Under meals

Tao Mingzhuo felt that he was caught in a strange cycle.

He wanted to know why Jing Ci was peeping at him in the cafeteria, so he went to have lunch, but in the end not only did he not get an answer, but he would continue to have more meals with Jing Ci in the future.

It is clear that there will be no pies in the sky, but Tao Mingzhuo was hit by one.

There is no such thing as a free lunch in the world, but Tao Mingzhuo not only has it in a sense, but he will continue to eat it many times in the future.

"I don't understand." Tao Mingzhuo asked Yang Keying, "Should I pay attention to lottery tickets recently?"

Yang Keying was also lost in thought.

"Not to mention why Boss Jing treats you to dinner every day," Yang Keying hissed, and asked, "I just want to know, when you two are eating, does he really stare at your face? What's your opinion?"

Tao Mingzhuo sighed: "He really has been staring at my face, staring straight at me, and although he seems to be restraining the smile on his face all the time, he gives me the feeling that... ..."

He recalled it for a while, then hesitated and said, "It seems like I'm overjoyed because of something."

Yang Keying thought for a moment, then let out a long "oh".

Yang Keying said: "Actually, let's think about it carefully. After all, Mr. Jing has been abroad for so long before, and his thinking may be relatively open, so if there are some special actions, it is not so difficult to understand."

Tao Mingzhuo always felt that there was something in this person's words, and his eyelids twitched: "What do you mean?"

"I don't mean anything." Yang Keying shrugged and said, "But let's just ask if there is a possibility. I just mean possibility. He invites you to dinner every day, just for the pretense of having an encounter with you..."

"And his target is actually you?" she said.

At [-]:[-] in the morning, Tao Mingzhuo walked into the convenience store downstairs of the company.

The freezer in the convenience store is usually full before nine o'clock. Tao Mingzhuo took an egg sandwich, walked to the bento shelf, and stared at the fish-flavored shredded pork rice bowl on it for a while.

There was misty mist hanging on the transparent lid of the bento box, and a bright yellow sticker of "Half Price Today" was attached to the box. Tao Mingzhuo paused for a moment, then turned and walked towards the cashier.

Tao Mingzhuo usually eats lunch in the company cafeteria three days a week, and buys breakfast and lunch at the convenience store for the other two days.In normal times, Tao Mingzhuo would definitely buy two boxes of fresh lunches that just hit the shelves and are half price.

The young lady at the cash register was familiar with Tao Mingzhuo, seeing that he didn't bring much today, she joked, "Why do you eat so little today? Do you want to secretly lose weight?"

Tao Mingzhuo: "At noon today... I have a treat from a colleague."

The young lady said "Oh", and while packing the things in a plastic bag, she enthusiastically sold them: "By the way, there is a new peanut butter sandwich, which is very suitable for breakfast. Do you want to try it?"

Tao Mingzhuo took the bag, smiled and waved his hands: "This is really not good, I am allergic to nuts."

Tao Mingzhuo decided to let nature take its course.

Although he still doubted Jing Ci's motives, but the other party also made it clear that he didn't want him to intervene, so Tao Mingzhuo took it as if he had received a free lunch coupon.

As for Yang Keying's analysis yesterday, it can be said to be groundless and extremely absurd.

"First of all, Mr. Jing and I have no intersection before this." Tao Mingzhuo said earnestly, "Secondly, your assumption is not supported by facts and is illogical. Finally, it is wrong to talk about other people's private life and sexual orientation at will like this. A very wrong behavior."

Yang Keying made a very innocent expression at the time: "Don't bite people, I didn't mention sexual orientation at all, who are the people who are randomly speculating?"

Tao Mingzhuo couldn't talk more about this girl, he was a little upset.

In fact, he didn't understand why he agreed to this ridiculous thing. Maybe it was because Jing Ci's expression was too eager, or maybe it was because he said "I really hope you agree to this request", and Tao Mingzhuo has always been a A warm-hearted person who is not good at rejection.

But no matter what, Yang Keying's assumption is still too absurd.

Tao Mingzhuo took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and began to polish the sketch in his hand.

