Just before dawn, the wind began to blow. Tree branches kept striking the window with sharp, rattling sounds.
Mu Wen stood up from her computer and stretched. Her messy bun bounced with the movement.
She quickly pressed a hand against her head and muttered, “Oh, I’m dizzy.”
She opened the window just a little, letting the wind blow inside, and took a deep breath.
The breakfast shops under Baishi Bridge were already open, sending thin clouds of steam into the cold morning air.
She turned back to look at her computer.
The rendering had just finished.
At the same time, her stomach growled.
She quickly organized her files, copied everything onto another drive, and put it into her mentor Lin Weisen’s drawer. Then she sent him an email.
At the very end, she added:
Master, you promised you’d take me to meet clients! If you keep making me draw all day, I’m going to quit! Xiaoqiao’s master has already taken her to measure rooms!
She closed her laptop with a huff and stuffed it into her backpack.
When she lifted the backpack onto her shoulders, she stumbled slightly.
The computer was too heavy.
Another strong gust of wind hit her as she walked out of the office building.
She hugged herself and hurried toward the breakfast shop.
She bought two eggplant buns and a cup of soy milk. Standing at the bus stop, she swallowed the buns as quickly as she could while waiting for the bus.
The taste reminded her of the eggplant buns her mother, Ge Yunqing, used to make.
She wasn’t full yet, so she ran back and bought another one.
At six in the morning, the city was slowly beginning to wake.
A street-cleaning truck passed beside her. She instinctively jumped aside and found herself almost at the edge of the road.
There were still very few people on the bus.
She chose a window seat, hugged her large backpack, leaned her head against the glass, and soon drifted into a light sleep.
The conductor’s announcements passed through her half-dreaming state.
Before long, she had arrived at Suzhou Street.
As she entered her apartment building, she ran into her roommate, Chu Ling, who worked as an editor for a well-known website.
Mu Wen was about to greet her when Chu Ling stuffed a washed apple into her hand and hurried away.
“I’m going to be late for my morning shift! Eat it when you wake up!”
“Thanks!”
Mu Wen waved after her.
“Let’s go eat spicy skewers at the little street behind the building tonight!”
Just thinking about the lively alley filled with delicious food made her happy.
When she entered the apartment, she heard screams and shouting inside.
Before she could react, a large, pale, greasy-looking figure suddenly bumped into her and ran away.
Mu Wen instinctively started to chase after him.
But the girl who had recently moved into the room next door grabbed her.
“Don’t chase him. I already called the police.”
The girl’s hair was still dripping wet, and she was wrapped in a bath towel.
She spat angrily.
“Disgusting!”
Mu Wen freed one hand and helped her secure the towel.
“Don’t be scared. It’s okay. Don’t be scared.”
The creepy pervert had come back for the second time.
The first time, Mu Wen had also returned from working late into the night. She had barely climbed into her upper bunk when she heard a commotion outside the curtains.
Someone had shouted that there was a pervert.
The police arrived quickly and caught the man in the underground parking garage.
It turned out he had a mental illness, so the matter eventually went nowhere.
The place Mu Wen rented was a large three-bedroom apartment.
The living room had been divided into two single rooms, each costing 1,000 yuan a month.
Her south-facing master bedroom had four bunk beds, with eight people living there in total.
She slept on an upper bunk.
Her share of the rent was only 350 yuan a month.
Mu Wen didn’t want to spend too much on housing.
Her job required her to work late almost every day.
When she returned home, she basically just needed a place to sleep.
Her roommates were either studying at the People’s University library or going out to work, so the room was quiet enough.
Once she pulled the curtain around her bunk, it became her own little world.
She took the 500-yuan bonus she had received the day before from her wallet and put it into another bag.
She happily calculated that if she saved for another two months, she could go to Zhongguancun and buy herself a new computer.
Her old computer was too heavy and too slow.
Every time she used it, she became anxious waiting for it to respond.
The unexpected encounter with the pervert hadn’t completely driven away her sleepiness.
After a quick wash, she climbed into bed and fell into a deep sleep.
At three-thirty in the afternoon, her mentor Lin Weisen’s phone call woke her.
He told her to come to Wanliu and accompany him to meet a client.
Mu Wen’s eyes opened immediately.
She sat up with a huge smile.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Master, are you finally afraid that I’ll quit?”
She threw the curtain open as she spoke.
“Are you afraid you’ll never find another intern as talented as me?”
She tucked the phone between her cheek and shoulder and climbed down the little ladder.
Lin Weisen laughed on the other end.
“Yes, yes. Your email scared me half to death.”
Mu Wen gave a smug little hum.
She had a good brain, worked hard, and had a straightforward personality.
