Before her rebirth, Lu Nan’s financial activities were mostly limited to buying a few funds and holding onto a few stocks for the long term, which was better than fixed interest. However, her uncle was an experienced stock investor. Every year at family gatherings, he would share his gains with relatives. Of course, he mostly talked about how he made a small profit and would never mention whether he had lost money.  

Among them, he would also talk about the hot stocks of the year. Lu Nan didn’t remember much, but coincidentally, she remembered a certain media stock that her uncle mentioned over and over again during the Chinese New Year. Its “achievements” from July to October, in just three months, it surged by over 600%. 

Opportunities to make such quick money were rare and valuable. Lu Nan sighed, feeling that her capital was too small. With just over 3,000 yuan left in her bank account, she reluctantly returned to her rented apartment. Oh, she bought two pounds of apples at the fruit shop near the apartment complex entrance, which would serve as her dinners for the next few days. 

Two kilograms of apples can serve for four dinners. Lu Nan comforts herself that it not only saves money but is also healthy. 

On Sunday evening, her phone rang. It was her mother calling. 

Twenty-three-year-old Lu Nan had once suffered from a fear of phone calls, but now, with a psychological age of thirty-three, she could calmly answer the call. 

On the other side, her mother vented angrily and bitterly cursed her ex-husband, Lu Nan’s father, with the most vicious words. 

Lu Nan placed her slightly warm phone on the table, and even without putting it on speaker, she could hear the sharpness and resentment from the other end. 

After more than twenty minutes, her mother seemed to have vented enough, and the call abruptly ended with a snap. 

Lu Nan sighed softly. Although she was no longer afraid, facing such a huge amount of negative energy, her good mood upon returning to youth was still somewhat affected. 

Time to sleep, when asleep, all your worries will disappear. 

… 

Early in the morning, Lu Nan got up and traveled from her rented apartment to the office in Yuan Chuan Hailin City, which was quite far and took about forty to fifty minutes by bus. 

Lu Nan encouraged herself, “Come on! Just hold on for another half month, and then I can move to the dormitory, which is closer, and save more money!” 

On the bus, she sent a message to her senior Yan Kai to express her gratitude again. 

Unfortunately, her senior was on a business trip and replied briefly, suggesting they shouldn’t feel distant and to come back to have a meal together sometime. 

Upon arriving at the office, the morning meeting in Yuan Chuan Hailin City had already ended, and most people had left to maintain client relationships. 

Lu Nan smoothly completed her entry procedures and was directed by HR to an office: “The city manager of Hailin City is in there; his last name is Mr. Wang.” 

Of course, Lu Nan knew Mr. Wang. 

Manager Wang, aside from being a bit flirtatious, was actually quite nice. 

She confidently greeted him, and Manager Wang smiled and said, “Your direct supervisor is on a business trip. The new colleagues from other provinces won’t arrive until early next month. In the next two weeks, you should first study our Yuan Chuan corporate culture on your own and then shadow some senior colleagues in various channels. Regarding accommodation, it will be finalized by the end of this month at the latest, and you’ll receive half of the accommodation subsidy for this half month.” Everything was well arranged. 

Lu Nan sincerely expressed her gratitude, “Okay, Manager Wang.” 

Leaving the manager’s office, Lu Nan obtained a stack of Yuan Chuan internal monthly magazines and brochures from the administrative office. She stayed in the office until 11:30 and quietly informed HR that she would grab lunch at a nearby fast-food restaurant. She then returned, daydreamed, and took advantage of the air conditioning. 

During this period, some seniors came back to collect materials, and some came back to get Manager Wang’s signature. Many passing colleagues glanced at Lu Nan and remarked, “Oh, new person, looks pretty good.” 

Lu Nan mostly sat quietly and read the materials. Sometimes, when she lifted her head and turned her neck, she happened to make eye contact with returning seniors, and she would politely smile. 

After finishing work at five o’clock, it was already past six by the time she took the bus back to her rental house. Lu Nan decided to go to the community entrance to have a roast duck meal, considering it a celebration of making some slight changes and a completely different first day of work from her previous life—everything went smoothly. 

A roast duck rice meal cost only twelve yuan, and Lu Nan ate it with great satisfaction. She even spent three yuan to buy a box of yogurt. 

But this way of eating was too indulgent. 

Lu Nan thought, “Sure enough, carbs make people happy. But I should eat fewer carbs for dinner in the future. Once a week? No, no, no. I am still young and my metabolism is relatively good. It’s okay to eat carbs for dinner twice a week.” 

It was precisely because she later experienced the bitter consequences of “uncontrolled diet and breaking her legs from the gym” that Lu Nan was able to maintain such eating habits after turning thirty. 

It would be nice if I could eat without gaining weight, or if the food I eat only satisfies my mouth and is not absorbed by my body… 

On the way back to her rented apartment, Lu Nan couldn’t help but shake her head slightly as she thought about it. 

What a beautiful thought. 

When she arrived home, having finished washing up by half past seven, Lu Nan sat at her desk and opened her computer document and started typing. 

Back in college, she had signed a contract with a website and had intermittently written three or four novels. The thirty thousand yuan she has invested in the stock market also includes her hard-earned money from typing on the keyboard. 

Following the old routine of “Before Rebirth”, Lu Nan was too tired and busy during her time at CIMC Logistics. She also had to worry about her graduation thesis, so she took a break for half a year. After switching jobs to Yuan Chuan, she was quite satisfied with the new income and met more people. Life became somewhat indulgent, and she didn’t want to pick up the pen at all. 

She stopped writing for two or three years in one go. When she started typing again, she couldn’t find her touch for a while. Later on, with the increasing competition on websites, typing could only be done as a hobby. The annual manuscript fee wasn’t even enough to buy a handbag. 

Ten years later, Lu Nan didn’t care about the money for a handbag, but ten years ago, she did! 

Now with more leisure time and during the golden age of online novels, who didn’t dream of becoming a top author? 

Procrastination and irregular updates were the bane of writing. Lu Nan focused and spent three hours sitting in front of the computer and typing out three chapters and saving them. 

Adding five chapters each on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, she now had eighteen drafts saved. If she worked hard again tomorrow night, she would conclude her first quick-transmigration novel—indeed, she observed that there were few writers in this genre on major novel websites and decided to give it a try. 

Lu Nan didn’t think that being reborn would guarantee her writing a blockbuster. She just saw one advantage of quick-transmigration novels—if this book didn’t perform well, she could end it after a short story. 

At the pace of one chapter per day, eighteen drafts gave Lu Nan enough security. 

Today, on her first day of work, she clicked “publish” after posting the first three chapters. 

After publishing, Lu Nan didn’t bother with it anymore. She closed her computer and went to brush her teeth and wash her face. 

Tomorrow will be a new day. 

… 

A new day began with waking up at six thirty in the morning—otherwise, she wouldn’t make it to clock in by eight thirty. 

Lu Nan struggled to get up and let out a mournful groan. 

Of course, once she stepped into the office, she had already put on her energetic facade, sitting shyly in the corner of the conference room and smiling at her senior colleagues. 

At 8:40, the morning meeting began. 

Manager Wang casually glanced at his subordinate seated to his lower right and said, “Summary of yesterday’s work and today’s work plans.” 

And so, the first person quickly finished reporting in about a minute. 

And everyone else followed suit.