Mu Wen stayed up late working under the desk lamp and finished a draft design, which she sent to Lin Weisen. At the same time, she waited for him to give her a thorough scolding.
She had heard that interns at the company were usually criticized for their first design proposal, so she felt that she probably wouldn’t escape either.
But that evening, Lin Weisen suddenly told her to contact Xie Chong and discuss the proposal with him.
“Huh? My version?” Mu Wen was surprised. “Master, you haven’t even revised it yet!”
“Let him look at your version first.”
Lin Weisen had worked with too many clients. Almost every client would ask for changes after seeing the first proposal, whether it was the second version or even the third. As long as the first draft didn’t have any major problems, it could basically pass.
Besides, Mu Wen’s proposal was actually very good.
Lin Weisen had discovered that Mu Wen was an extremely talented designer.
Many interns at the company had the same problem: they found it difficult to turn theory into practical design, so their work tended to be ordinary and safe.
Mu Wen was different.
Her designs contained many clever ideas.
She must have put a great deal of thought into it.
She had truly designed the place as if it were her own home.
Lin Weisen didn’t tell Mu Wen any of this.
As her master, he sometimes had to maintain some authority. He was afraid that if he praised her too much, she’d become too proud.
Besides, she already praised herself every day.
Before showing him her proposal, she had even told him,
“Master, let me tell you, this design of mine is amazing!”
“You’re too confident,” Lin Weisen said. “Don’t let your pride get too high. If the company doesn’t hire you later, you can go work at a design institute!”
“Impossible!”
Mu Wen knew he was only trying to scare her.
“Of course the company will hire me. I’m so talented. I’m not going to a design institute. They don’t pay enough.”
“Design institutes can help you get a Beijing household registration,” Lin Weisen reminded her.
Some of Mu Wen’s classmates had gone to design institutes for that reason. Their salaries were relatively low, but the benefits were good.
Mu Wen didn’t want that.
She wanted a high salary.
They were all drawing designs anyway. She wanted to draw designs that were worth the money.
“Beijing household registration is certainly good…” Mu Wen said honestly. “But right now, I really want to make money.”
Her father had driven long-distance trucks for years, and his lower back was in poor condition. Her mother had been making steamed buns all this time, and her neck was also in bad shape.
Her parents had worked very hard.
Mu Wen wanted to earn as much as she could while she was still young.
By the time Mu Wen called Xie Chong, it was already close to midnight.
She first called his work number from the company phone, but no one answered after several attempts.
So she switched to his private number.
The call was answered quickly.
Xie Chong immediately called her by name.
“Mu Wen.”
His voice was direct, with nothing else added.
Mu Wen paused for a moment, then copied his tone.
“Xie Chong.”
This time, Xie Chong was surprised.
He deliberately put on a serious voice.
“Are you imitating me?”
Mu Wen couldn’t hold back her laughter. She gave a little laugh and said,
“Mr. Xie, the preliminary design is finished. When would you be available for us to discuss it?”
“I’ll come to your company,” Xie Chong said. “I’ll come after I finish work tomorrow, around five-thirty in the afternoon.”
“Okay.”
Xie Chong’s voice sounded so good that after Mu Wen hung up, she sat there for a moment, feeling strangely reluctant to end the conversation.
But she couldn’t think of anything else to say to him.
So she went online and searched:
What can a poor woman and a wealthy man talk about?
The answers were all kinds of strange.
Mu Wen laughed as she read them.
What kind of ridiculous things are these?
Then she suddenly asked herself,
Why am I even searching for this?
Mu Wen had never really experienced a Beijing autumn before. She had always assumed it would be similar to Tianjin.
After staying up late for several nights, however, she felt completely drained.
The next morning, she moved unusually slowly when she woke up.
She sat up wrapped in her blanket, but before she had even opened her eyes, she somehow fell asleep sitting there for another two minutes.
Chu Ling gently knocked on the bed frame from the lower bunk.
“Get up.”
Only then did Mu Wen fully open her eyes.
They had planned to eat tofu pudding and fried dough sticks at a newly opened breakfast shop.
Before leaving, Chu Ling clipped a new hair clip into Mu Wen’s hair.
“Here. I noticed one of the flowers on your old one fell off. I went to the little alley behind the street last night and bought two. One for you, one for me.”
After saying that, Chu Ling turned her head to show Mu Wen her own hair clip.
Mu Wen immediately moved closer and hugged her around the shoulders.
“Chu Ling, Chu Ling! You’re so good to me! When I get my salary, I’ll treat you to Jiutouying or Pizza Hut, okay?”
The Pizza Hut was clearly visible beneath the pedestrian bridge.
Every time Mu Wen wanted to eat there, she felt that it was too expensive.
But when she wanted to treat Chu Ling, she didn’t feel bad about spending the money.
“Okay, okay!” Chu Ling happily agreed. “When I get my bonus, I’ll treat you too. We’ll eat at both places downstairs!”
