He Jingyan glanced at Cute Heart, closed it, then opened it again, repeating this three times.
Then, he clicked on the message sent by Mi and selected the "Report obscene content" button.
However, the system quickly sent a prompt: [Sorry~ Your submitted report has been reviewed and deemed invalid. Thank you for your support of Cute Heart.]
He Jingyan: "..."
Don't you care about the life and death of the company's CEO?
Afterwards, he looked at Mi's profile page and began to wonder which department this person might be in.
Technology Center? Laboratory? Marketing Department?
Mi's workload must be heavy, working overtime on every version release day, likely close to the development side.
The supervisor's style was distinctive, acting in an annoying way but living quite comfortably. Such people were more common in project teams, where everything depended on skill level rather than emotional intelligence.
Pondering this, He Jingyan narrowed his eyes slightly and asked leisurely: [How much do you want to see?]
Separated by an internet connection, Ji Mi was surprised and almost touched. Could he make a wish for this free viewing?
Of course, the more the better...
Mi sent a real-time photo. He was lying in bed, the camera aimed at the white ceiling, with his right hand extending into the frame making a "9" gesture.
He Jingyan stared at it for a while, then opened the notebook beside him, gripped his pen, and drew a tic-tac-toe grid on the paper before sending it over.
Mi was unhappy: [That looks like a turtle shell!]
He Jingyan wanted to find out who he really was: [Let me see yours first.]
Mi didn't fall for it, playing dumb: [Which one of mine?]
He Jingyan used reverse psychology: [Didn't you say your face was good? Send it over and I'll compliment you.]
Mi said: [You don't believe me?]
Mi: [But I don't have any selfies. Why don't you come meet me offline?]
He Jingyan was silent for a moment, then took a difficult step: [Alright.]
He thought about catching him at the company and personally giving him a lesson on online dating safety to properly rectify this unhealthy trend.
However, Mi was quite prideful and changed his mind: [No way, you say meet up and I just agree? Wouldn't that make me seem too easy?]
Mi: [Although I added you as a friend, I'm not such a frivolous person.]
He Jingyan held back his frustration. These words made it sound like he was some disreputable person, and any association would be tainted.
He suppressed his anger: [I didn't intend to do anything to you.]
Afterwards, he didn't give up, attempting to lure Mi out.
[You're a Cute Heart VIP member, right? With so many people recommended to you, haven't you ever gone out with anyone else?]
Mi said: [My VIP membership was gifted by a friend. Until today, I've only added you.]
He Jingyan didn't believe the online stranger's words. First looking at abs, then wanting to meet up, and now pretending to be an innocent flower?
But Mi misunderstood his intention and earnestly advised: [Jing, if you're so possessive, you'll easily get upset online.]
Translated, this meant:
Don't be so jealous of me.
He Jingyan: "..."
It was certainly an eye-opener.
Encountering such an annoying situation late at night, he kept thinking about it until the next morning, his expression as if someone owed him five million yuan.
Who exactly was this scoundrel? He Jingyan wondered absently.
What would he look like in real life? Had he bothered anyone else in the company?
Lost in thought, suddenly someone gently knocked on the door, revealing a pure face.
Ji Mi caught a glimpse of He Jingyan's apparently bad mood, hesitated timidly for a moment, then curved his long, thick eyelashes.
"Delay, everyone is discussing where to go for the team building trip," he said. "Do you want to join?"
He Jingyan stood up: "I'll go check if Shell is bringing his mother this year."
Family members were allowed on the team building trip. Last year, Shell wasn't dating anyone and didn't want to miss out on the company's generosity, so he brought his mother along for the trip.
"Does having an elder there put pressure on you?" Ji Mi asked.
He Jingyan said listlessly: "His mother runs a matchmaking business. She wants to recruit every single person she meets as a male candidate. Only Noah escaped. The rest of us nearly ended up on a dating website."
Ji Mi said: "Oh, why wasn't Noah approached?"
