Chapter 4 Extra Generous

When it was time for lunch, Qi Hui stretched and asked, "What are we having for lunch?"

You Jia rubbed her curly hair in circles with her index finger. "I'm trying to lose weight. I'm not going to eat anymore. I have to leave soon."

Qi Hui asked again: "Where are Mimi and Ruirui?"

Xu Xinrui turned off the computer and stood up: "There's a new Chinese restaurant nearby, let's go try it!"

Except for You Jia, Qi Hui pulled the two of them out.

Yan Nian sat with his back to them. After they left, he got up and went to the bathroom.

I didn’t eat breakfast, and after reading materials for nearly an hour, my brain felt like it wasn’t getting enough blood, and I felt a little dizzy.

Yan Nian stood there for a while and then walked out.

You Jia was still sitting at his workstation, watching videos on his phone.

When Yan Nian left, the three men were still dawdling towards the bathroom. They heard Qi Hui say in front of them, "They're just connections. They won't last long. Why bother dealing with them?"

Xu Mi's tone was not very good: "After all, we are in the same department. It's not good for you to isolate others like this, right?"

Qi Hui smiled and said, "I'm not isolating them. They are aloof and might not be willing to be with us."

After they entered the bathroom, Yan Nian went in slowly, without using hand sanitizer, just washed his sticky hands and left.

Yan Nian likes to be alone and has long been accustomed to labels such as aloof, unsociable, and pretentious.

She'd probably been labeled that way since middle school, but after hearing the term "relationship-based" from Zhou Ran, it kept creeping into her ears. It was the first time she'd felt that in a company, anyone could just come up with any excuse to single someone out, regardless of any conflict of interest.

Yan Nian didn't think much about it and walked straight to the office area.

As soon as he entered, he ran into Zhou Ran, followed by You Jia and Gu Pingping.

Their eyes met briefly, and Yan Nian naturally avoided it, standing aside to make way. Zhou Ran suddenly stopped as he passed her, turned his head slightly, and asked, "Have you eaten yet?"

The tone is like that of a leader caring for a new employee.

Yan Nian replied: "No."

"Let's go!" Zhou Ran said, brushing past her and walking out.

Yan Nian: “…”

You Jia followed him happily, not knowing what to say to him.

Seeing that she was standing there, Gu Pingping came over and pulled her along, winking hard: "Come on, let's go together. Mr. Zhou is treating."

Gu Pingping was very happy, which gave Yan Nian the illusion that Zhou Ran was a broad-minded and good leader who even brought his employees along for dinner.

The four of them got off the elevator and walked out of Mingyu No. 1, turning right. Zhou Ran led them into a Chinese restaurant, where the waiter led them to a four-person booth by the window.

As soon as Zhou Ran sat down, You Jia naturally threw herself next to him.

"I'll order the food, you sit inside." Gu Pingping didn't want to meet Zhou Ran face to face, so he gave the inner seat to Yan Nian.

Yan Nian had no choice but to sit opposite Zhou Ran, never looking at him for a moment.

Zhou Ran stared at the phone in his hand, while Yan Nian looked out the window.

Gu Pingping took the menu and asked Zhou Ran for his opinion.

Zhou Ran put down his phone and looked at Yan Nian: "It's okay if it's spicy, just watch it."

Gu Pingping asked, "Didn't you say you should eat less spicy food because you've been getting a sore throat lately?"

Zhou Ran looked up: "Why are you talking so much nonsense?"

Gu Pingping wisely shut up. Since the boss would reimburse him anyway, he continued looking at the menu.

You Jia said beside him, "I want a salad."

Gu Pingping asked, "No way! You came here just to eat grass?"

You Jia curled her eyelashes and said, "I've gained weight recently."

Yan Nian glanced at her meaningfully, then looked at the distance between the two people opposite, their elbows almost touching.

Yan Nian turned his face to the window. In his peripheral vision, he saw Zhou Ran leaning to the right, with his right hand resting on the seat, sitting in a lazy and casual posture.

