Lin Shumei thought that she and Xu Xuejun were simply fellow villagers and neighbors.
The School of Engineering is not close to Zhejiang University, and apart from the social gathering that night, the two of them had no chance to interact with each other at other times.
Who would have known that when Lin Shumei came back from Shanghai after visiting her sister and newborn niece, she would meet him at the door of the office building.
"Are you here on business?"
"Are you here on business?"
The two asked in unison, and the next second,
"I work here."
"I work here."
Lin Shumei: ...
Xu Xuejun: ...
"You're not Yanyi?"
"Aren't you a senior?"
Finally, Lin Shumei raised her hand and made a stop gesture, took a breath, and then spoke.
“Actually, it’s summer vacation now.”
Xu Xuejun: "Hmm?"
"I'm... following my seniors to seize the opportunity to start a business. The office is upstairs."
Xu Xuejun shrugged and pointed upstairs, saying, "I'm doing my internship, and my office is upstairs. We're on the seventh floor, how about you?"
“…Eighth floor.”
"That's a coincidence."
When Lin Shumei arrived at the office and stopped Wu Hua to ask about the situation on the seventh floor, Wu Hua looked at her in disbelief.
"You don't know?"
"What?"
"Downstairs, there's a securities company that sells government bonds. They have a huge sign outside. They own the entire building. We even rented this little room from them. Can't you see it?"
Lin Shumei: ...Why should she care about a company that has nothing to do with her.
Sometimes this feeling is very strange and inexplicable.
I thought I was leaving my hometown and working hard on my own, but there was an acquaintance next door, someone I'd known since childhood. He didn't seem to have any particular concerns, just living his life normally.
But she just felt like a thief, as if she did something bad, she would be reported to her family immediately.
Although she wouldn't do anything bad.
At noon, when Lin Shumei went downstairs to the fast food restaurant for lunch, she saw Xu Xuejun again. He and his colleagues were standing at the back of the line, just in front of Lin Shumei and the others.
Wu Hua nudged her and whispered in her ear, "Isn't this what happened at the social gathering that day? Didn't you two chat the whole night? Why is he here? Waiting for you? Wow? You two..."
Lin Shumei stepped on her foot and said, "He's from the same village as me! He's interning at a securities company. My parents know him. Don't talk nonsense!"
"Oh~ No wonder you came to ask me about the securities company this morning..." Wu Hua looked at her meaningfully, "Childhood sweethearts~"
Lin Shumei wanted to turn around and run away, but Xu Xuejun had already seen them.
"Hey! What a coincidence? You guys come here to eat too." Xu Xuejun greeted them warmly, and Lin Shumei laughed awkwardly.
"You...a company as big as yours shouldn't have a cafeteria?"
Xu Xuejun scratched his head. "I've been eating in the cafeteria for the past two days and I'm a little tired of it. Lao Guo said the food here is pretty good, so I came here for a change."
Lao Guo was the man standing next to Xu Xuejun. He looked about the same age as them. When he saw the young women, he instinctively wanted to cheer them on, "Lao Xu, why don't you introduce us?"
"Yeah! My... friend, we're from the same village. We used to be neighbors, sharing a wall."
"Oh~ childhood sweetheart~"
This guy must be from the same school as Wu Huacai! He didn't even change his words? Lin Shumei thought sinisterly.
Since both sides had a familiar supporting actor, the four of them ended up eating at the same table, two on each side, and Lin Shumei happened to sit opposite Xu Xuejun.
Xu Xuejun looked at the garlic-fried pork on her plate, a little curious. "Don't you say you don't eat garlic? Has your taste changed since you came to college?"
Lin Shumei has never eaten garlic since she could remember because she thought it was smelly. One time, Xu Xuejun's grandmother made garlic-flavored spareribs. Several children were playing at Xu's house, but Lin Shumei refused to eat it, leaving it to her third brother.
Those are spare ribs! They're meat! Even ten years ago, Lin Shumei could have refused.
So Xu Xuejun remembers it very clearly.
Lin Shumei bit her chopsticks and looked distressed, "There are no other dishes just now." This fast food restaurant has a fixed price per person, and then you get one meat dish, two vegetable dishes and a soup. If you get three vegetable dishes, the price is still the same.
They didn't come down very early, and there were many people queuing in front of them. They had already taken most of the food. Even though they were vegetarian dishes, Lin Shumei only picked out these two items on the plate.
Lin Shumei believed that she could choose not to eat, but she didn't want to waste her rights.
"Then you can eat mine." Xu Xuejun didn't pay attention at first, but now he thinks that the braised pork he took seems to be the last spoonful.
Lin Shumei hesitated for a moment, then happily accepted. The two of them ate the garlic fried pork on the opposite side, and the other ate the braised pork on the opposite side. They were eating happily, completely unaware of the surprised looks of the two people next to them.
Wu Hua and Guo Kai looked at each other, and saw the meaning in each other's pupils -
Aren’t these childhood sweethearts or something!
Lin Shumei's weird behavior also disappeared a lot after this meal.
After all, they are all of the same age, and Xu Xuejun is still the younger brother of the Xu family in Sihe Village. One is easy to take care of, and the other is well accepted.
That meal seemed to have set off a new trend. Lin Shumei would meet Xu Xuejun and Guo Kai in the fast food restaurant every few days. Eventually, it became a daily occurrence, and the four of them almost became dining partners.
Xu Xuejun said that Lao Guo disliked the small amount of food the cafeteria aunt gave him and would rather buy his own food.
Old Guo stood by with his lunch tray, laughing and occasionally exchanging glances with Wu Hua.
When Wu Hua turned around, he said to Lin Shumei, "They must have other ideas! Otherwise, why would they leave the free cafeteria and pay for it themselves?"
Lin Shumei, however, didn't think there was anything strange about this. "Didn't Brother Xuejun say the food in the cafeteria wasn't good? Then isn't it normal for you to spend some money to buy food? Why would you put yourself in a difficult position just to get something for free?"
Didn’t her grandmother always tell her to eat well and drink well, and to tell her when she was short of money, and never let her suffer on this? It’s not worth it! Maybe Xuejun’s grandmother also told her the same thing?
Wu Hua: "...Then why do they always squeeze into the same fast food restaurant with us? If they want to change their taste, shouldn't they try a few more?"
Lin Shumei spread her hands and said, "Senior, besides that fast food restaurant, what else is there downstairs? Two breakfast shops? We can't just go there to eat steamed buns in the middle of the day, right? If there are any new shops opening, remember to tell me. I also want to change my taste. That fast food restaurant is too crowded. If you want to eat something good, you have to fight for it!"
Wu Hua's roundabout suggestions hit the nail on the head. It's a waste of time to talk about such things with someone who has never been wronged!
Wu Hua: ...a piece of wood.
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