A Talk- Part 1

It was roughly about five in the evening when Wang Xu got off work. After heading back to the security post and changing back into his casual clothes, he was now heading out of the Sanming Building. As soon as he made it to the entrance, he noticed someone was standing by the door, reading something on their phone.

Standing at the entrance was a bespectacled woman wearing a beige pants suit with little makeup on. She had her brown hair done up in a braid that reached just below her shoulders. Although her looks weren't the best from what he was used to seeing in the gaming studio, looking at her figure that topped off at about 165cm or so gave Wang Xu the impression that she possessed her own unique charm that she's used to hiding from others. That being said, these were just his own personal thoughts on the matter.

The reason that Wang Xu paid attention to this person was the fact that he remembered feeling this person's gaze earlier that day. That being said, he had no idea who she was nor was he inclined to find out at the moment. With that in mind, Wang Xu decided that he would just walk by her and go about his own business.

Although that was what he planned, the reality was different from what he expected. The moment Wang Xu was about to walk by this woman, she looked up from her phone and spoke up with a neutral voice, "Good evening, Mr. Wang."

Since the woman went out of her way to greet him at this point, it would have been rude of Wang Xu to just walk by her now so he could only internally shrug at the situation before speaking up as well, "Good evening to you as well, Miss. Is there something that you need me for, Ms..."

"My name is Shirona Yui, Mr. Wang." As she said this, she gave Wang Xu one of her business cards.

Wang Xu took the business card and glanced at it briefly, raising an eyebrow when he saw her job title.

'HR Department Head, huh. Now I'm really curious as to why she stopped me.'

Although all this sounds like it took a few moments, it all transpired within the split second Wang Xu glanced at the card. After carefully putting away the business card he just received, Wang Xu spoke up, "To what do I owe the pleasure of having you call out to a humble security guard as myself, Department Head Shirona?"

Shirona Yui stared at Wang Xu for a few moments, appraising him. Although she had seen him earlier that day while he was making his rounds a few times, this was the first time that she's been able to appraise him from up close.

From what she could see, Wang Xu didn't appear to be all that different from the average security guard at the gaming studio. No, those aren't the correct words to describe it. Besides the fact that his skin tone was a bit darker, something that has become the norm for the country over the last few decades, and the fact that he was more on the lean side, Wang Xu's looks weren't that different from the average male population of the country they live in. In fact, his appearance was even more average than hers in terms of average looks towards the gender population.

That being said, that doesn't change the fact that she had witnessed what this 'average-looking' youth had done earlier that morning. While all those thoughts were swirling inside her head, her outward expression betrayed none of it as she spoke, still in a neutral tone, "Mr. Wang, I would like to speak with you for a few moments. Is now a good time to do this?"

At her words, Wang Xu raised an eyebrow in response as he wasn't sure how he had managed to catch this lady's attention. That said, he thought over her question and searched his memories to see if he had anything that he needed to rush home to do. After a few seconds of doing this and not coming up with anything important himself, Wang Xu decided to humor the bespectacled lady before him.

"After you, Department Head Shirona." As he said this, Wang Xu made the gesture to signify 'Ladies first'.

Seeing this, Department Head Shirona Yui led the way while Wang Xu followed behind with roughly two or so feet between them. Naturally, since this interaction had taken place at the entrance of the building, a few people witnessed the various scenes that took place. Some, as usual, made gossip about the entire scenario while others only took a glance before they ignored it and forgot about it. Amongst the group of onlookers, however, there were a few pairs of eyes that watched the entire scenario with eyes filled with bad intentions. As for whether these eyes were aimed at Security Guard Wang Xu or HR Department Head Shirona Yui, no one would be able to answer this question at the moment.

*******

Roughly twenty minutes later, both Department Head Shirona and Security Guard Wang were currently seated in a private booth at a somewhat fancy restaurant located in the downtown area of the city.

When they had originally arrived, Wang Xu whistled in appreciation at the sight before him. While the design of the area wasn't all that elaborate and fancy, he was able to notice that this restaurant was quite popular with the number of customers currently seated on the first-floor dining hall. This was further exasperated by the fact that today was a Monday.

On the side, while Wang Xu was busy admiring the restaurant he was brought to, Shirona Yui was currently studying his expression. From what she could identify, Wang Xu was pleasantly surprised at the popularity of this restaurant and was capable of appreciating the atmosphere that was created by the restaurant owners through the use of various methodologies.

Upon noticing this, she unconsciously allowed a small smile to form on her face, which was seen by Wang Xu as he always kept her figure within the corner of his eyes. At the sight of the smile, Wang Xu inwardly nodded his head at his earlier deduction of this department head hiding her charm from others.

After she took care of the formalities, both Department Head Shirona and Security Guard Wang were escorted by a waiter to one of the many private booths situated on the second floor of the restaurant, where they were left in silence for a few moments so that they can decide on their order.

