Chapter 5 Third Encounter

Chapter 5 Three Encounters

The rain outside showed no sign of letting up.

In such rain, getting a taxi was nearly impossible. Lin Weisen offered to drive Mou Wen home, but just then his wife called: "I'm so hungry, come back and cook for me!"

Lin Weisen's wife was in her late pregnancy and exhausted every day. Mou Wen quickly declined his kindness: "Master, go home and keep your wife company, don't worry about me."

"But you can't get a taxi," Lin Weisen said, looking troubled.

"I'll take her home." Xie Chong tossed the jacket Mou Wen had returned to him back to her: "Wear it, you can give it back when we get there."

Mou Wen had no strength to put up a brave front. She just wanted to get home quickly—she felt too awful. Wearing Xie Chong's leather jacket, she trudged behind him.

All the way down to the underground parking garage, she trailed after him, too drained for small talk—a sorry sight. She remembered how, as a child, Ge Yunqing had bought a calf from the grasslands, saying she'd raise it to give her milk. On the third day, the calf lay on the ground, all listless—just like her right now.

Xie Chong occasionally glanced back at her. Unexpectedly, he said nothing.

His car stood out in the dim underground garage.

Mou Wen had recently studied cars while helping a client design an independent garage, and she could tell Xie Chong's car wasn't just any car—it was a Continental GT.

He casually opened the passenger door for her, then headed to the driver's side, while she stood there, looking down at her wet shoes and his exceptionally clean car, hesitating about getting in. Xie Chong had already buckled his seatbelt and leaned over to look at her: "Get in. If it gets dirty, you don't have to wash it."

He nailed Mou Wen's concern, but didn't fully spell it out. He knew it wasn't just about the dirt—there was also her dejection from having a terrible day, and her anxiety about the gap between rich and poor.

Mou Wen gritted her teeth and got in, buckling her seatbelt under Xie Chong's gaze, and said to him: "Thanks for the trouble, Mr. Xie. Your car's beautiful."

"You like it?" Xie Chong asked.

"Yeah. I'll get one once I start making money." Mou Wen joked, then suddenly remembered the client from that afternoon, who, if present, would surely say: "Careful now, if you get my car dirty, you couldn't even afford to have it washed. You couldn't buy this car even if you saved your whole life." That person would definitely say that.

But Xie Chong said: "Get it in Crystal Blue. It'd suit you."

"Okay, thank you, I'll remember that."

"This one—it's not mine. It's someone else's." Xie Chong glanced at her: "Really."

They drove through the heavy rain, passing two rear-end collisions along the way. The time dragged unbearably.

Xie Chong asked Mou Wen if she was cold, but she didn't respond. He leaned over to get a closer look and saw she'd fallen asleep. Xie Chong breathed a sigh of relief. Mou Wen's bedraggled state made him uncomfortable. He rarely came across girls like her in his life. He caught a glimpse of poverty's harsh edge and felt they weren't from the same world. Her bedraggled state was like a gaping mouth that would swallow him whole if he looked too long.

He instinctively recoiled from people like her.

He would never get involved with someone like her. He'd already picked up on the fact that Mou Wen might have some special feelings for him.

He didn't want to toy with a "poor" girl's feelings, and he didn't want any inevitable trouble either.

But he wouldn't show it. He'd chivalrously offer her his jacket, sincerely offer her a ride home—but he knew that after today, he'd deliberately keep his distance.

When they got to Suzhou Street, he found a place to park.

"Mou Wen." He called out. Mou Wen didn't respond.

"Mou Wen." He called again. Still no response.

Don't tell me she died in my car! The thought suddenly crossed his mind. He reached over to check if she was breathing—still alive. He breathed a sigh of relief, withdrew his hand, and shouted: "Mou Wen!"

Mou Wen jolted awake from a deep sleep, looking around to see the familiar pedestrian bridge up ahead and the buildings around it.

"I'm home," she said, her voice hoarse.

"Yeah, you're home," Xie Chong said. "Hold on a sec." He got out into the rain, grabbed two umbrellas from the trunk, opened one for himself, and walked around to help her out of the passenger side. Seeing Mou Wen start to take off his jacket, he said, "Keep it on. You can give it back to me another time." Mou Wen looked up and saw a raindrop hanging from his hair, and her heart gave a little lurch.

"No need," Mou Wen said. "It's just a few steps—I'll fly right in."

But she took Xie Chong's umbrella anyway, because she was carrying her backpack with her laptop inside. She was afraid of ruining her computer.

As a "blueprint girl," she had to protect her bread and butter no matter where she went—she had to keep that much sense.

She walked into the rain, turning back to shout at Xie Chong, who'd already gotten back in the car: "Thanks! You're really kind!"

Xie Chong smiled at her, then rolled up the window and drove off.

Mou Wen didn't pick up on Xie Chong's change in attitude. Even after a hot shower, taking her meds, and lying in bed, she was still thinking: "Mr. Xie is different from those arrogant clients. He's a good person—a really good person."

