The scenery here is beautiful. The man who accompanied me for a walk was not very handsome, but he had a proud figure. But the simple and quiet walking trip was forced to be interrupted after a quarter of an hour.
It is raining.
The autumn rain brings a chill. The drizzle falls in the mountains. The thin clothes on my body cannot resist it at all. Walking in the rain is just asking for trouble.
The two of them hurried back and met three people who were returning from outside at the door.
Needless to say, writer Wu is an old acquaintance. The person he was chatting happily with was a fat man in his forties, who should be the editor-in-chief of Morning Star, Mr. Tao. It is unknown whether the "Mr." here means "Director So-and-so" or "Vice President", but in any case, there are always people with the title of "Mr." in all companies, big or small.
The youngest one carrying a bucket must be another student of Painter Chang, Xiao Luxiao.
"Hey." Writer Wu lived up to everyone's expectations and was the first to fire a shot every time he saw her. "Long time no see, little princess. Are you coming with your boss Jiakang this time?"
"Teacher Wu is always very enthusiastic when he sees me. People who don't know me would think that you care about me a lot. But I know myself very well." Jian Jing said quietly, "You are just thinking about something. Don't worry, I received it in good condition and it is not damaged at all."
Writer Wu's expression froze, and then he remembered that she had an indecent photo of him. His facial muscles twisted slightly, but he swallowed his anger and strode into the house.
President Tao was not angry at being left aside. He greeted with a squinting face, "Is this Jingjing? I've heard a lot about you. You are Tao Ling from Morning Star. Come and meet him."
He held out his hand and made friends with her very enthusiastically.
Jian Jing knew what he was planning, but she was not afraid at all and shook hands with him lightly.
"How long have you been here?" Mr. Tao was very talkative. He would ask something every few steps into the house. "We came this morning and went fishing after lunch. Hey, the water and air here are good, so we can have an extra meal in the evening."
Xiaolu said: "Boss Tao is a good fisherman. These two fish are big enough."
Under the good will of Mr. Tao, when they entered the living room, it was a happy scene.
Painter Chang glanced at Eddie and asked Mr. Tao: "It seems that we have made a good harvest today."
"Lucky." Mr. Tao sat down with a smile, "Mr. Kang, we haven't met for half a year, right? We should have a good drink today."
"Boss Tao is very busy." Kang Mucheng said, "I heard that the book exhibition held by Morning Star in Japan received a very good response."
"No, no, I'm just testing the waters. I'm lucky. I'll sign this year's love award."
The two competitors were arguing with each other, and Painter Chang was not in a position to interrupt, so he asked Xiaolu to move the fish to the back and let the kitchen helper clean it as soon as possible.
After giving the order, she stared at Eddie and asked, "Where did you go just now?"
"Go get some fresh air." Eddie picked up the remaining wine glass and drank the remaining wine. "I have a headache. Let's go to bed first."
"Dinner will be served soon." Painter Chang said in a bad tone.
"No, I'm on a diet." He said lazily, turned around and went out, entering the Monet Building on the right.
Painter Chang's eyes suddenly became solemn. After all, the room was full of guests, and he couldn't make a scene. He simply said, "You guys sit down for a while. I'll go and prepare dinner. We're having Western food today. It doesn't matter what you like. We can have whatever you like."
Everyone said, "Just whatever you want."
But no matter how polite they are, the host can't really just cook a few dishes to be perfunctory. Today's dinner is cream of mushroom soup, vegetable and fruit salad, fried fish fillet, Italian macaroni, cheese mashed potatoes, curry chicken, pancakes and borscht.
Although the cuisine is diverse, they all taste good and are very suitable for the Chinese taste.
"Eddie doesn't like Western food made by me, saying it's not authentic." Painter Chang eats very little, mainly drinks red wine, and is slightly tipsy. "It's better if it's not authentic. Who has the patience to eat authentic Western food all year round?"
This statement was unanimously agreed by everyone present, including Kang Mucheng. When he went to study in the United States, eating Western food was bitter, and eating traditional Chinese food was also bitter.
With delicious food and fine wine, everyone gradually started talking.
President Tao spoke to Jian Jing with a clear purpose: "President Kang is very picky in the industry. Many partners get a headache just hearing his name. How is he treating you? Is he strict? If you can't stand his tricks, consider joining us, Morning Star."
He asked Xia Tianxin: "Xiaoxing, how do you think Uncle Tao treats you?"
"When will you raise your royalties? I'll say good things to you again." Xia Tianxin said, "But the publishing house has very few requirements for you, and you have a high degree of freedom. Familiar authors can get 50% of their royalties in advance by submitting an outline, which is very good."
Jian Jing: "It's pretty good."
Mr. Tao asked: "Think about it carefully, especially when you want to write some romance. Tell me, do your suspense novels sell well?"
Jian Jing agreed sincerely: "I will definitely consider it carefully."
"I heard that Devil 2 is already in preparation? Hey, this time you have to ask President Kang to prepare well, and the previous incident can't happen again." President Tao seemed to be speaking from the heart, "I'm worried for you, the reputation is one-sided, it's a major publicity accident! If it were you, your heart would be broken."
Jian Jing: “…”
Wasn't it you who stepped on the slut
Painter Chang heard this and asked Kang Mucheng, "Someone is trying to steal your girl openly, and you don't say anything?"
"Let him try. He won't give up until he tries." Kang Mucheng didn't care. There were so many writers in Jinwu, big and small, and anyone could be poached, except Jian Jing.
The little girl is thin-skinned and only says a few perfunctory words. Anyone who takes her seriously will lose.
