between clouds and mud

Chapter 40
The little girl choked up and asked him, "Are you also a designer?"

"Ah."

She looked a little frustrated, and said slowly: "I was just let go by a designer. I had a good talk, but now I'm about to start, but he went on strike."

"Just change it." Zhang Chengnian was curious: "Is it hard to find a designer?"

"Ours is different. We want a designer with a certain reputation and reputation in China, not just anyone."

"That should be a big project."

"No, I'm going to Hangzhou on a business trip. It's an old house renovation, and there's no salary."

"That's it." It's no wonder they were dismissed. Such a small project wants to hire first-class designers, but they don't pay.

"Ours is a decoration program. We will film the whole process and broadcast it on TV at that time. Do you know "Swap Space"?"

"Are you from this program group?"

"No." The little girl was a little shy, how could they have such a big reputation: "But it should be of the same type."

Zhang Chengnian thought for a moment, recalled the content of the last conversation with Gu, and took out his business card from his wallet: "What do you think of me?"

"Huh? We want top-notch"

After speaking, the little girl also realized that her words were not very polite, so she quickly apologized: "Why don't you send me your resume, and I'll show it to our leader, okay?"

Zhang Chengnian nodded, and the two exchanged contact information.

When making notes in the address book, the little girl said her name was Fairy Tale.

Fairy Tale uses an old mobile phone for the elderly. She doesn't have a mailbox, so she left the boss's mailbox to Zhang Chengnian.

She didn't have too much hope for this, thanked Zhang Chengnian many times, and left by bus.

The car was wobbly, halfway there, I received a call from the boss: "Little boy, where did you find this man?"

ah?can't you?He is very nice and handsome. Fairy Tale's voice becomes softer as he speaks.

"Do you have the contract with you?"

"Ah."

"Go to him quickly, sign the contract, and don't let the duck with its mouth fly away."

"what?"

"This is the sweet pastry that fell from the sky. This Zhang Gong has just returned from Singapore. He is superior to the first-class designers in China. He has an excellent resume and is handsome. When the time comes, the ratings can be supported by his face." stand up."

"It turns out that he is so powerful."

Fairy Tale also laughed, she knew it, but she didn't expect him to be so nice.

A gentleman is like a jade, a talent of Yiqun.

Zhang Chengnian originally had a project in Hangzhou, so he took over this project as a matter of course.The renovation program lasted for half a year, and he was assigned to renovate three old houses.

The time is not very tight, and most of the time there are cameras working with the designers.

How can you kill a chicken with a butcher's knife? The designers who come here work on relatively large projects, and rarely do small home decoration.

Therefore, they all have a little arrogance on their bodies, and Zhang Chengnian is the one who has given up his identity the most. He handles the projects that others pick and choose.

The last owner of Zhang Chengnian's renovation program in Hangzhou was a flower shop proprietress. This project is considered to be the one with the best resources he has allocated, because there is a surplus of renovation funds.

The project was originally planned to be in charge of another designer, but in the end it was transferred to Zhang Chengnian for some unknown reason.

Zhang Chengnian visited her flower shop a few times when discussing the plan. The proprietress is a local, with the beauty and gentleness of a Suzhou and Hangzhou woman.

At the end of each trip, she must give all the staff a special flower for the day.

The photographer who was carrying the camera was dumbfounded. He saw a line of small words on the flower stand. This is a brownie tulip imported from the Netherlands. The price is 79 yuan a piece, which is not cheap.

But what shocked him more than the expensive price was the attitude of the beauty owner. The original iceberg beauty was as gentle as water when facing Zhang Gong, which made him wonder whether it was the same person who made the last designer jump in anger. personal.

This flower is obviously not for them. Sure enough, the more beautiful the woman, the more deceitful she is.

The photography guy didn't know how to appreciate these things, the photography equipment was already heavy enough, and there was only one girl present, so he casually threw the flowers to the handyman Fairy Tale.

"Xiao Tong, you girls like it, so here it is for you."

