I'm Just Getting Your Luck - Chapter 16

“I want to kiss you!”

After Ying Yu was discharged from the hospital, the PR department still had two more days to stay in Yuyou Village.

The surveys they had distributed previously had achieved a 95% response rate — everyone was thrilled.

Before they left, Zhang Le organized a seminar. It was about Million Company’s navigation system and explained how their research project was closely tied to local development. All interested villagers were invited.

This was also a promotional opportunity for the company. Cameras would record the whole thing, and after editing, it would be posted on the company website to showcase their commitment to connecting with rural communities — perfectly aligned with national policy.

Normally, the villagers wouldn’t care — but this time, attendees would receive eggs and flour.

Now that got their attention.

Zhang Le wanted Ying Yu to open the event to hold the audience’s interest.

Ying Yu limped a few steps in front of him, pretending to be pitiful. “Le-ge, maybe I’ll skip this one? Look at me — this appearance would just embarrass the company onstage.”

“Who said you’re embarrassing? You’re our MVP! And with that face of yours, you should be in front of a camera — a gift to the people!” Zhang Le pulled up a Weibo tag to show her. “Look, the promo video the PR team edited already has over a million views! You’re our audience magnet — we can’t do without you!”

“Le-ge…”

“Nope, it’s settled! I already wrote the script for you — memorize it. Reading from a script makes us look unprofessional.”

Zhang Le shoved the script into her hands and walked off. Ying Yu had no choice but to cram late into the night.

Z: [Did you drink today?]

They hadn’t spoken since that night. Ying Yu’s face flushed as soon as she saw the message.

DebtRepayer: [No, I’m on medication — can’t drink.]

Zhou Chenyi put down his phone. On her end, it showed: Typing…

Ying Yu kept writing and deleting, hesitating.

Then Zhou Chenyi messaged again.

Z: [Zhou Fan says he misses you. Can you call him?]

DebtRepayer: [Sure.]

The voice call popped up the next second — from Zhou Chenyi’s WeChat.

Ying Yu nervously picked up. On the other end, a soft little voice said, “Jiejie…”

“Fanfan, why are you still up this late?”

“I was asleep!” Zhou Fan sat under his blanket. Seeing his uncle’s expression, he quickly changed his tune. “But I really missed you, so I called.”

“Oh.” Zhou Fan was still too young — Ying Yu had no idea what to say. She tugged her blanket, racking her brain for a topic.

Nothing came up.

“Jiejie, I don’t really miss you anymore. You can talk to Uncle. Goodnight.”

Ying Yu: “…”

Talk to Zhou Chenyi? About what? The… movie from last time?

Zhou Chenyi quietly tucked Zhou Fan in and stepped out, turning off the lights.

“Zhang Le said PR’s doing a live seminar tomorrow. You involved?”

Afraid of waking Zhou Fan, Zhou Chenyi kept his voice low. Somehow, Ying Yu’s ears tingled when he spoke.

“Yeah. Le-ge wants me to open. But I’ve never done anything like it — I’m afraid I’ll mess it up.” She was glad for the change of topic, focusing on tomorrow’s presentation. “Zhou Chenyi, you’ve probably given lots of speeches. Any tips?”

“Practice. Rehearse with someone.”

“Who do you rehearse with?”

“…My sister.”

“Wouldn’t it be bad to bother elders this late?”

“So?”

Ying Yu sat up, straightened her crumpled pajamas, and said with mock solemnity: “Congratulations, Mr. Zhou Chenyi — you’ve just been selected as the lucky audience member of tonight’s Ying Yu Live Studio!”

Zhou Chenyi chuckled. “Can I refuse?”

“Nope. You’re a VIP in this livestream. And remember, don’t leak my speech to the public.”

Ying Yu earnestly began practicing her speech for him.

Zhou Chenyi was a great audience and gave plenty of helpful feedback:

• • “Slow down. You’re not a machine gun.”

• • “Read with emotion — your elementary school teacher would be so proud.”

• • “Two sentences crammed into one breath. Impressive lung power.”

