Rebirth: Once Again With You

"Hey, are you new here?"

Li Caiyi's heart almost stopped when a woman in her 40s leaned her face closer to examine her. "I have never seen you before. What's your name?"

"Y-yes, I'm new here. My name is Li Nian."

Flustered by the sudden question, Li Caiyi just spouted the first name she could think of. The older woman squinted her eyes full of judgment.

"Hm, if you are new, why didn't you come and greet us. Not very polite of you, huh?"

"Ah, I'm sorry for my rudeness. I was too occupied with the cleaning."

The older woman scoffed. "I saw you more preoccupied in gawking at the men instead of cleaning, though?"

Li Caiyi got tongue-tied by the woman's sharp words. She hadn't been here for more than an hour, but it seemed she had incited someone's displeasure. There was no time to deal with this person, yet she could only watch helplessly as Dai Zhiqiang walked out of the room.

"What? Are you interested in that young man? Let me tell you, that one is no good. Other than frowning or scolding, he rarely said anything. He is grumpier than most of the grumpy old men here."

"No, I'm not interested in him."

The older woman waved her hand. "You don't have to be ashamed. Almost every female staff here has one or two people they fancy. It was rare to meet someone like you who openly has their eyes on the youngster, but I respect people's preferences."

Li Caiyi grimaced, unsure whether she to deny or roll along with it.

"But you look very young yourself. How old are you?"

"Many people said that, but I'm actually 37."

The older woman gasped in disbelief. "I can't believe you are only 6 years younger than me. If I don't know the rules of this place, I must have already thought you are a teenager."

She stared at Li Caiyi somewhat pitifully before saying, "You should go outside more and find yourself a man. Even a woman with a mediocre look like me can have a husband, so I'm sure you will too. Admiring is okay, but don't spend too much time watching youngsters."

'This lady is pretty rude. I have to get away from her.'

Li Caiyi maintained her facial expression to remain neutral. "I'm sorry, but I still have another task to do. If you'll excuse me."

"Hey, wait! Why are you in such a hurry? It's almost time for lunch. I will need some help in the kitchen. You follow me too."

The older woman clasped her hand and forcefully pulled her along with her. Li Caiyi's strength was no match for her at all.

"Uhm, but I was instructed to clean the hallway after this."

"Really? But lunchtime is always the busiest time in the day because we have so many people to feed. Who's assigned you with that task?"

Once again, Li Caiyi was tongue-tied, and the older woman's eyes squinted even deeper. "I knew it. You are just making an excuse to chase after that young man, right?"

"No! I was instructed by someone named Mr. Lin. That person!" Li Caiyi quickly added while pointing at Lin Xiang, who seemed busy talking with someone.

The older woman threw her hand before shooting a sharp glare at her. "How could you make up lies like that? Everyone knew that Mr. Lin had no interest in stuff like this. A newbie like you really needs to learn some discipline."

"But I'm not lying. We can ask Mr. Lin—"

"No but! You will follow me to the kitchen whether you like it or not, and that's final!"

The older woman didn't give her time to refute anymore and dragged her away. Li Caiyi tried to call Lin Xiang a few times, but the bald man seemed to have forgotten his promise to back her up.

Ultimately, she could only admit defeat and followed the older woman to the kitchen.

***

Three hours later, Li Caiyi couldn't feel her arms anymore. The lady from before wasn't joking when she said lunchtime was the busiest time of the day. Thus they needed every extra hand available.

On this occasion, Lin Caiyi was glad she wasn't brought up like a completely sheltered young lady. But washing the dishes for dozens of men who kept coming and going for three hours straight wasn't an easy task. Not to mention these men's appetite was as big as their body.

"Good job. You looked dainty and weak, but you pulled it through well."

The woman from before sat beside her and took off her mask. "You'll get used to this after a few days, don't worry. Here, drink this."

Li Caiyi stared at the woman beside her and accepted a glass of water from her. "Thank you."

Around this time, the cafeteria was pretty much deserted, only leaving the staff behind to clean up the place. Li Caiyi thought this might be a good time to probe some information.

"Excuse me, Ma'am, but I didn't see that youngster in the cafeteria today, or did I just miss him?"

"Wow, you really have your eyes on him, huh? That's not good. There must be at least a 20 years age gap between the two of you."

Li Caiyi ignored the disdain in the woman's eyes and plastered an amused smile. "No, it's just that the young man is kind of similar to my younger brother, so I can't help but feel worried when I don't see him coming to eat."

"What? So it's like that? That youngster is a special case. Just like Mr. Lin, he never eats his lunch in the cafeteria with other people. They are the big boss' most trustable men, so they usually eat in separate rooms. You can call it a privilege."

"I see. But that youngster is still so young. How can he be more trustable than other men here?"

Her question flipped the switch within the older woman as she leaned closer with a gossipy look on her face.