Even if You Jia wanted to move closer, she was too embarrassed to do so because anyone with a discerning eye could see that she was sticking to Zhou Ran.

"Yan Nian, take a look at what you want to eat?" Gu Pingping asked as he handed her the menu.

Yan Nian glanced at the menu. The signature dishes were all her favorite specialties that she had just ordered. She smiled and said, "I like them all."

"Okay, that's all!" Gu Pingping returned the menu to the waiter. "Please hurry up."

Yan Nian's phone was on the table, and a call came in. Gu Pingping saw it and reminded him, "Yan Nian, you have a call."

The phone was on silent mode, and everyone looked curiously at where she placed the phone.

Zhou Ran changed his sitting position and saw the caller ID on the phone next to the teacup showed "Mom". He then looked at his own phone with drooping eyelids.

Yan Nian reached out to hang up, but Gu Pingping had already stood up to make way for her.

Seeing this, Yan Nian had no choice but to pick up the phone: "I'll take a call."

The words were directed at Zhou Ran.

Zhou Ran didn't raise his eyes: "Whatever."

When Yan Nian walked out of the restaurant, the phone had been automatically hung up. She knew that the call would come back within three seconds.

Three seconds later, Xu Yiqing called.

Yan Nian swiped to answer the call: "Hello."

Xu Yiqing asked on the phone: "Niannian, have you eaten?"

Yan Nian habitually answered: "I have eaten."

"How was your first day at work? Are you getting used to it?"

Yan Nian said, "It's pretty good."

Xu Yiqing said with satisfaction: "That's good. Mom will pick you up after get off work."

Yan Nian bit her lip and closed her eyes, feeling a little flustered and irritated for a moment. She held the phone to her ear tightly and didn't speak for a long time.

"Hello? No signal?"

Perhaps because his emotions had accumulated to a certain extent, Yan Nian opened his eyes and refused, "I'm not a student anymore. I will go home by myself."

If she hadn't insisted on taking a taxi this morning, Xu Yiqing would probably have sent her to the company and personally watched her start work.

Fighting with Xu Yiqing is equivalent to being too serious with yourself, which is a useless torture.

There was silence on the phone.

Over the years, mother and daughter have always been cautious with each other.

Fearing that Xu Yiqing might burst into flames, Yan Nian said calmly, "Don't worry! I can't let you always escort me back and forth in the future."

She always spoke gently, and when you couldn't see her, you couldn't hear any impatience at all.

On the phone, Xu Yiqing forced a laugh and spoke after a while: "That's right."

Yan Nian hung up the phone, stood there for a while to calm down, and then walked back.

When we got back to our seat, the dishes were almost all served, but we hadn't even started eating yet.

Zhou Ran picked up his chopsticks only after she sat down.

You Jia, holding a bowl of salad, looked at them enviously from the side, sighing frequently, "I wish I could never gain weight."

No one spoke, and You Jia asked the person next to him, "Mr. Zhou, am I fat?"

Zhou Ran held the spoon and drank the soup, and replied nonchalantly: "Fat."

Not getting the answer he wanted, You Jia was unhappy and put down the fork in his hand: "Then I won't eat."

Zhou Ran glanced at the barely touched salad in front of You Jia. "Waste it and you'll lose weight? Why did you order it if you weren't going to eat it?"

You Jia said in a delicate voice, "I can't eat anymore!"

Zhou Ran didn't mind her acting like a spoiled brat: "If you can't finish it, pack it up and take it back later. You can have a snack in the evening."

Gu Pingping suppressed her laughter, while Yan Nian ate his own food as if it was none of his business.

You Jia didn't expect Zhou Ran to embarrass her in front of the newcomer. She pouted her red lips and said, "No."

Zhou Ran ignored her, looked at the person opposite him, and quietly picked up the food, as if nothing mattered.

He took the dish that her chopsticks were aimed at first and added another bowl of soup as if nothing had happened.

Yan Nian: "..."

Yan Nian didn't know whether he did it intentionally or not, so she didn't even look at him and picked up other dishes.