Office Rain
Jiang Yichun sat in her office, her gaze wandering over the Excel spreadsheet, her fingertips constantly moving across the mouse.
"Hey, little sister, what are you doing?" The scent of perfume wafted over from the woman next to her.
Jiang Yichun raised his head and met the woman's face.
The woman had very light eyebrows, and the fortune teller said that people with light eyebrows are fickle. The woman probably believed in this saying, as she always used an eyebrow pencil to make her eyebrows very thick.
The woman in front of him was ostensibly his older sister, but Jiang Yichun always felt that the relationship between them was quite subtle.
Jiang Yichun glanced at her and answered truthfully, "Fill out this financial form as you said, Anna."
The woman leaned closer and chuckled, "Spring, how could you do that? Your method is so clumsy. You could just press the keys directly."
Jiang Yichun frowned: "I've always done it this way, the speed... should be about the same."
"Oh my god, you don't even know how to use keyboard shortcuts?" The woman's voice became shrill, as if she had discovered some rare treasure, and she hurriedly spread the word around, "Hey, Wendy, really? There are people who don't even know how to use computer keyboard shortcuts these days."
She then spoke in an almost condescending tone: "Come, come, Spring, I'll teach you."
"After all, you probably don't have the resources to learn computers where you are, right? Haha."
Jiang Yichun clenched his fists and muttered under his breath, "You think you can compare to someone who works ten years of work compared to someone who works ten days of work?"
She really wanted to splash the plum juice she was drinking onto that person.
However, her internship grades, salary, and the seemingly harmonious atmosphere in the office all reminded her that she couldn't do that.
Although Anna didn't become a manager, she was the leader of the group.
Jiang Yichun was only going to stay at this company for three months, and it was clearly not a good choice to offend the boss and ruin their relationship just for a moment of pleasure.
If we're going to have a falling out, it should be after the internship ends. Right now, for the sake of my GPA, I have to put up with it.
Jiang Yichun swallowed his words, silently repeating to himself, "Money is hard to earn, and shit is hard to swallow," while listening to the woman chatter on and on.
She jumped from using computer shortcuts to her beloved son.
"My son can program computers when he's seven years old. He's very talented."
Jiang Yichun thought of a novel title: "Seven-Year-Old Cutie: Building the Matrix".
"Pfft." She couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Anna glared at her when she saw her smiling face: "What are you laughing at? You can't do anything, hurry up and do it!"
You can't do anything?
Jiang Yichun gritted her teeth and coldly replied, "Oh, I got it, Sister Anna."
When she leaves, she must leave without looking back. Oh, and it wouldn't be bad to give her an award for "Mother of the Matrix".
The little devil in her heart popped up, only to be interrupted by the person beside her.
“Spring, we ordered milk tea. Can you go get it for us now? I’m not in a rush to finish this form.” Anna stuck to us like a leech.
Jiang Yichun pursed his lips.
Here we go again, running errands where you learn absolutely nothing.
She sighed, "Okay, Anna, please give me the order number."
A short while later, Jiang Yichun returned to his workstation carrying two large bags of milk tea.
She knew there was no milk tea for her inside.
It wasn't that she was isolated, but rather that she genuinely didn't want to blend into this strange atmosphere, and she especially didn't want to drink milk tea with these people.
Eating with people she dislikes makes her want to vomit.
So when Anna was organizing group purchases in the office and others were responding, she remained silent. When Anna asked her a question, she simply refused.
Jiang Yichun placed the milk tea on Anna's table and resumed his battle with the Excel spreadsheet.
Meanwhile, the woman beside him continued to chatter on and on about her family matters until the end of the workday.
Jiang Yichun stood up, put away the trash bag as usual, and forced a smile: "Goodbye."
The people in the office smiled politely at her.
Jiang Yichun turned and ran, throwing the garbage bag into the company's large trash can as he went.
She stood downstairs at the company building and looked up at the sky.
In late spring, Huaxing City is always hit by sudden thunderstorms.
Jiang Yichun looked up and frowned.
Instead of heading towards the convenience store downstairs from her office, she quickened her pace and ran towards the subway station.
She regretted it ten seconds after taking the first step.
A raindrop landed on her head with a "plop".
Then came two drops, three drops, until the entire curtain of rain swallowed her up.
The roar of thunder reached her ears, and streaks of lightning split her vision into black and white.
Jiang Yichun didn't bring an umbrella, so he had to carry his bag on his head and hurry towards the subway station.
As she ran, tears inexplicably streamed down her face.
One person, and only one person.
Reason told her that she didn't need anyone.
But deep down, she felt she needed someone to listen to her and to accept her grievances.
Why should someone older than me be allowed to suppress me everywhere?
What makes you think you can't do anything?
Why should they look down on their own hometown?
Why can't I say I'll go back?
She seems to have fallen into a trap set by others, and can only passively accept the judgment of others' gaze.
She couldn't help but question herself: what was the purpose of doing this internship?
