After ending the conversation, both of them fell into silence. Brother Wang then suggested returning to the dorm since there was nothing else to see. Pei Yan, who initially had a slight interest in the little Daoist Child, now seed completely disinterested and readily agreed to Brother Wang’s suggestion.
The two walked down the stairs, exited the passage, and under the lead of Brother Wang, returned to the office hall to take the elevator back to the office building.
That night, Pei Yan had many strange dreams. He dreamt of himself and his sister as children, dreamt of the strange shadow and those peculiar people, and dreamt of the little girl in the hall.
What surprised Pei Yan was, unlike the fear and anxiety he usually felt during such nightmares, this ti he remained unexpectedly calm, like an observer quietly watching these scenes play out in his mind.
The next day, as usual, he was woken up by the alarm clock. With a head full of fuzziness, Pei Yan headed to the bathroom to wash up. After splashing cold water forcefully on his face a few tis, he finally woke up and decided to abandon any further thoughts of those strange dreams.
As he was carrying a basin on his way back to the dormitory, he happened to run into Hu Wenjun, who ca to the dormitory looking for him. Upon seeing him, Hu Wenjun thrust two things into Pei Yan’s hands and said, "This is Brother Wang’s phone; you hand it directly to him. The one below is your salary card. Now that you’ve officially started your assignnt, you can have your salary card. Even though the money is given to you, I advise you not to spend it recklessly. The password is your birth year and month; rember to change it to your desired password at the bank later on."
Pei Yan, holding the Industrial and Comrcial Bank of China card and balancing the washbasin, puzzlingly asked, "Who got a bank card? How co I didn’t know?"
"Brother Wang, who else? You fainted that day at the internet cafe, and he picked up your ID card. While you were unconscious, Brother Wang transford into you and got the card at the bank using your ID. Don’t worry, that disguise was recorded in the bureau with approval from leadership." Hu Wenjun said as if he had sothing urgent to attend to, turned around and was about to leave.
"Hey, Instructor Hu, how much money is in this card now?" Pei Yan raised the bank card and shouted to Hu Wenjun, who hadn’t gone far.
"Figure it out yourself; the internship stipend is three thousand a month." Hu Wenjun waved his hand without turning back and shouted.
Wow, three thousand a month! That ans there must be over ten thousand in this card! To wealthy people, it’s indeed not much, maybe even asly, but for Pei Yan, who received his salary for the first ti, he was overjoyed.
Returning to the dormitory, Pei Yan set his toiletries in place, slapped Brother Wang, who was lying on the bed browsing TikTok on his iPad, on the thigh, and happily said, "Brother Wang, here’s your phone, and tonight I’ll treat everyone to a al!"
"Oh, your salary card has arrived! Alright, then. By the way, should I ask Shangxing, who didn’t co last ti, to join? So you guys can get to know each other?" Brother Wang asked as he eagerly got up from the bed and took his phone.
Pei Yan cheerfully replied, "Of course, that’s fine. We’re all friends; I’d love to et him too! Oh, should I be able to step out of the bureau now? I need to go to the bank during the day to change the password and also want to send so money ho." Saying this, he tossed the bank card on the table while tidying up his bed.
"You can go out now, but I advise you against sending money ho just yet." Brother Wang took a piece of cake from the table and stuffed it into his mouth, speaking unclearly.
"Why? Oh, because of exposure risks?" Pei Yan asked and then realized, continuing, "Then can I send so local specialties via the military to be forwarded ho?"
Brother Wang swallowed the cake down and seriously advised, "That’s not possible either, not yet at least. Don’t forget how you currently appear to your parents. A regular soldier in the army only gets a few hundred bucks a month as allowance. Truth is, you should be happy they’re not sending you money instead. If you start sending money ho, it’s only natural your parents would get suspicious. Do you think your parents view you as the type to endure hardships and live frugally?"
Pei Yan sat on the bed, thought about Brother Wang’s words, and chuckled self-deprecatingly. Indeed, his family was fairly well-off, and being a boy, he’d been used to spending lavishly since childhood. Sending a chunk of money back would undoubtedly raise his parents’ suspicions.
"I understand your feelings. I wanted to buy sothing for my parents when I first got paid too. It’s natural to have filial piety! But now isn’t the right ti. Save the money, don’t spend it wastefully, and when the ti is right, you can make it up to them. The money isn’t going anywhere," Brother Wang said, putting away his phone and grabbing his toiletries before leaving the room.
That evening, at the barbecue restaurant, the sa group of five gathered once again. Ye Jiumu arrived the latest, repeatedly apologized to everyone, and explained Shangxing’s absence. He was sent on a special mission and couldn’t return to the bureau for quite so ti. Shangxing had asked Ye Jiumu to extend his apologies to Pei Yan, promising to host a gathering once he returns.
"This Shangxing seems so mysterious, I’m really looking forward to eting him," Pei Yan said, assuring them it wasn’t necessary to be so formal, and said with a smile after sitting back down.
Liang Qian said mysteriously, "You’ll know once you et him. He’s even more mysterious than you think."
"Why?" Pei Yan asked in confusion.
Xia Yu, flipping through the nu, said, "Consider it a surprise we’ve prepared for you. Regardless, Shangxing is a very, very good person, like an elder brother who takes good care of us. You’ll see once you et him."
"Oh."
Listening to the sizzling sound of barbecue, Ye Jiumu raised his beer and said, "Since Pei Yan and Brother Wang will be out on a mission tomorrow, they won’t drink tonight! Let’s celebrate Pei Yan finishing his training and upcoming assignnt with the Investigation Bureau! Cheers!"
"Cheers!" "Cheers!"
Five glasses clinked together. After everyone drank, Ye Jiumu sat back and poured himself another beer, and continued, "This second glass serves as advice! Pei Yan, with Brother Wang by your side, we don’t worry about your safety. The bureau wouldn’t send you on too dangerous a mission for your first outing. Just follow Wang Shenpo’s orders. Even though he might not seem reliable in usual tis, he’s a trustworthy teammate during missions. Don’t get impulsive."
"Understood!"
"Alright, it’s not like we haven’t done those missions before. Even a fool can handle them. Why worry unnecessarily? Just hurry up and eat," Xia Yu said while putting a piece of grilled beef into his mouth. "Pei Yan, you got paid, didn’t you? Once you return from this mission, your internship will officially end. Next month, your salary should increase."
"Oh, really? By how much?" Pei Yan’s eyes lit up with joy as he asked.
Liang Qian bit into a piece of squid, thought for a mont, and said, "Two thousand, I think it’s a raise of two thousand."
"Yeah, that’s right, two thousand!" Xia Yu confird after swallowing the beef.
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