Meng Shu Tang looked at that familiar tie, and her heart suddenly felt a sense of suffocation.
However, she did not show it on her face. "Given your relationship, you shouldn't need me to pass this on for you."
Bai Ci Xian smiled. "I am taking a flight to Shen Cheng for a business trip in a moment and won't be back for two days, so I have to trouble you. Yun Ci really likes this tie." As she spoke, she shoved it toward Meng Shu Tang.
Her gaze seemed to inadvertently catch the document Meng Shu Tang was holding, and she reached out to take it.
Meng Shu Tang turned to the side, using her arm to protect the document folder in her arms, and took a step back to avoid her.
This was a confidential document.
Compared to this pointless provocation, completing the design work for Gu Corporation on time and with high quality was the only thing on her mind for now and the next 48 days.
"You brought it over, so it was meant for me to see." Bai Ci Xian smiled softly.
Meng Shu Tang was stunned.
Bai Ci Xian continued, "The person handling the work before was Miss Chen, right? Did she not mention me to you?"
Meng Shu Tang remembered that Chen Man had indeed mentioned that a new Supervisor had been parachuted into the Gu Corporation Culture and Tourism Department, someone young and beautiful, and even said she looked like her.
With so many personnel changes at Gu Corporation, Meng Shu Tang had never thought in that direction.
While she was pondering, Bai Ci Xian took the document directly from her and began flipping through it nonchalantly.
"Miss Meng, I heard you are a veteran in the industry, having studied under some master, but this proposal of yours doesn't fit the positioning of our Culture and Tourism Department at all.
What we want is not 'restoration,' but a 'selling point'."
She threw the document at Meng Shu Tang.
"Next time we meet, I hope to see a new version, otherwise, there is really no need for this cooperation to continue."
After saying this, she tossed her hair and turned to leave.
Meng Shu Tang looked at the proposal she had worked so hard on, now dismissed by Bai Ci Xian in just a few words, and felt a heartache that made her bleed.
But what could she do? She was the representative of the client.
Meng Shu Tang lowered her eyes to look at the document in her arms, pondered for a moment, and turned to leave. What came into view was the transparent elevator a few meters away, carrying Bai Ci Xian as she descended gracefully.
The elevator paused, and a group of employees got on. A man wanted to stand next to Bai Ci Xian, but Gu Yun Ci, who was standing to the side, saw this and walked over directly, blocking the way in front of Bai Ci Xian.
The two of them stood very close.
She, small and delicate, looked like a charming white camellia, standing under Gu Yun Ci's protection, elegant and proper, trembling with shyness.
The man stood before the glass with one hand in his pocket, his broad shoulders and narrow waist creating a sharp, knife-like silhouette, his entire being exuding a noble and cold aura.
Meng Shu Tang only took one look before averting her gaze.
Her heart was much calmer now, no longer surging like it had been on that rainy night.
Returning to the studio, Meng Shu Tang discarded the existing plan and began writing a new one.
However, she wrote several openings, but none of them satisfied her.
When it was time to get off work, Ruan An couldn't wait any longer and said goodbye to her before leaving, but she kept writing until late at night.
After finishing, she took a sip of water to soothe her throat and made a phone call. "The 'Cultural Relics Reborn' creative products for the Museum's cultural and creative department—we at Fanxing Pavilion also want to do it. I will design it first, and in half a month, I will bring the design draft to find you."
There was a pause on the other end for a long time. "Shu Tang, are you short on money?"
"I... no." Meng Shu Tang bit her lip.
The voice on the other end was cold. "Last time the cultural and creative team came to you, you refused without even thinking.
Why did you suddenly think of doing this now?"
"If I break my promise this time, I will never see you again."
There was no response from the other side. After a while, they hung up directly.
Meng Shu Tang knew that this meant he had agreed.
She smiled faintly.
Meng Shu Tang turned her eyes to look out the window.
There wasn't a wisp of cloud in the night sky, and the ink-colored canopy looked like an overturned inkstone.
