5
On the day of the interd
3:08 PM
<
On the day of the interview, I arrived at Xun Yao early and contacted Ryan.
Ryan led me to an office, “Senior, please wait for a moment. The CEO will be here in about half an hour.”
Ryan held a high position and wasn’t in a hurry to get back to work. He sat down next to me, “Senior, why did you suddenly decide to look for a job?”
“I need to take care of some things recently.”
Ryan had a boyish charm, and now he smiled, still looking youthful, “Back then, when you didn’t continue academic research or enter the industry, Professor Gao was so upset. He kept talking about you afterwards.”
Professor Gao was my advisor. He had hoped I would stay in his team after graduation, but I refused.
“I was too tired at that time. I didn’t like such a dull life.” I took a sip of tea, “Professor Gao probably wasn’t really that regretful about me, he just felt it was convenient to have me do work for him.”
“Senior, you’re still so straightforward. But,” Ryan laughed, then suddenly changed the subject, “I heard from Professor Gao that it was because your husband wanted you to stay at home.”
“Could it be that he regrets it now and wants you to go out and earn money?”
Ryan smiled mischievously.
I raised an eyebrow slightly, “Professor Gao said that?”
The old man wouldn’t be that idle.
Ryan’s hand holding the teacup paused, his smile fading as he awkwardly scratched his head, “No, I made that up.”
“I was just curious. Back then, which of our classmates wasn’t curious about your love life?” Ryan put his hands together, almost pleading, “I finally get to see you again, let me pry a little.”
The corners of my mouth curved slightly. Among our classmates back then, Ryan was the most favored. One reason was his face, and the other was this mischievous personality that was hard to dislike.
Although I only had superficial relationships with everyone, Ryan acted as if we were still close.
I was about to answer when the office door was pulled open from the outside.
Lucas stood at the door with a serious face, looking at us with an indescribable expression.
Ryan quickly stood up and introduced us to each other.
I reached out my hand and said calmly, “Good morning, Mr. Ward.”
Perhaps thinking my usual toneless voice might seem disrespectful, Ryan kindly explained for me: “Boss, due to a physical condition, my senior’s tone and expressions might be a bit flat. She doesn’t mean any disrespect.”
Lucas gave an almost inaudible “Mm” and lightly shook my hand, letting go quickly.
I had never been to Xun Yao before, but his assistant Zhang Ke knew me.
Now he stood behind Lucas, a flash of shock crossing his face. But with his good professional qualities, he quickly returned to normal.
“Miss Hayes, if there’s no problem, we can start the interview now.”
nodded.
Zhang Ke turned —-
7
I nodded.
Zhang Ke turned around, “Mr. Lee, you can go back to work now.”
As soon as Ryan left, Lucas calmly spoke, “You can go out too.”
Zhang Ke wasn’t surprised, “Then I’ll go back upstairs.”
As soon as the door closed, Lucas smiled helplessly, “What made you decide to interview at Xun Yao like this?”
I stared straight at him, answering a different question, “You’ve been avoiding me.”
Lucas’s body stiffened, and he didn’t speak.
I stepped forward, approaching him with slightly furrowed brows, “Why?”
Even if he didn’t believe my words, he could have interacted with me as usual.
Under Lucas’s complex gaze, I leaned into his embrace, “Don’t avoid me.”
I had tried very hard to learn how to discern people’s emotional changes.
But in the end, I found that the input–output ratio of this task was so low.
I don’t care about most people’s opinions of me.
But I can’t not care about Lucas.
Lucas let out a light sigh, cupping my face with both hands, and said gently: “How could I bear to avoid you?”
I stared at him steadily.
Liar.
Lucas’s lips tightened slightly, and after a long while, he gently hugged me back to him, “I’m sorry.”
leaned on his shoulder, looking at his beautiful neck.
I pressed my hand against his Adam’s apple, and Lucas involuntarily swallowed.
My finger slid along with it.
“Lucas, I don’t want ‘sorry‘”
Apologies don’t have much use for me, as I don’t derive psychological comfort from them.
“Okay, it won’t happen again.”
For some reason, I heard a hint of bitterness in his tone.
“Never mind.” I comforted him, wrapping my arms around his neck and resting my head on his shoulder dependently.
Actually, it’s okay if it happens again.
After all these years, I didn’t know that due to my emotional deficiency, he had been fumbling through this relationship for eight years.
There are some things I can’t change, so I should at least give him a chance to breathe.
Suddenly, a cold liquid flowed down my neck.
Lucas spoke softly, but still couldn’t control the crying in his voice, “I don’t want to let it go.”
I was stunned and quickly raised my head
@
3:09 PM
<
I was stunned and quickly raised my head.
The man in front of me had red–rimmed eyes, tears filling them to the brim.
I stared at him blankly, full of confusion, “Why are you crying?”
Lucas turned his face away, not letting me see, “I’m not.”
My brain was spinning frantically, “You don’t want to let it go? Okay, then as you wish, it won’t happen again.”
Lucas’s pupils dilated, and he suddenly turned to look at me.
I gently wiped away the tears on his face.
It was the first time I’d seen him cry. It was quite cute, so different from his usual self.
“You mean let this matter go?”
I nodded matter–of–factly.
What else could it be?
6
