My girlfriend isn't as cute as me.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

A light drizzle fell from the gloomy sky, freely pattering on the students running on the playground.

Even though they were soaked to the bone, you could still hear their laughter from a distance, as if running in the rain was a blissful experience.

Lin Jiu glanced at them, took out an automatic folding umbrella from her bag, and fiddled with it for a while before finally opening it. It was a broken, defective product from the store, and the store manager said that since they couldn't sell it anyway and customers would complain, it was better for whoever wanted it to take it.

"We need to walk faster today."

Stepping into the rain, Lin Jiu glanced around at her surroundings, then lowered her umbrella and slowly closed her eyes.

He walked much faster than usual this time, but he kept his eyes closed the whole time, as if he were in his own backyard, with an indescribable sense of ease. Whenever he was about to bump into someone, he always managed to stop at the last second. Not only that, when crossing the street, he would silently stop when the red light was on, and stride forward when the green light was on, walking with a powerful, energetic stride, as if he were walking a thousand miles in a day, as if he were in another world.

Dangerous actions, do not imitate.

When Lin Jiu opened his eyes again, he had already arrived at the entrance of his destination, a Wango convenience store.

Lin Jiu closed her umbrella, let out a soft breath, and patted her stiff cheeks.

It seemed that what followed was even more difficult than walking through the city with his eyes closed.

"good afternoon!"

The automatic door opened, and Lin Jiu's face broke into a bright smile, a professional, signature smile.

If the people in the class saw Lin Jiu like this, they would probably think they had mistaken her for someone else.

"Ah, Kobayashi, good afternoon."

When store manager Uncle Yang saw Lin Jiu enter, he was taken aback for a second, but his years of professional experience allowed him to quickly control his facial expression.

Lin Jiu naturally didn't miss the fleeting awkward expression on Uncle Yang's face. His smile remained unchanged as he said, "I'll go change my clothes first."

Uncle Yang's face stiffened slightly, his lips trembled slightly, but he ultimately held back what he wanted to say.

"Excuse me, could you please let me pass?"

Lin Jiu turned his head and smiled slightly at the customer who was looking at him, while observing the environment of the store.

Located in a prime location, Wango convenience stores are much more spacious than other convenience stores, covering a full 126 square meters. Besides shelves, counters, refrigerators, and storage areas, they also have a large rest area. Naturally, the rent is also significantly higher than other stores. Fortunately, the foot traffic justifies the high rent; business is booming right now, during school dismissal and work closing time.

Lin Jiu walked towards the warehouse, and during this process, he noticed that he was meeting two guests for the first time.

Two men, one in the rest area and the other standing in the snack shelf area, seemed to keep their distance, but occasionally their eyes would briefly meet.

The man sitting in the rest area wore glasses, was well-dressed, and appeared quite refined. He was flipping through the daily newspaper provided by the convenience store, a cup of freshly brewed coffee on the table. Another man, tall and wearing a mask, had a sinister look in his eyes and wore a dark green overcoat. His hair was somewhat disheveled, as if he hadn't washed it in a long time. Brown spots stained the cuffs of his shirt—it was unclear whether they were mud, rust, juice… or even blood.

Lin Jiu only glanced at it briefly; he had to admit that he didn't look at it very carefully.

When Lin Jiu pushed open the warehouse door, the temperature dropped significantly. The warehouse was filled with goods. He let out a soft breath, placed his backpack in his locker, and picked up his brightly colored work clothes.

Lin Jiu took off his school uniform jacket and put on the convenience store worker's jacket. After straightening his clothes, he suddenly lowered his head.

The time that had just passed in the blink of an eye replayed in his mind like a movie.

The drizzling rain suddenly stopped, the swaying raindrops froze in mid-air, the crystalline liquid refracting the surrounding scenery like crystal.

The automatic door swung open with a bang, and a student handed a can of Coke to the cashier. The Coke, taken from the refrigerator, had a faint white frost on its surface from being held in his hand. Customers in the back row were selecting oden, their spoons scooping out curry fish balls that fogged the transparent display case. Some condensation formed as water droplets spread from the top of the display case. Uncle Yang, the store manager, who was checking the work schedule, slowly turned his head, his amiable smile gradually hardening.

