178 The Pieces 1 (1/2)

Honestly Sylvia was quite surprised when she saw the light in that particular cubicle. She assumed the guy in that cubicle would be the first one to leave.

'But there's no sound coming from his cubicle, not even the sound of typing. Perhaps he accidentally left the light on before he left? That does sound like something he'd do. I'd better help him close it before I leave...' This was the assumption that came into Sylvia's mind. Based on what she knew about the guy, it was not surprising for her to think so.

Therefore, it gave Sylvia quite a fright when the voice of the guy in question appeared from behind her saying, ”Sylvia, you're still here?!”

Sylvia swiveled around and saw Ming Tian facing her, holding a cup of instant noodle in his hands. That was probably his midnight snack and proof that he had been there for quite some time already. Sylvia assumed he would be the first one to be leave but now it appeared like he was the last of her colleagues remaining to accompany her. For some reason, she found that to be quite touching.

”Sylvia, why don't you go home first? I'm sure girls like you need your beauty sleep. Leave this to me,” Ming Tian offered.

The feeling within Sylvia intensified. Sylvia's impression of Ming Tian was that of a lazy bum with questionable moral compass but she realized she might have misjudged the man.

”It's alright, I don't want to burden you with the entire problem on your own. We can work on this together,” Sylvia said. Her tone was friendly and unbeknownst to herself, perhaps she was giving the man a chance. After all, a pair of single couple working together late into the night with no other accompaniment other than each other... Who knew what could happen...

Ming Tian walked over to stand behind Sylvia, bringing the smell of the cup noodles with him. It wafted to surround Sylvia. It was then that the young woman realized she had not had dinner yet. She should visit the office pantry to raid it for some food supply.

Ming Tian asked, ”What are you working on? Have you found anything?”

Sylvia sighed as she shook her head. ”There's nothing. How about you?”

”Same.” The disappointment was evident in Ming Tian's voice as well. Although it was unclear whether his disappointment was due to his inability to find a news article for the papers or for Sylvia.

Sylvia clicked on the mouse absentmindedly while wondering whether she should just convince Ming Tian to retire for the night and they would leave the issue for the higher-ups to handle. Sylvia was sure they could come up with a solution somehow.

After all, why should they, the small time reporters, worry about the company's future when the higher-ups had done nothing but toss the orders around?