Chapter 4: 04

Chapter 4"I'm sorry, I don't usually curse... well, not at supernatural beings anyway," Chu Zhishui rubbed her forehead. "Give me a moment to recall some insulting words."

She planned to draw upon her meager vocabulary of profanities to snap him out of it.

"Are you just bitter and angry about being rejected?"

"Are you truly incapable of understanding human speech?" Chu Zhishui took a deep breath. She had never heard such absurd words before. Furrowing her brow, she said, "I sincerely suggest the bureau use their medical insurance to get your head examined."

Xin Yunmao wasn't bothered by the insults. Instead, he remained calm and collected: "If this helps you give up, then go ahead and vent your emotions with a few curses."

"..."

Chu Zhishui was thoroughly disgusted.

Now even cursing at him was interpreted as bitterness from rejection and hatred born of love. If she hadn't witnessed Jin Yu's incredible strength, and if she wasn't worried that slapping his thick-skinned face would only hurt her own hand, she might have started a physical fight right then and there.

"Absurd, ridiculous, laughable," Chu Zhishui spat out three words in succession. She asked in disbelief, "You think you're so great?"

Xin Yunmao lazily twirled his pen: "Isn't it obvious?"

"...Goodbye."

Chu Zhishui felt she couldn't waste any more time with him. She grabbed her things and left work, not even wanting to spare a glance at the overly confident supernatural being.

"Your pen."

"It's dirty now. I don't want it anymore."

Let alone accepting the black pen he held out, she was irritated just breathing the same air as him under one roof.

Xin Yunmao watched as Chu Zhishui hurriedly walked away. He sat alone at the desk, silent for a few seconds. He wanted to reach out and place the black pen on Chu Zhishui's desk, but after some consideration, he tossed it back into his own pen holder.

At the door, Jin Yu returned to the office humming a tune. When she saw only Xin Yunmao in the room, she immediately retreated outside in panic, not daring to linger in the logistics department.

Xin Yunmao was used to this. Most supernatural beings in the bureau either feared him or treated him as if he were invisible. He decided to enjoy the evening sunset alone in the room, closing his eyes as the golden-red afterglow dyed the sky blood-red, the setting sun like the mesmerizing golden eyes of a roaming dragon.

Xin Yunmao opened his eyes in the last daylight of the day. He wanted to find a piece of candy to chew on, but noticed that the once-empty desk in front of him now had a computer set up. Clearly, Chu Zhishui was going to be a long-term fixture here.

The moment Chu Zhishui angrily left the office, she decided to treat Xin Yunmao as if he were invisible from now on.

She believed that even associating with such a supernatural being was beneath her.

Fortunately, Xin Yunmao rarely showed up anyway. The next day, there was no sign of him in the logistics department. Chu Zhishui arrived at her seat on time. She didn't even spare a glance at the empty desk behind her, still annoyed when she thought of that overly confident supernatural being.

After sitting down, Chu Zhishui was about to start her day's work when she felt a piece of candy on her desk. The candy wrapper was thin and transparent, with very simple packaging. It was a common childhood snack, which she remembered had a sweet and sour taste. She had seen it on Xin Yunmao's desk yesterday.

Why is this supernatural being carelessly leaving his things around?

Chu Zhishui casually tossed the candy onto the desk behind her, not giving it a second thought.

The work in the logistics department of the Huaijiang Observation Bureau was neither particularly difficult nor easy. In short, it was monotonous, repetitive, and boring. Creating material reports, inventorying and cleaning warehouses, transporting various goods, and dealing with all sorts of sudden miscellaneous tasks - it required no technical skills but was tedious.

Chu Zhishui didn't find it challenging. Although she felt deep down that this kind of easily replaceable work was meaningless, she had done similar tasks during her internships at school. She quickly became proficient, even more efficient than Jin Yu.

The only downside to the Observation Bureau was the poor quality of the cafeteria food. Chu Zhishui had tactfully inquired about it with Niu Shi, who gave a simple and direct reason - lack of funds.

Of course, a new drawback soon surfaced as well.

Her phone suddenly lit up with a text message notification, catching Chu Zhishui's attention.

