boyutpedia Chapter 1: Standing Shoulder to Shoulder with the Raging Sun
Chapter 1: Standing Shoulder to Shoulder with the Raging Sun
"Family members, help me!"
"Can Zhuang Xu in 'The Sun Shines Like Me' please stop using 'I'm poor, therefore I'm right' as a shield for his deep affection?"
Yu Chen spoke into the microphone, his spittle almost piercing the screen.
The editing software was filled with clips of Zhuang Xu's coy and evasive interactions with Nie Xiguang.
"The female lead is the heiress of the Nie Group, that's true. But besides wallowing in self-pity and pushing her away, can't you do anything decent?"
"Isn't it better to figure out how to make money with her, or is it wrong to strive to improve yourself and be worthy of her brilliance?"
"This logic of a deeply affectionate but insecure man is practically a beginner's guide to emotional manipulation!"
"The screenwriter uses him to create conflict, and the audience watches him suffer a heart attack! Being a mere plot device is pitiful, but having such shattered logic is even worse!"
"Everyone here, including myself, has a responsibility for this kind of character becoming popular."
Video Title:
Zhuang Xu, your deep affection is muddier than the waters of the Suzhou River.
release.
A frenzy of comments erupted instantly.
"Mouth double!"
"The content creator on YouTube really got me all smitten about my breast nodules!"
"Worse than a simp!"
Yu Chen downed the last mouthful of cola with a satisfying sense of accomplishment.
The night outside the window was deep and dark.
He decided to go downstairs to buy some late-night snacks to reward himself for his hard work.
As he crossed the street, he was still indignantly thinking about the plot he had just watched.
This drama perfectly portrays the humility of men.
There's nothing wrong with the female lead, but the male lead and second male lead's characters are so ridiculous that you just want to spit them out with some kind of yellow liquid.
at this time,
A blindingly bright light suddenly shone down!
Yu Chen subconsciously turned his head and saw a huge and familiar heavy truck rushing towards him at a speed that defied the laws of physics and was comparable to teleportation!
On the front of the car, several large characters seemed to be flashing in colorful light strips.
Universal Logistics: Mission Accomplished.
"Holy crap?! That truck...this feels so familiar..."
Yu Chen's sarcastic spirit was still burning in the last 0.01 seconds of his life.
"Is the ultimate punishment for criticizing romance dramas... being run over and killed by the legendary time-traveler's exclusive vehicle?!"
"This plot is so cliché! Thumbs down!!!"
This was Yu Chen's last, unwilling cry before losing consciousness.
-
When I opened my eyes again, I was surrounded by noisy voices, and the bright, white sun of the summer of 2011 was overhead.
He sat on the stone steps beside the tree-lined road, holding a stack of rough flyers in his hand.
Lightning-fast delivery, errand running services, perfect for graduation season.
A massive amount of memory fragments bombarded my mind:
Yu Chen, 22 years old.
His parents were buried in the afterlife, leaving him all alone.
A recent graduate in accounting from a third-rate vocational college in Jiangning has found himself with no job offers during the job-hunting season.
All my possessions were a three-digit balance in my bank account and an old Nokia phone.
as well as……
A newly bound "system" with a simple art style reminiscent of a knock-off web game from ten years ago.
Core mission: To stand shoulder to shoulder with the scorching sun, despite being a mere mortal.
Ultimate goal: To win over Nie Xiguang.
Initial resources: A standard deliveryman identity in 2011, basic accounting knowledge, and business acumen ahead of its time.
System Shop: Now Open (Currency: Achievement Points)
Note: This world's marketplace does not sell supernatural abilities; it only provides information, skills training acceleration, and limited access to resources.
Please focus on your own growth.
Yu Chen rubbed his temples, trying to process the current situation.
Based on the timeline of the original series.
In 2011, Nie Xiguang was graduating from university.
She should have just returned to school after a brief stint at a law firm in Wuxi, and was busy with her graduation thesis and job hunting.
Zhuang Xu has received an offer from a bank in Shanghai with a monthly salary of over 10,000 yuan, and is currently at the peak of his emotional and self-esteem struggle.
And he, Yu Chen.
He became a "three-no person" with an even lower starting point than the second male lead in the original work.
Strangely, he felt no embarrassment or inferiority like Zhuang Xu; instead, he felt a surge of excitement and anticipation.
"System," he asked in his mind, "I understand the meaning of 'Shoulder to Shoulder with the Sun'."
But how do we compare them?
"Go to a bank, earn a monthly salary of ten thousand or so yuan, and then play push-pull games with her?"
"Wrong." The system's electronic voice remained calm and composed.
"A strong tendency toward 'healthy relationships' and 'self-actualization' was detected in the host."
