Su Qing reached out to take the stack of documents, watching as Manager Liu disappeared from her sight. She actually admired strong women like herself, perhaps because she couldn't be one.
Before she met Lu Xiubai, she had thought about finding a wealthy man in the future so she wouldn't have to work and could live a comfortable life. Later, these thoughts gradually changed as she achieved her goals, step by step.
Sitting at her desk, Su Qing was approached by a woman nearby. "You're new here, right? You look familiar. Did we meet in the elevator a few days ago?"
Su Qing tidied up her desk, turned on her computer, and answered her question, "Yes, I'm new here. My name is Su Qing."
"I'm Lan Xing. I joined last month. Most of us in the company are post-'95s. You don't have to be formal."
Seeing that everyone here was indeed quite young, Su Qing nodded, "Thank you."
"No problem. By the way, can you keep what I said in the elevator confidential?" Su Qing's movements paused as she recalled the elevator scene. It seemed like something about Lu Xiubai's female secretary, but she didn't pay much attention to it.
"I won't say anything. You can trust me," she replied. Su Qing was used to these workplace dynamics; clashes were normal.
Lan Xing sighed in relief and shifted her chair closer to Su Qing. "Let me tell you, it's about that girl, Iko, I mentioned in the elevator. She's unbearable. Whenever you see her, just avoid her."
Su Qing opened the software on her computer, holding a document in her hand, while still listening to Lan Xing. "Is she on this floor too?"
"No, but she often comes down here, acting like she has nothing to do, picking on people. I couldn't stand her attitude and talked back a few times, now she's targeting me everywhere."
Su Qing understood. Since she was Lu Xiubai's secretary, she should be on the same floor as him. Thinking of this, she felt a bit suffocated.
"I understand. I won't provoke her. I'll remember what you said." Su Qing sincerely thanked her. In her previous company, no one would bother to say these things. She had gotten used to not asking others.
Lan Xing looked at the delicate girl in front of her for a moment, feeling a sense of déjà vu. She couldn't quite pinpoint where she had seen her before; it felt like they had met somewhere.
"Have we really never met before? You seem so familiar," she said, touching her chin and looking at Su Qing.
Su Qing was taken aback, her hand holding the mouse tightened for a moment. After hesitating for a moment, she spoke, "Maybe we have met somewhere, just forgot."
"That's true. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me," she said, then moved her chair back to her place.
"Okay."
Su Qing replied. The documents weren't difficult for her, and she had organized most of them in no time.
"I'm going to have lunch first."
Someone inside called out, followed by many others chiming in.
"I'm hungry, let's eat first and work later."
"I'm coming too, I'm starving. Let's go downstairs to that chicken pot place. A food blogger went there last time, said it's good."
"Let's go."
Lan Xing stretched lazily, tidied up the materials on her desk, and reminded Su Qing, "Qing Qing, are you coming to lunch with us? You just arrived, so let's take care of you." As soon as she finished speaking, her phone pinged with a message, the screen lit up brightly, and Su Qing worried that Lan Xing might see it. Then she said, "Sure."
The two got into the elevator. Su Qing finally checked Lu Xiubai's message on her phone.
[You go ahead and eat, someone invited me to have lunch with her.]
She sent a cute emoji. Lu Xiubai replied immediately.
Lu Xiubai: [Is it a guy or a girl?]
[A girl, I won't tell you anymore. Enjoy your meal.]
After sending the message, she put her phone in her pocket. She hadn't noticed Lan Xing's gaze, but when she turned around, she met her eyes and her body stiffened.
Seeing her mischievous smile, she thought she had seen something.
"Were you chatting with your boyfriend just now?" she asked as expected.
Su Qing pursed her lips and smiled, "Yes, he's my boyfriend."
"I didn't even think you had a boyfriend. You guys aren't in a long-distance relationship, are you?"
"No, we're not."
"That's good. Nowadays, many break up because of long-distance relationships. Have you heard the saying, 'If you can endure a long-distance relationship, you'll get married'?"
Su Qing smiled and shook her head. She found Lan Xing quite cute.
The elevator door opened.
"Did you join the company group chat? Let me add you in now." She took out her phone, aimed at Su Qing's WeChat QR code, and added her contact.
With Lan Xing leading the way, they arrived at a restaurant downstairs.
She pushed the menu toward Su Qing and said, "Take a look at what you want to eat. The dishes here are all delicious."
Su Qing picked two dishes randomly from the menu.
The dishes arrived shortly.
She took a picture and sent it to Lu Xiubai to avoid him saying she didn't care about him.
"Oh, how did you and your boyfriend meet?" Su Qing blinked, put her phone away before speaking, "We were classmates before."
Lan Xing's eyes lit up, "Wow, from school to workplace, I envy that. Have you heard of our President Lu? It seems he had a girlfriend in high school."
Her hand paused as she picked up food, hesitating for a few seconds before answering, "I've heard a little bit."
"I'm not sure if it's true, but let me tell you, during breaks, we love discussing President Lu's gossip. But now that he has a girlfriend, you know, what kind of person can get President Lu?" Su Qing's expression was stunned for a moment; she didn't know how to respond. She had encountered this situation countless times before, but it always made her feel a bit uneasy.
"I don't know. It should be his high school classmate."
"Do you think so too? Me too. Moonlight has the strongest charm. President Lu has had so many rumored girlfriends, but he never cared. However, he announced his relationship to protect his girlfriend. I envy that."
Su Qing looked at her expression and felt like laughing, but she didn't say anything. After finishing their meal, there was still some time before work resumed. Su Qing wanted to go upstairs to see Lu Xiubai, but Lan Xing kept chatting with her. She had to lie that she needed to go to the bathroom.
She stepped into the elevator and pressed the floor where Lu Xiubai's office was.
The elevator door opened, and she cautiously looked outside, not knowing if anyone was there.
Luckily, she didn't see anyone.
She walked in, and the office was luxuriously decorated. She quietly opened the
door and saw Lu Xiubai staring at his computer.