Chapter 5: Pretentious
Halfway through the meal, the atmosphere was good.
Newcomers are always the ones who are cared for.
Gu Pingping asked, "Hey! Yan Nian, where do you live?"
The three of them looked at her together.
Yan Nian had only been home for a little over a month and had only been out a few times. Without online shopping, he couldn't remember his home address. He only remembered the mall next to his home, so he replied, "Next to Times Jiaxiang."
Gu Pingping said excitedly, "I live in that direction too. Let's take the subway together when there's a traffic jam."
Yan Nian wanted to refuse, but was afraid that the refusal would ruin the atmosphere if he didn't handle it properly, so he just said, "Okay."
Gu Pingping asked again, "By the way, there's a super delicious dessert shop next to Times Jiaxiang. Did you know?"
Yan Nian answered truthfully: "I don't know. I just came back not long ago and rarely go out."
Unconsciously, his eyes met Zhou Ran's briefly and then he naturally looked away.
Yan Nian swallowed. He hadn't eaten breakfast in the morning, so spicy food was a bit uncomfortable for him. He put down his chopsticks and drank some water.
Zhou Ran noticed her move, frowned slightly, pushed the dish in front of her to Gu Pingping, and ordered: "Finish it."
Gu Pingping: "Okay, boss."
When Zhou Ran suddenly had an outburst, it was just a small episode in their conversation. Zhou Ran was always like this, so Gu Pingping didn't care.
Her curiosity was overflowing, and she continued the previous topic by asking Yan Nian: "Are you talking about going back to Lindu?"
Yan Nian nodded: "Yeah."
Gu Pingping pressed on, "So you've been in Lingyun City all along?"
Yan Nian: "Yeah, I just moved back."
Gu Pingping: "It's so far, have you been there since you were a child?"
Yan Nian: "Yeah, I rarely come back."
She has been in Lingyun since she can remember. If it weren't for her grandmother in Lindu, she would have mistakenly thought that she was a native of Lingyun.
Gu Pingping is a chatterbox. He told her about northern specialties and northern dishes. Everything revolved around food.
In this respect, Gu Pingping is very similar to Zhou Ran in the past. Being able to be his assistant, they must have many similarities.
Gu Pingping said that before graduating from university, he went there for an internship for a month. The weather was not very good when he went there, and his skin cracked directly. He came back because he couldn't stand it anymore.
At this moment, You Jia, who was being ignored, suddenly interrupted: "Yan Nian's skin is really good! It's not as exaggerated as you say!"
Zhou Ran and Gu Pingping covered her face together.
Especially Zhou Ran, who looked as if he had never seen her before, and his eyes darted boldly across her facial features.
After Yan Nian discovered this, he felt a little uncomfortable and drank his soup with his eyes lowered.
Gu Pingping looked at her otherworldly face and naturally fair skin, which looked like a pampered and gentle young lady, holding the soup spoon with her fingers raised.
If it were someone else, Gu Pingping would think this action was coquettish.
Yan Nian is different. Her behavior and actions are full of cultivation.
His appearance may seem distant, but he is actually quite gentle.
Gu Pingping was both envious and agreed with what You Jia had just said: "Of course I can't compare with Yan Nian."
You Jia asked, "Yan Nian, do you usually get hydration injections?"
After saying this, Gu Pingping swallowed, slowed down his chewing, and switched his eyes between the two of them. The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
This is fucking crazy! Are you jealous of someone's beauty? You're saying they're working on a project for their face.
Yan Nian raised her head, looking at You Jia in front of her right in confusion, frowning: "No."
You Jia laughed disdainfully: "You wouldn't do that! It doesn't matter if I hit him!"
You Jia's tone was very pretentious, as if she had indeed hit him but was afraid to admit it.
Zhou Ran seemed to have automatically filtered out the voices of others and didn't care at all about what these women were talking about.
I put down my chopsticks and kept looking at my phone.
