"She just doesn't give up, does she? Like a moth drawn to a flame—completely blind and pathetic."
Jietang thought, his arm resting against the car door as his expression tightened with irritation. He found Wu Min's presence increasingly exhausting with time, her persistence an uninvited, endless irritation. He couldn't understand how she could be so shameless as to stick to him like gum.
No matter how often he showed his disinterest, Wu Min seemed only more drawn in. Her lack of self-respect was baffling to him, and it made him want to avoid her at all costs.
"Ayy, forget the restaurant," he muttered to Haoyu with a sigh. "Let's just grab something nearby and head back."
Haoyu nodded, quickly scanning for options, sensing Jietang's frustration. Leaning back, Jietang let his thoughts drift, fuming silently. Wu Min's relentless pursuit was not just an annoyance; it was a shadow he couldn't shake—a reminder of how easily some people disregarded boundaries.
"I could remember seeing you around a restaurant close by when I took the last client who came by for a walk. I mean the day you were with the lady that dumped you not long ago. You were going to secure a job position for her at the Sales department, right?"
Jietang, in an effort to shake off the disturbing thought, was reminded of an amusing event that took place in front of the company about two weeks ago.
When Haoyu spotted his girlfriend getting down from a guy's car, he refused to believe that his relationship was compromised, so he decided to probe it himself.
---
"Thank you for dropping my girlfriend off," Haoyu stretched out his hand for a handshake when he saw the confused look on the guy's face before a statement that sounded like a bombshell was dropped.
"What do you mean by your girlfriend? —Is this some sort of a joke?" the guy retorted angrily, which almost threw Haoyu off balance.
Well, one could only imagine what had happened after such a drama unfolded. His girlfriend had never expected that Haoyu would be out at that time; she was just about to go in and wait for him at the company's lounge until they had their break. Things didn't go as planned because she had never bothered to ask the receptionist to call him, which would have confirmed he was out running errands for Jietang.
Jietang only learned about this event when Haoyu had come into his office, his face looking pale as if he'd lost a liter of blood as he recounted the story.
Throughout the whole story, one could only describe Jietang's expression as amusing—first a look of confusion, then the next moment of surprise and pity. This made him look like he was undergoing some kind of face-changing contest, with nonchalant remarks that showed his lack of experience in those sorts of discussions.
Haoyu could barely resist the urge to whack him after observing the series of expressions he wore on his face. Comforting himself with the phrase, 'after all, he doesn't have experience regarding those things; he could very well remain a virgin forever,' he shook his head in pity, which, to Jietang, made it seem like he was pained regarding his girlfriend.
Oblivious to the fact that he, who meant to sympathize with the other, was the one being pitied right now.
---
A black Bentley Mulsanne parked in front of a small-town restaurant, attracting quite a lot of envious gazes around.
A long leg dressed in black suit trousers stretched out from the car as the door opened, adding a tinge of elegance to the luxurious vehicle. Just as everyone in sight wondered what sort of rich man had come to this little town, what came next made many of the men's faces green with envy and the girls' eyes sparkle with excitement.
A young and handsome man, wearing a straight face as if the whole world had crumbled on him, stepped down from the car. No matter how one viewed it, the absence of a smile didn't reduce the charm and dignified aura emanating from him. In contrast, it made him appear even more attractive, with a funny, endearing expression.
His existence was something the ladies might describe as that of a knight from their dreams.
"Keke!!... Hey! Look at that guy; I would be the talk of the whole city if I could get him to look at me."
"Quit daydreaming. I'm very sure he is from a very rich family, probably one of the aristocratic families in the city. But I love his charm though. The car is nice too; I would love to have a ride."
The ladies couldn't refrain from leaving a comment or two, which some of them couldn't escape his ears.
He had the urge to rush back into the car due to the many burning looks directed toward him.
Whoosh!... Jietang suddenly directed his gaze toward Haoyu, looking like a viper about to lunge at its prey.
Sticking to the car door and preparing to open it at any moment, Haoyu blinked his round eyes in confusion, wondering what exactly he had done wrong to deserve such a daggered look.
'You told me to bring you here, so I thought you could make use of hotpot! Who told you to have such complications with that sticky woman? And, moreover, you look too good not to garner attention.'
Haoyu thought helplessly, his facial expressions changing from confusion to self-pity.
Tilting his head towards the small restaurant ahead of them in a very comical fashion, he widened his eyes at Haoyu. Jietang proceeded toward the entrance with large strides, giving the impression that he might sprout illusory wings at any moment.