“Not Bi Feng Tang! It’s too cheap!”
Mu Wen snorted and deliberately made a disdainful expression at the restaurant before laughing to herself.
The leaves on both sides of Suzhou Street had started falling.
The two girls wrapped their clothes tightly around themselves and walked close together.
“It’ll be better once the sky clears up. Let’s go to the zoo this weekend and buy some winter coats!”
The tofu pudding at the breakfast shop was delicious.
Their appetites opened up, so they ordered another basket of steamed dumplings.
After eating, one of them headed left toward Baishi Bridge while the other went right toward Zhongguancun.
When Mu Wen arrived at work, she hadn’t even sat down yet when Lin Weisen waved at her.
“Come on. Little Gu’s child is sick today, so she took the day off. Come with me to measure three houses. Then we’ll come back and discuss the proposal with Mr. Xie.”
“Is Mr. Xie really coming to the company?” Mu Wen asked. “I think there’s an eighty percent chance he’ll stand us up.”
“Not necessarily. People who accomplish big things are usually very good at managing their time. I think he’ll come.”
After saying that, Lin Weisen looked back at Mu Wen.
He seemed to have something he wanted to say but couldn’t quite bring himself to say it.
What he was really thinking was:
There are too many bad people in this world. A girl like Mu Wen could easily attract the wrong kind of attention.
“What were you going to say, Master?” Mu Wen asked.
“I was going to say that newcomers in our industry have it very hard. You need to hang in there.”
The two of them walked out of the company while talking.
Only then did they realize that it had started raining.
Autumn rain in Beijing came in layers.
Dark clouds covered the tallest buildings and slowly spread outward, eventually covering the entire city.
The autumn rain carried a cold chill. Every time it rained, the temperature dropped quickly.
That was why Beijing’s autumn always seemed so short.
Mu Wen shivered and followed Lin Weisen into the car.
Measuring the houses that day was extremely difficult.
There were two semi-detached villas and one large flat.
Each homeowner had countless requirements.
As Mu Wen measured, they kept talking to her.
“Be careful! That painting is very expensive!”
“I’m not planning to repaint the walls, so don’t get them dirty.”
“You’re measuring too slowly. I have something urgent to do!”
…
At first, Mu Wen had a good attitude.
No matter what the clients said, she smiled and agreed.
“Okay. Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”
Until one client said,
“You probably haven’t even seen something like this before. If you damage it, you couldn’t afford to compensate me.”
Her movements stopped for a moment.
That was genuine mockery and arrogance.
It was the way a wealthy person looked down on someone they considered beneath them.
Lin Weisen immediately said,
“That’s true. We don’t come into contact with things like this very often. We’ve certainly learned a lot today.”
Learned what? Mu Wen thought.
That’s a fake.
She had never seen the real thing herself, but she had seen it in books.
The client suddenly noticed her expression.
“Look at this girl. She clearly isn’t convinced. Is this how your company treats its clients?”
Lin Weisen quickly took the tools and notebook from Mu Wen’s hands and pushed her toward the door.
He knew Mu Wen was straightforward and worried that she might say something that would cause trouble.
But he didn’t really understand her.
Although she felt wronged, there was one thing Mu Wen would never do:
She would never do anything that might affect her ability to make money.
Lin Weisen pushed her outside.
She suddenly turned around with a smile.
“I’m sorry! Please don’t take it personally!”
The door closed.
She stood outside, looking at the autumn rain.
Suddenly, she really missed home.
She called her mother.
In a tearful voice, she said, “Mom, I really want to eat your steamed buns. And I want your homemade milk tea too.”
Ge Yunqing immediately sensed something was wrong.
“Did someone bully you?”
Mu Wen lowered her voice.
“Mom, I met a really stupid person today! He thinks a fake is real, and then he said my service attitude was bad!”
Ge Yunqing had a fiery temper.
The moment she heard that, she became furious.
“Did you curse him?”
“No! I didn’t dare. He’s my client!”
“No! You should have cursed him back!”
Mu Wen knew her mother’s temper well, so she tried to negotiate.
“Dear Mom, can I curse him back next time?”
Ge Yunqing calmed down a little.
“You just said you wanted to eat what?”
“I want your steamed buns, your homemade milk tea, milk skin and milk curds, and dried beef…”
Before Mu Wen could finish, the phone had already gone beep, beep, beep.
She knew she had put her mother in a difficult position.
By the time her mother’s steamed buns were shipped all the way from home, they would probably already be covered in mold.
Mu Wen decided that her mother was right.
She really should have cursed him back.
So she stood there and silently cursed the client’s terrible taste in her head.
She wasn’t good at insulting people.
The harshest thing she could come up with was:
If you can’t tell the difference between real and fake, go to the hospital and get yourself a pair of glasses!
When Lin Weisen came out, he gave her a meaningful look.
