Chapter 2 First Encounter

Chapter 2 First Encounter

Just before dawn, the wind picked up, and tree branches rattled against the window. Mou Wen stood up from her computer and stretched, her messy bun wobbling with the movement. She quickly pressed her hand to her head and muttered, "Ugh, I'm dizzy."

She cracked the window open a sliver, and the wind rushed in, making her take a sharp breath. The breakfast spot under Baishi Bridge was already open, steam rising in wisps. She glanced back at her computer—the render had just finished, and her stomach growled right on cue.

She packed up her stuff, copied the files, and put them in her mentor Lin Weisen's drawer. Then she sent him an email, adding at the end: *Hey Master, you promised to take me to meet clients. If you keep making me do drawings all day, I'm out! Xiao Qiao's mentor already took her to do a site measure!*

She huffed, slammed her laptop shut, and stuffed it into her backpack. When she hoisted it on, she stumbled—that laptop was way too heavy. As she left the office building, another crazy gust of wind hit her. She hugged herself and scurried over to the breakfast shop, grabbing two eggplant buns and a soy milk. She stood at the bus stop, wolfing down the buns while she waited. The eggplant buns tasted just like her mom Ge Yunqing's cooking. Still hungry, she ran back and grabbed another one.

At six in the morning, the city was just starting to wake up. A sprinkler truck rolled by, and she hopped out of the way to the curb. The bus was pretty much empty, so she grabbed a window seat, hugged her big backpack, and leaned her head against the glass, dozing off. The bus driver's voice calling out stops drifted through her light sleep, and soon she was at Suzhou Street.

As she walked into the apartment building, she ran into her roommate Chu Ling, an editor at a well-known website. Before she could even say hi, Chu Ling shoved a washed apple into her hand and hurried off, saying, "I'm late for my morning shift! Eat it after you wake up!"

"Thanks!" Mou Wen waved at her. "Let's grab some hot skewers from the back alley tonight!"

Just thinking about that bustling little alley full of good food made her happy. When she stepped into the apartment, she heard screaming and cursing. Before she could react, a pale, greasy blur bumped into her and took off. Mou Wen instinctively started to chase after him, but a new girl from the next room grabbed her arm.

"Don't chase him, the cops have been called." The girl's hair was dripping wet, and she was wrapped in a towel. She spat, "What a freaking creep!" Mou Wen freed up a hand to help her fix the towel, comforting her, "Don't be scared, don't be scared."

It was the second time that creep had shown up.

Last time, Mou Wen had also just gotten back from a night shift and was settling into her top bunk when she heard a commotion outside the curtain—someone was yelling that there was a pervert. The cops showed up fast and caught him in the underground garage, but it turned out he had mental issues, so the case was dropped.

She lived in a three-bedroom apartment where the living room had been split into two single rooms, going for 1,000 yuan a month. Her south-facing master bedroom had four bunk beds, sleeping eight people. She had the top bunk, paying 350 yuan a month.

Mou Wen didn't want to rent anything pricey.

Her job basically required pulling all-nighters every single day. She only came home to sleep. Her roommates were either studying at Renmin University's library or heading off to work, so the room was quiet enough.

With the curtain pulled shut, it was her own little world. She first pulled out the 500-yuan bonus she'd gotten the day before and tucked it into another bag, happily calculating that after two more months of saving, she could put together a new computer at Zhongguancun. Her old one was too heavy and too slow—it drove her crazy every time she used it.

The run-in with the creep didn't fully chase away her drowsiness. She did a quick wash-up, climbed into bed, and passed out. At 3:30 in the afternoon, her mentor Lin Weisen called, waking her up, saying he wanted her to meet him in Wanliu to see a client.

Mou Wen's eyes shot open. She sat up, grinning, and asked, "Really?"

"Really."

"Master, are you scared I'll quit? Scared you'll never find an intern as good as me again?" She shrugged a shoulder to wedge the phone between her ear and shoulder, yanked open the curtain, and climbed down the little ladder.

