Chapter 100 Drunk Like This
Throughout October, Lin Yu began to divert some of his energy from his regular job. Taking advantage of the gaps between project deadlines, he would quietly slip out of the company to complete several interviews that had been scheduled before the holiday.
However, things didn't seem to go as smoothly as she had hoped. Although she had the endorsement of her former colleagues, they didn't have much say in the company after all.
The interviewers first gave her polite compliments on her past project experience, but then changed the subject and politely declined her application for the position, citing reasons such as gender, age, and the current state of the industry.
The repeated rejections were a huge blow to Lin Yu. She began to wonder if she had been with the company for too long and had lost her basic judgment about industry trends.
In a market downturn, if she leaves, will she face a long period of unemployment?
During this period, she began to pay close attention to industry trends and repeatedly analyzed her possible future development direction.
However, resources in traditional manufacturing are nearing saturation, and competition for design positions is fierce, with only one person available for each opening. Continuing to delve deeper into existing fields seems to only lead to increasingly limited career paths.
The older generation always believed that technical skills were the only secure career, but given today's challenging market environment, perhaps a shift to general management positions would offer better career prospects.
But after so many years of technical work, she doesn't know what unknown circumstances await her after leaving this comfort zone.
That afternoon, Lin Yu finished his interview and had just stepped out of the office building when he received a call from Liam.
The temperature in Shanghai dropped after several consecutive autumn rains, and a chilly autumn wind blew in.
She subconsciously pulled her trench coat collar tighter, took a deep breath of the cold air carrying car exhaust fumes, and tried to dispel the lingering depression in her body.
Her phone suddenly rang in her bag. She took it out and saw it was an unfamiliar number. Thinking it was an HR person from some company, she answered without thinking.
"Hello?"
“Yu! Guess what I’m in Shanghai now!” Liam’s enthusiastic voice came from the other end of the phone.
Lin Yu paused for a moment before recognizing the caller from the cheerful tone, and asked incredulously, "...Liam?"
"Surprised? We have an internship project here. And I promised to come see you, remember?"
He spoke with a stiff, broken Beijing accent, but his tone was light and cheerful. Before she could answer, he quickly asked, "Where are you? Can I come see you?"
"Your Chinese has improved so quickly!" Lin Yu couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
She clearly remembered that during the National Day holiday, the two of them struggled even with everyday conversations. Now, he could even pronounce the retroflex endings quite well; his language talent was truly admirable.
"Aren't you touched? I learned this especially for you!"
“It’s ‘you’!” Lin Yu corrected him with a smile.
"Really? Haha!" Liam said dismissively. "Let's meet, then you can teach me slowly."
"Where are Theo and the others?" She couldn't help but think of those two friends she had only met once, her words filled with genuine longing.
"They're still in Beijing. But how about I introduce you to some international friends I've met here?"
Lin Yu rubbed his temples, glanced at the resume he had crumpled in his arms, and after a brief silence, softly agreed.
"I'm so glad you could come, really. But I probably won't have much time."
"Awesome! Dinner is perfect!" Liam excitedly finalized the meeting, gave her the address, and then thoughtfully told her not to rush, that he would wait for her no matter how late it was.
In the afternoon, Lin Yu went back to the company and finished up some documents. She touched up her makeup in front of the mirror in the restroom. Even though she was just meeting a casual friend, she wanted to appear as presentable and elegant as possible.
Dinner was arranged at a restaurant near Xintiandi. When Lin Yu arrived, Liam and his two friends were already there, all young people around his age. They waved enthusiastically to her as soon as they saw her.
"Yu! You look...so professional!"
Liam stood up to greet Lin Yu, glancing at her still-on-the-job attire. His azure eyes were full of smiles as he opened his arms and gave her a tight hug.
Lin Yu was amused by his vivid description and burst into laughter. This undisguised enthusiasm, to some extent, dispelled the gloom that had accumulated in her heart due to her work setbacks.
They found a long table by the window, ordered pizza and some drinks.
Liam was very talkative, and his friends were also witty and easy-going. They gathered together and chatted about everything they had seen and heard over the past month.
Hearing that the whisky here was famous, Liam suggested that Lin Yu could try some. She readily agreed, listening to their banter and occasionally chiming in. Her tense nerves, which had been on edge for days, gradually relaxed.
