My Exclusive Dream World Adventures - Chapter 120

The next morning, as soon as Chen Xu arrived at the ground floor of the company building, he was greeted warmly by colleagues from other departments. Out of politeness, he smiled back.

After he went upstairs, everyone he bumped into, whether familiar or not, greeted him. He hadn’t expected yesterday’s event to have such a big impact within the company.

It was as if he had become a celebrity in the company overnight.

When he walked into the electronic marketing department, his coworkers crowded around him, bombarding him with questions about yesterday’s incident, making it a bit overwhelming for him. It was only when Luo Xiyun arrived that they dispersed and returned to their desks.

“Chen Xu, who are you planning to take on that double tour?” Dai Zixin jokingly asked.

“Cash it out, of course.”

Chen Xu didn’t even think before he responded.

Let alone the question of who to take, as far as he knew, many such travel deals were fraught with traps—some didn’t even clarify whether round-trip airfare was included. Who knew how many pitfalls there were? Cashing it out was definitely the realistic choice.

Next year, when he participated in the darts competition and won a lot of prize money, he would have both money and leisure to travel wherever he wanted.

After cashing it out, he would have fifty thousand yuan. Even after taxes, he would have at least forty thousand yuan. Along with the twenty thousand yuan end-of-year bonus, and over twenty thousand yuan he earned from running the noodle shop for over a month, plus this month’s salary he would receive when resigning, he’d have a total of one hundred thousand yuan.

His savings had exceeded six figures for the first time—it was an absolutely delightful feeling.

After the meeting ended, Chen Xu was about to inquire about how to claim yesterday’s prize when Director Liu from the finance department approached him to discuss the matter.

Chen Xu was surprised that a mere annual raffle would involve a director personally.

This must have been the result of Luo Xiyun losing her temper yesterday.

The two went to the reception room to talk. Director Liu was very polite, asking Chen Xu if he wanted to participate in the tour or cash it out.

Chen Xu said he wanted to cash it out, and the director immediately brought out the relevant documents for him to sign, mentioning that the money would be transferred into his bank account within the day.

Chen Xu felt an unprecedented efficiency and couldn’t help but inwardly remark, the feeling of having someone to support you really was different. He finally asked about the taxation issue.

Director Liu smiled and said, “The fifty thousand yuan is after tax.”

In that moment, Chen Xu’s thoughts of resigning wavered. Staying in the company, with the backing of Luo Xiyun, seemed very promising.

However, this thought was fleeting. Even if the future were promising, it was still based on relying on someone else. How could that compare to building a career through his own efforts?

Previously, he had no choice but to work for others. Now, he wanted to be his own boss.

…

In the following days, Chen Xu’s life became more leisurely as Old Tang took over his work. Old Tang had previously done similar work and picked it up very quickly.

Since starting the job, it was the first time he felt idle, which honestly felt a bit boring.

Luckily, this period soon ended.

On the day he completed his resignation procedures, he invited all his department colleagues to the noodle shop, where he personally cooked and prepared two tables of dishes.

“Chen Xu, I didn’t know your culinary skills were so good.”

Dai Zixin, with whom he had the best relationship, was stunned after tasting the dishes he made. “No wonder you wanted to open a restaurant; with your skills, you are definitely going to make it a success.”

The other colleagues agreed, with one suggesting, “From now on, anytime the department has a gathering, we should just eat at Chen Xu’s restaurant.”

“Agreed, this standard is better than many big restaurants.”

Chen Xu laughed and said, “Sure, I’ll give you guys a discount then.”

Someone joked, “I say, Chen Xu, you really weren’t being fair, keeping such good skills hidden and not letting others know.”

Dai Zixin added, “Exactly, if I had known earlier, I would have gone to your place every day to scrounge meals.”

Old Tang melancholically added, “I’ve been his colleague for two years and had no idea he could cook.”

For a while, the rest of the colleagues verbally assailed him until he promised that when he opened his restaurant, he would definitely invite them for another meal, which temporarily satisfied them.

The meal lasted over an hour.

Everyone quickly left, except Old Tang, who stayed behind to help him clean up.

Chen Xu was washing dishes inside, while Old Tang was sweeping outside.

“Chen Xu, these trash bags just need to be taken to the garbage bin outside…” Holding the dustpan, Old Tang walked to the doorway, looked up, and suddenly paused, forgetting what he was about to say.

“Hmm, just pour it there,” Chen Xu responded, surprised there was no sound, and when he looked up, he was stunned to see Luo Xiyun walking towards him.

“Mr., Mr. Luo,” Old Tang was so surprised that he stumbled over his words.

