"Get into my office."
He put the rejected proposal on the desk in front of me.
"I wrote it myself."
"Let me take a look." I turned the pages slowly, because I had learned enough by then to read them properly. "It's written perfectly. It has nothing to do with whether I'm there or not. The proposal itself is just that good. Seriously, it's really better than all the previous ones."
"Su Jin. I wasn't sure if it was because of your lucky charm status or because of you that I didn't take you out with me. I was afraid you'd think I only rely on luck. That I only survive because of a mascot."
"I've seen it all along, boss. You rely on yourself. You're clearly so capable."
He closed the folder.
"Let's go out to dinner after work today."
"Are we meeting a client? Should I wear my red jacket?"
"No. It's a date."
On my way out I nearly tripped over Shen Miao, who was dragging the money tree across the lobby.
"Sister Miao, what are you doing? This tree is growing just fine. Why move it?"
"I'm adjusting the feng shui. The company's love luck is blocked."
He said it's a date and used a period, not a question mark at all. This guy even says he likes like he's giving a business order. It's so overbearing, but for some reason I don't want to refuse this order at all.
"Did you order yet?"
"You go first."
I got up halfway through the meal because the blessed red string had come loose from my bag and slid under the next table, and I was crouched on the restaurant floor reaching for it when a man came through the doorway at a dead run and went straight over the top of me.
By the time I understood what had happened there were four police officers in the room, the man was face down on the tiles, and somebody was pointing a phone at me.
"Miss, you are so brave. You actually dared to act heroically and captured an A-minus-list wanted criminal. How are you feeling right now?"
What even is this? I was just trying to pick up the red string I paid twenty yuan for. That thief was just blind and ran into me. I didn't intend to be a hero at all.
"Stop filming her," Lin Chaoshang said, and stepped in front of the lens. "She's timid."
A trending magnet is a trending magnet. Even just eating a meal turns into an action movie.
"Boss, that 'stop filming her' part," Shen Miao said the next morning, holding her phone up. "I listened to it at eight times speed. It's full of pampering."
"Sister Miao, turn it off. I can't show my face in public anymore."
"Look up." Lin Chaoshang was standing behind me. "You did well. A bonus of fifty thousand. I'll double it, from the company."
My mother called at eleven.
"Su Jin, you've really grown up. You even dared to arrest a criminal. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"Mom, it was an accident."
"Who is that handsome guy in black? Are you dating someone and didn't even tell me? That guy looks like he has ulterior motives. Don't let him fool you."
"No, Mom, stop talking nonsense. That's my boss."
"Boss? Since when does a boss protect his employee like that in public? I don't care. I've already booked the high-speed train ticket for this afternoon. I'll be there tonight. I'm going to personally grill this man in black myself."
Oh, no. My mom is coming to tear Mr. Lin apart. First day on the trending topic list, and the next day the mother-in-law is coming to take me down. My good days are probably coming to an end.
"I need to take the afternoon off to pick up Mom."
"I'll handle the restaurant reservation," he said.
Oh, man. Oh, man. My mom's ready for battle. She's definitely going to flip this office upside down. Good luck, Mr. Lin. You're on your own.
He arrived at the restaurant eleven minutes early with a laptop bag.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Su. I'm Lin Chaoshang. Let me start with a presentation."
"Go ahead," my father said.
"This is our company structure, and this is our business map. This is the industry outlook—"
"That's enough, Mr. Lin." My mother put her chopsticks down. "Your presentation was very good, but I'm not here to talk business. How many people are actually in your company right now?"
"Thirty-two people."
"That's not many. So what exactly does my daughter do?"
"She provides creative support and manages our luck."
"Speak human. What does she do every day?"
"She helps review plans and give suggestions."
"Mom, actually I also water the plants. I water a pot every morning."
"Water plants? Money trees? Has he ever let you kill them?"
"No, they didn't die. They even sprouted new leaves. They're growing really well."
"Su Jin. Tell me the truth. Is your boss pursuing you?"
"No. No way. Mom, you're overthinking it. It's just normal work."
"Hmph. Do you think your mother is blind? While he was giving that presentation, his eyes darted to you eight times." She picked her chopsticks back up. "Still, he seems decent enough. He looks sharp. He speaks honestly. At least he didn't make you water the plants yourself. He didn't swindle your money, and he doesn't work you too hard. Just eat on time."
You had a tough time meeting the parents, didn't you? This setup was like an IPO roadshow. More like an investment audit.
"Boss, your presentation started with industry outlook on page one, company structure on page two, and page three was literally your personal resume. You even listed your ancestral home, that you have no bad habits, and that you have two properties fully paid off. Are you meeting a client, or laying all your cards out for your future in-laws? You even listed your real estate. That investment audit is a bit too thorough, don't you think?"
Mr. Lin, I could hear your scheming from outside the door. This prideful tightwad. When is he finally going to confess for real?
While the men were arguing about who would pay, my mother pulled me out into the corridor.
"Jin Jin, you've always been lucky since you were a child. Everything's always gone so smoothly. Your father and I have always been worried about you being cheated by people out there. Seeing you at the office today, and the way Mr. Lin looks at you — Mom suddenly feels like you've grown up. You're not just a lucky charm anymore."
"Mom, I'm learning new things every day. I don't want to just be a display piece."
"Yeah." My father came out behind her, buttoning his coat. "Lin Chaoshang seems a bit cold. But he's very attentive, and seems like a reliable guy. Still, he's only in the trial period for now."
That's great. I finally passed the test. Even my dad, the ultimate critic, called him reliable. All that work on the real estate and the slides wasn't for nothing. You scared me to death. I really thought I was going to be dragged back to my hometown.
I did not see what happened next. I heard about it later, in pieces, from a man who told the story like he was reading a delivery receipt.
My father took a bank book out of his inside pocket and pushed it across the table.
"Please take this."
"Uncle, I can't—"
"This isn't for you. It's Jin Jin's savings from all the red envelopes she's received since she was a kid. Consider it her dowry. The password is her birthday. I won't interfere in your lives. But I don't care how big your company is or how much money you have. You must never let her suffer. Not even a little bit. Do you understand?"
"Don't worry, Uncle. I will protect her. I will never let her be mistreated."
"Hey, boss. What did my dad pull you aside to whisper about? Was he grilling you about work handovers?"
He didn't answer.
What kind of work could you possibly be handing over to my dad? Is he transferring your lifetime custody to him? What kind of work handover is this, anyway? What on earth did my dad give him? Was I just physically sold off by my own father? Wait — did Boss Lin just skip the confession part and go straight to a forced marriage? That's totally against the rules.
"Leave work early this afternoon," he said. "We're going to buy a safe."
"A safe? Why? Does the company have more secret documents to store?"
"It's not for documents. It's for the bank books. For your dowry."
Dad. You actually gave him all my red envelope money?