Although the meal was currently being dealt with by Department Head Shirona, Wang Xu had no plans to take advantage of her generosity. After glancing through the menu for a few moments, Wang Xu mentally noted down the names for a few simple dishes to order when the waiter returns before closing his menu and putting it back on the table.

As for Department Head Shirona, she too chose this moment to place down her own menu, taking a glance at Wang Xu before turning away to look at the decorations around the room. Security Guard Wang could only internally shake his head slightly before doing the same.

Like that, both sides admired the decorations in the room for a few moments before the waiter returned to take their orders. Wang Xu allowed Shirona Yui to go first since she was the one covering the bill anyways. After the waiter noted down her order, Wang Xu immediately gave his, prompting the waiter to stare at him with a peculiar expression as he noted down the order.

Off to the side, Department Head Shirona listened to Wang Xu's order and couldn't stop a small wrinkle from forming on her forehead. The reason behind this and the waiter's peculiar stare stems from the fact that while Wang Xu had ordered more food than her, all of the dishes he ordered were simple ones. These dishes were so simple, in fact, that most of the patrons for this restaurant usually order only one or two to go along with the specials of the restaurant.

Just as she was about to speak up and order something else for him from the specials section of the menu, Department Head Shirona noticed Security Guard Wang looking at her with a casual smile on his face as he shook his head, hinting that he knew what she was about to do.

The waiter saw this action and misinterpreted it as Wang Xu treating Shirona Yui to an extravagant meal at the cost of his own. With a smile on his face, the waiter left to fulfill their orders, leaving the duo alone in the private booth.

After a few moments of silence, Department Head Shirona finally spoke up, "Why didn't you order anything from the 'specials' menu? Do I look so cheap that I'm unable to take care of such a thing when I am the one who invited you here, Security Guard Wang?"

Wang Xu raised an eyebrow at those words as he stared at Shirona Yui in silence. A few moments later, Wang Xu started to chuckle, prompting a deep frown to form on Shirona Yui's forehead but she maintained her silence.

A few moments of chuckling later, Wang Xu finally regained his composure and displayed a somewhat apologetic expression. After clearing his throat a bit, Wang Xu spoke up, "My apologies, Department Head Shirona. I wasn't laughing at you at all, just the misunderstanding that I seem to have created with my actions."

Shirona Yui stared at Wang Xu for a few moments, the frown on her face growing less pronounced but still visible as she spoke up, "Since that is the case, I'm sure you don't mind explaining what this 'misunderstanding' is, am I correct?"

"Not at all, Department Head Shirona. Let's start off the explanation with why I did my order like that. There are two reasons behind it, the first being that I'm not the kind of guy that's used to eating at places like this so ordering anything fancy from the 'specials' menu would have been an immediate giveaway of this when the food arrives." As Wang Xu said this, there was a slight bit of embarrassment being displayed on his face.

Shirona Yui saw this and her frown was now almost gone, but it was still visible on her face. There was a bit of mirth in her eyes as she spoke up, "And the second reason, Security Guard Wang."

Wang Xu made an exaggerated shrug as he spoke up, "The second reason is that I don't have the habit of taking advantage of the person treating me to dinner."

Shirona Yui narrowed her eyes slightly, the mirth within them now gone and replaced with an icy sheen as she spoke, "And how would you have been able to take advantage of me, Security Guard Wang?"

The iciness in Shirona Yui's eyes was very much visible to Wang Xu but he ignored it as he spoke up, "It's quite simple, Department Head Shirona. I'm the kind of person that usually eats a lot for dinner. Even if we ignore the fact that I have no idea how to eat those meals on the specials menu with the proper etiquette, having you pay for enough to satiate my hunger isn't something that I can allow to happen. I'd rather order a lot of simple and cheap meals in comparison." After saying this, Wang Xu gave Shirona Yui another shrug.

Faced with Wang Xu's explanation on the matter, Shirona Yui could only release a helpless sigh. The frown was now completely gone and the iciness in her eyes have retreated. Shaking her head slightly, Shirona Yui leaned back in her chair, facing the roof of the private booth.

It was a few moments later that she remembered that there was another part of the conversation that wasn't explained. As she stared at Wang Xu, she could have sworn that she saw mirth in his eyes but she quickly dismissed this thought as she spoke up, "Isn't there something else that you should be explaining, Security Guard Wang?"

If she wasn't sure of it before, Shirona Yui could now be certain as the moment she finished asking that question, the mirth in Wang Xu's eyes was now magnified. As for Wang Xu himself, he took a moment or two to chuckle before speaking up in a calm and steady voice, "Since you've brought it up, I can only indulge you, Department Head Shirona. The misunderstanding that I laughed at earlier was the fact that our waiter thought that this was a date where I was being the gentleman by ordering a bunch of simple dishes for myself so that you are free to order anything on the menu as you wish."

Those words didn't get much of a reaction from Shirona Yui at first. It was only after a few moments when the meaning finally sunk in that Wang Xu got the reaction he was looking for. Shirona Yui's face now sported a hint of red that looked quite good in Wang Xu's eyes.