She immediately put on a smile and said to the client,
“I’ve reflected on my behavior just now. Please don’t be angry with me. I’m only an intern, so I don’t know much yet. Please don’t be angry, okay?”
Mu Wen was actually very good at calming people down.
She wasn’t overly humble, but she wasn’t arrogant either.
She simply had a way of making people feel comfortable.
The client’s bad mood had already improved considerably.
“It’s fine. I won’t hold it against you.”
On the way back, the rain became heavier and heavier.
The parking barrier in the company’s parking lot had broken.
To avoid wasting time, Lin Weisen told Mu Wen to go upstairs first and prepare everything.
Mu Wen opened the car door, but then sat back down.
She looked at Lin Weisen and asked,
“Master, do I look like I’ve had a pretty good day today?”
Lin Weisen had no idea why she was asking that.
He teased her.
“You look like you have a pretty good day every day.”
“That’s great! Thank you, Master!”
Mu Wen pushed open the car door and ran into the rain.
She had no idea that Beijing’s autumn rain could be like this.
In an instant, it soaked through her thin clothes.
Every time the doors of the elevator lobby opened and closed, cold wind poured inside.
And waiting for an elevator during the evening rush took forever.
She saw her blurry reflection on the wall.
A miserable, shivering drowned rat.
I need to avoid Xie Chong, she thought.
He’ll definitely say, “Your clothes are wet.”
Just like the way he had said,
“Your hair clip is missing a flower.”
Mu Wen was afraid she might lose her temper and curse him.
Having to hold herself back twice in one day would be too cruel.
She ran straight to her desk after entering the office.
Inside the meeting room, Xie Chong noticed that her shoes left a line of faint wet footprints across the carpet.
Five minutes later, she came back wearing the company’s standard T-shirt.
Her canvas shoes were completely soaked.
She must have had a terrible day, Xie Chong thought.
It didn’t rain often in Beijing during autumn.
But whenever it did, it took away the warmth and seemed to drag people straight into winter.
Mu Wen noticed his eyes had fallen to her feet.
When he couldn’t see, she curled her toes slightly.
Fortunately, Lin Weisen opened the door and apologized to Xie Chong.
“The heavy rain delayed us today. Sorry we’re late.”
“It’s fine,” Xie Chong said. “Is it cold outside?”
“Very cold,” Lin Weisen answered.
“I thought so.”
Xie Chong looked toward Mu Wen.
“Assistant Mu’s lips have already turned purple.”
He stood up and tossed his genuine leather jacket across the table toward her.
She hurriedly caught it and almost dropped it onto the floor.
“Borrow it for a while. Give it back when you leave,” Xie Chong said.
“I saw you running inside earlier. You didn’t put on another layer when you came back, so I assume you don’t have any spare clothes.”
Mu Wen didn’t try to act tough.
“Thank you.”
She put the black jacket over her shoulders.
Its faint scent surrounded her.
Maybe the moment was a little too intimate.
But she didn’t have the energy to care.
She was simply too cold.
Her old canvas shoes finally died that autumn.
She had already felt heartbroken when she walked through the puddles.
Those shoes had been with her for several years.
They were Converse shoes that Ge Yunqing had reluctantly bought for her after Mu Wen had done well on her first senior-year practice exam.
The edges were worn out and the soles had grown thinner and thinner, but whenever Mu Wen knew she would have to walk a long distance, she always wore them.
Now they had finally split open.
Mu Wen felt the cold wind entering through the opening and reaching her damp, freezing feet.
Her entire body grew colder.
I’m doomed.
Little calf Mu Wen has caught a cold.
She secretly said it to herself.
During the discussion of the design, she forced herself to concentrate.
She kept writing down Xie Chong’s requirements in her notebook.
Sometimes she sensed that Xie Chong was looking at her, but she didn’t raise her head.
Right now, she only wanted to return to her upper bunk and sleep properly.
“Mu Wen.”
She opened her eyes and looked around.
She didn’t know where Lin Weisen had gone.
Only Xie Chong was sitting across from her.
“Mu Wen.”
Xie Chong called her name again.
“You fell asleep.”
Mu Wen hurriedly apologized.
“Sorry. I’m feeling a little unwell.”
“You were snoring,” Xie Chong said.
Mu Wen instinctively asked,
“Was it loud?”
Xie Chong smiled.
“Not loud.”
After a few seconds, he added,
“Because you weren’t snoring.”
“…”
Mu Wen was too exhausted to deal with his teasing.
She asked,
“Where’s my master?”
“He went out to answer a phone call.”
“Oh.”
Mu Wen lowered her head onto the table again.
She could feel herself getting hotter.
Xie Chong leaned back in his chair, also preparing to rest for a while.
His eyes naturally fell toward the space beneath the table.
He saw Mu Wen’s shoes.
The front of her canvas shoe had split open like a mouth.
It looked almost as if it were smiling at him.
Xie Chong instinctively turned his face away.