The next day, Xinyan got herself ready, and Granny Zhang had also prepared breakfast: "Yanyan, it’s time to eat."
Xinyan responded and went to the kitchen, twirling in front of Granny Zhang: "Granny Zhang, how do you think I look in this outfit?"
Granny Zhang praised while serving the food: "Our Yanyan is naturally beautiful, looks good in anything."
Xinyan took the bowl of congee from Granny Zhang: "Gosh, I shouldn’t have asked. Even if I wore a burlap sack, you would say it looks good."
Granny Zhang placed the boiled eggs on the table: "I’m not just praising you; you’re naturally a clothes hanger, anything looks good on you."
Xinyan was a bit embarrassed by the compliments, and the old and young shared a smile as they sat down at the table.
Xinyan ate an egg, a bowl of congee, and a scallion pancake, then got up, brushed her teeth again, straightened her makeup, and said goodbye to Granny Zhang.
This place isn’t far from the Investment Bureau, but there’s no direct bus, needing a transfer to get there.
She was lucky; as she reached the bus stop, the bus just arrived. She squeezed in with the crowd, though there were no seats as it wasn’t the start of the line.
She squeezed to the back, thinking she’d have to transfer midway anyway, better to get it over with and avoid squeezing back later when it’s crowded.
Just as she got settled at the back, a young man stood up from his seat and nudged her: "You can sit here."
Xinyan felt a bit embarrassed, about to refuse, but before she could speak, a woman squeezed past her and sat down directly.
The speed of movement was astonishing.
The young man was a bit displeased: "Miss, I offered the seat to this young lady."
The woman rolled her eyes: "This is a public bus, everyone pays the same fare, so naturally, anyone can sit. Since you got up, whoever sits first gets it."
Everyone heard her unreasonable yet hard-to-refute logic.
Xinyan gave a thumbs up to the woman: "Miss, you’re something else."
The woman, seeing Xinyan’s gesture, laughed: "Sis, you think I have a point, right?"
Xinyan laughed: "Though a bit unethical, it seems quite logical."
The woman saw Xinyan wasn’t angry about the seat snatching and even smiled at her, so she gave a thumbs up back: "Sis, you’re the same."
The two shared a smile, and seeing the expressions, even the young man who had offered the seat stopped being upset, thinking the woman was right, as the young lady didn’t mind, so it didn’t matter who sat.
After a couple more stops, Xinyan was preparing to get off, surprised to see that the woman was also getting off at the same station.
On the platform, the two just nodded with a smile and didn’t speak further.
However, there were too many people boarding at this stop, and Xinyan saw the bus ahead was too crowded, so she got on the next one that came by.
After getting off at her destination, Xinyan thought: I won’t take the bus tomorrow, I’ll ride my bike here, don’t want to endure this again.
She straightened her clothes and headed towards the Investment Bureau.
Handing in a certificate from her school, she was allowed entry.
At the office building, she was about to ask someone where she needed to go.
As she looked up, she saw the woman from the bus.
The woman was clearly surprised to see her again: "What are you doing here?"
Xinyan walked forward with a smile: "Miss, do you work here?"
The woman smiled and nodded: "Yes, and you are?"
Xinyan handed over her recommendation letter: "I’ve come to see Director Hu from the investment section."
The woman returned the letter to Xinyan: "You’re Xinyan, right? I’m Shan Ximei. What a coincidence we meet again; come, I’ll take you over."
Sister Shan took Xinyan to the door of the investment section, and called into the open room: "Director Hu, someone is here to see you."
She then led Xinyan inside.
Inside, a middle-aged man stood up with a smile: "Oh, Accountant Shan, what’s this?"
Shan Ximei smiled and pointed at Xinyan: "This is a student from Beijing University, here to see you, Director Hu."