When he heard the news that Xu Qiao was at school, Cheng Lang was being trained in the study at home.
The mess in the restaurant last night had been properly dealt with, and the incident didn't spread in the form of any video news, but it inevitably alarmed the old lady of the Cheng family.
Cheng Zongyue called his grandson to the study early in the morning, and scolded him for a long time for his reckless behavior. Of course, Xu Qiao was inevitably mentioned.
"I heard that you came out for that girl from the Xu family?" Cheng Zongyue sat on a huanghuali rattan chair and tapped the ground with a cane in his hand, "The family does not interfere with your freedom of love, but since you choose to make it public in a high-profile way, , should go for the result.”
Cheng Lang accepted the temptation without denying it.
Cheng Zongyue nodded: "If this is the case, Grandpa would remind you one more thing. Your marriage partner, not to mention adding luster to you, at least should not have any stains. I have already learned about this girl's family background. Relationship, I also understand, you don’t need to explain to me, this is the prejudice of deception, I will have such a prejudice, and of course other people will also have it, so this is an unavoidable problem. So I don’t agree She is your ideal development object. I just heard from your mother that you two had some troubles, and I thought it would be good to cut it off. "
Cheng Lang smiled: "Grandpa, are you suggesting me now, or asking me?"
Cheng Zongyue raised his eyebrows: "What about suggestions, what about requests?"
"If you're advising me, then I don't think I'll take your advice."
"What if I'm asking you?" Cheng Zongyue lowered his voice.
"Grandpa," Cheng Lang said sternly, "You asked me to be a gentleman, so before yesterday, I had never fought with anyone."
Cheng Zongyue turned his head away with anger.
His good grandson was saying that he had been asked to be a gentleman since he was a child, but he broke the rules for Xu Qiao, so he would not obey any request regarding Xu Qiao's matter.
Whether it was a suggestion or a request, his answer was the same.
Cheng Lang winked at Cai An.
Cai An came forward with the tablet and found an electronic contract.
Cheng Zongyue said with a gloomy face that he didn't want to watch it.
Cheng Lang made the old man smile, and took the tablet with his own hands: "This is the merger and acquisition case I finalized with Long An years ago, have you seen it?"
Cheng Zongyue looked at him sideways in surprise, and managed to give him a good face: "You boy, have you eaten half of the old He's family without making a sound?"
"The signing ceremony is already in preparation and will probably be scheduled for the middle of next month."
Seeing Cheng Zongyue wearing presbyopic glasses and picking up the tablet, Cheng Lang continued the topic just now: "Grandpa, I understand your expectations, but I don't need anyone to help me. If I have to rely on marriage to achieve my career, I don't think so." If I have the ability to inherit Lanchen, then I might as well be like Xiao Ye and be a wild crane from now on."
Cheng Zongyue looked at him: "I taught you how to be courteous before fighting, and negotiate with others softly and hard, so that you can challenge me one day?"
Cheng Lang smiled and spread his hands: "It's really a last resort."
It was at this time that Cai An received news from Xu Qiao, and desperately whispered something into Cheng Lang's ear.
Cheng Lang frowned, said "Grandpa, I'll listen to your training when I come back later" and hurried to the school.
—
But Cheng Lang was a step late when he got the news, and there was a lot of delay on the road. When he arrived at the coffee shop, the incident had come to an end.
The moment the store door was opened, a sentence came from inside: "My hands are darker and more ruthless than our Mr. Cheng."
Cheng Lang suddenly stopped at the door.
Immediately afterwards, the second half of Xu Qiao's sentence resounded resoundingly: "If you continue to disturb our life, the law can't rule you, I will rule you."
Cheng Lang maintained the posture halfway through pushing the door, and stood still for a long time without moving.
He didn't know how to describe the feeling of this moment.
Thinking that he hurried all the way here to save the field, he didn't expect this result at all.
He has been independent since he was a child, always living above others, and has never had the need or expectation of being protected by others.
But now, there is a girl, she is powerless, helpless, she has suffered so much, she has been deceived by him for so long, but today, when she should hate him, she stands in front of him and holds up for him took the weapon.
