575. Interview【4/20】
==============================
Finals week.
This week was all about reviewing for exams or crafting final projects, but Lin Nan had already aced her assignments in the previous two weeks, so she kicked off her summer job hunt instead.
After sending out a ton of resumes through a mobile app, she finally snagged her first interview.
“Do I need to wear a suit for the interview?” This was Lin Nan’s first serious job, and she was feeling a bit jittery.
Her previous part-time gigs were all about handing out flyers or serving tables—no resumes, no interviews. Just waltz into a place if they had a “Help Wanted” sign and ask the boss for a job—easy peasy, no qualifications necessary.
But “real” jobs had layers upon layers of red tape, with interviews being just the tip of the iceberg, possibly followed by exams.
“It’s not a big company, why wear a suit?” Chen Yao leaned against the doorframe, watching Lin Nan fuss over her casual outfit, “If you want to look more formal, just throw on a shirt or something.”
“I think I bought a white shirt somewhere,” Lin Nan said, bending down to rummage through her suitcase.
The rental apartment still didn’t have a wardrobe, so their clothes were all stuffed in suitcases.
Chen Yao had considered getting a makeshift wardrobe, probably costing only a few bucks online, but there was no space in the bedroom, and the idea of putting it in the living room felt like too much hassle.
To be honest, Lin Nan wasn’t too fond of white shirts. They turned semi-transparent the moment they got rained on or sweaty, and let’s just say, the view underneath could be a little too revealing.
Luckily, she didn’t mind the heat, so she slipped on a light-colored short-sleeve shirt underneath the white one.
Chen Yao stood there, unabashedly watching her change, showing no signs of leaving.
“Eyes out, buddy!” Lin Nan shot him a glance, a bit flustered and with reddening cheeks.
“We’re practically an old married couple; what haven’t I seen?”
Since they’d become more intimate, they stopped avoiding each other during showers and wardrobe changes.
The shirt actually looked pretty good—her not-so-busty chest appeared slightly more impressive, and tucking it into her pants made her waist look especially slender. A pair of black casual pants and a high ponytail completed the look, giving off a refreshing and competent vibe.
“Looks good,” Chen Yao commented, “Got yourself a CEO vibe.”
Lin Nan wasn’t paying too much attention to his flattery, instead she stepped in front of the mirror, twisted her waist, posed sideways for a few minutes, and then nodded in satisfaction.
“Let’s go!”
For her very first interview, Lin Nan dragged along Chen Yao without hesitation.
The interview was located about half an hour’s bus ride away in a neighborhood she had never been to before. With it being her first interview, she couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious.
Rumor had it that some companies harassed pretty female employees…
They say working overtime 9 to 9 was the norm.
They say there were dozens of applicants fighting for a single spot.
Her mind was a chaotic mess, convinced her capabilities and qualifications weren’t enough, and she feared she wouldn’t pass the interview.
She could actually use magic to cover her shortcomings, but after a while, it just gave her headaches.
The whole ride made her feel restless and frantic, and when they finally got off the bus, her nerves skyrocketed.
“I’ll wait for you outside. If you don’t pass the interview, it’s no big deal. My aunt runs a tutoring school, so you’ve got a backup plan!” Chen Yao reassured her while checking the map, walking towards the neighborhood.
This neighborhood seemed to have been recently constructed; the first-floor shops were still mostly empty. After wandering around for a few minutes, Lin Nan spotted a sign that read “Little Sun Education.”
This should be the place.
The tutoring center didn’t look very big. Peering through the glass door, she spotted a bunch of little rascals running around in the lobby.
Feeling slightly intimidated, she still pushed the glass door open under Chen Yao’s encouraging gaze.
Instantly, every pair of eyes in the room landed on her. She took half a step back, quickly plastering on a polite fake smile and approached the front desk girl.
“Hi, I’m here for the interview with Teacher Wang.”
The front desk girl smiled back, “Teacher Wang is still in class. You can sit over there for a bit.”
Lin Nan nodded, visibly relieved, and turned to find a seat in the lobby.
She sat there anxiously, scanning the tutoring center while trying to catch snippets of lessons from other rooms.
Before coming here, Lin Nan had done some quick research on this tutoring center—specializing in English, they offered everything from kindergarten English to IELTS and TOEFL prep, though it was just a small storefront.
However, after waiting for over ten minutes, the scheduled time came and went without a peep from anyone, and her anxiety grew. She turned to check outside, only to see Chen Yao sitting under a tree, engrossed in some mobile game.
She returned her gaze to the wall clock, watching the second hand move as if it were taking a leisurely stroll, and wondered if time could be more excruciatingly slow.
Unable to sit still, she whipped out her phone and tried calling Teacher Wang.
No answer—she was still in class, it seemed.
Mmp! They must be ghosting me!
Fuming, Lin Nan stormed out the door and marched up to Chen Yao, grousing, “They said I was guaranteed an interview and left me hanging! I waited over twenty minutes, and no one showed up!”
“Making me look like a fool just sitting there! What a lousy company!”
Chen Yao wasn’t keen on Lin Nan working there over the summer anyway, and since his parents wanted her to go back home, he didn’t hesitate to nudge, “How about we just go have some fun? Twenty minutes is more than enough time.”
But Lin Nan hesitated, “What if they really did have something come up?”
“Then they’ve just lost a good teacher,” Chen Yao said, shoving his hands in his pockets and yawning. “I can’t wait any longer, let’s just go wander around?”
That did sound reasonable.
Lin Nan glanced around and immediately spotted something that piqued her interest.
“A bird store!” she exclaimed, pointing at a shop not far away, “What if we got a bird?!”
She had previously owned a cat, but let’s be real—she had only kept it for a few months, while the remaining months were more like taking care of Lilith than an actual cat.
After her cat experience, she considered getting a dog, but Chen Yao vehemently opposed it; he just couldn’t stand dogs.
So, birds it is!
She dragged Chen Yao to the bird shop. As they stood outside, the cacophony of chirping echoed from within, and Lin Nan began to hesitate.
“Isn’t it a bit loud?” she frowned at Chen Yao.
Chen Yao shrugged, “I don’t mind.”
“I’m mainly worried about the neighbors’ opinion.”
Those neighbors had their perfect set-up ruined by Lin Nan, who might find a reason to hold a grudge against her, especially if a bird squawking disrupted their study for the entrance exams.
Even she thought of herself as the villain in this situation.
But, some of the birds were undeniably cute.
The bird shop had its doors wide open, filled with cages on either side, all housing various types of birds chattering away, creating a ruckus.
“Forget it, let’s head back,” Lin Nan sighed softly, getting ready to leave, when suddenly she spotted a cage filled with bright yellow and white birds, sporting adorable round red cheeks.
Wow, kind of cute!