[Your card ending in 1232 received an income (salary) of 2,174 yuan on the 5th at 10:12 from Yinhai Bank.]

Chu Zhishui stared at the message in a daze. She thought she had misread it and carefully checked again, but it was indeed 2,174 yuan. Although she hadn't worked a full month at her new job yet, the Observation Bureau paid the current month's salary on the 5th of each month.

The last time Chu Zhishui received a salary of about this level was during her internship at a big company in her freshman year, where she earned 200 yuan per day, working 20 days a month, which actually amounted to slightly more than what the Huaijiang Observation Bureau was paying.

Chu Zhishui had prepared herself mentally for a pay cut when she returned, but she was still shocked and took a while to recover.

Many companies explicitly forbid employees from discussing salaries with each other, but the Huaijiang Observation Bureau wasn't a company. Chu Zhishui managed to coax Jin Yu over with a few words, intending to understand the income situation at her new workplace.

She suspected it might be because she was still in her probation period, or perhaps the bureau had other performance bonuses that hadn't been paid yet.

"Payday today?" Jin Yu seemed to have forgotten the date, only realizing after being reminded. She then shared information with Chu Zhishui, admiring, "You're amazing, you got a bit more than me."

"How is that possible?"

Chu Zhishui leaned over to Jin Yu's computer. She saw clearly that the other's salary was indeed less than her own.

"They haven't paid out the performance bonuses, right?" Chu Zhishui speculated. "Usually, there should be another sum at the end of the month."

Jin Yu blinked her round eyes, looking confused: "What are performance bonuses?"

Chu Zhishui looked at her ignorant expression, a sense of foreboding rising in her heart. She patiently explained, "The Observation Bureau isn't a fully government-funded institution. If the organization has its own revenue, it can be used as a performance bonus, supplementing the income of employees..."

She clearly remembered that the Yinhai Observation Bureau had performance bonuses, and the income of its staff was quite decent.

Jin Yu seemed to half-understand, honestly shaking her head: "I've never heard of it."

"It's when our organization earns money and distributes it to us..."

"I've never encountered that, it's just this one payment."

"..."

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Chu Zhishui was certain she had fallen into a trap. The Huaijiang Observation Bureau's performance was poor, probably belonging to the category of institutions unable to pay out bonuses. The current salary was far below her expectations, making her feel very uncomfortable.

She began to consider how to maintain her car. If she factored in commuting fuel costs and car insurance, she might end up working for free for a year. From the current situation, if she wanted to avoid a sharp decline in her living standards, she would have to find another job.

Burdened with these heavy thoughts, Chu Zhishui left work and drove away from the Huaijiang Observation Bureau, planning to pick up her mother who was out grocery shopping. After finding a parking spot near the supermarket, worried that Xie Yan might not be able to find the exact location, she decided to walk to the entrance to meet her.

The open fruit stalls along the street were bustling with activity, filled with nearby residents carrying cloth bags. The loudspeaker from the neighboring clearance store blared incessantly, mechanically repeating sale announcements, filled with the atmosphere of a bustling marketplace.

From a distance, Chu Zhishui saw her mother, Xie Yan, being forcibly held by the arm by someone. Both were carrying shopping bags full to the brim, apparently having just come out of the supermarket.

"Oh my, is this Zhishui? How you've grown!" The middle-aged woman was dressed in bright colors, a rainbow from red to green. She called out loudly, "Do you remember me? We used to live in the same compound."

When Chu Zhishui was a child, she lived in her parents' work-assigned housing, where everyone in the compound knew each other, including details about other families' children.

She guessed this woman was Xie Yan's colleague and searched her memory: "Hello, Aunt Liu."

"You remember Aunt Liu!" Liu Kemei exclaimed excitedly. "Zhishui was so famous in our compound back then, always praised by teachers as an exemplary student. You even got into Yinhai City University! Unlike my good-for-nothing kid who couldn't even get into a first-tier university. At least he's doing okay at work..."

"Oh, I heard from your mom that you're back working in Huaijiang? How's the salary nowadays?"

