The summer nights in July are already unbearably hot, and the stars outside the window are also too hot to stay still, twinkling incessantly.
The workday was over, but Xiao Yao was used to sitting in the office, thinking about the day's work and plans for the next day.
She scribbled in her notebook until late at night, but her mind was completely blank. She rested her chin on her hand and stared blankly, her gaze naturally falling on the calendar on the table, where she had circled a date in red pen.
Counting back from the red circle, there's less than a week left.
My gaze shifted and I saw a phone with a black screen lying to the side.
A Cancer man's birthday is coming up soon. He calls her every day but never mentions it. Does this mean he's not planning to celebrate his birthday with her?
As soon as I thought of Cao Cao, he appeared. The screen suddenly lit up, and the caller ID showed the words "Xiao Bai".
Xiao Yao answered the call and immediately put it on speakerphone.
"It's time for you to go home." Zhong Xuyang didn't even ask where she was; his first words were to urge her to go home.
He knew without asking that Xiao Yao was definitely still at the factory.
He hadn't realized Xiao Yao was a workaholic before, but now when he calls her at night, she's still at the factory late at night. The factory area is less crowded at night and has a mix of people, so he's worried about her and now calls her around 10 pm every night to urge her to go home.
"Alright, you can put it on speakerphone while you pack your things and go home," Zhong Xuyang instructed.
Xiao Yao couldn't help but complain, "Even my mom doesn't meddle as much as you."
Although she complained, Zhong Xuyang heard her obediently packing her things, smiled, and changed the subject, "Have you finished your work today?"
"Yeah, Yueji's feeling better now, and she's taken over the couple's design project. I've also finished designing the trendy items, so I haven't been as busy as before." Xiao Yao said as she turned off the lights, locked the door, and went downstairs. "What about you? Are you still at the factory?"
Zhong Xuyang only got up and left the office after hearing her close the door. "Yeah, I know you don't want to go home before 10 o'clock, so I'm waiting to leave work with you. I'm going downstairs to get my car now."
"Are you busy today? How's the export order going?" Xiao Yao had gotten into the habit of talking to him on the phone every day, so she no longer felt awkward or had nothing to say.
Zhong Xuyang glanced at the elevator, then turned and pushed open the door to the stairwell behind him. "I just wanted to share this good news with you. Today, my client in India called to say that our first batch of export orders has finally been successfully accepted!"
His tone was filled with barely suppressed joy, like a child who had just gotten a high score on a test. Xiao Yao couldn't help but praise him, "You've been so busy for so long and you finally did it. You're amazing!"
Her generous praise startled Zhong Xuyang, and his heart instantly felt hot and swollen, as if she had soaked it in hot water.
From a young age, his parents taught him to remain humble and composed no matter what happened. So even if he achieved great results, his parents would just smile with satisfaction and encourage him to keep up the good work. Lin Wenwen never cared about his work or his achievements; she was happy as long as they had fun together.
Xiao Yao was the first person to praise him so directly. If she were in front of him now, he would definitely hug her and give her a good kiss.
He also longed to be praised, especially by someone he loved. It felt like he had become that disappointed child who hadn't received praise, and now he had finally gotten the candy he had been dreaming of.
She used to never tell anyone about her hardships, but now she wants to confide in them all. "I was really overwhelmed with work recently. The production standards for export products are different, so I spent every day in the workshop debugging the machines with the engineers. I also had to apply for export codes and open foreign exchange accounts. Since no one in the factory had experience, I did it all myself. I made countless trips to government departments to get all the procedures done. So when I heard the other party say that this batch of goods had been accepted, it felt as fulfilling as the first business deal I had ever closed."
Xiao Yao remembered that he seemed to have started learning and working at his family's factory since college, and asked curiously, "How old were you when you closed your first deal?"
Zhong Xuyang remembered it vividly and answered without much thought, "I signed my first order when I was a junior in college and 20 years old. I was so happy at that time that I couldn't sleep for several nights. I kept watching the goods until they were delivered to the customer before I could sleep at ease."
He sounded excited, but Xiao Yao had no idea what he was like back then. She could only sigh, "The first time is always the most memorable."
Zhong Xuyang paused, thinking he had said something wrong, and immediately emphasized, "I remember it just as vividly now."
Xiao Yao realized what was happening and smiled, "I understand."
Hearing footsteps coming down the stairs, she asked in confusion, "Are you taking the stairs?"
She knew his office building had an elevator, unlike her small garment factory where she could only use the stairs.
Zhong Xuyang glanced at the sign for the second floor on the wall. "Hmm, I'm worried about the signal being bad, so I'll take the stairs to talk to you."
Xiao Yao was stunned. She thought about how they had been chatting for so many days without losing signal. Was he running up and down the stairs every day?
Zhong Xuyang walked to the parking lot and asked Xiao Yao, "Did you drive?"
"We're in the car now, getting ready to drive."
Zhong Xuyang took bigger steps. "Don't hang up. I'm getting in the car too. Let's put it on speakerphone and drive together later."
Xiao Yao obediently nodded and agreed, then sat quietly in the car waiting for him. She didn't turn on any music, only listening to the sounds of him unlocking and closing the door and some rustling noises over the phone, until he spoke again.
"Alright, let's head home!"
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