Under meals

Chapter 9 Because of You

The quality of food in the company cafeteria has always fluctuated greatly. When it is fragrant, it is really fragrant, but when it is bad, it can be directly unpalatable to the limit that carbon-based organisms can bear.

Today, the lemon grilled fish bowl in the cafeteria at noon can directly acidify a row of teeth, so Tao Mingzhuo and his party chose to buy lunch in the convenience store downstairs of the company.

"Come with me next week's comic exhibition." While waiting for the elevator, Yang Keying said, "I beg you, it's lonely and embarrassing to cosplay alone, you two come and accompany me!"

When Yang Keying handed in her resume, what she wanted to join was actually another game project of the company, but at that time the team's art staff was relatively saturated, and her painting style was actually favored by the current project's main artist, which can be regarded as a certain kind of game project. In this sense, there is a mistake.

Despite this, she will still produce for the game she loves online, and occasionally cosplay her favorite character.

Xu Yi showed embarrassment: "Xiao Ning, it's not that we don't want to accompany you, it's that we have never done such a thing..."

Yang Keying said: "You don't have to come out, just stand by and accompany me!"

Tao Mingzhuo said leisurely: "Then we two men in normal clothes are standing next to you, wouldn't you feel more embarrassed?"

Yang Keying took it for granted: "No, and you two can help me carry the bag."

Tao Mingzhuo: "This is your real purpose, isn't it?"

Yang Keying saw that the two of them hadn't let go, and knew that they couldn't stand her acting like a baby, so she began to shake Tao Mingzhuo's arm, and squeezed her throat to deliberately disgust him: "Please..."

Tao Mingzhuo's scalp was numb, and he was about to say something when the elevator door opened suddenly, and he subconsciously raised his eyes.

Jing Ci and the secretary were standing in the elevator.

The eyes of the two collided subtly for a second in the air, and Tao Mingzhuo's Adam's apple moved up and down.

Jing Ci didn't speak, but just looked at Tao Mingzhuo's face calmly, then her gaze moved down slightly, and landed on Yang Kening's hand holding Tao Mingzhuo behind her.

Tao Mingzhuo shrank his arms subconsciously.

Yang Keying also saw Jing Ci in the elevator, she let go of her hand naturally, and said hello: "Boss Jing, good afternoon!"

Jing Ci smiled faintly at her and said, "Good afternoon."

Different from the usual simple and easy-going outfits, Jing Ci is wearing a more formal light-colored suit today, and the secretary behind her is also wearing a small dress, as if preparing to attend some occasion.

Jing Ci was smiling, but Tao Mingzhuo felt that his complexion didn't look very good, and he seemed a little tired.

Tao Mingzhuo was a little dazed, and then saw Jing Ci walking in front of him step by step, and his throat tightened a little.

He thought Jing Ci was going to say something, but Jing Ci just raised her face slightly and said to him, "Excuse me."

Only then did Tao Mingzhuo realize that he was standing upright at the elevator door, so he staggered away in a hurry: "I'm sorry."

Jing Ci shook her head and just said, "It's okay."

With a gentle and polite tone, he continued to walk forward, passing Tao Mingzhuo just like that.

Tao Mingzhuo walked into the elevator, turned around, and watched the elevator door slowly close, and Jing Ci's figure gradually disappeared from his vision.

"Mr. Jing looks like he has stayed up three nights in a row." Yang Kening sighed, "But when he wears a suit, his waist looks really thin. Famous paintings, really are famous paintings..."

Tao Mingzhuo was a little absent-minded.

In fact, ever since he rejected Jing Ci's daily lunch invitation with a lie, Tao Mingzhuo has been inexplicably uncomfortable these days.

Tao Mingzhuo still remembers Jing Ci's expression that day very clearly until now. His expression was extremely obviously disappointed, even the light in his eyes dimmed.

Clearly already extremely disappointed, Jing Ci finally asked well-bredly: "Then what if... I only treat you to lunch one day a week? Is it okay even if it's just one day?"

In fact, Tao Mingzhuo really couldn't hold it anymore, but he felt that since he had reached this point, he should refuse to the end.

Finally, Tao Mingzhuo said to Jingci, "I'm sorry."

In the end, Tao Mingzhuo didn't accept Jingci's money for the small oil painting of Hamburg.

The positions of the two of them were very different, and they didn't have much time to spend together, so since that day, they naturally had no intersection in their lives.

Tao Mingzhuo expected that there would be some embarrassment when they met again, but he didn't expect that Jing Ci would look... haggard so much after not seeing each other for less than a week.

Perhaps it was because Tao Mingzhuo had something on his mind that Tao Mingzhuo's work efficiency was very low throughout the day.

After get off work, colleagues left one after another, and Tao Mingzhuo rushed to draw for a while longer. He looked up at his watch and found that it was already eight o'clock in the evening.

After hesitating for a while, Tao Mingzhuo stood up and decided to go downstairs to buy drinks and bento from the convenience store, and stay a little longer at the company tonight.

Coming out of the convenience store with his things in hand, Tao Mingzhuo saw a car parked in front of the company.

The car door opened, and he saw Jing Ci coming out from one side of the car, while Jing Ci's secretary got out of the car from the other side, trotted a few steps, and came to support him.

