Super polyvalent

Chapitre 1

My name is Nuandong, I'm 25 years old and single.

Being single at 25 is nothing, but not having had a single relationship in 25 years is likely to lead to discrimination.

But I don't care. I have a job, I'm a white-collar worker, I have a house, I live alone, and I don't have any other living creatures besides myself, so I'm quite comfortable, except for the occasional late-night opening of my door to listen to my three best friends, whom I'll probably never get rid of, lamenting their love and hate. And then, when they're sniffling and saying, "Nuan Nuan, how come you're 25 and still don't have a boyfriend?" they frantically hand me tissues.

I'm a very accepting person, and I understood that from the moment I met them. So, usually when they cry until dawn, and when they're exhausted from crying and then unceremoniously collapse onto my bed, I have to accept my fate, call to ask for leave for them, and then bravely crawl to work.

The one lying unconscious on my bed right now is An. Of the three of us, she was the first to cling to me. Starting from preschool, through the ups and downs of middle school, high school, and job hunting, we've never been separated. An once said to me very seriously, "It would be a waste if we weren't a couple." After hearing that, I carefully examined that almost worn-out face, shook my head, and said, "You're not my type." She then yelled, "Tang Lei, Tang Lei, deduct her salary, don't give her bonus!" Tang Lei just looked at her with doting eyes and smiled, a smile that gave me goosebumps.

So An's boyfriend has another layer of relationship with me, which is that he is my boss.

The man who pays my salary is now sitting in front of me looking utterly defeated, and I have absolutely no sense of serving my master or solving his problems. But after he led me into the general manager's office for a full 15 minutes without saying a word, I began to realize that something serious was going on. This man, who always kept his public and private life perfectly separate, was acting so strangely. Yesterday, An cried all night without saying anything of substance. I figured these two had never had any constructive problems anyway. When An came over, I usually just threw out my many tissues, and sometimes I'd even take a nap while she was rambling on.

I was careless.

I forced a smile and said, "Good morning, General Manager. If you have no other instructions, I'll get back to work."

Tang Lei stood up abruptly: "Nuan Nuan, you and An have been friends for so many years, tell me what she's thinking. I consider myself a young and promising man, handsome and talented. Although I've had many girlfriends before, since I met An, my eyes have never left her. That's considered being devoted to her. What's wrong with a man like me? You know, we're living together now. What does she mean by this?"

Overwhelmed by his 182cm height, I looked at him with the trepidation of someone revering a martyr and asked, "She...she...is she having an affair?" That lecherous woman.

"No," Tang Lei said, his frustration returning. He sat down and looked out the window. I took the opportunity to drink some water to calm myself down. Then I heard Tang Lei sigh deeply: "I proposed to her."

I spat out a mouthful of calming water, and Tang Lei, ignoring me, continued talking.

"I was prepared for her to accept or reject me, but she suddenly screamed and stormed out the door. Why do you think she did that?"

"She's so happy, she's overjoyed that you finally proposed to her." I said seriously and firmly. Tang Lei looked at me sideways, clearly not believing me, but he could only see the unwavering determination in my eyes. He looked up at the sky speechlessly and said, "Never mind, you go ahead and do your work."

With unwavering determination and a look of piercing light, I turned and headed towards the door as if granted a pardon. Tang Lei suddenly remembered something and said, "A department manager has been promoted from the branch office to your department. They'll be calling for a meeting at 10:30. I thought I'd let you know since you're here."

It's only 9:30 now. I nodded to indicate that I understood. Actually, I don't care much. I've already bribed the company's biggest boss with a close friend. Even if he's a new boss and tries to make a big splash, I'm not afraid of him.

But in fact, I was wrong. I was really afraid of him. I knew him. He was my high school classmate. When I heard the name Shao Yuzhe, I thought I was finally old enough to be hallucinating. Then, when I faced reality and finally looked at his face, I thought that after not seeing him for seven years, I hoped he had forgotten me. However, when he introduced me, I saw a hint of a smile in his eyes and I knew it was hopeless.

I hope he has a reason to forget me; whenever he thinks of me, it's because of my fleeting youth.

I liked him. Before I turned 20, he was the only person I had a memorable crush on. During my three years of high school, I didn't feel anything for his face. But after starting university and being far from home, I easily developed a sentimental, bourgeois mood. This person would call or text me every time I was about to cry, as if he had timed it perfectly. Even though I knew it was just friendly interaction, I still fell for him. I knew he could never like me back. I was self-aware; I was worse than the average person, not just in terms of looks and physique, but also in my inexplicably poor academic performance. But I decided to give myself a break before I turned 20. So, the night before my 20th birthday, I called him and asked if he wanted to be my boyfriend. He remained silent on the other end of the phone. Afraid of losing control of my emotions, I wanted to say something, so I said, "Please just say something. Long-distance calls are expensive." He sighed on the other end and said, "Dong, I've always thought of you as a brother. I have a girl I like."