For a moment, Cheng Lang felt that he was not good enough.
She has nothing, but she is still so fresh and bright. And after he took off the aura of money, status, and status, what was left
What Grandpa said just now seems to have turned black and white, he is not worthy of Xu Qiao's favor.
A "May I help you sir" interrupted his stillness and diverted Xu Qiao's attention from the confrontation.
Xu Qiao turned her head and met Cheng Lang's complicated eyes.
It was a kind of look, as if looking at rare treasures that could not be bought.
Cheng Lang regained his composure when he caught her gaze, pushed the door open and walked in, lightly buttoned his suit, straightened and ironed the folds of the placket, went to her side and held her hand, turned his head slightly, and smiled Said: "Baby, although I trust your ability very much, I still leave the dirty hands to me." He said and glanced at the person opposite, "Of course I think, he should not disturb our life anymore."
On his lips were gentle statements, but in his eyes were warm warnings, as if he had clearly issued an ultimatum.
The face of the person opposite was ashen, as if he remembered Cheng Lang's ruthless hand last night, he picked up his bag and got up with a chill on his back.
"Before you leave," Cheng Lang called to stop him, "Please apologize for the unpleasantness you caused to my girlfriend last night, including just now."
The person opposite gritted his teeth and hurriedly bowed to Xu Qiao: "Yes... I'm sorry." After speaking, he walked out of the coffee shop.
"Did he bully you just now?" Cheng Lang and the others asked after they left.
"No." She just came to give the other party a warning, and she didn't intend to fight at first. The other party's unwavering and strong attitude towards her was unexpected. Even if Cheng Lang didn't show up, she should have fled in despair.
"This kind of level can't bully me." Xu Qiao exerted a little force and twitched her hand.
Cheng Lang immediately let go of her hand.
Xu Qiao paused and added an explanation: "What I just said has nothing to do with you, what about us, it's just acting."
Cheng Lang nodded after a delay: "Well, then you can just treat what I said just now as just acting."
It's weird to be so obedient. Xu Qiao glanced at him: "Then can you stop following me?"
"I'll try not to bother you, okay? I don't mean anything else, I just worry about you being in a foreign country."
"Oh, then from this afternoon, you don't have to look at me."
Cheng Lang narrowed his eyes slightly: "Are you planning to go back to China?"
"Yes." She replied looking out the window.
Cheng Lang was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Assistant Lin called me yesterday afternoon, saying that the office mailbox had received a dozen or so cooperation invitation emails in the past few days. There are two more suitable projects, you can choose one to try. In addition, there are some private orders, mostly from the ladies and ladies of the wealthy circle, which you can choose freely according to your own preferences."
Xu Qiao looked away and looked at him with some boredom.
Cheng Lang guessed what she was thinking: "After you return to China, I will not interfere with your life decisions, but I hope you don't get in trouble with your career because of me. The studio shareholder is not just me, but also Ms. Yu's share. You are there The working conditions, including the allocation of employee apartments, did not increase resources because of personal feelings, these are all legitimate, and you deserve benefits."
"If one day you really want to leave the studio, it should be because you have higher pursuits in your career, instead of simply considering the change in your relationship with me like now. I am sorry for you, you still Wouldn't it be too bad to waste your career as soon as you leave?"
Xu Qiao pursed her lips and let out an "oh".
Cheng Lang smiled, and looked down into her eyes: "That's right. Such an excellent girl, even without me, will shine."
—
Back in China, Xu Qiao moved out of the Lishan mansion and moved into the staff apartment again. After the Spring Festival holiday, she devoted herself to work step by step. Based on Cheng Lang's judgment, she selected from the dozens of cooperation invitations she received. The two partners approached and finally selected one of them.
The other party is a fashion designer with an independent brand. He plans to hold a fashion show with the theme of "deep sea" this year. Recently, he is looking for a jewelry designer who is inspired by this theme to create jewelry for the fashion show. accessories.
After a few back and forth email exchanges with Xu Qiao, the British Chinese asked her to have an interview with her when she came to China next month.
