"When I was in junior high school, I wore a new skirt to school once." Xieyi was afraid that he didn't explain it in detail enough, so he added, "It was a short, elastic skirt. In Chinese class, the teacher asked me to answer a question, but when I stood up, my skirt got caught on the stool. If I stood up straight, my skirt would be pulled down, so I had to bend over and half-squat to answer. I was very competitive at that age, so I was too embarrassed to tell my classmates. After class, I sat there stupidly. It was not until after school that the students on duty had cleaned up and no one was paying attention, and then I dared to take it slowly by myself."
Xieyi continued, "There was another time, also about a skirt. I was already in the first year of high school, and I went to a training class for the Mathematical Olympiad. There was a senior in the graduating class, who was the person I had always admired in high school. He always sat in the last row, by the window, and his seat was always fixed."
Freehand writing sinks into long memories.
She remembered that he always sat in that corner. Although the seat was random, no one had ever fought with him for a long time. He had a pair of light-colored eyes and his hair was not pure black. The late autumn sun shone through the window and shone on his desk, making the books a little bright and dazzling. Most of the time, he would squint his eyes and turn his eyes slightly. But the sun still fell on the skin of his fingers, which seemed a little transparent. He never took the initiative to talk to people, but the teacher liked him the most and specially asked him to take charge of some temporary class affairs.
At that time, Xieyi insisted on signing up for the cram school even though she didn't understand the lessons at all. Xieyi always arrived early, changed her tomboyish look, dressed like a lady, and took the seat next to him across the aisle.
Xie Yi continued, "That day, the boy was late, and I stared at him unscrupulously from the moment he walked in. But he didn't care. When he sat down, he glanced at me casually. It was the first time he looked me straight in the eye, and I was so excited at the time. After a while, he looked at me again."
"Then what?" Ping Xin asked curiously.
Xieyi pulled her back to the office and sat down, then continued, "I was secretly happy, but on the surface I pretended to concentrate on the class. Unexpectedly, a few minutes later, while the teacher was writing on the blackboard, the boy passed me a note in a serious tone. I held down my pounding heart and carefully unfolded the note, which contained a sentence."
"What?" Ping Xin asked hurriedly.
"Classmate, you're wearing your dress backwards."
Zhou Pingxin burst out laughing and asked happily, "Is this story true or false?"
"it is true."
"But you were still a child at that time, so it shouldn't be too embarrassing to make a fool of yourself."
"Little kid?" Xie Yi laughed, "Have you never had a crush on a senior or a classmate? If you were embarrassed in front of someone you admire at that age, you would be too ashamed to live on."
"And what about the boy now?"
"I don't know," Xie Yi's eyes flashed and he shook his head, "I can't remember his appearance and name, but I still have an impression of some details and actions." His eyes looked a little lonely.
Xieyi can still remember these words and events vividly now, but it was easy to comfort Zhou Pingxin at that time. For example, now, she really doesn't want to appear in front of Li Zeliang again. If things go wrong, the man might misunderstand that she has a stalker habit.
Xieyi rubbed her forehead in annoyance, and then she felt her messy hair. She didn't like to have bangs, and simply tied her straight hair into a ponytail at the back of her head. Her hair was naturally hard, and the new hair on her temples was thick and unyielding, and would fall down if it was not tied tightly. Therefore, she had to tidy it up three or four times a day without getting tired of it.
In the evening, Xieyi had just had some free time when she received a call from Meng Lili, a client in a legacy case she had been in charge of some time ago. Meng Lili was the second wife of Mr. Huang, the boss of Zhengyuan Bank. Mr. Huang had just passed away last week, and his two children had been fighting with her for the legacy. Now they were at her house again.
Xieyi changed her clothes and took a taxi to the door with some helplessness. Although she had already transferred the case to her colleague Wu Weiming, since Ms. Meng thought of herself first, a sense of responsibility beyond obligation prompted her to go and take a look.
