After school on Tuesday, Serena Li walked home as usual. Just as she was about to pass the bus stop in front of the school, a black Land Rover stopped in front of her.
She assumed the people in the car were parents picking up their children and, worried about blocking their way, took a small step back. Just then, she saw the passenger window roll down, and when she saw who was inside, her heart skipped a beat.
It’s Victor Mo.
Victor Mo looked at her, smiled, and said, “Ms. Li, let’s have dinner together tonight.”
The situation was too sudden. Serena Li was trying to find an excuse to refuse, but it was the peak time after school, and more and more students were passing by. Some of them were even curiously looking in her direction. If she lingered with him in such an obvious place for too long, there might be news about her at school tomorrow. She knew that most students of this age were keen to gossip about their teachers’ private affairs, and she really didn’t want to become the subject of other people’s discussions.
Serena Li felt somewhat powerless and had no choice but to open the car door.
Upon seeing this, the person inside the car subtly smiled.
Soon, the Land Rover drove onto the main road and merged into the traffic.
Sitting in the car, Serena Li felt incredibly conflicted. She hadn’t expected this man to suddenly come to the school to find her at this time, and she couldn’t refuse, so she got into his car. She really didn’t want to be in an ambiguous relationship with such a man. He might be used to flirting, but she didn’t like being flirted with.
The light ahead was red. Victor Mo glanced at Serena Li , who was leaning back in her chair with her eyes downcast , and sensing her wariness, asked casually, “How many classes did you have today?”
“Two sections.” It had been a few minutes since she got on the bus. Serena Li gathered her thoughts, looked up at him, and said, “Mr. Mo, thank you for the gift yesterday. Let me treat you to dinner today!” It’s only fair that we reciprocate.
Victor Mo glanced at her, then smiled and said, “Okay.”
“Can I choose where we’ll eat?”
Victor Mo nodded.
Serena Li gave an address and asked Victor Mo if he wanted to turn on the navigation, but Victor Mo said he knew it. Then at the next intersection, he turned the steering wheel and drove onto another road.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at a food stall. Victor Mo found a place to park the car, and the two of them got out and went inside.
It was a Hakka restaurant. Serena Li chose this place for a reason. The food stalls didn’t have private rooms, and the food was served quickly, avoiding the awkwardness of the two of them being alone. There was a commercial pedestrian street behind the restaurant, and it only took 10 minutes to get back to the back gate of her community from the commercial street. After eating, she could just make up an excuse to go shopping on the commercial street so he wouldn’t have to take her home. Finally, although the restaurant seemed ordinary, the food was authentic, delicious, and clean, and it was good enough to serve customers.
She wondered if such a big boss would be used to eating at a small restaurant like this, but that wasn’t her main concern right now; she just wanted to keep her distance from him at all times.
The waiter immediately welcomed the customers in. It was just past 6 p.m., not yet the peak dining season, and there were still a few empty tables. Serena Li chose a seat near the window.
The waiter brought the menu, which Serena Li took and handed to Victor Mo , saying, “Mr. Mo, please see what dishes you would like to eat.”
Victor Mo took the menu, without looking at it, and said gently to her, “I don’t eat much Hakka food, you decide!”
Caught off guard by their eye contact, Serena Li felt a surge of nervousness under her gaze and quickly turned to the waiter, asking, “Are there any more Mandarin fish from Wanlv Lake?”
The waiter said they had it , so Serena Li ordered Wanlv Lake Osmanthus Fish, Hakka Stuffed Tofu, Steamed Chicken, Pork Soup, and Garlic Bok Choy—four dishes and a soup. Last time she ate at Luyuan Restaurant with Victor Mo , she noticed he preferred lighter fare, so the dishes she ordered today weren’t greasy and were probably to his liking.
“Do you often eat here?” Victor Mo asked her after the waiter left.
“This place is pretty good. I sometimes have meals here with friends,” Serena Li said as she poured him tea.
Just as Serena Li had expected, the food stall was known for its fast service; before long, all the dishes except for the mandarin fish arrived.
After the two had eaten a few bites, Serena Li ‘s phone rang. She took it out and saw it was Principal Liu. The restaurant was getting busier and more noisy, so she told Victor Mo and went outside to answer the call.
“Hello, Principal Liu.”
“Xiao Li, have you eaten yet?”
“Not yet, Principal Liu is looking for me…”
“Here’s the thing, October 20th is the school’s 20th anniversary celebration. I just had a meeting with some teachers from the Academic Affairs Office, and I recommended you and Ms. Sun from the second year of high school to be the emcees for this anniversary celebration. Please prepare well, and we’ll have another meeting on Friday to discuss the details of the anniversary celebration.”
“Principal Liu, I have no experience as an emcee, what do you think…?”
This news was so unexpected. She was about to say that she had no experience and whether the school needed to reconsider the candidate when Principal Liu interrupted her.
“Teacher Sun has done it a few times, and he’ll be your mentor. You have a month to rehearse. Besides, Xiao Li, you have a great image and you’re smart, so if you prepare well, you’ll be fine. Several city leaders are coming to attend the school anniversary celebration this time, and the school is taking it very seriously. I still need to contact a few leaders, so I’ll leave it at that for now. Remember to come to the meeting on Friday.”
After Principal Liu finished speaking, he hung up the phone.