She never kept her thoughts bottled up.
Whenever Lin Weisen ignored his promise to take her to meet clients, she would push him to actually do it.
What did she have to be afraid of?
Was meeting clients really harder than getting into a prestigious university from a small fourth-tier city?
“Master, wait for me. I’ll be there on time!”
She hung up, picked up her washbasin, casually tossed a towel over her shoulder, and went to wash up.
By the time she appeared in front of Lin Weisen, her face was clean and fresh.
The wind was strong.
She was afraid it would blow her hair into a complete mess, so she tied it up again on top of her head.
It made her face look even rounder and more youthful.
She wore a white shirt, jeans, and an apricot-colored trench coat.
Her eyes were full of excitement.
She immediately asked Lin Weisen for praise.
“Master, how do I look? I didn’t embarrass you, right?”
Lin Weisen laughed and gave her a thumbs-up.
“Very good.”
Mu Wen was different from the other interns he had taught.
There were always little flames burning in her eyes, as if everything she saw might someday be set ablaze by her ambition.
Perhaps one day those little flames would become a wildfire.
Yet her ambition was full of life rather than annoying.
“Today’s client spends about half the year in China and the other half abroad. He works in the arts and isn’t very talkative.”
Lin Weisen explained as they walked.
“He came over specially today so we could measure the house. He owns other properties too.”
“This apartment is a little over 150 square meters of interior space. It has some basic decoration already, but the client wants everything removed and redesigned from scratch.”
“When we go inside, listen and take notes. Help Gu and the others with the measurements.”
Then he smiled.
“You’re smart enough. Just pay attention to everything yourself.”
“Okay!”
Mu Wen raised her hand solemnly.
“I promise I won’t speak! I’ll be mute! I’ll study hard!”
Lin Weisen shook his head helplessly with a smile.
Her innocent, playful personality and ambitious nature were constantly fighting against each other.
She was truly a contradiction.
The wind blew a strand of hair across her face.
Like a child, she flattened her palm and brushed it away.
Then she waved enthusiastically.
“Let’s go, Master! Charge! Let’s win this client!”
However, the moment they entered the elevator lobby, she automatically became serious.
She cleared her throat and tried to look calm and professional.
The apartment door was already open.
The client wasn’t inside.
She only glanced around once.
Immediately, her mind opened up.
Then she thought of her tiny upper bunk.
It was probably only as large as three floor tiles in this apartment.
And that creepy pervert certainly couldn’t get through the strict security of a residential complex like this.
Mu Wen bent down to put on shoe covers.
As she did, she thought:
If only this were my house.
When she straightened up, she saw someone walking toward her against the light.
The afternoon sunlight stretched his shadow long across the floor, following his movements toward her.
He wore a khaki trench coat with a belt around the waist.
The collar was casually raised halfway.
The buttons of his white shirt underneath were partly undone.
He looked like a stylish British gentleman from an old film.
Mu Wen’s male classmates were still wearing sportswear and jeans.
The senior employees at her company jokingly called themselves “construction-site workers.”
She had never seen a real person in everyday life dressed this well.
She immediately felt happy.
It almost seemed as if he had dressed like this just to please her, awakening her deep hunger for beauty.
Only when he came closer could she clearly see his face.
It was handsome, with sharp and well-defined features.
The first thing Mu Wen noticed was his lips.
Because he was speaking.
And his voice sounded just as good.
“Engineer Lin, sorry to trouble you. Shall we start by measuring the rooms?”
Lin Weisen agreed.
“Sure.”
Little Gu took the tools out of his backpack.
Mu Wen took out her notebook and followed them toward the windows.
She caught a faint scent from the man.
It wasn’t flashy or overpowering.
Instead, it was calm and pleasant.
She secretly glanced at him.
Unfortunately, her mentor caught her.
Lin Weisen gave her a look that clearly meant watch your expression.
She immediately pressed her lips together.
Because she’d been caught staring, she couldn’t help but smile awkwardly.
Xie Chong hadn’t noticed her before.
Now he finally looked at her.
He saw a rather amusing young woman who hadn’t even had time to relax her tightly pressed lips.
Lin Weisen introduced her.
“Mr. Xie, this is my assistant, Mu Wen. She’ll be taking notes today, so feel free to tell her all your requirements.”
Xie Chong politely nodded at Mu Wen.
Mu Wen looked into his eyes.
There was something direct yet tired in them.
Against his handsome face, those eyes gave him an air of aloofness.
She gave him a wide smile and clicked her ballpoint pen, preparing to take notes.
She had often heard her coworkers discussing different kinds of clients.
Based on their stories, she had already formed an impression of Xie Chong.
He must be extremely picky.
