I set you up on a blind date, and you've managed to overcome all the weirdness?

The sun was shining brightly in the early morning.

Lin Yan was woken up by the alarm clock.

The first thing I did was grab my phone and open the dating group.

In order to survive the date, he opened the private chat box of [Slit-Mouthed Woman - Saya].

Take the initiative and control the pace.

[Lin Yan]: Good morning, Miss Saya.

[Lin Yan]: Is there anything you particularly want to eat for tonight's date? I'd like to prepare it in advance.

The other party replied instantly.

This great-aunt clearly doesn't need to sleep.

【Slit-Mouthed Woman - Saya】: What was that shop called again? Something like Jinshan? They went there last week and said it was alright.

【Slit-Mouthed Woman - Saya】: I don't usually eat Japanese food, but I just happened to want to this week.

【Slit-Mouthed Woman - Saya】: I wasn't going to eat with you; I was planning to go anyway, and I just wanted to bring you along.

Lin Yan was still wondering which restaurant Jinshan was, and why he had never heard of it, when another long message came from across the room.

【Slit-Mouthed Woman - Saya】: 6 o'clock.

【Slit-Mouthed Woman - Saya】: If you're one minute late, I'll cut off one of your fingers.

Lin Yan looked at the new message and reassured herself that the other person was joking.

30 seconds passed.

【Slit-Mouthed Woman - Saya】: Starting from the toes.

"As expected of you, Slit-Mouthed Woman," Lin Yan thought, shrinking his toes.

Another long strip appeared.

【Slit-Mouthed Woman - Saya】: Don't move when you get to the door. Wait for me to arrive before you go in.

【Slit-Mouthed Woman - Saya】: It's strange that I'm standing alone in front of a Japanese restaurant wearing a mask.

【Slit-Mouthed Woman - Saya】: That's all.

After Saya sent that message, she finally stopped. Lin Yan scrolled up and read through the chat history again.

As he savored it, he suddenly laughed.

It wasn't that he found it funny, it's just that he was all too familiar with this kind of thing.

He had over 100 ex-girlfriends before graduation, with a record of maintaining 18 relationships at the same time.

He has seen too many women say "I want" in various ways.

But the one in front of him was the dumbest he had ever seen in his battlefield career.

She said "they" went last week, but she only went this week.

She said she originally wanted to go and bring you along, but she didn't even remember the full name of the store.

She told me to wait for her at the door, but her next sentence revealed that she actually wanted to arrive early.

This grotesqueness is actually quite endearing.

Lin Yan recalled his first date when he was seventeen, standing at the entrance of a movie theater waiting for a girl.

He arrived forty minutes early. When the girl came, she asked him how long he had been waiting, and he said he had just arrived.

If you wait too long to say it, you've already lost.

Saya is the same.

Although he speaks very harshly, he often resorts to physical castration.

But when it comes to getting her to take the initiative, she goes around in circles, and Lin Yan would misunderstand her intentions if she didn't have some skill.

Lin Yan replied with a swift movement of his hands.

[Lin Yan]: I understand. But there's one thing: it's not strange that you're wearing a mask and standing at the door, but it's strange that I'm not with you.

After sending the message, Lin Yan went to wash up.

When I returned, my phone screen was lit up.

[Slit-Mouthed Woman - Saya]: ...

[Slit-Mouthed Woman - Saya]: Don't reply to my messages, I'm going out.

Is this too much for them?

Lin Yan chuckled softly.

and many more.

He seemed to have suddenly thought of something.

Is this all it takes for a favorability rating of only 10 points?

After that...

The hairs on my back stood on end.

Forget it, let's get through this hurdle first.

Lin Yan opened the review app and searched for the restaurant name. After all, Saya had mentioned "that Jinshan restaurant or something," which he had never heard of before.

I found it; its full name is Jinxiu Jinshan.

The next second, he saw the numbers below the store name.

Average spending per person: 3999 yuan.

Lin Yan silently switched to WeChat and glanced at his wallet balance.

3250.25 yuan.

If I skip out on the bill... will she chase after me and cut my clothes?

Moreover, you probably won't find Kuchikuchi-onna Ramen at a Japanese restaurant in this price range.

……

Nine o'clock in the morning.

In the WeChat work group, Lin Yan used elegant C language to give his former boss a thorough dressing down.

Then he gracefully left the group.

I went out and scanned a shared bike.

Half an hour later.

He pushed open the glass door of the Jiangcheng City Cultural Center.

Clocking in, onboarding.

……

As soon as Lin Yan stepped into the basement, he almost thought he had come to the wrong place.

The decor is simple, the space is large, but there are only a few people.

It's just like those shared offices that have just been renovated but haven't been occupied yet.

If he hadn't just gone downstairs to swipe his ID card, he would never have believed that the Folklore Research Bureau was hidden beneath the city's cultural center.

"What are you standing there for? Come in."

Zhao Jianguo sat at the workstation near the door and gestured with his chin towards him.

Lin Yan had just walked in and was about to greet his direct superior when he heard heavy footsteps behind him.

Lin Yan turned around and saw a burly man covered in bandages stuffing iced cola into the freezer.

He stuffed bottle after bottle in, his movements rough, as if he had a grudge against the refrigerator.

"Team Leader Zhao," the man with the bandage said as he stuffed it into his clothes.

"I'm telling you right now, our team just dealt with that vengeful spirit from the sewers in the north of the city last night. Old Li broke his leg and is still in the infirmary."

"Don't contact us for fieldwork this week, I won't go even if you do."

Zhao Jianguo didn't even look up, and cursed:

"Go take your paid leave. Remember to get your medical expenses reimbursed by the finance department. Don't pay out of pocket again."

"Do you need to tell me?"

The burly man, carrying two bottles of iced cola, limped toward the door.

Lin Yan was still wondering about the way this guy spoke to the boss when a woman wearing a black face mask at the next workstation looked at him.

"Oh, a new face."

The older woman held a thermos in her hands and looked him up and down.

"Young man, are you new here? I'm from group five, just call me Sister Liu."

Lin Yan nodded quickly: "Hello, sister, my name is Lin Yan, and I'm starting work today."

"Oh ho ho ho, why call me 'sister'? I'm much older than you, call me Sister Liu."

"Sister Liu."

Lin Yan scratched his head, looking honest and simple.

The two chatted for a while, and Lin Yan almost revealed his household registration information, when Sister Liu suddenly asked:

"Xiao Lin, you're new here. Has Lao Zhao told you about the situation here?"

Lin Yan glanced at Zhao Jianguo, who was still engrossed in writing, then moved closer to Sister Liu and said:

"No, Sister Liu, tell me about it."

Sister Liu, with an "I knew it" expression, blew on the steam rising from the thermos and said:

"The base salary starts at 30,000, plus attendance allowance, overtime pay, triple pay for holidays, year-end bonus, and all sorts of benefits that will leave you overwhelmed."

After she finished counting, she sighed.

"It's a waste of life."

Sister Liu gestured towards the corner with her lips.

Lin Yan looked in that direction.

There were several workstations, but only one person was sitting there. Judging from the back view, it should be Su Qinghan.

"Our bureau is organized into seven action teams, with two to four people per team."

Sister Liu put a few chrysanthemum buds into the thermos and continued:

"Groups One and Two have gone to headquarters for further training, Group Four has gone on a long business trip to the neighboring city, and Group Six has just gone out on fieldwork."

"That's where Group Seven is located."

"A huge mess happened last month; almost the entire seventh team was wiped out."

"Now, only Qinghan is left in Group Seven."

Lin Yan didn't say anything, and Sister Liu picked up her cup and took a sip.