Chapter 64

"Samson Nan, aren't you leaving yet?"

"Ah."

He turned his back to Li Xing, waved his hand, but his eyes continued to stare at the screen.

"Brother, go ahead first~"

Li Xing walked past him from behind and patted his back.

He turned his head, glanced at Li Xing, and then turned back to the screen.

"Have you finished the plan for the day after tomorrow?"

"Not yet."

"..."

"Well, there will always be a way!"

"Is that so..."

He glanced at him from the corner of his eye. This person's idea of a "way" was actually pulling an all-nighter.

"Hey, it's Qixi Festival today. My wife insists that I go home for dinner."

"Oh..."

He paused for a moment, Qixi Festival? Today?

On second thought, most of the people who are still staying in the company are probably those who don't have dates.

"Hey, do you think I should buy a bouquet of roses when I go back?"

"As long as you're happy."

"These roses are so expensive during Qixi Festival and Valentine's Day. It's so annoying."

While Li Xing was happily complaining, he picked up Samson Nan's cup and finished the tea in one gulp.

"..."

"Hey, it's getting late, I'm leaving!"

After saying that, he walked away.

Samson Nan looked at his watch. Although it wasn't time to get off work yet, in a situation like today, the company would give the green light.

Resting his chin on his hand, Samson Nan looked out the window.

The sun was setting, and the street was slowly becoming congested with cars leaving work.

Subconsciously, he took out his phone and glanced at the screen.

The screen was black, there was nothing there.

...

Maybe I should order takeout.

In the end, he decided to stay and work overtime.

That's how it is...

...

"Is Samson Nan here?"

A voice interrupted his daydreaming.

The receptionist girl walked over, poking her head out and looking towards him.

"There's someone waiting downstairs."

"Who?"

"It's a girl, she said she's looking for you. Should I let her come up?"

"No need, I'll go down. Thanks."

He finally stood up from his leaning position.

"Hey? Is it a girl?!"

"Is it your girlfriend?"

The few remaining colleagues in the office all turned their heads to look at him.

"No~"

He didn't say anything, just smiled lightly, as if in response.

He quickened his pace a little and walked towards the exit.

"I told you she's not..."

"Hm..."

They looked at Samson Nan's back doubtfully and said.

This person, can he really smile like that?

He didn't wait for the elevator, but went down the stairs directly.

...

The empty lobby only had an old security guard and two receptionists, and the only person sitting on the small sofa was her.

Footsteps approached, and she stood up.

"Hi~"

She squinted and smiled, looking at him from afar.

The person who had just been walking hurriedly suddenly paused for a moment, and there was a momentary hesitation in his expression.

But the next second, he put on a smile again and walked towards her.

"Luo Jia? Why are you here?"

"Hm..."

She thought for a moment.

"It's rare that we have free time. Shall we have a meal together?"

"Uh~"

The reason was impromptu, he knew, but he didn't uncover it.

"Are you busy?"

"It's not too bad, I can have a meal. But I can't go too far, I have to come back to work later."

"Okay, let's go somewhere nearby then."

She happily picked up her bag from the sofa.

Saying that, she walked to his side.

"Let's go."

Looking up at him.

"Oh, okay..."

He hesitated for a moment.

"By the way."

She spoke again, but this time, she couldn't look at him.

"Have I disappointed you? It's me..."

She said softly, turned her face to the side, blocking her expression, making it unclear.

"..."

He didn't say anything.

After a moment of silence, he spoke again:"Eating, eating~ I'm so hungry~"

"......"

He clearly heard it, but still brushed it off... what a cunning person.

"You treat me..."

She pouted and turned her head to the side.

"Huh, I didn't bring money, suddenly you called me out"

"Huh?!"

She suddenly turned around and saw him waving his wallet in front of her with an evil smile.

"Is it funny?"

She picked up her bag and threw it at him, but he dodged it.

......

Looking at his smug smile, she couldn't bring herself to smile.

"It's Qixi Festival... today."

She hesitated, as if she had something to say.

"Yeah?"

"Which means... it's that one, right? Not really Valentine's Day... but close enough... that..."

Her voice gradually grew quieter.

"Luojia, that thing..."

"Huh?"

"What's wrong with you today? If you have something to say, just say it directly... all this beating around the bush...my stomach hurts."

