It was December, and nearly three months had passed since the day of the accident.
Shen Yun looked at the young face in the small mirror in the bathroom, a fair and delicate face.
A light brown tear mole at the corner of his eye added to the softness of his look.
This face was so young that it hardly could create trust in people.
Shen Yun slowly wiped away the drops of water on his body, and couldn’t help sighing.
The situation was bad, but when God closed the door for hope, he still left a window open.
Shen Yun pursed his lips and looked at Li Huan’s phone number in the phone address book in a slight daze.
Li Huan was one of the assistants of Zhou Lan, CEO of Zhouquan.
More than a year ago, Moxi got into contact with Zhouquan.
Zhouquan focused on the development of high-end real estate and villa areas, and had very high requirements for interior design.
At that time, Zhou Lan, the CEO of Zhouquan, was very interested in Gao Xi’s designs, and negotiations between the two sides continued.
According to the plan, it was time to finalise the partnership for the Lanqiao project.
It was not known whether the cooperation with Zhouquan could continue after Moxi had lost Gao Xi.
Gao Xi met Li Huan back then, but he didn’t expect that they would be able to get involved again after going in such a big circle.
Li Huan was Shen Yun’s senior. During Shen Yun’s hospitalisation, Li Huan came several times and gave Shen Qing a lot of help.
Shen Yun thought silently for a while, dialled Li Huan’s phone, and after a few rings, the other party’s voice came: “Hello.”
“Senior,” Shen Yun smiled, “If you have time some day, I’ll treat you to dinner.”
***
Li Huan didn’t know why he had agreed to Shen Yun’s request, as if by magic. He hadn’t done such an irrational thing for a long time.
It was just that Shen Yun’s reddened eyes made him unable to bear to say no.
While drums were beating in his heart, Shen Yun came.
A black sweater and a white shirt, with a grey coat over it, the clothes were not new, but the man was young and looked good in everything.
Li Huan took him to the lounge and said with a smile: “There are other people coming to visit President Zhou, you’ll have to wait for a while.”
Shen Yun smiled and nodded: “Thank you, Senior, you do what you have to do. I’m not busy, I can wait.”
Li Huan personally brought him a cup of coffee, a little uneasy: “Don’t have too much hope, it may not work.”
“Yes, I know, Senior, I am already very grateful for your help.”
Shen Yun said it softly, handing over the documents he had brought to Li Huan.
Li Huan looked through a few pages; they were all drafts of apartment designs for some of Zhouquan’s previous real estate properties.
However, they were different from the design drafts used at that time, and were clearly Shen Yun’s own work.
Although Li Huan was not an expert in this area, he had been following Zhou Lan for many years and had to handle a large number of drawings and manuscripts every year, so he could see at a glance that these designs were not only beautiful, but also simple and practical, obviously very accomplished.
“All of them were rushed out recently.” Shen Yun said with a smile.
Li Huan knew that Shen Yun worked in a small design studio and was not even a serious designer.
So when he saw these drawings, he couldn’t help but be a little surprised: “Shen Yun, your designs are great.”
He flipped through a few more pages, and mused slightly: “Yes, very spiritual, but I feel like I’ve seen this style before.”
He just couldn’t recall where it was for a moment.
Shen Yun’s eyes curved in a smile: “I’m always afraid that I will embarrass Senior, so I didn’t dare to be inattentive.”
Li Huan also smiled. He took the drawings, thinking that he would hand them to Zhou Lan when the guests left.
President Zhou had always cherished talents; maybe Shen Yun could really find a glimmer of hope.
Shen Yun leaned against the window, knocked out a cigarette, lit it and inhaled deeply, and then turned his gaze to Zhou Lan’s closed office door.
His gaze was dark and heavy.
It wasn’t until the third cigarette was lit that the door moved, opened from the inside.
Two people walked out, Xu Moran in front, and Zhao Chun right behind him.
Even though he had done psychological preparation many times, Shen Yun still trembled uncontrollably when he really saw Xu Moran and Zhao Chun.
He turned sideways in a panic to hide himself.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Zhao Chun take two steps to walk side by side with Xu Moran. The two lowered their heads and talked as they walked, not noticing his presence.
The two people who were well-dressed and had a calm demeanour really looked like a match made in heaven.
Trembling, Shen Yun pressed the lit cigarette to the back of his left hand.