• • “‘Digital minority’ — trendy term, but your audience probably won’t get it.”

The next day, the seminar began.

Ying Yu couldn’t stop replaying Zhou Chenyi’s advice in her head.

Standing on stage, she looked poised and confident.

“Hello everyone, I’m Ying Yu from Million Company’s PR Department. I’m so happy to be here with you today…”

To most people, it was just a simple seminar. But for Ying Yu, every minute on stage felt like a completely new life experience.

When her part ended, the audience gave warm applause.

She stepped outside, pulled out her phone, and said excitedly, “How was I? Pretty good, right?”

Zhou Chenyi, wearing Bluetooth earbuds, smiled. “Very good. Even better than Zhou Fan’s first speech.”

“Don’t underestimate me! I’m great with uncles and aunties. When I worked at the Yao Control Bureau, they all loved chatting with me. Any time they lost something, they came to me. I always found it for them! The bureau even gave me a ‘Best Officer’ certificate! Dayan and Erhe always said I did amazing!”

Ying Yu was so caught up in her excitement that she didn’t realize she’d slipped up.

Zhou Chenyi, however, clearly heard “police,” “Yao Control Bureau” — words that stood out.

“You were a cop?”

Ying Yu took a sip of her drink before realizing: “…It was more like a neighborhood office job. Nothing major.”

“But your resume didn’t mention anything about being a police officer.” Zhou Chenyi mentally calculated her age.

She shouldn’t have had the time to be one.

He also reopened the trending video: #TheNewVetInYuyouVillage

That language she’d spoken — it sounded like Italian.

He’d suspected it wasn’t, but once the company signed a deal with that foreign partner, he let it go.

But now…

Zhou Chenyi furrowed his brow, tone serious: “Ying Yu. Do you really know Italian?”

“…Of course.”

“Say ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ — now.”

Uh-oh.

Did he know something?

Ying Yu began to panic. She suddenly remembered the night she’d been drunk and accidentally showed her tail in Zhou Chenyi’s car.

What if… he found out she’s a demon?!

“Ying Yu—”

“I want to kiss you!”

She blurted it out to shut him up.

It worked. Zhou Chenyi fell silent.

“…We’ll talk when I get back.” He hung up.

After the business trip, no one at the office was really back in work mode. Everyone was slacking off.

Ying Yu was still worrying about how to explain things to Zhou Chenyi.

She brainstormed a million ways, then started searching online for “how to make someone lose their memory.”

She got flooded with sketchy ads for drugs.

Then her phone pinged with a scam warning.

Human methods clearly weren’t going to work.

She messaged Dayan:

[Dayan, can you erase someone’s memory?]

DayanEastbound: [We’re regulated demons, remember? Memory-erasing got banned ages ago. No one uses it anymore.]

[How’s your luck-shifting mission in the human world going? You’ve been on leave two months now — I’m dying of boredom just staring at Erhe every day.]

DebtRepayer: [He went from my target to my creditor…]

DayanEastbound: [You must have your reasons.jpg]

[Don’t lose hope. Remember Xiao-jie from our department? Her first human target did have improved luck, but they didn’t end up together. Her second target was tall, handsome, and after they got together her luck totally changed. She won the lottery last week — 500,000 yuan!]

DebtRepayer: [Wow, so lucky!]

DayanEastbound: [Yeah! She’s living the life now. Her wedding’s next week. She sent us all invitations — make sure you come.]

Ying Yu chatted with Dayan about how much to give for the wedding gift, then headed to the break room for water.

Lately she’d discovered a great instant milk tea. She was basically living in the break room.

And Zhou Chenyi was there too.

Before she could run, Zhang Le cheerfully dragged her over to show her off.

“Boss Zhou, this is Ying Yu! The one I just told you about. We couldn’t have done so well in Yuyou Village without her!”

Zhang Le nudged her to say something.

Zhou Chenyi looked at her with an unreadable expression.

Ying Yu forced a smile. “Le-ge’s giving me too much credit. It was all thanks to your leadership. And of course, with your support behind the scenes, the seminar was a big success.”

