Recognize Your Place in Society

Dawn Building, Cloud Top Cafe.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the skyline of Gu City stretched out in a bright, picturesque view.

Li Fan sat there feeling somewhat restless, speechless in his heart.

Zhang Hongbing had a massive misunderstanding; he actually thought Li Fan had some strange fetish and had spent the night setting him up on a blind date.

However, the man meant well, and in Zhang Hongbing's own words, he had pulled strings with friends to connect him with a wealthy, beautiful socialite. Li Fan found it hard to refuse.

At worst, he could just act poorly, make the woman look down on him, and let the whole thing fall through.

That way, he wouldn't be letting Zhang Hongbing's good intentions go to waste.

What he was actually worried about was meeting the Cleaners from the Southwest region of the Cleaning Association that evening, along with some of the Association's more devout members.

He had seen the name Green Tech Group in reports and advertisements before; he knew it was a local pharmaceutical group in Gu City that specialized in biopharmaceuticals.

Word was they were about to go public, with a market value potentially reaching billions. It was indeed a solid enterprise.

He wondered how Zhang Hongbing even knew them—how many favors must he have called in?

Just then, a young woman wearing sunglasses walked into the cafe.

She wore a gray cropped jacket over a black miniskirt and a pair of magenta high heels. Her jet-black hair fell in natural, wavy layers over her shoulders, and she radiated an air of arrogance.

Her attire was clearly designer; Li Fan vaguely remembered catching a glimpse of this outfit in news coverage of a fashion show.

A refined scent of perfume wafted toward him.

The smell of money.

The necklace around her neck also appeared to be a custom piece from an international luxury brand.

Her gaze swept across the cafe before she walked straight over to Li Fan and sat down. Without even removing her sunglasses, she said in a condescending tone:

"You must be Li Fan? The one the matchmaker mentioned?"

Before Li Fan could speak, the woman took off her glasses, revealing a face with exquisite makeup.

She was a bit less attractive than Ke Ke, but still a minor beauty, though one could see traces of cosmetic work.

The woman lifted her chin slightly and said:

"I've looked into you. Your father is indeed a decent distributor, and your family has some money, but you need to understand that Green Tech Group is worth billions. Your family is still far behind. In matters of blind dates, one must consider social standing."

Li Fan was stunned, then felt a surge of joy.

He didn't even need to try to act poorly; perfect, it was already dead in the water.

The woman continued:

"If it weren't for the fact that the aunt who introduced us is a respected elder, I wouldn't have come to see you. After all, we aren't in the same social class; there's no need to waste time."

Watching the dazed Li Fan, Lv Yalian couldn't help but want to laugh.

His credentials might be passable for an ordinary person—a family business, a civil servant job—but in front of someone of her status, he didn't even qualify as an "economical husband."

Furthermore, she had already received news from her family that her father, Lv Feng, would be introducing her to a big shot that evening.

That was a big shot from a world that ordinary people, no matter how much money they had, could never touch.

After tonight, the Lv family would become even more extraordinary, transcending the mundane—something ordinary people couldn't even imagine!

She smiled faintly, pulled out a lady's cigarette, and said:

"I'm a bit blunt, but that's how the world works. Social standing is important. I hope you can see reality clearly, don't have too many fantasies, and don't be discouraged."

She rummaged through her bag, only to realize she had forgotten her lighter.

Li Fan quickly said:

"Not discouraged, not discouraged at all."

This rapid-fire blind date experience was fantastic; it saved him so much trouble, and he didn't even have to say much.

At the same time, he pulled a rusty, windproof lighter from his pocket, flicked it open, and prepared to light her cigarette.

Snap! A blood-red flame ignited. Everything around them seemed to turn dilapidated for a split second, though no mold representing abnormal psychic radiation appeared.

Li Fan's gaze, however, was locked firmly on her face, his expression slightly startled.

Half of Lv Yalian's face was now covered in that black mold indicative of abnormal psychic radiation, and something seemed to be burrowing around inside her pupils.

She had been infected by some kind of abnormal psychic radiation.

