Chapter 045

When He Ye walked into the elevator with her bag in one hand and the box of cherries in the other, Lu Jin hadn’t gotten out of the car yet.

He was helping her avoid being seen by colleagues, who might start wondering if their relationship as “old classmates” was just that.

But He Ye could feel that from the moment she left the car to when she entered the elevator, Lu Jin had been watching her with his cold, dark eyes.

The elevator stopped on the first floor, and two male employees walked in.

He Ye moved aside.

One of the taller guys looked at her and smiled, “Are you the new member of the operations team? I’m Tan Wenliang from the design team next door.”

He Ye smiled back: “Hello, I’m He Ye.”

During the conversation, Tan Wenliang stood next to He Ye and said, “You look so young. Did you just graduate from college?”

He then asked about He Ye’s university, and after a few words, the elevator reached the cafeteria on the fourth floor.

Tan Wenliang followed He Ye out.

He Ye continued her own business. Whenever Tan tried to talk, she gave simple answers—not too enthusiastic, but polite.

There were dozens of people sitting in groups in the cafeteria. He Ye got her breakfast and sat at a table. Tan Wenliang looked for a spot, but then noticed his team leader, Fang Yuanwai, waving at him. So, Tan sat with his leader instead.

Fang glanced at He Ye’s back and asked sarcastically, “You walked in with He Ye, and now you want to eat with her?”

Tan awkwardly sipped his water: “We met in the elevator, so I guess we’re acquaintances.”

Fang sneered, “You better not waste time making too many friends.”

Sensing something, Tan asked, “Is someone already interested in her?”

Fang pointed toward the cafeteria entrance.

Tan looked and saw Lu Jin, a graduate from Tsinghua University, who always appeared cold but fashionable, walking in with a blank expression.

Tan retracted his gaze and whispered, “No way. There was a pretty lady in the marketing department who was into him, but he ignored her. Would he actually chase after He Ye?”

Fang: “Are you talking about Chen Xuan?”

Tan nodded.

Fang: “He Ye isn’t any less attractive than Chen Xuan. One likes to dress up, the other keeps it low-key.”

Tan: “That’s not what I mean. I just think men like him don’t usually bother chasing after women.”

Fang: “Nonsense, sometimes they have to. Even if Lu Jin doesn’t, other good-looking guys in their group might, so don’t get your hopes up.”

Tan thought of guys like Gong Hang, Cheng Rui, and Song Chengzhou and continued eating, a bit deflated.

Halfway through his meal, Tan noticed Lu Jin was sitting diagonally across from He Ye, with seven or eight tables between them.

He nudged Fang to show him.

Fang smiled, wiped his mouth, and picked up his tray: “Watch closely.”

As Fang walked toward He Ye, Lu Jin looked up and shot him a sharp glance, forcing Fang to change direction.

Tan finally believed there might be something going on.

He Ye knew Lu Jin was sitting diagonally across from her. Ever since Feng Qiuyu’s teasing last time, Lu Jin had stopped sitting with her at breakfast.

Seeing him keeping his distance, He Ye didn’t try to avoid the cafeteria just to escape suspicion.

After finishing her breakfast and putting down her chopsticks, He Ye glanced at Lu Jin. Although he had arrived later, he had finished eating as well. When their eyes met, he picked up his tray and left.

He Ye looked at the cherries on the table—bright red and glistening with water droplets. She didn’t want to keep them in her bag all day, so she stayed at her seat, casually browsing her phone while eating the cherries one by one.

After finishing them, she packed the empty box in her bag and left the cafeteria.

As soon as she stepped out, she was startled by the familiar figure leaning against the wall.

Lu Jin smiled at her dumbfounded expression and teased, “Were they tasty? If you didn’t have enough, I can get more next time.”

His teasing, like he had caught her doing something sneaky, made He Ye’s face flush.

She pretended not to notice him and walked away quickly.

When she got to the office, He Ye turned on her computer and started working.

