Chapter 25
After fulfilling my wish of drinking bone broth for a few days at home, I went back to the office, looking rounder and fuller. Yin Jie and Yu Hua pulled me aside and pinched the flesh on my body.
“You’ve put on weight, at least five pounds.”
“…… Are you envious?”
Yin Jie said frantically: “Can you blame me for being envious? You get to drink and eat good food every day. Whereas my work has more than doubled ah!”
I spread out my hands: “See, now you know that I’ve done so much for you and how important I am.”
Yin Jie made a faint sound of weeping and said: “Okay, I will not dare to forget to bring my keys in the future. Do you know that I am already well-known in the whole company for not bringing my keys? When I delivered some doc.u.ments to Vice President Lin last Friday, to my surprise, he reminded me with a very serious expression before I left, ‘Don’t forget to bring your keys in the future’ …… let me die la.”
“Ha ha ha, you have the nerve to complain. Little Nie (a term of endearment in addressing Xi Guang) got into big trouble because of your sloppiness.” w.a.n.g Qi came up to make fun of her and also said to me: “Little Nie, are you okay now? Initially the people in our department intended to go together to visit you, but Vice President Lin said you need plenty of rest. Thus it was not appropriate for a group of people to visit you so we did not go. I hope you don’t mind ah.”
“Ah, I won’t.”
Lin Yu Sen …… hearing them mentioning him, I was a little distracted. I did not know what will happen to us after I came back …..
Soon enough, I saw Lin Yu Sen at the morning meeting on Monday.
There was no important matter to be discussed in the morning meeting. In accordance with Lin Yu Sen’s style, he will say a few words to explain about work then the meeting will end quickly. Sometimes even less than five minutes. However before the meeting came to an end, suddenly he said: “Recently, I heard someone said our department has bad feng shui.”
Everyone looked at each other in dismay. Yin Jie said softly: “Why I didn’t hear about it? Who has been talking nonsense until even Vice President Lin had heard about it? Bad luck will befall the gossipers!”
Other people’s expression were also relatively indignant.
However, Lin Yu Sen obviously has no intention to investigate and change the topic by saying: “I had a car accident last month and a colleague ‘jumped from a building’ this month, so it is inevitable that other people formed such opinion.”
Jumped from a building …… I had just picked up the cup to drink and almost sprayed out the tea.
“Thus I intend to organize a gathering for people in our department to go out and have a meal this week and also for a change of fortune for the better.”
Have a meal together can change fortune for the better? My body shivered. Before I have time to express my shock, I heard him continuing to say, “Naturally, this meal cannot be considered office expense. Instead it will be shared equally between me and Nie Xi Guang.”
……
Shocking —— Everyone’s facial expression when looking at me.
Shocking —— My facial expression when looking at Lin Yu Sen.
I asked feebly: “Why do I have to share?”
In other departments, the boss was the one who gave the treat!
Lin Yu Sen appeared businesslike: “Don’t tell me it is not because of our successive accidents which gave rise to the gossip?”
…… Like this also can? Also, don’t say until like we were involved in a s.e.x scandal okay ……
In the end, I can only ask: “Will it be expensive?”
Lin Yu Sen smiled faintly at me.
I spent the day under the strange watchful gaze of my colleagues……
Yin Jie said in a worried voice: “Oh, will the place chosen by Vice President Lin very expensive? According to my knowledge of astrology, you must belong to the moonlight group (those who spend their monthly income even before they earn their next salary). Do you want me to lend you some money?!”
I really thought it was an unexpected misfortune. Giving a treat was not a problem, but giving a treat can change fortune for the better was really …… a little breakthrough for my IQ.
“Then you use your knowledge of astrology to help me calculate what will happen if I don’t bring my purse and let Vice President Lin to pay the bill alone?”
Yin Jie looked at me scornfully: “I don’t need to use my knowledge of astrology for this. I can easily foresee you’ll be asked to work overtime the next day, plenty of them.”
“Don’t worry. According to our Vice President Lin’s grace and character, he was just saying it, without meaning it. He won’t really ask you to pay. PS, even if he asks you to pay, it will also not be expensive.”