After the conversation, Zhang Chengnian's eyes passed the potted plants outside the door, and he stayed for a while longer.

The proprietress tried to figure out what the man in front of her was thinking: "Mr. Zhang, people often express their emotions with flowers and plants, so they endow them with different meanings."

The proprietress followed his gaze and pointed at him: "The homonym of jasmine is Moli, send Jun Jasmine, and wish Jun Moli."

Zhang Chengnian nodded, and said solemnly: "Really, a friend of mine once liked it very much."

After the photographer finished shooting the material, he sat in the outdoor awning to rest. He looked at the handsome couple in the flower shop, and analyzed: "It's strange, Mr. Zhang doesn't like women."

"Huh?" Fairy Tale was puzzled.

The photographer brother pointed at Zhang Chengnian's movements: "What do you think he is doing?"

In the store, Zhang Chengnian turned his back to their eyes, and he was standing in front of the cashier with his mobile phone in his hands. The beautiful proprietress seemed to be saying something to Mr. Zhang.

"Scan the code." Fairy Tale asked and answered: "It seems to be payment."

"That's right." The cameraman added: "Which man can resist the courtship signal released by such a beautiful woman. My bones would be broken. Zhang Gong actually drew a line with her. Is he still a normal man?"

"He's pretending!" The photographer was sure.

Fairy Tale was unresponsive, she didn't quite understand the meaning of what her colleague said, she silently helped to pack the equipment, and nodded very perfunctorily.

After finishing his work, Zhang Chengnian came out of the glass greenhouse.He was carrying an exquisitely packaged tulip in his hand, he glanced around, saw the only female colleague present, and gave it to Fairy Tale.

This is the third flower she received today. The fairy tale person is soft-spoken and a marginalized character. She doesn't have much sense of presence.

At this time, she was a little happy to be taken care of by her colleagues, but she also noticed a scorching gaze behind her, which was the cannibalistic gaze of the proprietress.

The photographer at the side looked at Zhang Chengnian's leaving figure, then glanced back in the direction of the flower shop, and gritted his teeth: "Damn, what kind of man is he who doesn't cherish such a beautiful woman, why don't I come instead."

Zhang Chengnian was running between Hangzhou and Shenzhen during this time. After he returned to Shenzhen, he called Lao Gu.

"I put the two potted flowers in your place before going abroad, are they still there?"

Old Gu didn't take it seriously, he didn't take care of these things: "After three days of green and three days of yellow, I will see the King of Hades, who has the time to serve him."

After returning home from get off work, Lao Gu saw Er Bao standing by the window, waving his little hand, so he hurried over and hugged him down.

He reprimanded with a serious tone: "I said you can't climb the window."

Er Bao pointed to the window sill and said, "Xiangxiang, Xiangxiang."

On the window sill, a fragrant and rich fragrance enters the nostrils along with the breeze, the spring is just right, and jasmine blooms brilliantly in the corner of the window.

Lao Gu is a rough man. His wife has been keeping the house in order all these years in obscurity. He supports the wind and rain outside, and his wife guards the small house.

Old Gu sniffed it, and said, "Hey, you look really good."

Zhang Chengnian is based in Hangzhou, and some other projects of the company will be handed over to him by the way.

In Hangzhou, the company did not provide him with an assistant, so he had to do many things by himself.

This time I am going to an office building, a small office project.

This kind of project is generally not arranged for him, but it is said that the client is not short of money, so he was called by name. Zhang Chengnian arrived at the scene at the agreed time, but no one came.

After he finished the on-site survey, the client was already half an hour late.

In the underground parking lot, Jiang Lele saw a black Mercedes-Benz with a Shenzhen brand. She walked over and couldn't see it left and right. She kicked it twice and said to the assistant next to her, "Remove it."

"Huh? That's not good."

"Indeed." Jiang Lele nodded: "It's too cheap for him, so I'll tie him up."

"boss!!!"

The assistant was dissatisfied: "This kind of behavior is too uncivilized, it is immoral to do this kind of thing, and you have to pay more."

