The morning was quickly drawing to a close. Lin Yuhui was contemplating heading to the cafeteria early for lunch when he suddenly heard Seris complaining beside him,
“Oh no, everyone's gone. I'm all alone now. I don't want to go to the cafeteria by myself. Come with me.”
He turned to see Serice standing across from Stephanie, complaining that no one would accompany her to the cafeteria. Lin Yuhui was puzzled—why couldn’t someone just go to the cafeteria alone?
“I'm not going for lunch today. Why don't you ask David to go with you?”
Lin Yuhui never imagined this responsibility would land on his shoulders. How convenient that Stephanie also happened to skip the cafeteria lunch today—she usually ate there every day. Seris didn't respond, just turned to look at him. Was it because she was too beautiful to speak up herself? Well, he wouldn't wait for her to speak. Rising, he said,
“Let's go then. I'll walk you.”
The distance from the office to the cafeteria wasn't far. Walking together, Lin Yuhui didn't feel any special thrill about sharing lunch with a beauty. Instead, he felt awkward. Since there was little chance of a future, why waste time and emotions? And he was such a serious person—who knew when he might get too serious and find himself unable to extricate himself?
Halfway there, Seris still hadn't spoken. Lin Yuhui cut straight to the point:
“Honestly, I don't enjoy eating with a beauty. It makes me feel awkward.” His meaning was clear: you're so pretty, if you're not genuinely interested in spending time with me, don't bother me.
Seris didn't respond or offer any opinion. Lin Yuhui thought, I can't leave her hanging like this. She changed the subject.
“What are your hobbies? Care to share?”
“I enjoy making money,” Seris replied with a smile.
Lin Yuhui was somewhat taken aback by this answer. A young, beautiful girl with no particular skills or resources—she liked making money? But how exactly did she plan to do that? Was she really going to discuss money so bluntly, without any subtlety?
Perhaps sensing his confusion, Seris added,
“I do micro-business.”
Lin Yuhui wondered—was she referring to those WeChat resellers? How many customers could she possibly have? Was she just exploiting her contacts?
Seris continued her explanation,
“Times aren't as good now. It was much easier back in 2017 or 2018.”
Despite her explanation, Lin Yuhui’s doubts lingered. His mind wandered to possibilities like money laundering...
At the cafeteria entrance, the gentlemanly gesture of holding the door for the lady was made. They joined the queue inside, where the bustling clamor instantly sapped any desire for conversation from Lin Yuhui. Seris walked ahead of him, but their timing for selecting fruit was poor. Only a few peaches remained in one basket, and the new batch hadn't arrived yet. Lin Yuhui grabbed one at random, though it looked a bit unripe.
Following Seris as she chose a table, he found them seated, as expected, in the thick of the crowd—just as she did every day. If Lin Yuhui were dining alone, he’d always pick a quiet corner, not just for peace but to minimize infection risk. Even if it wasn’t COVID, shouldn’t one avoid the flu?
They chatted casually while eating. Normally, Lin Yuhui didn't speak during meals—he disliked it and found it tiring, disrupting his chewing and enjoyment of the food. But since Seris had specifically asked him to accompany her out today, it would be rude to just eat in silence. He had to find some small talk topics. He couldn't ask about hobbies this time—she'd already said her hobby was making money, and he certainly couldn't offer her piles of cash to earn. So he settled for something more lighthearted:
“How do you usually spend your free time?”
“Nothing special,” she replied.
Seeing she wasn't interested in that topic, he changed the subject:
“Which family member are you closest to? I grew up with my grandparents.”
“Me and my maternal grandmother, back in high school.”
Then came the crucial question, Lin Yuhui asked with a forced smile,
“Your parents are busy, right? Who calls the shots at home—your mom or dad?”
“My mom. My dad doesn't get involved in anything.”
“Oh,” Lin Yuhui replied, wondering if her mother was as beautiful as she was, and if her father held little authority at home. Lost in thought, he noticed a worker at the next table staring over. Lin Yuhui thought, No chance here—what's the point of looking?
He knew full well that with Seris's looks at her age, almost none of the men eating in this cafeteria could match her, or even catch her eye—at least not among young professionals still climbing the ladder. As he made small talk with her, the meal felt dry and hard to swallow, like chewing on kindling.
In truth, Lin Yuhui barely touched his food. Seeing that she was nearly finished, he reassured her,
“Take your time, no need to rush.”
Seris picked up the dessert fruit.
“Oh dear, the peach is rotten.”
True, a section was rotten, but biting it off shouldn't affect the rest. Besides, the peach was perfectly ripe—that's why it had gone bad in one spot. But watching her hesitate, flipping the peach over and over, Lin Yuhui volunteered,
“Mine's not great either. Let me swap it for you.” He took the rotten peach from her hand—after all, a gentleman should always treat a lady well. What Lin Yuhui hadn't anticipated was that the ones left at the window counter were even worse. She picked the largest one, only to find it was worse than her own. So she gave hers to Seres.
After lunch, the two left the cafeteria, with Lin Yuhui naturally holding the door open for the lady. Back in the office, she didn't eat the peach in her hand—it really was no good, still quite unripe.
“Here, take it. It's David's,” she said, handing the peach to Laila, the single girl sitting across from Dylan. Laila didn't mind at all, took it, bit into it, and started eating. Lin Yuhui could only marvel inwardly at how strong young people's teeth were. She herself couldn't bite into it; she'd have to leave it for a couple of days to soften before eating it.
With the boss absent again that afternoon, the office atmosphere livened up—though the topic remained Dylan’s love life. Not his own, mind you; he was married. Instead, he discussed Seres and Laila’s relationship. Seres spoke eloquently about how zodiac compatibility determined suitable partners.
Lin Yuhui couldn't listen to this anymore. The kid was way too brainwashed. He couldn't help but look into her eyes and say,
“No, no, no. You can't believe that zodiac stuff. Things aren't that simple.”
“Zodiac compatibility is very accurate,” Ceres replied.
Lin Yuhui challenged her with the simplest logic:
“There are so many people in the world, and only a few zodiac signs. How could they possibly fit every single person's situation?”
Seris didn't respond, just grinned at Lin Yuhui. Her lips parted to reveal pearly white teeth and a pair of prominent canine teeth on the sides.
In that instant, a dream from Lin Yuhui's past flashed through his mind. Those same pearly white teeth—was it her? That seductive woman in the dream who resembled his female college English teacher?
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