Reborn in 1979, with a female educated youth lying next to me.

Guo Xiaolan just called out Zhao Bin's name.

Liu Jia admitted that he asked the question on purpose.

Liu Jia was already annoyed at being bumped into for no reason, and hearing Zhao Bin's words only made him feel more confused.

They've made it very clear: you can't handle personal matters during work hours, let alone eat.

He is so nice.

Bringing up the idea that wasting food will be looked down upon is just deliberately making things difficult for people.

Does taking a bite of the fried dough twist you bought mean you won't be looked down upon? Does it mean you're not wasting food?

Sensing Liu Jia's unfriendly expression, Zhao Bin paused for a moment before looking at Guo Xiaolan.

"Xiaolan, who is this person?"

"This is... Liu Jia."

Guo Xiaolan said only four words, without explaining Liu Jia's identity.

After all, in Guo Xiaolan's view, whatever happened between Liu Jia and Guo Xiaoyan was their family matter and there was no need to mention it to an outsider.

At least for now, Zhao Bin is still an outsider in Guo Xiaolan's eyes.

Because of Guo Xiaolan's brief introduction, Zhao Bin began to scrutinize Liu Jia more closely.

He was a little taller and more handsome than me, but I was a little fatter.

Overall, Zhao Bin felt that he was not much different from Liu Jia.

Even if it can't compare, it's only slightly inferior.

But in Guo Xiaolan's view...

When you put Liu Jia and Zhao Bin side by side, they're simply... incomparable.

Seeing that Liu Jia remained silent, Zhao Bin began to smile again.

"Xiaolan, there were a lot of people at the fried dough stick stall today. Everyone was queuing up to buy things, and there were way more people wanting twisted dough sticks than fried dough sticks. I queued for a long time before I could buy these two. Would you like to try some?"

Guo Xiaolan declined again.

But Zhao Bin seemed to be possessed, as if he wouldn't be satisfied until he stuffed the twisted dough stick into Guo Xiaolan's mouth.

Seeing his appearance, Liu Jia couldn't bear to look at him anymore.

"Hey buddy, didn't they just make it clear that this is work time and you can't do personal things? Are you trying to get Guo Xiaolan fired for this one piece of fried dough twist?"

As soon as these words came out.

Zhao Bin was stunned.

Guo Xiaolan on the other side also breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Jia's words are truly sharp.

If it were her, Guo Xiaolan was certain she wouldn't have said such a thing.

Liu Jia, having considered this point, preemptively stated his position before Guo Xiaolan could.

Girls are embarrassed, but what's there for a grown man like me to be embarrassed about?

Besides, it was the person next to him who was in the wrong.

"How...how can you talk like that? This thing wasn't bought for you, what are you meddling in here for?"

"You can't even say a word if you don't like it?" Liu Jia raised an eyebrow and looked directly at Zhao Bin. "Are you here to deliver fried dough twists or to cause trouble? What if their leaders find out and Guo Xiaolan gets criticized or fired? Are you going to take responsibility?"

"It's not that serious. You can get fired for eating a fried dough twist? You're exaggerating."

Zhao Bin remained stubborn, clutching the twisted dough stick in his hand.

The thin cowhide paper wrapped around the twisted dough is now soaked in oil.

The above clearly shows Zhao Bin's three finger prints.

Having not paid attention earlier, Liu Jia laughed again now that he could see the situation clearly.

So clumsy!

Take a twisted dough stick, just hold it there, pinching it with three fingers.

The remaining two fingers were curled up like flowers.

Could this be... the legendary lotus finger gesture?

"What are you laughing at? What's so funny?"

Liu Jia replied nonchalantly, "It's nothing, I just think that when you curl your fingers up, it looks a bit like a woman's."

"You're the one who's acting like a woman, Guo Xiaolan! Don't listen to him, eat some fried dough twists!"

"Your family makes fried dough twists, right? You can't sell them, so you force people to eat them? Or can't you understand human language? Are you a perfectionist?!"

Liu Jia couldn't understand why a perfectly normal grown man would have such a problem with twisted dough sticks.

Just as Guo Xiaolan was about to dodge, she suddenly stood up straight and said something respectfully to the person in front of her.

"Good leadership!"

As they were talking, a middle-aged man walked over from the opposite direction.

The man had a square face, a serious expression, wore black-rimmed glasses, and was holding a book in his hand.

He is clearly a typical knowledge-based leader.

"Okay, remember to switch shifts for meals later, so that people can find us when they come to borrow books."

"understood."

Guo Xiaolan fell behind, and the leader wanted to turn around, but suddenly stopped.

His gaze lingered on the table.

When Zhao Bin was talking to Liu Jia earlier, and Liu Jia pointed out that his upturned fingers looked like a woman's, he put the twisted dough stick on the table.

Now the boss has caught us red-handed.

"What's this? Guo Xiaolan, did you have an extra meal early?"

The leader's expression turned serious.

In the library, many of the staff are quite old, especially the middle-aged women, who often do side jobs while on duty.

As the leader of the library, he turned a blind eye to this.

However, such blatant extra meals are absolutely not allowed in the library.

This impact is extremely negative.

Guo Xiaolan has only been working for a short time, and at such a young age, she has already been corrupted by their bad habits.

A hint of disappointment crept into the leader's mind.

Zhao Bin was completely stunned.

I never expected that a leader would be inspecting the place at this time, and I never expected that the fried dough twists I bought for Guo Xiaolan would be discovered by the leader.

For a moment, Zhao Bin's mouth was agape, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Guo Xiaolan had no way to express her grievances and could only stand there dumbfounded, feeling wronged.

