Chapter 10

  I said to Lin You: "Okay, then let's go take a look. I remember that there used to be ice-cold soda sold over there, and it just so happens that I'm a bit thirsty too."

  Lin You nodded at Lu You and said: "Then I'll go ahead with Shen Shen first, you guys take your time."

  As I walked to the corner, I let go of his arm and smiled at him, saying: "I think it's still early now, do you want to go outside Xiaoxi Gate to have a drink?"

  Lin You smiled and said: "Good, I also feel a bit hot."

  This is Lin You, who has never been nosy and always gives others just the right amount of space. I'm truly grateful to have a considerate friend like him.

  15. That night, after Lin You left, perhaps due to the effects of drinking, he was a bit overexcited and couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard he tried. For some reason, I thought of my first birthday with Lu You, during the summer vacation between our freshman and sophomore years, when all the students in our grade were taken to a suburb of City B for a month-long military training.

  To be able to sneak out, I had gone hungry for two meals and finally got a low blood sugar attack, fainting in the scorching sun while standing at attention. After my classmates sent me back to the dormitory, they hastily returned to continue training. Taking advantage of no one being around, I made a run for it all the way, taking several buses before arriving in the city, where I hailed a taxi and rushed to Lu You's internship company.

  He was a first-year graduate student at the time, interning at a securities company. When he saw me, he was so surprised that he stood still in his tracks. Under the gaze of the receptionist, I rushed into his arms and hugged his neck, saying "Happy Birthday".

  It was just a little short of perfect: I came out too quickly and forgot to change out of my uniform.

  That was truly an unforgettable birthday, because I, like many girls inside, couldn't wait to give myself as a gift to Lu You.

  Although he was nervous to the point of sweating palms and a trembling voice when opening it; and the process of being opened wasn't so beautiful, I could only tightly hug his shoulders and back, enduring in silence. But even until today, I can still recall that moment of fusion, the sense of belonging that seemed to overflow from my heart to the corners of my eyes and lips.

  I don't know when I fell asleep that night, but I seemed to have dreamed of Lu You from my student days. We were in the same cool classroom studying, he was carefully working out formulas on his draft paper, while I was sleeping with my head on the desk, occasionally opening my eyes to see his hand holding a pen, clear and forceful; I asked him to write "Xu Shenshen is a great beauty" on the paper, the hand holding the pen paused for a moment, writing out a line of beautiful characters: Xu Shenshen, I love you very much.

  The next morning when I woke up, there was a small patch of wetness on my pillow; the dreams and memories of the previous night were too close, making it difficult to distinguish between them.

  In fact, Bai Andong did not take any drastic action, or he took drastic action but the result was not too drastic. Because on the morning of September 13th, Lu You reported to work at the agreed-upon time.

  Now he and I are sitting in the same conference room, across a table, with soft lighting that makes his skin look very white. Lu You looks rare in a suit and tie, in my impression, he has always been gentle and elegant, with fair skin, tall and slender, quiet and introverted, a good student who keeps to himself.

  Because he wore glasses, he could conceal his emotions in a timely manner. For example, now, he was calm and composed as if seeing a stranger. I was also wondering when he knew that the recruitment manager was Xu Shenshen.

  I handed him the employee card, elevator card and office desk key. "The computer has been prepared for you by IT, there's some information you need to fill in. Someone will show you around the work environment and introduce you to your colleagues later."

  "Okay", he took over the employee information form I handed over and filled it out item by item with his head down.

  The meeting room was very quiet, with only the sound of pens scratching across paper being heard.

  He handed me the completed form and said, "From now on, we're colleagues."

  I smiled and said: "Don't worry, the investment banking department is just downstairs. I come to the company especially early every day, so we won't run into each other."

  He looked up at me and said two words after a long while: "Alright then."

  I handed him back the blue umbrella: "Thanks again last time, returning your umbrella."

  "He smiled and said, 'Well, would you mind taking me on a tour around here?'"

  I called Zhang Qiu on the phone, "Zhang Qiu, Director Lu from the investment banking department is starting work today. Can you come to the conference room now and take him around to get familiar with things?"

  I tidied up and said to Lu You: "My assistant Zhang Qiu will introduce you to the colleagues. Welcome to our company."

  Zhang Qiu saw me and said: "Manager Xu, General Manager Fu has been looking for you just now. It's possible that there are changes in the recruitment plan of the Asset Management Department, so hurry over."

  I looked up at Lu You and said to Zhang Qiu: "Alright then, I'll go first."

  Seeing me come in, Fu Andong seemed to let out a sigh of relief, picked up his phone and started fiddling with it, "How is it? Seeing an old lover, are you feeling a little excited?"

  "I'm so excited." From the time I was three years old and got to know Fu Andong, my greatest hobby has been arm-wrestling with him. My second greatest hobby is bullying him.