Meanwhile, after Xie Chong got home and settled in, he opened his phone and saw Mou Wen's text: "Thanks, I'll return the umbrella next time." He didn't text back right away.

He was afraid that if he replied, Mou Wen would bring up other stuff and he'd have to deal with more. He was already convinced Mou Wen would be like that.

The next morning, he texted back: "No need to return it. It came free with the car. I have plenty." He didn't ask how Mou Wen was doing.

The next day, this "little calf" Mou Wen opened her eyes, asked Lin Weisen for half a day off, then rolled over and went back to sleep. By the time she woke up at noon, she was completely refreshed. Chu Ling, who hadn't left for her evening shift yet, clicked her tongue at her: "Girl, your body is amazing!"

Mou Wen flexed her arm for Chu Ling: "I'm from Inner Mongolia—I grew up on goat's milk!"

Chu Ling pinched her skin: "So firm. So healthy."

She was half a head shorter than Mou Wen—a gentle, fair-skinned girl from the south. Sometimes, watching Mou Wen's boundless energy, she couldn't help feeling envious.

At that moment, it was just the two of them in the dorm, and Mou Wen was hungry.

After being sick, her appetite always spiked—no, spiked even harder.

She asked Chu Ling if she wanted something good to eat. Chu Ling asked what she had in mind. She said: "Let me whip up some braised noodles for you with my quick hands! Just wait!" Chu Ling said they didn't have the right tools, and she said they had a small electric pot!

She was a little "Nezha" with a single topknot, threw on a raincoat, and sprinted to the warehouse store as if sparks were flying off her feet, grabbing green beans, pork belly, scallions, ginger, garlic, and noodles before rushing back. With just a small electric pot, she stir-fried first, then simmered. Afraid of leaving a smell in the dorm, the two squeezed onto the small balcony, which was piled with clutter and open to the rain, and finished making an Inner Mongolian dish.

Raindrops drifted in, so they held an umbrella over the little electric pot.

"I really should show my mom this," Mou Wen said between bites. "My mom always tells me that if I can't eat well out there, I should come home and help her make buns. She says no matter what, making buns means you'll never starve. I need to tell my mom—I don't starve out here either. Not only do I not starve, I'm stuffed to the gills!"

"Burp~"

Chu Ling clutched her stomach, laughing: "Mou Wen, you're so funny! How can you be this funny!"

Mou Wen, full and content, was about to head to work when she checked her phone and saw Xie Chong's reply. Instinctively, she thought: Do you really get that many umbrellas when you buy a car?...

She completely failed to notice anything off about Xie Chong's message, only thinking that she really had put him out yesterday. Out of politeness, she typed out:

Yesterday was really too much trouble—let me treat you to a meal sometime.

Remembering how her intern friends in Beijing would say "sometime" for get-togethers—that "sometime" always seemed endlessly postponed, so insincere—she rewrote it:

Yesterday was really too much trouble—let me treat you to a meal when we sign the renovation contract.

Then she thought about how the food Xie Chong ate was different from what she ate—she probably couldn't afford to treat him, and she didn't want to pretend she could. In the end, this is what she sent Xie Chong:

You worked hard yesterday. I'll ask my mentor if we can add a top-tier home appliance as a gift for you for the renovation!

Her authority only extended so far. Most of the company's clients were wealthy, so the gifts they prepared were nothing to sneeze at. She was using someone else's resources to do a favor—killing two birds with one stone.

Xie Chong saw the message and sent a question mark: "Did I say I was going to sign with you?"

Mou Wen replied: "Of course~ I don't think anyone else's proposal is better than ours!" What she really meant was that she didn't believe anyone could do better than her.

Mou Wen had put in serious effort. She'd gone through every proposal in the company's resource library, scoured news articles about celebrities' homes, and then circled back to think about what Xie Chong might like... She didn't believe anyone could outdo her—she had that kind of confidence. Unfortunately, Xie Chong didn't reply, and the speech she'd prepared never got sent.

When Mou Wen got to the office, she went straight to Lin Weisen and asked if he wanted to approach Xie Chong about signing the contract. Lin Weisen told her to follow up. She called Xie Chong, but neither his work nor personal number went through.

Mou Wen was genuinely afraid someone else would snatch Xie Chong away.

She'd put so much effort into this, and she wanted the project bonus. Even if only a pittance landed in her hands, she'd take it—even a single cent.

She didn't dare call again, afraid of crossing Xie Chong. Last night she'd thought he was a good person, a client she was determined to win; today she felt he might not be what he seemed—that he was deeply calculating.

She'd just gotten over her fever, and all her energy was spent. Xie Chong ignoring her calls made her feel a bit pitiful. She sensed something tugging at her heart, but she couldn't quite name it.

Just before the end of the workday, she heard Lin Weisen pick up the phone: "Mr. Xie."