When she arrived at the Huang family, she used both soft and hard tactics and finally managed to get the difficult brother and sister to leave. Meng Lili said gratefully: "When my husband was alive, he told me that if they made things difficult for me or I needed help, I should call Lawyer Shen from Tang Qiao Law Firm. It seems that I should have listened to him. Thank you."
Xie Yi smiled, "Actually, my father and Uncle Huang were friends before, so this little favor is nothing."
"Ms. Shen, thank you so much." Meng Lili repeated her words of gratitude.
Xieyi knew what she meant. Meng Lili was not a weak person, but sometimes some of her words would intensify the conflict, so Xieyi had to play the role of the bad guy.
"In fact, I have already transferred your case to Lawyer Wu last week. The law firm will probably inform you soon. If you agree, he will come over and sign a new agreement with you."
"how?"
"I have been transferred to work at Li Corporation, so I can't be responsible for your affairs for the time being."
"Oh? Congratulations, the Li family is very famous, so keep developing it." Even though Meng Lili said this, her tone was still full of regret. She quite liked the girl Xieyi.
On the weekend, Xieyi accompanied her colleague Zhou Pingxin to look at houses. Zhou Pingxin was engaged and was preparing for a new house for her wedding. After looking at several places, she was only satisfied with a property near the river, but the price was shocking.
In the house sales department, Xieyi and Zhou Pingxin actually met their blind date Yang Wangjie.
"Freehand painting? What a coincidence." Yang Wangjie was the first to see them.
"Mr. Yang." Xieyi smiled and greeted him.
"You guys come to see the house?"
"I'm here with a friend." Xieyi said and gestured to Zhou Pingxin next to him.
Yang Wangjie nodded, then turned to Ping Xin and asked, "What did this lady like?"
"Here." Zhou Pingxin pointed to a house type on the sand table.
Yang Wangjie smiled and whispered, "It's just right, our company can get the internal price here."
Zhou Pingxin's face lit up when she heard this, but she looked to Xieyi for the decision because he was her friend.
"Is it convenient?" Xieyi didn't expect Yang Wangjie to be so enthusiastic.
"No problem, this house was built by our company."
As a result, with the introduction of Yang Wangjie, the house got a two-point discount. Zhou Pingxin immediately called her boyfriend and happily signed the contract.
On the weekend, Yang Wangjie asked Xieyi out again. Because of the discount on the house that day, she could no longer make an excuse.
"Do you have a scar on your forehead?" While eating, Yang Wangjie inadvertently glanced at Xieyi's forehead.
"Hmm?" Xie Yi didn't react for a moment. After a moment, she remembered what he said and raised her hand to touch the scar, "It's a bit disfigured."
There was a pink scar on the right side of her forehead that extended to her hairline, but it didn't look particularly obtrusive, so she didn't try to cover it with her bangs.
After dinner, Xieyi went to touch up her makeup, and two women came into the bathroom, talking while walking.
"In this day and age, widows are more popular than young girls."
"Yes, he has wealth and has seen the world, no old or young, and a large inheritance."
"She's not afraid that her ex-husband will climb out of his coffin and claim her life."
Xie Yi had no interest in listening to such idle chatter. As soon as he returned to the hall, he saw several people arguing.
"You bitch, how dare you use my father's money to support a gigolo out there!" someone shouted.
Xieyi turned around and found that it was Meng Lili who was blocked. Her pale face had turned red, and she was holding a small sequined handbag in her hands, tightly clenched by her ten fingers. The man who came with her was tall but stood behind her, and did not have the slightest intention of blocking her way. Xieyi suddenly remembered that they were talking about Meng Lili.
The one who was cursing was Meng Lili's stepdaughter, Huang Jiahui, the eldest daughter of the Huang family.
Originally, the Huang family and their two siblings had already had a very bad relationship with Meng Lili because of the issue of inheritance distribution. Meng Lili had been married to Mr. Huang for several years, and her family didn't have a deep foundation. Outsiders thought that it was not only an old-young match, but Meng Lili was simply regarded as a country girl who had flown away to a wealthy family. Therefore, when the children learned that half of the inheritance was divided into this widow, they were naturally dissatisfied.