During work hours, Lu Jin never talked to her unless it was about work. If he wasn’t answering questions or assigning tasks, He Ye could almost forget he was there.

After lunch, Lu Jin liked to sit in the rest area, which happened to face He Ye’s workstation. It made her feel uncomfortable, like she was being watched. But it felt better when the rest area filled with other colleagues.

“Team Leader, tomorrow is the Lantern Festival ^[1]is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrating the first full moon of the year, with lantern displays and eating tangyuan, a type of glutinous rice ball., and it’s also Saturday. Do we have any activities planned?” Cheng Rui asked lazily, leaning on Brother Qiang’s shoulder.

Lu Jin glanced at him and said, “I haven’t heard of anything.”

Cheng Rui: “Then why don’t you treat us to dinner? It’s lonely celebrating alone.”

Lu Jin: “Sorry, I’m not alone.”

He Ye’s fingers paused slightly as she turned the pages of a book.

Feng Qiuyu perked up: “Team leader, does that mean you’re not single anymore?”

Lu Jin: “Family.”

Cheng Rui rolled his eyes: “Come on, you’re being mysterious on purpose.”

Lu Jin smiled, checked the time, and returned to his desk.

Three minutes before the afternoon work session started, He Ye received a message from Lu Jin.

Team leader: [Are you going back to Xiaofeng tonight?]

He Ye: [Yes.]

Team leader: [Me too. Want to go together?]

He Ye: [What time do you finish work?]

Team leader: [I’m off ten minutes earlier than you. I’ll wait by the subway entrance.]

He Ye: [Maybe around seven.]

Team leader: [Got it.]

He Ye set down her phone. Even though her colleagues were typing on their keyboards, she could almost hear Lu Jin placing his phone down too.

At 6 PM, Gong Hang was the first to leave, followed by Brother Qiang and Wang Wei.

At 6:30, Cheng Rui stretched and asked He Ye, “Still busy?”

Without looking up, He Ye said, “Writing some code.”

Cheng Rui turned off his computer and circled around to see He Ye’s fingers moving swiftly across the keyboard, neatly typing out concise code. He was so fascinated that his eyes couldn’t help but follow the lines of extra code appearing on her screen.

He was bent over, and because he was so focused, he didn’t notice how close he was to He Ye.

He Ye didn’t notice either.

“What are you looking at?” Feng Qiuyu, curious, moved to He Ye’s left side.

He Ye stayed focused until he saw a figure in black clothes stand up and walk over.

Her typing slowed down unconsciously, and she couldn’t concentrate as much as before.

Lu Jin just walked by, put a book into the bookcase, greeted his colleagues, and slowly left the office.

“He Ye, you’re busy, we’re leaving now,” they said.

He Ye quietly let out a sigh of relief.

At 6:55, He Ye also left work.

Some colleagues from other groups who were working overtime until around 9 PM were gathered in the corridor, including Mr. Fang.

When Mr. Fang saw He Ye, he smiled and nodded, then continued talking to the people nearby.

He Ye took the elevator to the first floor.

The hall was brightly lit, but outside, it was a cold, dark night during the first month of the lunar year. Even though the area nearby was lively, walking alone on the street still felt a bit lonely.

The subway entrance was about three or four hundred meters away from the company’s gate.

As He Ye got closer, she saw Lu Jin’s car parked a hundred meters to the left of the subway entrance. Even though the headlights were flashing, her colleagues heading to the subway didn’t seem to notice the car.

He Ye jogged over.

She got in the car, fastened her seat belt, took off her hat, and untied her scarf, all quickly.

Lu Jin watched her and only started the car after she looked over.

“Does Uncle He know you’re going back tonight?”

He Ye: “I didn’t tell them. If I told them, my mom would definitely make a big meal.”

Because He Ye’s dad had mobility issues ^[2]refers to difficulty moving around., her mom Wu Li ran the fruit shop. He Ye didn’t want to trouble her and preferred to do things herself.