After a few drinks, Lin Yu's face flushed slightly. He felt hot and excited, loosened his shirt collar, and started talking more without realizing it.
Liam smiled and leaned closer, saying that she looked like a ripe apple, but was still very beautiful. As he spoke, his warm breath brushed against her ear.
Lin Yu turned her head to avoid him, a slightly tipsy smile playing on her lips. The alcohol flushed her cheeks, and her almond-shaped eyes shone brightly under the warm yellow light.
Jiang Chuan sat in a semi-open private room on the second floor.
Tonight, the company has an important business meeting here. Zhang Hengyuan had something come up and called me over to fill in.
The other party was a major client of the law firm. When Jiang Chuan arrived, the atmosphere at the banquet was in full swing. He picked up his glass and drank three glasses as a penalty, calmly dealing with everyone. His gaze swept casually across the lounge area downstairs through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
At a glance, he spotted Lin Yu sitting drunk among a group of men.
She wore a royal blue business suit, the well-tailored cut highlighting her well-proportioned figure. At that moment, she was chatting and laughing with several boys at the same table, her eyes radiating a bright and captivating smile.
A blond boy was whispering something intimately in her ear, and instead of looking away, she laughed even harder. Jiang Chuan hadn't seen such a relaxed and natural expression on her face in a long time.
Thinking back to the tense days before their breakup, his fingers tightened unconsciously around the wine glass. He quickly turned back to chat and laugh with his clients, but the warmth in his eyes gradually turned cold.
After a few rounds of drinks, Lin Yu felt a belated dizziness. The whiskey was strong and had a powerful aftereffect, causing his vision to sway uncontrollably from side to side, and his stomach to churn.
She couldn't help but laugh at herself inwardly: when she was with young people like Liam, she could still put on a show of politeness, but she couldn't keep up the act any longer.
Lin Yu struggled to her feet, using the edge of the table for support, and staggered across the noisy lounge area. Just then, the door to the corridor was pushed open. A sudden gust of night wind rushed in, making her dizzy and almost causing her to lose her balance.
She managed to walk to the bathroom, used the toilet, and then splashed cold water on her face at the sink.
Instead of waking up, my head felt heavier and heavier, and I felt like I was walking on cotton. Even my reflection in the mirror became blurry.
Lin Yu leaned against the wall and slowly walked out, her mind filled with only one thought: she had to go back. She planned to grab her bag back at her seat and go home; tonight's indulgence had clearly exceeded her physical limits.
Just as I turned the corner in the corridor, someone grabbed my arm and the warmth of their palm seeped through the thin fabric of my clothes.
"How much did you drink? Hmm?" A deep voice came from above.
Lin Yu, still slightly drunk, raised her head. The man was very close to her; the corridor outside the restroom was dimly lit by only one spotlight.
He stood with his back to the light, his face almost entirely hidden in the shadows, making it impossible to see his features. Only his tall, imposing figure was clearly outlined by the dim light and shadow.
The cold, pine-like scent of the leaves seeped into her nostrils, inexplicably making her irritable. Suddenly, she remembered the person she had tried so hard to forget, yet who would still occasionally intrude into her mind.
Lin Yu instinctively tried to break free, but her body leaned forward uncontrollably, almost falling into his arms. "Let go... I don't need your help." Her voice was soft and drunken, sounding completely unthreatening.
Jiang Chuan used a little force to pull the person into his arms. "So drunk, how are you going to get home by yourself?" he asked in a low voice. "I'll take you."
"How can you be so shameless..." Lin Yu lifted his eyelids, feeling that the face in front of him was extremely irritating, as if all his troubles were caused by him.
She couldn't immediately discern what "all" referred to. She could only futilely push against his chest, protesting incoherently, "I told you... stay away from me..."
Seeing her delirious yet incredibly stubborn appearance, a complex and indescribable emotion flashed across Jiang Chuan's eyes.
He didn't loosen his grip, but his voice softened unconsciously, as if he were coaxing a sulking child: "Okay, it's all my fault. Let's go home first, and you can scold me however you want when we get back, okay?"
"Listen to me, Banban."
Perhaps sensing that she was coming home, or perhaps his gentle tone had broken down her defenses, Lin Yu's struggles lessened, and she was half-heartedly pulled away by him, leaving through the back door of the restaurant.
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