Shen Duoyi set his alarm for seven o'clock, but was awakened at six-ten.

He regretted choosing the thin cotton gauze curtains that remained lightweight even with two layers; he should have chosen thicker ones that could absorb sound. He sat on the edge of the bed with his head drooping, one foot in a slipper and the other directly on the carpet.

The noise didn't stop throughout his entire washing up process, and even the rhythm of his tooth brushing seemed to be thrown off by the "buzzing" sound. After spitting out the last mouthful of foam, he quietly looked at himself in the mirror, then showed a standard smile.

"Hello, I am Shen Duoyi."

The sound was coming from the kitchen. Shen Duoyi walked over with his sleeves rolled up and saw the soy milk machine working on the counter, and Grandpa Shen reading the morning paper beside it.

He went over to read along with him, puzzled: "Grandpa, why do you look at housing price information every day?"

"You work too hard to pay the mortgage every month. I'm looking to see if there are any cheaper ones so we can sell this place." Grandpa Shen pushed the reading glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Move aside, you're blocking the light."

Shen Duoyi moved back to the counter just as the soy milk was done grinding. He filtered out the bean dregs and filled a bowl, saying, "There's a reason housing prices are high here. It has hot springs and Lake Bishui, suitable for the elderly to live. Besides, I can afford that bit of mortgage. Don't worry about these things."

Grandpa Shen took the bowl of hot soy milk and blew along the rim of the bowl, concerned: "But didn't you quit your job?"

Shen Duoyi took the opportunity while Grandpa Shen was drinking the soy milk to grab the newspaper. He read while saying, "But aren't I going for an interview today?"

The soy milk was no longer so hot. He held the thick porcelain bowl and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window to drink, just in time to admire the sky that had just cleared up outside the window. Thirty floors up was very far from the ground. One couldn't hear the chatter and greetings of people. Most of the time it was extremely quiet. Thinking of this, Shen Duoyi recalled the pain of being awakened, but as a mouthful of soy milk flowed into his stomach, more than half of the pain was soothed.

"Grandpa, how come you haven't gone downstairs to buy breakfast lately?"

"I find riding the elevator dizzying. It just so happens that the soy milk machine your work gave hasn't been used much. From now on, I'll grind my own soy milk to drink every morning."

Shen Duoyi inwardly cried bitterly, but there was no unwilling expression on his face. He looked back at Grandpa Shen, his silhouette backlit by the sunlight: "Grandpa, were you traumatized when you went fishing last week?"

One could fish in Lake Bishui in the apartment complex. Every morning in the spring, summer and fall, there were old men sitting by the lake fishing. Grandpa Shen had even bought a new reclining chair for this.

"If I tell you, you'll make fun of me again." Grandpa Shen sighed softly, his tone filled with undisguised envy. "A bunch of old men, besides chatting about their children, they chat about their grandchildren's generation. After chatting about their grandchildren's generation, they chat about their great-grandchildren's generation."

Shen Duoyi played dumb despite understanding, deliberately saying, "My parents have been gone for so many years. Don't keep thinking about them."

Grandpa Shen's eyelids had already sagged, but he still tried to glare: "Why would I think about them? I'm worried about you. You've also been working for several years since graduating. When are you going to start a family? When are you going to find a suitable partner?"

Shen Duoyi walked from the window into the living room, gradually leaving the sunlight behind on the floor. He teased, "I don't even have a job now."

Grandpa Shen said angrily, "Go change clothes right now and head out early for the interview!"

The thick blue porcelain bowl with a layer of soy milk foam was placed in the sink. Shen Duoyi fled to his room to change clothes as if escaping, avoiding Grandpa Shen's upcoming nagging.

To the left of the desk were three drawers, from bottom to top respectively containing the awards he had received in elementary, middle and high school. The cabinet on the right contained various certificates from his university days. With everything packed, he put the materials he needed to use in his bag and prepared to set off.

The moment the door closed, he received a message: "Senior, I wish you a successful interview. Shall we have lunch together after it's over?"

Shen Duoyi typed: "Okay, my treat."

The person who sent the message was Shen Duoyi's junior schoolmate, named Meng Liang. Meng Liang's uncle was a senior executive at an insurance company and had also been Shen Duoyi's boss for the past four years. Nowadays, any decent job in any industry required pulling strings. One also needed to maintain a certain network at work, but Shen Duoyi had severed ties and unhesitatingly submitted his resignation.

