-8- Cooperation

Shortly after sending that snarky "Hello, Teacher Hu," Hu Mingyuan called on WeChat. Fearing her identity being exposed, Zhao Jinghuan naturally didn't dare answer. She stared at the screen until Hu Mingyuan hung up. She waited another minute before replying, "Sorry, Teacher, since we need to write down the rest of the story, it's not very convenient to record it over the phone. Could I send you the transcript of the interview? If you don't like typing, you can reply with a voice message and I'll edit it for you." Hu Mingyuan replied with a four-second voice message: "No, I don't have time to reply to each one. I've deleted you as a friend." Zhao Jinghuan sent another message, but her reply was automatically marked with a red exclamation mark. Ji Anya then came over with Zhao Jinghuan's meal. "When are you going to interview him?" Zhao Jinghuan shrugged. "The interview's over." For Zhao Jinghuan, this was a happy ending; she could report to Lu Kai without revealing her identity. But she still felt a strange rage, and she decided to channel it into motivation, dedicating herself to the great cause of helping "Little Freckles" surpass "Mr. Bearded." Speaking of great causes, she couldn't help but wonder, "When will I see Dorasi?" Or— On Tuesday morning, after Lu Kai arrived late, Zhao Jinghuan, sitting at her brand-new workstation, now tainted by a row of nine Mr. Beardeds, said to him, "Or—does Dorasi really exist?" After all, in the week Zhao Jinghuan had been on the job, the elusive Sister Zou had at least made sporadic appearances. Meanwhile, Dorasi, the studio's core member, chief designer, and cash cow, hadn't had any sightings. Even more puzzling, she wasn't even in the company's WeChat group. Lu Kai and the others explained, "Doraxi doesn't use WeChat." "Who doesn't use WeChat these days?" "Doraxi doesn't." "...Does she not use a phone?" "No, she just doesn't use WeChat." The elusive Dorasi, whose WeChat account wasn't even available, piqued Zhao Jinghuan's curiosity. However, the three men in the studio's descriptions of Dorasi were vague and peculiar. "She's someone you just want to talk to the moment you see her," Lu Kai added. "It's hard to resist the urge to interact with her." "Interact?" Why does she sound like a robot... Wanfeng said, "Yes, but when she gets nervous, her speech becomes a little strange, making it hard to understand." Zhao Jinghuan asked him...

Not long after sending that nasty "Hello, Teacher Hu," Hu Mingyuan called on WeChat. Fearing exposure, Zhao Jinghuan naturally didn't dare answer. She stared at the screen until Hu Mingyuan hung up. She waited another minute before replying, "I'm sorry, Teacher. Since we need to write down the rest of the conversation, it's not very convenient to record it over the phone. Could I send you the transcript? If you don't like typing, you can reply with a voice message and I'll edit it for you."

Hu Mingyuan replied with a 4-second voice message:

"No, I don't have time to reply to you one by one. I've deleted you as a friend."

When Zhao Jinghuan sent another message, the reply she received was automatically replaced by a red exclamation mark.

At this time, Ji Anya came over with Zhao Jinghuan's meal and asked: "When are you going to interview him?"

Zhao Jinghuan shrugged: "The interview is over."

For Zhao Jinghuan, this wasn't a bad outcome; she was able to report back to Lu Kai without revealing her true identity. However, she was still a little inexplicably angry, and decided to channel that anger into a quest to help "Little Freckles" surpass "Mr. Beard."

Speaking of great undertakings, she couldn't help but wonder: "When can I see Dorasi?" or -

On Tuesday morning, when Lu Kai finally arrived, Zhao Jinghuan, sitting at her brand new workstation that had been tarnished by a row of nine bearded gentlemen, said to him:

"Or - does this person named Dorasi really exist?"

After all, during the week that Zhao Jinghuan joined the company, the elusive Sister Zou at least appeared from time to time, but there were no reports of sightings of Dorasi, the studio's core member, chief designer, and cash cow. What made Zhao Jinghuan even more surprised was that she was not even in the company's WeChat group.

Lu Kai and others explained this by saying, "Doraxi doesn't use WeChat."

"Who doesn't use WeChat these days?"

"No need for Dorasi."

"...Is it because she doesn't use a cell phone?"

“No, I just don’t use WeChat.”

Zhao Jinghuan was extremely curious about Dorasi, a mysterious figure whose head and tail were nowhere to be found, and whose WeChat ID was nowhere to be found. However, the three men in the studio provided vague and bizarre descriptions of Dorasi.

"She's someone you just want to talk to the moment you see her," Lu Kai added. "It's hard to resist the urge to have a conversation with her."

"Dialogue interaction?"

Why does it sound like a robot...

Wanfeng said, "Yes, but when she gets nervous her speech becomes a little strange and hard to understand."

Zhao Jinghuan asked him what was so strange about it. Wanfeng said it was hard to describe. Lu Kai seemed to want to try to imitate it, but his face turned red and he could only say, "I really can't do this."

