Chapter 29: Human or Not?

Linjiao Town, located on the west side of Nanjiang City, primarily focused on agriculture and secondary industries.

Its economy was considered quite high among the surrounding towns.

The Linjiao Swimming Base was situated in the center of Linjiao Town.

It was the backdrop for nearly every child’s summer memories.

Due to the scorching heat, many athletes also chose to come here for swimming patrols.

Consequently, as soon as summer arrived, the flow of people began to increase day by day.

With the increased crowd, the original number of lifeguards naturally became insufficient.

At this moment, within the massive pool, two people with excellent swimming skills were moving through the water.

One was male and the other female.

The man was built sturdily, his muscles bulging like a bull’s, while two distinct lines of abdominal muscles could be seen on the woman’s midsection.

A man in a white T-shirt stood on the shore.

An HR Manager badge hung on his left chest; he was the one in charge of this recruitment.

Standing beside the HR Manager was a woman dressed in a professional suit.

From her appearance alone, one could tell she was a high-ranking executive of the swimming base.

“Both are quite good… we’re still three short…”

The HR Manager held a clipboard and placed a checkmark behind the two names.

He looked up at the domed canopy.

“Today is the third day, and only two people have shown up. Boss, if it really doesn’t work out, how about we just do this? We can just give these two safety personnel a bit more pay.”

“No, we need at least three people.”

The Female Boss shook her head.

“The recruitment ad stated a three-shift rotation. If we can’t even manage that, will future applicants ever trust our advertisements again?”

“But Boss… it’s already mid-July. If we don’t find enough lifeguards soon, it won’t be the police chatting with us, it’ll be the Lieshou joining us for tea.”

Clang—

Just as the HR Manager finished speaking, the windproof door of the swimming base was pushed open.

Turning their gaze, they saw a somewhat disheveled young girl walk into the gymnasium.

Her dead-fish eyes scanned the surroundings.

The newcomer was, of course, Gu Lian, who had come for the interview.

Now that she only wanted to live a peaceful life, she naturally wouldn’t miss out on such an easy job.

‘This is the place.’

Gu Lian pulled a recruitment flyer from her pocket and glanced at it.

After nodding and tucking it away, she walked up to the HR Manager and the Female Boss.

She gave a deep bow and said, “Hello, I am here to apply for the lifeguard position.”

The Female Boss narrowed her eyes slightly and gave the HR Manager a light kick on the foot.

The HR Manager understood instantly and stepped forward.

“You’re here for the job? Then let me ask… are you an adult?”

The HR Manager scanned Gu Lian from head to toe.

In his eyes, this girl, who was barely 1.5 meters tall, was very beautiful.

Even with a dirty face, she couldn’t hide her ethereal features.

However, for some reason, he felt this girl wasn’t an adult, judging solely by her height.

“I am an adult.”

“Are you sure?”

The HR Manager looked down and stared at her.

Gu Lian raised her eyes slightly to meet his gaze.

After a full half a minute, the HR Manager looked away, essentially acknowledging the fact that she was an adult.

“Name.”

“Gu Lian.”

“ID card.”

“Don’t have one.”

“???”

‘And you still claim to be an adult?’

The HR Manager, who was writing, froze for a moment.

He looked up at Gu Lian with a strange expression.

Out of professional courtesy, he restrained the urge to complain and asked, “Phone number…”

“Don’t have one.”

“…”

The HR Manager took a deep breath to calm himself.

He wrote down “summer worker” on his clipboard.

He repeated a mantra in his mind: ‘This is just a formality, this is just a formality.’

The Female Boss turned her head away.

She actually found the situation somewhat comical.

The HR Manager paused for a moment, rubbing his temples with the hand holding the pen.

He spoke up, “Miss… then where do you live…”

“I’m wandering.”

“Pfft—!”

The Female Boss turned away and laughed quite unkindly.

Forgive her, but this recruitment session was truly a comedy.

The HR Manager turned to look at his boss, forcing himself to stay calm.

He crossed out “summer worker” on the clipboard and wrote “hourly worker” instead.

“Are there any other requirements?”

“Not for now… but we need to see your swimming skills…”

Before the HR Manager could finish, a gust of wind pressure swept past him, ruffling his clothes and hair.

His expression twitched wildly.

With a splash, Gu Lian dove into the pool like a leaping fish.

The moment she hit the water, her legs began to kick, propelling her through the depths at an unreasonable speed.

The man and woman who had been selected earlier climbed out of the pool onto the deck.

Water dripped from their bodies as they stepped back toward the HR Manager.

“We should be passed, right?”

“Uh… yes, you passed.”

The HR Manager exhaled sharply and touched his forehead.

His worldview was truly being refreshed today.

“If we passed, then regarding the benefits…”

The somewhat rugged woman raised her arms over her head and stretched, her body letting out a series of crisp cracks.

“Well… for the specific details, you’ll need to talk to the boss.”

The HR Manager introduced the boss to them, and then… blah, blah, blah.

Whoosh!

Gu Lian leaped out of the water.

When she was about half a meter above the surface, she curled her body into a mid-air rotation before landing on the deck with one hand supporting her.

“Did I pass?”

As Gu Lian stood up, she tossed her hair.

A spray of water arched from the tips of her hair, splashing all over the HR Manager.

“Uh…”

The HR Manager hesitated for a moment.

Looking at this girl whose height and physical skills were a total mismatch, he asked, “Are you sure you didn’t sneak out of some Shaolin Temple to play?”

‘Your imagination is way too active…’

Gu Lian’s lips twitched.

Then, she put on a serious expression and said, “I am not a monk, understand?”

“Does your abbot know you ran away?”

The HR Manager nodded.

He was certain now; this kid had definitely snuck out.

And what a character she was.

A girl with no ID, no phone, who claimed to be wandering yet possessed such incredible skills, coming out to find a job on her own…

Wasn’t this the standard setup for a comedy movie?

This could seriously be turned into a TV series—the kind that would make people die of laughter.

“He knows…”

Gu Lian’s body trembled as she suppressed the urge to punch the man in front of her.

“Is that so? Fine, you passed.”

The HR Manager checked the box for swimming skills.

He pointed toward the Female Boss and said, “You can talk to the boss about the specific pay. You want cash, right?”

“No, I have a bank card.”

“Cough, cough!”

The HR Manager choked on his own saliva.

Gu Lian shrugged and turned to walk toward the Female Boss.

That was the real employer; this man was just a recruiter, so there was no need to be particularly polite.

“Cough… cough…”

The HR Manager coughed several times before recovering.

Looking at Gu Lian’s somewhat thin back, he felt even more certain that this brat had snuck down from the mountains.

Looking down at the clipboard in his hand, the HR Manager silently wrote “will follow all assignments” under the work preference section.

Feeling it wasn’t enough, he frowned slightly and stood in deep thought for a moment.

He looked up as if realizing something, then picked up his pen and added a sentence behind the swimming skill checkmark:

“Swimming Proficiency: At least National Level 2 Athlete standard.”