The lunch break begins at exactly 12:00.
At noon, Lu Zhe put down the AI speaker, stood up, and prepared to go downstairs for lunch. The other colleagues in the office were doing the same, stretching and chatting in small groups, discussing what to eat for lunch.
There's no one to discuss Lu Zhe with.
His workstation was in a corner, closest to his boss Mao Kai, and then to Fu Hanchen. Neither of them clearly intended to invite him to lunch.
Mao Kai brought his own lunchbox, heated it in the microwave, and then took it back to his workstation to eat while playing World of Warcraft.
Fu Hanchen's workstation was empty; he seemed to have gone off to find something to eat. And after their brief conversation that morning, Lu Zhe also realized that this guy seemed to have some issues with him…
However, Lu Zhe was already used to this situation. Let alone his life as a corporate slave, even when he was a student, he was often alone. Being with others actually made him feel a little uncomfortable.
Lu Zhe walked out of the office and came to the front desk.
Turn left here, and you'll find the elevator doors. But right there, he froze.
Less than five meters in front of me, there was a familiar figure—wasn't that Xue Xiaodie!
The girl was still wearing her JK uniform, somewhat like the one she wore when we first met, only slightly different in color—this one was a bit darker. Her thin-rimmed glasses were also the same as before, unable to conceal her youthful and pretty face. Compared to the male and female employees around her, she seemed out of place, as if she shouldn't be there.
Wait, she shouldn't be here in the first place! Why is Xue Xiaodie here?
Lu Zhe stared blankly as the girl walked towards him.
Xue Xiaodie stopped in front of him, a smile spreading across her face: "What a coincidence, you work here too?"
Lu Zhe nodded and asked in return, "You didn't find an internship here, did you?"
Xue Xiaodie tilted her head: "How did you know?"
“I guessed…” Lu Zhe’s eyes twitched, and he already had a guess in his mind that he didn’t know how to describe.
Could it be that this girl deliberately chose to intern at the company across the street for her own benefit?
Xue Xiaodie chuckled and said, "That's true. It's the summer between junior and senior year. If I don't hurry up and find an internship now, when will I have time to do one? So I'll be here for the next two months. Want to have lunch together?"
Lu Zhe: "..."
Does he have a reason to refuse?
Even if there were a reason, it would be hard to say it when faced with the girl's radiant smile.
————
"I was looking for an internship last weekend, and when I found out the interview was in the software park, I wondered if I might run into you. I never expected it to be such a coincidence—you're right across the street!"
Xue Xiaodie picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks, but instead of eating it immediately, she smiled and said something.
Lu Zhe fell silent for a moment, simply eating his meal quietly.
He was thinking about a problem.
Xue Xiaodie found an internship right across the street. Was this a coincidence or intentional?
He remembered that during a casual chat with the girl, he had mentioned his job duties and the company's main business. So, knowing the company's main business, finding 'Ji Chunqiu' shouldn't be too difficult, right?
Lu Zhe swallowed a mouthful of food and asked, "What kind of internship did you find? Is it related to drawing?"
Xue Xiaodie: "Yes, across from you is a comic book company. Comics require a lot of artists, from storyboarding to line drawing, to sketching, coloring, etc., all of which require a certain level of skill. And they only require skill, not specific major, which is perfect for me."
Lu Zhe suddenly realized that he hadn't asked Xue Xiaodie about her major at school yet. Thinking about it, it seemed that most of the time Xue Xiaodie was the one actively engaging in conversation and following his interests. This was quite unusual for a young, beautiful girl.
So he asked, "By the way, what did you study?"
"You're asking me?" Xue Xiaodie pushed up her glasses. "Accounting. How about it, isn't it boring?"
Lu Zhe: "It's alright, it's quite practical anyway."
Xue Xiaodie: "It's practical, but I really don't want to work in finance or be an accountant in the future! I want to draw, whether it's comics or game concept art, and I'm very confident in my drawing skills. Don't let the fact that I'm not from an art school fool you; when I really draw, I'm sure I'm no worse than those art majors!"
Lu Zhe put down his chopsticks and clapped twice: "Great job! And since you can already make money from drawing, it means your skill level must be pretty good. Keep it up!"
Xue Xiaodie put down her chopsticks and asked, "What about you? Don't you have two jobs now? Can you manage?"
Lu Zhe: "It's alright, neither job is tiring."
"Then could I ask you for a favor?" Xue Xiaodie suddenly clasped her hands together, looking sincere. "I'm thinking of moving too. Could you give me some advice?"
Lu Zhe: "Why are you moving?"
"Because the place I rented before was a bit far from here, it was inconvenient to commute to get off work, and I wasted a lot of time on the road. Besides my internship, I also need to work on my own art, so I wanted to find a place to live nearby to save some time..."
As she continued speaking, Xue Xiaodie noticed that Lu Zhe's expression was a little strange, so she unconsciously lowered her voice.
Lu Zhe looked down at the food, then looked up at the girl in front of him, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say.
He's now pretty sure that Xue Xiaodie is after him!
He was looking for an internship, and the company he found was right across the street from him. If he had to move again, to this area, he'd be living near him. If he still couldn't figure out the girl's true intentions, he felt he might as well kill himself.
The question is, how should we respond?
If he wants to develop a relationship with Tang Qi, then it's definitely impossible for him to deepen his relationship with Xue Xiaodie.
But how do you refuse?
It's important to understand that Xue Xiaodie never directly said anything like "I like you" from beginning to end, and the subtext of her words was also unclear. Therefore, she never had the opportunity to say something like "We can't be together."
They didn't give any explicit hints, and the hints were very limited. How could I refuse?
Even the request just now was just a suggestion, not something like dragging him to look for a house... so it was even harder to refuse.
After pondering for a while, Lu Zhe said, "The property prices around here seem quite high, and the rent won't be cheap either. Are you sure you want to live here?"
Xue Xiaodie nodded without hesitation: "I have money now, and I earned it all myself!"
As she said this, the girl raised her face, her bright eyes filled with confidence.
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