The core of this mission is: please redefine "power" with your vision that transcends time, your tangible efforts, and the rewards from this system, and use this to attract targets.
The ultimate goal is to become a leading man.
Note: Pure accumulation of wealth is considered an inefficient path.
Yu Chen raised an eyebrow, understanding.
This system led him down a "third path" that differed from Zhuang Xu's inferiority complex and from traditional female-oriented romance novels about self-sacrifice.
It relies on brains, vision, and that irresistible charm of a futuristic, disruptive force.
Romance in female-oriented novels is worthless in male-oriented novels.
He looked down at the errand flyer in his hand, then at the impressive Zhixing Building of the business school not far away.
That was the place where Nie Xiguang often went to submit his papers and visit his advisor.
"The first step is to get your face known."
Yu Chen stood up, dusted off his pants, and said with a clear look in his eyes, "As for the location, let's set it at... the job fair."
This is a famous scene from the original novel, where Zhuang Xu "kindly" helps Nie Xiguang submit his resume to Shengyuan Company, but it causes Ye Rong to misunderstand, which can be said to be the beginning of all the twists and turns.
It's a shame to waste such a great stage on a rival show.
---
A few days later, at the Jiangning University Gymnasium, at a job fair for graduating students.
The place was bustling with noise, and the air was stiflingly hot.
Nie Xiguang wore a simple white shirt and jeans, her hair tied in a ponytail, her pretty face showing a hint of confusion typical of graduates.
She held several carefully prepared resumes in her hand, her eyes sweeping over the booths of various companies.
Her father wanted her to come home, but she still harbored a sliver of a desire to make her own way in the world.
Not far away, Zhuang Xu was surrounded by several classmates, discussing his enviable bank offer.
His gaze occasionally swept over Nie Xiguang, his expression complex and difficult to decipher.
Yu Chen is here too.
However, he was not a job seeker; he had slipped in as a "graduation season errand runner."
He helped a senior student who was in a hurry to have an interview to temporarily queue up and hold a place in line. At that moment, he was in line at the booth of the well-known domestic company "Shengyuan Group" and was holding the senior student's resume and portfolio in his hand.
The group moved forward slowly. Two male students from the business school in front were talking loudly, and their voices reached the ears of Yu Chen and Nie Xiguang, who was not far behind.
"Shengyuan has expanded too fast in the past two years, and its cash flow must be tight. Look at this new energy project they are promoting. The concept is good, but the technology path is too aggressive and the cost cannot be reduced."
"That's right. My uncle works in the investment circle, and he said they've been looking for money everywhere lately, offering very demanding terms."
"Going in now might just be filling in a hole."
The two men spoke with exaggerated gestures, appearing as experts in their field. The students around them looked on with suspicion.
Just then, a clear voice broke in, not loud, but with a resolute penetrating power:
"Seniors, the data might be a bit outdated."
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a clean-looking boy wearing a white T-shirt who didn't look like a senior student.
It was Yu Chen.
The two boys were taken aback, then frowned: "Who are you? What brilliant ideas do you have?"
Yu Chen remained calm and smiled slightly: "I wouldn't presume to offer such insightful opinions. I simply happened to have paid attention to it."
"In the first half of the year, Shengyuan secretly acquired a small photovoltaic technology company in Jiangsu called 'Xuyang Technology'. This company has a patent on silicon wafer thinning, and the laboratory data is very impressive, which can further reduce the cost of modules by 8%-10%."
He paused, his gaze calmly sweeping over the ears around him, and continued, "Shengyuan is not blindly expanding; it is betting on the window of opportunity for technological iteration."
"They're raising money now not to fill their holes, but more likely to expand production capacity and grab the biggest slice of the pie before the next industry boom. Entering now, if it's a technical or core business position, might not be a trap, but rather a golden opportunity."
His remarks were detailed, logically sound, and even contained a framework for investment analysis.
Not only were the two boys speechless, but even the HR specialist behind the Shengyuan booth, who had been looking down at resumes, couldn't help but look up at Yu Chen.
Nie Xiguang, standing slightly behind, also showed a hint of surprise in his clear eyes.
This guy, who looked like a junior student, spoke and knew far beyond the average level of this noisy job fair.
She had heard about photovoltaics, costs, and patents before because of her family background, but such a detailed and confident analysis was rare to hear on campus.
Zhuang Xu also noticed the commotion. He saw Yu Chen, who was the focus of everyone's attention, and then looked at Nie Xiguang, who was deep in thought. His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Just then, the security guard responsible for maintaining order walked over and pointed at Yu Chen: "Hey, that student, the photo on your resume doesn't quite look like you. Was it someone else posing for you?"
The situation became a little awkward for a moment.
