Chapter 049

It snowed lightly the day after Valentine’s Day, with snow melting almost as soon as it hit the ground. When He Ye woke up, the snow was almost like rain.

Worried about Zhu Qing, she messaged her after breakfast: [How are you and Zhou Xiangming?]

Zhu Qing: [I don’t want to talk to him. Don’t mention him to me anymore.]

Zhu Qing: [Xiao Ye, I’m serious. Just don’t mention him.]

The second message made He Ye uncomfortable.

Zhu Qing had always been carefree and cheerful, rarely getting angry except with unreasonable people. Now, she seemed ready to break up with Zhou Xiangming.

At eighteen, He Ye wasn’t interested in love, but at twenty-four, she had learned a lot from her roommates.

Although they hadn’t been in contact much, He Ye respected Zhu Qing’s feelings about her relationship.

On Monday, He Ye woke up early for work.

The Valentine’s Day decorations in the subway station hadn’t been taken down, but busy workers didn’t notice them.

He Ye had breakfast in the cafeteria and didn’t see Lu Jin.

When she arrived at the office on the tenth floor, she found Lu Jin already there, typing with a cold expression, along with Brother Qiang, who always arrived early.

Brother Qiang smiled and said “hi” to her.

He Ye smiled back and walked past Lu Jin’s desk without looking at him.

When she sat down, she noticed a small vase next to her computer, beside her potted green ivy. The vase was only about ten centimeters high and held a fresh, delicate rose.

The white vase and rose looked beautiful against the green leaves of the ivy.

He Ye glanced at Lu Jin, who was focused on his screen.

She looked at Brother Qiang again, who seemed unaware of the vase. It was likely placed there to avoid drawing attention.

He Ye’s heart raced. After sitting down, she messaged Lu Jin: [Did you put this here?]

Team Leader: [What?]

He Ye took a photo of the vase and sent it to him.

Team leader: [Brother Qiang arrived before me; you can ask him.]

Uncertain and embarrassed, He Ye thought, if the flowers weren’t from Lu Jin, why was she asking?

He Ye: [Never mind, I’ll just throw it away.]

Team leader: [Really? Don’t you often get flowers from unknown sources?]

He Ye: [It has nothing to do with you.]

Team leader: [It’s not easy to bring it here. If you don’t want it, you can give it back to me. It would be a shame to throw it away.]

He Ye gritted her teeth. She knew there were only two people in the office who arrived before her. Who else could have sent the flowers?

She decided to admit it and tease him a little.

He Ye stood up.

Brother Qiang glanced over, seeing her tidying up her desk.

Lu Jin kept typing, but then he looked up.

He Ye felt her face flush. She knew he was watching her, and she got nervous about what she was about to do. Her adrenaline surged.

The longer she hesitated, the more likely her new colleague would notice. She decided to move the vase to Lu Jin’s desk.

Brother Qiang kept reading his paper.

He Ye arrived at Jiang Xu’s workstation, which was next to Brother Qiang’s. The wooden screen blocked her lower half, giving her a sense of relief. She quietly switched the vase to her left hand and placed it on Lu Jin’s desk as she passed.

Mission accomplished, He Ye smiled and continued walking out of the office.

As soon as He Ye stepped outside, she spotted Song Chengzhou and Liu Fei walking towards her.

She felt a bit nervous, sweating slightly on her back. If she had been any slower, the two men might have noticed her.

“He Ye, up early?” one of them said.

“Just got here too; I’m going to buy a drink,” she replied.

Keeping her little secret to herself, He Ye greeted her colleagues casually and walked towards the vending machine in the hall.

While scanning the payment code, she received a message from Lu Jin: [Don’t you like it, or are you worried about your colleagues seeing it and how to explain?]

He Ye didn’t respond.

Team leader: [I only added one flower on purpose. You can definitely say it’s yours.]

He Ye replied: [I didn’t bring my own roses, especially after Valentine’s Day.]

Team leader: [You could hide the flowers in your bag.]

He Ye: [Anyway, don’t do this again in the future.]

Team leader: [Okay. Can you bring me a bottle of water? Just put it on my desk like you did before.]

He Ye: […wait.]

After the chat, she paid for a bottle of mineral water, took it out, and walked back.

Lu Jin sat in his office chair, listening to her footsteps as she passed by. He held a bottle of water in one hand, his other hand empty.

He smiled at her: [My water?]

Xiao YeZi: [Go buy it yourself.]

Lu Jin actually went out to the vending machine.

While he was choosing his drink, Feng Qiuyu and Jiang Xu stepped out of the elevator.

The bright sunlight poured in through the tall windows. Lu Jin stood tall in the empty hall, looking intently at the vending machine, a slight smile on his face.