The intense pain mixed with the smell of burning flesh sobered him up.
He turned around and looked out the window, trying to quell the emotions of resentment and indignation within him.
Why could people who had done bad things still live so comfortably? And the innocent had to bear their sins!
But the world was inherently unfair, wasn’t it?
Questions and answers went back and forth in his mind. The one who asked the questions was himself, and the one who gave the answers was still himself; just himself.
“Shen Yun, what’s wrong with you?” Li Huan’s surprised voice dragged him back from the door of hell.
“Huh?” He blinked and smiled shyly. “I was a little nervous.”
Li Huan looked at the dense beads of sweat on his pale face, couldn’t help being shocked and angry, and hurriedly pulled him to disinfect the wound.
His heart was very heavy.
Just now, he handed over Shen Yun’s design drafts, but Zhou Lan didn’t even take a look at them but only asked a few questions while signing the document with his head down.
Which company does he belong to?
What works does he have?
What projects has he done independently?
Every question made Li Huan unable to answer.
Zhou Lan raised his eyes and looked at him coldly, his brows slightly furrowed: “What’s going on?”
To ask a question like this already meant that Zhou Lan was extremely impatient.
Li Huan handed over Shen Yun’s drawings again: “His designs are really good, spiritual and stylish. Even the two who have just left may not be as good as he is. President Zhou, take a look.”
Zhou Lan pushed away the drawings handed to him: “Do you think a designer is someone who can draw pictures? Without experience in independent projects and huge financial resources as backing, no matter how good the design is, it is only on paper.”
Zhou Lan was right. Li Huan just wanted to help Shen Yun too much, so he deceived himself and ignored all these truths.
Li Huan bandaged Shen Yun’s hand, thinking about how to say that.
Shen Yun already knew the result from his demeanour, asking softly, “No, right?”
“I’m sorry.” Li Huan didn’t dare to look into his hopeful eyes.
Shen Yun forced a smile: “I have been mentally prepared for a long time, but I can’t give up if I don’t even try. Thank you, Senior, for accompanying me in my madness.”
Li Huan patted him on the shoulder: “I can help you pitch your designs to some small projects, maybe there will be a suitable opportunity.”
Shen Yun was silent, and after a while he asked, “Did President Zhou look at these drawings?”
Li Huan shook his head: “He was in a hurry to go out, so…”
Shen Yun was startled. He was so immersed in his emotions just now that he didn’t notice that Zhou Lan had left.
Shen Yun smiled apologetically, “Did he give you a hard time?”
Li Huan smiled: “No, our boss looks cold, but in fact he is not that ruthless.”
Shen Yun nodded, touched. He stood up, smiled and said, “Senior, come to my place next time, I’ll cook for you.”
The sky outside was dark and gloomy, and it looked like it was about to snow.
It was time to get off work in the afternoon, and the pedestrians on the road were in a hurry.
Everyone had their own goals and their destinations, only Shen Yun, dazed, didn’t know where to go.
The clothes on his body didn’t keep him warm, and as soon as the wind blew, the chill went straight into his bones.
Where should I go? After standing at the bus stop for a while, Shen Yun searched for the useful information in his mind.
Moxi had once collected some information about Zhou Lan before they came into contact with Zhouquan, such as Zhou Lan’s living habits and personal preferences, in order to match them.
As he pondered, an idea slowly came to his mind.
The bus was crowded at the end of the day, and Shen Yun couldn’t remember the last time he had taken the bus.
In recent years, he had been in and out of luxury cars and mansions, used to living comfortably and casually, and had long forgotten the other side of life.
The good thing was that although the bus was crowded, it was very warm.
When he got off the bus, it was drizzling, and Shen Yun walked forward in this drizzle without an umbrella.
At the end of the bar street, there was a bar called “Constellation Mile”. Shen Yun stood in front of the huge glass window and looked in.
Zhou Lan was sitting in the corner drinking alone.
Shen Yun smiled, thankful for his good luck.
He pushed the door in, walked straight to Zhou Lan, pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down.
Zhou Lan didn’t raise his head, just made a gesture. It was a gesture to drive people away, meaning that he wasn’t interested and didn’t want a date.
Zhou Lan was a little drunk. From the time he sat down, quite a few people came to strike up a conversation, but they were all sent away by him.
