When Shen Yi said "not natural," he wasn't suggesting that Lin Ruoyu wasn't beautiful - she just wasn't from their department.
Lin Ruoyu was the beauty of the Advertising Department, a fact known to everyone on the 7th floor, even the mice. Shen Yi definitely wasn't asking about her.
"Well, I don't know about others. My heart belongs only to Ruoyu - there's no room for anyone else," Su Xun declared dramatically, clutching his chest in such an exaggerated manner that anyone would be tempted to smack him.
Seeing that he wouldn't get any useful information here, Shen Yi changed tactics. He picked up his water cup and headed toward the break room.
After filling his cup, Shen Yi politely nodded and exchanged greetings with others, blowing on his hot water as he walked, before casually leaning against Wang Ru's workstation.
"Sister Wang, are you busy?"
"Oh, little Shen! Not at all. You certainly made quite an impression today," Wang Ru replied with a smile, capping her pen as she looked up from her paperwork.
"Oh please, don't tease me," Shen Yi said helplessly, screwing on his cup lid. After glancing around, he lowered his voice and said, "I wanted to ask you something."
"Go ahead," Wang Ru responded readily.
Shen Yi asked her, "Are there any beautiful women in our company? Like, exceptionally beautiful?"
"My goodness, this is unexpected! You're finally showing interest in women!" Wang Ru's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Shen Yi. He was known for being quite reserved, yet here he was asking about women.
However, she had to admit he looked more approachable today. Seeing his embarrassed expression, she decided not to tease him further and replied:
"Oh, there are plenty. Besides Lin Ruoyu, there's Cheng Jun, a new manager in the Administrative Department - she's gorgeous and overseas-educated, plus she's a senior executive's daughter."
Shen Yi smiled and said, "That's way out of my league. Anyone else?"
"Well, there's Fang Qian, the iron lady from the Marketing Department. She's beautiful and fierce, walks with such confidence. Though I heard she has a boyfriend," Wang Ru said casually while admiring her nails.
"A gentleman doesn't pursue someone who's taken. Anyone else?" Shen Yi pressed on, not having heard what he was hoping for.
Wang Ru's eyes narrowed as she responded:
"I'm starting to think you're not just asking randomly - you're looking for someone specific, aren't you?"
Shen Yi quickly smiled and said, "Nothing gets past you, Sister Wang."
Wang Ru was known for her kindness and helpfulness, always maintaining good relationships with others. She wasn't really angry with Shen Yi.
"Just tell me the name, and I'll see if I know her."
Shen Yi leaned in and whispered, "Fu Nanzhi." He even traced the character "Fu" on the desk to make sure she understood.
Wang Ru frowned and thought for a while, but couldn't recall anyone by that name. Finally, she said hesitantly, "Fu? That's an unusual surname. Never heard of her - probably not from our company."
Shen Yi looked disappointed at this news. If Wang Ru didn't know her, she probably wasn't from the company.
"That's alright, thanks Sister Wang. I'll treat you to milk tea later."
Wang Ru waved her hands in protest, "Oh no, please don't. My swimming ring is already showing!"
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Shen Yi turned to leave, but just as he reached the break room, he felt someone tugging at his sleeve. It was Zhuo Huijun.
She pulled him into the break room and closed the door.
"What's wrong, little Zhuo?"
Shen Yi found it somewhat amusing - the young girl hadn't dared to approach him in front of others, instead following him from her workstation just to grab his sleeve.
Zhuo Huijun was naturally petite, and with her head lowered, Shen Yi couldn't see her expression. He only heard her say, "I know something about Fu Nanzhi."
Shen Yi's eyes lit up at this, and he asked eagerly, "You do? Did you overhear just now?"
The young girl nodded. Her workstation was right by the corridor, so she had caught parts of their earlier conversation.
"Last week when I was delivering materials to the Legal Department, I saw Fu Nanzhi's name in the printing room. I thought it was a pretty name, so I remembered it."
"That's... that's all I know."
This timely information excited Shen Yi, and he quickly thanked Zhuo Huijun.
"Legal Department... Legal Department. Thank you so much, little Zhuo. Let me treat you to dinner tonight."
The young girl immediately became flustered and declined, waving her hands. "I'm just glad I could help. I have to work overtime tonight, so I'll pass on dinner."
She then left with her head down, leaving Shen Yi standing alone.
Shen Yi sighed, feeling sorry for her but not knowing how to help. She was a girl whose insecurity ran deep, and he didn't want to push her, only protect her gently.
Even when helping others, she became nervous, as if others' gratitude was too heavy a burden for her to bear.
She was always the first to respond in group chats, never complained about difficult tasks, and added emojis to every message, worried that others might misinterpret her tone.
Back at his desk, Shen Yi realized how hungry he was, remembering he'd only had two buns and a cup of soy milk all day.
He borrowed some snacks from Su Xun - a bag of chips and two sausages - and washed them down with a big gulp of water, feeling slightly better.
At least he'd gotten some information - now he knew Fu Nanzhi was in the Legal Department.
'Looks like I'll have to keep coming to the office regularly,' Shen Yi thought to himself.
The dating simulation game used real-world settings, and since Fu Nanzhi was a company employee, he'd need his company identity to approach her. To successfully pursue her, he couldn't quit his job just yet.
Shen Yi thought about how he used to come to work every day without any special powers, and now with special powers, he still had to come to work every day - what was the point of having powers then?
"Ah! Who still goes to work when they have special powers?"
Su Xun seemed to hear Shen Yi's quiet sigh and, assuming he was reading some novel, replied without looking up:
"What do you mean? Even Japanese high school students still have to go back to class after saving the world."
Shen Yi was caught off guard and gave him a thumbs up, "That's profound!"
After some playful banter, everyone settled down to work, with movement around the office gradually decreasing.
The Advertising Department where Shen Yi worked handled various tasks, including strategy planning, creative design, media placement, market research, and much more.
Since Shen Yi had cleared all his pending work yesterday, he could slack off a bit, but not too obviously.
Because work was never-ending - once you showed you had free time, more tasks would keep piling up.
Thinking back to when he first joined the company, Shen Yi would complete any assigned work quickly and diligently, but in this company, being efficient only meant getting more work.
Opening his laptop, Shen Yi pulled up a document for show, but his real focus was on the simulator. Time to start!
He couldn't waste the afternoon, having just gotten a lead, Shen Yi definitely needed to investigate.
[Simulation Start!]
[You are an ordinary office worker, currently enjoying some downtime at your desk. You suddenly remember you've just received some information that might help you find Fu Nanzhi. Given this, you decide to...]
A. Keep slacking off - the more you slack, the better it feels
B. Take initiative and go to the Legal Department to look for Fu Nanzhi
C. Get food first - you're hungry
D. Work mode activated - actively seek tasks from the team leader
E. Free action