He Jingyan smirked: "Foreigners aren't popular with parents in the domestic market."
"I heard you spreading rumors!" Noah's hearing was too good, and he shouted from afar.
"I'm a born and raised Northerner. You've been studying abroad since you were little, so please shut up. What right do you have to call me a foreigner?"
The group bantered back and forth as they finalized the time and location for the executive office's team building trip.
Every year, mid-year project evaluations were scheduled, requiring attention to the investment and progress of various games under development. There was simply no energy for travel then, and it was definitely impossible to go out at the end of the year when things were too busy.
Before the year-end rush, coinciding with Hokkaido's snow season, it was very suitable for a vacation.
It was Ji Mi's first year participating in such an activity. Originally shrinking in the corner feeling a bit uneasy, he worried that others might want to climb high mountains or cross deserts.
Discovering that everyone was preparing to lie around at the hotel, he perked up. Then learning that all expenses would be reimbursed, he felt he could complain a little less about the boss.
"What's wrong with you? You've been in a bad mood these past couple of days," Fang Xiyun inquired of He Jingyan.
Shell followed up, examining He Jingyan's expression: "Is it because the one-on-one meetings with producers were too tiring?"
Ji Mi earnestly "mm-hmm"ed a couple times, also staring at He Jingyan's face.
However, his gaze was too clear, making He Jingyan feel quite pressured and awkwardly turn his head away.
Faced with everyone's concern, He Jingyan opened his mouth, deciding to be honest with them.
"I've run into a bit of trouble recently," he began slowly.
"Mm-hmm." Ji Mi responded encouragingly, "Go on, we'll help you think of a solution."
He Jingyan propped his head on one hand, eyes half-closed lazily, seemingly lost in recollection.
"It was on a dark and windy night. I stayed at the company to watch a demo. That game left a particularly deep impression on me. It seemed like the development team was using their feet to come up with gameplay ideas. The mechanics were getting trounced by match-3 games."
Shell anxiously slapped the table: "I've always said to cut our losses. We should just scrap that money-grabbing project. It'll just get roasted by players if we launch it."
He Jingyan continued: "Then I called the director over to talk for a while, and was then called away by the Technology Center. A team leader wanted to adjust the engine architecture..."
"They want to burn money again, don't they?" Noah said, rubbing his temples. "How much money has been spent on that self-developed engine? You could build a rocket with that amount."
He Jingyan paused, then went on: "Anyway, by the time I got back from the Technology Center it was already past midnight. Fang Xiyun was watching virtual streamers, constantly sending gifts to the avatar."
Fang Xiyun listened in dismay: "Spend where you should, save where you can. What's wrong with stealing a bit of the company's electricity? Can you stop beating around the bush with all these irrelevant details!"
Ji Mi couldn't help but urge: "What happened to you after that?"
"I was harassed," He Jingyan answered seriously.
As his words fell, everyone was dumbfounded.
Then, one by one, they all stood up preparing to leave, not wanting to stay and humor He Jingyan's nonsense.
Noah was speechless: "You were harassed? Who would dare?"
He rubbed his temples: "It'd be good enough if you didn't harass your assistant. Stop constantly wandering over to their workstation to tease them."
Shell and Fang Xiyun agreed with this, and strongly condemned He Jingyan for wasting three minutes of their time.
Ji Mi also didn't know what to say, but unlike the others who were grumbling, he quietly followed behind them preparing to slip away.
But as he passed by He Jingyan's seat, the latter stretched out his long legs, blocking his path.
"What are you doing?" Shell took the opportunity to point and criticize.
"Watch your behavior, or Teacher Ji might report you for harassment. The organization will definitely deal with you seriously then!"
He Jingyan glanced at him, and he hurriedly retreated, respectfully closing the glass door of the room as he left.
Ji Mi: "..."
"In your six months here, have you encountered any strange colleagues?" He Jingyan asked.
Ji Mi asked in confusion: "Strange?"
