Qi Shi'an, his mouth full of mint flavor, used work to shift his attention, temporarily disregarding the pain in his throat. After organizing the materials he needed to use, he went directly to the Foreign Exchange Investment Department.

Zhang Yiming passed by to look up reference data and joked, "Director Qi is here early again to supervise morning self-study. Take it easy during the meeting, make it fun, and don't keep dragging it out."

Qi Shi'an twirled a pen between his fingers. "Want to join in the fun?"

"I don't get involved in you technical types' affairs." Zhang Yiming picked up the materials, preparing to return to his office. Before leaving, he leaned over and said, "I'm starting to prepare plans for the 'advanced platform' on my side. I'll mention it all together when I have my meeting."

"Mm, good work." Qi Shi'an glanced at Zhang Yiming's lower body. "Don't get so busy that you hurt yourself."

Zhang Yiming cursed, "Get lost. Your throat is already like this and you're still worrying about me. Drink your water!"

Light injuries don't keep one off the front lines. As the meeting room door closed, Qi Shi'an also began his preaching and proselytizing for the day. The entire morning, the administrative assistant kept refilling tea, the charts of various indexes kept switching, and everyone's computer screens were live streaming real-time data from trading markets around the world.

By the end, Qi Shi'an had already gone numb to the pain, but as he kept talking, he always felt like he might spit up blood.

This time he didn't drag things out. As soon as it was time to get off work, he hurried everyone to go eat.

"Mr. Qi, not coming with us?" the Foreign Exchange Department manager asked.

Qi Shi'an waved his hand. With the meeting paused, he didn't want to say another word. After everyone left, he pocketed his phone and returned to the 30th floor. On the way, he finished an entire pack of mint tablets.

He had been in too much pain to eat breakfast, and lunch was even more painful with no food. It depressed the hell out of him.

The employees in the company cafeteria were all chatting and laughing, doing their best to relax during the lunch break. Shen Duoyi and Team Leader Qi sat together eating cold noodles while chatting about the recent stock picks.

Team Leader Qi said, "After trading stocks for a long time, you develop feelings for them, especially the few that make money. When I sell them, I feel like I'm really scummy, like abandoning a wife."

Shen Duoyi took a bite of pork chop. "Then when I lost over 100,000, was that like getting cheated on?"

"Then you also have to forgive it. Who told you to take a liking to it in the first place." The two of them got more and more amused as they talked, not knowing if they were discussing stocks or relationships. Team Leader Qi sincerely advised, "Don't just sell as soon as you lose money. Manage it well and sooner or later you'll recover your losses."

Shen Duoyi asked, "Then why did you sell? Didn't you make quite a bit?"

"I urgently needed to spend it." Team Leader Qi leaned in and said softly, "I need money to pay the down payment for buying a house. I'm rushing to get it done, otherwise I'd be too embarrassed to go to my future mother-in-law's house to freeload meals."

Shen Duoyi immediately raised his cup. "Is there good news coming soon? Then let me use tea in place of alcohol to congratulate you first!"

Team Leader Qi thanked him, "You work hard too. Strive to find someone by the end of the year!"

Gulping down the cup of tea, Shen Duoyi suddenly lost some appetite for the pork chop. Get one by the end of the year? He couldn't help taking out his phone and saw he still hadn't replied to that message from last night.

Messages have an expiration date. After a period of time with no reply, there's no need to reply anymore.

Shen Duoyi finished eating and strolled back to the department with Team Leader Qi. Since coming to Ming'an, he still hadn't been to the break room during lunch, always seeming to have something to do. Opening his computer, he leaned back in his chair, slowly spinning as he pondered.

When he stopped, he simply sold off those few stocks.

Whether they made money or not, at least from now on they wouldn't lose money. The important thing was this quarter would be very busy and he wanted to focus on work.

After wholeheartedly working on the reception plan for an afternoon, Shen Duoyi felt a dull ache in his shoulders. Near the end of the workday, he went to the Foreign Exchange Department seeking technical support and happened to run into the technical staff gradually coming out of the meeting room.

The administrative assistant asked softly, "Finished early? I was just about to go in and pour water."

The manager said, "No need to pour any. Mr. Qi has already lost his voice."

Shen Duoyi wasn't sure if he heard "lost his voice" or "passed out", but both made him a bit worried. The meeting room door was open.

Before long, Qi Shi'an walked out frowning. Raising his head, their eyes met, and he asked, "Something the matter?"

His throat was already so hoarse it sounded like he was chewing on sandpaper. Just listening was painful.

Shen Duoyi handed over a document. "I drafted a reception plan for the foreign exchange side and wanted to ask Manager Ren to take a look at it for me."

Qi Shi'an took it and quickly scanned it, then closed the document and walked out. He didn't know if it was just with Shen Duoyi or with all senior actuaries, but when making a plan, it was like building a data model - the hierarchy was distinct and clear at a glance. Casually putting together a copy could serve as a sample for perusal.

With this level of skill, he had to personally take a look.

Shen Duoyi followed behind and left the Foreign Exchange Department. After entering the elevator together, he pressed the floor for the Consulting Department and said, "I have some anti-inflammatory medicine in my place. I'll get you a box."

Qi Shi'an, incapable of speaking, nodded.

By the time he got the medicine, it was the end of the workday. His colleagues were packing up, preparing to go home. He also took the opportunity to pack up, planning to directly leave after delivering the medicine. He had promised to be home on time today and even cook dinner.

When Shen Duoyi arrived on the 30th floor, Qi Shi'an had just finished looking over the reception plan on the couch. He was making notes with a pen like a teacher grading homework. Shen Duoyi sat down beside him and took out two anti-inflammatory capsules.

"Don't write 'you're awesome'. Reading that gives me goosebumps."

Qi Shi'an's pen tip paused, stabbing the paper a couple of times as if in protest. After finishing the comments, he returned the document to the other person. He took the capsule, placed it in his mouth, and washed it down with a big gulp of water, suffering greatly as he swallowed.

"I shouldn't have drunk so much yesterday, it must be inflamed." Shen Duoyi watched Qi Shi'an's bobbing Adam's apple. "Is your neck stiff? If it's stiff, that means it's already swollen and inflamed. It might even cause a fever if you're not careful."

Qi Shi'an was in too much pain to speak, so he just looked at Shen Duoyi, his eyes questioning. Shen Duoyi stared into those eyes and understood. "Because I get a sore throat every autumn, and it can cause a fever if it's severe."

Qi Shi'an nodded, then waved his hand.

Shen Duoyi asked, "You're not leaving yet?"

Qi Shi'an pointed to the documents on his desk. He wasn't done with work yet.

"Then I'll head out first. You should go home and rest early too." Shen Duoyi picked up his bag and got up. As he reached the door, he reminded, "Drink more water."

Qi Shi'an leaned back on the sofa. He hadn't eaten all day, only drinking water. The pain in his throat was indescribable. Even his ears were ringing and his head felt a bit heavy.

Just as he was holding his cup, about to get more water, he saw Shen Duoyi return from the doorway.

Qi Shi'an questioned him with his eyes again. Shen Duoyi looked flustered as he spoke. "I forgot to say one more thing. About that message last night - the day you left, I still didn't ask for your name."

Qi Shi'an had no complaints, as he fully understood Shen Duoyi's thoughts at the time. But he didn't want to hear Shen Duoyi's response now. He was having such a miserable day already and couldn't handle any emotional setbacks.

However, Shen Duoyi said, "I was afraid to ask back then, worried that I wouldn't be able to forget it if I did."