He held his stomach, looking embarrassed, as if the drastic change in image had caused him physical discomfort.

"......"

She was speechless. In his eyes, what kind of role was she?

"Here."

She took out a small printed cloth bag from her bag.

"For me?"

"Who else?"

He gently untied the bag, and inside was a red string bracelet, the kind you wear on your wrist.

"I bought it when we went to Lanhe Temple, and the abbot blessed it for me~"

"Hey..."

"So I wanted to give it to you today..."

She said softly, her face beginning to flush.

"Luojia, that thing..."

His gaze flashed with a moment of hesitation. He wanted to say something, but her voice interrupted him.

"I also gave one to William Wei, one for each of you."

"Huh? Oh, then I'll accept it~ Thank you~"

"Uh..."

She turned her face to the side, stealing glances at him. He seemed quite happy and immediately put it on his wrist.

--------------

But...

I'm sorry, I lied.

That was only for you, a special red string.

A unique gift, oh.

--------------

"On the 17th, Jocelyn York."

"Here."

The girl stood up, responded, and sat back down.

"Hey, am I seeing things?"

The boy below patted the shoulder of his desk mate.

"Is that for real? Is that a skirt?"

"No no no, it can't be just because of a piece of cloth that it's considered a skirt. It might be... Ouch!"

The boy was hit on the head with a book.

"We're in class, keep it down, okay?"

"Samson Nan..."

The boy rubbed the back of his head and turned around.

Samson Nan was leaning on the desk, looking to the front left.

That guy really wore a skirt to school, huh? This is the first time I've seen it...

......

"How is it?"

"What?"

"The skirt, the skirt~"

After class, she ran to his desk, her face beaming with a smile.

"Oh, it's fine..."

If she thought it was strange, she would definitely get angry, right?

It's not that she doesn't suit wearing a skirt, it's just that impressions are formed based on first impressions, and change is not so easy.

"Seriously, can't you give her a compliment... when she made such a big decision"

She pouted, murmuring softly.

"Beautiful, pretty, strong, invincible."

"Such a perfunctory response!"

......

The skirt was bought by her last weekend, and she would probably never forget the awkward scene of entering a women's clothing store for the first time in her life.

......

......

"I didn't expect Jocelyn York to wear a skirt~"

"How does it feel?"

"To be honest, I don't feel anything. That guy just isn't the type to wear light and flowy clothes, right?"

"Hahaha! That's true."

"But, don't you think? When Jocelyn York wears a skirt, it has a slightly erotic vibe?""Yes, yes, yes!! Absolutely, I understand, I understand!"

"Hahaha..."

...

Outside the window, cicadas were singing recklessly. In the hallway, the boys' whispers were magnified by the stuffy air.

She walked past them. Normally, she would have stormed over and beaten those chattering guys, but today, for some reason, she couldn't do it.

Just pretend you didn't hear anything...

Can a skirt really make one weak? If that's the case, then...

"What nonsense are you all talking about?"

A figure swept past her.

"Samson Nan? What are you doing?!"

The boys broke into a cold sweat, narrowly avoiding being hit by the basketball he threw.

"What am I doing?! Can you guess?"

Just then, another boy emerged from behind Samson Nan, staring menacingly at the group of boys.

"Wow, it's William Wei..."

"Whatever, let's go."

The boys, amazed, glared at them before leaving.

"It's nice to have someone watching over you... You burden."

As she walked past, a voice whispered to her, audible only to herself...

She wanted to retort, but her voice got stuck in her throat. She couldn't say anything.

"Jocelyn!"

"Huh?"

"Are you alright?"

William Wei noticed her absent-mindedness.

"I'm fine, just... fine."

"Okay, come with us then. Samson Nan and I were going to the cafeteria. Join us?"

"Huh?"

She hesitated for a moment before replying:

"No, I'm not going. I made plans to eat with Xiaoxun..."

"Xiaoxun? Who?"

Before William Wei could finish his question, she had already hurriedly walked away.

"She's gone..."

"Ah."

"Xiaoxun, a girl?"

"I don't know..."

As far as he knew, Jocelyn York didn't have any female friends.

"I say, do you think Jocelyn might dislike us?"

William Wei pondered with his chin in his hand.

"What makes you say that?"

