Chu Shichen brought a painting of "Pozhenzi" back to the secretary's office. Since there was no roll to put it in, he found some bubble wrap to wrap the scroll.
When he first saw this calligraphy, he admired it. The strong and regular script was so profound that he could feel the indignation in the writing after looking at it for a long time.
So what he wanted to preserve when he got this calligraphy was actually the emotions that Xiang Mingzhang poured out on the paper.
Just now in the exhibition hall, in addition to this, Xiang Mingzhang also handed him the bidding documents.
Chu Shichen understood that this decision was due to Xiang Mingzhang's trust and respect for him, and that he must also have some preference and selfish motives towards him. Therefore, he must do his best to do it well, both in public and private matters.
The bidding document is a thick book. Chu Shichen referred to the specifications and drafted an outline for writing the commercial bid.
There was a commotion outside, then it became quiet again. Everyone left. Xiang Mingzhang appeared at the door with his bag and car keys, and said, "It's time to get off work."
After a week of busy inspections, Chu Shichen left the park late at night. He closed his notebook and said, "You've been sending me off these past few days. It's not too late today, so I can just take a taxi."
Xiang Mingzhang came over. The Ningbo trip was over. He and Chu Shichen returned to their respective positions and devoted all their energy to work. They kept their distance in the company every day and occasionally fooled around, but the time they spent was shorter than the time the employees spent hiding in the tea room gossiping.
Xiang Mingzhang fiddled with the leaves of the gladiolus and invited her, "Come to my apartment tonight."
Chu Shichen put on his coat a little slower and said implicitly, "I'm hungry."
Not refusing meant agreeing. Xiang Mingzhang said, "Let's go eat first."
The traffic was severely congested and Xiang Mingzhang drove around in a long circle. He either couldn't get a reservation at any of the nice restaurants or had to wait in line for several hours.
Close to the most prosperous commercial center, red and green neon lights are decorated everywhere. It turns out that Christmas is approaching.
Bomanjia's building was on the next street. Chu Shichen looked out the window and suddenly said, "I'll treat you today."
The restaurants on these streets are very popular. Reservations must be made in advance on normal weekends, let alone during festivals. Xiang Mingzhang said, "The key is where there are seats."
Chu Shichen smiled and said, "I have a connection nearby."
The Rolls-Royce was parked on the side of the road. Xiang Mingzhang got out of the car and saw the sign. He remembered that this was a restaurant invested by Qian Hua. Several times when he passed by after get off work, he saw the Hummer that Qian Hua had used to block Xiang Yue's door parked at the door.
Chu Shichen came twice, once before the opening and once on the opening day. Qian Hua left the guests and yelled at him. The restaurant manager recognized him and arranged a window seat with a wide view.
This was Xiang Mingzhang’s first time here, and the environment and atmosphere were more stylish than he had imagined.
Just as I was about to order, Qian Hua came down from the office upstairs. Before he even came close, he started complaining: "Chu Shichen, you didn't even call before you came over..."
When he walked to the table and found Xiang Mingzhang, Qian Hua was stunned for a second, then immediately said sarcastically: "Oh, I am not seeing wrong, Mr. Xiang actually has time to come."
Xiang Mingzhang didn't like dealing with low-intelligence second-generation rich people, but after all, it was someone else's territory. He said, "It's been open for so long, come and try it."
Qian Hua asked the waiter to bring a bottle of wine from his private collection, removed the menu, and ordered the kitchen to prepare his best signature dishes. He said proudly, "Don't fall in love with it after you try it. Our VIP quota is full."
Xiang Mingzhang said: "It's okay, I can order takeout."
Qian Hua said: "Sorry, we only deliver within 300 meters."
"That's perfect." Xiang Mingzhang raised his chin toward the window, "I live in that building, two hundred meters away at most."
Qian Hua stared at the Bomanjia Apartment not far away, and suddenly remembered that Chu Shichen had asked him, and said, "I thought your lover lived there, but it turned out to be him!"
Before Xiang Mingzhang could react, Chu Shichen changed the subject: "Do you come to the restaurant every day?"
