Chapter Eight: Unexplained Disappointment
"Honey, what are you doing? Didn't you come home last night? Did you spend the night with Chu Zhen?" I guessed Huang Yanyan had gotten up and sent me a voice message. I didn't expect her to say this. At that moment, Chu Zhen was sitting across from me, and Yanyan's voice echoed in the small office.
I really don't know what my facial expression looks like right now. I just feel unusually hot, my face is unusually burning, and my head is buzzing.
"You don't need to reply." Chu Zhen probably already knows who it is.
"Um, this friend of mine, you've met him before, he's a bit neurotic, please don't take offense!" I really don't know how incoherent I was.
"No need to explain, the truth will eventually come out." It must be my imagination, but I actually heard Chu Zhen smile when he said that.
"Big sister, who told you to use voice messaging? You've ruined my life! I'll deal with you when we get back," I sent a message.
"Find out today which tasks started in the early hours of the morning, and then hold a meeting to discuss our first interviewee," Chu Zhen calmly assigned the task.
"Okay!" I immediately searched online for information about nighttime workers.
"Director Cao, you're here. Are you looking for Lin Dang?"
"Is Lin Dang settling in well here? Please take good care of her. Here, this is some milk tea for you." I didn't expect Cao Gang to be so nice; he took care of the social niceties I hadn't thought of.
"Lin Dang, let's have lunch together. It seems you haven't eaten at the station's cafeteria yet," Cao Gang said as he entered our office.
"Okay, wait for me a minute, I'll get ready!" Actually, I didn't have much to pack, so I just grabbed my phone and went out with them.
The school cafeteria is nothing compared to the TV station cafeteria; it's so much more upscale, just like those high-end buffet restaurants in TV dramas!
"Isn't that the news anchor? He's my idol!"
"We're not very familiar with each other yet, but I can introduce you sometime. By the way, how's your work? Has Chu Zhen given you any trouble?"
"It's alright, but they called me out in the middle of the night yesterday and made me wander the streets all night. I haven't rested yet. No wonder the older employees don't want to work with me."
"The station doesn't really support your program, but Chu Zhen told the station director that it's a program that reflects the lives of ordinary people at the grassroots level. Too many people have overlooked this group, so the station director didn't object. He just let him do it himself and arrange the staff himself."
"So that's how it is!" I've always wanted to be a social news reporter, and this is exactly what Chu Zhen and I are on the same page. Suddenly, I feel that this job seems pretty good, after all, it's with like-minded people.
"I'm full, you can eat slowly. I still need to go back and look up information; I'll need it for the meeting this afternoon." I ate a few bites casually. It seemed that Chu Zhen was fighting alone at this moment. I had to put in the same effort I did when revising my graduation thesis to fight alongside him.
"Are you full after eating just this little bit?"
"Okay, I'll be going now. Oh, by the way, I'll treat you to dinner once I get my employee card!"
When he arrived at the office, it was deserted outside. There was a two-hour lunch break, so everyone should have gone out to eat. Inside, Chu Zhen was sitting alone in front of the computer.
"Teacher Chu, have you eaten yet?"
"Could you change the honorific? I'm not that much older than you."
Is the food in the cafeteria good?
"It's alright. Putting aside the taste, the dining environment alone shows its class."
"You look like you're enjoying your meal?"
"It's alright, it's alright!" I laughed, not feeling the cold glare coming from the other side.
"It's your break time now, why don't you spend more time with your senior Cao?"
“He also has things to do, and I also need to look up information.”
"It's okay, you can go on your date now."
"A date? Then why don't you introduce me to a boyfriend?"
I'm speechless. Just because we had one meal, does that mean Cao Gang and I are boyfriend and girlfriend? Ridiculous. Although I know Cao Gang has had such thoughts before, I would never date someone my own age. The reason is simple: it's childish. Perhaps this is also one of the reasons why Huang Yanyan and I became best friends.
