Pure emotion error - Chapter 8 

Chapter 8  Sisyphus and the Jellyfish Keeper

Yan Lu’s office was very different from what Lin Yiqiao had imagined.

The southwest side was a floor-to-ceiling window with clear glass, and the desk was placed in the northwest. Directly opposite the desk was a whole wall of pure white glass, covered with neural circuit diagrams drawn in various colors of markers, with dense mathematical formulas squeezed into the gaps, as if someone had recently engaged in a fierce brainstorming session there.

Two dark brown leather armchairs stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, with a low table in the same color scheme between them.

Lin Yiqiao noticed two lunch boxes on the low table, with the logo of the restaurant where Yan Lu had taken him to eat printed on them.

Yan Lu remained seated at the desk, gesturing to the armchairs and saying to Lin Yiqiao, “Sit.”

Lin Yiqiao sat down, and he added, “Eat.”

The aroma of food wafted from the lunch boxes, and Lin Yiqiao realized that she was indeed very hungry.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” Lin Yiqiao asked.

Yan Lu stared intently at the computer screen, his finger moving the mouse. “I’ll wait a moment.”

Just then, there was a knock on the office door. Dani, carrying a folder, poked her head in. She paused for a moment when she saw Lin Yiqiao, then said to Yan Lu, “Mr. Yan, the meeting’s started.”

“Coming.”

Yan Lu responded. After Dani closed the door, he stood up, walked to Lin Yiqiao’s side, reached out and ruffled Lin Yiqiao’s hair, saying condescendingly, “Eat early and go home. Don’t work too late.”

Before Lin Yiqiao could react, Yan Lu was already gone.

Lin Yiqiao opened both lunchboxes and glanced at them. The dishes were the same, all his favorites. Lin Yiqiao closed one of the boxes and ate the other.

He deliberately ate slowly, hoping Yan Lu would return before he finished, so they could eat together.

But even after he stuffed the last piece of broccoli into his mouth, Yan Lu didn’t return.

The next day, Lin Yiqiao didn’t miss lunch. Song Xin came over at noon, knocked on his desk, and called him to lunch. He said it would be crowded, so they should avoid peak hours and go after 12:45. Song Xin clicked his tongue and actually waited with him until 12:45.

That afternoon, Lin Yiqiao told Yan Lu something unusual.

Mechanical Engineering Group Lin Yiqiao: [Song Xin said I’m a good brother today, I’m a little happy.]

Yan Lu: [What did he say?]

Mechanical Engineering Group Lin Yiqiao: [He asked to borrow 5,000 yuan, I lent it to him, and then he said I’m a good brother.]

Yan Lu replied instantly, but quickly deleted it before Lin Yiqiao could see it clearly. Several minutes later, he resent it.

Yan Lu: [When people need help, especially when borrowing money, they often say nice things. Song Xin said that, maybe he really considers you a brother, or maybe it’s just because you lent him money. Given that you just lent him money, and he said that right after, isn’t there a strong logical connection between these two things?]

Mechanical Engineering Group Lin Yiqiao: [Right.] [Mechanical Engineering Group, Lin Yiqiao: [So it was about money. Angry.jpg]

Yan Lu: [Observe him first. If he pays back the money immediately after receiving his salary, it means he’s not a bad person.]

Mechanical Engineering Group, Lin Yiqiao: [I understand.]

Yan Lu: [However, we generally don’t borrow money from people we’ve just met. Don’t get too close to him.]

Mechanical Engineering Group, Lin Yiqiao: [I understand.]

This wasn’t the most unusual thing that happened to Lin Yiqiao that day, because after returning home that evening, her mother and sister had a very heated argument.

Here’s what happened:

Next Saturday at 4 PM, Lin Yimiao has a stand-up comedy variety show performance, her first formal performance ever.

However, today, Lin Yimiao’s supervisor suddenly notified her that she had to work overtime next Saturday because a higher-level department was coming to inspect. Lin Yimiao asked her supervisor for leave, but the supervisor not only refused but also criticized her for lacking a sense of the bigger picture.

After returning home, Lin Yimiao announced her intention to resign.

Xu Zihui, of course, disagreed and tried to persuade her earnestly, but Lin Yimiao was too emotional to listen to anything.