"Thanks." Lv Yalian leaned in and lit her cigarette, then noticed Li Fan still staring at her. A flash of annoyance crossed her face before she chuckled lightly:

"The only intersection you and I will ever have is perhaps this single cigarette... Goodbye. I hope you can clearly recognize your place in this society."

With that, she stood up, put on her sunglasses, and walked out with her bag.

"Hey..." Li Fan closed the lighter and said, "If you feel anything uncomfortable, you might want to try calling the police."

Lv Yalian didn't even break her stride when she heard this.

In her view, his words were simply speechless—was this his pathetic attempt at a final plea?

Ridiculous.

Li Fan shrugged.

Although the other party had already been infected by anomalous mental radiation, it appeared to be nowhere near the point of an outbreak for the time being.

Whatever he said now, she wouldn't believe him anyway. Her family ran a listed corporation, so if there were truly a problem, they could likely contact the Anomaly Bureau quickly enough without him needing to worry about it.

Having ended this quick blind date, Li Fan felt a bit hungry.

He called over a waiter, ordered a few dishes, and after stuffing his face, he bought a simple folding cot at a supermarket and hauled it to his office at the Anomaly Bureau.

This thing would be his bed for afternoon naps from now on.

He felt that only the bureau office was the safest place; staying at home all the time was starting to give him the creeps.

He had already decided to show up at the bureau on time every morning to play on the computer.

Otherwise, spending too much time with his family would lead to his exposure sooner or later.

Li Fan slept until 2:30 PM, got up to tidy himself, and sat before the computer, beginning to zone out.

Around three o'clock, his colleagues in the department arrived one after another to start their shift, but there was no work today; the sound of a game of Landlord drifted from the office of the department head, Wu Qian.

The others were mostly drinking tea, reading newspapers, playing on their phones, cracking melon seeds, snacking, or just lying around like corpses—all sorts of situations.

Only now did Li Fan truly feel the wonderful and harmonious office atmosphere of the Dissection Department.

The only exception was Ke Ke, who, after arriving at the office, continued to take online gigs helping people write their theses.

Zhang Hongbing knitted a sweater while smoking, taking the opportunity to ask Li Fan about his blind date.

Upon learning that the date had flopped, Zhang Hongbing patted Li Fan on the shoulder, telling him not to worry and that he would introduce him to someone new later.

When she heard that Li Fan had gone on a blind date at noon, Ke Ke couldn't help but turn her head slightly to glance at him.

That afternoon, Li Fan spent his time mostly playing games happily.

Soon, it was nearly five o'clock, time to get off work. His colleagues in the department skillfully rinsed their teacups and pots, packed their things, and began to head out one after another.

Ke Ke walked up to Li Fan, hesitating slightly, and asked in a low voice:

"Li Fan, do you have time tonight? Can I treat you to a meal?"

The morning had been far too rushed; he had thrown down the money and run off, and she hadn't even had the chance to thank him properly.

Therefore, Ke Ke decided to thank him properly tonight.

Li Fan was stunned, scratched his head, and said:

"Sorry, Sister Ke Ke, I have something on tonight. I've already made plans with someone else."

A flash of disappointment crossed Ke Ke's eyes as she said:

"Then... another day, perhaps. Thank you so much... I really don't know how I should thank you..."

Li Fan waved his hands quickly and said:

"It was just a small favor, don't be so formal. But Sister Ke Ke, you must keep it a secret for me, okay? I'm afraid if the others in the bureau find out, they'll start gossiping."

"Mhm!" Ke Ke nodded heavily.

There were too many loose-lipped busybodies in government agencies. His own department was fine, but who knew what others might say if word got out.

Li Fan smiled slightly, waved at Ke Ke, and walked out of the office building.

Greeting a few colleagues who had just finished their shift along the way, Li Fan arrived at a secluded roadside outside the Anomaly Bureau.

A black luxury sedan was waiting there.

The driver, Old Chen, immediately opened the door for Li Fan. Once Li Fan was seated, he hurried back to the driver's seat, carefully glanced at the expressionless Li Fan through the rearview mirror, and immediately started the engine.

The car wove through the streets like a fish, heading toward the best hotel in Gu City, the Red Star International Hotel.

Tonight was the day the Collector would officially take on the role of Shepherd to meet with the Cleaners and the Devout Members.