"Am I capable?"
"What?"
"Introduce me to be your boyfriend."
"Pfft~" Why did you have to say that when I had just taken a sip of yogurt? I sprayed all the yogurt out, not only onto our computers, but also onto Chu Zhen's face and body.
"Yes, yes, I'm sorry, Teacher Chu, I didn't mean to. It's just that your joke went a bit too far." I quickly grabbed a tissue and wiped away the mess I had made.
"Teacher Chu, why don't you wipe your face yourself?" After wiping the computer and the table, Chu Zhen's face was also smeared with smears.
"Get out~" Chu Zhen's patience must have reached its limit.
"Okay, I'll go out now. You can wipe it yourself." Before leaving, I gestured the corresponding spots on my face.
"Yan Yan, my internship is over!" I sent a message as I left the house.
"It's okay, I'll take care of you." Those simple words warmed my heart; reality really has been kind to me.
After composing myself, I went straight back to my place. To make sure I didn't let Yan Yan down, I went to the supermarket and bought two steaks. I can cook a big meal tonight.
Back at my place, I took a shower, dried my hair, and went to bed on the sofa. Although I had the day off yesterday, I couldn't sleep at all. I went out in the middle of the night and only just got back. I was exhausted, so I fell asleep in no time. When I woke up again, it was already dark.
I figured Yan Yan should be back soon, so I quickly went to the kitchen to fry the steak.
"It smells so good~ I knew it, everything would be fine, you were really overthinking it." Huang Yanyan returned, and there were other people in her voice.
"Are we having guests?" I ran to the door with a shovel.
"Why are you here?" At that moment, I was disheveled, wearing a headscarf and pajamas, and Chu Zhen appeared in front of me.
"Lin Dang, why is your phone always off? I can't reach you at all."
"It's out of power. It's on a charger, and I forgot to turn it on."
"Your boss was so worried about you, thank goodness they managed to contact me. Oh right, I have a company party tonight, so I won't be eating at home!" With that, Huang Yanyan ran off.
"What a bad friend, absolutely a bad friend," I muttered to myself.
"Your WeChat was logged in on your computer, so I contacted your friend. I'm sorry!" Chu Zhen actually apologized.
"Oh, it's nothing. I was in a hurry and forgot to step back. Um, Ms. Chu, I'm sorry about lunch!"
Are you frying something?
"Oh right, the steak is still in the pan." He probably asked because he smelled something burning. Luckily, it was only slightly browned on one side, so it didn't matter.
"Teacher Chu, I'm fine now. Look, my steak is burnt, and it seems like there's nothing else for you to stay for dinner."
"I like my steak well-done, really well-done, preferably a little charred, so it's chewier." Looks like my attempt to get rid of him failed.
“Alright, since Teacher Chu doesn’t mind, let’s eat together!” I plated the steak and brought it to the dining table. “Please enjoy.” Under the strong light of the living room lamp, my steak was not a golden brown, but a dark black, almost like charcoal.
"Did you rest this afternoon?" I was originally looking forward to asking how it tasted, but Chu Zhen cleverly avoided tasting it.
"Yeah, I slept all afternoon and feel great!"
"That's good, let's go out again tonight!"
"Teacher Chu, are you sure you're not mistaken? My internship should have ended by now. You asked me to leave around noon," I reminded her again.
"I just told you to leave, did I explain anything to you?"
That makes sense. Did I orchestrate this whole thing again?
"Professor Chu, I feel like I'm not really suited to work for you. Besides, I only want to do an internship right now. Even if my application for graduate school recommendation doesn't go through, I still want to take the entrance exam. Now that I think about it, I can actually use this time to study some more."
"Are you thinking of quitting?" the cold voice asked.
I guess so!
"I understand!" Chu Zhen stood up, turned around, and walked straight to the door. The door didn't close as I expected. He left with a flourish, but I felt inexplicably lost.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
