Chapter 055

Despite the noise, everyone remained focused during working hours.

At noon, as work was about to end, Lu Jin messaged He Ye: [Let’s sit together for lunch?]

He Ye: [You can sit next to Jiang Xu.]

She usually went to the cafeteria with Feng Qiuyu, queued for food, and ate face to face. After Jiang Xu finished, he would take his tray and sit next to Feng Qiuyu, so her answer meant she agreed to Lu Jin’s invitation.

Lu Jin: [Got it, you guys go first; I’ll leave a few minutes later.]

He Ye smiled and waited for Feng Qiuyu to call her. She locked her computer screen, picked up her phone, and followed Feng Qiuyu.

Cheng Rui saw Jiang Xu and Lu Jin at their workstations and said, “Team Leader, Brother Xu and Sister Yu are already close. You just caught up with He Ye. Why not hurry up?”

Lu Jin glanced at him calmly.

Wang Wei laughed: “Does Team Leader look childish? Only college students should go out in pairs when they’re in love.”

Cheng Rui’s face changed: “Wait, didn’t Team Leader say he was in love before? Didn’t He Ye hear that?”

Brother Qiang: “It’s okay, right? Team Leader is handsome; it’s not surprising he had relationships in college. As long as he likes He Ye now, that’s what matters.”

Gong Hang smiled meaningfully: “If He Ye doesn’t mind, there’s only one truth.”

Jiang Xu looked at Lu Jin and continued, “The truth is, He Ye is our team leader’s ex-girlfriend.”

Liu Fei, who was about to drink water, spat it out.

Gong Hang complained: “Team leader, you should have warned me. If you had, I wouldn’t have embarrassed myself when He Ye came.”

Lu Jin: “I did warn you.”

Gong Hang: “Yes, you gave me two looks, but you could have done it sooner to save me the embarrassment.”

Cheng Rui raised his hands to interrupt: “Wait, Team Leader is in Beijing, and He Ye is in Shanghai. Did you have a high school crush on her?”

Lu Jin: “I had a crush, tried to pursue her, but she rejected me.”

Brother Qiang: “Okay, I underestimated He Ye. She refused the leader’s charm. She will definitely achieve great things.”

Gong Hang was skeptical: “If it didn’t work out, can it really be considered a relationship?”

Lu Jin: “One-sided feelings are still feelings.”

Cheng Rui asked, “Wait, when He Ye interviewed, you didn’t arrange for me to be there, did you? Were you afraid she’d see the interviewer was her reject and run away?”

Lu Jin didn’t answer.

Brother Qiang: “That’s terrible! If I had to chase a girlfriend with all those strategies, I might be single forever!”

He Ye was questioned by Feng Qiuyu all the way to the cafeteria. It was only when they entered, which was crowded, that Feng Qiuyu changed the subject.

The two chose a window to queue.

He Ye was observing ahead when she suddenly heard someone call her: “He Ye?”

She turned around and saw a beautiful long-haired woman in a white professional dress looking at her in surprise.

The beauty had long, wavy hair draped over one shoulder. Her elegant dress had a waist belt tied with a lovely knot, giving her a lively yet graceful look.

He Ye was stunned before recognizing the woman as Chen Xuan, a top student from her senior year.

As memories flooded back, He Ye smiled in surprise: “Chen Xuan? Do you work here too?”

Chen Xuan walked forward with the team, smiling as she spoke to He Ye: “Yes, I was originally at the headquarters, but I felt there was more potential for development here, so I transferred. What about you?”

He Ye replied, “I just joined the company in January.”

Chen Xuan responded, “Oh, no wonder! I was on a business trip abroad around New Year’s; otherwise, I would have met you sooner. Which department are you in?”

He Ye said, “I’m in the Algorithm Department, Operation Control Group.”

Chen Xuan looked surprised for a moment, then smiled brightly: “Operation Control? Is that the group led by Lu Jin?”

He Ye nodded, but felt a bit awkward due to her relationship with Lu Jin.

Chen Xuan continued, “What a coincidence! The three of us old classmates all work at the same company. But Lu Jin is still as distant as he was in high school. He didn’t even say hello when we met. I wouldn’t dare try to befriend him as an old classmate. Let’s get some food first and eat together later.”

He Ye nodded, knowing her turn would be soon.

Feng Qiuyu, who had been listening, pretended to look away with disinterest. When the two stepped out of the team to wait for Chen Xuan, Feng Qiuyu whispered to He Ye, “It’s true that Team Leader is distant, but it doesn’t mean such a beautiful woman wouldn’t dare be friends with him. I’ve run into him several times, but he may not have any other intentions. We’re all old classmates, after all.”

He Ye smiled, unsure how to respond.

Whether Chen Xuan saw Lu Jin as just an old classmate or had other feelings was her choice.

After Chen Xuan returned with the tray, He Ye formally introduced them, and Feng Qiuyu joined in on the conversation, laughing and chatting.

“I have to say, He Ye, you look like you haven’t changed at all since high school,” Chen Xuan remarked, looking at her with a smile.

