Chapter 5

The staff cafeteria was filled with delicious aromas. When it was Evan Thorne’s turn to order, she completely forgot about her shyness and embarrassment. Her eyes lit up as she shouted to the waitress, “Auntie, please give me a serving of Spicy Chicken, a serving of Braised Lion’s Head, a serving of Salted Duck, and also a serving of Fish-Scented Eggplant!”

Several colleagues nearby turned to look at the noise. Evan Thorne paid them no attention, focusing instead on eating heartily. After finishing her meal in no time, she patted her round belly, let out a satisfied burp, without even wiping the sauce from the corners of her mouth.

“By the way, Evan, have you gotten your employees’ uniforms yet?” Wu Na walked over with a cup of milk tea in her hand, sat down across from her, and asked gently.

Upon hearing this, Evan Thorn’s face fell instantly. Gnashing his teeth, he said, “Not yet! Justin Bloom said I’m too short. There’s no clothing in my size in the warehouse. I have to go back next week to get it!”

Wu Na paused for a moment, holding the milk tea in her hand, then cautiously asked, “May I ask your height? You don’t seem that short at all.”

“One meter fifty-five!” Evan Thorn slumped his shoulders, complaining to the heavens. “I have no idea how I ended up with this height. It’s such an awkward height!”

“Haha, it’s okay. Don’t listen to Justin Bloom’s nonsense,” Wu Na said, trying to comfort her. Her tone suddenly became serious. “But you need to be aware that the company requires uniforms for work. If you don’t have one, please let the logistics department know in advance, so you won’t lose points for poor appearance during the probationary period, like Rovi Reeves did.”

Evan Thorn felt a pang of anxiety. He quickly nodded. “Okay, okay. Thank you, Nana. Good that you reminded me. Otherwise, I would’ve definitely made a mistake!”

She was truly grateful to Wu Na. Ever since joining NK, she’d encountered nothing but cold, unapproachable bosses or people with strange behavior. But Wu Na remained kind and generous throughout. She was like a little light in the darkness, helping her find a sense of belonging in this strange and eerie company.

After the lunch break, the busy work resumed. Evan Thorn sat in front of his computer, staring at the screen filled with dense English technical terms. He felt utterly overwhelmed and wished he could slap himself. How could I have been so stupid as to choose English as my major in the first place?

During the college entrance examination, she didn’t perform as well as she hoped. She wanted to retake the exam, but her younger brother was about to start his final year of high school. The financial burden on her family was too great, so she had no choice but to give up on retaking the exam and attend a third-rate university instead. Fortunately, her scores were well above the admission threshold, allowing her to choose the most popular major at the time: English.

At that time, China had just joined the WTO, and foreign companies flocked in. People majoring in English were in high demand, and everyone thought she’d made the right choice. But who could have predicted that, right after she started college, the U.S. experienced an economic crisis. Many foreign companies withdrew or went bankrupt. By the time she graduated, the European economic crisis hit. Majors in English became completely unpopular, and it became difficult to find even a decent job.

“Kids who are three or five years old now speak English better than me. I’ve been studying it for years, and it’s simply ridiculous.” Evan Thorn muttered under his breath, with his head buried in the keyboard.

She hadn’t completely ruled out changing careers, but after much thought, she couldn’t find any viable options. Math was her weakness—she couldn’t even consider jobs related to science. As for being a teacher, she feared inhaling chalk dust and worried that she’d become too exhausted by age forty. Working as a clerk meant a pitifully low salary—barely enough to cover the mortgage for the single apartment she wanted, let alone support herself.

After struggling with the decision for several nights, Evan Thorne finally gave up on changing careers. She decided to stick with the current industry for now, save up some money. If things didn’t work out, she could always open a small business and live a stable life. If it weren’t for the extremely attractive offers from NK, she wouldn’t have taken the risky step of quitting her previous job, which, although unpromising, at least allowed her to make ends meet.

With a sigh, Evan Thorne forced herself to concentrate and turned her attention back to the screen. But those technical terms were like hieroglyphs to her. After typing for less than ten minutes, she couldn’t take it anymore and rolled her eyes at the sky outside the window.

“Evan, what are you doing?” A gentle voice suddenly rang in his ears, startling Evan Thorne. His hand trembled, and he almost dropped the keyboard.

She covered her pounding heart, turned to look at Wu Na, and pulled on a face even uglier than a cry: “N-nothing. It’s just that there are too many technical terms. I can’t continue translating. I’m just lost in thought about life.”

Wu Na couldn’t help but laugh at her face, which was contorted into a frown. “I knew you’d have trouble with this. Look, I’ve brought you something nice.”

Evan Thorn’s eyes lit up. His previous listlessness vanished instantly as he leaned in. “What’s so good? Could it be a translation manual?”

Wu Na smiled and took out a thick book from behind her, placing it in her hands. “This is a dictionary of specialized terms related to contracts, construction, and engineering. It contains many terms related to bidding processes. You can look up terms as you need to translate them. If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me anytime.”

Evan Thorn, holding the thick dictionary in his arms, felt warm inside. Excitedly, he took Wu Na’s hand and said, “Nana, you’re so wonderful! You’re literally my savior!”

After spending the morning together, she realized that Wu Na truly cared for her. So, she stopped hiding her true feelings and acted coquettishly, like a child.

“Alright, enough joking around.” Wu Na smiled and pulled her hand back. She pretended to be serious and warned, “Hurry up and finish the translation. If you can’t complete it within the time limit set by Minister Zhang, you won’t be able to get a permanent position.”

Evan Thorn curled his lips in displeasure and muttered, “That Minister Zhang is really too picky. The bidding documents are so detailed, and yet he still presses for things to be rushed through.”

Hearing this, the smile on Wu Na’s face faded instantly. A hint of bitterness appeared at the corners of her lips as she murmured, “He isn’t this fussy and harsh with everyone.”

“Huh? What did you say?” Evan Thorn was too busy flipping through the dictionary to hear her clearly. He looked up, puzzled.

Wu Na quickly regained her composure and smiled gently again. “It’s nothing. I just said you should hurry up with the translation. Minister Zhang is actually a very kind person. He won’t make things difficult for you.”

After saying that, she turned back to her seat, sat down, and her gaze grew dim.

Zhang Yan, that man as cold as the wind, was polite to everyone else, yet carried an air of indifference that kept people at a distance. But when it came to Evan Thorn, the newcomer with no ulterior motives, a tenderness flashed in his eyes—a tenderness she had never seen before, like a memory.

Five years have passed. Since she first entered the company and saw Zhang Yan, she was immediately attracted to him. Knowing that he was reserved by nature, she remained by his side, acting as both a friend and a subordinate. She believed that if she persisted, he would eventually notice her and be moved by her feelings for him.

But now it seems that her persistence might have been nothing more than an act of self-pity.

Wu Na let out a soft sigh. Her fingers moved across the keyboard. All she could think about was this: Even if she could only watch him from afar like this, it was still enough. She had persevered for five years already. There was no way she could give up now.

On the other hand, Evan Thorn held the dictionary in her hands. The more she flipped through its pages, the more confident she became. Her fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboard, and finally, a long-absent smile appeared on her face. With this dictionary, she would surely be able to complete the task on time and get promoted to a permanent employee!