He reflected on all sorts of things from the past all the way until entering the business building before coming back to his senses. He registered his name at the front desk, saying, "My surname is Shen. I have a morning interview appointment with Mr. You."

The meeting room on the twentieth floor had its door open. A cup of coffee was placed in front of each seat, indicating that the meeting had just ended. Shen Duoyi sat down in an empty seat. After the secretary closed the door, he spoke up: "Hello Mr. You, I am Shen Duoyi. Do you need to rest for a bit first?"

"No need." You Zhe leaned back in his wide chair. "In our line of work, we often work overtime through the night. Drinking coffee is like drinking water. Can you handle it?"

Shen Duoyi placed his hands on the tabletop. From his smile, one could see that he was very relaxed: "I'm not afraid of hard work."

You Zhe finished the coffee at the bottom of the cup in one gulp as he spoke: "Insurance companies are state-owned enterprises. You worked there for four years after graduating. I heard that actuaries have much better treatment than other middle management. Can you satisfy my curiosity?"

Shen Duoyi slightly nodded his head. He didn't expect the first step to be talking about money, but it made sense. If they couldn't agree on money, then there was no point discussing anything else. He answered neither humbly nor arrogantly: "I took the North American system exams. After two years of work experience, I completed the final exam. So in the first year after graduation, it was around 300,000 yuan. The second year 400,000. Before resigning, my annual salary was around 1.2 million."

"I've already sent all my qualifications to your email. These are a few papers I published during my work, mainly on asset-liability management and probability theory." Shen Duoyi pushed the materials in front of the other party. "The financial industry abroad has already absorbed quite a few actuaries. The domestic situation is slightly behind, so I wanted to give it a try. Moreover, insurance is a type of financial investment. If the company's projects expand in the future, I can contribute more."

You Zhe gave the papers a cursory glance and said, "I need to take these back to the office to look at in detail."

Shen Duoyi immediately understood. He smiled and got up from his seat: "Then I won't disturb you further. I'll await your notice."

The towering business buildings stood on both sides of Central Street. The sunlight shone on the glass panels, reflecting the hurried office workers and coming and going vehicles on the street. Shen Duoyi drove to the end of the street and glanced at the tallest building through the car window.

As the traffic light turned from red to green, he withdrew his gaze, leaving the hustle and bustle behind as he gradually drove away from Central Street.

Although it was still early, he couldn't go back on his word about treating someone to a meal. Shen Duoyi was prepared to wait, but unexpectedly, Meng Liang arrived even earlier than him.

"Senior, I'm not hungry yet, so I ordered two Blue Curaçaos first." Meng Liang slightly rose from his seat but was pressed back down by Shen Duoyi as he passed by.

"Coming so early when you're not even hungry, playing hooky?" Shen Duoyi took a seat across the table, sipped his coffee, and proactively shared, "The interview didn't take long. Mr. You had an overnight meeting, so I reckon he's quite tired."

Meng Liang said, "You received an offer before resigning, so there shouldn't be any issues."

Shen Duoyi smiled, "They cast several hooks at once. Whether to bite or not, the initiative was mine. But now that I've resigned and then taken the bait, the initiative is theirs."

Meng Liang seemed a bit disappointed, "But regardless of taking the initiative or being passive, you've made up your mind to resign."

In the time it took to exchange a few words, the restaurant's business hours had begun. Shen Duoyi checked his watch and signaled the waiter, changing the subject, "I only had a bowl of soy milk in the morning, so I'm hungry."

There were few customers in the restaurant. The two ate amidst the gentle music. Meng Liang's phone lay on the table, occasionally leaking a bit of light from the edges. Shen Duoyi noticed but said nothing as the other party paid it no mind.

Eating in silence saved time. As the last dish was finished, Meng Liang hesitantly said, "I want to order something sweet. What would you like?"

"I'm good." The Blue Curaçao was cloying enough. Shen Duoyi held a glass of water. "I'm just afraid that after you finish the sweet dish, before you can say what's on your mind, you'll want to order something savory next."

Meng Liang smiled in embarrassment and finally picked up his phone. He said helplessly, "My uncle has been urging me with several messages. It's really not easy being a go-between."

Ever since entering the industry, Shen Duoyi had been led by Meng Liang's uncle. For four years, he had been both the man's subordinate assistant and his student junior. He felt that while being a senior actuary provided stability in the insurance industry, there was insufficient room for development. If it were the financial industry, he would be exposed to much more.

However, the above reasons only made him a bit restless. What truly made him determined to take this step was a blind date two months ago.