Last week, Xieyi had finally managed to get rid of the siblings with much persuasion, but now Meng Lili and her new boyfriend had appeared in public and were caught by Huang Jiahui again. Huang Jiahui was definitely not letting them off the hook, and the noise was getting louder and louder.
"Jiahui, let's go back and talk. It's embarrassing to make a fool of yourself here." Meng Lili straightened her back and said softly.
Huang Jiahui has been spoiled since she was a child. Seeing Meng Lili actually refute her, she became even angrier, "Now you still have the nerve to do it. You have already lost all the people in our Huang family."
After she finished speaking, she raised her hand to slap Meng Lili, but Xie Yi rushed forward to block her. With a snap, the palm naturally hit Xie Yi's neck.
"Lawyer Shen!"
“Freehand!”
Meng and Yang exclaimed at the same time, and then Yang Wangjie quickly stepped forward to help her.
"You—" Huang Jiahui was a little surprised when she found that she had hit the wrong person.
The restaurant manager rushed over after hearing the news and persuaded several people to go into the workshop at the back, and the eldest daughter of the Huang family left through the back door.
Xieyi took the ice pack brought in by the waiter and found that Meng Lili's male companion had disappeared before the incident. She subconsciously looked back and saw Yang Wangjie was still there, which comforted her. Although she had no intention of him in that aspect, at this time, having a man by her side would not make her feel too lonely.
Meng Lili explained awkwardly: "I just... I feel a little lonely. Everyone has lonely moments."
Xieyi smiled and didn't answer.
In fact, loneliness is the product of a life of luxury. If a person works six days a week, more than ten hours a day, and fights with others for a living, how can he have time to be lonely
Loneliness is a disease of affluence.
Before leaving, Meng Lili held Xieyi's hand tightly and said, "Ms. Shen, thank you for helping me out."
"fine."
"If you need anything in the future, just tell me. I will definitely help if I can."
Hearing this promise, Xie Yi smiled and said, "Not yet."
Yang Wangjie drove Xieyi home.
"Does it still hurt?" Yang Wangjie asked.
"It doesn't hurt anymore." It was just a slap, she wasn't that weak.
"You care too much about Ms. Meng's affairs."
Xie Yi said calmly: "I am meddling in other people's business."
She then returned to her apartment and collapsed on the sofa, her limbs so tired that they seemed to be detached from her body. Maybe many people think it is incredible that she walked over to block that blow for others, but...
Xieyi made a long-distance call to City B.
"Dongzhen, it's me," she said.
The next day.
Xieyi encountered trouble when she went to work. The place on her neck where she was slapped yesterday was swollen. In early summer, she couldn't wear much, and the redness and swelling just showed a little outside the collar of her shirt, which looked a little strange. In the subway car, someone saw Xieyi's neck and looked at her deeply, which made Xieyi very embarrassed.
So, as soon as she got off the bus, she went to the drugstore and bought two Band-Aids, then ran to the bathroom and put them together to cover the red and swollen area. But after putting them on, she looked in the mirror and suddenly felt even worse, just like a kiss mark left after a night of love, and now she was secretly covering it up. Putting these two Band-Aids there made it seem like she was trying to cover up something.
Xieyi was even more confused. Should she wear a scarf in this season? Wouldn't it be even more weird to wear something that violated the laws of nature
Before lunch, she delivered the information to the president's office.
"Mr. Li, here are two documents that need your signature." Xie Yi knocked on the door.
Li Zeliang was originally talking to Xiaolin, but when he heard her voice, he raised his head and slowly moved his eyes upwards. When his eyes slid across the two band-aids on Xieyi's neck, they paused for a moment.
Xie Yi pulled his collar uncomfortably.
Xiao Lin spoke first: "Xie Yi, what's wrong with your neck?" Xiao Lin became very familiar with Xie Yi since he received her that day.
"Uh... I fell and twisted my neck." She was speechless for a moment, touched her neck, and explained foolishly.
At this time, the phone outside rang. Xiaolin put down the tea he had just brought in and went out to answer the phone.
Li Zeliang reached out and took the document from her hand, "Wait a moment, I'll sign it and give it to you right away." Then he opened it and read.