Jiang Lele had her curly hair permed in various styles, and she wore a pair of airy sunglasses on her pretty face. She walked out of the elevator briskly, and passed the man with her head up, her high heels clicking.

After a while, she took a few steps back, took off her sunglasses and backed away, her expression was a little bit pretentious: "Zhang Gong, I have long admired you."

Zhang Chengnian nodded: "Miss Jiang, you are welcome."

This man, whom I haven't seen for many years, has become more and more gentle and elegant, with a dignified appearance.

No wonder Zhou Song never forgets.

After chatting about work for two years, Zhang Chengnian took the initiative to invite her to have a cup of afternoon tea together.

Jiang Lele smiled: "I'm very busy, I'll give you half an hour."

Jiang Lele was sitting in the coffee shop, facing the man in front of him, a little carelessly, stirring the drink in the cup: "It seems that you have had a good life these years."

"Didn't you have a girlfriend?" Jiang Lele looked at him: "Singapore should have a lot of beauties, and they have money."

Zhang Chengnian nodded noncommittally: "There are indeed many beauties, seductive."

Jiang Lele secretly rolled his eyes, he was a gentleman who didn't even bother to pretend.

"I read your company's website, you have been back to China for half a year." Jiang Lele raised the corners of her mouth, her tone was a bit eccentric: "Why don't you contact your old friends, I don't think Zhou Song knows yet."

Zhang Chengnian nodded, and said in a flat tone, "I'm too busy with work, so I really didn't take care of it."

"Besides work, there is nothing else in your eyes."

Jiang Lele said slowly: "Zhang Chengnian, do you know how long Chi Ye has been chasing Zhou Song?"

"It's been nearly ten years since high school." Jiang Lele said slowly, "It can be regarded as a true achievement."

Jiang Lele continued: "It seems that the two of them bought a house in Wuhan, and marriage is probably on the agenda soon."

Jiang Lele observed the face of the man across from him. He had been mature and stable, and he remained calm when facing Jiang Lele's difficulties, and could hardly see any emotion.

It's just that he inadvertently retracted his fingers holding the water glass, but only for a moment.

"It's good that Xiaoliu is happy." His words were very flat, and he said a polite blessing against his will.

Zhang Chengnian talked and laughed freely, and bypassed the topic: "Miss Jiang, I was surprised to see you today, and I always wanted to thank you in person."

Jiang Lele was suddenly taken aback by his words, and thought of the car tires: "It's a little effort, thank you."

Zhang Chengnian said sincerely: "Thank you for your support to my hometown and education. My personal ability is limited. I take this opportunity to say thank you in person."

Jiang Lele was also stunned. She was thinking quickly, and her expression softened a little: "The designer who didn't leave his name is you."

Her tone was very affirmative, and the man on the opposite side smiled slightly: "It's my job, only a little strength."

When Jiang Lele returned to China to start her own business, she followed the route of being an Internet celebrity. She set up a personal studio.Taking advantage of the traffic of Weibo in the past few years, it has also become popular, and it can be called the first generation of Internet celebrities in China.

The first pot of gold in her life earned in the big waves washing sand, she made a very high-profile post on Weibo, saying that she would use the money for public welfare and launch a hope primary school construction activity.

This Hope Primary School is Dengxinqiao Friendship Primary School. Jiang Lele hugged her good friend in the video and said: "This is the hometown of my best friend. The donation to the school is also to commemorate our friendship."

As soon as the video was turned off, Zhou Song secretly complained to her: "You understand the hype."

"Why do you have to keep a low profile when doing charity?" Jiang Lele said without hesitation, "I just want to let all my fans know that I'm not the kind of superficial internet celebrity."

Zhang Fang next to him reminded: "I think you have too little material for honey pomelo, and the audience will not notice it by then."

Jiang Lele was speechless: "Enough is enough."

After the three of them had dinner together, Zhang Fang took out a document and suggested: "Lele, this money can build a pretty good school for Dixie Bridge, but our Dixie Bridge is not the place with the most densely populated students in the town. I have a suggestion, can we share some of the money to renovate the other two primary schools and middle schools in Linxi Town, I have already calculated the budget for this project, and the amount is sufficient."

