Chapter 14 Lu Yingxiao’s Awkward Moments All Witnessed by Gao Yan…

Chapter 14: Gao Yan Keeps Running Into Lu Yingxiao’s Awkward Moments…

Gao Yan understood perfectly well.

Unless absolutely necessary, Lu Yingxiao would never initiate contact with him.

Once she did, it was invariably something that left her no choice but to reach out.

Yet it likely wasn’t an urgent emergency—otherwise, she would have called him directly.

After Special Assistant Chen left, Gao Yan picked up his phone and opened the message.

Just as he’d anticipated: it concerned something—but not anything urgent.

Gao Yan replied to Lu Yingxiao: “There aren’t any mulberry trees in the garden yet. Since we’ll need them next semester, let’s plant some this weekend.”

“Are you free on Saturday? Can you join us at the flower-and-bird market to pick out mulberry trees?”

Worried she might decline, Gao Yan added, “Youhe has never been to one before—in her entire life. If you came along, she’d be overjoyed.”

Lu Yingxiao had just returned to her workstation from the pantry when Gao Yan’s message arrived.

At first glance, her instinctive response was to refuse. But just as she’d typed out the word “no,” Gao Yan sent a third message—one offering a reason she couldn’t possibly turn down. So she deleted what she’d written and replied with a single character: “Okay.”

The moment she hit “send,” she remembered her previous reply to him hadn’t been just one character. Hastily, she tacked on a “de” as an afterthought.

Thus, Gao Yan received two separate messages from Lu Yingxiao:

“Hǎo”

“de”

What did that mean?

The first time she’d replied, it had been the standard “hǎo de”—but this time, the two characters were split.

He doubted it was a typo—two characters were too few for that. She was probably annoyed he’d invoked Youhe as leverage, leaving her no graceful way to decline the Saturday trip to the flower-and-bird market.

It also revealed something else: in text-based communication, she was more likely to let her true feelings slip through.

Immediately after sending the messages, Lu Yingxiao flipped her phone face-down on the desk.

Morning tea was over; work hours had begun. How could she keep holding her phone?

She feigned busyness, pretending to reorganize documents she’d long since sorted.

Around 11 a.m., Xia Huaimeng—seated to her right—asked, “When you went to complete your onboarding procedures this morning, Manager Zhang gave you a staff badge, right?”

Lu Yingxiao: “Yes. He said the official one wouldn’t be ready so soon, so he issued me a temporary one.”

Xia Huaimeng: “You’ll need it later when we head to the cafeteria for lunch.”

Perhaps because she was hungry, Xia Huaimeng smacked her lips several times at the mention of the cafeteria. “I love their braised pork—it’s got both fat and lean, yet not greasy at all. When I’m off work and craving braised pork, none of the restaurants outside can replicate our cafeteria’s flavor. Either it’s too oily, too tough—or absurdly overpriced!”

“Whenever I’m home on holiday—especially around mealtimes—I get this sudden burst of motivation and desperately want to rush back to the office to work.”

Lu Yingxiao couldn’t help but laugh.

Other colleagues in the secretarial office chuckled too.

Hearing the laughter, Xia Huaimeng pointed at her longtime coworkers and retorted indignantly, “Yingxiao’s laughing because she hasn’t tasted our cafeteria food yet—she doesn’t know its magic. What are *you* all laughing about? Don’t you love it too?”

Then she started calling people out. “Yu Yan—I dare you *not* to eat our cafeteria’s braised fish at lunch!”

“Lin Dandan—you can forget about your spicy clams!”

“Tian Tian—don’t look away! You laughed the loudest just now. Your spring rolls, your fish with pickled vegetables, your braised spare ribs—all gone!”

“And you, you, and you—same deal. All your favorite dishes? Gone.”

The secretarial office erupted into a chorus of groans and moans.

Having finally turned the tables, Xia Huaimeng laughed triumphantly.

