An internship opportunity that fell from the sky
When May came home in the evening, she saw Zhiwei curled up on the sofa watching TV, some kind of soap opera.
"It's rare to see you watching a soap opera today."
Zhiwei looked away blankly. "Oh, May, you're back? Where did you go today?"
"I went to my internship today. The company I interviewed with last Friday hired me. They called me this morning, and I only found out when I got there. The contract is already signed, so I'm just looking at the materials and learning a bit."
"Congratulations, May, you've had a great start!"
Zhiwei remembered that Xuanyu had said he also had an interview today, so she went to her room and called him.
"Johnny, how did your interview go today? Did it go well?"
Xuan Yu paused for a moment and said, "So-so, I don't know how it is."
Zhiwei comforted him, "It's already very good. Having so many interview opportunities is already quite an achievement. By the way, May just came back and said that the studio she interviewed at last Friday hired her, and she started working today."
She wailed, "You're all doing well, but I'm still nowhere in the picture."
Xuan Yu was a little annoyed, so he could only offer some perfunctory comfort, saying, "It's okay, you should try to shoot more."
Zhiwei noticed he wasn't very interested, so she hung up after a few words. After hanging up, she remembered that she had only hurriedly placed the box she brought back that morning on the living room table before leaving, without having had time to tidy it up.
Thinking about what happened that morning gave her a slight headache, but in any case, her work always made her very happy.
She opened the box and discovered a glass base underneath. She took out the base, placed the artwork on it, admired it carefully, and then took out her digital camera to take several photos, intending to choose a suitable one for her portfolio. For ease of submission, she had both a paper copy and a digital copy of her portfolio.
As I was fiddling with it, May saw me and came over. "Wow, it's so pretty. Did you buy it?"
"This is a piece I drew when we went to church last time," she said vaguely.
"Wow, it's really beautiful. Your art students' works are definitely more expensive than ours." These words hit Zhiwei right in the gut, leaving her speechless with embarrassment.
The next day, Zhiwei felt that her portfolio was a bit more complete, so she decided to try submitting to a few places. She didn't have a specific direction, so she submitted to galleries, art studios, and photography studios.
When May heard that she was looking for an internship, she asked her, "Why don't you apply to the company where I'm interning? I see they take on a lot of renovation projects, and some of their clients are quite particular about interior design and decor."
When she came back on Wednesday, she asked Zhiwei, "Did you apply to my studio? I heard from them today that the studio got a new apartment renovation project. The client specifically requested that the future owner be a young, artistic lady who likes to paint, and wants the studio to consider the soft furnishings and decorations as well, with the price calculated separately. Why don't you give it a try? Who knows artistic ladies better than you?"
When Zhiwei told her about it, she was also very interested, but she was a little worried, "But we're about to start school soon, and we can't go to our internships every day, can we?"
"Don't worry, for this kind of case, after we see the site, we need to go over the design with the client repeatedly. Once the design is finalized, the studio's engineering team will handle the implementation. We'll just do some odd jobs. The entire project is overseen by their qualified architects. We don't have to worry about it from start to finish."
Zhiwei thought what she said made sense. Anyway, she had tried so many industries, so what difference would it make if she tried one more? That very night, she sent an email to apply and attached an electronic portfolio.
To her surprise, she received a call the next day at noon, asking her to come to the studio for an interview. She quickly called May to confirm, and it was indeed the address of her workplace. This might be her first formal internship in New York. Not daring to be negligent, she quickly packed her things, brought her paper portfolio, and arrived at the studio promptly at 2 PM.
Before entering the meeting room, she indeed saw May and gave her a small cheering gesture.
Two senior colleagues from the studio chatted with her for over an hour about her studies and portfolio. Then they looked at each other, and one of the women said kindly, "Ms. Shen, we would love to welcome you to intern at our studio. We happen to have an apartment renovation project that requires a more artistic style, and we believe you can bring us some unique input."
Zhiwei was also very happy. The contract was a standard template, and the internship period was three months. However, she was graduating in three or four months anyway, so the timing wasn't a problem. Since the contract was already signed, she wasn't in a hurry to leave. She took the opportunity to activate her account and get some project materials to study first.