Serena Li is now filled with doubts. If the school has a great image and performance experience, isn’t there Ms. Xie, the music teacher? Why did Principal Liu choose her as the emcee this time?
Frowning, Victor Mo returned to his seat. Seeing her come back, he stubbed out his half-smoked cigarette and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
Serena Li put her phone into her handbag and said, “It’s okay.”
Looking down at her bowl, she saw a large, boneless piece of mandarin fish, which he had probably removed for her while she was out making a phone call. A thought struck her; Gary Gu used to do the same, always picking out the bones for her before she ate the fish. This was the first time someone had done this for her since their breakup.
He looked up at Victor Mo , smiled, and said, “Thank you.”
Victor Mo looked at her smile, noticing the dimples at the corners of her mouth, his gaze deep and unfathomable.
Perhaps the news brought by Principal Liu’s phone call was too unexpected, which distracted her from her guard. Later during the meal, when Victor Mo put food on her plate again, she did not refuse.
Serena Li went to the counter to pay the bill after the meal , the owner told her that she had already paid.
Looking at the man making a phone call by the door, she frowned, guessing that he had paid the bill while she was out answering Principal Liu’s call.
Victor Mo walked over to the service desk, looked at Serena Li , and said, “I forgot to tell you earlier that I’ve already paid the bill.”
“Didn’t we agree that this meal would be on me?”
Before Victor Mo could say anything, the shop owner next to him spoke up: “Miss, it’s only natural for a man to treat a woman. If you don’t let him treat you, you’re disrespecting him!”
Serena Li : “……”
“Let’s go, I’ll take you home.” Victor Mo’s lips curled into an almost imperceptible smile as he looked down at her.
“No need to trouble yourself. There’s a pedestrian shopping street behind here that leads to the back gate of my apartment complex. I can just walk back,” Serena Li politely declined.
“Really? A walk after dinner is perfect for digesting, let’s go together!” Victor Mo glanced back, then turned back and suggested a walk together, and headed toward the shopping street.
Serena Li never expected Victor Mo to walk back with her. At that moment, she really wanted to walk alone, but her own upbringing made her feel that it would be impolite. Then she thought that there were many pedestrians on the road, and it wouldn’t be awkward if the two of them didn’t talk, so she slowly followed.
Victor Mo waited for her to catch up, and they walked side by side on the road, with a person’s distance between them.
He turned to look at her and said, “Z University isn’t a teacher training school. Why did you want to come to Pengcheng to be a teacher after you graduated?”
Serena Li paused for a moment and said, “Teachers have many holidays.” Why? Many people have asked her this question. Her father was sent to another country by his work unit during her first year of graduate school. Her father was busy with work, and she could only spend time with him during winter and summer vacations. Joyce Wu and Lynn Yan were her good friends from junior high to high school. They came to work in Pengcheng after graduating from university, so she planned to come to Pengcheng before graduating. Her initial reason for becoming a teacher was indeed because of the many holidays, which allowed her to visit her father. But later, she gradually came to love this job of teaching and imparting knowledge.
Victor Mo nodded and said, “Actually, you’d be quite suited to be a teacher.”
Serena Li looked at him with confusion, not understanding what was going on.
The man smiled slightly: “You are very calm and can keep the students in line.”
Is she calm? She thought that if she were calm enough, she wouldn’t be at a loss right now, not knowing how to reject his ambiguous advances.
There were many pedestrians on the commercial street, and the two people were unconsciously pushed closer by passersby, even to the point of their arms touching.
A 10-minute walk felt like an eternity to Serena Li because of the powerful presence of the man beside her .
After finally reaching the back gate of the residential complex, Serena Li spoke first, “Mr. Mo, I…”
“I’ll take you inside, and then we can go through the main entrance.” Victor Mo said this even more surprising thing before she could finish speaking.
“Huh? Your car?” Serena Li asked in confusion. Wasn’t his car just parked in front of the food stall?
“My driver went to get the car, and he’ll drive to the main gate to pick me up in a bit.”
Serena Li was speechless .
Serena Li swiped her card at the sensor on the side door, and Victor Mo also went over to open the iron gate for her to go in first. Perhaps it was his close proximity that made her more nervous, but when she reached out to open the door, her fingers touched his.
Victor Mo didn’t move when their fingers touched , so Serena Li quickly moved her fingers away and hurried inside.
get from the back door to Building D where Serena Li lives, you have to pass through a small grove of trees. The two of them were walking on the path, and to outsiders, they looked like a couple taking an evening stroll. Their good looks naturally attracted attention.
A streetlamp stood not far from each other in the neighborhood, casting an exceptionally tall shadow of Victor Mo. He walked along the path, while Serena Li walked beside him, appearing petite.
The two remained silent, creating a somewhat awkward atmosphere, until they finally reached the streetlights below Building D.
Serena Li stopped, looked up at the tall figure standing in front of her, and said, “I’ve arrived.”
Victor Mo had his hands in his trouser pockets, with his suit jacket, which he had taken off during dinner, draped between his arm and pocket. He looked down at her and said, “Let’s go back.”
His eyes were deep, and a smile played on his lips. The warm glow of the streetlights cast a halo around his handsome face, making him appear even more tender.
Serena Li didn’t dare to linger her gaze on him any longer, turned around, swiped her card, and entered through the first-floor door.
Victor Mo saw the living room light on in the apartment on the right side of the 10th floor turn on before leaving with a slight smile.