Chapter 68 Afternoon Tea Actually, that's not the case. You are still a king of rolls. ...
The person who could drive a good-tempered person like Luo Shu to the point of exasperation, besides Fang Qingzhuo before, now there was almost another person named Shen Qianshu on the list.
A few days ago, she delivered breakfast to him. After a few verbal warnings, she did not correct her behavior. Instead, she started to send flowers. Now, when she came to work in the morning, she was given a headache when she saw the flowers that took up her entire desk and were bigger than her monitor.
Accompanied by the phone system's built-in notification sound, a new message arrived on WeChat.
[Did you receive the flowers? I bought some shumai on the way to your company. I'm tired of rice balls, so let's try something different.]
Colleagues from other departments had already been quite critical of Shen Qianshu's frequent visits to the company and his behavior of strolling in the garden as if it were his own home. Although everyone appeared to be friendly and turned a blind eye to this former client, after a while, some unpleasant rumors began to leak out, and there were even rumors that the main reason Shen Qianshu refused the marriage proposal might be because of her.
I finished writing my reply on the keyboard and was about to hit send.
"Xiao Luo, you need to fix your renderings. The proportions are wrong. You claim to be a senior designer, so how could you make such a basic mistake? Is it because Mr. Fei isn't here and he's not paying attention?"
Leo never comes to the temple unless there's something wrong, and when he does, it's to demand accountability. "This puts our executive team in a difficult position, too."
“We’re all very busy.”
Without waiting for Luo Shu to respond, Fu Ze took the lead and said, "Besides, the renderings are based on the actual proportions to minimize the error. You were the ones who said you didn't need it when we first met. Are we not paying attention or did you not even test it when you went to the site?"
Facing the argument, Leo was clearly dissatisfied: "I'm talking to Xiao Luo..."
"Our entire team was present at the time, and there are chat records."
After Fu Ze finished speaking, the design department responded immediately.
"I can testify to that."
"I heard that, too."
"Me too."
"You guys..." Leo gritted his teeth and tried to save face after failing to find fault. "Maybe I was busy and forgot. Besides, aren't you guys quick at making design changes? Just click the mouse and you can revise the version."
Fu Ze wanted to say something else but Luo Shu stopped him: "No problem, the client's business is the most important."
Perhaps knowing he was being unreasonable, Leo rubbed his nose and walked around the design department with his hands behind his back. "Xiao Luo is still sensible. No wonder President Fei keeps praising you."
The mission was completed, and he made up an excuse to withdraw: "I have something else to do, so..."
"Since we're covering for the executive department, then it wouldn't be amiss to treat everyone to afternoon tea." Luo Shu suddenly interrupted, mimicking his earlier tone, "On behalf of everyone in the design department, I'd like to thank Leo in advance."
The next second, it was almost on time.
"You guys want to order some afternoon tea? Then I must strongly recommend this place. It's the best value for money."
Not far away, Shen Qianshu appeared at some point, leaning against the wall with his legs bent and watching the show, a takeaway box in his hand. "Not expensive, just over a thousand."
Things had evolved to this point where he had no choice but to force the issue. How could Leo let outsiders see him making a fool of himself? He bit the pain and said, "Please, you must."
"So generous." Shen Qianshu quickly gave a thumbs-up. "It's Leo from our wedding management team who's so straightforward. He treated us to afternoon tea for 1,000 yuan per person."
At 1,000 per person, Leo's face paled and blue, but it was too late to regret. He had no choice but to swallow his anger and said, "Of course, the design department is our backbone. Anything cheap won't even catch my eye, haha."
The last two laughs were as forced as they could be. In the end, he walked with his back straight and holding on to the wall as everyone looked on.
The sunlight near noon was faintly showing signs of being scorching. After the little episode, Luo Shu took Shen Qianshu to a small noodle restaurant in the Science and Technology Park, under the pretext of treating him.
The signature dish is the same: noodles made from land, sea and air, pigeon soup base, shrimp and eggs.
Shen Qianshu unpacked his pair of chopsticks, while Luo Shu opened the black truffle siu mai he had bought this morning.
"It's cold, don't eat it."
Luo Shu ignored the advice and stuffed it into her mouth, her cheeks slowly moving.
"I have something to tell you."
Shen Qianshu slurped his noodles: "What's wrong? What do you have to say outside?"