Yan Nian stared at You Jia's face, which was thickly powdered and had bright red lips. Her face was too pointed and thin, and her nose looked a little fake. "Do you want me to recommend you something? If so, I'm sorry, I can't recommend one to you. However, I suggest you find a better agency, otherwise you'll be paying the IQ tax."
After saying that, Zhou Ran put away his phone, a hint of amusement on the corner of his lips, and his eyes fell directly on her.
Gu Pingping picked up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth, trying hard to hide the smile that was about to appear.
Seeing Zhou Ran staring at her, You Jia suppressed her anger and glared at Yan Nian.
Because of this topic, the conversation came to an end and everyone put down their chopsticks.
I thought Zhou Ran was just joking when he asked You Jia to pack up the salad, so before leaving, I specifically called the waiter over and said, "Pack up the salad for this lady."
"OK."
Zhou Ran walked away first, and Gu Pingping took Yan Nian to the front desk to pay the bill.
You Jia, wearing high heels, stomped her feet as she looked at the backs of the three people. The waiter packed the food and handed it to her. You Jia threw the box directly into the trash can.
-
The afternoon was long, and Yan Nian had nothing to do except familiarizing himself with the business.
Ever since returning from dinner with You Jia, Yan Nian felt that the atmosphere in the translation team was even heavier than when she first arrived.
I asked Xu Mi, who was sitting behind her, a few questions in the morning. Although Xu Mi was not very happy, she at least explained to her the issues of contract review and proofreading.
But in the afternoon, Xu Mi was working in the empty seat on the other side. Yan Nian knew that she was completely isolated.
I overheard Xu Xinrui irritably say, "Can you guys please stop posting messages in the group chat? The constant dinging is so annoying. If you keep sending messages, I'll quit."
No one said a word. Yan Nian sat with his back to them. Except for going to the tea room and the bathroom, he never glanced back.
The time was extremely difficult.
Gu Pingping pulled him into a WeChat group, which was a translation team work report group with a total of seven people.
Gu Pingping sent her a message to remind her: [Yan Nian, I've added you to the work group. When you're done, remember to add Mr. Zhou on WeChat. His avatar is the one with the letter Z.]
Yan Nian replied: [Okay.]
Yan Nian has Zhou Ran’s WeChat account, and she has always kept it even though it looks like a zombie account.
I tapped the screen with my finger to enter the WeChat group and found the avatar with the letter Z. Surprisingly, it showed that I had been added to the address book, not as a friend.
Changed WeChat ID.
Yan Nian quickly clicked add, and within a few minutes Zhou Ran was accepted.
When he was free, Yan Nian opened his circle of friends and found that there were updates on this account.
The most recent one was posted on May 6th of last month. It was a photo of eating hot pot without any text.
Scrolling down carefully, most of the links are related to the company. There are not many updates, and I quickly scrolled to the bottom. His first circle of friends was posted two years ago.
Yan Nian found the column of address book Z, and saw two WeChat accounts with the same avatar and WeChat name.
After comparison, it was found that he had changed his WeChat account two years ago.
Yan Nian stared at his phone in a daze, not knowing the point of looking for these traces.
She clearly remembered that three years ago, when Zhou Ran graduated from university, he posted a message on his Moments. The picture was a selfie taken at university, with only one line of text: I graduated successfully, how about you?
It seemed like he was asking this question to everyone around him, but also seemed like he was asking someone in particular.
In the past, Zhou Ran’s circle of friends was very rich. He would add some cute cartoon pictures, or some tourist photos with worrying pixels, and then express his mood of the day.
I don't know when it started, but he would post once a month, or once every few months, and the accompanying text and pictures didn't seem very happy. Until that graduation selfie, I haven't seen him post on WeChat Moments since then.
About two years ago, she accidentally clicked on his circle of friends. It was clean except for a cold horizontal line.
Her heart skipped a beat at that moment, and she wasn't sure whether Zhou Ran had blocked her or deleted her.
After all, because of some things that happened back then, she was the one who asked Zhou Ran not to contact her anymore, so it was normal if he deleted her.
In the end, I didn't have the courage to confirm whether he deleted her or not, so I just kept it like this.
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