As dawn approached, the wind picked up, and tree branches rattled against the window. Mu Wen stood up from her computer and stretched, her messy topknot wobbling with the movement. She quickly pressed a hand to her head and muttered, "Ugh, I'm dizzy."
She cracked the window open a sliver, and the wind rushed in, making her take a quick breath. The breakfast shop under White Stone Bridge had already opened, steam rising in wisps. She glanced back at the computer—the rendering had just finished, and her stomach conveniently began to growl.
She organized her files, copied them onto a drive, and placed it in her mentor Lin Weisen's drawer. Then she sent him an email, adding at the end: Master, you promised to bring me to meet clients. If you keep making me draw all day, I quit! Xiao Qiao's mentor already took her to measure a site!
She snapped her laptop shut with a huff and stuffed it into her backpack, stumbling slightly as she hoisted it on—the computer was too heavy. As she stepped out of the office building, another gust of mischievous wind hit her. She hugged her shoulders and scurried to the breakfast shop, buying two eggplant buns and a cup of soy milk. Standing at the bus stop, she wolfed down the buns while waiting. The eggplant buns tasted just like her mother Ge Yunqing's cooking. Not full yet, she turned around and ran back to buy one more.
At six in the morning, the city was just beginning to stir. A sprinkler truck passed by her, and she hopped aside to avoid the spray, landing at the curb. The bus was nearly empty, so she picked a window seat, hugged her big backpack, and leaned her head against the window, drifting into a drowsy sleep. The conductor's voice announcing stops wove through her light slumber, and before she knew it, she was at Suzhou Street.
As she entered the building, she ran into her roommate Chu Ling, an editor at a well-known website. Just as she was about to greet her, Chu Ling shoved a washed apple into her hand and hurried off, saying, "I'm late for my morning shift! Eat it after you wake up!"
"Thanks!" Mu Wen waved at her. "Let's go get some spicy skewers from the back alley tonight!"
Thinking of the lively little alley packed with delicious food made her happy. She stepped into the apartment and heard screams and curses inside. Before she could react, a pale, greasy figure bumped into her and ran off. Mu Wen instinctively moved to chase after him, but the new girl from the next room grabbed her arm.
"Don't chase him—I've called the police." The girl's hair was dripping wet, and she was wrapped in a towel. She spat in disgust, "What a creep!" Mu Wen freed one hand to help her adjust the towel and comforted her, "Don't be scared, don't be scared."
It was the pervert's second visit.
The first time, Mu Wen had also just come back from a late night shift. She had barely settled into her top bunk when she heard a commotion outside the curtain—someone said there was a pervert. The police arrived quickly and caught him in the underground garage, but it turned out he was mentally ill, so the case was dropped.
Her rental was a large three-bedroom apartment with the living room divided into two single rooms, going for 1,000 yuan a month. She rented the south-facing master bedroom, which had four bunk beds housing eight people. She slept on the top bunk, paying 350 yuan a month.
Mu Wen didn't want to rent anything too expensive.
Her job required her to pull all-nighters almost every day. She only went back to her place to sleep. Her roommates were either studying at Renmin University's study halls or heading out to work, so the room was quiet enough.
With the curtain drawn, it became her own little world. She first took out the 500-yuan bonus she'd received yesterday and tucked it into another bag, happily calculating that after saving for two more months, she could head to Zhongguancun to build a new computer. Her old one was too heavy and too slow—it frustrated her every time she used it.
The run-in with the "creep" hadn't fully driven away her drowsiness. She just washed up briefly, climbed into bed, and fell into a deep sleep. At 3:30 in the afternoon, her mentor Lin Weisen's call woke her, telling her to meet him in Wanliu to see a client.
Mu Wen's eyes flew open. She sat up with a grin and asked loudly, "Really?"
"Really."
"Master, are you afraid I'll quit? Are you afraid you'll never find an intern as good as me again?" She shrugged, wedged the phone between her cheek and shoulder, yanked open the curtain, and hopped down the little ladder.
Lin Weisen laughed on the other end. "Yes, yes, your email scared me to death."
Mu Wen gave a smug little hum.
She was smart, hardworking, and easygoing—she never held anything back. When Lin Weisen kept putting off taking her to meet clients, she pushed him to move forward. What did she have to fear? Could it be harder than getting into a top university from their small fourth-tier city?