Feng Qiuyu wished it were He Ye standing next to her instead. If it had been He Ye, she could have commented on how handsome Team Leader looked.

After holding it in all the way, Feng Qiuyu entered the office to share her thoughts with He Ye but suddenly paused.

Jiang Xu followed her gaze and noticed a rose on Lu Jin’s desk. It was simple but looked lovely in the thin-necked white vase, clearly showing some thought had gone into it.

“Did someone send flowers to Team Leader?” Feng Qiuyu asked, curious.

Brother Qiang, Song Chengzhou, and Liu Fei all looked up. Brother Qiang even leaned over to get a better look at Lu Jin’s desk. “Wow, there really is a rose! Who sent it? I was the first one in and didn’t notice it.”

Seeing the surprise on her male colleagues’ faces, Feng Qiuyu turned to another female colleague for help: “He Ye, how long have you been here? Did you see it?”

He Ye shook her head. Those flowers were from Lu Jin, so she felt no guilt.

Not long after, Lu Jin returned.

Feng Qiuyu immediately approached him. 

Lu Jin, uninterested, sat down and started working: “I don’t know.”

Feng Qiuyu pressed him: “So you accepted it? A female colleague asked for your WeChat before, and you ignored her.”

Lu Jin replied, “Flowers are just flowers.”

He Ye: “…”

The next day, the department announced that the Algorithm Department would have a team-building event that Saturday. They planned to go hiking in the mountains in the morning, followed by lunch at a nearby restaurant.

By Friday, everyone received a white hat with the company logo and a matching lightweight backpack.

Cheng Rui checked the weather: “It looks good. Tomorrow will be sunny with a high of 16 degrees, which is perfect, not too cold or hot.”

Liu Fei remarked: “It would be better if it were shorter. Ten kilometers would really tire me out.”

Brother Qiang responded: “The weaker you are, the more you need to exercise. Look at our team leader; he looks thin but has muscles. Look at you, almost as thin as a chopstick.” 

Cheng Rui cut in: “Stop it; we are all teammates, no personal attacks!”

He Ye quietly asked Feng Qiuyu, “Have you ever hiked before?”

Feng Qiuyu replied: “We hike this trail almost every year. It’s a bit tiring, but it’s fun. We play while walking, and the morning goes by quickly.”

He Ye, who had never climbed a mountain, worried about whether she could keep up.

But since it was a company event, she felt she couldn’t make excuses.

The company arranged buses to take everyone, meeting at the company gate at 8 a.m. The ride to the hiking area would take about half an hour.

He Ye changed into sportswear, tied her hair back, and packed water, wet wipes, tissues, and other hiking essentials into her backpack. She put on her hat and headed out.

She took a taxi straight to the company.

With over a thousand employees in the Algorithm Department, several buses were parked outside. Those who arrived early would be sent first when the buses were full.

When He Ye got out of the car, she saw Feng Qiuyu waving to her from the company park across the way. Lu Jin, Jiang Xu, Brother Qiang, Gong Hang, and others were with her.

She hadn’t arrived too late; some colleagues from her group were still missing.

Navigating through the crowd, Feng Qiuyu smiled: “You look younger with your hair tied up. People might think you’re in high school.”

Even though many employees had worked for years, He Ye still had a youthful look since she had just graduated from graduate school.

The mention of “high school” made He Ye feel a bit sensitive, so she glanced at Lu Jin.

He didn’t seem to notice her.

After waiting a few minutes, Liu Fei and the others arrived.

Lu Jin called out: “Get in the car.”

They chose a relatively empty bus. Ten people lined up to board, and coincidentally, Lu Jin ended up standing behind He Ye.

As Feng Qiuyu walked ahead, she asked, “Shall we sit together?”

Although she could sit next to her boyfriend Jiang Xu, that would leave He Ye sitting next to a male colleague. He Ye was more introverted and might feel uncomfortable.

Feng Qiuyu, a few years older, always looked out for her.

He Ye smiled and replied: “Will Jiang Xu get jealous?”

Feng Qiuyu said, “He can eats farts.^[1]is a humorous and playful expression that usually means ‘I don’t care’ or ‘Let him deal with it.’”

Jiang Xu replied, “You guys can talk, I’ll play with my phone.”

He sat behind Feng Qiuyu, but someone took the seat next to him before he could sit. Jiang Xu turned and saw Lu Jin.

Although he was one of the three brave people who chose to sit opposite Lu Jin, he still felt a bit nervous. While other colleagues joked and chatted about daily life, Lu Jin seemed like a robot who only worked.

He smiled awkwardly and looked at his colleagues behind him.

Gong Hang glanced at He Ye.

Since Jiang Xu already had a girlfriend, he understood what Gong Hang meant.

With Team Leader not around to socialize, Jiang Xu relaxed and listened to his girlfriend chatting with He Ye.