Xu Qiao had always had a good impression of Mr. Pan's unconstrained design style, and had many interesting ideas about the theme of this fashion show, so before the interview, she temporarily postponed all private orders and concentrated on drafting creative ideas.
It wasn't until mid-February that I officially received an invitation from Pan De to meet.
The meeting place is about a tea room near the central business district of Beicheng, not far from Lanchen Group. Xu Qiao is no stranger to this area. After getting off the car, she took Lin Bai to the private room of the tea room with familiarity.
Pan De arrived five minutes earlier than her, and also brought an accompanying assistant.
The two sides exchanged a few words in the scene, and Pan De went straight to the point in Mandarin: "First of all, let me tell you the truth, Miss Yuli, you are the third jewelry designer I contacted for this fashion show, and in your After that, I don’t guarantee whether I will continue to touch the fifth or sixth place, if you mind this, please contact me.”
Perhaps it was because Cheng Lang had already filtered out unreliable partners for her in advance when selecting partners. This fashion designer was straight to the point, and Xu Qiao felt very comfortable with his attitude of not hiding things.
She nodded and lowered her stance in speaking: "It's my honor that you choose to consider a new designer like me, and I don't mind."
"Miss Yuli doesn't need to be overly humble, after all, the term 'qualification' is not worth mentioning in the field of art." Pan De laughed, "I can just say that you are currently my first choice."
Xu Qiao was slightly surprised: "Because of my work at the London exhibition?"
"That is indeed the opportunity for me to know you, but it is not the key factor." Pan De took the tablet from the assistant and handed it to the opposite side, "The key is these works. I want to confirm with you, the jewelry design drawings of this shell series , including the story idea behind it, is it your own original creation?"
Xu Qiao was stunned for a moment, then took the tablet and looked at it.
The electronic scan draft of a set of jewelry design drawings was displayed on the screen, and each design drawing was inscribed with the word "Xu Qiao" flying around.
This is not a work she created when she was Hatachi, but a sketch she drew casually when she was in college two years ago.
At that time, I didn't plan to work seriously, but occasionally I would have some creative passion, and I had accumulated a lot of drawings.
But these design drawings are not mature, they are just drafts to vent their creativity, and the fineness does not meet the drawing standards at all. Moreover, all of them are works that she has never published before.
She was surprised: "Where did you get these scans? My original manuscript should be in..."
It should be in Xu's villa in Xijiang Mansion.
Cheng Lang had photographed the luxury items in her entire cloakroom at the beginning, but he didn't waste that money to photograph the villa—maybe he had planned to coax her back home, and of course he wouldn't give her a second gorgeous golden house.
In short, she didn't know who the owner of the villa was, including the whereabouts of the waste items in the villa.
Pan De watched her expression change: "So they are indeed your works?"
"It's my early work, but the original manuscripts are no longer in my hands, and I don't know who published them." Xu Qiao's face was in disbelief.
"Don't worry," Pan De gestured, "they have not been published publicly, but they were passed to me by a jeweler. The other party asked me if I was interested in buying them, and I noticed something unusual, so I came to you I confirm."
Xu Qiao breathed a sigh of relief but was even more puzzled: "Who is this jeweler, and where did he get these scans?"
"The scanned copy may have been changed hands several times. Before I find out the situation, I can't reveal the identity of the jeweler to you for the time being, so as not to cause unnecessary misunderstandings. But since I have obtained your approval, I will start investigating the matter." , I will give you an answer then."
Xu Qiao nodded: "Please."
"Let's get down to business," Pan De laughed, "I really like the series of works you created in the early days. Although the drawing skills are somewhat lacking, its creativity fits the theme of my fashion show very well. Of course, because these scanned copies come from Unknown, considering the potential for disputes, I don't plan to use them directly, I think it shouldn't be wrong to look for you as a designer."
Xu Qiao also smiled: "I think I will create something more mature than this series and more in line with the theme of your fashion show."
—
It was already lunch time after the conversation with Pan De, and it took at least an hour and a half to drive back to the studio, so Lin Bai arranged for Xu Qiao to have a meal nearby.