At 11:30, several colleagues invited Tao Mingzhuo to go downstairs to have dinner together. For the first time in his life, Tao Mingzhuo turned down someone else's cooking invitation on the grounds of rushing to work.

Before leaving, Yang Keying gave Tao Mingzhuo a knowing wink.

Tao Mingzhuo adjusted the texture of the character's hair in the sketch, sat in a daze for a while, and felt that the time was almost up, so he got up and went upstairs.

He was a little absent-minded, and when he went upstairs, he took out his mobile phone to check, and found that the time was only around 40:[-], while he and Jing Ci made an appointment yesterday at [-]:[-].

The door of Jing Ci's office was ajar.

Tao Mingzhuo was about to knock on the door, when he heard a conversation coming from inside, his hand paused.

There are still about ten minutes to twelve o'clock, which is really an embarrassing time. If you go downstairs now, you will have to run up again before your butt gets hot.

Tao Mingzhuo thought about it, and finally decided to wait at the door for a while.

Through the crack of the door, Jing Ci and his secretary could be seen.

Tao Mingzhuo really didn't want to eavesdrop on other people's conversations, but the corridor was too quiet, and the office door was not closed tightly, so the conversation between the two people in the room inevitably reached Tao Mingzhuo's ears.

At the beginning, it was Jing Ci's secretary who was reporting on the work. Jing Ci stood in front of the window, listening and watering the potted plants on the table.

Observing the human body is a certain professional habit of Tao Mingzhuo. He saw that Jing Ci was wearing a light blue shirt today. The hem of the shirt was neatly tucked into the trousers, which lined the curve of the waist very beautifully.

Probably in order not to get wet, Jing Ci rolled up the cuff of the hand watering the flowers, exposing her slender wrist.

Jing Ci's figure is very good, but Tao Mingzhuo always feels that he seems a little too thin.

When he came back to his senses, Tao Mingzhuo heard Jing Ci ask a little suddenly: "Have you delivered it yet?"

"It has been delivered." The secretary said, "I just reheated it again, and when I eat it in a while, it will be just right."

Tao Mingzhuo heard Jingci's "hmm", and asked again: "He is allergic to nuts, did you make a note when ordering?"

The secretary said: "I remember everything you said. I made a note when I ordered it. I opened it up and checked it again just now. There is absolutely no problem."

Tao Mingzhuo outside the door: "...?"

At first, he was a little confused, but it wasn't until the phrase "nut allergy" that Tao Mingzhuo realized that the "he" in Jingci's mouth was referring to himself.

In fact, even Tao Mingzhuo's family members sometimes forget about allergies, and Tao Mingzhuo never mentioned it to outsiders when he usually eats.

He thinks it's good for him to pay attention when eating, and there's no need to tell others not to enjoy themselves while ordering, but why does Jing Ci know such details?

Before Tao Mingzhuo could react, he heard the secretary say with a smile in his voice: "It's great, after so long, you finally waited until today."

The secretary didn't say "I've waited", but Tao Mingzhuo nodded when he saw Jing Ci's silence for a moment.

Tao Mingzhuo immediately realized that they seemed to be talking about a secret that was tacit to each other and that no one else could decipher.

"I have a pair of ornamental chopsticks given by Mr. Li in my drawer, take them out first." Jing Ci said, "The disposable bamboo chopsticks in the takeaway may have burrs, I'm afraid he will feel uncomfortable eating."

The secretary said "OK".

Jing Ci paused for a moment, then frowned slightly.

Tao Mingzhuo heard him asking in distress: "How many dishes are there in total today? He seemed a little uncomfortable yesterday. Could it be because I ordered too many and made him feel a lot of pressure?"

The secretary smiled and said: "No, no, five dishes and one soup today are definitely just the right amount. In fact, I don't think you need to be so considerate, just let nature take its course."

Then Tao Mingzhuo saw Jing Ci and shook his head.

"It is necessary," he said.

Jing Ci's voice was not loud, but it reached Tao Mingzhuo's ears very clearly and word for word.

"You don't understand, he...is too important to me." Jing Ci sighed softly, "Without him, my current life might really be meaningless."

The author says:

Tao Mingzhuo: (⊙⊙)