"Could you try it for me?"
As she spoke, the girl held the umbrella in both hands, a gentle smile on her face. Her tone also carried a hint of girlish shyness.
Lu Zhe took the umbrella and tried to open it. Sure enough, the spring holding the umbrella open was stuck.
However, after applying a little more force and trying a couple more times, he successfully pushed the buckle into the right position, allowing the umbrella to open fully.
"Okay." Lu Zhe handed the umbrella back.
The girl took the umbrella, glanced at the rain outside, then looked back, hesitating slightly. She bit her lip and said softly, "Thank you... I noticed you don't seem to have an umbrella either. Would you like to come with me?"
Lu Zhe: "Where are you going?"
Girl: "I'm going to the subway station."
It's only a 200-300 meter walk from here to the subway station, so walking there in the rain wouldn't be a problem. But since you can share an umbrella with someone else, why get soaked yourself?
Lu Zhe glanced at her subconsciously, his gaze lingering on the girl's face for two seconds.
The eyes behind the lenses were pure and beautiful.
He nodded: "Okay, thank you."
The girl raised her umbrella and smiled sweetly: "I'm the one who should be saying thank you."
And so, the two walked under one umbrella toward the subway station. The continuous sound of raindrops seemed to lessen the surrounding noise, and the cars constantly passing by on the road appeared increasingly quiet…
The two remained silent for the short distance of two or three hundred meters until they entered the subway station.
As the girl folded up the umbrella and put it in her bag, she asked, "Which stop are you going to?"
Lu Zhe: "Donghu Park".
The girl's eyes widened slightly, and she exclaimed in surprise, "What a coincidence! I'm going to East Lake Park too!"
Lu Zhe: "Do you live around there too?"
The girl nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, I rented a single room there, the kind that's ten square meters."
Lu Zhe scratched the back of his head: "What a coincidence, me too."
The girl laughed and said, "Maybe we're neighbors!"
Lu Zhe: "But I've never seen you before. To be honest, if I had seen a girl like you before, I would definitely remember you."
The girl's smile grew even sweeter: "Maybe it's because I just moved here not long ago. But you look kind of familiar, like I've seen you somewhere before."
As they spoke, the two had already entered the subway car. Compared to the rush hour, the number of people was less. Although there were still no empty seats in the car, at least it wasn't as crowded.
"Oh right, we don't know your name yet!" the girl suddenly said. "My name is Xue Xiaodie, Xiao as in small, and Die as in butterfly. What's yours?"
"Lu Zhe".
Xue Xiaodie adjusted her glasses, stared at him, and waited with great interest for him to continue.
So Lu Zhe added: "The 'Lu' in 'road' and the 'Zhe' in 'philosophy'."
Xue Xiaodie smiled and said, "Your name is so simple, and very poetic!"
Lu Zhe also smiled and said, "Your name is cute."
In fact, given his personality and habits, such pointless and illogical conversations would usually annoy him. But this moment was an exception; although the content of the conversation was still nonsense, he felt quite good about it.
After all, what straight man would dislike a cute girl who takes the initiative to talk to him?
"You've already graduated, right? I haven't graduated yet, but I'm already preparing..." After getting to know each other a little better, Xue Xiaodie started talking about her situation, "Summer vacation is coming soon, so I simply rented a place and moved out to get used to things in advance."
Lu Zhe: "Renting a place before graduation? You're not going to live in the school dorms?"
Xue Xiaodie: "Anyway, I'll be a senior in two months, and I'll need to find an internship and stuff, so I won't be spending much time on campus. Besides, I'm financially independent now, so rent and stuff aren't a problem."
Lu Zhe noticed the hint of pride in the girl's eyes, so he continued the conversation in a cooperative manner: "You haven't graduated yet, how come you're financially independent?"
Xue Xiaodie: "I can make money by taking on commissions and drawing online."
Lu Zhe smiled and said, "You're pretty good."
Xue Xiaodie: "It's alright, it's alright... Oh right, you're already working, right? What industry are you in?"
Lu Zhe: "I guess it's an internet-related role, an operations position."
Xue Xiaodie's eyes lit up: "Internet operations? Why don't you help me with the operations? The price for commissioned artwork depends not only on the artist's skills, but also on their fans and reputation, which requires internet operations."
Lu Zhe didn't take it seriously, but just joked, "Well, I'm going to get paid."
Xue Xiaodie said with a grin, "Salary is definitely not a problem, and I'll even give you a commission!"
Lu Zhe had to admit that for a fleeting moment, he did consider the possibility of becoming the girl's operations manager. But that possibility was simply too absurd.
Even if a young girl who hasn't graduated yet is a great artist, how much money can she earn? She's not one of those artists who became famous at a young age. Besides, if she really wants to run a professional business, she'll need to set up a company, which involves a lot of other things.
Moreover, operations are divided into different fields.
Lu Zhe said, "I do product operations, not community fan operations. So even if you really need to hire someone, I'm not the right person for you."
Xue Xiaodie adjusted her glasses and said softly, "Let's talk about it after I've made a name for myself. Who knows what the future holds?"
————
After arriving at the station, the two exited the subway and walked for a while. It was then that Lu Zhe realized that the girl was actually his neighbor.
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