Chapter 20 — Collaborate.
Jian Yan stared at this line on the computer screen, her mind inadvertently racing with distracting thoughts.
Will there be such a person to slowly grow old with her?
If this had been a month ago, her answer would certainly have been to deny it, but now, for some mysterious reason, He Xiu"s face appeared in her mind.
&h.e.l.lip;Today, she had fallen into the trap that was He Xiu"s face and couldn"t escape.
Tang Zhi: 「 I hope that there will be such a person (ノへ￣、) 」
Nan Si: 「There definitely will be :)」
Nan Si: 「I will no longer disturb Teacher then. Teacher should rest early ^_^」
Tang Zhi: 「Okay ^_^」
After she sent this message, Nan Si"s profile picture turned grey. Jian Yan opened the demo she had just downloaded and listened while opening her drawing software.
Just when she had finished listening to the twenty minute long demo of the first episode, she also finished drawing a portrait.
Of He Xiu.
This was the first time Jian Yan had drawn a man who existed in reality. Since his face had continually appeared before her eyes today, she didn"t mind using him to perfect her drawing.
She stared at her realistic portrait for a short while before once again playing the demo. Sure enough, she still couldn"t do two things at once. Just now, she had been so preoccupied with drawing that she had completely ignored the demo"s audio.
After listening to it, her first reaction was to send a message to Sesame Paste. She then closed the drawing she had just drawn of He Xiu and began adding details to her Christmas Celebration ill.u.s.tration.
The next morning, she still had the early shift. During the early morning routine, the site manager announced that Director He Xiu was inviting all the employees of Fantasy Wardrobe to a meal. Because everyone was divided into two shifts for work, dinner would also be divided into two meals. This evening was their shift"s turn.
He Xiu had previously told Jian Yan that he was going to treat everyone to food again, but she hadn"t expected it to be so soon. Upon hearing that Director He was treating them all to a meal, her colleagues were elated, and morale as they worked in the morning was higher than normal.
At noon, Jian Yan still ate in the dining hall with He Xiu. He Xiu drank his soup before asking her, "Is there anything you want to eat tonight?"
Her colleagues had been discussing this question for a long time in the morning. Jian Yan recalled the option that had the highest amount of votes and said to He Xiu, "Everyone seems to want to eat at Lily"s Barbecue."
He Xiu couldn"t help but chuckle. "Lily"s Barbecue belongs to Starlight General Merchandise. You all really know how to save me trouble."
""Eh&h.e.l.lip;"
"But since all of you want to eat there, I will comply with popular will." After He Xiu finished speaking, he glanced at Jian Yan"s lunchbox. "You"re eating so much right now; will you still be able to eat later?"
He had realized that a large majority of female staff had not come to the dining hall for lunch in order to be able to eat his treated meal in the evening.
Jian Yan was completely carefree. "Don"t worry. My friend frequently says my stomach is 128G."
He Xiu: "&h.e.l.lip;"
Then he must experience this later.
After eating lunch with Jian Yan in the dining hall, he tidied up his lunchbox and returned to his office. Before he reached the doorway of his office, his phone rang from his coat pocket. He retrieved it and glanced at the screen. Tang Zheng was calling. He decided to let it continue ringing.
Only when he had opened the door and placed his lunchbox on the office desk did He Xiu calmly accept the call. "What is the matter?"
He had let the phone to ring for such a long time before picking up, but Tang Zheng did not get angry because he currently had a complaint that he was even more furious over. "I already cannot understand what my parents are thinking! Today, they had the nerve to directly bring a prospective marriage partner to our home!"
He Xiu chuckled and said, "Maybe they are really worried about you not being able to find a wife. May the heavens have pity on your parents" hearts."
Tang Zheng: "&h.e.l.lip;"
"Who said I cannot find a wife? Tomorrow, I will bring a girl home to them."
He Xiu chuckled but didn"t speak. Tang Zheng continued, "Say, why do you think they are this anxious? I am 29 this year, not 49!"
He Xiu said, "Perhaps if you spent a bit more energy on the business, they would not urge you to so hastily find a wife."
Tang Zheng: "&h.e.l.lip;"
He wiped his face. "It"s better to spend a lot more time and effort in finding a girlfriend to bring back and deal with them."
"Tang Zheng, 29 is not young anymore. Do you plan to continue like this?"
Tang Zheng was silent for a moment before saying, "I understand their intentions. They cannot bear to see me manage a studio, but VOICE is also something I spent much of my heart"s blood for. I am highly reluctant to give it up."
"You don"t need to give it up. You can find a trustworthy person to take it over."
"You?"
He Xiu: "&h.e.l.lip;"
"Let"s no longer speak of this. The more we talk about it, the angrier I become." Tang Zheng sighed and switched to another topic. "Have you eaten? Let"s go out and eat together."
"I just finished eating in the dining hall."
"&h.e.l.lip;You went to the dining hall to eat?"
"Mn, a very pleasant experience."
Tang Zheng: "&h.e.l.lip;"
Master He verily stands out from the ma.s.ses. He once again wiped his face and said, "Then let"s go out for some fun tonight. I"ll treat you to dinner and a ball game."
He Xiu still ruthlessly rejected him. "Tonight, I am eating together with my staff. I don"t have the time to keep you company."
Tang Zheng: "&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;"
"Who is more important, your staff or me?!" Tang Zheng, fl.u.s.tered and exasperated, asked him.
He Xiu chose without the slightest hesitation. "Staff. They can help me earn money, what about you?"
Tang Zheng: "&h.e.l.lip;"
Fine, their friendship really will reach its end.
"Goodbye!" After he spat this ferociously, he hung up. Ah, after hanging up on He Xiu, he felt very invigorated.