Shen Duoyi smiled apologetically, "Being Uncle Meng's subordinate or student is fine, but I can't be his son-in-law. It's not for me."

After paying the bill and packing a sweet dessert for the other party, Shen Duoyi drove home, turning up the stereo louder than usual in an attempt to disrupt his thoughts.

Actually, it was chaotic enough without doing so.

He couldn't be someone else's son-in-law, couldn't be someone else's husband.

He couldn't even be a boyfriend.

Shen Duoyi gripped the steering wheel tightly. As he turned a corner, his parents' faces flashed through his mind. They had passed away when he was young, so in his memories, the two of them were always youthful.

He occasionally indulged in a momentary fantasy. If his parents were still alive and knew about his unconventional nature, would they nag at him or sternly reprimand him?

After much thought, his parents couldn't even be bothered to visit him in his dreams.

Shen Duoyi turned the stereo back down. The sign for Wenhu Apartments was not far ahead. He wanted to go home and have a good sleep. Perhaps when he woke up, he would receive a notification from You Zhe.

The coffee could not diminish You Zhe's drowsiness, but the thin stack of papers on asset-liability management in his hands made him energetic. He read through them sentence by sentence, even flipping back to savor the brilliant passages a few more times.

The sudden ring of an incoming call finally made him put down the materials. Upon answering, he joked, "Contact me five minutes later and the position might have gone to someone else."

Outside the window, lights had already come on among the buildings. The night seemed even brighter than day. You Zhe sighed at the papers after finishing the call and simultaneously dialed a number.

"Boss Qi, are you busy?"

"Busy."

"Where are you busy?"

"Tokyo Bar."

"Not doing proper work, huh? Order me a drink. See you in ten minutes." You Zhe left in a hurry, leaving the papers he had originally intended to bring on his desk.

Tokyo Bar was located at the end of Central Street. The owner wasn't from Tokyo, and the entire bar had nothing to do with Tokyo. It was said that the name was chosen randomly, and the drinks were mixed randomly too. This nonchalant attitude made the big shots and small fry who occupied this street yearn for it, but the small fry couldn't afford it, so it simply became the big shots' sanctuary for stress relief.

The fresh flowers on each table were changed daily, never repeating within a week. One customer disliked the floral fragrance and didn't like tucking his long legs into the seats, so the bar stools in front of the counter became his booth.

You Zhe spotted the man from outside the door. As he reached the entrance, he spoke first, "Qi Shi'an, your car got a ticket."

The man called "Qi Shi'an" sat at the bar. His suit was crisp, making his features appear cold and stern, with little warmth. His expression didn't change at all. He took a sip from the martini in his hand, put down the glass, picked up the lighter on the bar to fiddle with, and said, "I didn't even drive."

The joke was exposed. You Zhe sat down on the bar stool next to him. He only saw the lighter but didn't smell a whiff of cigarette smoke. Surprised, he asked, "You really quit?"

"Yeah, I wasn't that addicted in the first place." Qi Shi'an tossed the lighter to the bartender. "It's yours. Next time, mix the drinks properly. Don't make them so sweet."

You Zhe said, "I was in an overnight meeting last night. I'll have a drink and go home to sleep. What about you? Going somewhere else later?"

Qi Shi'an glanced at his watch, "The nighttime trading market opens later. I'll head back to the company then."

"Alright, let's not hold each other up." You Zhe finished his drink. "I mentioned before about poaching someone from elsewhere, but they kept stringing me along, so I met with someone else and got a good impression."

Qi Shi'an wasn't listening attentively. He responded perfunctorily, "Then choose the other one."

You Zhe said regretfully, "The first one contacted me before I came. He has ten years of experience and has always worked in the financial industry. He's considered a top talent, so I still chose him. As for the second one, to be honest, I'm quite reluctant to let him go, so I wanted to ask if your company needs him."

Qi Shi'an replied impatiently, "I don't handle these things. Go ask Zhang Yiming."

"Who knows where he is." You Zhe tapped on the screen, "I'll send you his resume and detailed information. Take a look when you have time. I'm too tired and must go home to sleep."

He picked up his coat and prepared to leave: "Remember to take a look. The person's name is Shen Duoyi."

"What?"

Shen Duoyi.

Qi Shi'an's hand holding the glass suddenly tightened. An indescribable numbness spread from his knees to his throat. Was it the aftereffect of the martini kicking in?

Or was it because he remembered the three characters "Shen Duoyi" all too clearly?