Spy

Yan Anyi thought that she must have lost her mind to actually be swayed by Liu Xinyu's very obvious lie. Whether her story was believable or not was another matter, but no matter how convincing her acting was, Yan Anyi did not think she'd fall for it so easily. The reality was always harsh as right now, she was not only swayed but also irrationally willing to believe in her. 

"I don't know about your talent for translating but I have no doubts about your talent for storytelling. Rather than the post of a translator, why not try being an author instead?" suggested Yan Anyi with an obvious playful smile on her smile.

"Pfft!" Yiyi laughed hard once she heard that from Yan Anyi. She actually was worried that Yan Anyi might fall for Liu Xinyu's tricks. But it seems, this woman was still rational and sober rather than being influenced by her emotions. "She has good eyesight. I like her already."

Liu Xinyu visibly froze because of Yan Anyi's words. She knew she wasn't great at lying but she didn't think she would be so easily found out too. But considering that Yan Anyi actually suggested her to be an author meant that she had a talent for storytelling. 

"Or you can try acting too. This industry is looking quite prosperous recently," added Yan Anyi considerately when she saw how Liu Xinyu didn't respond.

Liu Xinyu's lips twitched subtly. Well, at least, her on-point acting was also acknowledged. Therefore, she could rule out that her story was unbelievable or her acting wasn't emotional enough. What gave her away?

"What gave it away? That I'm lying?" asked Liu Xinyu.

Yan Anyi looked at her with a smile. The girl in front of her seemed to be about her age or maybe, she was even younger than her. She wore a simple ensemble but an exquisite hairstyle. And since she wasn't wearing any makeup, it made her look more youthful and a bright aura radiated from her person.

"Your watch is exquisite and I quite like your sneakers too," answered Yan Anyi.

Liu Xinyu closed her eyes and lamented at how could she forget the details. She took off the necklace and bracelet but she couldn't take off the watch because if she did so, how would she even know the time? And she didn't buy any new shoes yesterday that's why she was still making do with the sneakers that she brought from the future. 

Even if they were just a random pair of sneakers to her, it wasn't to others. Because she had been in sports, she had a particular interest in what kind of shoes she wore. That's why her closet was filled with customized pairs of sneakers like the one she wore right now.

Liu Xinyu nodded her head, acknowledging her mistake. She really missed out on these details before making up her story so unless a person was blind, no one would fall for her lies. She needed to work on this.

"My bad!" accepted Liu Xinyu. "This is a lesson that one should never steal watches from their mother's wardrobe. I'll keep it in mind."

Yan Anyi laughed at her words as she quite liked the energy of the young woman in front of her right now. She did not even know why she was willing to sit here and talk to her after knowing that everything she said earlier was pure garbage. Maybe it was because this young woman seemed not only interesting but also quite adorable. 

"What would you like to drink?" asked Yan Anyi from her.

"Water would suffice," replied Liu Xinyu. 

Yan Anyi turned to the lady in white and asked her to bring water for Liu Xinyu.

"It's not good to lie."

Liu Xinyu touched the leg of the wooden table before her with the tip of her shoe as she answered, "I know."

"Then why lie?"

"Not all of it is a lie though," replied Liu Xinyu. "I really don't have any documents with me to prove anything. Not even my identity. I'm practically a runaway from home right now as well. And I am good with languages as I said so. It's one of the three things I'm best at."

"What are the other two?" asked Yan Anyi rather curious about it.

"Can't tell," Liu Xinyu refused to open her mouth regarding this.

Yan Anyi looked at her thoughtfully, she seemed to be in a dilemma right now and Liu Xinyu could understand it too.

"I know I am making things difficult for you here," said Liu Xinyu. "Even I wouldn't trust someone like myself. But it's just a translating job, you don't have to be worried about the fact that I'm a spy or something. It's like there are government secrets at your place or anything." She laughed as she spoke about this sudden thought but seeing how Yan Anyi actually raised her brow, as if considering the possibility of her words, Liu Xinyu cursed under her breath. "No wait! You can't really be thinking that I am a spy right? Just because I don't have an identity proof? That is impossible. Listen to my analysis."

"I'm listening," Yan Anyi was all ears to listen to her analysis. Actually, she had no such thoughts like Liu Xinyu was a spy or seemed suspicious or something. Honestly speaking, there was nothing worth anyone coming to their publishing house to steal or spy about. They just started it last year and were still in the early stages of their start-up.

"If I'm a spy, I'd have legitimate proof of identity. You're looking down on spies if you think they are vagabonds like me. And why would I be a spy here? And to work as a translator? How would it benefit me? Yes, spies can send out secret information by embedding it into the translated work in the form of Morse code, shorthand, or even semaphore, but it still doesn't seem as efficient as doing the same thing by working in a newspaper office instead."

Yiyi slapped her forehead with her palm as she shook her head at Liu Xinyu saying, "Girl, you need to shut up!" She could not believe that the more Liu Xinyu spoke, the more suspicious she seemed. How could this girl not realize it? If she spoke this nonsense in front of her when she was alive, even she'd be more willing to put her in prison than let her work with her.

"I'm making it worse, right?" asked Liu Xinyu as she stopped adding more details to her analysis after listening to Yiyi. Even she thought she just said too much. It was so unnecessary.

Yan Anyi nodded her head in agreement without any hesitation before laughing at Liu Xinyu expression of the wilted flower. How could someone be so cute?

"You should really try to be a writer," said Yan Anyi once again. "I'm telling you, you have the potential of being a best seller."

"I don't think I have that talent in me," Liu Xinyu rarely acted so modest but right now, she looks very sincere.

"No, someone told me once that the only talent an author needs is being whimsical. And you're whimsical enough. You definitely have what it takes to be a writer."

Liu Xinyu smiled slightly when she heard that, she had never been told this before. A lot of people said a lot of things about her. She was told that she could be anything but no one ever said that she could be a writer. She didn't even know she was whimsical before coming to 1998. It seems some talents were only unearthed after going through some tempering.

Yan Anyi picked up a folder from the table and took out a few documents from them before placing them in front of Liu Xinyu. 

"Three tests to evaluate your language skills," said Yan Anyi. "Since you say you know three languages, we need to know how good you are at all three of them before deciding."

Liu Xinyu stared at the papers in front of her and then at Yan Anyi. She could tell that this was a chance to proof her ability but she did not think she'd be given this chance after how she behaved just now. It seems she was thinking too much. She still wasn't completely hopeless.

"Are you sure about giving me this chance?" asked Liu Xinyu.

"I am very sure," replied Yan Anyi. 

"Why?"

"I feel like working with you would be fun."

Liu Xinyu touched the papers on the table with a complicated look in her eyes. She was actually wondering if her luck improved after time traveling. Otherwise, why was she running into good people like Yan Anyi or even the neighborhood auntie Lihua from this morning. She didn't have to say anything about her father, Yi Qin but even Qi Yuze seemed to be restraining his temper around her. Despite his obvious resistance, he didn't do anything overboard to push her away.

Maybe her luck really improved without her realizing it.