Shine on Me

Early the next morning, we were hailing a taxi at the company entrance. Yin Jie and Yu Hua were the ones doing most of the hailing, while I sat on a nearby flower bed catching up on sleep. In my drowsy state, I suddenly heard Yin Jie's delighted voice: "Vice President Lin, you're going to Shanghai too?"

Why was he here?

Startled, I immediately looked up—but it was already too late.

I heard Lin Yusen's famously pleasant voice say, "Yes, I can give you a ride."

I quickly signaled Yin Jie with my eyes to decline, but not only did she pretend not to see, she even pulled me up and pushed me toward the front passenger seat. "Thank you, Vice President Lin! Xiguang, you take the front!"

She said this loudly, then whispered quickly to me, "This is a great opportunity. Try to build some rapport with Vice President Lin since it's not work hours and everyone's more relaxed."

She dragged Yu Hua into the back seat at lightning speed, not giving me a chance to refuse, and slammed the rear door shut with a "bang."

Left with no choice, I sat in the front.

In the confined space, the presence of the person beside me was so overwhelming it was impossible to ignore. I really couldn't understand why he'd be willing to play chauffeur. When he released the handbrake, his hand almost brushed against my clothes. Silently, I tugged my clothes away and shifted slightly toward the door.

His hand paused briefly before he expressionlessly stepped on the accelerator.

As the car moved smoothly along, Yin Jie reached over and pinched my arm hard, urging me to say something. I shrank further toward the door and ignored her.

Lin Yusen glanced at us.

Yin Jie immediately withdrew her hand and forced out a couple of awkward laughs.

Lin Yusen asked casually, "Where are you headed?"

"We're going to Jing'an Temple first. Yu Hua loves praying to the gods—she says Jing'an Temple is really effective for wealth prayers... I want to visit the Bund. People say only out-of-towners go there, but hey, I am an out-of-towner, haha~~"

With Yin Jie around, the atmosphere was never dull. Lin Yusen had asked one question, and Yin Jie had already chattered away with a long response.

Drowsiness crept over me again. Covering my mouth with my hand, I discreetly yawned...

Blah blah blah...

Amid Yin Jie's rhythmic chatter, I couldn't fight off the sleepiness and dozed off again. I faintly heard her saying, "Hehe, Xiguang's been really tired lately... I heard inventory checks involve climbing up and down and riding lifts. She even took a fall—scraped her hands and legs, and got hit on the head by a spare part..."

By the time Yu Hua shook me awake, we had already arrived at Jing'an Temple. Yin Jie and Yu Hua thanked Lin Yusen, while I got out of the car without a word.

Standing by the car, I accidentally met his gaze. I turned away, looking instead at the dazzling golden temple before me.

Lin Yusen drove off. Watching the car disappear into the distance, Yu Hua said emotionally, "Vice President Lin is such a good person. I thought he'd make us get out and take a taxi once we entered Shanghai."

Yin Jie retorted sarcastically, "He probably saw Xiguang sleeping like a log and felt too bad to kick us out!" Then she scolded me, "What a wasted opportunity. It wasn't work hours—couldn't you have said a few nice words to smooth things over?"

I said, "I don't need to suck up to him."

Yin Jie said angrily, "Why are you so stubborn?"

Yu Hua hurriedly mediated, "Alright, let's not argue at the temple entrance. Let's go in."

Yin Jie huffed, "Who's arguing with her?"

I said, "Yeah, whoever argues is a pig."Yin Jie gave me a couple of playful punches before bursting into laughter again.

Yu Hua ushered us all into the temple. When Yin Jie saw the entrance fee was several dozen yuan, she adamantly refused to go in. I didn’t have strong feelings either way, so I followed Yu Hua inside.

But once kneeling on the prayer cushion, I found myself at a loss.

Make a wish—but what should I wish for?

The answer came naturally the moment I clasped my hands together. What surfaced in my mind wasn’t my parents, myself, or that person, but—

Lin Yusen...

I pressed my palms together, closed my eyes, and prayed sincerely: Please make Vice President Lin Yusen disappear at warp speed—whether through promotion, transfer back to headquarters, or even abduction by aliens, just make him vanish quickly...

After making my wish, I felt the trip had been worthwhile, and my mood lifted considerably. Yu Hua also looked like she’d strike it rich tomorrow. We left Jing’an Temple and headed to the Bund with Yin Jie. There wasn’t much to do there, so after wandering around aimlessly, it was soon time for dinner.

However, Yin Jie and I disagreed about where to eat.

Yin Jie was set on going to City God Temple: “It’s one of Shanghai’s landmarks! We can eat and sightsee at the same time!”

I said, “Let’s cross the river.”

“Why go to Pudong? City God Temple is closer, and there’s a snack festival happening right now! Imagine—streets full of delicious food that won’t break the bank! Let’s go to City God Temple!”

“There’s food everywhere. Besides, I’ll treat you to a big meal over there.”