Thus I can only obediently get ready my purse to wait for Vice President Lin’s summon. In the end, Yin Jie overrated Lin Yu Sen’s character ……
Granted that it was expensive, everyone was pleasantly surprised to get to eat such sumptuous meal. It was not about the money, but to complain a bit with Yin Jie only. The problem was ……
After everyone happily finished eating, Lin Yu Sen got up to pay the bill. Yin Jie pulled my sleeve and signaled with the eyes: Look, I am right. As expected, Vice President Lin was paying all by himself.
I gave her a thumbs up to praise her.
Then I received a text message from Lin Yu Sen: Come to the front desk now.
I inexplicably got up and went over. Everyone probably thought I went to the washroom so they were not concern. At the front desk, Vice President Lin was leaning on the counter and smiled faintly. Without feeling embarra.s.sed at all, he said to me: “Nie Xi Guang, I forgot to bring money.”
“……”
You will not understand the feeling of having one thousand mythological animals running across.
When I silently took out my bank card to settle the bill, Lin Yu Sen was looking at me sideways. I felt that the expression in his eyes were particularly bright, like he was feeling very pleased with himself for being able to make fun of me.
Uh, this was a misperception, right? Our vice president cannot be this shameless.
I silently took back the card and gave him a look of disdain but I was really not angry in my heart. Having ate so many of his meals, I ought to treat him to a meal.
“I just remembered that I’ve not repaid you the deposit when I was hospitalized last time.”
“……”
My hand swung the bank card, “Debt settled?”
He smiled, “Yes, all debt settled.”
Most people took a taxi to go back. Because of Yin Jie shamelessness, she pulled me into Lin Yu Sen’s car straightaway …… Of course I was also quite cooperative ……
There were another two colleagues in the same car with us.
The male colleague who sat on the front pa.s.senger seat kept on expressing his thanks to Lin Yu Sen, “We really did not expect the vice president will treat us to eat such great meal!”
“You’re welcome.”
Lin Yu Sen’s tone was incredibly calm.
“The meal must be really expensive?”
“No, okay.”
……
I can only silently bury my head in Yin Jie’s body.
Yin Jie was a little scared and shook me, “Xi Guang, how are you? Car sickness ah?”
“No …… ate too much.”
Yin Jie: “……”
I clearly heard gentle laughter coming from the front.© without the permission of the translator.
We arrived back at the office very quickly. Then we got down from the car and waved goodbye to Lin Yu Sen. After walking a short distance, I turned around.
Suddenly I felt a little uneasy.
Why everything was so surreal?
We were like enemy before, so can we really be like friend all of a sudden? Teasing and making fun of each other ……
Can change so fast?
“Wait for me for a while.” I told Yin Jie and quickly ran back.
Lin Yu Sen’s car has not left yet. He probably saw me running back because he got down from his car.
“Did you leave something behind in the car?”
“No.” I shook my head, catching my breath, stood in front of him, looked up and asked him very seriously: “Lin Yu Sen, have we really reconciled?”
He fixed his eyes on me and said categorically: “Yes.”
Suddenly my mood became really good. Then I remembered to ask him: “Then why did you dislike me last time?”
On an early winter night, the light from the street lamps was dim.
It was very quiet all around.
I thought I will not get an answer from him, but I heard his soft deep voice.
“Because you’re carefree and without worries.”
“What ……?” I suspected that I heard wrongly.
“Because you’re carefree and without worries.” He said, paused and added, “Also very forgetful.”
What and what ……
I wanted to ask further but he did not give me a chance: “Okay, you better go back. They are all looking at us.”
I turned around. Indeed Yin Jie and others were staring at us ……
I have no choice but said goodbye to him with a head full of black lines (confused).
On the way back, I racked my brain and finally understood what Lin Yu Sen meant. Carefree, without worries and very forgetful meant that I am stupid (二 basically means “stupid,” along the lines of dim-witted and slow).
The nosy Yin Jie asked me, “What did you just say to Vice President Lin?”
“I asked him why did he dislike me last time.”
Yin Jie asked out of curiosity: “What did he say?”
“Well.” I nodded my head and dejectedly told her, “He said I am stupid.”