“Yes,” Luo Xiyun nodded at him and headed for the door.

Chen Xu had never expected her to appear here, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.

“Uh, I just remembered something at home, I need to go,” Old Tang quickly dumped the trash into the bin and slipped away.

Now, only the two of them were left in the noodle shop, and the nearby barbecue stall, which had been somewhat noisy, suddenly quieted down significantly. The male customers were all drawn to Luo Xiyun’s presence. Some gazed openly, while others peeked stealthily.

Luo Xiyun stood by the doorway, holding a white bag and after taking a brief look around, she spoke, “I just came to have a look.” After speaking, she turned to leave.

It was then that Chen Xu reacted, blurting out, “Since you’re here, why not have a bowl of noodles before you go?”

She paused, turned to look at him, nodded, and walked towards a recently cleaned table. After looking at the chair, she sat down.

In just a few minutes, Chen Xu brought over a bowl of noodles and placed it in front of her, saying, “This is my shop’s signature meat noodles.” He added after a pause, “I just took the chopsticks out of the sterilizer.”

Luo Xiyun silently took the chopsticks, tried a bite of the noodles, and there seemed to be a subtle change in her expression, a noticeable pause in her movements.

“Is it not to your taste?” asked Chen Xu, observing her reaction.

She shook her head and replied, “It tastes very good.”

After that, she didn’t speak again and carefully finished the bowl of noodles. Putting down her chopsticks, she took out a tissue from her bag, wiped her mouth, stood up, and said, “I wish you prosperity in your business.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Chen Xu said, rising to pull down the shutter of the noodle shop and asking the neighboring barbecue stall owner to keep an eye on things.

“Let’s go.”

The two of them walked towards the alley’s exit, maintaining a distance of about twenty centimeters between them. Luo Xiyun didn’t speak, and Chen Xu also didn’t know what to say, so they silently reached the street corner.

A red Ferrari was parked by the roadside, and Chen Xu couldn’t help asking, “Did you change your car?”

“Yes,” Luo Xiyun approached the car door.

Chen Xu looked at the red sports car and felt once again the invisible yet real chasm between them that was so deep it was daunting.

Luo Xiyun opened the car door and got in.

A gust of cold wind blew, tousling Chen Xu’s hair and stinging his cheeks; after a moment, it turned numb.

“Why do you help me?” he asked, his breath visible in the cold air, quickly scattered by the wind.

Luo Xiyun’s hand was on the door handle, ready to close it, when his question made her pause, her gaze on the dashboard as she replied, “I just don’t like it.”

“Is there not even a bit of it out of concern?”

Bang.

The car door closed, a low rumble emanated from the engine as if expressing something.

Two seconds later, the car window cracked open slightly, the engine sound lowered, and her voice came through, “Asking now, isn’t it too late?”

As soon as her words ended, the red Ferrari darted away, disappearing into the night.

Chen Xu watched the direction in which the car vanished, a smile forming on his face. In the cold wind, his heart seemed to harbor a small, warm flame.

PS: With this, the book has reached nearly two hundred fifty thousand words, and I feel it maintains a consistent style.

I’ve always thought that reading a book is like having a romance with it. From love at first sight (reading it in one sitting) to daily interaction (following updates), you gradually discover its flaws (slow pace, irregular updates), which is normal—everyone has flaws.

Your feelings slowly cool down, turning to complaints, bickering, even arguing—all quite normal. Until one day, you find you can’t stand its flaws anymore, threatening it with “If you don’t change, I’ll do this or that.” But if it really changes as you desire, will it still be the book you fell in love with at the beginning?

You fell for it because of its unique flair, right? It might not be the prettiest, the tallest, or the most stunning, but it is distinctive. You recognized it out of countless other books. Now, wanting it to be like the mundane others—I’m sorry, it can’t do that.

If you really can’t stand it, you might try putting it aside, letting things cool down. It could stay on a shelf or slip from your mind. One day, you might remember it or rediscover it among other books. Maybe, you could reconnect.

If you’ve grown to loathe it, then it’s fair to explain yourself or simply walk away quietly. But please, don’t spew hatred. After all, it has left you with good memories, hasn’t it?

If the separation is amicable, everyone can keep those good memories.

Avoid turning antagonistic; it only inflicts pain on both sides.

If you overreact, perhaps the book will disappear into the sea of many. Maybe years later, during a midnight reverie, wanting to retrieve that uniquely charismatic book, you’ll only be left with regret.

Finally, thank you to all the readers who have liked this book so far, your affection makes the joy of writing truly pleasurable.