"Lately, it seems like she doesn't hang out with us anymore. She doesn't play basketball or go to the arcade..."

"..."

Now that he mentioned it, it did seem true.

After all, Jocelyn York was ultimately a girl, and perhaps she cared about these things...

That's all he could think of.

...

However, things didn't go as smoothly as expected. Jocelyn York's changes were not accepted by everyone.

Mockery and rumors were directed at her.

Wasn't saying "you reap what you sow" referring to this situation? Even though she had been a tomboy for 16 years, wearing skirts and growing out her hair now... was it too late?

She walked out of the restroom and looked at herself in the mirror. The messy collar, the awkward bangs... Is this what a girl is supposed to look like?

If she gets too close to them looking like this, won't it put them in a disadvantageous position?

"Sigh..."

Let's go back to the classroom.

"Hey, Samson Nan~"

As she reached the door, she noticed that Samson Nan was surrounded by a few girls in the hallway.

"What's going on?"

"Come chat with us occasionally, even though we're in the same class."

"Yeah, that's right. Do you even know my name?"

"No, um..."

...

He's really popular, that guy...

She sighed and prepared to leave.

"Hey, that's not fair. Is Jocelyn York really that much better than me?"

!!

She froze for a moment, rooted to the spot.

She didn't want to eavesdrop, but she couldn't leave now...

"Well, um, what do you want to say?"

He scratched his head, looking down at the girls who looked familiar but whose names he couldn't recall.

She wanted to laugh. He really wasn't good at dealing with girls."If there's nothing else, I'll go first."

"Now that you mention it,"

a girl raised her voice slightly.

"A while ago, when I was chatting with Jocelyn York, we talked about Samson Nan."

"..."

He stopped in his tracks.

"As for Samson Nan, she's not a friend, she said so."

"What?!"

She looked up,

her eyes widening.

"What a lie, that's too much to say!"

The girl next to her chuckled and patted her shoulder.

"It's true, she also said..."

The girl restrained her smile and stared into Samson Nan's eyes.

"Samson Nan is the type of person who doesn't care about anyone, how could she have friends?"

No, that's not true.

That's not how it is.

She knows what kind of person Samson Nan is.

She knows better than anyone else.

Why would they say such things?

She hid behind the wall, trembling, shaking her head vigorously, but her tears couldn't stop flowing.

But he couldn't see her.

What expression would he have? She didn't dare to look.

"Well, I..."

A voice emerged from the laughter.

He casually moved his feet and walked towards the girl.

Lowered his head and looked at her.

"Only believe what she says."

...

A brief silence.

"Yes, yes..."

The girl stood still for two seconds, nodding.

After he finished speaking, he turned around, scratched his head, and walked away.

"Wow, his gaze is so scary. What's the deal with defending that woman..."

"It's inexplicable..."

"Exactly, it's so boring~"

...

There was no wavering, to him, there was no reason to waver.

And it was the same for the confused girl crying behind the wall.

...

...

...

"Eat here?"

"Huh? Okay."

They walked to a western restaurant not far from the company.

"Just bear with it, Miss. I can't afford anything too expensive."

"Hehe."

"Why are you laughing? It's creepy..."

He looked at her suspiciously.

"I want the most expensive item."

"Did you even listen to me?"

"I don't care, anyway, you're treating~"

She said, taking a few steps forward, then turned around and looked at him.

"By the way~ I'm wearing a dress today~"

"Ah, well, even if you didn't say it, I could tell..."

"So, how do I look?"

"Uh, not bad..."

He scratched his cheek with his finger and said so.

"Just perfunctory."

"What's wrong with you today? You're acting strange..."

"Well... What's wrong~?"

Even if you've forgotten, I won't forget.

What you said that day.

Did you really pay attention?

Did you really pay attention to someone like me?

...

...

"Um..."

"May I ask who you're looking for?"

"Well, my brother... Is Samson Nan here?"

"Samson Nan? Why does it always have to be him..."

The girl at the front desk frowned.

"Again?"

The girl tilted her head and looked at her.

"Oh, he just left with a girl."

"..."

"Shall I contact him for you?"

The girl smiled and tightened her grip on the gift bag in her hand, politely nodded, and walked away.

"..."

Standing on the side of the road, waiting for the stubborn red light to change.