Tao Mingzhuo remembered that at noon, although Jing Ci looked tired, at least she was awake.

However, at this moment, he seemed to be staggering even when he was walking. The secretary beside him wanted to help him go, but he shook his head, as if to indicate that he was fine.

Then he pointed to the car behind and said something, as if telling the secretary to go back quickly.

The secretary's expression was obviously hesitant, but Jing Ci's attitude was very firm, so the secretary hesitated for a while, and finally turned around and got into the car.

Tao Mingzhuo stood at the door of the convenience store with his lunch box in his hand, watched Jing Ci stand there for a while, then turned around slowly, and walked towards the company's door slowly.

After returning to his work station, obviously no one was staring at him this time, but Tao Mingzhuo couldn't swallow half of his bento.

He put down the plastic fork and stood up, ready to go upstairs.

Recalling Jing Ci's appearance just now, Tao Mingzhuo felt that it was necessary for him to have a chat with him.At least Tao Mingzhuo needs to make sure that his current state is not caused by what he said on the weekend.

The elevator arrived at the floor where Jingci's office was located. When the door opened, Tao Mingzhuo froze.

Jing Ci was standing in the corridor, he was slightly bent, leaning on the wall with one hand, his face looked very bad.

The light in the corridor was a bit dim, but Tao Mingzhuo could still see that Jing Ci's lips were a little pale, and his whole body was dripping with cold sweat, obviously he couldn't stand still.

There are still a few steps away from the office, but he seems to be unable to walk at all.

Tao Mingzhuo felt that his intuition was wrong, so he stepped up to his side and supported him.

As soon as he got close, he smelled a strong smell of alcohol on Jing Ci's body. In addition, Jing Ci's hands were cold, and she was covered in cold sweat. These should be the symptoms of hypoglycemia after drunkenness.

Tao Mingzhuo hurriedly asked him, "Have you had dinner tonight?"

Jing Ci didn't have the strength to speak anymore, she just lowered her head and shook her head slightly.

Tao Mingzhuo felt that he was not in a good condition, so he hurriedly helped him into the office and placed him on the sofa chair in the corner. Just as he was about to run downstairs to get some food for emergency treatment, he heard Jing Ci panting, "There is no place on the table. ...the express box ... has sugar."

Tao Mingzhuo was taken aback, and walked quickly to Jing Ci's desk, and sure enough, he found a lot of sugar in a courier box, all of which were grape or green grape flavors.

Tao Mingzhuo paused for a moment.

However, there is no time for him to think about it now, Tao Mingzhuo finally picked up a box of grape-flavored fruit candies, and hurriedly opened the package.

After feeding Jingci the sugar, Tao Mingzhuo hurried downstairs to bring up the juice he had just bought, and fed him another half bottle.

After 5 minutes, Jing Ci finally recovered gradually, and he opened his eyes with some difficulty.

After seeing Tao Mingzhuo's face clearly, he said, "...Sorry."

"Did you drink on an empty stomach?" Tao Mingzhuo frowned, "Did you eat nothing at night?"

As if recalling something bad, Jing Ci frowned. He raised his hand to cover his stomach, and finally gave a somewhat vague answer: "...It seems that I forgot."

Tao Mingzhuo asked in surprise, "Why did you forget?"

With Jing Ci's status, she must have much more experience in attending receptions or dinners than herself. How could she be so careless that she would drink on an empty stomach?

It seemed that the alcohol temporarily broke Jing Ci out of his usual polite and gentle state, so he didn't speak for a long time.

He just stared at Tao Mingzhuo's face for a while, blinked his eyes for a while, staggered his eyes, and muttered to himself: "It's all because of you..."

Jing Ci's voice became softer and softer at the end, Tao Mingzhuo couldn't hear clearly: "What?"

Jing Ci seemed to have just realized what she had just said.

He was stunned for a moment, then shrank his body slowly in the sofa chair, finally looked into Tao Mingzhuo's eyes, just shook his head, and stopped talking.

Tao Mingzhuo was a little anxious: "Speak clearly!"

Tao Mingzhuo's volume increased a little, so Jing Ci's eyelashes trembled slightly.

Probably because of being drunk, Jing Ci's eyes were a little red, and he looked at Tao Mingzhuo a little straightly, with a moist light in his eyes.

Inexplicably, Tao Mingzhuo felt that Jing Ci looked a little angry.

Jing Ci leaned on the armrest of the sofa chair, sat up again with difficulty, and got closer to Tao Mingzhuo who was half squatting next to the sofa chair.

He turned his face slightly, and the distance was so close that Tao Mingzhuo could feel Jing Ci's warm breath and the smell of alcohol coming from him.

Tao Mingzhuo heard Jing Ci ask himself softly: "Didn't you ask me...why did you forget to eat?"

"What I just wanted to say," he whispered into Tao Mingzhuo's ear slowly and clearly, "Because you're not by my side, I can't eat at all."

Tao Mingzhuo suddenly opened his eyes wide, and then he heard Jing Ci laughing in his ear slightly vaguely.

"Now, do you hear me clearly?" he asked.

The author says:

Some ambiguous sentences:

Xiao Jing (unhappy): Because you're not here, I can't eat at all.

Xiao Tao (distressed): Because I'm not here, he doesn't even eat his food!