Xu Qiao was a little confused because of the leak of the design drawings. She had been imagining the possibility along the way. When she walked into a nearby tea restaurant and passed a seat by the window, she suddenly heard a familiar male voice: "Xu Qiao?"
The other party's voice and tone were very warm, but Xu Qiaozheng was taken aback, looking back, only to find that it was Song Mian.
"I'm sorry to scare you." Song Mian apologized and got up.
"No, I was thinking about something." Xu Qiao waved his hands, seeing that he was dressed in casual clothes, "Aren't you at the community hospital today?"
"I'm on vacation today. I just gave..." Considering that there were other people in the restaurant, Song Mian didn't directly name them. "My employer finished the inspection and came to have a meal nearby."
Xu Qiao immediately understood the identity of his employer, with a slightly unnatural expression on his face.
These days, Cheng Langxin kept his promise to give her time to tidy up and think, and never came to disturb her. Of course, the "good morning" and "good night" on WeChat every day were still the same, and he urged her to remember to eat on time.
She wasn't sure if Song Mian knew about her current relationship with Cheng Lang.
"You are?" Song Mian asked.
"I also just finished work, so I came here for a light meal."
"Then do you want to go together?" Song Mian smiled and made a "please" gesture.
Xu Qiao glanced at Lin Bai behind him.
Lin Bai hurriedly said that he would go to the next door for a light meal.
Xu Qiao sat down opposite Song Mian, took the menu he handed over, and after ordering, looked at him hesitantly.
"If you want to ask about 'him', don't shy away," Song Mian took the initiative to untie her, "There should be nothing we can't say now."
After hearing what he said, Xu Qiao was sure that Song Mian was very clear about her recent situation with Cheng Lang.
After all, the last time she called him in London, his answer was "I can't disclose any private information about my patients, sorry".
"It's nothing important," Xu Qiao smiled awkwardly, "You said you just finished checking him..."
"It's just routine checks such as heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar. There is nothing wrong with it. He has not been exposed to allergens recently, and his condition is temporarily stable."
Allergens... mean women
What's the matter, is the personal doctor still responsible for explaining such things to the ex-girlfriend for the employer
"Oh." Xu Qiao nodded, took a sip of the warm water in front of her.
"Sorry, I didn't tell you the truth on the phone last time." Song Mian apologized.
"Oh, don't say that. You are a doctor first in this matter, and then my friend. You should abide by professional ethics and the rules and regulations. This is a matter between me and him."
"Then how do you think about it now?"
Xu Qiao looked at him vigilantly: "Isn't he the one who sent you to spy on the military situation?"
Song Mian smiled and shook his head: "As far as I know, he is not such a person."
Oh, that's right too.
How could Cheng Lang ask her male friend for help with such a thing.
"I just feel that I am partly responsible for this matter," Song Mian looked at her, "If you need someone to talk to, I am very happy to be an audience."
Xu Qiao was really a little panicked.
Considering Cheng Lang's hidden illness, she couldn't really talk about it with any friends around her. Indeed, only Song Mian, who already knew everything, could be her audience.
"I've been a little annoyed lately..." She lowered her head and sighed.
"Is the root of your troubles not knowing what you think of him?"
Xu Qiao vaguely understood that Song Mian was asking her implicitly if she still liked Cheng Lang.
"No," Xu Qiao shook her head sullenly, and answered implicitly—she felt that she still liked Cheng Lang, "I just don't know whether I should forgive him."
Song Mian pondered for a moment and said: "I have no experience in love, and I am not suitable to give you advice on this issue, but I think there is no right or wrong for your choice."
"Huh?" Xu Qiao raised her head.
"Whether to forgive a person's mistakes is not because you should or shouldn't, but because you believe or not." Song Mian picked up the seasoning bottle at hand and poured a drop of soy sauce into the glass filled with water.
The thick black ink slowly blurred in the water.
"Mistakes are an established fact, just like the ink in this glass of water, you can no longer completely peel off and remove it, even if you give it time to dilute and dissolve, this glass of water may not become transparent again. But if you add ink to the glass What about more clarified water? How many traces of that drop of ink will remain until the water in the container overflows and fresh water keeps replacing it?"
