These are fictional composite situations written for English-speaking contexts. They are not translations of the Traditional Chinese cases and do not represent real people.
Overthinking point: No one directly asked her to answer after hours, but visible activity makes her feel that being offline could look uncommitted.
A more helpful next step: Separate the actual expectation from the imagined one. Check written norms, clarify response-time expectations, and create a personal sign-off time unless the role genuinely requires on-call work.
Overthinking point: Each requirement becomes proof that everyone else is more prepared, so researching jobs slowly turns into avoiding applications.
A more helpful next step: Pick roles where you meet the core requirements, send one good-enough application, and treat the first few applications as information-gathering rather than a verdict on your future.
Overthinking point: The silence becomes a story: maybe the joke was awkward, maybe everyone is annoyed, maybe the friendship is fading.
A more helpful next step: Return to the observable facts and give the conversation time. If a relationship has felt distant for weeks, a simple one-to-one check-in gives you more information than repeatedly reading the chat.