the city’s market prices.
“Of course!
S City is a coastal city.
If you buy seafood at the market, it’s both fresh and affordable.”
She added, “We look young, so sometimes vendors try to overcharge us.
If my mom went, she’d get it even cheaper.”
Shen Yan was tempted.
She definitely had to visit Chunrong Road Market when she had the chance.
Just as she was getting excited about her plan, Feng Shanshan poured cold water on her enthusiasm.
“Ah Shen, with your work schedule, do you even have time to buy groceries and cook?”
Feng Shanshan’s comment hit a sore spot.
Shen Yan sighed dramatically.
“My life is so miserable.
Yesterday was my first day at work, and I already had to work overtime.
Today was my second day, and they had me writing project reports.”
Feng Shanshan was curious.
“How did your aunt manage to get you into the Lu Group?
That’s Lu Group we’re talking about!”
When this topic came up, Chai Ya was also intrigued.
“Yu Zhen had such a high GPA and so many certifications, yet he still got rejected?”
Shen Yan admitted honestly.
“My mom has a very wealthy best friend, and that friend happens to be close with the wife of the chairman of Lu Group.”
Sun Qiongsi sighed.
“But your family being able to afford this apartment and having connections with the chairman’s wife—it all makes sense.”
Shen Yan recalled their conversation in the group chat earlier that day.
She pulled out the work badge she had just received today.
“Aya, do you want to take a picture and show it to Yu Zhen?
Just blur out my photo.”
Chai Ya took the badge and looked at it.
Maybe it was the alcohol, but her eyes felt a little moist.
She shook her head.
“Forget it.
I must have misjudged him.
If he can’t even handle the pressure of not getting an offer from Lu Group and resorts to emotionally shutting out someone he was flirting with, what would happen if they actually dated?
He’d probably emotionally neglect me all the time.”
Feng Shanshan draped an arm over Chai Ya’s shoulder.
“As long as you’ve figured it out.
Once you move to the capital, there will be plenty of amazing guys.”
Sun Qiongsi chimed in.
“Exactly.
H University is famous for being a top-tier science and engineering school.
There are way more guys there better than that bookworm.”
Feng Shanshan sighed.
“Now that you mention it, our dorm seems to have bad luck in relationships.”
Chai Ya scoffed.
“That idiot Zhong Cheng has no taste either.”
Sun Qiongsi, suddenly reminded of something, quickly pulled out her phone.
She groaned.
“How did we forget to take a picture before eating?”
Chai Ya: “…Probably because we were too hungry.”
Sun Qiongsi raised her phone and switched it to selfie mode.
“Let’s take a group photo?”
Since Shen Yan was the only one without makeup, they let her sit in the back to make her face look smaller.
After taking the picture, everyone edited their own faces.
By the time the final version was sent to Shen Yan, she noticed the tiles on the floor looked distorted.
She tried fixing the floor lines and sent the phone back to Sun Qiongsi.
Sun Qiongsi selected their group photo, added a picture that Shen Yan had taken of her on the balcony, and included a scenic sunset view of the river.
She was about to post them on her Moments.
When Shen Yan realized what she was doing, she quickly stopped her.
“No, no, no!
What if someone asks me about it?”
Sun Qiongsi thought about how gossipy their classmates were.
She hesitated.
“How about I set it so only Zhong Cheng can see it?”
Shen Yan stopped her again.
“No!
What if he suddenly decides he cares about money and tries to get back together with me?”
Sun Qiongsi froze.
“You’d consider taking him back?”
Shen Yan was speechless at her train of thought.
“How is that possible?!”
Sun Qiongsi: “Then what are you afraid of?”
Shen Yan: “I just don’t want anything to do with him.”
Chai Ya nodded in understanding.
“Yan Yan, I get you.
That’s exactly how I feel about Yu Zhen now.
Glad I saw his true colors early.”
Shen Yan absentmindedly picked up a canned alcoholic drink and took a big gulp.
She set it down with a sigh.
“Yeah, it’s just not worth it.”
Chai Ya also took a sip of her drink.
“We weren’t even in the same department.
If we ever run into each other in the future, it’s just as former classmates.
It’s nothing.”
“Exactly.”
Shen Yan, forgetting about work tomorrow, clinked her drink against Chai Ya’s.
“If he couldn’t keep up with me, that’s his loss.”
“Pfft”
Chai Ya burst into laughter.
“You’ve seen that joke in our circle, right?
There are no ‘girlfriends,’ only ‘followers.’”
Shen Yan squinted.
“What joke?”
Chai Ya smirked.
“Never mind.
Let’s just say… he didn’t ‘follow’ you, and that’s his bad luck.”
Shen Yan agreed wholeheartedly.
“If Yang Ming actually likes Zhong Cheng, I have no respect for her.”
Feng Shanshan suddenly thought of something.
“Speaking of which, Yu Zhen, Zhong Cheng, and Yang Ming are all from the Economics and Management Department.”
Sun Qiongsi added.
“Forget Yang Ming for a second.
But finding a job seems really tough for Yu Zhen and Zhong Cheng.
Is the Economics and Management Department that bad?”
Feng Shanshan realized something.
“That’s true.
Our dorm has a mix of postgrads, job-seekers, and civil service candidates, but most of our class already has jobs lined up.
Why is the Econ and Management Department struggling so much?
Is it really because of the economic downturn?”
Shen Yan thought for a moment.
“A lot of the people who joined Lu Group with me were from A University.
There’s that student council president, Shen… something?
He was from the Economics and Management Department, right?
And Yu Xinnian, too.”
Chai Ya summed it up.
“So it’s not that the Economics and Management Department is bad.
It’s just that the jerks from that department are bad!”
Shen Yan clinked her drink against hers again.
“Well said!”
Hearing the name Yu Xinnian, Feng Shanshan was surprised.
“Ah Shen, you know Yu Xinnian?”
Shen Yan shrugged.
“I didn’t at first.
But he had that whole ‘I’m the student council secretary how can you not know me?’ attitude, so I ended up remembering him.”
Feng Shanshan: “…He’s at Lu Group too?”
Shen Yan: “Yep.
Interning in the marketing department.”