Having said so much, it is actually not as direct as a photo. However, the three men from Waikiki Fashion Toy Studio searched through their mobile phones and barely put together five photos that they said included Dorasi.

The reason I emphasize the words "barely" and "according to them" is because Dorasi's image in these five photos is a blurry, blurred mass of light and shadow. Not only is Dorasi's appearance, but even her species is difficult to identify.

Although the three people's photos didn't capture a clear and precious picture of a wild Doraemon, they at least proved that the rare Pokémon, Doraemon, really existed. In this case, it was only a matter of time before they encountered Doraemon.

And this time is Friday night.

As a special hero with a dual identity - a social animal during the day and a rider at night, Zhao Jinghuan starts changing clothes around 5:30 pm every day to catch the evening meal peak.

For a typical full-time worker, this would be unthinkable. After all, 5:30 PM is when the boss is just deciding what meetings to have that evening. But for the Waikiki studio, unless someone takes a lunch break and sleeps until 5:30 PM, the office is usually empty by then.

So putting aside other things, this full-time job in the business of a trendy toy studio has at least this advantage:

It’s quite suitable for delivering food.

This Friday, Zhao Jinghuan stayed in the empty office until 5:30, then got up and went to the bathroom to change clothes. Not long after the bathroom door was locked, she suddenly heard unfamiliar footsteps coming from the living room.

The footsteps did not belong to the people in the studio. It was not Lu Kai's "Tara, Tara", nor was it Sister Zou's "thump thump, thump thump, thump thump." It was not Tomato's footsteps of "dong dong, dong, dong, dong dong dong", nor did it belong to the evening breeze that made you sigh after every few steps.

The footsteps coming from the living room were not only difficult to describe with onomatopeia, but also fundamentally different from those of the other people in the studio - that footsteps sounded happy.

For a moment, Zhao Jinghuan even felt that there was a thief in the house.

After all, in Zhao Jinghuan's opinion, apart from thieves, few people could remain happy after climbing six flights of stairs. But by the time Zhao Jinghuan hurriedly changed into his cycling clothes and rushed out of the bathroom, the living room was already empty.

Zhao Jinghuan looked around and didn't see anything lost, but she was still worried. She put on her helmet and trotted out to chase after him.

Rushing out of the apartment building, he stepped onto the slope that was 1.6 meters high on the left foot and 1.7 meters high on the right. It was just after work, and the usually deserted Haiya Lane was now deserted with a few pedestrians. But Zhao Jinghuan still recognized the person he was looking for at a glance.

She was a thin girl, wearing an oversized, brightly colored patchwork jacket, with her hands in her pockets, walking slowly but as if she was jumping at every step.

Her cheerful gait and the color-blocked jacket she wore contrasted sharply with the old and dull Sea Cliff Lane, but these characteristics were not the most conspicuous parts of her.

The most eye-catching part is that Dorasi has a hairpin on her head, and attached to the hairpin is a standing yellow exclamation mark that is almost as big as her palm.

Suddenly looking over, she looked like an NPC from a game. Talking to her would trigger the main storyline... Zhao Jinghuan suddenly remembered what Tomato and Evening Breeze had said:

“It’s hard to resist having a conversation with him.”

So that's what's happening.

Zhao Jinghuan raised her hand and was about to call Dorasi when she suddenly remembered she was still wearing her Meituan cycling jersey. It felt a bit awkward to be wearing this attire for her first meeting with her future most important ally. Furthermore, she didn't want to reveal her double identity. She was also a bit apprehensive, fearing that speaking to Dorasi would trigger some timed mission and delay her delivery.

So Zhao Jinghuan took out his mobile phone, took a picture of Dorasi's back, and sent it to the studio group.

"I think I saw Dorasi."

After a while, Lu Kai replied in the group: "Haha, did you interact with her?"

Before Zhao Jinghuan could reply, Fanqie suddenly reposted the photo she had just taken, and circled a man in a casual suit in the corner of the photo, not far from Dorasi.

"This guy is the business manager of T Club. I met him in the museum when I went to HEC at the beginning of the year." Fanqie said.

Zhao Jinghuan was stunned for a moment. Her hard work over the past few days suddenly came in handy. She replied hastily, somewhat showing off her skills. "Wow, I know TD Society. They've received investment from a major company and have been working hard to discover original designers in recent years. They say they want to package and launch a series of independent IPs to create a national trend matrix."

After the show, Zhao Jinghuan added, "Are you still collaborating with TD?"

No one responded in the group for a long time, and Zhao Jinghuan finally realized his slip of the tongue.

Yeah, how can I say 'you guys'? I'm obviously a member of the studio too.

So she said in the group again: "We are still cooperating with TD Society?"

This time, Tomato replied with a row of ellipsis.

Zhao Jinghuan didn't understand the meaning of the ellipsis. After a while, Sister Zou, who had been silent since Zhao Jinghuan joined the group, suddenly spoke in the group:

“We have no cooperation with TD Society.”