Chapter 12: Work, Wages, and the Art of Leaving on Time

The afternoon meeting went on as usual, with each department reporting, summarizing, and planning one by one.

Finally, the president of the group, Lu Yu, gave the concluding speech.

Listening to it all made Shen Yan drowsy.

She felt the meeting was both dull and lengthy.

The thought that she would have to attend this every month made her feel hopeless about life.

Fortunately, she had brought a notebook and pen.

Whenever she felt sleepy, she reviewed shorthand notes.

Surprisingly, the revision went well.

Earlier, she had struggled to recall things, probably due to a lack of practice.

But once she started applying it to a real scenario, everything came back to her as she wrote.

The meeting had started at 1:15 PM.

As the end of the workday approached, nearing 4:30 PM, there were still two departments left to report.

How terrifying.

Were they going to work overtime?

Shen Yan had listened to reports for an entire afternoon.

Essentially, the content was the same as the departmental materials that Zhou Xing had sent her.

However, hearing it directly from the department heads made it much more engaging, elevating the entire report to a higher level.

On any other day, Shen Yan would admire these eloquent speakers from the bottom of her heart and even study their speech tones and gestures.

But right now, she only wished they could read the clock and take the hint not to delay her from leaving work.

She sneakily checked her phone.

Her dormitory’s four-person group chat had another 99+ messages.

She glanced at them.

Apparently, the other three had gone grocery shopping again today.

Tonight, Chai Ya was cooking for them.

Shen Yan: I hope I get to eat.

Feng Shanshan: Are you working overtime again?

Chai Ya: If you keep working overtime, we’ll start feeling like uninvited guests taking over your place.

Sun Qiongsi: Is working this scary?

Shen Yan: I’m in a monthly review meeting.

These department heads are all such skilled talkers one more PowerPoint slide and they could be giving full-on speeches.

Finishing by 5:00 PM seems risky.

Chai Ya: No wonder, it’s Lu Corporation.

Feng Shanshan: No wonder, it’s Lu Corporation.

Sun Qiongsi: No wonder, it’s Lu Corporation.

Shen Yan: …

Feng Shanshan: How many people still need to speak?

Shen Yan thought, at least Feng Shanshan was asking useful questions.

She replied: Three two department heads and one president.

Feng Shanshan: Three people, half an hour.

If they turn it into speeches, it’s still risky.

Chai Ya: Will your president say, “I’ll keep it brief”?

Shen Yan stole a glance at Lu Yu.

She recalled Jian Hong’s evaluation of him that, at heart, he was just a tech nerd.

Shen Yan: Probably not, right?

Tech nerds are usually more straightforward, right?

Shen Yan could only pray in her heart.

Please speak faster.

She exited the dorm chat, and Yu Xinnian had also sent her a message.

It was no surprise, given that the gathering was planned by a former school committee leader and student council president.

Their efficiency was top-notch.

In just a few days, they had already set the time and place for the dinner.

It would be at a hotpot restaurant near Lu Corporation on Sunday night.

Shen Yan forwarded the details to Feng Shanshan and then refocused on the meeting.

Perhaps her silent prayers had worked, or maybe the department heads didn’t want to stay late either.

The last two department heads kept their speeches concise.

By the time they finished, it wasn’t even 4:45 PM.

The host, Zhou Xing, then invited Lu Yu to give a closing speech.

Lu Yu flipped through the speech notes that Shen Yan and Zhou Xing had prepared for him.

Perhaps to save time, he skimmed through, selected a few key sections, and read them aloud as his summary.

Shen Yan had to admit that Lu Yu, despite his young age, deserved his current position and social standing.

If she hadn’t written the materials herself, she would have barely noticed that Lu Yu was skipping sections while maintaining a seamless delivery.

Indeed, the first step to being a leader was to stay composed under pressure.

One had to master time management, quickly pick the relevant parts of a speech, and deliver them fluently.

At 4:55 PM, Lu Corporation’s May review meeting concluded right on time before the end of the workday.

Shen Yan let out a sigh of relief.

She followed Zhou Xing and Meng Gulan to finish some quick post-meeting tasks before returning to her office.

She worked for a few extra minutes.

On her way home, Shen Yan wondered how she should account for those extra minutes.

Should she come in a few minutes late tomorrow morning?

Or should she just consider it a contribution to the company?

As she debated, she wondered if she was being too petty.

At the same time, she felt that giving extra time to the company wasn’t worth it.

When she got home, she finally had the chance to eat Chai Ya’s home-cooked meal.

At the dinner table, Shen Yan brought up her little dilemma.

With internship experience, Sun Qiongsi reassured her, “Lao Shen, if you’re already thinking this way, it means you’ve been PUA-ed by work.”

Shen Yan: “What do you mean?”

Sun Qiongsi: “Think about it.

What time do you leave home for work every day?”

Shen Yan thought for a moment.

“Around 8:40, I guess.”

Sun Qiongsi: “And what time do you actually start work?”

Shen Yan: “Nine o’clock.”

Sun Qiongsi: “And what about your official off-duty time?”

Shen Yan: “The company rule is 5:00 PM.”

Sun Qiongsi: “So why do you have to be at work on time, but you can’t be home on time after work?”

Shen Yan was momentarily confused by Sun Qiongsi’s reasoning.

“So you’re saying, if I start work at 9:00, I should actually leave home at 9:00.

And if I finish work at 5:00, I should be home by 5:00?”

Sun Qiongsi: “Exactly.”

Shen Yan was convinced.

“So being meticulous about every minute of my working hours is actually the right way to think?”

Sun Qiongsi: “Yes.

Work requires precision.

Capitalists exploit your overtime, squeezing extra value from your labor to make a profit.”

Shen Yan looked at Sun Qiongsi with newfound respect.

“Wow.

When did you start minoring in economics?

Do you also have a thing for management students?”

Sun Qiongsi rolled her eyes dramatically.

“Isn’t this just basic high school political science?”

Shen Yan: “Really?”

Chai Ya smoothly chimed in.

“I don’t believe it.”

Sun Qiongsi was exasperated.

“Believe it or not.

I’m not Feng Shanshan!”

Feng Shanshan: “So are you just going to keep being stubborn?”

Sun Qiongsi: “…”

The next day, Shen Yan went to work early again, feeling pitiful and lonely.

In the afternoon, Sun Qiongsi received a phone call.

It was from a colleague at the government agency she had been accepted into.

They informed her to prepare for a background check, and that they would be coming to the university next Monday.

Besides gathering documents, she also needed to coordinate with her academic advisor and two classmates for interviews.

The moment she received the news, she turned to her two roommates.

After discussing it among themselves, they realized it was already Thursday.

Since they needed to contact the advisor and print out documents, Sun Qiongsi and Chai Ya decided to return to the university first.

Feng Shanshan, who had plans to meet Shen Yan on Sunday, would stay at Shen Yan’s place.

Seeing their final decision, Shen Yan worriedly asked in the group chat.

“So when I get home, will there still be a hot meal waiting for me?”

Feng Shanshan: “No.”

Shen Yan: “…”

Feng Shanshan: “But I just checked the food delivery apps.

There are plenty of options nearby.”

Shen Yan: “Fine, I guess.”

Feng Shanshan: “?

Why do you sound so reluctant?”

Shen Yan: “You noticed?”

Shen Yan: “Worst-case scenario can’t Aya just stay behind?”

Feng Shanshan: “NO!!!!!!!”