Faced with Liu Kemei's probing question and seeing her mother's meaningful looks, Chu Zhishui politely replied, "Yes, just two to three thousand."

Liu Kemei's tense expression immediately relaxed, her face blossoming like a flower. She hurriedly said, "That's not bad, not bad at all. My son only makes five or six thousand. It's not easy for young people these days."

"Look at him, he doesn't earn much, but he still insisted on buying me a new phone. I told him not to, always wasting money!" Liu Kemei happily pulled out her phone from her pocket. It was an older model iPhone, currently priced around three thousand yuan.

Chu Zhishui knew exactly what the other woman wanted to hear and amiably said, "He's filial."

Xie Yan: "That's right, you're so blessed!"

Hearing this, Liu Kemei's face lit up even more, her expression filled with pride.

A moment later, mother and daughter waved goodbye to Liu Kemei at the door and headed towards their car with bags of shopping. Chu Zhishui took most of the items from Xie Yan, leading the way at a leisurely pace.

Xie Yan followed her daughter across the street: "I can't believe you still remember Auntie Liu."

Chu Zhishui loosely held her mother back, reminding her to watch out for cars on the roadside, then said, "Of course, I might forget anyone else, but not her."

She was, after all, the famous person who once said, "Your daughter's grades are so good, it's such a pity she's not a boy."

Chu Zhishui put the shopping bags in the back seat, ready to drive Xie Yan home. Chu Xiaohe had already arrived home to cook, so they could eat soon after returning.

"Don't take her words to heart, she's always been like that," Xie Yan said, fastening her seatbelt securely. She glanced at her daughter, who was paying attention to the road, and grimaced, "Your father and I haven't told anyone about your house and car purchases, otherwise she wouldn't have had the chance to show off like that."

Xie Yan was well aware of Liu Kemei's desire to brag, but she didn't dare mention her daughter's income in Yinhai City to others, as it would indeed be too shocking for those around them.

"It's fine, people just like to hear these stories: high scores but low ability, can't find a job, struggling in society..." Chu Zhishui said self-deprecatingly, "Besides, my salary really is 2,100 now, the bureau just paid it today."

"It's alright, no matter how much money you make, mom will take care of you," Xie Yan said, staring absent-mindedly at her daughter's profile. Thinking about Chu Zhishui's earlier behavior, she suddenly smiled and remarked, "You weren't like this when you were in school, you were so sharp-tongued back then."

Xie Yan still remembered when Chu Zhishui was in school, there was an honor board at the school gate where passersby could see the names. The rule then was that those with perfect scores in single subjects and first in the grade would be on the board. However, one time the exam was too difficult, and no one in the entire grade got a perfect score in any subject, so the teacher put Chu Zhishui, who had the highest score, on the board.

Liu Kemei used this to criticize her son at the time, and her son was quite resentful, arguing in the compound, "Chu Zhishui didn't even get a perfect score, she doesn't deserve to be on the board, she's just good at sucking up to the teachers!"

Xie Yan still remembered her daughter's sarcastic tone when she heard this.

"When he has the ability to get on the school's honor board, then he can come and discuss this issue with me."

Her pride was on full display.

That year, the adults in the compound all laughed off the incident.

From then on, Chu Zhishui became a regular on the honor board, never falling off until she was admitted to Yinhai City University.

Xie Yan said softly, "Now you've learned to save face for others."

Chu Zhishui focused on driving: "She just wants to use others' misfortunes to validate her own happiness. It's better to humor her a bit, why bother arguing?"

It was understandable to retort at fifteen or sixteen, but to still be confrontational at twenty-five or twenty-six would be rather pointless. She was now too lazy to compete with others, preferring to just live her own life well.

"Baby, you've grown up."

"Mm." Chu Zhishui glanced at the noticeable strands of white hair among Xie Yan's black locks, then discreetly shifted her gaze back, her tone softening, "It's about time I grew up."

When they opened the door to their home, they were greeted by a warm atmosphere.

Having dinner with her parents was the happiest time of Chu Zhishui's day.

