Chapter 393 Girlfriend

Chapter 393 Girlfriend

Erik stood at the entrance gate, feeling flustered. "It's too late, I... I won't go up."

Lily was helpless. "Erik, what are you afraid of? I'm not going to eat you alive. If anyone should be scared, it should be me. Come up, I'll give you the hangover remedy."

"Okay." Erik responded woodenly.

He walked into the elevator. As the doors slowly closed, each change of number on the screen made Erik more nervous, until it stopped at Lily's floor.

Lily stood at the door in her home clothes. It was Erik's first time at her place. Lily took out a pair of disposable slippers and placed them on the doormat.

"Come in, have a seat." After saying this, Lily went to the kitchen.

Erik sat stiffly on the sofa like an elementary school student, sitting up straight with his hands on his knees.

He kept glancing toward the kitchen, wondering what Lily was doing. Before long, she came out with a cup.

She placed the cup on the coffee table and said, "Drink this."

"Thank you." Erik saw the dark brown liquid in the cup. When he picked it up, it was too hot to hold, so he put it down again.

Lily said, "Let it cool down a bit, it's hot."

She sat on the sofa across from Erik, with the coffee table between them.

Erik felt too embarrassed to look at her, his eyes had nowhere to rest.

Lily asked, "What did you say on the intercom just now?"

Erik's hands on his knees slowly clenched into fists, his palms starting to sweat. He asked cautiously, "Can I... can I pursue you?"

Lily said, "Haven't you been pursuing me all along?"

Erik was stunned.

He blinked. "Then... would you be my girlfriend?"

Lily said, "I would."

Erik's head buzzed. He didn't know if it was the alcohol kicking in or if he was too excited, but he was so happy that his mind went blank and he couldn't react.

Seeing Erik's lack of response, Lily repeated, "I would."

A smile appeared at the corners of Erik's mouth.

Lily asked, "So?"

"What?" Erik finally looked up. He stared at Lily blankly. "So what?"

Lily said, "You know you have a girlfriend now, and your reaction is this cold?"

Erik smiled. "Thank you."

Lily put her hand to her forehead. "I really wonder, if you're this calm when we're dating in the future, I'll feel like there's no passion and I'll doubt that you like me."

Erik gripped the sofa armrest and leaned forward. "No, I'm very excited, very happy. I really like you... Don't doubt it."

Lily smiled, crossed her arms, and looked Erik over.

She wasn't a young girl who would lose her head over a man's sweet words.

Like Jack overseas—he had settled there permanently and obviously couldn't come back, and he knew she wouldn't leave her parents. But he still confessed his feelings and flirted with her. His momentary interest was irresponsible toward her.

Erik's feelings were more reserved. He had been quietly giving and accompanying her in daily life. Even so, Lily didn't immediately show her intentions, but used time to test him.

Lily's first test began. "You didn't go home?"

Erik said, "I went back, but I didn't want to wait anymore. I wanted to ask about your feelings."

"Now you know how I feel. Are you relieved?"

Erik nodded. "Relieved."

Lily suddenly smiled with narrowed eyes. "I'm your girlfriend now, so stay here tonight."

Erik's heart jumped to his throat. He swallowed hard. "I can't, I have to go back to feed my cat."

Lily was very satisfied with his response. "You have a cat?"

Erik said, "No."

Lily asked, "Then why did you say you're going back to feed your cat?"

Erik still felt dry-mouthed. He licked his lips before saying, "We just started dating. It's better to slow down the pace. I don't want things to develop too fast, I'm afraid you'll regret it."

His favorability in Lily's heart instantly increased. "You can drink the hangover remedy now."

Erik picked up the cup and tentatively drank it.

The clock approached ten. The two sat there awkwardly.

Erik looked around the room. A girl's living space was neat and clean, with few decorations. It looked more like a temporary place for Lily.

This apartment was rented by Lily. She had been traveling everywhere with Leopold on business trips. For now, it seemed she could settle down in Seaside City for a while.

Erik's gaze finally met Lily's eyes. She was staring at him with a half-smile. Erik smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

Lily asked him, "What are you smiling about?"

Erik said, "I'm happy seeing you. I thought..."

Lily said, "You thought I would end up with Oscar?"

Erik made a sound of agreement. "He was too direct. I was afraid he'd steal you away."

Lily said, "If he stole me away, what would you do?"

Erik hesitated for a moment. "I don't want to discuss this kind of hypothetical."

Lily said, "You're too serious. Just casual chat."

Erik remembered Lily saying that being with him was too calm, without passion. He quickly replied, "I wouldn't give him a chance. Didn't I come find you?"

Lily said, "Actually, I don't say yes to just anyone who pursues me. If I didn't have feelings for you, you wouldn't have a chance."

Erik's pupils widened. Reading between the lines of Lily's words, she meant she liked him too.

He took off his glasses and pinched his aching brow. When he looked up again, his eyes and eyebrows were full of smiles.

Lily said, "You're that happy?"

Erik said, "I am pretty happy." He asked again, "How will you tell Oscar tomorrow?"

Lily said, "Tell him the truth."

Erik smiled. "Good."

Noticing the time on his phone, Erik stood up and said, "It's getting late. You should rest. I'll head back."

Lily walked him to the door. As he changed his shoes, she said, "Going back to feed your cat?"

Erik straightened up. There was a height difference between them, so Lily had to look up to face him.

He brushed a strand of Lily's hair aside, his deep eyes looking into hers. "I'm leaving now."

Lily's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Being stared at by him at close range, she really felt her heart flutter. "Drive safe."

Erik left Lily's home. After walking for a bit, he turned back and saw a figure standing by the window. He raised his hand and waved.

He received a WhatsApp message from Lily: [See you tomorrow.]

Erik replied: [See you tomorrow, girlfriend.]

He changed Lily's contact name to: Girlfriend.

The next day.

Before the routine morning meeting ended, Erik said, "I'll take a minute of everyone's time to announce some good news."

Leopold smiled meaningfully. His eyes moved between Lily and Erik's faces. From the moment these two entered the company together this morning, he felt something was off.

Erik said, "Let me introduce everyone to my girlfriend, Lily."

Leopold applauded. "Welcome."

Liam also clapped. "Congratulations."

Only Oscar looked sad. "When did you two start dating?"

Erik said, "Last night."

Oscar nodded. "Right, I knew when you gave me that designated driver job, you were up to no good."

Erik said, "What does this have to do with the designated driver? If Lily didn't like me, she wouldn't have said yes."

Leopold laughed loudly. Compared to the scene at the restaurant that day, today's scene was even more entertaining.

Lily stood up and said, "At the company, we're just colleagues. Only after work are we girlfriend and boyfriend. We promise not to let our office romance affect the company's development."

Oscar said, "Your office romance really doesn't affect the company's development, but it affects employees' mental health."

Liam put his arm around Oscar's shoulder. "I'm single too. Tomorrow, have Leopold hire two more female employees to solve the personal problems of us single male employees. By the way, Lily, when you post the job ad, add a line: successful hires get a boyfriend."