All that hard work to get high grades, all that madness to get into graduate school—is it all just to prove something to relatives like her?
Is living for the opinions of others really what you want?
In a hazy, dreamlike state, she imagined another version of herself amidst the rain.
She was gazing at herself.
I saw her lips moving in the misty rain:
"For yourself, only for yourself."
Jiang Yichun raised her elbow and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her wet sleeve, and she began to sob.
The pent-up frustration from the past ten days of internship was completely released in this heavy rain.
The rain swallowed everything, including her sorrow and tears.
And there's another version of myself in the rain.
After running for an unknown amount of time, Jiang Yichun finally squeezed into the subway station.
She looked at her soaked coat and the sticky pants clinging to her legs, then looked up at the reflective glass of the subway doors.
His bangs were almost completely soaked, each strand sticking to his forehead like a barcode.
Her bloodshot eyes met her reflection in the glass. She raised the corners of her mouth and muttered softly, "So ugly."
She was panting as she swept her soaked bangs to the top of her head, revealing her smooth forehead.
Her smile widened: "Even uglier."
"Gurgle." Jiang Yichun's stomach growled again.
She rubbed her stomach and sighed: I should have stayed in the mall to avoid the rain for a while before leaving.
You can even spend a fortune on a meal in a shopping mall while sheltering from the rain to vent your pent-up feelings.
Jiang Yichun took off his soaked coat, leaving only a long-sleeved T-shirt underneath, and watched the little dots on the subway disappear one by one until the subway arrived at the school.
Jiang Yichun walked out of the subway station and stood frozen at the station entrance.
The rain continued to pour down.
"Isn't it supposed to be a thunderstorm? Why is it still raining?" she muttered to herself, taking her phone out of her pocket.
She scrolled through WeChat and sent a message to Yang Fei and Zhang Xingxing.
Zhang Xingxing didn't reply, but Yang Fei replied: [Sorry, Xiaochun, I'm still rehearsing my dance in the school auditorium right now. Can you wait for me for half an hour?]
Jiang Yichun sighed and rubbed his empty stomach again.
Everything's easy: "No need, I've already found an umbrella. Thank you, Feifei."
She turned off her phone and looked up at the relentless rain.
Achoo!
A gust of cold wind swept into the subway entrance, chilling her soaked body.
I need to go home and take a hot shower soon; I can't wait any longer.
Jiang Yichun gritted his teeth, steeled his resolve, opened his already soaked coat, and took a step forward.
A light touch came from her back.
A soft, thin coat slowly fell onto her body.
The familiar scent of kapok gently enveloped her, swallowing up all the mist around her.
Before she could react, that familiar voice rang in her ears.
"Jiang Yichun".
"It's raining so hard, don't go any further."
"You're so wet, you'll catch a cold if you get any more rain."
The familiar voice, like camphor leaves swirling in the wind outside the subway station, fluttered down and landed in Jiang Yichun's heart.
It was light, yet it made her nose tingle.
An umbrella was shoved into her hand from behind, carrying her familiar warmth.
"umbrella."
"I have two, you can take them, no need to return them."
"The clothes too, mine are dry, so I don't need to return them."
"If you're going to throw it away... then throw it away."
"Oh, I have some scallion pancakes, would you like some?"
Jiang Yichun turned around, and there stood that familiar figure behind her.
He Yinxin held an umbrella in one hand, a bag on her arm, and a plastic bag hanging from her little finger. The bag had a plush bunny she won in the raffle that day hanging from it.
His clothes and schoolbag were damp with rainwater.
The little rabbit was wrapped in a cute transparent plastic bag, and it didn't get wet or dusty at all.
He looked down at her.
He wasn't wearing his glasses again today, and his familiar almond-shaped eyes were clearly exposed to her.
Looking into his eyes, she imagined scenes from romantic idol dramas.
He should have hugged me tightly from behind, intertwined his fingers with mine, and then turned his face to kiss my cheek.
Then she would push him away forcefully, feeling both embarrassed and enjoying the warmth he brought.
His eyes would fill with tears, staring at me with a wet look.
"Xiaochun, I was wrong, please forgive me?"
Actually, I really like you.
"Don't go, okay?"
She would push him away because of her awkward mood, but he would pull her into his arms again and listen to him express his love for her time and time again.
Then, a loving kiss, a passionate embrace...
Jiang Yichun's cheeks grew hotter and hotter, and she instinctively reached out her hand towards his cheek.
She froze on the spot just before she was about to touch him.
No, this guy's actions are completely the opposite of what you see in idol dramas.
This guy is clearly trying to distance himself from me in every single sentence, except for that scallion pancake!
Reason once again overwhelmed her girlish heart.
She scrutinized the young man in front of her once more.
How did I end up meeting that scammer here?
How come this scammer happened to have an umbrella, and... a hot scallion pancake?
She immediately withdrew her hand, took a few steps back, and glared at him:
"He Yinxin, you have sleep in your eyes."
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