The thin man in the rest area slowly raised his head, his gaze shifting from the newspaper. Through the reflection of his glasses, he caught a glimpse of the few words on the paper: [A murder has occurred in Shangmeilin, Fukou District, S City—the suspect fled the scene—the suspect is 28 years old, male, wearing a yellow-green jacket, of robust build, and may be carrying a weapon—the case is currently under further investigation].

The muscular man standing at the snack counter also glanced towards the door. His eyes were as sharp as a wolf's, and his right hand stealthily reached into the irregularly bulging part of his coat... In that brief moment, his hand appeared, and the answer was hidden there.

Lin Jiu suppressed the waves of dizziness, gripped her coat tightly, and the veins on the back of her fair hand bulged.

The movie replays itself, and the rain from the sky falls to the ground, making a sound as it flows along the road and into the cast iron manhole cover—it seems like the only sound in the whole world.

When Lin Jiu saw the burly man pull his hand back into his sleeve, there were traces of dirt and dark red-black stains, like dirt scraped off his neck, under his long, thin fingernails.

Without a doubt, this is bloodstain.

Blood separated from the human body darkens in color as the oxygen content of hemoglobin decreases. Iron in the blood also darkens upon contact with air due to oxidation. Therefore, the amount of time that has passed can be determined by analyzing these color changes.

"..."

Lin Jiu slowly raised his head and took out his old Xiaomi 6 phone from his pocket.

"Hello, is this 110? I need to report a crime."

Chapter Two: You don't need to come to work tomorrow.

Lin Jiu put the phone back in his pocket.

Less than five minutes passed from when he went into the warehouse to change his clothes to when he finished making the phone call.

In those brief five minutes, Lin Jiu was like pulling a book from a shelf, flipping through a page, and then mentally refining it to create a cinematic scene. This had become part of his daily life; initially, he simply had a good memory, but later he summarized a set of rules, and his memory ability became stronger and stronger.

Lin Jiu didn't believe that the human brain could hold an infinite amount of information. If you memorized everything you saw, you'd eventually be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information. Someone who could memorize 103,000 erotic novels and recall the contents of any one of them at will only exist in novels and anime, and that person would be a beautiful silver-haired, blue-eyed girl at that.

Lin Jiu wasn't a silver-haired beauty, so he knew very well what he could do and what he should do.

The human brain is like a bookshelf; you should be selective in what you put in it. If you put everything in, important knowledge will have nowhere to go. Even if you do keep it, with so many things crammed together, you might occasionally recall a passage from a book but can't remember the title. At that point, finding the right book in the vast sea of ​​texts becomes extremely difficult.

No matter how many advantages one has, if one doesn't pay attention to learning and training, one will become just another ordinary person.

"...Did Uncle Yang notice it too?"

Lin Jiu recalled the strange expression that Uncle Yang, the shop manager, had given her when she entered the store, and couldn't help but ponder.

No, that's not right. It doesn't seem like something that's an outsider's business. It's something that happened that concerns me.

It's definitely not a good thing.

Absolutely.

Lin Jiu thought to herself, patted her face again, and walked out of the warehouse with a standard, professional smile.

Welcome!

Lin Jiu greeted the customers who entered the store, pretending to tidy up the shelves while observing the store environment.

The two suspicious individuals left after he entered the warehouse, and not only that, they acted very cautiously. There were no disposable coffee cups in the rest area, and even the daily newspapers were gone, leaving no trace.

Lin Jiu raised an eyebrow slightly and turned around to restock the missing items.

He has done everything he could; now it's up to the professionals.

No matter what happens, focus on your work first. There's no such thing as a free lunch; you have to earn what you want through your own efforts. The person who smiles last is definitely the one who strives hard and is determined to improve.

"Xiao Lin, you don't need to come to work tomorrow."

"..."

After the evening rush hour, the store was empty of customers.

After a moment's hesitation, store manager Uncle Yang decided to hand Lin Jiu a resignation letter and a pen.