As expected, when President Tao saw that Kang Mucheng didn't even glance at him, he felt disappointed, but his face was still squinting: "Jingjing, you see, President Kang doesn't care about you at all. If someone comes to poach your people, he will fight him to the death."
Jian Jing: "You are such a nice person."
A nice guy card ends the topic.
Tao always thought she was a little stupid and it was not worthwhile to waste his breath, so he changed his target and started chatting with the painter. He first said that she was a good teacher for considering her two students, and then asked her when she planned to hold an exhibition. Although he didn't understand art, he could do it by running errands.
Honestly, it was nice to have this guy at the dinner table, he was good at chatting, like a crosstalk, with jokes coming out one after another. Everyone knew that what he said could not be believed, but it was fun to listen to him.
Jian Jing found it very interesting.
As both are heads of publishing houses, Mr. Tao and Mr. Kang Mucheng have completely different styles.
Mr. Tao has a generous and open-minded personality. He is good at talking and chatting. Even if the deal fails, there will still be friendship. Regardless of whether we can cooperate or not, it would be nice to make friends and get to know each other.
Kang Mucheng was not so open-minded. He was very strict in his choice of words and was very professional. Business was business and relationships were relationships. It was absolutely impossible to trick him into giving in after three rounds of drinks.
What about Painter Chang? She was very open-minded and talked about whatever came to her mind. She had an obvious artistic temperament and could get along better with Mr. Tao. But Jian Jing noticed that she always seemed to be paying close attention to Kang Mucheng.
Occasionally she pours wine, occasionally passes pepper, and the hint on her lips is like smudged lipstick, a vague hint of bright red.
"Jingjing, can I call you that?" Xia Tianxin sat next to her, her eyebrows curved and her eyes lit up, "We are in a group, would you like to join it?"
Jian Jing was slightly startled: "What group?"
"Exchange groups, mutual assistance groups, and food groups." Xia Tianxin said, "They are all people of similar age in the circle, not only from our publishing house, but also from other publishing houses."
She lowered her voice and blinked: "More friends, more paths."
Jian Jing was silent. Writers belong to their own circle, so it would be convenient if they wanted to change jobs at any time. She readily agreed: "Okay, thank you."
"It's okay, let's help each other." Xia Tianxin took a sip of red wine and gradually became more talkative, "Hey, is Writer Wu always like this?"
She glanced at writer Wu across from her. His old problem had come back, and he lowered his head and said something to Xiaotian. Xiaotian's expression was a little stiff, and he tried to lean towards the path next to him, but the seat was so small that he couldn't hide far.
Xia Tianxin whispered: "I've heard rumors several times that he bullies newcomers and likes to harass girls. It seems to be true."
Jian Jing glanced over and kicked Kang Mucheng beside her.
He dropped the subject and turned to look at her.
Jian Jing raised her chin and motioned for him to look across.
Kang Mucheng frowned and changed the subject: "Come to think of it, the competition led by writer Wu seemed to have received a good response?"
"Boss Kang has heard of you too?" Writer Wu said proudly. "I invited a few of my friends to be judges. They are quite popular in colleges and universities. But I have to say that the quality of articles written by young people nowadays is really not as good as our seniors."
He shook his head and sighed, as if he was worried about the future of the country: "When I was young, I could submit articles to newspapers, and even magazines. But the few things that were published were nothing. It's nothing like now, where you can just post articles online casually. What kind of stuff are they?!"
A wise man does not brag about his past achievements, but writer Wu kept dwelling on the past and talked about it at length until the end of the meal, feeling still not satisfied.
Jian Jing could not bear it any longer, so she said that she was feeling uncomfortable after drinking too much and escaped.
Xia Tianxin, Xiaotian, and Xiaolu followed suit and said goodbye, leaving the adults to continue drinking and bragging.
Jian Jing took a hot shower in her room and just as she turned on her phone to watch some pet videos, there was a knock on the door.
The person standing outside was far beyond her expectations.
"Wouldn't you please come in?" Eddie asked.
Jian Jing frowned: "What's the matter?"
"Let's continue with the previous topic." Eddie shook the bottle in his hand, "Don't worry, I won't eat you."
After being silent for a while, Jian Jing said tactfully: "I'm a little tired, I want to rest early."
"The stars are beautiful in the mountains at night. Don't you want to see them?" He tempted her. "You know there's a path up the mountain that leads to a beautiful valley. There, the stars are within arm's reach."
He made a gesture of reaching for the stars: "Like this, so close."
"Maybe it's romantic, but I'm not interested," she said firmly.
Eddie leaned down, close to her face. The faint scent of woody perfume wafted from the skin on his neck and lingered in her nose.
"What about me? You have no interest in me either?" he asked.
"No." She said, "Go ahead, or else if Painter Chang finds out, you won't have a good ending."
Eddie looked at me and shrugged: "Lisa doesn't have time to care about me now. Can't you see? She likes Kang Mucheng."
Jian Jing: “…” Not surprising.
"Lisa is just an ordinary friend." Eddie crossed his legs, casting a tall shadow down, "It doesn't matter if I change a friend like this."
Jian Jing couldn't help but be curious: "Why is it ?"
"Young, beautiful, rich, of course it's you." Eddie answered easily, "Don't you want to try? You are a very good 'friend', no burden."
Jian Jing: "A friend who wants to borrow money."
Eddie: "Writers are very rich, and I need a little bit."
"You're a bottomless pit," she whispered. "Eddie, you touch things you shouldn't touch."
Eddie was silent suddenly, as if surprised.
"Good night." She closed the door, not worrying whether he would continue to harass her.
The footsteps outside the door faded away.
Jian Jing picked up her phone and glanced at the time.
It is 8:40 pm on September 27th, Beijing time.