While it's common to queue up for others at job fairs, it's never a pleasant experience to be called out on it.
Yu Chen, however, remained calm and readily admitted, "The security guard has a good eye."
"I'm from 'Lightning Delivery,' and I was asked by a senior student named Wang from the Mechanical Engineering department to get him this position. He just went to another urgent interview, and I'm about to contact him to come over."
He waved the old Nokia in his hand, his attitude straightforward and unpretentious.
This turn of events surprised everyone around them once again.
I thought he was a hidden academic genius, but it turns out he's just... a gofer?
But this frankness actually dispelled the awkwardness and even made people feel a little good about him. He was disciplined and accountable.
Nie Xiguang looked at Yu Chen, her curiosity growing stronger.
This person was just talking eloquently about industry trends, but in the blink of an eye, he can calmly admit that he is a delivery person.
This contrast and naturalness is completely different from the proud or sensitive boys she usually encounters.
Yu Chen nodded politely to the security guard and the students around him, then walked to the side to make a phone call.
As she passed by Nie Xiguang, the top of the stack of resumes in her hand suddenly slipped off due to the previous crowding.
Yu Chen reacted quickly, bending down to catch it steadily. He glanced at the name and major on the resume, a perfectly timed friendly smile curving his lips, and handed the resume back.
"An accounting major? Her resume is impressive."
His gaze swept over the impressive GPA and internship experience on the resume, his tone one of pure admiration, devoid of any flattery or restraint. "However, the competition for finance positions at Shengyuan's headquarters is hellish. If their Wuxi branch has a finance trainee program, the chances might be better; they're currently expanding their production lines and urgently need manpower, and besides..."
He pointed to a section of the resume and said, "Your experience in cost process streamlining perfectly aligns with their needs for cost reduction and efficiency improvement, so you should highlight it."
The suggestions are specific and practical, directly pointing out directions for resume optimization and potential opportunities, reflecting a professional's mindset.
Nie Xiguang took the resume, somewhat surprised: "You... know so much about Shengyuan?"
"Running errands involves a lot of information, and if you hear too much, you start to overthink it." Yu Chen laughed casually, as if she were talking about a trivial matter. "Good luck, senior."
After saying that, he waved his phone to indicate that he had work to attend to, then turned around decisively, squeezed through the crowd, and left the job fair.
Throughout the entire process, he didn't ask Nie Xiguang's name or try to strike up a conversation; he simply completed an efficient, friendly, and information-rich act of "passerby assistance."
Nie Xiguang held the resume, watching his tall figure disappear through the door. The clear and powerful industry analysis and the incisive resume advice he had just given seemed to still echo in her ears.
This mysterious "errand boy" left her with a peculiar impression.
Despite playing the most ordinary role, he possesses the insight to see through the fog;
They could easily gain attention through their knowledge, yet they remain open and honest about their "ordinary" identity.
Not far away, Zhuang Xu watched Nie Xiguang staring blankly in the direction of the door, and the inexplicable feeling of unease in his heart grew even stronger.
Who is that guy...?
"Ding! Initial contact complete." The system's voice rang in Yu Chen's mind.
Scene fit: Excellent.
Behavioral pattern: Excellent.
The level of enjoyment provided is excellent.
"Nie Xiguang's initial impression index is generated: 'An observer full of contradictions and curiosity'."
"Detailed data has been entered."
"Reward settlement: Based on overwhelming information value and exemplary healthy interaction, 200 achievement points are awarded."
"Partial access to the system store has been unlocked."
-
Yu Chen walked under the scorching sun of 2011, feeling the unique, slow, and hopeful pulse of this era.
He glanced at the option that had just lit up.
System Shop: Refreshed Daily
[2011-2015 Yangtze River Delta Emerging Industry Trends Brief (Fragment) Price: 80 Achievement Points]
[Basic Business Data Analysis Skills (Accelerated Learning Module) Price: 200 Achievement Points]
[Basic Data Processing Logic Optimization (Mindset Enhancement, 48 Hours) Price: 120 Achievement Points]
Current Achievement Points: 200
His starting point was an even more thorough "nothingness" than Zhuang Xu's.
But what he possesses is a soul from the future, a system that doesn't play by the rules, and a strong heart that will never choose to be conflicted when faced with love and future prospects.
"Brother Zhuang Xu," Yu Chen whispered to the void, as if speaking to the struggling boy from the original story, "your battlefield is in the bank and in your own inferiority complex. My battlefield..."
He turned around and looked at the buildings of Jiangning University that embody youth and dreams.
"At the crest of the era's tide that is about to sweep everything away."
Yu Chen's exhilarating journey of starting from scratch officially begins at this graduation season's job fair.