Mou Wen practically sprang from her seat, perked up her ears, rushed over to Lin Weisen's desk, and pressed herself against the glass partition, staring at him with eager eyes.

Lin Weisen gave her a peace sign and continued: "Mr. Xie, you've finished the pitch and decided to sign with us, right?"

"When would be a good time to sign the contract?"

"Today?" Lin Weisen saw Mou Wen jump up in front of him, spinning in circles to celebrate her first successful proposal.

What else was there to say? His apprentice was truly impressive!

He hung up and before he could speak, Mou Wen said: "Mentor, I know! I'll draft the contract! I'll do it right now!"

Lin Weisen then remembered: "He didn't answer your calls this afternoon?"

Mou Wen stopped celebrating: "Right, he didn't." Then she tossed her head: "Forget it, mentor. If he doesn't answer, he doesn't answer. He doesn't have to answer ever again—because he's ours now!"

Mou Wen was completely soaked in joy.

She felt like a hydroponic plant—just a drop or two of nutrient solution and she'd grow wildly through the whole room. Xie Chong's contract was her nutrient solution.

Before drafting the contract, she sent Chu Ling a QQ message: "Ms. Chu Ling, now! Right now! Immediately! Decide what we're eating this weekend—Pizza Hut or Jiutouying!"

Chu Ling sent a question mark face: "You got a new contract! That 800k you mentioned came through!"

"Yes! It's done!"

"Pizza Hut! Pizza Hut!" Chu Ling chose decisively: "I want Pizza Hut!"

"Wait for me!"

Mou Wen hummed a tune while revising the contract. All her physical discomfort vanished. She was so happy she felt like flying!

Lin Weisen reminded her to keep her emotions in check so the client wouldn't laugh at her for being inexperienced. She said okay and pressed down the corners of her mouth with two fingers.

Xie Chong arrived. He carried the dampness of the outdoors, as if he'd walked through the rain.

The contract was already neatly laid out on the table, with a gift list attached beside it.

Mou Wen was particularly fond of the dishwasher. She thought, if I were Xie Chong, I'd pick the dishwasher. How practical! How rare! Her mother had never even seen a real dishwasher!

She stood behind Lin Weisen, and despite reminding herself to stay composed, the joy in her eyes spilled out from every feature—her happiness radiated in all directions. Xie Chong glanced at her only once before looking down at the contract.

He knew these standard contracts wouldn't have major issues; this top-tier design firm had long been tempered by countless clients. He casually flipped through the core clauses and asked Lin Weisen: "Pay the deposit today?"

"Can transfer," Lin Weisen said. "The bank account info is in the terms."

"Alright. I'll handle it at the bank tomorrow."

"Card payment works too," Lin Weisen said. "It's very convenient."

Mou Wen screamed in her head: Card! Card!

Xie Chong then looked at her: "So I get two gifts, right?"

Mou Wen had already requested this from Lin Weisen in advance, so she wasn't flustered: "Yes, my mentor applied for an extra one for you."

"Good." Xie Chong picked up the gift list. He didn't care for any of it and casually chose two items. He didn't pick the dishwasher. Mou Wen thought: What a shame—the dishwasher is so practical!

"Who'll be my point of contact going forward?" Xie Chong asked again.

"Me and—"

Xie Chong cut Lin Weisen off: "Alright, then please have Engineer Lin contact me directly for anything from now on."

It was only then that Mou Wen realized something was off with Xie Chong.

They'd only met a few times, and when they parted last night, he'd smiled at her. So where had the problem arisen?

She thought of her dead "sneakers," remembering how when she walked into the meeting room in them last night, Xie Chong's gaze had fallen on her feet.

So that was it.

Mou Wen thought: He's no different from those clients yesterday. Others voice their arrogance; he hides his. He looks so proper, yet silently cast her out of his "class."

Mou Wen's breath hitched.

"So stuffy." She went to open the window. Outside, the rain was still falling, pressing down in layers.

Her joy seemed diluted, but it still drifted in all directions. Lin Weisen asked her to handle the follow-up, and she cheerfully escorted Xie Chong out.

She still expressed her thanks to him face-to-face: "Thank you so much for driving me back yesterday, but I'm sorry—I didn't expect to see you today, so I left the umbrella in the dorm." Seeing Xie Chong look puzzled, she said a bit sheepishly: "That umbrella of yours is really nice, and I was afraid I'd ruin it."

"I know you have plenty of umbrellas, but I actually have one too." She smiled at Xie Chong: "One is enough! I'll bring it to the office tomorrow, and when my mentor goes to the site, he can pass it along to you."

She'd already assumed she wouldn't be going to Xie Chong's site anymore—he probably wouldn't agree to it. He didn't like her "smiling" shoes.

Hearing this, Xie Chong finally looked at her seriously.

He realized she was truly a smart girl—perceptive and sensitive, as if she understood everything.

"Alright. No problem," he said.