He had gotten used to the fact that many people stole glances at him, especially the ladies, since he was quite handsome. But the Bentley made him look even more conspicuous alongside his outfit.
'I will deal with him later.' Seeing Haoyu keep a safe distance from him as if he didn't know him, he thought inwardly.
---
Sitting at a table surrounded by three chairs, Jietang couldn't help but give the restaurant's interior a deep look. It wasn't exceptionally well-furnished, but the enticing aromas filled the space.
Seeing Jietang's eased expression from across the table, Haoyu couldn't refrain from smiling.
Since Haoyu had started working with Jietang as his personal assistant, Jietang had treated him like a younger brother and friend. They would laugh together occasionally, and whenever Jietang was in a foul mood, Haoyu would just sit quietly beside him.
He couldn't help him directly, as some of those problems were family-related. But Haoyu always noticed these little changes since they were so close. He also knew that none of these issues had ever affected Jietang's work ethic. So, Haoyu saw his way of repaying these little gestures as helping to alleviate his boss's worries.
Hence, when he saw that Jietang enjoyed the place he brought him to, despite its small area, Haoyu naturally felt at ease.
"What would you like to have?" A lady putting on an apron, serving as the waitress, passed the menu to Haoyu.
Receiving the menu politely, Haoyu pointed out some dishes for the lady before handing the menu back to her, after which she left the table.
"The dishes would be served soon," Haoyu faced Jietang.
"Hmm...hmm." Jietang nodded his head while still looking at the few couples seated around in the small, cozy area, not bothering about the previous events that unfolded. The people inside couldn't see he was the one who parked the Bentley outside, so no one bothered with them again after a few glances were cast at them when they came in.
After waiting for about five minutes, the waitress brought the food over.
From the time she started serving the food to the time she finished, Jietang's eyes were glued to the dishes as if they could never have their fill.
"Never knew the dishes would look so good; I can't wait to try them!" Jietang picked up his chopsticks as he commented on the dishes at the same time.
"Wait, you need to set the mood, alright, before eating this type of food," Haoyu said as he suddenly grabbed Jietang's hand that was moving towards the food in a hurry.
"You need to trust me on this," Haoyu said again as he noticed the perplexed look on his face.
Raising his right hand at the waitress who served them earlier, he ordered a bottle of drink.
"You rascal! You seem to have forgotten we have a meeting to attend, right?" Jietang gave him the crazy kind of look again when he saw the waitress bringing the bottles of drinks.
"Just dig in already," Haoyu grumbled, thinking to himself. 'Well, we might make quite an interesting match; I set the mood, you kill it...' he grumbled incessantly.
"We can try grabbing a drink after work," Jietang added after hearing him buzz like a bee.
When they are together, it's hard for people to know they have the relationship of a boss and assistant; only a few people could notice, and those that know them well.
'Who wants to grab a drink with you? You will just drink a bottle and get drunk, killing the mood again? Well, that won't happen,' Haoyu thought again as he quickly replied, chuckling awkwardly, "I have a blind date, boss, so I will pass this time."
"Hmm hmm." Jietang only nodded in response as he buried his head and busied himself with the food.
Looking at his boss for a period of time while he appeared to be in deep thought, Haoyu shook his head as if he had decided on something before talking again. "Boss...?"
"Hmmm...." Answering with his head buried, Jietang picked the dishes one after the other, from the hotpot to the vegetables.
"How about a blind date tomorrow? It's the weekend, you know," Haoyu leaned on the table as he proposed this idea to him.
Raising his head sharply while looking at Haoyu without speaking a word, he then changed his expression into that of a stern one.
"Looks like you are done eating; we should go now."
'Why so serious?' Haoyu squinted his eyes in confusion.
Suddenly, a lady staggered as she was running towards the entrance of the restaurant; she couldn't care less about the things she hit as she ignored the pain coming from them.
Falling towards Jietang's table, she tried as hard as she could with the limited strength she had left in her. Spilling the soup on Jietang's suit, she turned to apologize in a hurry before staggering away.
Jietang almost had a fit, but seeing the lady, his mind went blank for a moment. He couldn't understand exactly why, but he seemed to have recalled something when he saw the rim of the lady's beautiful eyes filled with tears that threatened to fall as she did her utmost best to hold them. He could feel her very choking and stifling emotion at the moment her eyes met his. The very thing that got him pondering was the familiar face—the very face he couldn't dare forget, even though he wasn't sure he saw it right. He still couldn't get his emotions in order for a brief moment.