When it was time to leave work in the evening, May happily came over and asked if we wanted to go out for a big meal to celebrate. Zhiwei was also very happy and said, "I'll treat you today, thanks to you for introducing me to this opportunity. I'll ask Xuanyu later if he wants to come along."
She took out her phone and called Xuan Yu. The call rang for a while before he answered, "Johnny, are you free to have dinner together tonight? I'll treat you and Ah May."
"What's making you so happy that you want to treat us to dinner?"
"I'll let you know later. Do you want to come?"
"Okay, okay, which one?"
"Let's go to that Japanese restaurant next to the Korean restaurant. It's been a long time since I've had Japanese food."
After making the call, she and May went to a Japanese restaurant first. After they had eaten for a while, Xuanyu arrived. Zhiwei had ordered some sashimi and sushi for him according to his taste, so she told him to have something to eat before ordering more.
Xuanyu, holding the menu, asked, "What's making you so happy?"
Zhiwei said with a smile, "Yesterday May suggested I apply to the studio where I'm interning, and I didn't expect to receive a call today asking me to come over. We finished our discussion this afternoon. I'm starting my internship! I really have to thank May for this."
"Turns out I was just an extra."
"You've been busy with your internship lately, so we haven't gotten together in a long time."
Xuan Yu said happily, "I went for an interview at AIA today, I hope it goes well."
Zhiwei was overjoyed to hear this, and the three of them raised their glasses in a joyful celebration.
While they were eating, Xuan Yu's phone rang. He picked it up, glanced at Zhi Wei, and got up to walk outside.
Zhiwei only heard him say in a low voice, "Wait a moment, it's a bit noisy here." Strange, the Japanese restaurant was usually quite quiet, and he was speaking Chinese. Was he calling home? It shouldn't be dawn yet back home at this time.
After she and May ate for a while, Xuanyu came in. Zhiwei casually asked, "Is it your family? They're here so early."
Xuan Yu paused for a moment and said, "It was the senior from the alumni group that referred me to call and ask how my day went."
Zhiwei said, "Since there's an internal referral, the chances are even better." After eating and drinking their fill, Zhiwei and the others prepared to go back.
Xuanyu said, "I have an appointment with a senior student to ask him about internships, and he happens to be in this area. I can't take you back, so please be careful on your way."
Zhiwei said, "It's okay, you go ahead and do your work. It's not too late yet, May and I will keep a close eye on things."
On the way back, May suddenly said, "Johnny seems to be very busy lately. Before, when we went out to eat, he couldn't wait for me, this annoying third wheel, to go back upstairs as soon as possible so as not to interrupt your lovey-dovey moments."
Zhiwei gently pushed her, "It's not as exaggerated as you say."
Seeing that she didn't react, May stopped talking.
After watching them walk away, Xuan Yu turned around, hailed a taxi, and went to You Lin's hotel. When he arrived at the door, he took out his key card from his pocket, opened the door, and went inside.
Lin wasn't in the room, but listening carefully, he heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. Perhaps it was the sound of him closing the door, because a voice came from inside, "Xuan, you're here?"
Xuan Yu sat down on the sofa by the window and casually picked up a magazine from the coffee table to flip through. A little while later, You Lin came out wearing a bathrobe, the same one they had bought during their last shopping trip. Seeing Xuan Yu reading the magazine, she gracefully walked over to him and sat down next to him.
Xuan Yu put down the magazine and reached out to put his arm around her waist.
"You're here so quickly? I thought you'd take longer."
"I came over after having dinner with my friends. How could I keep you waiting, beautiful lady? Would you like me to dry your hair?"
"No need, I can do it myself. You can go wash up yourself; your bathrobe is in the closet."
Xuan Yu kissed her on the cheek, got up, grabbed his clothes, and went inside. It was one of the men's outfits they had bought together last time. When he came out after showering, You Lin was already half-lying on the bed, raising a glass of wine in a toast to him.
He walked over, took the wine glass, took a sip, put the glass aside, and then put his arm around Youlin to feed her. Youlin hooked her arms around his neck, and their figures slowly merged.
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