Cross Lines

Chapter 4: A Shared Meal

Under the stern gaze of Dr. Emily Luo, Maggie felt increasingly uncomfortable. Although she slightly regretted bringing this trouble upon herself, she couldn’t just get up and leave. She awkwardly touched her forehead and said, “Um… if I remember correctly, it did…”

“Then it probably wasn’t very painful,” Dr. Emily Luo concluded with a neutral expression. This conclusion was rather convincing, leaving Maggie silent and unable to respond for a long while.

Back at the area where her colleagues were gathered, Maggie looked pale. Everyone was watching her with a mix of sympathy and anticipation, struggling to suppress their laughter.

Maggie scanned the room, maintaining her expression, straightened her back, and self-assessed, “Pickup line failed.”

“Hahahahaha!!”

A burst of laughter erupted from the group, with one mischievous person even rolling on the couch, drawing the attention of everyone around. In the design department, where everyone was somewhat eccentric, it was almost expected to have individuals with unconventional personalities. So, the colleagues’ playful teasing of Maggie about her romantic interests was a norm.

Maggie went around and gave each of her insubordinate colleagues a light pat, then sat down. She noticed an empty seat where Dr. Emily Luo had been sitting and was surprised to find it empty. She hadn’t noticed when Dr. Luo had left and shook her head.

The Topo Bar was usually a casual place, but because of Eva’s connections, it sometimes attracted a crowd of similar people. Maggie also enjoyed hanging out here and wondered if she might run into Dr. Luo again.

However, that wasn’t her concern at the moment. She turned her attention back to enjoying the lively interaction with her colleagues. Eva glanced over with a subtle smile, his expression blending with the swirling smoke, a hint of a smile at the corner of his lips.

Yafu Group was primarily a furniture production and trading company. In addition to a global sales network, it was also involved in real estate and transportation. In recent years, its performance had steadily increased, making it a leading enterprise in its industry. Like many domestic businesses, Yafu was family-run. The founder, Seymour Gao, was the chairman and CEO. His eldest daughter, Jasmine Gao, and nephew, Peter Gao, served as vice presidents overseeing sales and production, respectively. His youngest daughter, Qiqi Gao, and son-in-law, Leo, were responsible for finance and administration. The decision-making body was essentially composed of the Gao's family.

Inevitably, the various drawbacks of a family business were evident in the company. The most likely heirs to the Gao's family fortune were surrounded by internal factions and power struggles. Despite Yafu Group being founded by Seymour, he had no sons. His two daughters, despite their competence, were not favored by his father, Martin Gao. Martin Gao, who had spent his life farming in the countryside, held deep-seated patriarchal beliefs that even influenced his son. He insisted that his grandson should inherit the family business simply because he bore the Gao surname.

However, even though his nephew was close, it was still distant. Qiqi's impressive achievements in recent years and Qiqi's potential since returning from abroad left Seymour uncertain about the succession issue. This indecision led to factions forming within the company’s senior management, each aligning themselves with different power bases and engaging in a covert battle for advancement.

Maggie joined the company right after university. Her performance during the internship was excellent, and she was retained in the design department after a thorough evaluation led by Qiqi. By all accounts, she should be considered part of Qiqi's faction. However, the design department was small and less influential. Maggie and Zachary were both disinclined to engage in office politics. They avoided offending anyone but also kept their distance from others. This made the design department somewhat insignificant and less valuable as a power base. Consequently, the atmosphere in the department was much more relaxed compared to the broader company environment. Though there were still some power struggles, they were minimal and relatively inconsequential.

Qiqi's attitude towards Maggie could be summed up in two words: “Neglect.” Of course, the company’s second-in-command wouldn’t overly focus on any single employee. However, occasionally, Qiqi would exhibit behaviors that went beyond typical supervisory relationships. For instance, she might call Maggie for trivial conversations or invite her to semi-public gatherings that seemed out of place for Maggie’s level.

Maggie didn’t find this unusual or stressful. She was sociable and saw it as a chance to make more friends. The gossipers in the company often speculated, but Maggie didn’t take it to heart.