"Like you, a fresh graduate, recently transferred here, probably loves to gossip. The key point is that their personality is quite... " He Jingyan paused, then described, "unrestrained."
Ji Mi listened in a daze, his eyes full of confusion, then furrowed his brows.
"The previous September and October were peak job-hopping seasons. Many colleagues moved around, and there were also interns from other companies who broke their offers to come here."
Not just job-hopping, during that period various departments also released a large number of positions for internal competitive recruitment.
Finding such a person would be extremely difficult.
"If you want to find someone, I can ask Fu Qianyao. He knows more colleagues," Ji Mi suggested.
He pondered for a moment, then said seriously, "The few guys I know in the development team don't match your description."
He Jingyan thought about it and decided to let it go.
Given Fu Qianyao's temperament, if he asked him today, the whole company would know tomorrow that he had been sabotaged by an employee. By then, there would be all sorts of exaggerated rumors.
To find out who Mi was, he'd have to rely on his own efforts.
Later, when he had some free time, he opened his friends list and scrolled down.
He Jingyan found He Jingnan, who was eating sunflower seeds in Hong Kong, and pulled him out as a consultant.
[I have a question for you,] he said.
He Jingnan quickly came to attention: [Please, go ahead.]
Those colleagues didn't use social apps much, so they couldn't be counted on. But He Jingyan remembered that his cousin had mentioned using them for a while.
He Jingyan asked: [Have you ever successfully met up with online friends?]
He Jingnan answered honestly: [Yes, loads of times. It's not that difficult, is it?]
Then he realized something and was shocked: [Wow, are things heating up between you and that anime fan?]
He Jingyan closed his eyes briefly and explained: [Anyway, I want to meet him now, but he's not very willing.]
He Jingnan found this amusing: [Does he know what you look like? I never thought you'd see the day when you'd want to take things further with someone and get coldly rejected, haha!]
He Jingyan thought that if arresting Mi counted as taking things further, then He Jingnan wasn't wrong.
Then he answered He Jingnan's question: [We've never seen each other's faces.]
He Jingnan eagerly made a voice call: "That's not surprising then. He doesn't know you're handsome, and he doesn't find you that interesting. How can you expect him to pay for transport to come see you?"
He continued to criticize: "I told you before that you're too boring. How can he get excited about a rock? It's good enough that he's willing to chat with you!"
He Jingyan replied coldly: "So what's your solution?"
He Jingnan: "It's very simple. Your core problem is that you're not attractive enough."
"From now on, you need to show concern for him, comfort him when he's sad, put up with him when he's angry, keep him company when he's lonely, understand?"
He Jingyan understood. This ridiculous idea was absurd.
He sneered: "You want me to be his dog?"
He Jingnan: "If you're capable, you don't have to. Use your imagination. Anyway, you need to do that thing to him."
That thing?
He Jingyan felt like he was doing a fill-in-the-blank exercise: "Set a trap."
He Jingnan corrected the wrong answer, disappointedly announcing: "Seduce him."
He Jingyan couldn't do it. He couldn't imagine it, nor could he accept it.
He gave up on seeking help from He Jingnan, not forgetting to make a solemn declaration about his own moral character.
"I can't do that kind of thing," he said, his sense of morality overriding other distractions.
He Jingnan, unable to see the show he hoped for, persisted: "Brother, have you turned into a living monument of virtue?"
But the 'monument of virtue' he faced was cold and indifferent, hanging up the call unmoved.
On his way back to the office, He Jingyan looked at his chat window with Mi. It was impossible to say he wasn't curious, but...
"Remember to go to the consulate when you have time. The sooner the better for this matter. If you get rejected, you can apply again," said the administrative staff, handing Ji Mi a piece of paper.
This was an employment certificate for those with an annual salary of over 500,000 yuan, stamped with a red official seal, used for applying for overseas visas.
Other colleagues were already used to flying all over the world. During group discussions, they hadn't noticed that Ji Mi had never been to Japan.
He Jingyan's attention was diverted from his phone: "How long does visa approval take these days?"
