Chapter 28: Killing the Body, Destroying the Spirit

Before Lin Xi went abroad, the six of them would take a group photo together every year. But all those photos were kept in Lin Chen’s album; Lin Xi had never seen them. The one in her own album must have gotten mixed up by her aunt. After a moment’s hesitation, she tucked the group photo into her own bag.

“What did Lu Bei come here for?” She handed the album back to her aunt to be put away, then turned to her aunt and asked, “I don’t like him. Did you talk to his mother about it?”

“I did. I explained about the blind date last time too.”

At that, Lin Xi finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had barely exhaled before her aunt added, “But Xiao Lu seems to like you quite a bit. His mother came over today and chatted with me. She kept hinting that she’d like Xiao Lu to spend more time with you.”

Lin Xi collapsed onto the sofa, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You didn’t agree, did you?”

“Of course not! I told her this is something for you young people to decide, I can’t meddle.” Her aunt sat down beside her, her tone full of gossip. “Has Xiao Lu been contacting you lately?”

Not wanting her aunt to feel guilty, Lin Xi sighed and said, “No, I’ll talk to him about it another day.”

Her aunt wanted her to find a boyfriend soon, but she also knew Lin Xi would just use Qin Yu and Cheng Si as excuses.

“I heard your third brother’s engagement banquet with Song Ning was called off?”

“Seems so.”

“Your third brother has always been picky since he was a child. Who knows what kind of girl he actually likes. Song Ning seemed perfectly nice to me.” She had hoped to use Qin Yu’s engagement as an excuse to nudge Lin Xi, but now… Her aunt clicked her tongue. “In this whole city, who could possibly be a better match for him?”

“I wouldn’t know.” Lin Xi had no interest in the topic. She took the grapes offered by the maid, leaned into the corner of the sofa, and focused on eating, trying to make herself less noticeable.

Suddenly, her aunt clapped her hands, her voice animated. “How could I forget about you!”

“In all of Beijing, the one most suited for your third brother is you!”

Lin Xi choked on a grape, coughing violently for several moments before recovering.

Her aunt patted her back gently. “Child, are you alright?”

Lin Xi’s eyes were watering from coughing so hard. She barely cared for herself, anxious only to put an end to her aunt’s idea. “You mustn’t say things like that. There’s no way between us.”

“I know, I know.” Her aunt nodded quickly, then exclaimed, “I was just saying, you and he are the perfect match.”

She began counting on her fingers. “Look at your background, looks, education, temperament—who could compare to you?”

“Honestly, put that way, I can see why Xiao Qin doesn’t fancy Song Ning.”

Lin Xi guessed where this was going and sat upright, wanting to stop her.

“Don’t—”

But it was too late; her aunt only grew more enthusiastic.

“You two grew up together, childhood friends. He practically watched you grow up, and you’ve never been apart for more than a decade. With such an outstanding example right in front of him, how could he possibly be interested in someone like Song Ning?”

Lin Xi was at a loss for words.

“To be honest, if his mother hadn’t been so difficult, your uncle and I would have tried to set you up with Xiao Qin long ago.”

“Aunt, even rabbits don’t eat the grass by their own burrow.”

“That’s because the grass at other burrows isn’t nearly as good. But you’re different.”

“I actually discussed this with your uncle, and we both agreed that Xiao Qin is the most dependable.”

“You only ever considered him, didn’t you?” Lin Xi exposed her with a laugh.

“No, that’s not true,” her aunt shook her head candidly. “We also thought about your second brother. But compared to Xiao Qin, he comes up a bit short.”

At this, Lin Xi was displeased. “Isn’t my second brother more than enough compared to him?”

Lin Xi saw things through a different lens—she was biased toward Zhou family’s second son, while her aunt was thinking about compatibility.

“Your second brother is wonderful, but you know what his job is like. Your uncle and I worry he’ll never be able to come back from abroad, so we put him in second place.”

After saying this, her aunt gave her a meaningful look, smiling as she patted her hand, especially understanding. “Of course, if you really like your second brother, your uncle and I would support you too. I hear he’s about to transfer back.”

Lin Xi was speechless.

—

On Qixi Festival, Lin Xi worked as usual.

Engineer Chen was busy taking notes, sighing, “Why would the company give us a day off for a silly Qixi? Now us single folks can only comfort our fragile hearts with a bit of overtime pay.”

At this, the others all chimed in with complaints.

“Exactly! If nobody got time off, everyone would be working, and no one would know who’s single. Now it’s obvious at a glance.”

“Have you noticed, especially in our R&D department, it’s all single people!”

“That makes sense for us guys to be here, but why is Engineer Lin still here?”

Lin Xi was testing a chip in the far corner. Hearing them talk, she replied casually, “Overtime makes me happy.”

Someone asked curiously, “Engineer Lin, don’t you have a boyfriend?”

“No.”

“Wow, what kind of place is this—nothing grows here? Even Engineer Lin is single?”

Engineer Chen said, “It makes sense for her not to be dating. She was probably too busy studying back in school. Our Engineer Lin is an ambitious young woman, above all that romance nonsense.”

From across the room, Lin Xi let out a laugh.

“Does Engineer Lin have any standards for a partner?”

“What, planning to apply for the job? Look in the mirror first, will you?”

“Get lost,” Engineer Chen laughed.

Lin Xi said, “No standards, really. As long as he eats when hungry, drinks when thirsty, and knows to go home when it rains, that’s enough.”

Everyone was left speechless.

“Engineer Lin, we’re asking seriously. Tell us your standards so we can keep an eye out for you.”

“That’s right, you’re the only girl in our department. We have to make sure we find you someone good!”

“Exactly, we’re all men. We can spot our own kind at a glance!”

Lin Xi lowered her gaze, serene as ever. “Well, someone with a good personality, then.”

“Huh?” The standard was far too vague; everyone had a different definition, and the range was enormous.

At noon, when they returned from the cafeteria, they found a rose on every desk. Apparently, everyone in the company got one.

The engineers groaned even more. “This is just cruel! What are we supposed to do with these—make foot baths?”

“Give them to Engineer Lin. We’ve got no use for them.”

In the end, all the roses were given to Lin Xi.

She didn’t refuse and, during her lunch break, found a vase to arrange them in for the office.

A knock sounded at the door as she was trimming the stems. “Come in.”

“Engineer Lin…” The new assistant entered. “Front desk just brought this up for you.”

She hadn’t even looked up before the assistant placed it on her desk—a huge bouquet of fresh, dewy red roses suddenly appeared before her eyes.