Chapter 16: Winning the Bet
After lunch, both of them tacitly avoided bringing up the topic of Lin Luoyou's job search again.
Finishing the last spoonful of ice cream, Jiang Xiaohan leaned back against her chair, rubbing her stomach with satisfaction. “I didn’t expect the food here to be this good! Pity the place is still a bit out of the way.”
“Oh, come off it!”
Although Jiang Xiaohan hadn’t finished her sentence, Lin Luoyou immediately saw through her little ploy. “If this place were right next to your company, you’d be here for every meal. Give it a month, and you’d start complaining that good food is ruining your figure, dragging me out every morning to run with you for weight loss.”
“Tsk, you need to be well-fed to have the energy to lose weight!”
“Yeah, right. When have you ever stuck to your word? Two days later, you’re back to your old habits.”
Since Jiang Xiaohan’s secret had been exposed, she retaliated in kind: “Don’t pretend you don’t have your own little schemes! We’re two of a kind. You’d give anything for this place to open just downstairs from your home, so you could see that cute guy… or rather, his cat… every day.”
She deliberately drew out the last word, making Lin Luoyou finally break into laughter and reclaim the upper hand.
“Alright, chatting with you for a while has really cheered me up. Time for me to get back to battling that mountain of paperwork.” Jiang Xiaohan touched up her lipstick and gave Lin Luoyou a playful wink.
With her departure, their corner instantly fell quiet.
Oh, my sweet girl, do you think what I’m doing is really just a gamble?
She’d sensed several times that her friend was holding back what she wanted to say. In truth, there was no need to avoid the subject so much. She wasn’t that fragile, not made of glass or so easily broken.
But Lin Luoyou knew—everyone around her only meant well. She wasn’t ungrateful.
Just then, her phone chimed with a crisp “ding.” She’d set this alert especially so she wouldn’t miss any emails from Masse. Before she’d even processed what was happening, her hand had already reached for the phone and opened the unread message:
[Campus Recruitment Process | Dear Ms. Lin Luoyou: We are delighted to inform you that you have passed the second interview. Please come to the second floor of the company this Wednesday (October 11) at 2:00 PM to discuss contract details with our HR staff...]
There were plenty of additional notes about what documents to bring and other matters, but Lin Luoyou couldn’t pay attention to any of that now.
Only one thought kept repeating in her mind: I did it!
At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to share her joy with someone—only to realize her closest friend had just left for work.
Did I really do it?
I actually get to go discuss a contract!
It was almost unbelievable.
The more she thought about it, the more excited she became, completely forgetting that Cute was still curled up napping at her side.
But joy always courts disaster.
In the next instant, startled by her sudden movement, Cute leapt up with a startled yowl and dashed away. As he did, the crystal bracelet on Lin Luoyou’s left wrist was yanked loose, scattering beads across the floor with a loud clatter.
The noise drew the attention of everyone nearby.
Even Qin Shishen put down his work, wiping his hands on his apron as he hurried over. “What happened? Is everything alright?”
He saw beads scattered everywhere and Cute fleeing the scene of the “crime.” Frowning, he asked, “Did Cute do this? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine. It’s just the bracelet…”
This bracelet had been a birthday present from Zhen Hao earlier that year. She didn’t know how he’d heard that crystal bracelets were all the rage among girls lately, but he’d gone and bought her one.
Qin Shishen assumed her words were full of regret for the broken bracelet. As he crouched to help pick up the beads, he asked, “Where did you get it? I’ll buy you another one.”
“There’s no need for that. Besides, I wasn’t planning on wearing it after today anyway.”
“Wait, what’s that on your wrist?”