Qian Hua said: "I don't bother to care about it at other times, but it's Christmas, so I'm here to symbolically stay for a while."
Chu Shichen and Qian Hua haven't seen each other for several months. They chat on WeChat occasionally, but Qian Hua's schedule is reversed, so they are always out of sync with each other.
After opening a bottle of wine, Qian Hua sat down and poured three glasses, saying, "This bottle of wine is on me."
Xiang Mingzhang asked: "Will you eat with us?"
"I'm here to keep you company." Qian Hua didn't realize he was a light bulb. "What's wrong? Do you want to talk about business secrets? Go ahead. I don't understand."
The meal was served, the main course was roast beef, the ingredients were top quality, Xiang Mingzhang cut a piece and tasted it, saying calmly: "It's OK."
Qian Hua couldn't stand this kind of social elite, who had a sense of superiority just because they had some ability, and said, "Chu Shichen, let's change places after dinner. I'm going to organize a Christmas party."
Xiang Mingzhang said: "I'm sorry, he wants to go with me."
Chu Shichen said ambiguously: "Well, I'm going to Mr. Xiang's apartment."
Qian Hua frowned, his eyes scanning the table. Before, Xiang Mingzhang took Chu Shichen away from the gay bar and took him to the company to work overtime. He was capable of doing such a thing. If he took him home, he would probably have to watch him edit documents and write reports.
How perverted.
There was silence at the table for a moment. Xiang Mingzhang and Chu Shichen were not in a position to chat, so they just ate.
Qian Hua found it boring and gossiped, "By the way, have you found out anything about the yacht?"
The knife and fork stopped on the plate. Chu Shichen had never forgotten that incident. He had been following the clues and had some clues, but unfortunately the clues were cut off again. After that, he was too busy with official and personal matters to spare time, and the matter was stranded.
He told Qian Hua about the investigation and said, "I met Xingyu, and that's it."
Qian Hua shook his goblet. "So the fake bassist is called Alan, but we can't find him. And there's no news about the waiter Zhang Kai either?"
Chu Shichen suspected that the two were accomplices and said, "There is too little information about Alan, and it is uncertain whether it is true or not, and there is even less information about Zhang Kai."
Qian Hua didn't expect it to be so troublesome: "Haven't you seen Xingyu before, Alan? You must know what he looks like, right?"
Chu Shichen described him as having tanned skin, deep eye sockets, strong muscles, and being able to speak English, but his Mandarin was not very good.
Qian Hua listened and said: "Foreigner?"
Qian Hua likes to go out to sea. He said based on his feeling: "Tanned, deep eye sockets, muscular. I play sailing and drive yachts. Foreign coaches almost all look like that, and their English is better than Mandarin."
Xiang Mingzhang and Chu Shichen exchanged glances. They had never thought about this before.
A group of guests came into the restaurant. They seemed to be some famous actors, and Qian Hua ran over to chat with them.
After dinner, Xiang Mingzhang and Chu Shichen left the restaurant. Since they couldn’t drive after drinking, the two of them walked slowly along the street.
There were exquisite luxury goods in the window and a special Christmas poster on the giant screen, but Chu Shichen had no interest in watching them. He said, "I want to continue investigating."
Xiang Mingzhang asked: "Do you think what Qian Hua said makes sense?"
A bystander sees more clearly. Perhaps this is true. Chu Shichen analyzed: "If the explosion is related to Alan, he must know yachts, be familiar with water, and have good physical fitness, so he can ensure his own safety."
Xiang Mingzhang said: "So he is someone who knows yachts and has probably lived by the sea."
"If he is a foreigner..." Chu Shichen said, "If he is from Europe or America, Xingyu will be able to tell. But what if he is from Asia, such as Southeast Asia?"
Xiang Mingzhang said: "We modern people call it Southeast Asia."
Chu Shichen: “Oh.”
Xiang Mingzhang didn't like the feeling of "doubt", otherwise he wouldn't have tried so hard to verify Chu Shichen's identity. He said, "You ask Lawyer Lei to start with the documents and look for any missing clues. I'll ask Xu Liao to find someone to check it out."