Jiang Lele had read the materials, and she was a little curious: "But the Wick Bridge is not your hometown, why don't you focus on it?"

"This is the result of comprehensive consideration." Zhang Fang opened a page of data in the report.It lists the analysis of economy, population distribution, and resource utilization maximization.

Jiang Lele looked at Zhou Song who was beside him, and Zhou Song nodded, expressing his approval.

Let's follow Zhang Fang's opinion. Jiang Lele glanced at the project budget, and there was no cost in the design column: "Are you sure the budget is sufficient? The early design planning is also very important, and it is an expense that needs to be considered."

"This is not a problem." Zhang Fang said: "I have a friend who is engaged in this field, and he provided assistance in the preliminary planning and engineering budget of this project."

Jiang Lele asked: "His fee is very cheap?"

Zhang Fang smiled and said word by word: "He doesn't charge."

Zhou Song, who was on the side, looked at the material, rubbed it carefully, and already guessed the identity of the designer in her heart, so she didn't say much.

After the project was approved, Zhang Fang sent a copy of the school's final design concept report to Jiang Lele.

Jiang Lele didn't care at first, but after reading it, she agreed: "This level is not bad."

Looking back, Jiang Lele was sitting in the coffee shop, and before saying goodbye to Zhang Chengnian, he rarely shook hands with a pleasant face.

Seeing that the meeting between the two of them was over, the little assistant ran over and said, "You guys had a very pleasant talk."

Jiang Lele didn't leave in a hurry, and ordered an extra cup of coffee for the assistant.

"Sister Lele, don't you want to go?"

Looking at the traffic flow outside the window, Jiang Lele supported his head: "Don't worry, just sit for a while."

The little assistant also figured it out: "You are afraid that you will meet in the basement and be caught by Mr. Zhang."

Jiang Lele gave her a kick, and the little assistant shut up honestly, and suggested in a low voice: "I think Worker Zhang is pretty good, so let's stop messing with him."

The little assistant was talking about the upcoming office design project. Jiang Lele stirred the spoon in his hand and coughed: "This is me, doing justice for the sky."

Jiang Lele tapped on the table, pointed at the screen, and quickly edited a message: Zhang Chengnian has returned to China.

Looking at Zhou Song's chat interface tangled, she thought about it, deleted the text, and never sent it.

Zhou Song popped up a text message:? ? ?

Jiang Lele replied: Why?

Zhou Song: It shows that the other party is typing, and then disappears.

Jiang Lele explained: I accidentally touched it.

Zhou Song: Chi Ye and I seem to have known each other since high school.

Jiang Lele looked at the message in silence for a long time. Although she had let go of the past, she still had some grudges in her heart. The two seldom talked about this man: You only know now?

Zhou Song: Yes, I just found out.

Zhou Song observed the strange house, everything was furnished as new, she sat on the side of the sofa and took a deep breath.

This is Chi Yi's home, she came in for the first time, the two of them sat quietly, a movie was playing on the TV.

Chi Ye hugged her, and began to explore in the darkness with the movements of his hands.

Zhou Song grabbed his wrist, his voice was cold: "Chi Ye, I have something to ask you."

Chi Ye looked at her, and inadvertently raised the corners of his mouth: "I'll ask later, is it okay to get down to business first?"

"No."

"Song" Chi Yi's breathing became a little heavier: "Hey, you have made a man abstinent for three years."

Zhou Song's tone was questioning: "Did we know each other many years ago?"

Chi Yi was confused: "What's wrong?"

"Have you threatened, my friend?" Her tone was a little cold.

Chi Ye's expression also became serious, and the light and shadow of the TV interlaced between the two of them.

"His name is Chen Fan." Zhou Song read out the name: "A few days ago, I only found out that you beat him."

"So, that's why you're asking me?"

"he is my friend."

"Who told you?" Chi Ye asked back, "Chen Fan said that?"