Zhang Le was delighted. Zhou Chenyi gave a quiet “Mm” and said:

“Our company doesn’t just look at education. If someone has special skills, we retain them. We won’t screen people out based on resumes or schooling alone.”

…?

Recruitment was HR’s job. Why bring this up?

Well, whatever the boss says makes sense.

Zhang Le laughed along. “Right! That’s why our company’s doing so well. Boss, I even played erhu when I was little. Maybe I’ll bring it tomorrow and play for you?”

“Do it at night, under the moonlight. I might even tip you.”

Unless they marry, demons aren’t allowed to reveal their identity to humans.

As a former officer of the Yao Control Bureau, Ying Yu would be under even stricter scrutiny.

Ying Yu was panicking when Zhang Le ran off to the bathroom, leaving her alone with Zhou Chenyi.

Five minutes passed. He checked his watch.

“You don’t have something to tell me?”

“…I do.”

Ying Yu tried her usual trick: “Can I kiss you?”

Zhou Chenyi frowned. “I’m being serious.”

Ying Yu fidgeted. “Kissing you is serious business to me.”

“Ying Yu.”

He only used her full name when it was really serious.

But…

She looked up at him.

The break room was quiet, only the water machine humming in the background. Zhou Chenyi’s gaze was sharp: You’d better be honest — or else.

“…Zhou Chenyi, actually, I…”

She couldn’t say it.

Zhou Chenyi brushed past her, voice cold. “If you won’t say it, forget it.”

In the following days, things between them got weird.

Zhou Chenyi acted like she didn’t exist, walking past her like she was invisible.

One night, after putting Zhou Fan to bed, Zhou Buping saw Zhou Chenyi watching TV.

Weird — and a true crime show in the middle of the night?

“Can’t sleep?” She sat beside him and handed him a hot drink.

He looked at the steaming cup. “Trying to boil me alive?”

“Why can’t you talk nicely? Who pissed you off now? Talking like you’re launching arrows.”

“No one pissed me off.” But he kept seeing Ying Yu’s face in his mind and felt inexplicably agitated. “Worry about your own son’s mental health. I’m grown — don’t need parenting.”

“Zhou Fan’s my son, and you’re my brother. Even when you’re seventy, you’re still my brother.”

She was twelve years older than him — when he started school, she left for college overseas. They barely spent time together.

During the worst years at home, Zhou Chenyi was completely on his own.

Looking back, he wasn’t much older than Zhou Fan now. With their parents constantly fighting over assets, they even used little Zhou Chenyi as a bargaining chip.

She had no idea how he made it through.

The fact that he grew up to be a sharp-tongued but kind man was nothing short of a miracle.

Speaking of miracles, where’s our family grave again?

She was still being sentimental when she noticed him constantly refreshing his phone.

“You waiting for someone to message you?”

“…No.”

“Don’t lie. I did the same thing when I was dating your brother-in-law. If you miss her, just message her! How’s anyone supposed to know what you’re thinking?”

“I’m not messaging her first.” Zhou Chenyi angrily clicked the remote. “She’s hiding something from me. I gave her a chance — she didn’t take it.”

“Relationships are about compromise. You’re not her boss, you’re her boyfriend. Be a little more forgiving.”

“This is about principles. Strike three and you’re out.”

It had been a small thing, but Ying Yu’s silence made it big.

“Wait. Sis, we’re not dating.” He suddenly realized. “We’re strictly boss and employee. Don’t overthink it.”

Zhou Buping didn’t buy it. “Oh really? You wait up all night for your employee’s text?”

“Think what you want. We’re not a thing.”

Just then, Zhou Fan shuffled out in his star-print pajamas, rubbing his eyes.

He curled up in his mom’s lap and whispered, “Mommy, we’re such a sad little family.”

“Why?”

“Because we both got woken up in the middle of the night by Uncle calling Ying Yu-jiejie.”

Zhou Chenyi: “…Zhou Fan!!”