"I meant you're home." He parked the car on the side of the road and got out to open the door for me.
This is etiquette.
"Alright, we're all so familiar with each other, no need to be so polite." I had already opened the car door and gotten out. After closing the door, I said to him through my open window, "It's too late, I won't invite you up. Go back now, drive carefully tonight."
"Good night," he said with a smile.
"See you tomorrow." I waved and watched his car drive away before turning around and going upstairs.
I had a good night's sleep.
I said I had a good night's sleep to explain why I stayed in bed the next day.
I explained that I slept in the next day to illustrate why I almost arrived late.
That's all.
Having escaped the ordeal of having my salary deducted and not receiving the "no disciplinary violations throughout the year" bonus, I walked to the office with a sense of relief.
A bouquet of roses.
This is my own office, so it couldn't have been put in the wrong place. Let me have a little anticipation; who could it be? I hope it's...
Kurosawa Yu.
No, I didn't mean I expected it to be from him, but I read his name aloud on the card with the bouquet of roses.
He's crazy, sending me roses for no reason.
Just as I was wondering what to do, the office door opened.
It's Shao Yuzhe.
"Dong, is that cooperation plan with the Han family kept with you?"
I stared at him blankly.
"Oh, sorry, I saw the door was open and came in without knocking." His eyes turned to the roses. "Wow, what beautiful roses! Who sent them?"
Then I thought about it again. I'm not his girlfriend, so why should I feel guilty in front of him for receiving roses from someone else?
At least I'm still a pretty golden single.
"Oh, Kurosawa Yu, remember him? The ultimate chef, suddenly sending me flowers. He probably didn't perform well and An is about to fire him, so he came to me asking me to plead for him." I tossed the flowers aside.
Shao Yuzhe chuckled and said half-jokingly, "I think he saw me with you yesterday and felt threatened, so he's trying to speed things up."
Here we go again. If his tone were more aggressive, I would really think he was jealous.
Unfortunately, no.
I rolled my eyes at him, opened the cabinet, found the document he wanted, handed it to him, and said, "You could have just asked your secretary for this kind of thing. Why did you come all the way here yourself?"
"Just passing by." He took the documents and, before I could say anything, continued, "Alright, I'm going back now, lest people say I'm chatting during work hours. New broom sweeps clean, I need to pick myself up and get on with things."
He spoke in that half-joking tone again, then turned and closed the door as he left.
That last sentence seems a bit thought-provoking; I've been thinking about it for a while.
Stop giving yourself that self-suggestion. Give yourself a slap on the head and focus on today's work.
Just as we were about to get started, the phone rang, giving off a troublesome vibe. My intuition is usually quite accurate, and according to the usual procedure, he should be calling around this time.
"Hey," I said irritably.
"Nuan Nuan, did you receive the flowers I sent?" It was indeed Kurosawa Yu.
"I received it. It's a huge bunch, so beautiful and vibrant. It moved me to tears." But my tone didn't reflect that at all.
"If you like it, that's good. You don't need to cry." His voice was a little urgent. This child, how can I describe him?
"I'm allergic to pollen." I deliberately dampened his enthusiasm, and it was the truth. It was a problem I had as a child; I would cry when I saw flowers. Although the symptoms disappeared as I grew up, I've never liked flowers because of it.
"I...I don't know." His tone suddenly became like that of a child who had done something wrong, and I felt a little embarrassed.
"Okay, okay, I was just kidding. What's wrong? Why did you suddenly send me flowers?" I asked him in the same tone I use when talking to my nephew.
By the way, my nephew is five years old.
I'd like to invite you to lunch.
"Lunch? You're finally laid off." If a restaurant chef has time to eat with people during lunchtime, it's either because the restaurant has gone out of business or the chef has been laid off.
They are about the same.
"No, the boss said we're going to close down for renovations." His voice sounded so innocent.
I calculated the time, and it's about right. To ensure the dining environment is absolutely clean and comfortable, it needs to be renovated every few years.
"Where should we eat?" I asked.
"Please say yes, you can't keep rejecting me. Give me a chance, you did yesterday..."
“I’ve already agreed,” I interrupted him.
"Uh, I..." He laughed sheepishly on the other end of the phone.
It made me laugh too.