It was 6:30 PM, time to leave work.
He was supposed to leave work at 6:00 sharp, but since Lu Zhe arrived half an hour late this morning during his flexible hours, he naturally had to leave half an hour later as well. However, when he stood up, he found that his colleagues from the testing department had already left, but a little further away, almost all of his colleagues from the algorithm department were still there.
It seems that even without an overtime system, they can't leave too early...
Lu Zhe left the office and reached the elevator. As he passed the reception desk of Xue Xiaodie's company, he slowed his pace slightly, but ultimately did not stop.
As Lu Zhe took the elevator downstairs and walked back to the young lady's apartment, he picked up his phone and glanced at it.
Then I discovered the message that Xue Xiaodie had just sent.
Oh right, I forgot to tell you. I won't wait for you after get off work; I'm going home to pack my things. I found a new place this afternoon, and we're moving tomorrow. I'll finish packing tonight.
Lu Zhe looked at the message and was somewhat shocked: "Is the efficiency really that high...? That's too fast."
Thinking about Xue Xiaodie's remarkable achievements in earning money through painting and finding an internship right across from his workplace, he realized that this girl was truly impressive.
So, how should we deal with this?
Lu Zhe thought for half a minute, but he was too embarrassed to offend the girl, so he could only reply in the most calm and friendly way possible.
So he replied: "Okay, call me when you need to move things."
Just as I finished sending the message and was about to put my phone away, I received another call.
Miss Tang Qi called.
When Lu Zhe answered the phone, he heard a slightly childish yet energetic voice: "Assistant, assistant, are you off work?"
"Uh, I'm off work."
Tang Qi's voice held a hint of expectant laughter: "So, are you coming back now?"
Lu Zhe: "I said before that I would go back and cook for you..."
“We agreed on this beforehand!” Tang Qi interrupted without waiting for a reply. “From now on, don’t address me with ‘you’ (formal) formalities, remember?”
"Uh, okay."
Tang Qi chuckled and said, "I've changed my mind. You don't need to come home to cook tonight. Let's go out to eat, we'll have hot pot!"
Lu Zhe: "Hot pot?"
Tang Qi: "Yeah, yeah, I haven't had hot pot since I came to Chengdu, how can that be? Besides, I ate the spicy chicken you made last time and it was pretty good, so I can handle spicy food!"
Lu Zhe sighed: "Let me remind you first, when I made spicy chicken... because I knew you were from Guangdong Province, I used less chili when I cooked it."
Tang Qi: "It's okay, we can just put less chili in the hot pot! Just come back quickly, I'll wait for you downstairs!"
"Alright..."
Since the employer is so adamant, what can Lu Zhe say?
————
"This is the place, I heard it's amazing... but it's so crowded!"
As she got off the bus, Tang Qi pointed to a hot pot restaurant not far away and said this.
There were several stools set up at the entrance of the hot pot restaurant, and almost all of them were occupied. People were chatting and eating sunflower seeds, seemingly waiting for a seat.
Lu Zhe shrugged: "There's nothing we can do. That's how hot pot restaurants are in Chengdu. Even the slightly better ones require queuing. Actually, it's not too bad now, but on Friday or Saturday nights, the queue can stretch all the way to the side of the road."
Tang Qi had a sudden inspiration: "Hot pot restaurants are so profitable, why don't we open one?"
Lu Zhe: "It's possible, but the competition will be fierce. There are so many hot pot restaurants in Chengdu, so you must think carefully before investing."
Tang Qi put her hands on her hips: "Forget it, never mind. We're here to eat, not to think about that!"
Lu Zhe: "Actually, you don't even consider making money..."
Tang Qi: "How can we not consider it? Wouldn't just living a life of idleness and waiting to die turn us into useless people?"
Lu Zhe chuckled and held back his words—a good-for-nothing who just loafs around and waits to die, that was exactly the life he dreamed of.
When the two arrived at the hot pot restaurant, a waiter came over to greet them and brought out two plastic stools for them to sit down.
Tang Qi sat there.
Lu Zhe grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds, sat down in front of her, and asked, "Want some?"
Tang Qi nodded and took a melon seed from his palm.
Lu Zhe: "You can take more."
While cracking sunflower seeds, Tang Qi said, "No, I don't like taking a handful at a time."
So, Lu Zhe had to hold a bunch of sunflower seeds in one hand and let the young lady take them one by one. And every time they took sunflower seeds, their fingers would touch. The seemingly unintentional light touch made them both fall into silence.
Tang Qi was secretly delighted.
Lu Zhe observed Tang Qi's reaction and secretly wondered—was the young lady doing this on purpose?
His psychological process at this moment was somewhat complex and subtle.
If he were to follow Luo Qiu's advice and seize the opportunity to win over Miss Tang, he should take every chance to get closer to her. But whenever he tried to make up his mind, he couldn't help but hesitate.
Is it really appropriate for me to be with this young lady?
Will she and I really get along in the future?
If I really start dating, will the rich girl's father or mother suddenly appear and force me to leave?
Just as he was pondering silently, Tang Qi took the last melon seed he was holding in his palm.
"Let's get some more?" the young lady said.
Lu Zhe nodded and went to ask the waiter for more sunflower seeds. This time, the waiter seemed to have noticed the slight awkwardness between the two earlier and simply gave him a plate of sunflower seeds, and even moved a plastic stool and placed it between them.
The plate of sunflower seeds is placed on the stool in the middle, so that no one needs to hold it up with their hands.
"Please wait a moment, there will be a table soon," the helpful waiter said with a smile, then turned and left.
Tang Qi pouted slightly, looked at the melon seeds, and seemed a little unwilling to eat them.
Lu Zhe sat down, picked up a sunflower seed, and gently bit it open. Just then, he heard the young lady's voice again:
"Um... could you help me break it up?"
Tang Qi had her hands resting on her knees, her face lowered, looking rather shy and uneasy.
It seems she also knows how strange this request is.
Lu Zhe glanced at the sunflower seeds in his hand, then at the girl in front of him, and couldn't help but ask, "You mean, you want me to feed you?"
It seems like it's not entirely impossible?
Just as Lu Zhe was hesitating, the enthusiastic and dedicated waiter came over again.
"A table has become available now, please come with me. By the way, would you like a spicy hot pot or a yin-yang hot pot?"
As the waiter's voice rang out, Tang Qi couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
Lu Zhe replied, "Let's have a hot pot with two broths."
Tang Qi shook her head vigorously and said defiantly, "Red pot!"
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