But now this man sat down, as if it was something natural to do, and asked for a glass of alcohol without the slightest intention to retreat.
Zhou Lan frowned; was there such a person who didn’t know how to retreat?
He raised his eyelids coldly and saw Shen Yun’s wet hair and pale cheeks.
Zhou Lan turned his head and looked out the window; the rain outside intensified.
On a December day, half-drenched by the rain, with the chill slowly exuding from his body, Shen Yun couldn’t help but shiver slightly.
He held a glass of liquor and took a few sips hurriedly.
A burning feeling spread in his throat and stomach, and he couldn’t help but bend over and choke and cough.
When he straightened up, his eyelashes were as wet as his hair, and a layer of blush appeared on his cheeks.
He looked at Zhou Lan, who was looking at him coldly, pursed his lips and smiled: “President Zhou.”
“Do you know me?”
“Today I went to Zhouquan and brought some design drawings, but I was told that President Zhou didn’t look at them.” Shen Yun’s expression looked a little wistful.
“So you followed me here?” Zhou Lan’s features were very deep, and when he didn’t smile, he looked extraordinarily cold. “Your skin is really thick.”
The blush that had barely tinged Shen Yun’s cheeks disappeared without a trace, and his white face looked somewhat pitiful.
Zhou Lan found it interesting, so he asked carelessly: “What do you want?”
“An opportunity.”
“Oh? What opportunity?”
“An opportunity to participate in Lanqiao.” Shen Yun’s whole look was pale and fragile, but his eyes were very firm.
Lanqiao was a high-end residence project developed by Zhouquan. It was aimed at high-end people and provided a hardcover delivery.
At present, several well-known large-scale design studios in China were competing for this piece of fat meat.
The young man in front of him who spoke about participating in Lanqiao didn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth (to have an exaggerated opinion of one’s own abilities).
Zhou Lan couldn’t help but sneer, showing contempt: “Crazy dreams, young man, have you graduated from college?”
Shen Yun smiled and didn’t flinch: “I know that for President Zhou, being so direct is a kind of transgression.”
Shen Yun’s eyes looked very expressive, and the light was flowing out of them at this moment: “So, I’m changing my goal.”
“Oh?”
“Still an opportunity. For you to take a look at these designs.” Shen Yun said seriously, patting the design drafts in his hand.
The young man sitting opposite Zhou Lan had resolutely bright eyes, his half-wet hair was plastered on his forehead, and a small brown mole was quietly set at the upturned corner of his eye.
Zhou Lan stood up in a slight drunken stupor and leaned towards him. Shen Yun wanted to back away to avoid him, but his chin was pinched by the other party.
Zhou Lan’s eyes were mesmerised as he reached out and stroked the mole at the corner of Shen Yun’s eye, gently rubbing it with his thumb.
He lowered his voice: “This is a peach blossom mole. Do you know what it means?”
His breath sprayed on Shen Yun’s face with a faint smell of alcohol.
Shen Yun’s breath stuttered as he met Zhou Lan’s eyes, full of dark emotions flickering through them.
“It means that the owner of this mole is not devoted to his love, starts to mess around and eventually abandons, playing with feelings…”
He let go in disgust, sat back in his seat, and sighed, “Not a good thing!”
Zhou Lan’s move was unexpected, and Shen Yun didn’t know how to answer for a while.
There was a mole at the corner of his eye. He thought about Shen Yun’s bitter fate. It should be called a tear mole, but Zhou Lan said it was a peach blossom mole.
Playing with feelings, starting to mess around and finally abandoning? Was Zhou Lan the one who was played with?
He smiled bitterly, “I didn’t realise that President Zhou knew physiognomy.”
Zhou Lan looked at him, his eyes already as calm as before: “I can give you this opportunity, the opportunity to look at your designs.”
Shen Yun couldn’t figure out the reason for the change in Zhou Lan’s attitude, and didn’t want to bother to speculate. He only smiled slightly: “Thank you, President Zhou.”
Saying this, he was about to push the documents in front of him over.
Zhou Lan hooked his lips, reached out his hand to touch Shen Yun’s finger pressed on the documents, and rubbed it gently: “But I have one condition.”
Shen Yun opened his eyes wide and looked at him. When he made a move, Zhou Lan smiled, but his gaze was sharp: “You play with me.”