I Accepted It Already Chapter 3

Austin finished the barbecue with tears in his eyes. He didn't eat much meat, but he sweated a lot.

Aria is a person who changes her personality when she drinks. After half a glass of beer, she asked for more with shining eyes. Everyone refused her sternly. Finally, Nathan and Rita worked together to stuff her into the taxi. Some people were sent away, some were sent home, and finally only Austin and Nathan were left on the roadside.  

Nathan was still thinking about the unfinished cigarette. He held the cigarette in his mouth, raised his chin, and motioned Austin to go first.

Austin didn't leave, but looked at him eagerly. He shook the cigarette box, but no cigarette came out, so he shrugged. Austin scratched his wig in frustration. Seeing this, Nathan said, "Take off the wig, isn't it hot?"

Austin smiled and said, "No."

Nathan didn't know what tricks he was going to play next. He glanced at him without saying anything and thought, it's up to you to pick it if you want.

"I'm afraid you won't like it after reading it." Austin said.

Nathan exhaled a puff of smoke, squinted at him through the white mist, but said nothing in the end. He quickly put out the cigarette, hailed a taxi and drove away. In the rearview mirror, Austin was waving goodbye to him vigorously under the street light, with a kind of heartless cheerfulness.

Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose with a headache, thinking, I haven't finished smoking that cigarette again.

Before they got home, Rita had already pulled Austin into their work group. Aria sent a bunch of garbled text, obviously very drunk. Nathan tagged her and said, "There will be a topic selection meeting tomorrow morning. If you are late, you will be fined."

Austin forcefully invaded their work group and sent three dog emojis in a row, filling the entire screen with joy. Even though no one was talking to him, he replied without thinking: "Got it, I won't be late!"

Nathan casually clicked on his profile picture, which was his Border Collie, and next to the dog was a clay sculpture that looked exactly like the dog. The clay dog   and the real dog sat side by side, and the clay dog   looked kinder. What was the name of the Border Collie with shifty eyes, Nathan wondered.

At this moment, Austin's friend request came.

The friend request reads: Woo woo woo I’m not full.

Nathan didn't accept and replied: Just communicate in the group, I'm afraid others will think I'm taking advantage of you.

Austin replied again: Will you treat me to a meal next time?

Nathan: No, I’m afraid that others will think I’m taking advantage of you.

Austin replied immediately: I’m so hungry.

The taxi driver braked suddenly, and Nathan was severely strangled by the seat belt. Only then did he realize that this was no different from chatting with a friend. He put down his phone and did not reply. A few seconds later, his phone vibrated again. He picked up the phone and saw that the message was from a dating app. It was from Austin: You can take advantage of me. I don’t want to work hard anymore.

Nathan looked up guiltily. The taxi driver was concentrating on cursing the electric car that rushed out diagonally. No one in the world would pay attention to this news except him.

He thought about it and replied: Uncle is old and doesn’t like exciting things.

Austin replied with a screen full of crying emojis.

After a day of work, Nathan was so tired that his whole body was weak. His whole body sank into the passenger seat, and Lucy Liu's classic lines popped up involuntarily in his mind.

Ah, youth.

It’s great to be young.

It is true that he is no longer a senior adult who can easily fall in love with someone. There is no such thing as a free lunch, nor will there be a young, strong and handsome man who pursues you hard. This young handsome man can only be a small snack in Nathan's workplace life. A light taste can keep him energetic, but if he really eats him as a staple food, he will be malnourished.

Nathan lives very close to the company and he didn't spend much time decorating his home, which is simple and clean. When he draws the curtains, he can see the company office in the distance with the lights off through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

After washing up and drinking a glass of water, he suddenly felt that the small house was a little empty.

How about getting a dog?

The thought flashed through his mind and then disappeared quickly.

It's too much trouble, Nathan thought. Raising a dog is no less troublesome than falling in love. You can break up when you are in love, but you have to be responsible to the end when raising a dog. Nathan is a very responsible person, but he will not take responsibility for himself unless it is absolutely necessary. Life is tiring enough, so it's better to take less responsibility.

Before going to bed, he took another look at his phone, and all his social apps were silent.

I felt a little empty inside, but not particularly uncomfortable, just like when you raise a coffee cup to take the last sip, only to find that the cup is empty. I didn't really want to drink it, so it was empty.

The topic selection meeting on the second day went smoothly.

Austin still wore a black wig to work obediently. When he met Nathan downstairs, he smiled and waved. Nathan found that he had a small dimple on his left cheek. He gave up the shirt that didn't fit him well today and changed into a loose black T-shirt. The tattoo on his arm was his dog. He sat obediently, sticking out his tongue heartlessly.

He was very tall, and when he spoke to Nathan, he bent his body slightly, making his shoulders appear straight.

The elevator was packed with people going to work, and everyone was drowsy.

Nathan didn't like physical contact with others. He huddled in the corner of the elevator, thinking about the content of the meeting later. Austin stood next to him, separating everyone like a wall. There were so many people and it was very crowded. Their arms were against each other, and the backs of their hands rubbed against each other. Nathan pulled his hand back and put it in his pocket. He tilted his head and glanced at Austin, who was staring intently at the changing floor numbers.

The office was on the 22nd floor. As soon as the elevator door opened, Austin squeezed out. Nathan followed behind him, taking the path he had squeezed out. He felt that it was ten times easier than squeezing in the elevator when going to work.

"Would you like to add me on WeChat, brother?" Austin suddenly asked.

Nathan defended tightly: "No."

Austin cried out in pain.

During the topic selection meeting, there was no room for interns to interrupt. Austin was responsible for getting coffee takeout for everyone, pouring tea and passing water, and was very considerate to pour a cup of hot tea for the hungover Aria. The job of ordering lunch takeout also fell on Austin's head. Everyone ordered the dishes and sent them to him. He went to place the order and reimbursed him later.

In front of everyone, Austin asked Nathan loudly: "Brother! What did you eat? I'll add you on WeChat, please accept and send it to me."

Nathan put down his phone and said slowly, "Ah, I've already sent it to the group."

Rita, who was busy sorting out the minutes of the meeting, looked up. Nathan exchanged glances with her and then hurriedly turned away, feeling a little guilty. But then he thought, he hadn't done anything bad. Was it an unforgivable sin to seriously reject the pursuit of a young man who was ten years younger than him? He was clearly doing a good deed. 

Austin went to order takeout with a depressed look, while Nathan was in a good mood.

Fun.

It's like a teacher lecturing and students passing notes, or like a boss holding a meeting and talking bad about others with colleagues. It's a very secret sense of alliance, a new way of slacking off at work.

Nathan tapped the table lightly and said, "Come back to your senses. Before the takeaway arrives, let's go over the schedule for next week's activities."

Aria yawned loudly without disguising it, his eyelids were just a millimeter away from closing, and his hands were mechanically tapping on the keyboard. Rita secretly rolled her eyes at him.