"What did you say? You want me to cook by myself?"
An Ke had promised to treat Bo Jinnian to a meal as a celebration for her promotion to manager. However, Bo Jinnian had actually made the excessive request of having her cook.
"You said you'd treat someone to a meal and fulfill my request. Are you going back on your word now?" Bo Jinnian looked innocent, his eyes full of accusation.
An Ke always felt that she couldn't equate the current shameless man in front of her with the Bo Jinnian she had known before.
But for some reason, there was a hidden sense of joy in her heart. Not knowing what this feeling meant, An Ke subconsciously ignored it.
Bo Jinnian had been playing the role of an injured person at An Ke's place. So every one of his requests forced An Ke to agree. One could well imagine how An Ke had been living these days.
Sure enough, Bo Jinnian started acting up again. "An Ke, come and cook for me quickly. I've been hungry for ages. You promised me this, so you can't go back on your word."
An Ke had no idea what had gotten into Bo Jinnian these days. He had been making her do this and that. Today, he had been insisting that she cook for him. An Ke was self - aware.
The food she cooked was edible, but it wasn't that delicious. She didn't understand why Bo Jinnian, who was used to gourmet food, would have such an idea.
However, An Ke thought she still needed to dissuade Bo Jinnian lest he regret it later. "Bo Jinnian, are you really sure you want to eat the food I cook? I'm warning you in advance that it's not delicious at all. It's better to order takeout. You'll definitely regret it. Think it through clearly. Don't say I tricked you later."
An Ke's intention was to say that her cooking skills were poor, but Bo Jinnian deliberately misinterpreted her words. "Are you trying to go back on your word, so you're saying these things on purpose? Well, An Ke, I didn't expect you to be such a person..."
Hearing Bo Jinnian say this, An Ke felt a bit self - abandoning. She thought to herself that she might as well just ignore Bo Jinnian. After all, it was his own choice. An Ke believed she had already advised him.
An Ke resignedly went to the kitchen to cook for Bo Jinnian, leaving Bo Jinnian alone in the living room.
Bo Jinnian watched An Ke bustling around in the kitchen and couldn't help but get distracted. This incident had always worried Bo Jinnian. He was afraid that An Ke would be traumatized by it.
But seeing An Ke being so carefree made Bo Jinnian feel a lot more relieved. He remembered his friend Ruan Jin's advice.
Bo Jinnian thought it was worth a try. So these days, he had been pestering An Ke. He hoped to get to know her better this way.
An Ke was complaining about Bo Jinnian in the kitchen while keeping her hands busy. An Ke didn't realize that although she was complaining about Bo Jinnian,
there was no resentment in her heart at all. Instead, she was willing to do it. But An Ke attributed this willingness to her gratitude for Bo Jinnian saving her at the expense of his own safety.
An Ke angrily served the cooked food on the dining table. Seeing Bo Jinnian in a daze, An Ke's anger flared up. She slammed the bowls on the table, which woke Bo Jinnian up. Bo Jinnian touched his nose guiltily.
Seeing Bo Jinnian's embarrassed expression, An Ke felt a bit better. But her tone was still fierce. "Okay, eat quickly. Bo Jinnian, I order you to finish all of it, or I... won't let you off."
Actually, An Ke suddenly realized that she didn't have anything to threaten Bo Jinnian with.
Bo Jinnian didn't say a word. He just picked up his chopsticks and started eating. But this made An Ke a bit touched. Even she couldn't stand the food she had cooked.
Not to mention Bo Jinnian, who had been used to delicacies since childhood. But he didn't complain at all. At this moment, An Ke felt a bit reluctant to let Bo Jinnian continue eating her so - called "dark cuisine".
"Okay, Bo Jinnian, stop eating. I know it's not delicious. You don't have to endure my dark cuisine just because of what I said."
Actually, An Ke had deliberately added extra seasonings to some of the dishes, so they tasted a bit strange. Even An Ke herself couldn't stand it.
Unexpectedly, Bo Jinnian looked at An Ke sincerely and said, "As long as it's cooked by you, I'll eat anything. Besides, it's not that bad."
An Ke felt that her heart had never beaten so fast. Bo Jinnian was really strange, she thought.
"Good. Eat more," An Ke pretended not to hear and continued to eat with her head down, ignoring Bo Jinnian's burning gaze.
"How's it going at the company? Is everything going smoothly?" At the dinner table, Bo Jinnian naturally inquired about An Ke's recent situation at the company. It was a kind of alternative consideration.
An Ke nodded. Her current job had been arranged with Bo Jinnian's help. As for other things, she could handle them on her own. She didn't want to trouble him anymore.
Bo Jinnian pursed his lips. Knowing An Ke's stubbornness, he didn't force her. "If there's really something you can't solve, you must come to me."
An Ke nodded. "Just eat, Senior Brother."
Actually, things at the company were a bit chaotic at the moment. She hadn't sorted them out clearly yet. So it was useless to say anything now. She'd better wait for a while.
A figure was bustling among the crowd. At this moment, she was wearing a pair of red high - heels, a capable business suit, and her hair was tied up at the back, falling on her clothes, outlining a perfect picture.
Since becoming the manager, her workload had increased tremendously. In order to silence the gossiping mouths of others, An Ke, who was originally competitive, worked even harder. She didn't want to be gossiped about. She needed to earn others' admiring looks through her own efforts.
However, there were always some people who, no matter what you did, would attach another meaning to it in their eyes. In their view, it was just a tool for you to gain an advantage.
Xiao Li was one of An Ke's opponents. No one knew why, but Xiao Li always harbored malice towards An Ke. In her eyes, An Ke was a person who didn't deserve to sit in this position at all. And the most suitable person for this position should be herself. It was An Ke who had snatched her opportunity.
Once you had defined a person in your heart, no matter what she did, you would look at her through tinted glasses on the basis of getting to know her again, and then repeat in your heart the words you wanted to say but couldn't say face - to - face.
Perhaps, this was growth, this was society, this was interpersonal relationships.
The hatred for An Ke kept taking root and growing in Xiao Li's heart, while An Ke didn't even realize that she was so unpopular, even hated.