"It's not important." She guarded against him in a confrontational posture, keeping a subtle distance.

Chi Ye's heart throbbed with her movements, and he didn't deny it: "In high school, I watched you go to school together, leave school together, and compete together."

"I was only sixteen or seventeen years old at the time. I liked you in my heart, and I was so angry that I was really impulsive when I hit him."

"Chi Ye, I didn't expect the two of us to know each other so early. I don't have much impression of you at that time, but it's definitely not very good."

"Two days ago, I received an anonymous video. The picture almost made me dare not look directly at it. Every punch you hit him made me feel like a sinner. My friend was once subjected to violence because of me. I don't know."

"Chi Ye, do you like that I treat people around me like this?"

"No." He didn't know how to explain a bad debt many years ago. The time was too long, and the sudden outbreak made him feel confused: "How did that anonymous person send it to you?"

"This is not important!" Zhou Song's tone became more serious, and his posture became tough: "Don't you know where the problem is?"

"I know, what I did was wrong, but I was only a teenager at that time, you should know how much I like you." Chi Ye said: "I have followed you for so many years, flying from England to BJ, Is the snow in the Forbidden City really that beautiful?"

"You like me? Maybe it's because you are too smooth sailing, so you prefer what you can't get." Zhou Song didn't hesitate: "I think we should think about this relationship carefully."

"You want to break up with me just because of this?"

"Zhou Song, I made a mistake and I can apologize to him, and he can call back if he is not relieved. But because of this, you can deny all the feelings between us?" Chi Ye stood up, he waved his hand angrily, and the cup beside him Falling to the ground, splashes of water wet the floor, reflecting a bit of mess.

"Do you really think you are wrong?" Zhou Song took a deep breath: "But you, how do you treat my friends? I always thought you didn't want to embarrass me. Now think about it, do you look down on them and look down on them? Farmer, but I'm going to tell you"

Her words were interrupted by Chi Ye: "Your friends are friends, so what about my friends? Every party, every party, if you don't go, what about my face?"

"Chi Ye, my friends are different from those around you. Although they were born as farmers, they eat with their own hands and strength. You shouldn't despise them like this."

"You were born wealthy and have the capital to spend money like water, but I don't like the occasions you mentioned." Zhou Song's tone gradually became flat, but his words were firm: "It's like you don't like the people around me."

"So we are not suitable, so don't force it." Zhou Song looked at him, word by word.

Chi Ye leaned over and pinched her face, his voice trembling: "Zhou Song, I'll give you a chance to take back what I just said."

Zhou Song remained silent, expressing his resistance silently.

"Okay, very good." Chi Ye gritted his teeth, the veins in his arms bulged, he hugged her by the waist, and kicked open the door.

Zhou Song was thrown on the bed, before he could get up, he had already been shackled by him, and he was tearing her clothes.

"Stop." Zhou Song struggled, kicking him with hands and feet.

"When you come to a man's house, you should know what will happen." Chi Yi bit her shoulder hard, and he tore off Zhou Song's button with his big hand, and explored all the way down.

Anger has washed away his reason, and the two have been together for three years. This is the first time the two have had a fierce quarrel, and it is also the first time she has proposed to break up.

It turns out that once Zhang Chengnian returned to China, she was in such a hurry...

His movements were very rough, and slowly he felt that the people under him were no longer struggling, Chi Ye raised his head.

Zhou Song was lying on the bed with tears streaming down his face, his eyes were full of emptiness, which made him flustered.

At that moment, he couldn't continue.

Emotions are a swamp, and those who sink deepest are doomed to failure.

He stopped and punched the head of the bed a few times, the wall panel on which he was exerting force collapsed, and his palms were filled with blood: "Let's go."

Zhou Song put on his clothes tremblingly, and didn't take a second look before leaving.

Chi Ye sat on the edge of the bed and smiled.

He was like a trapped beast, his heart sank infinitely.

The so-called inappropriateness is just because... that person came back.

Chi Ye didn't even dare to ask Zhou Song, what are the feelings of these years to her?

(End of this chapter)