Yin Jie immediately perked up: “Really? You’re treating us to a big meal?”

I nodded, emphasizing, “A big meal.”

Yin Jie made a last-ditch effort: “But I really want to go to the snack festival.”

“There are tons of handsome guys there, and they’re all elites.”

Yin Jie’s eyes instantly sparkled. “Really?”

“Of course. It’s the financial center—the most dynamic part of Shanghai. Securities firms, banks...” I paused, “...handsome guys are everywhere.”

Yin Jie decisively said one word: “Go!”

We took a taxi there.

Ever since I mentioned the abundance of handsome guys, Yin Jie had been staring out the window with shining eyes as soon as we emerged from the river tunnel. After a while, she suddenly turned around with an idea: “Shengyuan’s headquarters is around here, right? Do you think Vice President Lin might be at Shengyuan now? Could we hitch a ride back with him?”

I absentmindedly murmured “Hmm” and said to the taxi driver, “To Shengyuan Tower, please.”

Yin Jie looked at me in shock.

After getting out of the car, Yu Hua tugged at my sleeve: “Xiguang, are you... really going to see Vice President Lin?”

“...What?” I snapped out of my daze. “We’ll just eat somewhere nearby.”

There were plenty of dining options in the surrounding buildings. After choosing one and sitting down, Yu Hua asked worriedly, “Isn’t this place a bit expensive?”

“We’ve worked so much overtime—the extra pay covers it.” Flipping through the menu, I briskly ordered a table full of dishes. Yin Jie kept shooting me meaningful looks, which I pretended not to see. After the waiter left, she exclaimed, “Xiguang, have you lost your mind? This must cost six or seven hundred yuan, and we’ll never finish it all!”

“Then we’ll take our time eating.”

I looked out the window at the distant, arc-shaped logo gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight.

The meal lasted a full hour and a half. Unsurprisingly, we were all stuffed. As Yin Jie asked the waiter for takeout containers, she rubbed her stomach and said, “I don’t think I can eat another grain of rice!”Yu Hua asked, "Where should we go next?"

I said, "There's a café downstairs famous for its afternoon tea. How about we go sit there for a while?"

Yin Jie was exasperated. "I beg you, can we go somewhere else? No more eating, okay?"

"I heard their cakes are really good."

"No way, no matter how good they are, I can't eat another bite."

"...My knees hurt, I can't walk anymore."

"You're so shameless!"

Tears streaming down her face, Yin Jie dragged Yu Hua along to have afternoon tea with me.

Though she claimed she couldn't eat another bite, the moment the beautiful cakes were served, she sprang back to life, eating more enthusiastically than anyone else.

Yu Hua helplessly reminded her, "Weren't you trying to lose weight recently? Even if this outing is rare, you don't have to go this far. All those days of starving yourself will be wasted."

Yin Jie argued righteously, "It's precisely because I ate too little the past few days that I'm like this. Do you understand the feeling of watching your favorite food right in front of you but not being able to eat it? I resisted at first, but the more days pass, the more I crave it, until I can't hold back anymore! The more you suppress it, the harder it is to resist. Sigh, if I never saw delicious food, it'd be fine... You people who've never dieted wouldn't understand!"

The more you suppress it, the harder it is to resist?

"What's so hard to understand?" I stirred my milk tea and looked out the window.

"Come on, you don't need to diet. How would you know?"

After eating a few small cakes, Yin Jie truly couldn't eat anymore and joined me in looking outside. "Xiguang, you've been staring for a while now. Seen any handsome guys? I haven't spotted a single one."

Yu Hua timidly said, "I wanted to ask earlier—today's Saturday, right? Handsome guys don't work on weekends either..."

I froze, suddenly feeling all my energy drain away.

Right, today is Saturday. If it weren't Saturday, I wouldn't have time to come to Shanghai... And on Saturdays, people don't work...

I've worked so much overtime I've gone brain-dead, forgetting even this.

Yin Jie groaned in agony, "We've been tricked by Xiguang! Just admit it, Xiguang—you're just a foodie craving the stuff here, right?"

"Let's go back," I said after a long pause.

"Yeah, it's about time."

We walked out of the café together, the streets bustling with pedestrians. Once again, I looked up at the rows of windows in that building and stopped in my tracks, lost in thought.

Among all those windows, which one does he usually look out from?

"Xiguang?"

"Xiguang? What are you thinking about? Let's go!"

What was I thinking?

Standing on this crowded street, countless people rushed past me every minute—coming toward me, brushing past my shoulder. I encountered countless strangers, but never him.

I know he passes by here every day. I know he's somewhere in this city—maybe on the next street over, maybe standing right where I am now in the next moment.

But at this very moment, I can't meet him.

And he'll never know that someone once stood here, imagining their encounter.

Yin Jie tugged at my sleeve. "Xiguang? Why did you stop? What are you thinking about?"

"Huh? Nothing, just... I feel like..." I murmured, "Meeting in Shanghai is just too hard."