Lu Jin: “I didn’t say anything. My mom and the others should have already eaten.”

He Ye looked out the window.

Lu Jin, holding the steering wheel, said, “I’m hungry. There are a lot of roadside snack bars. Want to pick one for a meal?”

A food delivery bike quickly passed by, and He Ye found herself saying, “Hmm.”

The black car drove steadily. Ten minutes later, Lu Jin found a clean and tidy spicy hot pot restaurant: “This one?”

He Ye was a bit surprised by his choice.

In the past, when Lu Jin took her out to eat, he usually chose restaurants in big shopping malls where each person’s meal cost over a hundred yuan, but she liked more affordable places.

Now that she was used to shopping malls, it was surprising that Lu Jin was willing to eat at a place like this.

“OK.”

The car was parked in a roadside parking spot facing the Malatang restaurant. He Ye got out of the car with only her phone, then turned and watched Lu Jin walk around.

He didn’t put on his coat, just his black shirt.

He Ye couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you cold?”

Lu Jin glanced at her exposed neck: “It’s only a few steps away, and there’s heating inside.”

As he said this, he was about to open his collar to show He Ye.

He Ye didn’t want to look and turned around to go inside.

Lu Jin followed with a smile.

The restaurant was busy, with only two seats left.

He Ye took off her thick coat and placed it on one of the chairs to save a seat, then went to pick out her ingredients.

They each chose their own dishes and met at the table.

When their eyes met, He Ye looked away, trying to find something to do, like checking her phone, but she felt that might be rude.

“How do you usually spend your weekends?” Lu Jin asked casually while unbuttoning his cuffs.

It was hard for He Ye not to notice his hands.

The 24-year-old Lu Jin was taller than the 18-year-old Lu Jin she remembered from high school. His shoulders were broader, and his shirt outlined his strong chest. He had truly grown up.

But his hands looked the same as in her memory—slender, pale, with defined joints. They looked elegant whether holding a bicycle handlebar or typing on a keyboard.

“Read a book or go shopping with Zhu Qing.”

Lu Jin rolled up his left sleeve and started unbuttoning the right cuff, saying, “I usually spend half a day hiking, then read and write code in the remaining time. Sometimes I visit elderly people.”

He Ye: “Do you still need to work at home?”

Lu Jin: “Improving my skills. I can’t stay a team leader forever.”

He Ye felt a bit awkward. She had just started working, and her current goal was to reach Lu Jin’s position.

Lu Jin said, somewhat meaningfully: “The sooner I leave the group, the sooner you’ll feel more at ease.”

He Ye tried to stay calm: “I’m already pretty relaxed.”

Lu Jin: “Of course, we’re just old classmates who don’t know each other that well.”

He Ye: “…”

The waiter called out her number.

She was about to stand up when Lu Jin moved first, saying as he looked at her, “Sit down, I’ll get it for you, old classmate.”

He Ye couldn’t help but smile and glare at him at the same time.

A minute later, Lu Jin returned with two servings of spicy hot pot. His portion was almost twice the size of hers, and the difference was obvious when placed next to each other.

He Ye ordered mild spice, and it was just right.

Occasionally, she would glance at Lu Jin, who was quietly eating. Sitting in such a simple restaurant, he looked a bit like a college student.

Half an hour later, they left the restaurant one after the other.

It was still cold outside, but the spicy food had warmed He Ye, so she didn’t need to wear her coat, which hung on her arm.

After getting into the car, He Ye lowered her head to fasten her seat belt and noticed a box of chewing gum on the armrest.

She looked up at Lu Jin.

He was setting the GPS and already had a piece in his mouth.

The last time he had offered her gum…

“Don’t worry, it’s just a regular box of gum,” Lu Jin said when he noticed her hesitation. He half-seriously, half-jokingly added, “I wouldn’t dare think about anything else.”

***

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