So, freehand painting stayed there.
The cup of freshly brewed tea on the table was still emitting lingering mist, and the silver needle-like tea leaves rose and fell in the boiling water of the snow-white ceramic cup, and finally fell slowly and clustered at the bottom of the cup. A faint tea fragrance emanated from it, spreading in the air, filling the room with freshness.
Li Zeliang turned the page of the document. His slender fingers were flawless, and his slightly protruding knuckles exuded a masculine charm. He was really beautiful. After a while, he took a pen and signed on the paper. The three words "Li Zeliang" appeared smoothly under his pen tip.
He paused and added two lines of comments next to it.
This man had extremely delicate handwriting. His strokes were clear, sharp and upright. His writing showed both strength and flexibility. It seemed that the opening and closing, density and sparseness of each character were all under the control of his five fingers.
When he returned the document to Xie Yi, he glanced at her neck again and said calmly, "I hope you didn't twist it when you stopped climbing stairs and started running instead, Miss Shen."
Ever since Xieyi was caught by him in the stairwell last time, he had never met him alone in private except for business matters. This sentence immediately made Xieyi, who had almost forgotten the embarrassing incident, feel embarrassed again.
"No, no." Xie Yi waved his hands hurriedly.
"But I am curious," Li Zeliang paused, "What kind of doctor would prescribe a Band-Aid after spraining an injury?"
"… "
Xie Yi swore that although he had a stern face and said this seriously, this man must have been laughing in his heart.
One day, Wu Weiming and Xieyi were chatting.
"Xie Yi, guess what my ideal was before?"
"A beautiful wife with children around her."
Wu Weiming coughed and said, "This is also one of our ideals, but there are more long-term options."
"If you look at the long term, would you like to become a billionaire?"
"Xie Yi, can't I be more noble in your eyes?"
"To put it in a more noble way, you would want world peace?" Seeing Wu Weiming rolling his eyes at her, Xie Yi quickly changed the subject and said, "Do you still want to liberate all of humanity?"
Wu Weiming was silent for a while, then said helplessly: "Xieyi, I found that you are very good to the same sex, but very mean to men."
Xie Yi pouted, "Old Wu, it's a bit strange for you to talk about your great life ideals in a place like this."
At this moment, the two were sitting and chatting in the karaoke hall, while Tang Qiao's other colleagues were singing inside.
As they were talking, a woman came out from a private room on the left, holding a phone in her hand and walking unsteadily, obviously a little drunk.
"No! Don't do this!" the drunken woman shouted into the phone.
"You can't do this to me, Yingsong." The woman said in a crying voice, her body gradually sliding down the corner of the wall and squatting on the ground.
The more Xieyi listened, the more familiar the voice sounded, so he looked at the woman's silhouette carefully again. It was her.
Xieyi stood up hurriedly.
"Do you know him?" Wu Weiming asked.
"She is Li Zeliang's secretary."
Xieyi helped her up, "Xiaolin, I'm Shen Xieyi."
Xiaolin raised her head, her eyes were filled with tears, and her delicate makeup was ruined by tears. She nodded to show that she was still conscious.
Wu Weiming was just about to push the door to inform other friends in Xiaolin's box.
"No." Xiao Lin stopped him, "I don't want others to see me like this."
After seeing Xieyi's gesture, Wu Weiming quietly left and returned to his colleagues.
Then, Xieyi accompanied Xiaolin to the bathroom to wash her face, and then returned to the sofa in the hall. Xiaolin didn't say a word, and after wiping off the remaining makeup on her face, Xiaolin, with wet red eyes, suddenly lost her usual cleverness.
After a long time, Xiaolin finally calmed down and spoke.
"I am a failed woman. I insisted on having someone love me even though they clearly didn't love me."
She has always been capable and smart in her work at Li's company. This time, she described her unsuccessful love in a concise and to-the-point manner, but it made Xieyi both angry and amused.
"Is he a married man?"
Xiaolin shook his head.
"Is there an age difference?"
Xiaolin continued to shake his head.