"My name is Sun Yi, aka Sun Loser. I've been a bootlicker, a backup option, and although my life has been shrouded in darkness, there's always light at the end of the tunnel. By a stroke of chance, I joined the International Ghostbuster Division without hesitation and became a proud administrative staff member, clinging to the headquarters' coattails."
"The work I do sounds very impressive, which is to scout talents for the headquarters, but in reality, it's just pimping, no different from what the Procuress used to do in the brothel."
"But what can a loser like me complain about? I still take pride in my job, even though the number of talents I've successfully scouted for my resume isn't that many, um, should be almost three, I guess."
"And now, I'm on a blind date. I'm almost thirty and still not married. If this goes on, I might have to consider finding a boyfriend."
A man wearing an old suit, fairly clean but looking impoverished, was leering at the young and attractive blind date in front of him.
Was she his thirtieth blind date?
He forgot, but no matter, this was a new beginning.
"Jiajia, your name is so lovely. Can I call you that forever?" Sun Yi asked, smiling and with a very tender voice.
The girl named Jiajia across from him would be around twenty-four or twenty-five, dressed glamorously with a touch of beauty.
But excessively gaudy to the point where it made one wonder about her profession.
"No, only my future husband can call me that," Hu Jiajia spoke.
"No problem, if you don't mind, I can be your husband. How about that?"
With utmost sincerity, Sun Yi said, "Although I don't have any great skills, believe me, I will treat you well."
"Talking about this at first sight, isn't it a bit inappropriate?" Hu Jiajia said. "Let's talk about something else, like what do you do?"
Sun Yi replied, "Sorry, my job is highly confidential, I absolutely cannot disclose it, but I can tell you a bit—it's not simple. The work I do is to contribute to the salvation of all mankind. The future is boundless and also very meaningful. One day, our kids, Sun Kang, will definitely be proud of me."
"Our kids?" Hu Jiajia looked puzzled.
"Yeah, if we get married on October 1, if all goes well, we'll have a baby next year. If it's a boy, we'll name him Sun Kang, hoping he'll be healthy. If it's a girl, she'll be named Sun Li, like a jasmine flower, how beautiful," Sun Yi said.
"..." Hu Jiajia looked at Sun Yi as if he were insane.
This guy must have some screws loose in his head.
Then Sun Yi added, "Don't worry, I'll bring up our child properly and make sure they grow up to be an upright and honorable person."
"Can you reveal your annual income?" Hu Jiajia asked, holding back her disgust.
"Family matters are also confidential, but you can rest assured, supporting you and two children is absolutely no problem. If I have food to eat, you won't go hungry," Sun Yi claimed confidently.
Hu Jiajia then asked, "Oh, what car did you drive here?"
"Drive? That won't do, I abide by the law, I usually don't use the department's car, so I rode a bicycle. Speaking of the department, I just remembered there's a deal I need to follow up, a trip to Dachang City. Jiajia, do you want to go too? I can take you on a tour. I heard the spicy hotpot there is good, cheap and tasty—I've never had it, but a classmate from elementary school did."
After saying that, Sun Yi swallowed again.
Listening to all this, Hu Jiajia thought it was about time to leave, so she said, "I'm sorry, I just received a text message, I have to leave for a bit. How about I go first? We can chat another time?"
"Huh? Jiajia, you're leaving? Where to? Is it urgent? Should I give you a lift? My car is parked outside," Sun Yi said, pointing to a shared bicycle outside the restaurant.
"No, no need, I see you're not very convenient."
Hu Jiajia grabbed her bag, immediately stood up, and left in a hurry, not wanting to have any more contact with this delusional guy. After all, her task was complete.
Watching Wang Jiajia walk away, Sun Yi mused, "Such a considerate girl. If she were my girlfriend, I'd make sure she felt happy."
At that moment, he felt a shiver in his crotch.
He reached down to adjust.
