When Jamie took out the packed meals from town, Sara's first thought was that she'd owe him two meals for this.
The food was still hot. It took twenty minutes to drive from town to Xihe Village, so Sara guessed he must have bought the meals last. Despite his seemingly aloof demeanor, he was quite considerate.
Jamie had been busy all afternoon and hadn't eaten, so he bought two portions for dinner. Sara took a bite of the chicken noodle soup and the barbecue ribs, and her eyes lit up with joy., her eyes narrowing in happiness. "Jamie, you have to try this. It's so nice!"
Jamie paused for a moment, then reached over and took a bite. Under her expectant gaze, he swallowed the barbecue ribs, a dish he had never really liked because of its smokiness. He calmly said, "Yeah, it's alright."
Sara was pleased with his response and put several more pieces of ribs into his bowl. "You worked so hard to get this, have some more," she said with a grin.
Jamie glanced at her, and under her bright smile, he lowered his head and finished all the meat. Feeling a bit queasy, he took several gulps of the bottled water beside him before slowly saying, "You're good at re-gifting, aren't you?"
"That's a misunderstanding!" Sara pouted, feeling wronged. "I planned to treat you to a meal. Once I recover in a couple of days, you can say whatever you want to eat!"
"Anything?"
"Of course!" Sara said, then added with a laugh, "Just don't make it too expensive, I can't afford that."
Jamie chuckled softly, his eyes half-curved behind his glasses, carrying an ambiguous emotion. "Don't worry. What I want to eat is very simple."
Today, he was dressed more casually, losing a bit of his usual restraint. His smile made him look like a gentle young man, reducing Sara's remaining vigilance from five to two. She nodded eagerly. "Sure, just tell me Miss Rose when you want to eat, and I'll treat you!"
Jamie raised his eyelids and gave her a sidelong glance, his voice calm. "Miss Rose?"
The doubt in his tone immediately made Sara bristle. Over the years, her youthful appearance had often caused her trouble. Even new interns at the company subconsciously looked down on her, calling others "Miss X " but calling her "Sara." So, she was particularly sensitive about this. She widened her eyes and pretended to be fierce, slapping the table.
"What? I'm three years older than you. You should show me some respect!" She raised her chin. "Call me that right now!"
Jamie peeled a shrimp and placed it in her bowl, then picked up another to peel, reminding her, "Eat the shrimp."
"You can't shut me up with shrimp!" Sara aggressively picked up the shrimp and chewed it hard. Feeling indignant, a phrase she had heard before slipped out without thinking. "A younger guy like you not showing respect, that's pretty bold."
Jamie's hand paused for a few seconds before he continued peeling as if he hadn't heard anything.
After she said it, Sara realized her words sounded a bit ambiguous and regretted it immediately, mentally scolding herself.
She had this flaw of speaking without a filter around people she felt close to. Although she hadn't spent much time with the grown-up Jamie, the short time they'd been together had given her the illusion of closeness, leading to her inappropriate remark.
Luckily, he seemed not to have heard. She breathed a sigh of relief and kept her mouth shut, focusing solely on her meal.
