“It’s better to drink some water.”
Later, Zhu Maolin brought Little Lu back to the company. He delivered a glass of water from the canteen to Little Lu. The two were sitting in the office at this time.
“Thank you.” Little Lu nodded and held out the paper cup with both hands. It was warm water, it didn’t feel hot at all; it wasn’t chilly either in this winter.
Since it was near the downstairs of the advertising agency, Zhu Maolin simply suggested that Little Lu should come back here to take a break if she didn’t mind. He said nothing else along the way.
Little Lu seemed to be a little dazed, her lips were a little pale, and her heart was lingering with fear. She looked at Zhu Maolin, “Manager, don’t you want to ask me about it?”
Zhu Maolin said indifferently, “I won’t interfere with your matter. I helped you today, mostly because you made a good shooting for me. So, your personal business is your private affairs.”
Little Lu lowered her head and silently took a sip of warm water. She looked at the swaying water circle of the paper cup and said faintly, “I understand. It’s the same as everyone else. Who wants to get along with those they aren’t familiar with? Everyone is afraid of trouble.”
“It’s good that you understand,” Zhu Maolin nodded.
Little Lu suddenly raised her head and said gratefully, “But even so, thank you today. Manager Zhu, if it weren’t for you today, I really don’t know what to do.”
Sad and weeping. I should arouse men’s desire to be protective… Her acting to be weak didn’t seem fake.
Zhu Maolin frowned.
She just completed the shooting one day ago, which made them acquaintances. However, Zhu Maolin encountered this kind of stuff the next day. Such a coincidence was a bit unbelievable for Zhu Maolin. He would try to persuade the man just now, thinking that coincidence like this might be plausible.
“He dare not do anything to you on the street.” Zhu Maolin shook his head, “I said just now that even if it wasn’t me, there would be people willing to help sooner or later. If you have nothing else, you should head back after taking enough rest, think it through on how to face people like this in the future. But, I can make a suggestion. Most of this debt collection has a vile background. You can choose to ask the police for help.”
“It’s useless!” Little Lu shook her head vigorously.
“Have you tried?” asked Zhu Maolin rhetorically.
Little Lu was silent.
Zhu Maolin said suddenly, “There is still something to eat in the refrigerator at the pantry. If you are hungry, use the microwave to heat it up. You can rest here for a while. Just be careful not to mess up other’s things. I have to work.”
Without giving Little Lu more room to talk, Zhu Maolin walked directly back to his office, leaving Little Lu in the empty office outside.
Since the customer’s film was completed, the employees who finally didn’t have to rush to work could leave early today. Hence, when Zhu Maolin returned with Little Lu, there was no one here.
Quietly, only some slight keyboard sounds came from the manager’s office. From the gap between the untensioned blinds, Little Lu could see that Zhu Maolin had clearly entered working mode, as if he had forgotten the passage of time.
“There is really no resentment…” Little Lu frowned.
Then, the [Dream Teller] ability couldn’t be activated… It might go like what Dazhe said. Her judgment of Zhu Maolin was too uneducated.
But if she were to modify the plan and thoroughly investigate all of the investor’s information from now on, it was obviously inconsistent with the high-efficiency work model. In that case, she would need to utilize Little Lu’s identity to go through the thick wall and figure out why he drowned himself in work.
The water that was still warm just now had become cold… as if the human heart was also getting cold.
Little Lu opened the office door on this floor and walked out alone. At this moment, Zhu Maolin heard the sound of closing the door outside. After looking up and finding that there was no one in the office outside, he continued to look at the screen without any expression.
He himself didn’t know how long time passed.
In the unmanned company, as if he wouldn’t stop unless there were other interruptions… until he heard some movements from the office outside again.
Someone was knocking on the glass door.
Zhu Maolin frowned and walked all the way out. He found out that the person outside the glass door was Little Lu who had clearly been away for some time.
“Why are you back?” Zhu Maolin opened the door and asked in confusion, “Did you forget to take something?”
Little Lu smiled slightly at this time, “Manager, you are still working overtime! Are you hungry? You just helped me. Let me repay you at least. Please have something to eat!”
Zhu Maolin was surprised, only to see Little Lu take out a bowl of instant noodles from the convenience store bag in her hand.
He opened his mouth slightly. It was the first time he saw someone repay favor with this kind of food. Zhu Maolin could not help but sneer.
Little Lu looked annoyed and said, “Uhm… Actually, I don’t have much money. Besides, I can’t find anything delicious nearby because it’s too late.”
Too late.
Zhu Maolin glanced at the time subconsciously. It was almost twelve o’clock. There was really nothing to eat in the area where there were only office buildings. I once again stay up until 1 a.m. unknowingly.
“But! Don’t underestimate it!” Little Lu said hurriedly, “As long as you spend a little thought, you can make even instant noodles delicious… Well, let me borrow the pantry!”
Holding the bag, Little Lu lowered her head as she walked past Zhu Maolin. Then, she hastened her peace into the pantry. Zhu Maolin frowned and followed.
“I don’t need it.” He looked at Little Lu, “Even if I don’t help, others will come. You don’t have to.”
“It is very soon!” Little Lu turned around, eyes full of hope, “Really fast…”
This uneasy and guilty look seems to come from the heart. No, this is something that only comes from the heart.
Am I overthinking?
Zhu Maolin was silent for a while, then nodded, “You will leave after eating, right?”
Little Lu nodded seriously.
“It’s up to you.” Zhu Maolin nodded.
Little Lu smiled and started to prepare the instant noodles she bought. She took out the seasoning, poured the hot water in and covered it tightly. She then put the seasoning on the lid, seemingly heating it.
Next, she took out the Sichuan vegetable [1] and sausage from the bag. Then, she used the fruit knife found in the pantry to cut the Sichuan vegetable into finer pieces. Later, she mixed the Sichuan vegetable with the heated seasoning. Shen then proceeded to cut the sausage into slices.
The plates she could use were glass plates used to hold fruits. Little Lu drained the soaked noodles before mixing the sauce mixed with Sichuan vegetable and seasoning into the noodles. The final step would be putting the sliced sausages on top.
She held the finished noodles in front of Zhu Maolin with both hands cautiously, “I’m done. Please have it.”
“Why take the trouble?” Zhu Maolin looked at Little Lu’s final product. He asked, puzzled.
For him who pursued work efficiency and time, such behavior was really a waste of time… In fact, there was no different with the taste of mixing these things together in one go.
But at the moment, Little Lu took out a bottle of orange juice and apple juice, mixed them together, and found some ice cubes from the refrigerator to put them in. Then, she delivered the drink to Zhu Maolin smilingly, “I learned this when I was working at a restaurant in the past. I mixed these two brands to drink together. It tasted great. Of course, it is unmatched with those freshly squeezed, but it’s still fine.”
“You still have not answered my question.”
Little Lu lowered her gaze, as if unable to face Zhu Maolin’s gaze, and whispered. “How do I put it? Sometimes, even if you eat alone, you shouldn’t treat yourself too badly. Even if it’s simple like preparing fast noodles, you will be more happy if you spend extra effort preparing it… I guess this is called enjoying life!”
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zha_cai