Sheng Yue looked at the Russian woman then back at the waitress,
"You're joking right ?"
The waitress shook her head,
"She is... actually our boss..."
Sheng Yue grinned sheepishly and let go of the woman's arm.
The woman crossed her arms,
"Extra one hour."
Sheng Yue raised a brow,
"For what ?"
The woman pinched the bridge of her nose,
"For slacking off your job. And with that, your job will increase for one hour."
Sheng Yue's eyes flashed wide in disbelief,
"What ?! No one told me you were the boss ! This is unfair !"
The woman took a deep breath,
"You literally entered my workspace that is filled with papers and documents. Is that not enough evidence ?"
Sheng Yue stared blankly at her with wide unblinking eyes. She scratched the back of her head and backed off slowly. Grigoriy stood up and went beside Sheng Yue.
"Hey everyone ! I'm back—"
Everyone turned their heads toward the voice. Efim who was jumping and waving excitedly froze in place. Shin Hayato stood beside him and sighed.
Efim noticed Sheng Yue and the woman,
"How long are the two of you going to stick together ? Unless..."
Shin Hayato walked in, sitting beside me to avoid any further commotion. Efim placed a hand on his chin, murmuring something.
He perked up and pointed at Sheng Yue and the woman, raising his tone excitedly,
"Both of you actually know each other since young !"
Everyone let out a loud gasp, glancing at Sheng Yue and Efim.
The bald man whispered to someone who was sitting beside him,
"Is that even possible ?"
The person sitting beside him whispered back,
"Could be. The chances are never zero."
The woman groaned and shook her head,
"Extra two hours for all of you who dare to speak !"
Everyone stayed silent. They went back to their own business even though they still tried stealing glances. The woman took a deep breath before turning to the waitress.
She handed the waitress a coin that cost $25,
"A beer and a warm corn soup will be enough for me."
The waitress nodded and asked Sheng Yue,
"How about you ?"
Sheng Yue dragged her finger across the menu, murmuring while she scanned it,
"$5 for beer and $7 for water..? Whatever, one beer and egg and bacon is enough for me—"
I lunged myself to cover Sheng Yue's mouth,
"Scratch the egg and bacon !"
The waitress blinked for a moment before crossing it out,
"So... what do you want to order ?"
Sheng Yue slapped my face,
"What was that for ?!"
I gripped on her shoulder and shook her back and forward,
"Do not and absolutely not ! I swear on my life ! If you want to have a quick path to heaven, have it if you want !"
Sheng Yue shrugged and poked the menu,
"Egg and bacon please."
"As usual, keep the change. They're newcomers anyways." Grigoriy tossed a $15 coin at the waitress before guiding Sheng Yue to sit across me and Shin Hayato.
Efim enthusiastically sat beside Sheng Yue and clasped his hands,
"So... I was guiding this old man then I saw you barging into Boss's office. Tell me, do you have a connection with her ? No one is allowed to do that you know !"
Sheng Yue tapped on the table and widened her eyes,
"Oh uhm... Yeah, I uhh... know her for a long time already !"
Shin Hayato patted my shoulder and muttered,
"I'm surprised someone can jump to that conclusion."
I nodded and spoke softly,
"Yes... But for now, let her act. It's probably a nice way to escape too."
Meanwhile, Efim leaned in and widened his eyes to hear more gossips,
"So, how is she with you ? People usually walk into her office either alive or dead. Though alive is rare circumstances."
Sheng Yue grinned and tapped on her chin,
"Well she may look tough on the outside, but you should see her when she took off her mask ! She is a softie !"
The woman turned to us and narrowed her eyes as she grabbed her soup and beer. Grigoriy also looked at us in surprise before tilting his head at the woman.
Efim continued on without a care of the world,
"So you know, I heard from some people that the boss likes to drink beer !"
The woman raised her beer and mumbled something.
Sheng Yue continued to play the act to dig up some information,
"Yeah ! She sometimes gets drunk ! Also I had known her for a long time but..."
Efim stared at her with a blank look,
"But what ? Don't keep me sitting on the edge !"
Sheng Yue showed a sorrowful look and placed a hand at her chest,
"I can easily forget stuff... So, yeah, I think you get it."
Efim covered his mouth and slammed both of his hands to the table,
"Oh my god ! It's still impressive you manage to remember her despite being separated ! Don't worry, I'll always help you !"
He pulled out a notebook from his pocket that we didn't know it existed,
"First things first ! Her name is Vera, quite a common name. But her full name is—"
Grigoriy threw himself and duct taped Efim's mouth,
"Boss ordered you to shut your mouth."
Efim thrashed around and smacked Grigoriy's face multiple times. Grigoriy handed Sheng Yue her meal then sat beside me again. I sniffled a laugh, awaiting her reaction.
The moment Sheng Yue chewed on the bacon, she bit on her lips. Sheng Yue's face was pale enough to be described as a ghost.
Even so, she continued to munch on it and raised a thumb,
"Yeah... all good here."
She punched her stomach lightly while drops of sweat continued to drown her face.
She doubled over and wheezed,
"Get out... Please..."
Upon the sight, Grigoriy rushed to the counter and asked the waiter for a plastic bag, telling him to hurry. As Sheng Yue punched her stomach again, Grigoriy rushed to her side. But it was too late...
BLEGH
Vera who was about to head back to her office became a victim of Sheng Yue's digestive error. She stared blankly at her soup in hand.
The highly acidic stomach juice hit the velvety cream broth. The soup curdled on contact. At the same time, the heat of the soup just made it worse.
Before the smell could spread further, Vera threw the soup to a bin.
Sheng Yue wiped her mouth with a handkerchief,
"Sorry..."
Vera took a deep breath and closed her eyes,
"Choose one. Clean my clothes or work two additional hours for your slacking off earlier."
Sheng Yue furrowed her brows and showed three fingers,
"Technically, it's three hours if I add up the two hours for talking. But what do you mean by cleaning your clothes—"
Sheng Yue's eyes roamed up and down, taking the tainted black coat. She whistled and pretended not to see anything. Vera's shoe tapped on the floor slowly.
The crowd held their breath. A few of them decided to lower their head. Shin Hayato and I watched Sheng Yue squirming in her seat. She forced a smile whilst raising her beer.
Vera crossed her arms, counting down exactly when she gripped on her pen and clipboard.
Sheng Yue clasped her hands and bent over,
"I will clean your clothes ! Absolutely do not give me extra work hours ! My legs are uhh..."
She twisted her ankle and feigned hurt,
"Ouch ! My ankle hurts so much !"
Vera pinched the bridge of her nose and dragged Sheng Yue by the collar,
"You owe me $20. Now hurry up and get on your feet. Don't forget your extra work hour."
Sheng Yue blinked twice at me and Shin Hayato. Even so, Shin Hayato decided to ignore her presence.
On the bright side, the tension has been reduced and I can discuss a little with Shin Hayato.