Stars were scattered across it, flickering on and off, winding into a brilliant galaxy.
It looked exactly like the patterns on the ancient star-patterned Ancient Beads on her desk.
Meng Shu Tang's eyes suddenly lit up.
Stars and Ancient Beads were originally counterparts carved into the shadows of time.
"Millennium Star Radiance..." she whispered these four words. "Let's write the proposal around this!"
The town that Gu Corporation Culture and Tourism wanted to build was a cultural ancient town with a thousand-year history; using this as the theme could not be more appropriate.
After pondering, she opened her computer and polished the completed proposal.
She was so engrossed in writing that she didn't even notice Qin Zheng appearing in front of her. "Young Madam, I am here to take you back."
Meng Shu Tang got up, wanting to say that she wasn't going back.
But thinking that she still had to give the tie to Gu Yun Ci, she stood up and took it out of the drawer.
Qin Zheng had sharp eyes and immediately understood what was going on.
He wouldn't say a word about things he shouldn't ask or talk about, so he turned and left.
The Rolls-Royce was parked in the shadow of an old banyan tree by the side of the road. The car window was lowered an inch, revealing Gu Yun Ci's cold and hard profile.
His well-defined fingers held a cigarette, blue smoke curling up, and he looked at the nearby convenience store with no emotion.
When Meng Shu Tang walked over, she carried the chill of late autumn.
She walked to the opposite side, opened the car door, and sat in. The lingering warmth of that night still remained in the car, mixed with the cold breath unique to him, which seemed particularly ironic at this moment.
Meng Shu Tang didn't look at him, placing the tie in her hand gently to the side, where he could see it in his peripheral vision. "Your new love asked me to give this to you."
Her voice was very soft, but it inexplicably carried a chill.
The man's gaze fell on the tie, the cigarette in his fingers paused slightly, his eyes darkened, and he said nothing.
He picked up a wet wipe from the side, pinched the tie, and threw it out directly.
The trash can by the side of the road seemed like a monster with its mouth open, swallowing the tie.
"Grandmother is back, let's go back to the Old Residence for dinner."
He said it in a businesslike tone and threw the cigarette butt out as well.
Meng Shu Tang sat there quietly, saying nothing.
The car arrived at the Gu family Old Residence very quickly.
The Chinese-style courtyard with Suzhou-style garden architecture had a history of two hundred years.
Meng Shu Tang was not very familiar with this place; she hadn't been here many times.
If one were to use a pyramid to describe the social classes in Jiang Cheng, the Gu family would be the very tip of the pyramid.
It was only natural that Gu Ye Heng didn't like her.
Chairman Gu, who had been waiting here for a long time, did not exchange pleasantries when he saw them arrive. "While Grandmother doesn't know, you two should find time to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau and get the paperwork done. The sooner you finish, the sooner it's over.
Gu Yun Ci, I am warning you, don't let an outsider delay your future."
Gu Yun Ci's brows tightened instantly. "My affairs are none of your business."
Gu Ye Heng snorted, his gaze toward Meng Shu Tang filled with coldness, and he said no more.
The three of them entered the door, and Meng Shu Tang saw a pair of eyes smiling into wrinkles.
"Tangtang is here, I've missed you so much, Grandmother.
In this whole family, you are the most thoughtful."
The Old Madam held Meng Shu Tang's hand, looked down at her belly, and seeing her lower abdomen was flat, she was dissatisfied with Gu Yun Ci. "Grandson, are you not capable? It's been three years, and Tangtang's belly hasn't grown at all. Do you want to see a urologist?"
Gu Yun Ci said, "Grandmother, I am not sick. Shu Tang knows; if you don't believe me, ask her."
Meng Shu Tang's oval face flushed red, and she lowered her head, her toes curling in embarrassment.
The Old Madam said, "If you aren't sick, prove it to me. Starting from tonight, the room has been prepared for you both. If you don't conceive a child, you are not allowed to go back to sleep in your own villa."
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