Lin Weisen chuckled on the other end. "Yeah, yeah, that email of yours scared the hell out of me."

Mou Wen gave a smug little hum.

She was smart, hardworking, and easygoing, and she never hid anything. When Lin Weisen overlooked bringing her to see clients, she pushed him forward. What did she have to fear? Could it be harder than getting into a top university from their small fourth-tier city?

"Master, wait for me—I'll be there on time!" She hung up, grabbed her washbasin, slung a towel over her shoulder with a flick, and headed to wash up. By the time she appeared before Lin Weisen, her face was fresh and bright.

The wind was strong, and she was afraid her hair would turn into a mess, so she rolled it up on top of her head again, making her face look fuller and cuter. White shirt, jeans, and a beige trench coat over it. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she sought praise from Lin Weisen: "Master, how do I look? Not embarrassing you, right?"

Lin Weisen laughed at her and gave her a thumbs-up. "Very good."

She was different from the other interns he'd had. Her eyes always burned with little flames, as if she wanted to burn everything she saw. That might one day become a wildfire of ambition—vibrant and alive, yet not off-putting.

"This client's work is basically half the year domestic, half abroad, in the art field. He's not much of a talker. Today he came in on short notice to help us measure the room—he has other properties. This place is about 150 square meters with simple decor. He wants everything torn out and redone. When we go in, try to listen and take notes, and help Xiao Gu and the others with measuring." Lin Weisen instructed Mou Wen, then smiled and added, "You're smart enough—keep your eyes open."

"Got it!" Mou Wen raised her hand in a pledge. "I promise I won't talk! I'll be mute! I'll study hard!"

Lin Weisen shook his head with a helpless smile.

Her adorable innocence and fierce ambition clashed within her, making her a truly contradictory person. A strand of hair blew across her face, and she brushed it away with a flat palm like a child, then waved her hand. "Let's go, Master! Charge! Win him over!"

Still, once she stepped into the elevator, she reined herself in, cleared her throat, and put on a composed air. The door was already open, but the client was nowhere to be seen. She swept her eyes over the room, and her heart felt instantly spacious. She thought of her little top bunk—it was only the size of three tiles in this place. And that creep could never get into this gated, secure community.

As Mou Wen bent down to put on shoe covers, she thought: *If only this were my house.* When she straightened up, she saw a man walking toward her against the light. The setting sun stretched his shadow long, moving with him as he approached.

He wore a khaki trench coat cinched with a belt, the collar casually half-upturned, and the white shirt underneath had its buttons undone—like a dashing Englishman from a film. Mou Wen's male classmates still wore tracksuits and jeans, and her senior colleagues often joked they were "construction rats." She'd never seen a real, living person dress so well, and it made her happy. As if he'd dressed up just to please her, stirring a thirst for beauty in her.

Only when he got closer did she see his face. A handsome, sharply defined face. Mou Wen noticed his lips first, because he spoke, and his voice was pleasant too: "Engineer Lin, thanks for coming. Shall we measure the room first?"

Lin Weisen said yes.

Xiao Gu pulled tools from his backpack, while Mou Wen took out her notebook and followed them toward the window. She caught a faint scent from the man—not frivolous, but calming. She stole a glance at him, and her mentor caught her. He gave her a look to mind her expression, and she immediately pressed her lips together. Because she'd been caught, a sheepish smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

Xie Chong hadn't noticed her at first, but now he did—a "ridiculous" girl who hadn't quite managed to hide her pressed lips.

Lin Weisen introduced her: "Mr. Xie, this is my assistant Mou Wen. She'll be taking notes today. Feel free to share your thoughts."

Xie Chong nodded politely at Mou Wen.

She saw his eyes—there was something direct, weary in them. Set in his handsome face, they gave him an air of aloofness.

She flashed him a grin, clicked her pen, and put on a ready-to-write expression. She'd heard colleagues at the company discuss all kinds of clients, and she'd already pegged Xie Chong: definitely a picky one. But he spoke lightly: "Budget is 800,000. Find a good company to handle everything."

