Before Cheng Tianwei could speak, Fu Nanzhi, who had been listening intently beside him, became flustered and hurriedly said:
"How can that be? He's in the advertising department. Please check again."
"Well..."
The hesitant voice on the phone seemed surprised to hear a young woman's voice.
Observing this reaction, Cheng Tianwei quickly understood and spoke up:
"Do as she says."
"Yes, Mr. Cheng."
After a while, the voice came through the phone again.
"I've completed the search, Mr. Cheng. There's still no one named Shen Yi, but there are four people with the surname Shen in the group. There is indeed someone named Shen in the advertising department, but his name is Shen Yi (written with the 'Yi' character from 'Yi Jing')."
Although they still hadn't found the exact person, they had received useful information. The person on the phone was quick-witted and efficient in reporting back.
Fu Nanzhi listened intently, her heart rising and falling with anxiety, her expression uncertain.
Seeing her silence, Cheng Tianwei made a decision for her with a wave of his hand.
"Send up all the personnel files of employees surnamed Shen, now."
He then hung up the phone.
Seemingly noticing Fu Nanzhi's distress, Cheng Tianwei teased:
"It hasn't even been half a month, and someone's already stolen our little Fu's heart. I didn't know Tiancheng Corporation had such talented young men."
Fu Nanzhi's mood was as unstable as waiting for college entrance exam results, and she could only manage a forced smile in response to Cheng Tianwei.
Cheng Tianwei was surprised by Fu Nanzhi's reaction, which was far from what he expected. She showed no shyness at his teasing.
He figured it must either be a casual relationship or something quite serious.
Fu Nanzhi was unaware of Cheng Tianwei's thoughts, though even if she knew, she wouldn't have cared much.
In her previous life, she had brought Shen Yi to meet Cheng Tianwei multiple times, and he had even been their wedding officiant. Combined with her current anxiety, there was no room for shyness.
Finally, there was a knock at the door, and the secretary came in to hand a form to Cheng Tianwei.
Amused by Fu Nanzhi's eager gaze at the document, Cheng Tianwei handed it to her without teasing further.
Fu Nanzhi quickly flipped to Shen Yi's personal file.
A photo was attached to the upper right corner of the form, taken during Shen Yi's college graduation.
Although Fu Nanzhi still couldn't recognize him, her intuition from years of companionship told her this was Shen Yi.
Her eyes scanned downward, reviewing his age, date of birth, and place of origin.
She had naturally visited Shen Yi's hometown before, where she had met his parents, whom she had called father-in-law and mother-in-law for decades.
Moreover, Shen Yi's birthday was indeed in October, and everything seemed to match up.
Holding the form to her chest, Fu Nanzhi tried to calm her pounding heart, her joy evident.
"This is him!"
"But why did his name change from Shen Yi to Shen Yi?"
The confusion arose in Fu Nanzhi's mind.
Watching her behavior, Cheng Tianwei felt a mix of protective concern and relief.
He knew that his old friend Fu Yuanyu had always worried about Fu Nanzhi's personality issues.
Seeing her now able to make friends openly, he felt relieved.
"Little Fu, are you sure it's him?" Cheng Tianwei asked with a smile.
Fu Nanzhi nodded vigorously:
"It's him, thank you, Uncle Cheng!"
"Should I call him over now?"
Cheng Tianwei teased her.
"Ah? No need, I'm just relieved to know he's here."
Though momentarily tempted by Cheng Tianwei's suggestion, Fu Nanzhi ultimately declined.
After all, Shen Yi didn't know her yet, and being suddenly summoned by a senior executive might frighten him.
Much had already changed from her previous life, and Fu Nanzhi didn't want any more unexpected developments.
Just then, the secretary who had been standing nearby quietly whispered to Cheng Tianwei:
"Mr. Cheng, this Shen Yi has already resigned. I'm afraid we can't call him in."
"Oh? When?"
"Just yesterday, the department just signed off on it."
"Well..."
Cheng Tianwei discreetly glanced at Fu Nanzhi, who was still clutching the form, and fell into contemplation.
...
Shen Yi walked along a tree-lined street, surrounded by silence.
The street was filled with cars, parked haphazardly, some having collided with each other.
Upon closer inspection, there were no people, no corpses, and not even any bloodstains.
The surroundings were eerily quiet, with no sound except his footsteps - no birdsong or insect chirping could be heard.
Shen Yi felt like he was in "I Am Legend," unable to find any living beings in the vast city.
Being in this post-apocalyptic world, with damaged vehicles all around, constantly reminded him of lurking dangers.
He dared not shout or venture into shadowy corners, staying only where sunlight reached.
Stepping over an obstructing vine, Shen Yi picked up a phone.
The phone lay next to a damaged car, its screen covered in cracks.
The phone was rectangular, a brand Shen Yi didn't recognize, and wouldn't turn on when he tried.
"Probably out of battery..."
Judging by the decay and dust inside buildings, no one had been active for at least half a year, so naturally, the phone couldn't have lasted this long.
This was quite a prosperous street, but after walking for nearly ten minutes, it remained eerily quiet.
The expected monsters - aliens, zombies, man-eating plants - hadn't appeared.
"Seems like the apocalypse doesn't necessarily mean zombies..."
Shen Yi muttered to himself, his right hand had been raised cautiously, ready to draw his gun if needed.
Of course, he didn't want to use the gun unless absolutely necessary.
Firstly, he wasn't confident in his marksmanship.
His skill level could be described as missing nine out of ten shots.
Secondly, he worried about making noise.
The world seemed completely silent now, but once noise was made, who knew what it might attract.
After making a large circuit with no special discoveries, Shen Yi had to give up temporarily.
Although this was a system-arranged Valentine's Day event, Shen Yi really wasn't in the mood for romance in this apocalyptic setting.
He still had to stay in this ghostly place for an entire year.
He felt survival should be the priority - how could anyone think about romance when staying alive was already a challenge?
Whether due to this alternate world or not, the morning sun was particularly harsh, so Shen Yi sat down in the shade of some plants to rest and gather his thoughts.
In his idle time, Shen Yi had watched many apocalyptic survival simulation videos.
The first principles of survival were definitely food, water, and secure shelter.
During his walk, he had paid attention to his surroundings.
The good news was that this was a large commercial area, likely containing a large supermarket and many shops.
There were also numerous convenience stores along the street.
The bad news was that at least six months had passed, and he didn't know how many supplies would remain.
This didn't even account for previous scavenging or natural decay.
Seeing a small convenience store across the street, Shen Yi stood up, brushing off his pants, ready to check it out.
Just then, Shen Yi stopped in his tracks.
"Ah!"
A faint scream came from far away.