On Friday afternoon, a subtle merriment lingered in the calm atmosphere of Ji Chunqiu's office. Everyone seemed to be working normally, but the occasional upturned corners of their mouths and the more cheerful tone when talking to colleagues betrayed their good mood.
Which office worker doesn't love weekends?
But Lu Zhe, sitting at his new workstation, still looked like he was working diligently. In fact, he wasn't just working; he was also learning.
On the computer screen in front of him, there were video programming lessons. Whenever he encountered a part he didn't understand, Lu Zhe would pause the video, ask the speaker, and discuss it with the AI inside. This was both learning and working.
Lu Zhe's workstation was in a corner, furthest from his colleagues, and the nearby workstations were all empty. So, as long as he kept his voice down, he wouldn't disturb others.
However, in the eyes of others, this new colleague seemed to have been ostracized by everyone.
For Lu Zhe, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He could communicate normally with people and quite enjoyed being alone. As long as he had a salary and could learn something, he had nothing to complain about.
But then he noticed a new WeChat message on his phone from Xue Xiaodie:
[Do you work in the software park? What time do you get off work?]
Lu Zhe replied: 【That's right, exactly six o'clock.】
Xue Xiaodie: [I'm sketching nearby, how about we grab dinner together later?]
Lu Zhe: [Sure.]
Even after sending the message, he still felt a little uncomfortable.
From birth until now, the number of times he's been asked out by girls probably doesn't compare to the number of times he's been asked out in the last few days... What exactly is going on between Xue Xiaodie and Tang Qi?
Lu Zhe looked at the list of Python programs on the screen, his eyes filled with confusion.
What puzzled him wasn't what was on the screen. Programming languages are highly logical and not difficult for him to understand. But a girl's thoughts were truly hard to fathom.
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Around 6 PM, Lu Zhe and Xue Xiaodie sat in a window seat at the KFC downstairs from the company.
Lu Zhe ordered a beef burger, while Xue Xiaodie ordered a chicken wrap. They ordered separately, paid for their own meals, and then carried their trays to a table.
"Sorry, I have to go back and play games with Miss Tang later, so we can only have a simple meal," Lu Zhe explained after sitting down.
Xue Xiaodie nodded, her expression calm. But the next second, she threw out a question that Lu Zhe hadn't expected:
Do you like that Miss Tang?
Lu Zhe swallowed the hamburger in his mouth and said without hesitation, "If you mean romantic feelings between men and women, then no."
Xue Xiaodie: "But, wouldn't you be tempted by such a rich young lady?"
Lu Zhe: "Who the hell wouldn't want to be kept by a young, beautiful, rich woman? But I'll try to stay calm as much as possible."
Xue Xiaodie: "Why do you need to stay calm? Do you like something else...?"
Lu Zhe: "No, I've just always felt that treasures that don't belong to you are dangerous. Wealth has its advantages, but it also brings additional risks. All I know right now is that she's rich, but I know absolutely nothing about her family background, what businesses they run, how much risk there is, or what her family's attitude is. Besides, Tang Qi probably gave me this job out of gratitude. Gratitude and liking are two very different things."
Xue Xiaodie murmured, "You're being way too calm, aren't you?"
Lu Zhe shrugged: "Because this is my job! I don't want to ruin this easy job on a whim."
Xue Xiaodie stared at the boy in front of her, feeling a mix of emotions.
Without needing any logical analysis, she simply relied on her girlish intuition to know that Miss Tang was definitely interested in Lu Zhe.
But Lu Zhe didn't notice anything at all... Why is that?
Xue Xiaodie knew the reason very well, but she felt it was necessary to hear it again now. Getting him to voluntarily reveal his past secrets was undoubtedly the best way to deepen their bond.
So she asked softly, "Have you ever been in a relationship before?"
Lu Zhe hesitated for a moment before replying, "I would say we've talked about it, but... it's rather complicated."
Xue Xiaodie pursed her lips and asked softly, "Did you meet a bad girl?"
Lu Zhe fell silent.
Xue Xiaodie waited for him quietly.
After nearly half a minute of silence, Lu Zhe finally coughed and said, "I've had one relationship before, just once, back in college. From the time we got together to the time we broke up, it only lasted a month, but it cost me two months' worth of living expenses. I had no choice but to take on another part-time job."
Xue Xiaodie's voice softened further, her gentle tone tinged with heartache: "So, she's a gold digger?"
Lu Zhe: "Whether she's materialistic or not, I don't know. Anyway, she's quite willful. That period was like hell. I had to be ready to answer the phone at any time, reply to messages instantly all day long, and I had to coax her all the time. She would get angry and throw a tantrum if I was even a minute late. I wasn't even this mentally exhausted during the most tiring time of my senior year of high school. She would also compare herself with other girls, comparing whose boyfriend was more considerate... What does considerate mean? The most important thing is that she is willing to spend money, and it has to be spent in a sophisticated way, not in a vulgar way."
Xue Xiaodie sighed: "That's really terrible."
Lu Zhe sighed, "I originally had the opportunity to be recommended for graduate school, but the problem was that once I spent all the money, I would have to earn it myself. I didn't have any family support, and no parents could send me money. So, I missed the crucial opportunity. Luckily, I got an offer from an internet company during my senior year, so I just started working. That way, I'm a little more comfortable and have a better life. Of course, the premise is that I absolutely cannot be in a relationship."
Xue Xiaodie: "Absolutely not?"
Lu Zhe shrugged: "Of course! Dating costs money. Wouldn't it be better to use that money to buy games? Why make things difficult for yourself?"
Xue Xiaodie: "Actually, not all girls are so willful..."
Lu Zhe interrupted, "I know, of course not. But I like to prepare for the worst in everything. So I won't do anything to Miss Tang, because I'm already satisfied with the current situation. Actively seeking change might lead to something better, but it could also lead to something worse. Why would I needlessly add risks to myself?"
Xue Xiaodie almost clapped.
Thankfully, thankfully this is his personality. Otherwise, if he were a reserved or flirtatious type, wouldn't he have already been intimate with Miss Tang?
Now that's good, Xue Xiaodie can be sure that she still has a chance, a pretty good chance.
The girl took a sip of orange juice and smiled, "Let's not talk about those unpleasant love stories anymore, how about we talk about football? Guess where Messi will go next season?"
Upon hearing Xue Xiaodie bring up this topic, Lu Zhe immediately perked up.
After all, what's more fun than games and football?
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