800,000.

Mou Wen couldn't help but look up, stunned. The sunset fell on him, and the 800,000 turned into fine golden dust, gilding him. The light also landed on her notebook, on the "800,000" she'd circled, and those three words tore a gaping hole in her conservative worldview. The shock was plain to Xie Chong—he seemed to see through everything, yet also indifferent, and repeated, "Yes, 800,000. It can be increased, but it has to be worth it."

Lin Weisen was clearly surprised too, but he'd seen enough of the world to quickly rein in his excitement and said, "We'll see what Mr. Xie wants. We'll join the pitch first."

"No problem."

Xie Chong had no flashy demands for the house—just quality materials, simple and clean. Afraid they wouldn't understand, he added a rare extra sentence: "I'll handle the soft furnishings myself." He had a strict standard for "quality" and wouldn't allow himself to live in a "shabby" home. He spoke his thoughts calmly, without any arrogance.

*Shabby home.* Mou Wen thought again: *If this Mr. Xie stepped into my budget-friendly group rental, would he kill himself?*

Lin Weisen nodded. "Right, soft furnishings test your taste too. Done well, they add the finishing touch."

Xie Chong glanced at Mou Wen's notebook again, noticed she'd tensed up, and gave her a playful wink. Mou Wen instinctively closed her notebook and met his gaze.

But he moved on to something else, saying the wiring needed to be done carefully—he wanted to work from anywhere at any time.

"Mr. Xie, are you decorating a wedding house?" Lin Weisen asked from the side. "If it's for a wedding, our design would be different. We'd need to consider the bride's opinion."

Xie Chong smiled knowingly and said, "I'm single. It's for me to live in."

"Got it."

As they left, Xie Chong walked them to the door. Mou Wen bent down to remove her shoe covers, and when she straightened up, she saw Xie Chong's outstretched hand.

She looked puzzled, and Xie Chong said, "I'll throw those away for you."

"No need, no need. We'll take them down to the lobby." Lin Weisen said. But Xie Chong's hand didn't lower—he insisted. Mou Wen didn't think much of it. She rolled up the shoe covers, pulled a tissue from her trench coat pocket, wrapped them neatly, and placed them in Xie Chong's palm.

"Thanks," she said.

"You're welcome," he replied.

He was very polite, waiting with them for the elevator, yet he didn't make small talk, which added a bit of awkwardness. Given Mou Wen's dislike of silence, she'd normally say something. But remembering her mentor's instruction to stay quiet, she suppressed the urge to joke around and stood in the corner.

Xie Chong's gaze shifted over, noticing how hard she was struggling to stifle a laugh. So he said nothing more, taking a mischievous pleasure in watching her squirm. Funny, he thought.

The elevator finally arrived, and Mou Wen was the first to rush in, standing in the corner. As the doors closed, she noticed he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief too. So he disliked such social niceties as well.

Lin Weisen was somewhat excited, immediately assigning Mou Wen tasks, telling her to start sorting out Xie Chong's requirements today if possible.

Standing upstairs, Xie Chong saw Mou Wen's trench coat hem flip up in the wind, while her backpack, clearly heavy, pressed down on her back, helping her stand her ground against the wind. As if sensing something, she suddenly looked up, her gaze locking with his through the window.

Mou Wen froze for a moment, then averted her eyes. At that moment, she was gesturing animatedly, saying, "Boss, his house is so big! He said he doesn't want to live in a shabby place, but his house—I could move in right now, immediately, with just a bag!" She took two steps to demonstrate for Lin Weisen: "Boss, this is my starting point in Beijing. A bunk bed that's only two floor tiles big."

"We're about the same then," Lin Weisen said. "I've got a basement, ten square meters."

"Is there an indoor bathroom?" Mou Wen asked.

"No."

"Then I'm better off than you, boss! I've got an indoor bathroom!" She laughed, but the wind caught her breath, and she quickly clamped her mouth shut.

What a joke. Xie Chong stood at the window watching; that assistant was a riot. He couldn't even remember her name.