“Everything I do at work is something I hate!” Lin Yimiao cried, “I do the same things every day! Writing reports, writing reports, writing reports! Why should I waste my life on that!”

Xu Zihui asked, “Then what can you do?”

“I want to do stand-up comedy!” Lin Yimiao cried even harder, “For that meager salary, I’ve exhausted all my passion!”

Xu Zihui said, “You’re quitting your civil service job to do stand-up comedy? Will you become famous? What if you don’t make money? You worked so hard to get this job, and now you’re quitting? Can you go back if you regret it?”

“I’ll just deliver food!” Lin Yimiao completely broke down and shouted, “I’ll deliver food and do stand-up comedy, okay?!”

After shouting this, she ran back to her room and slammed the door shut. When they first started arguing, Lin Yiqiao put on noise-canceling headphones. However, not wanting to miss the details of their argument, she sat on the living room sofa with the headphones on and watched the whole thing.

After Lin Yimiao slammed her door and went back to her room, Xu Zihui also returned to her bedroom. Lin Yiqiao took off her headphones and heard Lin Yimiao’s intermittent sobs coming through the wall.

During their argument, Lin Yimiao’s comment, “I do the same things every day,” reminded Lin Yiqiao of Sisyphus. The process of repeatedly pushing the boulder uphill and watching it roll back down again and again was indeed very much like the life she described.

Lin Yiqiao returned to her room, spread out a piece of white paper on her desk, and wrote the words “Sisyphus” on it.

Then, on the next line, she wrote: Sisyphus = Lin Yimiao

Based on the focus of the mother and daughter’s argument, Lin Yimiao’s “boulder” was “making money.”

So he continued writing below: Making Money from the Boulder

It’s easy to conclude that solving Lin Yimiao’s money-making problem will help her move that constantly rolling boulder.

Lin Yimiao’s current job deprives her of freedom, so she needs a job that is both lucrative and offers freedom.

A dozen minutes later, Lin Yimiao stopped crying, sat on the edge of the bed, opened her laptop, and began writing her resignation letter.

The first line, centered, read “Resignation Letter,” in Song typeface, size 2.

A blank line, then left-aligned, read “Dear Leader,” in Fangsong GB2312, size 3.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Lin Yiqiao said from the doorway, “Lin Yimiao, open the door.”

Lin Yimiao, already annoyed, shouted at the door, “Leave me alone!”

Lin Yiqiao said, “There’s a job here that’s perfect for you.”

Lin Yimiao raised her voice, “I told you to leave—me—alone!!”

There was no response from the doorway. Lin Yimiao assumed Lin Yiqiao had left, but she quickly noticed a piece of white paper, about the size of an A4 sheet of paper, sticking out from the gap between the door and the floor.

There was something written on the paper. Lin Yimiao put down her laptop, went over, and picked up the paper.

It was a handwritten job posting:

Hiring 1 Jellyfish Keeper

Job Responsibilities:

1. Hatching brine shrimp daily.

2. Feeding the jellyfish every evening at 8 PM sharp.

3. Changing the water in the jellyfish tank every Monday and Thursday.

Salary: RMB 10,000 per month (pre-tax, excluding social insurance and housing fund)

Employment Period: Long-term

Upon reading this, Lin Yimiao’s eyes suddenly reddened again. She hadn’t expected that while everyone else was on the side of “reason,” the most “procedural” person in the family was actually the one standing by her side.

She sniffed and continued reading.

Applicant Requirements:

1. Strict adherence to instructions. I will provide you with a detailed instruction manual; you must follow it word for word, without any personal opinions.

2. Sufficient patience and meticulousness to ensure precise feeding.

3. Strong sense of time. Feeding and water changes are at fixed times and cannot be changed arbitrarily. You are free to arrange other times.

I have sent the instruction manual to your email. Please read it carefully and, after confirming that it is correct, submit a written application to me within three working days. I will then conduct an interview.

Signature: Lin Yiqiao

Lin Yimiao opened her phone’s email inbox and saw that Lin Yiqiao had sent her a huge 478MB PDF.

She stared at the screen for a long time, then couldn’t help sniffing, and finally laughed. This job posting could be a joke.

——————–

Guess what Yan Lu withdrew? The answer will be revealed in tomorrow’s essay~ The person who guesses correctly will receive a little jellyfish.