"About a week, if there are no issues with the materials," the admin staff replied.
However, the consulate only accepts applications on working days, and with the pressure on the executive office after the leadership change, it was difficult to take a half-day off.
He Jingyan considered this and said to Ji Mi: "What are you doing Friday afternoon?"
Hearing this, Ji Mi opened his schedule. He didn't have too many things, but there was an important meeting that he couldn't miss.
"I'll attend that meeting. You can leave work two hours early," He Jingyan said.
Ji Mi hadn't quite processed this, and looked up half-believingly: "Do I have some kind of attendance task?"
"Go get your visa sorted out. Isn't Fang Xiyun making a fuss about taking you to hot springs, and Noah wants to teach you how to ski?" He Jingyan said.
He instructed: "Don't let them find you unavailable on the day, or they'll be disappointed along with you."
·
Ji Mi had been abroad a few times before, but always for academic conferences with the school. This was his first purely recreational trip.
The passport application process was smoother than he had imagined. He left the consulate early and found a large shopping complex nearby.
He enthusiastically began buying travel supplies. The suitcase he used in college was old and too big to be convenient, so it was a good opportunity to buy a new one.
Then Ji Mi wandered into a supermarket. Passing by the bulk snack section, he also picked out some cookies and jellies that would be easy to share with friends.
Jing: [Are you having a meeting tonight?]
A message notification popped up from Cute Heart, and Ji Mi noticed that Jing had been talking more these past few days, inquiring whether he was working overtime or on business trips.
Ji Mi: [The boss is going, but I'm not.]
There was a quarterly report from the Technology Center in the evening, held directly in the campus auditorium, with at least a hundred people attending.
This department was very important in the business group, with a special status. The modules they were responsible for were closely related to research and development innovation, and all the major teams in Shanghai would come to hear about their project progress.
Usually, only core management and senior experts would attend. If Ji Mi had stayed in the development team, he wouldn't have qualified to be in the audience.
But after moving to the executive office, he had access to much higher-level resources.
Two days ago, Ji Mi had even seen the PPT for this report in advance, because they had to show it to He Jingyan first.
He asked Jing: [Are you having an impromptu meeting?]
Jing: [I wanted to skip it. Everyone knows what's going to be said, there's no point in going through this formality.]
Being forced to work overtime on a Friday night was somewhat pitiful, and Ji Mi couldn't help but smirk a little smugly.
He asked, puzzled: [Then why did you give in? Is the other side that important?]
Jing: [Yeah.]
After sending this, the host finished adjusting the earpiece and began to speak, so He Jingyan put away his phone.
The Technology Center had always been valued by the board of directors, with quarterly reports. Both the group and business group executives would send people to listen on-site.
He Jingyan was arranged in the front row, where it wasn't convenient to play with his phone, so he simply listened attentively to the report.
The experience of listening to a PPT was completely different from reading one, especially when the speaker was skilled at presenting. Forty minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and the audience was still fully engaged.
When the host reminded everyone of the intermission, most people were still immersed in thought, and the surrounding conversation wasn't very loud.
He Jingyan took a sip of mineral water and clearly heard two senior executives chatting next to him.
They launched into a long discussion about "what to do on the weekend," and along this topic, they spilled out details about how many children they had and which schools they attended.
He Jingyan silently listened to their domestic chatter, and then had a sudden inspiration.
He lowered his eyes and sent a message to Mi: [What are you doing this weekend?]
When Jing inquired about his plans, Ji Mi happened to be browsing in the store with tired legs.
He stopped to read the message, and without much thought, casually took a photo of the shelf in front of him.
Ji Mi leaned lazily against the shelf: [Haven't decided about the weekend yet, but I'm tired now. I'm buying things for the department team building!]
After saying this, he suddenly realized something was off.
In the past half hour or so, he had picked out storage bags, compression bags, warm gloves and hats, portable power banks...
And what he was currently choosing was...
Swimming trunks for hot springs!