‘SEE YOU MORNING’ 118 Questioning

Looking out at the familiar scenery from the train window, Lin Yuhui had traveled this road home too many times. But the people he once cared about were all gone. Now home was just that cold house and the last bit of indifferent familiarity he still had.

Amid the idle thoughts of the journey, Lin Yuhui also thought of Cerise. Could she be the new person entering his life? Reason told him it was extremely unlikely, but that string of events felt like hints from fate. When Lin Yuhui updated his contract and personal information in the work cloud directory, he also discovered Cerise’s. It turned out she had joined the company only one month before him. And her birthday was the same as his ex‑wife’s, her zodiac animal the same as his daughter’s, her age exactly twenty years younger than his. Ah, no use thinking about it. Even if they were well matched in age and looks, it might not work out. Women these days all look for the best possible option during their prime. Unless… she was transcendent, with a matching soul quality.

It seemed that since joining the new company, Lin Yuhui had opened a new chapter in his life. But the old trivial matters were still not settled. Returning to attend court this time was to finish those things and stop wasting his energy. He had already asked his boss for leave and finished the work on hand, so there should be nothing he needed to handle. Yet his boss still sent an email. Some clients had misunderstandings that needed clarification. But Lin Yuhui was on the train, and more detailed drawings were in his office work folder, a thousand miles away. Unless someone there could lend a hand.

Lin Yuhui thought of Cerise. She was a junior employee. He had helped her with work before, so he could probably ask. Dylan, on the other hand, would be difficult. Lin Yuhui knew his character all too well. So he had Sapphire add Cerise on WeChat. After a brief exchange, she quickly scanned and forwarded the necessary drawings as hoped. Mission accomplished.

On his return visit to his old place, Lin Yuhui did not go to see his children, nor did he want to see his parents. It was as if they walked on parallel lines. After traveling over the weekend, he successfully appeared in the office on the morning of the new Monday.

Lin Yuhui arrived early. Only Jin Yan was there among the others. While they were chatting, Cerise came in. As Lin Yuhui thanked her and exchanged pleasantries, he noticed that her tone and expression were unusually excited. Could it be because of him?

“Cerise is so happy this morning?” Jin Yan, sitting nearby, remarked as she walked past. He had noticed it too.

After the morning’s work was almost done, the office atmosphere began to liven up again, led as usual by Dylan.

“Hey, our community is promoting the COVID‑19 vaccine. Have you gotten it?” He chatted with one person, then another, asking this one and that one. It seemed he needed to talk with others to make a decision.

“Hey, Stephanie, have you gotten it?”

Listening nearby, Lin Yuhui found it amusing. Did he really need others to test the waters for him? Stephanie ignored him. She usually didn’t talk much, and whether she responded to Dylan depended on her mood. As a married woman, she was careful about boundaries with the opposite sex. But that didn’t stop Dylan from cheerfully joining the women colleagues at the lunch table every day.

“Hey, Cerise, are you getting the vaccine?” He asked Cerise over Lin Yuhui, probably just wanting to chat up a pretty girl.

But Lin Yuhui was always serious and told him directly,

“Don’t get the vaccine. According to industry insiders, there’s an ADE effect.” After saying that, he forwarded the materials he had to all colleagues in the company for their reference.

Lin Yuhui’s logic was simple: if the people around him were safe, he would be safer. But what to do depended on what each person chose to believe.

Soon Jin Yan, who had chatted with him that morning, replied with thanks. He had two young children and indeed needed multiple layers of protection.

Lin Yuhui noticed that Dylan just glanced at the email and moved on. Cerise, however, showed a studious spirit, searching online for the ADE effect. Teachable.

As lunchtime approached, Lin Yuhui thought it over carefully. Wanting to find out whether Cerise wanted a relationship with him, he took out his meal ticket and asked her,

“Want to have lunch together?” After all, she had once implied to him,

“Heh, I’m not worthy.”

Lin Yuhui hadn’t expected that response. He wasn’t easygoing either, nor would he indulge anyone.

He grunted “Hmph,” didn’t look at her, and got up to leave. He felt she was being rude. If you don’t want to go, just say no. Why bring up worthiness.

The midday sun shone into the cafeteria hall, making the tables and chairs by the floor‑to‑ceiling windows sparkle. Lin Yuhui sat alone in a quiet corner, enjoying his lunch. He had worked in Shanghai before and knew something about the food in the Jiangsu‑Zhejiang area. He loved the cold dishes like dressed lettuce – tasty and refreshing. The variety of home‑style dishes provided good dietary fiber, which improved his gut condition greatly. The only issue was to take less rice. He wasn’t a laborer. Although the lady at the serving window already adjusted the portion according to the person, over the past month he had clearly gained a thicker layer of fat on his belly.

While chewing slowly and savoring the delicious food, he watched the tables bathed in light halo, as if he were in his own time and space, enjoying a quiet moment. But Cerise, whom he had secretly placed in his heart, would have to be slowly dug out by himself.

Now Lin Yuhui was quite clear. She had absolutely no interest in him. But why did she and Sapphire keep talking about finding a boyfriend right behind him every day? They knew very well that no man in this office was suitable for her, yet they kept chattering as if afraid the whole world wouldn’t know she was looking. He had no idea what they were thinking.

Recalling his WeChat messages to her before – the 33% optimal stopping theory for dating, advising her not to let those low‑grade men surround her because that would keep good men who truly wanted to approach her away, and so on – it was all for nothing.

On Monday afternoon, the boss organized a project kick‑off meeting in the office. Before each new equipment order went into production, the project department had to lead the way, with various departments meeting to finalize details and data. Basically, all office staff attended, plus some production personnel.

Cerise was the new employee in the project department, so it was her job to take the meeting minutes. The boss was something else. Toward the end of the meeting, he called Cerise and Lin Yuhui’s names together several times, asking this and that,

“Right?”

“Is that so?”

Taking turns for the two of them to answer, exposing them.

Lin Yuhui understood the boss’s good intentions and his recognition of Lin Yuhui’s life experience. But young, beautiful women didn’t value such things. They simply didn’t understand.