Chu Shichen nodded in agreement. He had always been curious about the relationship between Xu Liao and Xiang Mingzhang, so he asked, "Isn't Mr. Xu the boss of Yunjiao? Why is he helping you?"
Xiang Mingzhang said succinctly: "I will pay."
Chu Shichen said: "I thought you were friends."
Xiang Mingzhang said: "Actually, he is my mother's friend."
Chu Shichen was a little surprised. Bai Yongti lived a secluded life and didn't even care about her son. It didn't seem like she had any friends. Besides, her mother's friends were considered elders, so why would she do things for a younger generation? Xiang Mingzhang smiled and said, "If there's a chance to introduce you to each other, let him talk to you in person."
Arriving at the Bomanjia Building, there was a small supermarket of over 100 square meters on the first floor. Xiang Mingzhang said, "I want to buy something."
Chu Shichen followed him in. In this area where every inch of land is worth a lot of money, all the goods were flashy and imported at double the price. He had just read the English words on a pack of biscuits when Xiang Mingzhang was ready to pay.
Chu Shichen didn't want to leave empty-handed, so he took a pack of biscuits and walked to Xiang Mingzhang, asking, "What did you buy so quickly?"
There were two boxes of safe T-shirts on the counter. Chu Shichen saw them clearly and his face turned red. He stood there, so embarrassed that he forgot to breathe.
The waiter was also stunned: "Excuse me, are you here together? Sorry... I mean, are you here to pay together?"
Xiang Mingzhang said calmly: "It's together."
Coming out of the supermarket, Chu Shichen raised the collar of his coat, trying to cover his face. There was only one word in his mind: uncivilized.
Xiang Mingzhang helped hold the biscuits, but he still wanted to make trouble: "It's the same as the one in the bathroom at Manzhuang."
Chu Shichen had met her at the Manzhuang bathroom, and asked unhappily, "Why did you buy this?"
Xiang Mingzhang said: "Use it."
There were some in the old days, but most of them were used by prostitutes. Chu Shichen said in protest, "Why do you have to use this thing?"
Xiang Mingzhang pursed his lips. Relying on the gap between the times, the difference in concepts, and the innocence left by the other party's past purity, he moved closer and deliberately said, "It's for contraception."
Chu Shichen said subconsciously: "I don't know how to-"
He was stunned in the middle of his words, then realized that he was being teased. Xiang Mingzhang smiled, but was afraid that he would get angry and run away, so he pulled him into the gate of Bomanjia.
Arriving at the apartment, Chu Shichen walked in with a cold and hot face without saying a word. He took out the scroll from his bag, unfolded it, and admired the painting "Poetry of Breaking the Formation" by himself.
Xiang Mingzhang couldn't help but say, "I think you like Xin Qiji more."
Chu Shichen ignored him.
Xiang Mingzhang went to take a bath. When he came out, he wiped his hair and said, "I've put hot water in for you. Your pajamas are next to the bathtub."
Chu Shichen frowned and said, "I don't think I agreed to stay overnight."
It was the first time that Xiang Mingzhang saw Chu Shichen acting like a spoiled brat, and it was very amusing. He turned and went into the study, then returned to the living room with a thick box of materials. The label on the box indicated that it was Xiang Yue's bidding cases over the years.
Chu Shichen was prompted to raise his head: "What do you mean?"
Xiang Mingzhang said like a big liar: "I need to write a technical specification and plan to study it tonight."
Half an hour later, Chu Shichen finished his hot bath and walked into the study wearing Xiang Mingzhang's white T-shirt and pajamas. On the sofa, Xiang Mingzhang was sitting leisurely in the middle, reading a bidding document.
Chu Shichen sat down at one end of the sofa and took out a bid from the box. The length of the bid documents varied greatly depending on the size of the project.
Xiang Mingzhang said: "The presentation documents for the bidding are made according to the bidding documents, but the level of detail may not be the same, and sometimes some content may be omitted."
Chu Shichen asked: "Why?"
Xiang Mingzhang didn't answer, but leaned back on the sofa cushion. When Chu Shichen looked at him, he patted his thigh lightly and said nonchalantly, "Come here."
(End of this chapter)