Chapter 015　He disguised the act of favoritism to make her feel at ease.

  *

  When they arrived at the mall, he was hungry again. Without minding the stares of passersby, he insisted on going to eat urechis topping rice first, still in his dirty clothes.

  "You can deduct your portion from my money too." Li Chengshi used the favoritism angle again.

  "No need. We'll order separately, eat separately, and keep clear accounts between colleagues." Su Xian avoided the trap once more.

  However, the size of salad was too large, so they agreed to share one.

  Su Xian's order of crab roe soup dumplings arrived first—six translucent dumplings in a steamer basket. The waiter brought two straws used to suck the soup out of the dumplings. She took both and placed them by her side.

  "How petty. I don't even want to eat yours. Don't eat mine later, either." While speaking, he perfectly divided the salmon vegetable salad they were sharing into two equal halves right in the center of the plate.

  Immature child, Su Xian thought to herself.

  *

  By the time Li Chengshi finished his rice, Su Xian had one dumpling left. She was actually too full to eat it, but she felt too awkward to offer it to him now, so she just drank her lime soda, hinting at him.

  "Although I could still eat it, I won't help you." The smart puppy saw through her intentions.

  Su Xian felt a little embarrassed. "Who asked you for help? Can't I just pack it to go?"

  "The takeout box here costs 20 yuan each."

  "Who would believe that!"

  But when she called the waiter over and asked, it really was 20 yuan. He enthusiastically explained that to promote environmental concepts, the restaurant's takeout boxes were made of some special material and contributed uniquely to a certain local industry, blah blah blah.

  Forget it. Waste is waste. Su Xian was ready to pay the bill and leave and started organizing her bag.

  Li Chengshi coughed twice to prompt her.

  "What?"

  "Say 'Little Bear'."

  What is he doing? Why is he inviting humiliation? Su Xian was perplexed but complied, calling out, "Little Bear."

  Li Chengshi made two "woof woof" sounds, imitating a dog, then pulled the steamer basket from in front of her. "Li Chengshi won't help you eat it; Little Bear will help you eat it." Then he picked up the last dumpling and ate it.

  How embarrassing! Su Xian turned her head to look out the window. At this moment, she truly felt the generation gap.

  *’

  Uniqlo was having a National Day clearance sale.

  Seriously, why are they having a sale? Su Xian complained mentally.

  Li Chengshi tried on three or four outfits. Su Xian didn't hesitate to praise every single one, only wanting to encourage him to spend more.

  He even chose the smallest size white T-shirt and took it to the service desk to have his name embroidered on it.

  Although puzzled, she didn't say anything. The more he bought, the better.

  However, when checking out, he only selected one set of short-sleeved shirt and jeans, plus that white T-shirt.

  "Li Chengshi, are you jerking me around?" Looking at the 273 yuan on the screen, Su Xian was slightly irritated. Shouldn't he have spent at least 1,000 yuan today?

  You really give me no hope!

  "You only genuinely liked this set, so I'm only buying this set."

  "I praised all of them!"

  "Only this one was sincere."

  "Nonsense." Su Xian felt a little guilty because he was right, yet she thought she had praised everyone very earnestly.

  "Do you think your acting skills are that good?"

  *

  "Team Leader, how about going to see a movie?"

  "Don't even think about it." A movie ticket only costs a few dozen yuan, but it would consume an hour and a half of her time.

  "Then let's keep browsing; I'll buy something else."

  "Where are you going now?!"

  Su Xian asked as she followed, but Li Chengshi didn't answer. He walked straight into a toy store and bought a doll—a boy with curly hair. He immediately stripped the doll of its shirt and put the white T-shirt embroidered with his name on it.

  What strange fetish is this?

  He shoved the doll into her arms. "Go home and stick pins in your voodoo doll."

  Su Xian was speechless, a mix of annoyance and amusement.

  **

  After showering, Su Xian saw the Li Chengshi doll by her pillow and questioned herself again: Why did I accept this?

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  How foolish!

  She picked up the doll, slapped it a few times left and right, and said fiercely, "You little brat, try playing tricks on me again!"

  The doll's eyes seemed to flash, as if saying, I dare to try.

  **

  On the last day of the holiday, Liang Wenya announced a distressing piece of news: Lao Gao from the Mechanical and Electrical Department suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage after several rounds of drinking during his visit back home and could not be saved. He was 46 years old.

  The funeral would be held in his hometown. Liang Wenya instructed her secretary, Xiao Wei, to book train tickets and take Lao Zhang, Su Xian, and a few other long-term employees to attend the funeral, and to give condolence money to his parents and wife respectively.

  Although Su Xian had attended funerals of older relatives with her parents as a child, it wasn't until age 33 that she attended a funeral in her own right.

  After ten years as a colleague of Lao Gao, the word parting in death became a tangible reality in her heart for the first time.

  That night, after turning off the lights, she struggled to fall asleep. The surge of sadness and loneliness was overwhelming. Her hand unconsciously reached for the Li Chengshi doll by her pillow, and she pulled him into her embrace.

  *’

  When she woke up in the morning, seeing the adorable curly-haired doll face-to-face with her, Su Xian immediately grabbed it by the back of the neck and threw it out of the covers. She despised her own weakness. How could I instantly forget my survival principles the moment I had an emotional issue?

  Although she had set the principles herself ‘and could change them at will, it shouldn't be for Li Chengshi, right? It felt like they were generations apart.

  She looked at the Li Chengshi doll and punched it.

  "You clingy little dog!"

  After cursing him, she got dressed and ready. Then she suddenly remembered that she still had to buy him breakfast, which made her even more irritated.

  **

  Driving to the park entrance, her sharp eyes spotted Li Chengshi buying an egg pancake from a mobile food truck. She pulled over and yelled, "Li Chengshi!"

  Li Chengshi's body flinched in surprise. He turned around, and a bright smile immediately lit up his face. "Team Leader!" He held up two egg pancakes and ran to open the car door and get in. "Morning!"

  "Morning!" Su Xian was slightly angry. "You make me bring you breakfast, yet you go buy something else to eat. That's a betrayal of me." That sounded too serious. She corrected herself: "That's a betrayal of the effort I put in."

  "Did you buy me breakfast?" He seemed very happy. "I thought you might be in a bad mood these days and wouldn't bother with me anymore."

  "That's a student mindset; change it. We adults, even if we cry ourselves to death at home, still do what needs to be done when we go out." She handed him the bag containing seafood porridge and a tea-steeped egg.

  "Thank you, Team Leader." He handed her one of the egg pancakes. "I was afraid you wouldn't be in the mood to eat breakfast, so I bought one for you too. This is just normal care between colleagues; you don't need to worry." He disguised the act of favoritism to make her feel at ease accepting it.

  "Oh, thanks." Su Xian felt a little awkward. Was I too harsh on him just now?

  **

  Liang Wenya gathered the employees for a meeting, mainly to discuss the following points:

  1. From now on, overtime will end no later than 8 PM. If anyone feels overwhelmed, they must report it immediately, and she will contact the outsourcing company to temporarily increase manpower.

  2. Expand the company's lounge area and purchase simple stretching and exercise equipment. Team Leaders must urge their members to take breaks and move their bodies.

  3. Employees over 40 will have two physical examinations per year; those under 40 will have one per year.

  4. She suggested that all employees refrain from drinking alcohol, smoking, and drinking milk tea.

  "I know the last point is hard to achieve, so it's just a suggestion. I am 46 years old, the same age as Lao Gao, and his death is hard for me to accept. Although you are all younger than me, it's necessary to pay more attention to health issues. Meeting adjourned."

  **