Chuxia’s hand clenched, and her small teeth bit down hard on her lower lip. She knew that her performance today had already dissatisfied the manager, and she did not want to lose her job right now. If she refused at this moment, she would definitely be unemployed tomorrow.
Chuxia wrestled with her thoughts in her mind, but in the end, she forced herself to calm down.
It was just a meal, Chuxia, just a meal! If she could handle this meal well, there would be no further interactions between him and her. Why should she lose her job over this meal and ruin her first step toward starting a new life?
She had said she wanted to break free from past restraints and not be affected by her past anymore, hadn’t she?
Now, it was just about pouring tea for Shi Che. Why couldn’t she do it?
Chuxia gradually persuaded herself in her heart, steadied herself, slowly nodded, and then stood up. She leaned over, reached out, and took the teapot.
Then, she reached out, turned the teacup upside down on the plate in front of Che, held the teapot, and slowly poured the tea.
Here, it was customary to first rinse the cup with hot water, and only the tea poured the second time could be drunk. Chuxia poured about eighty percent of the cup with tea, set down the teapot, picked up the teacup, gently rotated it in her hand to rinse it, and then poured out the water.
Chuxia was single-mindedly rinsing the cup when Che slightly lifted his gaze, which fell precisely on her. His eyes were always sharp, even if Chuxia wasn’t looking at him, her body couldn’t help but tremble, her hand became slightly unsteady. Coupling that the tea was a bit too hot, Chuxia accidentally loosened her grip on the cup, and the cup tipped over, clattering onto the table, with all the tea spilling out, much of it pouring directly onto her.
Shi Che’s dark eyes quickly flashed a hint of gloom; he reflexively picked up the towel from the table, intending to help wipe Chuxia. Yet, sensing his movement, and despite being scalded, Chuxia spoke first, "I... I’ll go to the restroom!"
Without waiting for anyone to react, she stood up. The chair made a slightly piercing scrapy noise on the floor, and she quickly walked toward the door.
Shi Che, holding the towel, froze, and eventually, his hand tightened fiercely, veins bulging on the back of his hand.
Manager Chen had been observing Shi Che’s expression; though he showed no emotion and even his gaze remained unfluctuating, she still saw the concern that flickered through his eyes when Chuxia got scalded, as well as his disappointment and anger when Chuxia headed straight to the restroom without his assistance.
At this moment, if she still didn’t understand, it meant all her years here were in vain—what exactly was their relationship? Lovers?
But President Shi... had just announced his engagement. And his fiancée was a young lady who seemingly had nothing in common with Chuxia.
Maybe... former lovers?
Manager Chen couldn’t guess and decided not to speculate any longer; it was better to ask Chuxia directly. After thinking, she also stood up, slightly apologetic as she said to Shi, "President Shi, I’m truly sorry, Chuxia is new, and sometimes her movements are a bit clumsy. I will go and check on her."