"Master, wait for me—I'll be there on time!" She hung up, grabbed her washbasin, flicked a towel over her shoulder, and headed to the bathroom. By the time she appeared before Lin Weisen, her face was fresh and radiant.
The wind was strong, and she didn't want her hair to turn into a "Mei Chaofeng" mess, so she rolled it up on top of her head again, making her face look fuller and cuter. White shirt, jeans, and a beige trench coat over it all. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she sought Lin Weisen's approval: "Master, how do I look? Not embarrassing you, right?"
Lin Weisen was amused by her. He gave her a thumbs-up. "Very solid."
Mu Wen was different from the other interns he had brought along before. In her eyes, flames flickered constantly, as if she wanted to burn everything she saw. That ambition, which might one day blaze into a wildfire, was vigorous and full of life, yet not off-putting.
"This client's work is basically half the year domestically, half abroad. He's in the art field and doesn't talk much. Today he came on short notice to accompany us for the measurement. He has other properties. This apartment is about 150 square meters with simple decoration. The client wants everything torn out and redone. When we go in, try to listen and take notes as much as possible, and help Xiao Gu and the others with the measurements." Lin Weisen instructed Mu Wen, but then smiled and added, "You're smart enough—just keep your eyes open and figure things out yourself!"
"Got it!" Mu Wen raised her hand in a pledge. "I promise I won't talk! I'll be a mute! I'll study hard!"
Lin Weisen shook his head with a helpless smile.
Her endearing innocence and her burgeoning ambition kept colliding within her—she really was a contradictory person. A strand of hair blew across her face, and she brushed it away with a flat palm like a child, then waved her hand. "Let's go, Master! Charge! Win him over!"
Even so, once she stepped into the elevator lobby, she automatically reined herself in, cleared her throat, and put on a composed demeanor. The door was already open, and the client had disappeared somewhere. She only swept her eyes across the interior once, and her heart immediately felt spacious. She thought of her cramped upper bunk back home—it was only about the size of three tiles in this place. And that "pervert" could never get past the strict security of this gated community.
As Mu Wen bent down to put on her shoe covers, she thought: If only this were my house. When she straightened up, she saw a man walking toward her against the light. The setting sun cast his shadow long behind him, trailing his body as he moved toward her.
He wore a khaki trench coat cinched with a belt at the waist, the collar casually half-upturned, and the buttons of his white shirt underneath undone—like a dashing English gentleman from a film still. Mu Wen's male classmates were still wearing tracksuits and jeans, and her senior colleagues often joked about being "construction rats." She had never seen a living, breathing person in real life dress so well, and it made her whole being light up. It was as if he had dressed up just to please her, awakening her thirst for beauty.
It wasn't until he drew close that she could make out his face. A handsome, sharply defined face. Mu Wen noticed his lips first, because he spoke, and his voice was pleasant too: "Hard work, Engineer Lin. Shall we measure the place first?"
Lin Weisen said yes.
Xiao Gu pulled out tools from his backpack, while Mu Wen took out her notebook and followed them toward the window. She caught a faint, elusive scent from the man—not frivolous, but calming. She stole a glance at him and got caught by her master. He gave her a look, signaling her to mind her expression, and she immediately pressed her lips together. Because of the embarrassment of being caught, the corners of her mouth curled into a sheepish smile.
Xie Chong hadn't noticed her at first, but now he saw her—a "ridiculous" girl who hadn't quite managed to let go of her pressed-together lips.
Lin Weisen introduced her to Xie Chong: "Mr. Xie, this is my assistant, Mu Wen. She'll be taking notes today. Feel free to share your thoughts."
Xie Chong nodded politely at Mu Wen.
Mu Wen looked into his eyes and saw a frank, listless emotion within them. Those eyes, set on his handsome face, made him seem somewhat aloof.
She flashed him a grin, clicked her ballpoint pen, and made a show of being ready to take notes. She had often heard her colleagues at the company discuss all kinds of clients, and she had already formed a judgment about Xie Chong: he must be a picky, hard-to-please client. But he spoke lightly, saying, "Budget is eight hundred thousand. Find a good company to handle everything."
Eight hundred thousand.