He Ye knew Lu Jin was sitting behind her, but she was distracted by Feng Qiuyu, so she didn’t feel too bothered by him.

The bus smoothly took them to the start of the hiking trail.

When the road was wide, Feng Qiuyu walked on He Ye’s left, and Cheng Rui followed on her right. But when they reached the mountain section, the steps were only wide enough for two people to walk side by side.

Feng Qiuyu wanted to stay close to He Ye, but Jiang Xu secretly reminded her to pull away.

Cheng Rui wanted to chat with his schoolmate and turned back to talk to Brother Qiang when Lu Jin appeared and took the seat next to He Ye.

Cheng Rui didn’t think much about it.

He Ye glared quietly at Lu Jin.

Lu Jin looked indifferent, as if it was just a coincidence.

While hiking, everyone walked at their own pace, gradually distancing themselves.

He Ye fell behind, and the only people close to her were Jiang Xu, Feng Qiuyu, Song Chengzhou, and Liu Fei.

Lu Jin walked beside her.

The sun was shining brightly, making He Ye feel hot. She took off her coat and stuffed it into her backpack. Just as she was about to put it on her back, a hand grabbed her strap.

She turned her head.

Lu Jin insisted, “I’ll help you with it.”

With so many people watching, walking side by side was understandable, but helping her carry the bag felt ambiguous.

She forcefully took her backpack back and quickened her pace to walk ahead of Song Chengzhou and Liu Fei.

Lu Jin noticed her flushed face but didn’t chase after her for now.

Feng Qiuyu, who understood his intentions, turned and gave him an ambiguous smile.

Lu Jin smiled back but kept his eyes on He Ye.

They climbed to the top of the mountain, rested for a bit, and then started down.

After walking up some steps, Lu Jin moved closer to He Ye. Just as he waited for Liu Fei and Song Chengzhou to make room for him, Liu Fei suddenly fell straight down.

Instinctively, Lu Jin and Song Chengzhou both reached out—Lu Jin grabbed Liu Fei’s clothes, while Song Chengzhou grabbed his arm.

Song Chengzhou managed to catch Liu Fei just in time, but he was pulled down a couple of steps and ended up sitting on the ground with Liu Fei.

When Liu Fei tilted, part of him fell into He Ye.

She didn’t have time to react and was pushed forward, almost losing her balance.

When she realized what had happened, she found Lu Jin helping her sit up from the ground, looking worried. “Are you hurt?”

He Ye was still confused. She glanced around at Lu Jin, Feng Qiuyu, and Jiang Xu, who was squatting nearby. Liu Fei, being supported by Song Chengzhou, looked pale and sweaty but was worried about her.

He Ye looked around. They were on a narrow platform between two sets of stairs, which was only about one meter wide.

Fear made He Ye feel weak, and she could barely find her voice: “I’m okay.”

She had just fallen from a two-story staircase and was still panicking and scared, not feeling any pain.

Lu Jin checked her hand and saw a scratch on her wrist that was bleeding.

Feng Qiuyu said, “Stand up and try to move your arms and legs.”

He Ye felt weak and had to be supported by Lu Jin. Under the gazes of their colleagues, she hesitantly moved her arms and found no issues. However, her left ankle felt a bit painful.

After a deep breath, Lu Jin put his arm around her shoulders to help her feel more stable.

“You guys continue; I’ll take her to the hospital.”

Lu Jin half-hugged He Ye while talking to the others.

Song Chengzhou told Liu Fei, “Why don’t you go check on her? I was scared to death just now.”

Liu Fei shook his head, wiped his sweat, and said, “I’m just weak; I might have heat stroke, I just need to rest.”

Lu Jin calmly asked, “Are you really okay? Let’s go together.”

Liu Fei replied, “I’m fine. Please take He Ye quickly. I’m sorry, He Ye.”

It was an accident; He Ye wouldn’t blame him.

“Let’s go.”

Lu Jin looked at her, then crouched down, offering his back to her.

He Ye was speechless.

Feng Qiuyu smiled, “Okay, special cases need special treatment. Don’t worry; we’re all old classmates, so we understand.”

Laughter surrounded them. He Ye felt her face heat up and wanted to leave quickly.

She lowered her head and lay on Lu Jin’s back.

Lu Jin supported her knees and stood up, walking down without hesitation.

He Ye’s heart raced as she thought about how long the steep stone steps were. “It’s too dangerous; you’d better help me walk.”

If he made one wrong step, they could both fall.

“Close your eyes if you’re scared,” Lu Jin said, looking at his feet while maintaining his pace.

Along the way, their colleagues cast surprised glances as they passed.

He Ye couldn’t take it anymore and wrapped her arms around Lu Jin’s neck, burying her face in his broad back, choosing to hide.