She didn’t forget Lu Yingxiao—the one who’d laughed first. Wrapping her arms around Lu Yingxiao’s slender waist, she feigned fierceness and threatened playfully, “Just you wait. I’m going to assault your slim waist with the most delicious food our cafeteria has to offer—making you lose it forever and turning you into an even bigger workaholic than I am, shouting every day about how much you love Shengzao, love Shengzao Construction Company—where CEO Gao reigns supreme.”

Lu Yingxiao was thoroughly creeped out by Xia Huaimeng’s final sentence.

She could love her work. She could love Shengzao.

But loving Shengzao *because* Gao Yan was there? No, thank you.

Lu Yingxiao knew when to yield. She immediately apologized. “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have laughed earlier.”

Xia Huaimeng snorted twice, loudly. “Too late! You’re *definitely* going to experience the full charm of our cafeteria!”

The moment work ended, Xia Huaimeng dragged Lu Yingxiao straight to the cafeteria.

Located on the third floor, it occupied the entire level.

Spacious, bright, tidy, and spotless—this was Lu Yingxiao’s first impression of Shengzao’s company cafeteria.

Stepping further inside, she saw two seemingly endless rows of self-service food counters, laden with abundant meat and seafood dishes alongside light, refreshing sides. The variety was rich; the food looked fresh.

Beyond the diverse mains and hot dishes, desserts and fresh fruit were also available for after the meal—so extensive the selection was almost overwhelming.

Tray in hand, Xia Huaimeng leaned close and asked, “So? Impressed by our company cafeteria?”

Lu Yingxiao didn’t deny it.

She had to admit—she *was* impressed.

Because cafeterias at her previous employers had either fallen short of hygiene standards or served monotonous, unappetizing meals.

Xia Huaimeng clattered a towering pile of her favorite dishes onto her own tray. “CEO Gao is truly amazing! After ousting his uncle, he not only dramatically upgraded our meals but also provides a generous subsidy per meal—letting us enjoy a wide variety of delicious food for pennies. Otherwise, given today’s external prices and my appetite, I’d practically have to *pay* to work here.”

She glanced at Lu Yingxiao’s tray.

Compared to her own, overflowing to the brink, Lu Yingxiao’s held only a small spoonful of egg-fried rice.

Xia Huaimeng: “Is there literally nothing here you like—or are you genuinely worried about losing that slim waist?”

Lu Yingxiao: “There are *too many* delicious options—I can’t decide.”

Xia Huaimeng: “So you’re paralyzed by choice, huh? No wonder you drank only water during morning tea—and now took just one spoonful of egg-fried rice. If you really can’t decide, follow my lead: eat whatever I choose. Don’t worry—I always pick the tastiest stuff. Or better yet—go ask the cafeteria chef to whip up *exactly* what you’re craving, right then and there.”

"The prices are the same for everyone, and the food is both good and affordable."

"And this is every employee's right, not exclusive to any particular manager or leader."

"This is also a rule set by President Gao."

After all that chatter, Xia Huaimeng turned her head and saw that Lu Yingxiao hadn't said a word. She gently nudged Lu Yingxiao with her elbow. "Why are you spacing out? Are you thinking to yourself about how great Shengzao is with President Gao around? After just half a day of work, have you already fallen in love with your job and with a Shengzao that has President Gao in it?"

Lu Yingxiao wasn't spacing out.

She was wondering why Gao Yan, the company's CEO, was also eating in the employee cafeteria.

Most importantly, in that brief moment, Xia Huaimeng had chattered so much, especially that last sentence. If Gao Yan heard it, he would be so embarrassed he'd want to dig a hole and disappear on the spot.

Although Xia Huaimeng had kept her voice down while chattering, Lu Yingxiao wasn't sure whether Gao Yan, who was only about five or six steps away, had actually heard what was said.

At this moment, Lu Yingxiao was having a flashback to this morning.

She had played that video spreading dirt on Gao Yan, and he might have heard it.

Xia Huaimeng's earlier chatter might also have been heard by Gao Yan.

Lu Yingxiao couldn't help but cover her forehead.

Her head was starting to ache.