"Sit." He pointed to the chair across from him.
This man didn't seem to enjoy talking nonsense. Every word he used was so concise.
Su Xingyu came back to her senses and sat down at her designated seat. The dining table was rectangular with two ends far apart. An exquisite tablecloth lay on top of it, and the white porcelain cutlery sparkled. The maid served dishes one by one. There were stir-fried pine cones, crystal prawns, bass with scallions… All of them were home-cooked dishes. They looked, smelled, and tasted delicious—tempting one's appetite.
Su Xingyu picked up her chopsticks and ate quietly. She rarely ate at the same table as this man, and it made her nervous.
Lu Shifeng elegantly picked up his chopsticks to remove the fish bones and asked her, "What did you do this afternoon?"
As she was eating, her hand paused. She thought for a while and answered honestly, "I don't want to be idle at home, so I went for a job interview." She was not surprised that the butler or Aunt Gui might have told him the news.
Lu Shifeng looked at her. "Went to look for a job?"
Even under the soft light, his eyes were dark. So it was impossible to tell if he was happy or angry.
Focused, Su Xingyu responded, "It's just an ordinary job. A white-collar office job."
With invisible oppression in his tone, Lu Shifeng said, "If you have a lot of free time, you can do something else. You can apply for a flower arrangement class or tea ceremony class, or something. A white-collar office job? Do you think I can't afford to raise you?"
Su Xingyu keenly noticed that he was unhappy and became even more careful. "No, of course, you can. The amount of money I can earn is not even a ten-thousandth of what you can give me. But, Lu Shifeng, I need a job. I'm not like those pampered young ladies, you know. I'm not used to living an idle life. I want to do something for myself."
Lu Shifeng said, "Not used to it? Then get used to it."
This man was used to giving orders.
He didn't think there was anything wrong with it. He continued to look at her and said, "A Young Madam should behave like a Young Madam." Which Young Madam would go to the office to be a white-collar worker? If word got out, she would become a laughingstock.
Su Xingyu was silent for a moment. Deep down, she was a stubborn person. Even though she was a little afraid of him, she would not back down when she met her bottom line. She said, "Must a Young Madam be like that? I just want to live like myself."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she stared at him nervously, ready for a big battle.
Unexpectedly, he only glanced at her before looking away and continuing to eat quietly.
Su Xingyu felt as if she had punched a ball of cotton, leaving her empty and powerless. Did he agree to it? Or was he holding back his opinions? She did not know. This man's thoughts were too hard to fathom, and she could not guess them. All she could do was grit her teeth and learn from him to eat quietly. In her heart, she decided that she would not give up on what she did no matter what.
The conversation this time seemed to have never happened.
After that day, he was still busy and often disappeared day and night. He never mentioned her work again.
Su Xingyu waited at home for a few days but did not receive any news from the company that she had gone to for an interview. She felt a little strange. Didn't that person say that she would be hired if there were no accidents? Could something have happened?
She called.
On the other end of the line, the person-in-charge was very apologetic. "I'm sorry, Miss Su. We've recruited someone more suitable, so…"
She understood and hung up in disappointment.
She again started looking for jobs, submitting resumes, going for interviews…
Every day, she worked hard and searched everywhere she could, but for some reason, all the companies rejected her. She couldn't help but fall into self-doubt. Was she so lousy that she couldn't even find an ordinary job? Finally, she couldn't help but ask, "What exactly am I not good at? I have fulfilled every request of yours."
The other party looked awkward and sent her off with a stammer.
She was physically and mentally exhausted.
Su Xingyu was the type of person who gets a burst of courage the more she faces defeat. The more it was like this, the more she refused to give up. She continued to submit her resume to the vast number of recruitment notices online. Suddenly, she realized that the company that initially rejected her had released another recruitment notice.
It was still the same job.
She thought for a moment, changed her name, revised her resume, and re-submitted it.
The company asked her to go for an interview. When she appeared in front of the other party wearing the same makeup and clothes, the other party was surprised. "Miss… Su, why is it you?"
Great. She even remembered her name.
Su Xingyu smiled coldly. "Miss Zou, do you owe me an explanation?"
Miss Zou's expression was a little stiff. She thought for a while before saying, "What a coincidence. Last time, our company did hire someone more suitable, so we rejected you. However, the other party was fired before he passed the probation period, so we are rehiring now."
Su Xingyu continued to sneer. "Liar."
She had been practicing photography since she was young, and her observation skills were highly meticulous. Perhaps she could not see through the acting skills of a great actor or a great actress, but she could tell when an ordinary person was making up a lie in a moment of panic. She slowly exhaled, calmed her expression, and sincerely looked at that person. "I'm sorry that my attitude just now was not good. Miss Zou, I still want to ask, why exactly did you reject me? A job is very important to me. To be honest, several companies have rejected me recently. I don't know what went wrong, so please tell me the real reason. Thank you very much."
She stood up and bowed to Miss Zou.
Miss Zou hurriedly supported her. "You can't, you can't! How can I let you do that?!"
Let me do that?
Looking at Su Xingyu's doubtful gaze, Miss Zou gritted her teeth and said, "Alright, I'll tell you. Miss Su, even though I don't know who you are, I'm guessing that you must be someone with a great background. Our boss personally instructed me not to hire you no matter what and I have to explain it to you politely. As for the reason behind it, I don't know. You… you must not tell anyone that I said this!"
"Thank you. I won't," Su Xingyu said softly.
Her heart sank bit by bit. Now that things had come to this, she already understood. Lu Shifeng.
The conversation in the dining room that day was not without a trace. He had taken it to heart and ordered his subordinates to do something. That was why it obstructed her job search. Lu Shifeng did not bother to argue with her. He would only use the cruel reality to tell her what was possible and what was not.
She clenched her fists tightly.
That night, she waited for Lu Shifeng until very late.
When the man returned home, the sky was already filled with stars. He was wearing a finely crafted black suit and was tall and straight. His long legs walked in elegantly, and he turned his head to see her sitting on the sofa in the living room.