Chapter 131: Treating Work Like a Significant Other

“All right, I’ll take your advice and wait until the big sale starts. Thank you for helping me save money.”

In response to Qin Shishen’s thanks, Lin Luyou secretly stuck out her tongue.

“Now that you mention it, I remember,” Qin Shishen said, putting away his phone before naturally bringing up another subject. “You said last week that you’d have to work overtime during the Double Eleven shopping festival. How is it, working at a major company? Are you busy?”

“It’s actually not too bad...” Lin Luyou set Cutie down and propped her chin up with both hands. “But if I said I wasn’t busy, you wouldn’t believe me—and neither would I.”

She recalled the almost nightmarish overtime session on Friday evening and still felt a lingering sense of dread. Back in school, she had occasionally received last-minute assignments or waited until an hour or two before the deadline to begin her work, but she had never experienced such an overwhelming sense of urgency.

It felt as though she were an antelope fleeing a lion, unable to stop for even half a moment. It had been thrilling.

“But things have gotten much better these past few days. Maybe I’ve gotten used to the pace—or maybe I’ve simply gone numb.”

“Numb? That won’t do. You still have to find some enjoyment in your work.” Qin Shishen brought over another stool and sat facing Lin Luyou. “Once you lose interest in your work, you may soon come to dislike it. The relationship is rather like that between lovers. If two people lose their sense of freshness while being together, the distance between them will only grow.”

“Lovers?” Lin Luyou was captivated by his perspective.

In the past, what people had told her most often was to separate her interests from her work, to learn to love her job, or even to treat it as her “other half.” This was the first time anyone had put it this way.

Seeing her curiosity, Qin Shishen made no attempt to hide his thoughts and ideals, sharing them openly with her.

“...That actually makes a lot of sense.” Lin Luyou thought of her own great escape from the financial industry and found herself increasingly convinced by what he said. She had studied finance fairly well, but it had brought her very little sense of achievement.

“According to your theory, I’m currently in the honeymoon phase with operations?” Lin Luyou pondered inwardly. “I hope this honeymoon lasts forever. It would be best if I could skip the seven-year itch entirely!”

As they talked, the lunch break drew to a close. Lin Luyou glanced at the time and felt a little regretful.

“Talking with you always helps me see things from another perspective, but time really does fly... I have to get back, or I’ll be late for work this afternoon.”

After waving goodbye to Qin Shishen, she lingered to stroke Cutie a couple more times before finally picking up her bag and hurrying toward the office.

Lin Luyou was always fond of visiting Qin Shishen’s café. Besides the two lovable cats, his thoughtfulness was another reason she returned so often. In her words, whenever she was with Qin Shishen, she never had to worry about the conversation going cold.

Whether in a one-on-one conversation or a gathering of several people, he could quietly take control of the discussion while making sure everyone felt involved. Whenever he was with you, he could quickly sense even the slightest change in your mood and gently take care of every little emotion.

Just as he had done moments ago: he had noticed Lin Luyou’s embarrassment. Without calling attention to it, he had guided the conversation naturally in another direction, sparing her any awkwardness.