Mu Wen couldn't help but look up, staring at him in shock. The setting sun fell upon him, and eight hundred thousand seemed to transform into fine golden dust, gilding him. The light also landed on her notebook, on the "800,000" she had circled, and those three characters tore a shocking rift through Mu Wen's conservative worldview. All that shock landed squarely in Xie Chong's eyes. He seemed to see through everything, yet also indifferent, and repeated: "That's right, eight hundred thousand. It can be increased, but it has to be worth it."
Lin Weisen was clearly startled too, but he had seen the world and quickly suppressed his excitement, saying, "It depends on your requirements, Mr. Xie. We'll participate in the pitch first."
"No problem."
Xie Chong had no flashy demands for the house, only that the materials be refined and the style simple and clean. Afraid they might not understand, he went out of his way to add one more sentence: "I'll handle the soft furnishing myself, slowly." He had a strict attitude toward "quality" and refused to live in a "shabby" home. He expressed his thoughts at a measured pace, without any hint of arrogance.
"Shabby" home. At that moment, Mu Wen thought again: If this Mr. Xie ever stepped into my ultra-cost-effective shared rental, would he kill himself?
Lin Weisen nodded: "Right, soft furnishing also tests one's aesthetic sense. Done well, it truly adds the finishing touch."
Xie Chong glanced at Mu Wen's notebook again, noticing she had become self-conscious because of it, and gave her a playful wink. Mu Wen instinctively closed her notebook and met Xie Chong's gaze.
But he had moved on to another topic, saying that the electrical wiring needed to be done properly because he wanted to be able to work from anywhere at any time.
"Mr. Xie, are you decorating a wedding home?" Lin Weisen asked from the side. "If it's for a wedding, our design would need to be different. We'd have to consider the bride's opinions."
Xie Chong smiled knowingly and said, "I'm single. It's for myself."
"Understood."
When they were leaving, Xie Chong walked them to the door. Mu Wen bent down to remove her shoe covers, and when she stood up, she saw Xie Chong's extended hand.
She looked a bit confused, and Xie Chong said, "I'll throw those away for you."
"No need, no need. We'll take them downstairs to dispose of them," Lin Weisen said. But Xie Chong's hand remained extended, insistent. Mu Wen didn't think much of it—she rolled up her shoe covers, took a tissue from her trench coat pocket, wrapped them up, and placed them in Xie Chong's palm.
"Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome," he replied.
He was very polite, accompanying them all the way to wait for the elevator, yet he didn't make small talk with them, which added a bit of awkwardness and tension. Given Mu Wen's personality of never letting a conversation lull, she would normally say something at this point. Remembering that her mentor had told her not to speak, she suppressed the urge to crack jokes and stood quietly in the corner.
Xie Chong's gaze drifted over, noticing how hard she was working to hold back. So he said even less, feeling a mischievous delight in watching others squirm. How amusing, he thought.
The elevator finally arrived, and Mu Wen rushed in first, standing in the corner. As the doors closed, she saw that he seemed to let out a sigh of relief too. So he disliked this kind of socializing as well.
Lin Weisen was somewhat excited and immediately assigned Mu Wen work, telling her she should start organizing Xie Chong's requirements as soon as today.
Xie Chong stood upstairs and saw the hem of Mu Wen's trench coat flip up in the wind. Her backpack must have been heavy, weighing down on her back and helping her brace against the strong gusts. As if sensing something, she suddenly looked up, toward his window, and met his eyes.
Mu Wen froze for a moment, then looked away. At that moment, she was gesturing animatedly, saying, "Master, his apartment is so big! He said he doesn't want to live in a run-down place, but his place—I could move in right now! Immediately! With just a suitcase!!!" She took two steps to demonstrate for Lin Weisen: "Master, this is my starting point in Beijing. A bunk bed the size of two floor tiles."
"Then we're about the same," Lin Weisen said. "I had a basement, ten square meters."
"Did it have an indoor bathroom?" Mu Wen asked.
"No."
"Then I'm a bit better off than you, Master! I had an indoor bathroom!" She laughed as she said it, but the wind caught in her throat, and she quickly clamped her mouth shut.
How ridiculous. Xie Chong stood at the window watching—that assistant was so ridiculous. He hadn't even remembered her name.