This was already the second time he had felt her voice… (2)

Gu Xun’s gaze remained calm, but Yue Qianling, on the other hand, had a trace of panic in her eyes as she quickly averted her gaze. She grabbed her phone and began pressing random keys in an attempt to cover up the fact that she had been caught glancing at him.

Amidst the bustling and noisy environment, Yue Qianling could still clearly hear the sound of her own heartbeat.

Why was her heart racing so much?!

Wasn’t it just a glance and getting caught? What’s the big deal?!

Pull yourself together! Stop it!

After a while, she heard Yi Hong and Gu Xun whispering something in low voices. Only then did Yue Qianling, feeling relieved, emerge from her hole.

She risked another furtive glance in his direction and seeing him seemingly unfazed, Yue Qianling finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Other than the initial panic, she was mostly happy.

Her decision to return to work had been indeed the right one. It had only been a few days, and she was already sitting at the same table as him.

Perhaps in a little while, they might even go watch a movie together as a group. When that happened, she would make sure to grab a seat next to him.

With these thoughts in mind, Yue Qianling’s gaze lingered on Yi Hong and Huang Jie as she contemplated something.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated, indicating that there was a message in the group chat.

​【Luo Tuo】: Finally home. Wanna *eat some chicken? (*gaming slang for PUBG)

​【Xiao Mai】: I’m reading right now, maybe later.

​【Luo Tuo】: @GlutinousRiceTwist @SchoolGrass, what about you two?

​【School Grass】: Not available right now.

​【Glutinous Rice Twist】: I’m busy too, having a dinner with my colleagues (*^▽^*)

​【School Grass】: Just say you’re having dinner, why do you have to add that.

​【Glutinous Rice Twist】: It’s none of your business (*^▽^*)

​【Xiao Mai】: *9494, why do you care so much? You’re not her boyfriend. (*internet slang to express agreement)

​【School Grass】: ?

​【Glutinous Rice Twist】: ?

​【Luo Tuo】: @GlutinousRiceTwist, didn’t you quit your job?

​【Glutinous Rice Twist】​: I’m back as a new colleague!

​【Luo Tuo】: Oh, it’s good to have more meals with new colleagues. Alright, I’ll go pack my luggage first, and later we can have chicken dinner together.

Yue Qianling put down her phone, and as she casually looked up, she noticed that Gu Xun was also looking at his phone, seemingly lost in thought and not looking very happy.

New colleague.

Gu Xun stared at these words, furrowing his brow for a long time.

But when Yue Qianling’s gaze shifted, and she glanced at Yi Hong, who was sitting next to Gu Xun, suddenly it all made sense to her.

Behind them, the welcoming voices resounded again as more guests entered, and a gust of cold wind rushed in.

Yue Qianling immediately covered her mouth and turned her head, coughing a couple of times.

A few seconds later, the door was opened again as departing guests left, and Yue Qianling began coughing once more.

Huang Jie, who had been chatting with someone else, noticed Yue Qianling’s cough and immediately asked with concern, “Are you okay? Do you have a cold?”

“Maybe a bit,” Yue Qianling frowned and coughed again, “With people coming and going, the wind just blows right at me. It’s a bit unbearable.”

The clear sound of her voice reached Gu Xun’s ears, and suddenly, his gaze focused for a moment, then he raised his eyes and looked directly at Yue Qianling.

This was already the second time he had felt her voice was very familiar.

Familiar to the point where it was almost impossible for it to be two different people.

Some fragmented memories began to surface in his mind, and they almost seemed to match perfectly.

For example, currently having dinner with colleagues, Jiangcheng, alumni, a similar voice…

Gu Xun squinted his eyes, and his fingers quietly tightened around his phone.

On the other side, Huang Jie looked at Yue Qianling and was about to say something when Yi Hong had already stood up.

“How about you sit here?” He pulled out the chair and gestured towards Yue Qianling. “I’m dressed warmly.”

Yue Qianling quickly waved her hand. “How could I do that?”

“We’re all colleagues,” Yi Hong approached her, already making his way over. “Come on, it doesn’t matter where I sit.”

Yue Qianling mumbled something about not wanting to inconvenience him but had already hurriedly gotten up and was walking toward his seat.

Under the dim light, Yue Qianling used her peripheral vision to pay attention to Gu Xun’s reaction, for fear that he might refuse to let her sit next to him.

However, he remained silent and, instead, stared straight at her face. Even when their eyes met, he showed no intention of looking away.

Yue Qianling blushed uncontrollably.

Thankfully, the dim lighting of the restaurant concealed her embarrassment.

Gu Xun finally shifted his gaze away.

At that moment, the background music changed to a romantic violin solo.

But the person across from her was Gu Xun, and Yue Qianling would never dream of thinking that he would fall in love with her at first sight just because of such a glance.

Could it be…

Countless thoughts quickly raced through Yue Qianling’s mind.

Did he figure out her real purpose in changing seats?

No way, she acted pretty convincingly just now.

Could I have slipped up somewhere else?

…..

With various doubts in her mind, Yue Qianling nervously took her seat beside Gu Xun, pretending to be reserved and not looking at him.

But out of the corner of her eye, she paid attention to Gu Xun’s every move.

Her limited field of vision prevented her from seeing clearly what Gu Xun was doing, but she noticed that he was looking at his phone with lowered eyes, his fingers lightly tapping on the table, seemingly pondering about something.

The dishes they ordered finally started to arrive one by one, and their colleagues around them were engaged in conversation.

Huang Jie had always been considerate of others. When she noticed that Yue Qianling hadn’t ordered a drink, she immediately asked, “Would you like to have some wine?”

Her hand reached over Gu Xun, offering a glass of wine. “You’ve also been quite busy these days. How about having a drink to relax?”

Yue Qianling glanced at the fruit juices placed in front of the girls across from her and quickly waved her hand. “I don’t drink alcohol.”

Huang Jie suggested, “How about rice wine then? It’s not very strong.”

“No need, really.” Yue Qianling shook her head. “I’m allergic to alcohol. I can’t even touch a drop.”

Huang Jie felt something was amiss. Was it not Yue Qianling whom she drank with last year? Did she remember it wrong?

“Alright, then have some fruit juice,”

Huang Jie finally settled back into her seat.

Yue Qianling breathed a sigh of relief and sneakily glanced at Gu Xun, trying to see his reaction.

Unexpectedly, he suddenly turned toward her, looked directly at Yue Qianling, and asked, “Do you play games?”

“Yes,” Yue Qianling maintained a smile. “How can someone from a game company not play games?”

Gu Xun’s gaze deepened a bit.

“What games do you play?”

“I play a bit of everything that’s on the market,” she replied. “I’ve tried games from companies like Ubisoft, Blizzard, and Koei Tecmo.”

However, Gu Xun didn’t display the appreciative expression Yue Qianling had anticipated. Instead, he straightened up a bit, his posture losing some of its casualness.

“Well,” he stared at her, asking, “what about mobile games?”

“Mobile games?”

In Yue Qianling’s mind, Chen Yin’s words from a few days ago quickly flashed: “People from their Ninth Business Division really look down on mobile games.”

So, she replied, word by word, “I never play mobile games. They lack technical depth, don’t they?”