"If you believe that the new water in the future will be clear, give this cup a chance. Otherwise, throw it away. The past cannot be changed. I think the key to the question is whether you believe in the future." Song Mian concluded .
Xu Qiao nodded in ecstasy, and after a while, as if she came to her senses, she nodded again.
The waiter serving the food interrupted the conversation between the two.
The two turned their eyes and stared blankly at the birthday cakes on the waiter's cart.
"We didn't ask for cake." Song Mian said.
"The cake is included, Mr. Song, I wish you a happy birthday."
Xu Qiao was taken aback: "Today is your birthday?"
Song Mian nodded, then turned to the waiter, "Who told you that today is my birthday?"
"You've registered your birthday at the restaurant before."
Song Mian frowned, as if he didn't remember much about it, but he still said "thank you" to the waiter.
Xu Qiao immediately apologized: "I'm sorry, I didn't know that today is your birthday, and I didn't prepare a gift. I will definitely make it up later."
"It's okay, don't talk about you, I forgot about it myself." Song Mian smiled, glanced at the shape of the cake on the table, seemed to feel that something was wrong, looked out the window as if aware of it, and saw the cake on the other side of the road. There was a little girl hiding behind the street tree, only half of her head was showing this way.
Seeing him looking over, the person opposite hurried away, tripping over the steps unexpectedly.
Song Mian straightened up and saw the little girl holding on to the tree to stand firm, and hurriedly turned around and left.
Xu Qiao looked in the direction he was looking at: "What's wrong?"
Song Mian slowly withdrew his gaze and shook his head: "It's nothing." It's just that he was a little absent-minded about eating this meal.
—
Both of them had work to do, so they parted ways in the restaurant after lunch.
Back in the studio, Xu Qiao thought deeply about the leakage of the design drawings, and was a little hesitant to contact Cheng Lang to inquire about the situation.
But when I opened WeChat, I found that he didn't remind her to eat at noon today, and the news became a bit unhandy again. After thinking about it, I decided to wait until the time when he reminded her to eat dinner.
As a result, he waited until dark, but he didn't remind her to have dinner.
This was the first time Cheng Lang had missed her two meals in a row since returning from London.
Xu Qiao got angry, thinking that the glass of water between her and Cheng Lang might not get better, so she took a few mouthfuls of work meals with difficulty, turned her grief and anger into inspiration, and worked overtime in the studio until ten o'clock in the evening, then yawned and sat back to the apartment car.
Walking into the elevator of the apartment building, she took out her mobile phone to confirm WeChat again.
No arrears, no internet disconnection, but no news of Cheng Lang.
Usually at this time, he should come to say good night to her.
This dog man, did he realize that it is impossible to make progress by retreating, and played the routine of being indifferent
The elevator went up to the sixteenth floor, Xu Qiao sighed and threw the phone into the bag and walked out.
The voice-activated light came on the moment the elevator door opened, she walked around the corner, and suddenly staggered to support the wall: "Oh mom!"
Xu Qiao gasped because she saw a man standing upright at the door of her house without making a sound.
The man turned around when he heard the sound.
Of course, without him turning his head, Xu Qiao also recognized his back after a shudder.
"You, you, what are you doing? You scared me to death by not making a sound!" She patted her chest in shock, and at the same time, smelled a strong smell of alcohol.
Cheng Lang looked at her from a distance and said nothing, maybe it was because of the effect of alcohol, she seemed a little slow in response, and she looked not very smart.
Xu Qiao stepped forward, approached him and sniffed: "Wow, how much wine have you drunk?"
He seemed to finally realize that she was back, and he raised his hand to take her into his arms.
Before Xu Qiao had time to react, she heard a very hurt voice from above her head: "Did you go to celebrate Song Mian's birthday today?" Even after asking, his chin still rubbed pitifully on her shoulder Rubbing, rubbing made her heart tremble again.
This time it's not because of scaring, but because of Su.
"..." What's going on, did this man get so drunk