It was such an old, tired plot, and I feel ashamed of myself when I think about it now. Luckily, I didn't cry and continue to write such a clichéd story. I said, "Okay, that's it, bye-bye," and hung up the phone. Then I unplugged the phone, turned off my phone, stripped naked, crawled into bed, closed my eyes, and created a state of complete relaxation before sleeping through my 20th birthday.

I knew this was the outcome and was prepared for it, but I'm still sad because he said he treated me like a brother. If it were a classmate, friend, or sister, at least I'm a girl. But as for "brother," it turns out he only sees me as a girl.

Afterwards, a bunch of people called and texted to ask where I was on my birthday. They said they had bought the wreaths but didn't know where to send them. I suddenly realized how many people cared about me, and I was so touched that I accidentally hung up the phone. So I didn't tell anyone, including that I liked him. But Shao Yuzhe never called again. Since I decided to start afresh at 20, I didn't do anything else. In the days that followed, I devoted myself to studying, attending classes, taking exams, and retaking courses. I missed all the classmate reunions, and that's how it is now.

He's standing right in front of me now.

"Dong, it's been a long time, five years, hasn't it?" He blocked my way during lunch break as I was about to run away, flashing his white teeth.

"Yes, the past is like a song." But I really don't want to reminisce with him.

"You've been avoiding me for five years." He frowned.

His question made me think, "Oh right, it's been five years. Even if I were to see him again, I might still have some feelings for him. But we're both adults. Besides, I didn't do anything to him back then. I'm really that shy. So why am I avoiding him?" I hadn't thought about it before, but now that I think about it, the answer that popped into my head was...

"...I'm used to it."

I knew he really wanted to laugh out loud, but I wouldn't allow it. I just glared at him, signaling him to hold it in.

"Dong, let's have lunch together and catch up." He looked at me sincerely, suppressing a laugh. So I immediately called home and told An that I was working overtime at noon to curry favor with the boss, leaving her to fend for herself. I didn't tell her that she was Shao Yuzhe. After hanging up, I realized that I actually have a talent for prioritizing romance over friendship.

Besides talking about our high school days and gossiping about our high school classmates, we didn't even leave out the part about Tang Lei and Ji An. We also explained how we ended up under Tang Lei's command over the past five years, as well as our love lives.

He's also single and doesn't have a girlfriend. That surprised me.

"What happened to the girl you like? Did she have a heart-wrenching, dramatic love story?" In most romance novels, when the male and female protagonists meet again, there's a little bit of the past, plus this current situation, so this scene is usually shown.

Wait, who said this is a romance novel, and that the male and female leads were already decided? Pshaw, I didn't write that paragraph above, don't read it.

"Dong, you've been reading too many romance novels. I did like her back then, but I didn't manage to win her over. Now she's married." He looked at me with a half-smile.

"So you were so heartbroken that you didn't have a girlfriend for five years." I continued to guess, following the plot of an eight o'clock soap opera.

"That was five years ago. The reason I don't have a girlfriend is because I'm too busy with work and haven't found a suitable girl." Seeing that I was about to speak again, he grinned mischievously and said, "If you keep asking me like that, people will think you have ulterior motives towards me."

I have.

I almost blurted it out reflexively, and I nearly bit my tongue when I had to stop abruptly.

Silence. The silence made the atmosphere eerie.

I chuckled twice and said, "I'm gathering material for writing a novel."

What a great reason! Shao Yuzhe immediately started praising my writing skills since high school. It had been a long time since anyone had praised me like that, so I didn't stand on ceremony and accepted his praise.

When I got home that evening, An was still at my place. She owns a Japanese restaurant and sets her own working hours, but she's never stayed at my place for a whole day before, and it looked like she was going to stay even longer. However, this time was special, and there was a reason for it. It shouldn't have been strange, but the fact that Luo Lin and Yu Mo were also there was odd.

Luo Lin and Yu Mo are the second and third of my close friends, whom I'm introducing now; they were my college classmates.

The four of us stared at each other in silence for a minute, and then I resignedly started to find the mahjong tiles and offer them up.

Luo Lin rolled his eyes at me. "I didn't come here to play mahjong with you. Tell me, what's the deal with this Shao Yuzhe?"

I looked at An. Besides me, she was the only one here who knew about Shao Yuzhe.

“Shao Yuzhe is your high school classmate and also An’s high school classmate. You knew about it but didn’t tell us when you called at noon. If Tang Lei hadn’t mentioned the new department manager when he called An, we wouldn’t have known. You even said you were having lunch with the boss. What was your intention?” Yu Mo said coolly from the side, while An nestled on my sofa pretending to be innocent.