She had been absent from this life for seven years, residing in Yinhai from university through work. The bits and pieces of Huaijiang City were both strange and familiar to her. The strangeness came from the friction and adaptation of returning to her hometown, while the familiarity arose from childhood memories that occasionally surged up, fermented with time, forming a more unique flavor.

She had learned to walk and grown up unknowingly in Huaijiang City, and now she would witness her parents' hair gradually turning gray and slowly aging here.

The daily home-cooked meals were delicious and well-balanced, making the simplistic food at the Observation Bureau seem unpalatable in comparison.

Chu Zhishui left the cafeteria in a truly bad mood, contemplating whether to accept her parents' offer to pack meals for her to bring to work in the future. It wasn't easy to order takeout in this remote place, and she was reaching her limit of tolerance for work meals. Her stomach was starting to feel uncomfortable, and she wondered how Jin Yu had managed to eat like this for twenty years.

The midday sun was too intense, only serving to irritate her. Chu Zhishui was already thinking about getting off work when unexpected events arose in the afternoon.

Section Chief Wu Changgong, with his portly figure, entered the room holding two forms and immediately started assigning tasks: "Put aside what you're working on now, deal with these two cases this afternoon!"

Niu Shi took one of the forms, and after seeing its contents, complained, "Isn't compensation supposed to be handled by the Finance Department?"

"By the time that old tortoise crawls over, it'll be the year of the monkey. If you can't finish this afternoon, we'll just leave work late today," Wu Changgong said as he slipped out of the Logistics Department, showing no intention of getting involved.

On-site verification of compensation required leaving the Observation Bureau, and the two locations were quite far apart, making it very time-consuming to go back and forth. Niu Shi had already gone to the warehouse to get the necessary materials for later.

Jin Yu sighed helplessly, "Looks like we'll have to work overtime."

Chu Zhishui exploded at the mention of overtime, showing strong emotions for the first time: "Why do we need to work overtime? We can split up and finish by 5 PM."

"But this kind of work requires pairing up, and we only have three people..." Jin Yu looked at her timidly.

Chu Zhishui understood the implication: the work needed two teams, at least four people. She decisively said, "There are exactly four people in this room."

"Ah, you're not thinking of asking him, are you?" Jin Yu glanced nervously at Xin Yunmao's empty desk, only relaxing after confirming the spirit in question wasn't present. She advised, "It's better to have as little contact with him as possible."

"Why?" Chu Zhishui raised an eyebrow, "Isn't he also part of the bureau? Does he have the right to slack off every day?"

Chu Zhishui usually turned a blind eye to these things, but when it affected her ability to leave work on time, she absolutely wouldn't stand idly by.

"But he obviously won't obey quietly..." Jin Yu looked troubled, then cheerfully suggested, "Why don't we handle one case first, and you can leave on time? Brother Niu and I will deal with the other one later, it won't affect your dinner at home."

"What about you two?"

"It's fine, we're not in a rush to get back," Jin Yu patted her chest confidently, "Besides, Director Hong said to take extra care of you!"

Chu Zhishui was moved by the simple-minded Jin Yu's words and couldn't help but ruffle her hair.

Jin Yu looked confused by the pat: "Are we slacking off again?"

"Mm, slacking off."

Although Jin Yu said this, Chu Zhishui couldn't bring herself to do it. As much as she wanted to return home on time, she couldn't neglect her duties. While her young colleague went to the restroom, she decided to go downstairs to find Xin Yunmao.

Since the "good person card" incident, whenever Chu Zhishui occasionally encountered Xin Yunmao in the hallway, she treated him like thin air. He didn't appear often in the Logistics Department, frequently hiding under the big tree in the courtyard to sunbathe.

Chu Zhishui, sitting by the office window, could just see his figure, like a dark black rock. She noticed that her colleagues never actively mentioned this spirit, and even Section Chief Wu Changgong, with his love for ordering people around, rarely interacted with Xin Yunmao.

Outside, the light was intense, with only the tree shade offering coolness. Sure enough, Xin Yunmao was hidden under the tree. With his tall frame and straight legs, he sat properly on the stone round stool, unable to stretch out comfortably, so he casually leaned back against the tree trunk in a relaxed, half-lying position.