But then he casually said,
“My budget is 800,000 yuan. I want a good company to handle everything.”
Eight hundred thousand.
Mu Wen couldn’t help looking up at him in shock.
The setting sun fell across his body.
The 800,000 yuan seemed to transform into fine golden dust, covering him in a layer of light.
The sunlight also landed on her notebook, where she had circled the words 800,000 yuan.
Those three numbers tore a huge hole through Mu Wen’s conservative understanding of money.
Her shock was fully visible in Xie Chong’s eyes.
He seemed to see straight through her reaction.
Yet he didn’t seem to care.
He repeated calmly,
“Yes, 800,000. It can be increased if necessary, but it has to be worth it.”
Lin Weisen was clearly surprised too.
But he had seen enough of the world to quickly hide his excitement.
“Understood. Based on your requirements, we’ll first take part in the design competition.”
“No problem.”
Xie Chong didn’t have many fancy requirements for the apartment.
He simply wanted high-quality materials and a clean, simple design.
Afraid they might misunderstand, he unusually explained a little more.
“I’ll slowly handle the furnishings myself.”
He was extremely particular about quality and atmosphere.
He refused to live in a home that looked cheap or run-down.
He calmly explained what he wanted without sounding arrogant.
A run-down home.
Mu Wen couldn’t help thinking:
What would happen if Mr. Xie walked into my unbelievably cheap shared apartment? Would he faint on the spot?
Lin Weisen nodded.
“That’s right. Furnishing a place also requires good taste. Done properly, it can really make the whole design shine.”
Xie Chong glanced at Mu Wen’s notebook again.
He noticed that she seemed a little nervous because of his budget.
So he gave her a playful wink.
Mu Wen instinctively closed the notebook and met his eyes.
But Xie Chong immediately started talking about something else.
He wanted the electrical wiring planned properly because he needed to be able to work anywhere in the house at any time.
“Mr. Xie, are you decorating this as a newlywed home?”
Lin Weisen asked.
“If it’s a wedding home, the design will be different. We also need to consider the woman’s preferences.”
Xie Chong smiled knowingly.
“I’m single. I’m decorating it for myself.”
“Understood.”
When they were leaving, Xie Chong walked them to the door.
Mu Wen bent down to remove her shoe covers.
When she stood up, she saw Xie Chong holding out his hand.
She looked confused.
“I’ll throw the shoe covers away for you,” he explained.
“No, no. We’ll take them downstairs and throw them away.”
Lin Weisen declined.
But Xie Chong’s hand remained there.
He clearly insisted.
Mu Wen didn’t think there was anything strange about it.
She rolled up the shoe covers, took a tissue from the pocket of her trench coat, wrapped them in it, and placed them in Xie Chong’s palm.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
He was very polite.
He even stood there with them while they waited for the elevator.
But he didn’t make small talk.
The silence made everyone slightly uncomfortable.
Mu Wen hated awkward silence.
Normally, she would have said something to break it.
But remembering her mentor’s warning not to talk, she forced herself to stand quietly in the corner.
Xie Chong’s gaze shifted toward her.
He could tell she was struggling to hold herself back.
So he deliberately said nothing.
Instead, he found a strange, mischievous pleasure in watching her suffer in silence.
This is fun, he thought.
Finally, the elevator arrived.
Mu Wen was the first to rush inside and stand in the corner.
As the elevator doors closed, she saw Xie Chong seemingly let out a small breath of relief.
So he doesn’t like this kind of socializing either.
Upstairs, Xie Chong stood by the window.
He watched as Mu Wen’s trench coat fluttered in the wind.
Her backpack looked heavy, pressing against her back and helping her resist the strong gusts.
As if she had sensed his gaze, she suddenly raised her head and looked toward his window.
Their eyes met.
Mu Wen froze for a moment, then quickly looked away.
At that moment, she was enthusiastically gesturing as she said to Lin Weisen,
“Master, his apartment is huge!”
“He said he doesn’t want to live in a run-down place, but his apartment…”
“I could move in immediately! Right now! Just bring my suitcase!”
She took two steps and gestured dramatically.
“Master, this is my starting point in Beijing.”
“The upper bunk that’s only as big as two floor tiles!”
“Then we’re about the same.”
Lin Weisen said,
“I live in a basement. Ten square meters.”
“Do you have an indoor toilet?”
Mu Wen asked.
“No.”
“Then I’m a little better than you, Master!”
She burst out laughing.
“I have an indoor bathroom!”
The moment she finished speaking, a gust of wind blew into her mouth.
She immediately shut it.
Upstairs, Xie Chong was still standing by the window.
He watched the ridiculous assistant below.
She was really amusing.
He hadn’t even remembered her name.