Huo Qingfeng and Fu Peigang have been away on missions for several days now, while Ling Ruoke and Tan Peishi have been staying at home, eating and sleeping, living like pigs.
Having decided to find a job, Ling Ruoke decided to go for a walk after browsing the internet for several days. Pei Shi would definitely not agree with her going out to work, so she didn't tell Pei Shi about this plan.
In a small city like Z, most of the job postings on the street are for chefs or waitresses. She didn't have a chef's license, and the salary for a waitress was only a few hundred yuan. So after walking around for half a day, she came up empty-handed.
When she passed by Nuanting Pavilion, Ling Ruoke decided to go in and have some snacks, as she was also a little hungry.
As she entered the doorway, she was suddenly drawn to a notice posted by the door—it was for a pastry chef!
Ling Ruoke was overjoyed. She stopped eating and went straight to the counter to ask to see the boss.
She was quickly led upstairs. It turned out that the first floor of Nuanting Pavilion was a pastry shop, and the second floor was the owner's residence. Because it was a duplex, the second floor was smaller than the first floor, with only one bedroom and one living room.
Just as Ling Ruoke was about to sit down, a tall man walked out of the bedroom. He was over 180 cm tall, wearing a black shirt and casual trousers, and had a somewhat serious expression.
When the two saw each other's faces clearly, they were both stunned and called out each other's names in unison.
"Ling Ruoke!"
"Tang Yue!"
Then, the two of them laughed a little embarrassedly.
"Long time no see, have a seat." Tang Yue gestured to the sofa, then ran his hand through his hair, looking somewhat flustered.
Ling Ruoke sat down, unsure of what to do with her hands and feet, feeling extremely embarrassed. "Thank you. I never expected that the owner of Nuanting Pavilion would be you!"
Tang Yue smiled and said somewhat jokingly, "My home is here. I never expected to run into you like this in my lifetime."
Ling Ruoke felt increasingly awkward and didn't know how to answer. "I'm so sorry about what happened back then."
"It's okay. Every cloud has a silver lining. Look at me, I'm doing pretty well now. Although I'm not a high-paid white-collar worker, I have enough to eat and wear, and I live a very comfortable life."
Ling Ruoke nodded, genuinely agreeing with him. Having one's own small shop, with no worries about food and clothing, and no disputes, is a rare kind of happiness.
"By the way, how did you end up here?" Tang Yue was also a little surprised. Z City wasn't a tourist city, and there weren't many job opportunities, so very few people would come here.
Ling Ruoke paused for a moment, then grinned.
“A friend of mine is here, and I happened to have some free time, so I came to visit her. I found this place to be a great place to live, and I was planning to find a job here and settle down. I never expected it to be such a coincidence.”
"So that's how it is."
After a brief silence, Tang Yue finally couldn't help but tentatively ask, "You..."
Ling Ruoke understood what he wanted to ask. Her heart ached, but she still smiled and answered, "I'm divorced."
"Oh?...I'm sorry."
Tang Yue was quite surprised. Back then, she and Cang Weiwo seemed so happy. Cang Weiwo even went to great lengths to drive away the boys who liked her, just to nip that possibility in the bud.
"It's alright."
The atmosphere was somewhat awkward, and neither of them knew what to say. Meeting an old friend in a foreign land should have been a joyous occasion, but it was instead tainted by these troublesome matters.
"Um... the shop is doing so well, you must be very busy. I'll be going now, let's have dinner together another time."
Ling Ruoke stood up, waved with a smile, and was about to go downstairs.
"If it's alright!" Tang Yue reached out and grabbed her hand, but when she turned around, he immediately let go as if he had been burned.
"Didn't you come here for a job interview? Just because I'm the boss doesn't mean you're not interested in this job?"
"I..." Ling Ruoke didn't know how to explain to him that they would see each other often while working here, and it would probably be awkward in the future.
"You hate me?" He knew she didn't like him, but she shouldn't hate him, right?
Ling Ruoke's eyes widened, and she waved her hands nervously. "No, no, that's not true! I just... I just..."
"If you're okay, don't worry, I won't do anything reckless. I know I'll never have a chance with you. But anyway, we're classmates, right? Besides, I consider myself a good boss."
Ling Ruoke was extremely embarrassed, her entire face turning as red as a ripe apple. "I... I didn't mean that."
Tang Yue looked at her blushing face and couldn't help but smile even more gently. Ruoke was still so shy, blushing at the drop of a hat.
"However, even so, I won't show favoritism. So, if you want to work here, you'll have to prove yourself."
Ling Ruoke smiled, her lips pursed, as she listened to his slightly mischievous tone. It was a little strange that such a tall boy would deliberately be playful. But the sincerity behind it was heartwarming.
Ling Ruoke went downstairs and made a few cakes, as she had experience in this area and considered herself quite talented. In short, she passed the interview.
A monthly salary of 3000 yuan, a transportation allowance of 200 yuan, meals provided but accommodation not, and two days off per week. In a small city like this, the benefits are already quite good.
Ling Ruoke was also somewhat surprised.
"Don't worry, I didn't intentionally give you special treatment. If you don't believe me, you can go down and ask other people."
Since he's already said that, it would be ungrateful of me to still be bothered by it. I can only laugh it off and focus on doing my job well.
Tang Yue, as a friend, accompanied Ruo Ke to get her health certificate near Z University.
When they finished, they were both a little hungry, so they went to eat at the busiest restaurant. It was noisy with students all around, but it also had a great atmosphere.
The two looked at each other and smiled, as if they had returned to their university days. A few people could sit down in a restaurant and eat happily, making a great fuss. That was the advantage of being young.
"Looking at them, I feel like I'm already very old." Ling Ruoke looked at those youthful, smiling faces and felt a pang of emotion.
Tang Yue looked at her and shook his head. "If you wore a school uniform, you'd be even more eye-catching than them. You haven't really changed much since you entered university."
He was a little more melancholic than before, with a touch more world-weariness in him. However, he didn't say it aloud, lest she be saddened.
Ling Ruoke felt a little embarrassed by his praise and subconsciously stuck out her tongue. "No way, I'm no longer an eighteen-year-old girl."
"What does it matter? As long as you take good care of yourself and maintain a good mindset, you'll always be eighteen."
"..."
As the two were eating and chatting happily, someone suddenly ran over and slammed their hand on the table. Soup spilled from the bowl, nearly splashing onto Ruoke's face.
Looking up, I saw the other person aggressively yelling and cursing.
"You guys are shameless!"
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