Chapter 10: Alumni Reunions, Secret Crushes, and Corporate Realities

In the end, Shen Yan still had to attend A University’s alumni gathering.

The reason?

Feng Shanshan wanted to go.

At first, Shen Yan suggested, “Why don’t you just go by yourself and say your name is Shen Yan?”

Feng Shanshan: “…No way, Yu Xinnian knows who I am.”

Even though Shen Yan had a bit to drink, her mind was still clear.

She quickly caught the loophole in Feng Shanshan’s words and sensed a bit of gossip.

“When did you meet Yu Xinnian?

Why didn’t I know about this?”

Chai Ya also joined in.

“I didn’t know either.”

Sun Qiongsi: “+1.”

Feng Shanshan quickly backtracked.

“No, no, I misspoke!

I meant Yu Xinnian knows you!”

Shen Yan raised an eyebrow.

“Really?”

Chai Ya followed up immediately.

“I don’t believe it.”

Sun Qiongsi: “+1.”

Facing three pairs of eyes staring her down, Feng Shanshan had no choice but to surrender.

“Alright, alright.

I ran into him three times during interviews, so we got to know each other.”

Shen Yan: “Did you add him on WeChat?”

Feng Shanshan nodded.

Chai Ya: “Do you chat often?”

Feng Shanshan shook her head.

Sun Qiongsi: “Do you like him?”

Feng Shanshan nodded.

As soon as she nodded, her face turned red.

“Wow”

Shen Yan quickly opened WeChat, found Yu Xinnian, and sent him a message.

“Can we bring friends to the A University gathering?”

Yu Xinnian must have been on his phone because he replied instantly.

“Boyfriend?”

Shen Yan: …My roommate, also from A University.”

Yu Xinnian: “Sure.”

Shen Yan handed her phone to Feng Shanshan.

Feng Shanshan’s face turned even redder.

After eating and drinking their fill, Shen Yan originally planned for Feng Shanshan to share a room with her while Chai Ya and Sun Qiongsi stayed in her parents’ room.

But Chai Ya and Sun Qiongsi insisted that since they hadn’t seen each other in a long time, they wanted to sleep together.

So in the end, all four of them squeezed into Shen Yan’s bed.

The next morning, they were all woken up by Shen Yan’s alarm.

Shen Yan looked at the three still-sleeping girls and couldn’t help but think back to their freshman year.

Back then, because she was slow at registering for classes, she was forced to take Archaeology on Saturday mornings.

Every Saturday, while her roommates were still sleeping, she had to get up early for class.

Three years later, nothing had changed.

She was still the one waking up early for work.

Now on her third day of work, Shen Yan had a better grasp of her schedule.

Unlike the past two days, she wasn’t running frantically down the street but was instead walking briskly.

As a result, she ran into Yu Xinnian again at the breakfast stall.

“Yesterday’s sandwich was good, right?” Yu Xinnian asked.

Shen Yan nodded.

“It was delicious.”

Yu Xinnian: “Want another today?”

Shen Yan: “Yes.”

While ordering, Yu Xinnian included her order as well.

He even tried to pay for her, but Shen Yan quickly stopped him and insisted on paying separately.

Yu Xinnian didn’t argue.

Since she now knew Yu Xinnian was Feng Shanshan’s crush, Shen Yan observed him more closely.

How should she put it?

Yu Xinnian was decent-looking.

Not a drop-dead handsome guy, but definitely presentable.

The only thing was he was way too familiar with people too quickly.

But then again, Feng Shanshan was also an outgoing person, so they actually seemed like a good match.

While waiting for their sandwiches, Yu Xinnian asked her, “Why the sudden change of heart?”

Shen Yan casually made up a reason.

“My friend hasn’t started working yet, and she’s a little bored.

She wants to hang out more.”

She obviously couldn’t say it was because her friend had a crush on him.

Yu Xinnian nodded.

“Yeah, we’re all from the same year.

It’s good to get to know more people.

You never know we might cross paths in work later.”

Then he added, “But I really don’t remember seeing you at school.

You weren’t in the student council, campus committee, or outreach department, right?”

Shen Yan: “…No.”

Of course not.

She was a literature major.

Whether the exams required memorization or essays, she could always cram at the last minute and still get a good grade.

With such a relaxing college life, why would she voluntarily take on more work?

Besides, during her freshman year, she had looked into it those student organizations, whether at the faculty or university level, required interviews.

That made her even less interested.

“When we confirm the time and place, I’ll send it to you.

You’ll get to know everyone soon.”

Yu Xinnian joked, “You don’t have a boyfriend yet, right?

Maybe you’ll find someone from our alumni group.”

Shen Yan suddenly understood the real purpose of this so-called alumni gathering.

She had thought it was purely about networking and professional connections.

Turns out it was also about relationship networking.

Which, in a way, aligned with Feng Shanshan’s intentions.

So, she casually hinted, “Well, you can also see if there’s someone you like.”

Shen Yan arrived at the office on time again.

But today, the office was surprisingly full.

There was even a middle-aged man with a receding hairline.

Before she could figure out whether he was Manager Lu or Master Wang, Zhou Xing waved her over.

“Xiao Shen, come here for a second.”

Shen Yan quickly put down her canvas bag and walked over to Zhou Xing and the middle-aged man.

“This is Vice President Fan Mingxu,” Zhou Xing introduced.

“He oversees our department and the finance team.”

Then, turning to Fan Mingxu, Zhou Xing introduced Shen Yan.

“Vice President Fan, this is our newest recruit, Shen Yan.”

Shen Yan greeted him politely.

“Hello, Vice President Fan.”

Fan Mingxu nodded.

As Zhou Xing spoke, something felt off to Shen Yan.

Their President’s Office was literally outside the President’s door.

So why did they still have a ‘Vice President in charge’?

She had thought her chain of command was simple herself → Zhou Xing → Lu Yu.

But now, out of nowhere, there was suddenly a Vice President overseeing them.