With Zachary's designs moving into the production phase, Maggie was stationed at the office. At lunch, she went to the cafeteria with her stainless steel lunchbox and a few colleagues, chatting while waiting in line. Seeing her favorite baked pumpkin on the menu, her mood lifted instantly. The food provided by Yafu Group was quite good—balanced with fresh and hygienic options. There were also fruits available, but only for consumption within the cafeteria.

After getting a red bean bun as her main dish, Maggie was walking towards her seat with a bowl of tomato and egg soup when someone swiftly moved past her. Reflexively, she pulled back, but some of the soup spilled. Fortunately, the soup wasn’t too hot, and it didn’t spill on her clothes. Maggie frowned at the mess on her hand when a voice rang out, “Sorry, did I burn you?”

Unlike the typical flustered response to such situations, the gentle voice carried a calm and composed tone. Maggie looked up and saw it was Lola, the new person who had started a few days ago.

“Oh, it’s fine.”

Maggie smiled, intending to leave. It was a minor issue that could be resolved by washing her hands. However, Lola didn’t move aside.

“I was moving too quickly, sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

“Then—would you like to have lunch together?”

Maggie was a bit surprised but couldn’t refuse since Lola had extended the invitation.

“Sure, I’ll sit over there,” she pointed to a nearby seat. “You can go ahead, I need to wash my hands.”

“Okay, I’ll take your bowl over,” Lola said, taking the soup bowl from Maggie’s hands and pointing to the bean bun. “You can keep this, to avoid hygiene issues.”

“Oh, okay.”

Maggie agreed after a brief pause, thinking that Lola was quite polite. After washing her hands, she joined Lola at the table, and they began their meal.

Several men from the sales department glanced over, likely curious to see the new beauty at the company. Maggie, who was used to such attention, didn’t mind, but it was rare for Lola to eat so naturally in the midst of unfamiliar faces.

“Do you need to change your clothes?” Lola asked, noticing some red oil stains on Maggie’s white shirt cuffs.

“Huh? Oh, no need.”

“It might be hard to get out after a while.”

“I’ll use some detergent on the cuffs later.”

Maggie was happily eating her pumpkin strips, and a bit of dirt on her clothes didn’t dampen her mood.

“The work uniform I was given is still in my office. You can go get it if you’d like to change,” Lola suggested, seeming a bit apologetic.

“Really, it’s no trouble, don’t worry about it.”

Maggie smiled and changed the subject, “How are you finding it here at the company?”

“Not bad, the colleagues are quite friendly.”

That was probably just surface-level friendliness. In the translation room, where there were more women than men, and considering Lola’s appearance, people might have envied her in private. But outwardly, Maggie nodded, “That’s good.”

“Maggie, how long have you been with Yafu?”

“More than six years.”

After swallowing the soup, Maggie answered, “So, what do you think of the company?”

Lola’s question made Maggie slightly awkward. Considering they weren’t very familiar, and Lola was often seen with the top boss, it felt strange to criticize the company. Nonetheless, she offered a diplomatic response, “Of course, it’s good. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have stayed so long.”

“Oh…”

Maggie thought about how to handle the next question but found that Lola fell silent after her “oh,” leaving the atmosphere a bit awkward. Maggie wasn’t fond of asking personal questions, especially to strangers. Since this was only their second meeting, making small talk felt challenging. After some thought, she asked a nearly irrelevant question, “Do you study foreign languages?”

Lola smiled, “Yes, I’m studying Japanese, and my second language is Korean.”

Nodding, Maggie suddenly asked, “How do you properly pronounce ‘やめて’ (Yamete, means stop it)?”

Lola choked a bit on her food, barely stopping herself from spitting it out. Her face turned red, and she looked at Maggie, initially thinking she must have misheard. But seeing Maggie’s eager, innocent eyes waiting for an answer, Lola couldn’t maintain her composure. After calming down, she responded, “Well—”

“This is hard to say here, right?” Maggie kindly understood. “How about you record it and send it to me later? My phone number is in the company directory.”

With a smile, Maggie finished her last pumpkin strip and was satisfied with her lunch. She cleaned her dishes, added an apple to her lunchbox, and winked at the still-flustered Lola, then sauntered back to her office.

Finally regaining her composure, Lola let out a self-deprecating laugh and shook her head. What Lily had said was indeed true—the design department was full of odd characters.