This middle-aged man, with thinning hair but meticulous grooming every day, who always shaved before work and whose chin was perpetually bluish, was always seen as amiable and smiling in Lin Jiu's memory.

Now, Uncle Yang looks worried, like a miserable middle-aged man who's stuck at work, constantly facing layoffs, and still has a 30-year mortgage to pay. To make matters worse, his wife has run off with someone else. In despair, he thinks, "So what if she's gone? At least I can relax a bit." But after ordering a massage therapist through a mobile app, he discovers the person who shows up is his daughter, who was lying about doing part-time work.

Uncle Yang was in a very bad mood.

He was really in pain.

Lin Jiu came here part-time last year. At that time, the store was losing money badly, and Uncle Yang, who was the store manager, was just pushed up and scolded. He thought about how to increase sales every day, and he even lost his hair thinking about it.

Uncle Yang still remembered when Lin Jiu came for the interview. This young man, who wasn't very old, didn't seem like a job applicant; rather, he seemed like a senior executive coming to provide guidance. He took a quick look around and found many problems, pointing out factors that caused operational waste, such as the low profit margin of services like shared umbrellas, which had to be discontinued and replaced with self-sold umbrellas.

Thanks to Lin Jiu's planned business strategy and subsequent rectification, the store's operating situation improved, going from deficit to profit in just one month. Uncle Yang secured his position as store manager, received a higher year-end bonus, and those who had previously criticized him changed their attitudes, all seeking his secrets to improving the business.

He wouldn't have fired Lin Jiu if this hadn't happened.

It's important to understand that Lin Jiu didn't just do basic tasks like greeting customers and handling cashier duties; he also helped with finance, human resources, purchasing, and sales management... In short, he did the store manager's job as well. The thought of such a talented person leaving the store made Uncle Yang feel like the sky had fallen, and he became completely listless.

Please tell me your reasoning.

Lin Jiu did not immediately accept the resignation letter handed to him. He silently browsed through the relevant legal knowledge on the memory bookshelf, preparing to protect his own interests and resolutely say no to unfair treatment.

"Your dad came at noon today."

Uncle Yang's expression was somewhat strange, and his face turned red with anger.

"...He caused a scene in the store. At first, I thought he was just concerned about you and worried that working here would affect your studies. It wasn't until he asked for money that I realized something was wrong."

Uncle Yang straightened his back, his livid face hardening, and said in a deep voice, "I'm a father too. I can understand that if my child didn't study hard in their senior year of high school and instead did part-time work, I would be angry too. But I would never ask for my child's wages; that would be an insult to them. Lin Jiu, you're an adult now. You have the capacity to bear legal responsibility, and you can make your own choices. I haven't given your wages to your father, even if he comes with his household registration book to prove our kinship, I don't care. If he wants to sue me, then sue me! I'm not afraid!"

Uncle Yang omitted a detail.

The reason why Lin Jiu's father demanded Lin Jiu's wages.

He said that Lin Jiu used his monthly salary to gamble, shop, and go online, causing a negative impact. This money must be kept by his parents to prevent him from squandering it.

Uncle Yang laughed on the spot.

"roll!"

Uncle Yang left only this one word and then ignored the seemingly respectable man in front of him.

If his boss finds out, he'll probably lose his store manager position.

It is absolutely unacceptable to be rude to guests; this is common sense in the service industry.

What's more, this is a family member of an employee.

But he just couldn't stand it.

"I understand."

Lin Jiu took the document handed to him by Uncle Yang, glanced at it, and signed his name after confirming that it was correct.

At that moment, he realized why this was not a termination contract, but a resignation letter.

Uncle Yang hoped that Lin Jiu's work resume was spotless.

Because Lin Jiu did nothing wrong.

Uncle Yang took the resignation letter, took a deep breath, and stamped it with the store's seal.

"No matter what others say, I believe you are a serious and outstanding young man. Your future will definitely not be limited to this. I wish you success in your studies," Uncle Yang said sincerely. "Thank you for taking care of me all this time."

"...I should be the one saying that, Uncle Yang."

Lin Jiu smiled slightly, a smile so warm it seemed to melt even glaciers.

"Thank you for taking care of me."