The leaves rustled in the gentle breeze under the tree, truly a pleasant spot.

Chu Zhishui walked over, waving the form in her hand, and announced in a businesslike manner: "We'll be a team later, going to handle some compensation matters."

Xin Yunmao, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them at the sound of her voice. Recognizing Chu Zhishui, he hesitated before saying, "I thought you had given up."

It had been a long time since they had spoken, and Xin Yunmao had assumed she had learned her lesson and no longer had any interest in bothering him.

Chu Zhishui's expression froze slightly: "...Is your condition still not better?" It seemed the delusion had even intensified.

"There are two locations in total. Jin Yu and Brother Niu will be one team, and we'll be another. We can finish just in time to leave work," Chu Zhishui explained seriously. "I don't usually bother you, just for today."

In fact, Chu Zhishui didn't even call on him to fill out forms anymore, but going out on errands required pairs.

After hearing this, Xin Yunmao's expression remained bland and silent, his face practically screaming "What does this have to do with me?"

Chu Zhishui stared at him intently, but he showed no reaction, just as Jin Yu had said: the troublemaker wouldn't obediently listen.

In this standoff, a certain indescribable emotion began to spread silently, breaking through the surface of her perfect and gentle facade, shattering the perfunctory compliance she had cultivated in adult society, and instead activating the dormant rebellion, sharpness, and aggression in her bones.

She discovered that his eyes were pure black, yet his skin was as white as polished jade. His entire being exuded a cold aloofness, and she couldn't tell what kind of supernatural creature he might be.

If one doesn't explode in silence, one becomes perverted in silence.

Three times is enough. Chu Zhishui was certain he was provoking her to regain her former acerbity, and now she must teach this arrogant fellow a lesson.

"Xin Yunmao, I admit your little trick was quite successful," Chu Zhishui suddenly spoke up. Her voice was sweet and clear, and when she smiled, her eyes curved like crescent moons, radiating an unstoppable tenderness. "I have indeed remembered you."

This was the first time she had called him by name.

Xin Yunmao was perplexed.

"Saying that I like you and chased after you, then spouting a bunch of nonsense on your own... I didn't understand your logic before, but now I finally get it. You were deliberately trying to attract my attention, weren't you?" Chu Zhishui said gently. "You're quite skillful. Childish, but effective. I've interacted with many colleagues of the opposite sex, but you've certainly left the deepest impression."

She wanted to shatter his listless facade with her own hands, then mercilessly trample it underfoot.

Sure enough, flames instantly ignited in Xin Yunmao's eyes. He pressed his lips together in displeasure and said, "What are you talking about?"

He seemed to find it utterly inconceivable.

"I'm just repeating what you've done. Is that so wrong?" Chu Zhishui observed his jawline tightening and his cold face tinged with anger, which only made her more delighted. "You went out to deal with the compensation, but now you're dragging your feet and refusing to leave. Is this another of your little tricks to play hard to get? Hoping I'll come looking for you again tomorrow?"

Her smile was harmless and radiant, in stark contrast to her words.

Xin Yunmao still remembered her flustered state when she first saw him, and he couldn't comprehend her astonishing transformation.

Little did he know that Chu Zhishui's good temper had long been exhausted by him.

Xin Yunmao frowned deeply and retorted, "I never imagined you would have such delusions!"

She actually thought he was deliberately trying to pique her interest!

"I think you're the last person in the world who has any right to discuss delusions with me," Chu Zhishui said nonchalantly, flashing a deceptively sweet smile. She commented, "You say to stay away from you, yet you secretly leave opportunities for people to get close to you. You're quite cunning, aren't you?"

Light flickered in the depths of his eyes, as if a storm was brewing. "Even Hu Chenrui wouldn't dare speak to me like this."

Hu Chenrui was the director of the Huaijiang Observation Bureau.

Chu Zhishui said, "It's fine. If you enjoy playing these push-and-pull games, I'll just come back tomorrow with the forms. That way, you won't have to struggle to find a good excuse later..."

Xin Yunmao snatched the forms from her hand and said coldly, "We're going now."

He absolutely couldn't tolerate this human tarnishing his reputation any further!