Liu Jia stepped forward, picked up the twisted dough stick, and looked at the leader opposite him.

"Hello, this twisted dough stick is mine. I left it on the table when I returned the book and got my library card. I hope it didn't cause you any trouble."

Liu Jia spoke with such confidence, as if the twisted dough sticks were truly his.

The leader on the other end quickly smiled, and even his tone of voice softened.

"No, no, our mission is to serve the people. You can put your things on the table, that's fine."

"Okay, thank you then."

"You're welcome, it's what we should do," the leader said, then looked at Guo Xiaolan and said, "Comrade Guo Xiaolan, please prepare a cardboard box when you come to work this afternoon, so that it's convenient to put customers' things in it."

"Okay, I remember."

Upon hearing Guo Xiaolan's words, the leader nodded in satisfaction before turning and leaving.

Guo Xiaolan breathed a long sigh of relief, placed her hand on her chest, and didn't dare to put it down for a long time.

Too scary!

If it weren't for Liu Jia, I probably would have been singled out for criticism!

Seeing the leader leave, Guo Xiaolan quickly thanked Liu Jia.

"Thank you so much. That was a close call. We just had a meeting yesterday, and the boss said that anyone who eats during work hours will be severely punished."

Liu Jia threw the twisted dough sticks on the table.

"Yes, most people can abide by the rules. The problem is that some people knowingly do things they shouldn't."

"Hey, what do you mean by that? Are you talking about me? How was I supposed to know I can't eat at work? I queued up for ages to buy those sesame flowers."

Hearing Liu Bin's same old thing again, Liu Jia felt like his ears were starting to grow calluses.

"Comrade, I must say you are very conscientious. You are always thinking about the long queue and the great effort you put into buying the fried dough twists, but you don't seem to care at all about what other people say?"

"Guo Xiaolan has said more than once that you can't eat at work. Has she just ignored you?"

Are you trying to help Comrade Guo Xiaolan, or are you trying to cause her trouble?

Unable to retaliate in front of Guo Xiaolan, Zhao Bin suddenly became furious.

"Who are you? What I do with Guo Xiaolan is none of your business."

"Why weren't you so assertive when their boss was here? Where were you then?"

Liu Jia rolled her eyes at Zhao Bin and turned to leave.

Guo Xiaolan hurriedly went around the desk and stopped Liu Jia.

"Liu Jia, thank you for getting me out of that situation earlier. We're changing shifts in three minutes, so let me treat you to a meal as a token of my gratitude."

Guo Xiaolan's words of gratitude were double entendre.

It's easy to recall that Liu Jia had helped him before this.

Liu Jia turned around and smiled.

"It's nothing serious, no need to be so polite. Go ahead and do your thing, I'll be going now."

After saying that, Liu Jia left without looking back.

Guo Xiaolan felt a pang of disappointment.

Beside him, Zhao Bin was practically kneading the twisted dough into dough balls.

His name is Liu Jia, but who exactly is he?

Why does Guo Xiaolan seem to know him so well?

Zhao Bin wanted to figure out what was going on.

Seeing someone who resembled Guo Xiaolan again made me feel jealous.

Right now, Guo Xiaolan is staring intently at Liu Jia, her eyes practically glued to him.

Suppressing his anger, Zhao Bin asked, "Xiaolan, who exactly is this person?"

"It's... a relative of mine."

Realizing she was still looking at Liu Jia, Guo Xiaolan quickly looked away, her gaze swift, and her expression returned to normal.

Zhao Bin still had some doubts.

But remembering what Guo Xiaolan had just said, that there were only three minutes left before her shift ended, a smile returned to her face.

I specifically called this time to come over so I could have dinner with Guo Xiaolan.

Just then, that annoying person left.

This is truly an opportunity given by God.

"Oh, I see. Xiaolan, let's go out for dinner together after you get off work. I have time today."

Before he could finish speaking, Guo Xiaolan on the other end refused outright.

"I'm so sorry, Zhao Bin, I'm at work today and I'm a bit rushed. I'm going to eat in the cafeteria. You can go and eat by yourself."

Zhao Bin: "?"

If Zhao Bin hadn't heard it with his own ears, he wouldn't have believed that these words came from Guo Xiaolan's mouth.

Just moments before, Guo Xiaolan had invited Liu Jia to dinner to thank him.

How come when it's my turn, it's because I'm short on time and have to eat in the cafeteria?

Isn't this just treating people differently based on their status?

Eating with Liu Jia gives me time, but eating alone makes me short on time.

Even a fool could figure out what was going on.

Zhao Bin let out a long sigh and frowned again.

"Guo Xiaolan, is there some misunderstanding between us? Why are you being so cold to me?"

Guo Xiaolan raised her eyelids, a hint of disbelief flashing in her eyes.

cold?

I've always had this attitude towards Zhao Bin—neither too enthusiastic nor too indifferent.

Thinking of what her father had mentioned before, Guo Xiaolan decided to try speaking up.

"Zhao Bin, I want to discuss something with you. My family said that if you have time the other day, they hope I can take you back to meet them."

"Clap!"

The twisted dough stick in Zhao Bin's hand fell to the ground with a thud.

It fell to the ground in an instant.

"What's wrong?" Guo Xiaolan asked quickly.

Zhao Bin hurriedly picked up the twisted dough sticks. "Nothing. What did you just say? Your family wants to see me?"

"Yes, they've known each other for several years, and they want to meet you."

Zhao Bin wiped his forehead. "Why are you in such a hurry?"