He pulled out a hefty satellite-positioning mobile phone.
"Hello, it's me... What? Head to Dachang City now, not tomorrow? But I'm on holiday right now, my leave is canceled? How can you cancel my leave like that? I specifically took this day off for a blind date, and I'm currently having a meal.
No, no, this is absolutely not okay, it's a matter of principle. I can only set off tomorrow."
"Ah? You'll introduce me to a switchboard operator girl next time? That's great; I'll drive to Dachang City right now. Rest assured, I will definitely complete the mission."
After hanging up the phone, Sun Yi hurriedly prepared to leave.
"Sir, you haven't paid the bill yet," a server said.
"How much is it?" Sun Yi asked.
"It's a total of thirty-eight thousand," the server replied.
Sun Yi's eyes widened as he looked at the bottle of red wine and a few dishes of fruit on the table: "How can this be so expensive?"
"The prices are as listed on the menu; there's no mistake. The organic green ultra-luxury vibrant fruit platter is eight thousand, and this bottle of royal special supply Laki red wine from '82 is thirty thousand. That's thirty-eight thousand in total, not including the service fee. But since it's the guest's first visit, our boss has waived the service charge," the server explained.
Sun Yi swallowed and fumbled in his pocket.
A few fifty-cent and one-yuan notes, then three or four ten-yuan notes, all crumpled.
At last, he fished out a hundred-yuan note.
"Can I make a down payment first? Pay the rest in installments slowly?" Sun Yi asked.
"That's not allowed," the server said. "However, we do offer several very good online loan options here. With just a small handling fee, you can easily get quite a bit of money; of course, the interest rates are also very reasonable."
"That's reassuring to hear. Then please process that for me quickly," Sun Yi said.
"You need to handle it yourself, sir. Our establishment only provides guidance," the server replied.
Sun Yi said, "No problem."
As the server was guiding Sun Yi to download some apps and get ready to scour for loans, his application got straight-up rejected by the system, displaying that his credit score was too low to apply.
"Huh, how could this happen? Have you taken loans before?"
"This app you're talking about, I use it a lot. It was convenient at first, lending me money right away. But later on, it didn't work out. They would often call to scold me, and it pissed me off, so I deleted it," Sun Yi said.
"In that case, I'm terribly sorry, sir, but please arrange the funds to settle the bill quickly. If it's inconvenient for you, you could call family or friends to help you borrow some money," the server suggested.
Sun Yi said, "I don't have a SIM card in my phone, can't make a call."
"Isn't that a mobile phone?" the server asked.
Sun Yi shook his head and said, "No good, this is a satellite-positioning phone, only to be used in special circumstances."
"Well, if that's the case, there's nothing we can do. You're not allowed to leave without settling the bill," the server stated.
But just then, his satellite-positioning mobile phone rang again.
"Sun Yi, the locator shows you're still at the restaurant without any movement. Listen carefully, within half an hour, I want to see you on your way to the meeting point. Someone will take you to Dachang City; if you're not seen within half an hour, be prepared for punishment," came the angry voice of Zhao Jianguo on the other end.
"Boss, wait a moment, have you got any money? I can't cover the bill after my meal, can you lend me some to settle the account? I'll pay you back after I get my salary," Sun Yi pleaded.
"How much?" Zhao Jianguo said, suppressing his anger.
"Thirty-eight thousand," Sun Yi replied.
Zhao Jianguo said, "You spent thirty-eight thousand on a meal? Didn't you tell me you were on a blind date just now? Thirty-eight thousand on a blind date meal, sounds like you've been scammed."
"No, it can't be, Wang Jiajia is a good woman, she wouldn't deceive me," Sun Yi defended.
"I'll have someone locally investigate. If there's no scam, I'll reimburse you," Zhao Jianguo said, feeling the weight on his heart.
All he had were problem children.
Yet these very people possessed terrifying powers beyond the imagination of ordinary people.