"You'd better not come to the company to see me in the future. Also, don't give me gifts anymore. Your current behavior has caused trouble for my work."
However, Shen Qianshu did not show any guilt because of her straightforwardness. He continued to eat noodles with a chuckle: "Luo Shu, I'm very curious about something. Have you experienced any injustice or grievance? Otherwise, how could you have such a calm temper? Although you didn't get angry easily before, you were definitely not this kind of good-tempered person who doesn't distinguish between good and bad. That bald guy was obviously targeting you just now. Why did you compromise? If your colleagues in the department hadn't stood up for you, I guess you would have just accepted it all silently."
Luo Shu choked for a moment, then regained her focus: "We are talking about you."
Shen Qianshu uttered an "oh," put down his chopsticks, sat up straight and proper, folded his hands on the table, and listened to the lecture in the posture of a good student: "I'll listen to your criticism first."
Luo Shu: "Have I ever expressed my dislike for you bringing me breakfast?"
Shen Qianshu: “Yes.”
Luo Shu: "Then how did you do it?"
"Okay, it's my problem, I admit it."
Shen Qianshu admitted his mistake at the speed of light and then continued, "Who told you not to appreciate it? Then I had to change my approach. Besides, I won't hurt you. Why are you always on guard against me? Do you treat me as an outsider?"
"I wasn't on guard against you."
“Obviously.”
"This topic is over."
Shen Qianshu muttered: "What about my problem?"
Luo Shu took the opportunity to glance at the time on her phone: "This is my job. I just got here not long ago and I was parachuted in. It's normal for them to be in such a bad mood."
"It's not normal." Shen Qianshu said earnestly, "If they have emotions, that's their own problem. You have no obligation to pay for other people's emotions, understand?"
Whether there is an obligation or not is not something that can be clearly explained in a few words, just like humans endlessly discussing the meaning of life. Luo Shu really didn't have the time to waste on this and engage in a debate with him. She picked up her phone and said, "I've finished the siumai, and I appreciate your kindness. I have to go back to work at the appointed time. Please be careful on your way back. Oh, I've already paid for the noodles. See you later."
Being strictly forbidden by Luo Shu, Shen Qianshu instantly lost his appetite. He took a few bites and thought that he couldn't give up easily. He ran to a nearby coffee shop dejectedly and planned to make do with it.
He was not allowed to be in the work area, but he was not forbidden to pick her up from get off work.
The coffee shop's view faces the gate of Luo Shu's company. Shen Qianshu ordered a cup of coffee. The air conditioning made him drowsy. He was playing a mobile game to relieve his fatigue and wait for the blood to recover. A casual glance gave him a pleasant surprise. A very familiar figure was wandering stealthily at the gate of the Science and Technology Park.
"Hey, dork."
Gu Qin almost got heatstroke while checking every house under the scorching sun. He heard someone calling him in a daze, but didn't pay much attention at first. Until he felt something hit his back, he thought it was some ignorant little brat who was talking nonsense and yelling, "Can you please take care of someone's child? If not, just give him away." But he turned around and stopped scolding.
Behind him, Shen Qianshu threw melon seeds at him provocatively, and Gu Qin couldn't suppress his excitement: "Ah, brother."
Shen Qianshu shook his head and smiled bitterly: “Still remember that you have a brother like me.”
Gu Qin and Shen Qianshu's relationship can be traced back to their time studying abroad in New York. The former was one of thousands of choices for gilding his career, while the latter had no choice but to make a last-ditch effort. Because they were both Chinese international students, the two hit it off immediately.
"How come a nightclub celebrity like you is here?" Shen Qianshu scooped up his chest and looked at Gu Qin, who looked like he hadn't had any water for a few days and was drinking iced coffee to quench his thirst. He was afraid that he must be possessed by a water buffalo, so he could drink so much.
Gu Qin had been basking in the sun all afternoon, his mouth dry. “Shouldn’t I be asking you this? Why are you here too?”
"I'm waiting for a friend."
"girlfriend?"
Shen Qianshu touched the back of his head embarrassedly: “Not yet.”
Gu Qin said disdainfully: "Tsk tsk tsk, you're still shy."
Shen Qianshu told him to shut up: "What about you?"
"I'll squat a girl."
Ever since Gu Qin learned the whole story from Guan Siqi, he has been asking around for Luo Shu. It took him a lot of effort to find out that she worked in this science and technology park.