But just then, he had run from home in a rage, and now his belly was hungry&h.e.l.lip; He scrolled down his contacts list. Quite a pack of rogues, but what could he say. There was only He Xiu.
But this guy had just mercilessly rejected him, twice!
While his heart crazily cursed He Xiu, He Xiu sent him a message. 「I"ll treat you to a meal tomorrow night.」
Tang Zheng scoffed arrogantly and sent him a two word reply. 「No need!」
To top it off, he also rolled his eyes.
He Xiu chuckled at his phone and sent a reply. 「Oh, then nevermind.」
Tang Zheng: "&h.e.l.lip;"
He felt that between him and He Xiu, the one who would be unable to find a wife to marry was absolutely He Xiu.
He once again scrolled through his contacts and suddenly caught sight of Lin Zhen"s name. Seemingly thinking of something, his eyes flashed. He called Lin Zhen.
After Lin Zhen had sent Jian Yan home last night, she had made an appointment with a group of friends to sing karaoke. She had then gone to sleep at 4:00AM. Not long after she had woken up, she was in the studio"s kitchenette boiling water to cook noodles. Hearing her phone ring, she casually accepted the call. "h.e.l.lo."
Tang Zheng"s lips rose into a smile as he courteously said to her, "Chief Lin, do you still remember me? I am Tang Zheng."
Lin Zhen rapidly connected who these two words represented and nodded, saying, "Oh, Head Tang. Of course I remember."
A smile blossomed on Tang Zheng"s face. "Last time, you said you wanted us to have more opportunities for collaboration. Right now I have a matter that I want to collaborate with you on."
Hearing the word "collaborate," Lin Zhen"s spirit uplifted slightly. "Elaborate."
"It"s a bit hard to explain over the phone, could we meet face-to-face?"
Lin Zhen thought for a moment and said, "I"m at my studio right now. If it"s convenient for you, you can come here."
Tang Zheng was truly a bit interested in Zhen Guo studio, so he readily agreed. "Okay, it shouldn"t take me very long to get there. I"ll contact you when I do."
"Okay."
Sure enough, Tang Zheng soon arrived. At that time, Lin Zhen had just placed noodles into the pot. She had not even managed to begin eating the noodles when she received a call from Tang Zheng.
Tang Zheng was interested in a poster pinned up outside the studio. Each poster"s art style and subject matter was distinctive but also very refined. They should be the works of all the manhua artists under Zhen Guo"s banner.
He was still admiring Tang Zhi"s poster when Lin Zhen hurriedly exited the building. "I apologize, Head Tang, for making you wait a long while."
Tang Zheng shook his head and said to her, "This is the first time I have come to a manhua studio; it"s a very novel experience."
Lin Zhen smiled and immediately led him on a tour inside. There were still manhua artists working in the studio, so the two of them deliberately spoke softly. Tang Zheng"s gaze swept across their work desks before settling on a large bookshelf leaning against the wall.
There were an abundance of books stacked within. Some were specialty and resource books, but many were manhuas. He didn"t know why, but after touring this studio, he suddenly became even more unwilling to give up his own studio.
He walked into Lin Zhen"s office, where a bowl of noodles was still letting off steam on her desk. Lin Zhen became somewhat embarra.s.sed. She walked up and said, "Eh, I apologize. I had just cooked noodles&h.e.l.lip;"
Tang Zheng said, "I am also apologetic for choosing to come at lunch."
Lin Zhen thought for a moment. They really could"ve met up outside at a restaurant&h.e.l.lip; She had just made the mistake of being too lazy.
"We should go out to eat instead. Head Tang also shouldn"t have had eaten yet, right?" Lin Zhen asked.
Tang Zheng remarked, "Then what about your noodles?"
"This thing, whether it is eaten or not&h.e.l.lip;"
"Then wouldn"t it be wasted? It smells very appetizing."
Lin Zhen: "&h.e.l.lip;"
"Ah, smelling it makes me even hungrier. Do you mind if I taste a bit?"
"I mind!" Lin Zhen hurriedly covered the bowl with a lid and then turned her head to say to him, "If we eat these noodles, we might not be able to talk about our collaboration."
Tang Zheng: "&h.e.l.lip;"
Is this&h.e.l.lip;some strange debuff?
"We better go out to eat." Lin Zhen led Tang Zheng downstairs and to a Chinese restaurant. After ordering a few dishes, she finally had the time to ask, "What kind of collaboration does Head Tang want to discuss with me?"
Tang Zheng smiled and said, "Chief Lin has recently also been urged to marry, no? I was thinking if the both of us could join hands to deceive our families."
Lin Zhen had never dreamed that the collaboration he had spoken of was this type of collaboration. Luckily, she was also a veteran of a hundred battles and reacted very quickly. "Head Tang"s idea is for us to pretend to be lovers?"
"That"s right." Tang Zheng had thought of this earlier, but he was afraid that if he randomly found someone, they would ultimately fall in love with him, which would be troublesome.
After all, he was very charming.
But if the partner was Lin Zhen, then this type of situation was unlikely to happen because she liked women!
Pertaining to this collaboration, he and Lin Zhen discussed for a very long time. While they discussed the particulars of this collaboration, He Xiu also had the privilege of experiencing Jian Yan"s 128G stomach. 1
No, how was this 128G? It was clearly 256G&h.e.l.lip;
Author"s Note:
Although Tang Zheng and He Xiu are of similar age, Tang Zheng has been spoiled since he was a child by his family and has not experienced much. He is still much like a child.
Moonclipse"s comment: He Xiu must be ve~e~ry happy because, you know, Jian Yan can "eat" a lot&h.e.l.lip;. ↩