He Ye replied, “I’ve never been very good at socializing, but you’re even more beautiful than before.”

Chen Xuan brushed her hair back and said, “I just know how to put on makeup. If you dressed up, you might attract more attention than me. If you need help, I can teach you.”

He Ye said, “No thanks, it’s too much trouble. I mostly deal with computer papers every day.”

Feng Qiuyu then pointed towards the cafeteria entrance: “Your old classmates are here.”

He Ye looked up as Chen Xuan turned around. They saw Lu Jin walking in with several male colleagues. He glanced at them casually, while Cheng Rui, who was behind him, waved cheerfully.

Chen Xuan said to He Ye, “See? He’s still as distant as ever.”

He Ye could only nod.

The situation felt a bit strange. He Ye couldn’t openly share her relationship with Lu Jin, but she also couldn’t treat him like an ordinary old classmate and agree with Chen Xuan’s joking comments. So, she focused on her food, eating seriously and happily.

Chen Xuan noticed He Ye was still the same as in high school—mostly studying and rarely socializing. This made her think of He Ye as a cute little rabbit, evoking a positive feeling.

However, since He Ye sat close to Lu Jin and Zhou Xiangming often showed interest in her, Chen Xuan felt threatened by He Ye.

If He Ye were a bit more ordinary, Chen Xuan probably wouldn’t care about her, as someone like Lu Jin wouldn’t be interested in a typical, introverted student.

It had been six years since graduation, and Chen Xuan had almost forgotten about He Ye. She didn’t expect to see her again in Lu Jin’s team.

Chen Xuan’s intuition told her there was something between He Ye and Lu Jin. Maybe there wasn’t anything now, but that could change.

She ate her meal casually and, when He Ye finished a piece of braised chicken, Chen Xuan saw an opportunity to ask, “With so many male colleagues in the Algorithm Department, a beauty like you must have many admirers. Do you have a boyfriend?”

He Ye was silent.

Feng Qiuyu jumped in, pointing at Lu Jin and the others who were approaching, saying, “Miss Ye Zi is indeed no longer single, and her boyfriend is among those guys. See if you can guess who he is.”

Chen Xuan’s heart raced a little, looking at Lu Jin and his group.

Everyone in the Blue Ocean Algorithm Group was an IT elite, earning good salaries. Based on looks alone, Lu Jin, Jiang Xu, Gong Hang, Cheng Rui, and Song Chengzhou were all candidates.

Gong Hang, walking behind Lu Jin, joked, “Is this a Shura field?” ^[1]refers to a competitive or tense situation where multiple people are vying for someone’s attention or affection.

Men enjoy gossip, too, especially the male colleagues in the Operation Control Group. After seeing Chen Xuan flirt with Lu Jin, the whole department thought the beautiful girl from marketing was interested in him.

Jiang Xu, enjoying the situation, remarked, “There’s only one seat left over there; where should Team Leader sit?”

If he sat at another table, it would seem like he didn’t want to acknowledge his relationship with He Ye in front of Chen Xuan. But if he sat at the same table, he could only sit next to Chen Xuan since Feng Qiuyu was already with He Ye.

Cheng Rui added, “It’s too hard; being a team leader is tough!”

Except for Jiang Xu, the others found a table to sit quietly and watch.

After a few seconds, Jiang Xu sat down at the table next to He Ye and the others.

Lu Jin looked at Feng Qiuyu.

Feng Qiuyu understood what Lu Jin wanted. She moved to the opposite side of Jiang Xu and complained to He Ye, “It’s not that I want to abandon you; Team Leader is making me give up my seat with his eyes!”

He Ye looked down, smiling as she held her chopsticks.

Lu Jin naturally sat next to his girlfriend, nodding to Chen Xuan as a greeting.

Chen Xuan was surprised and amused, reacting like an old classmate discovering the relationship between two others: “No way, you two are actually together?”

He Ye, known for being socially anxious, focused on eating and let her boyfriend next to her handle the socializing.

Feng Qiuyu and Jiang Xu exchanged glances, waiting to see how Team Leader would react.

Lu Jin smiled and said, “Are you surprised? I thought everyone could see that I had a crush on He Ye back then.”

Chen Xuan genuinely questioned, “You two don’t talk much, how could anyone know you liked He Ye?”

Lu Jin recalled, “On the first day of school, He Ye introduced herself, and Zhou Xiangming coughed on purpose.”

Chen Xuan was speechless.

Lu Jin added, “During the sports meet, there was a photo of me and He Ye, and someone noticed it.”

Chen Xuan said, “Yes, it was Jiang Lingling. She said you were looking at He Ye, but when she asked He Ye, she said it was just a snapshot effect.” ^[2]is a term describing an unplanned photo that might suggest something misleading.

Lu Jin looked at He Ye beside him, his voice softening with tenderness: “If she can see it, then it’s not a secret love.”

Throughout the year when he was focused on studying, he never intended for her to know.

Just after the college entrance exam ended and she turned eighteen, he never thought of letting her escape.

Even though they broke up later, during that summer when she was eighteen, He Ye allowed him to kiss her softly.

***

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