On this side, Shen Qianshu asked the waiter to pack another dessert before leaving, then turned around and asked his friend curiously: "What girl?"
Gu Qin didn't answer, but he had the answer in his heart: a girl who needed them to apologize.
After waiting for no reply, Shen Qianshu's long legs under the table hit him: "I'm asking you a question, why are you pretending to be melancholy?"
Gu Qin's thoughts returned, and he held his head in embarrassment. "If, let's say you found out your brother did something extremely immoral, and the other person was a girl you had feelings for, who would you side with?"
"My brother would never do anything immoral." Shen Qianshu said seriously.
"..." Gu Qin stared at him as if he were mentally retarded, "I already said it was an if."
Shen Qianshu fiddled with the ice in the cup: "That's not possible, even if I beat you to death, it's impossible."
“…”
Shen Qianshu finally broke the ice: "Okay, don't keep me in suspense. Tell me the truth. What did your brother do that was so outrageous that both humans and gods would think you did?"
Gu Qin: “Is this important?”
Shen Qianshu looked back at him with an idiotic look: "Listen to my analysis. Before sentencing, does the judge consider the legal provisions and the motive and degree of the crime to determine the sentence?"
The words were rough, but Gu Qin just felt something was wrong: "Don't give random examples."
"Then you should tell me, you're so nagging." Shen Qianshu suddenly felt very tired.
Gu Qin thought that Shen Qianshu didn't know Luo Shu anyway, so he told her everything.
After hearing the whole story, Shen Qianshu blurted out an idiom: "It's outrageous. Your brothers are such bastards."
Gu Qin wanted to say a few words to help Gu Yang: "But he doesn't know either, he..."
I don’t know if it was because I felt guilty, but I glanced out the window hesitantly, and once I looked out, I never took my eyes off it.
Shen Qianshu thought he was possessed by a demon, but as he followed the trajectory of his surprised and delighted gaze, he unexpectedly bumped into Luo Shu who was seeing a client off, and a bad premonition popped into his mind.
As the lights in the design department went out one by one in the darkness, the day truly came to an end.
Dragging their exhausted bodies, Luo Shu, Fu Ze and a female colleague were left behind. The female colleague's husband came to pick her up. After a simple wave of goodbye, she skipped towards her husband, arm in arm, and left playing and joking.
Now, they were the only two left on the empty road.
Luo Shu held the cumbersome flowers she had received this morning in one arm. They were an eyesore at the office, and she felt it would be an insult to Shen Qianshu if she lost them. After much deliberation, she decided to take them home and wait for them to wither. With her free hand, she pressed the back of her stiff neck, "I'm sorry for making you work overtime."
"What's there to be sorry about?" Fu Ze pushed up the legs of his glasses and smiled gently. "By the way, don't take Leo's words this morning to heart. Before you came, he was always finding fault with our department and gossiping about it. Anyone who really sees the truth will know."
Luo Shu pursed her lips and said, "Thank you."
"We also thank you for letting us experience what it's like to spend 1,000 RMB per person." After making fun of it, Fu Ze changed the subject and said, "Since it has come to this, let me say a few more words."
Luo Shu shook the heavy bouquet in her arms and said, "You say."
"As a comrade in the same trench with you, I sincerely suggest that you relax a bit and stop pushing yourself too hard. At first, I thought you were just a workaholic."
Luo Shu knew that there would be a follow-up to this sentence, so she waited quietly for his next words.
"Actually, that's not the case. You're still a top roller." Fu Ze made a joke to set the stage, then looked at her seriously and said, "There was a time when I wasn't in a good state. I was addicted to the world of games every day, playing day and night, not eating or drinking. To put it in an analogy, I'm like a silkworm. Only by constantly spinning silk to form an airtight cocoon and trapping myself in it can I feel safe and secure."
The two talked as they walked, and soon they strolled to the edge of the road. At the end, a ghostly man in black was staring at them intently with a pair of dark eyes.
Xing was sensitive to gazes, so Fu Ze had no choice but to stop and look up, and sure enough, he found the presence of a third person.
"know?"
Sensing that the atmosphere had quietly changed, Fu Ze pointed at the man and asked.
Although she didn't want to admit it, Luo Shu recognized Fang Qingzhuo at a glance. Facing his burning gaze, she hesitated for a moment and nodded.
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