-28- Conditions
Hu Mingyuan invited Zhao Jinghuan to meet him at his studio. Unlike the somewhat casual office space at his Waikiki studio, Hu Mingyuan and several other designers had rented several hundred square meters of office space. Not only was the interior stylishly decorated, but the card-swipe access control system alone made it look far more upscale than Waikiki. Zhao Jinghuan called Hu Mingyuan and was quickly met by an employee. Instead of taking her directly to his office, they asked her to wait on a sofa in a corner of the hall. "Mr. Hu is on the phone. Please wait a moment." Zhao Jinghuan nodded, but she hadn't expected to wait for over an hour. It was almost ten o'clock when Hu Mingyuan finally emerged from his office. Seeing him approaching, Zhao Jinghuan quickly stood up. From two aisles away, Hu Mingyuan nodded, then suddenly turned and entered a conference room to the side. Zhao Jinghuan didn't understand what he meant for a moment. Just as she was about to follow him, Hu Mingyuan emerged from the conference room again, knocked on the glass wall, and said to the employees at their workstations, "Come on, everyone from the marketing team, come in. We're having a meeting." Six or seven employees stood up from their workstations, gathered their things, and followed Hu Mingyuan into the conference room. The meeting dragged on for over an hour, and Zhao Jinghuan sat on the sofa, bored. She suspected Hu Mingyuan was deliberately teasing her, but there was nothing she could do. The meeting didn't end until after midnight. Hu Mingyuan emerged from the conference room and finally pointed to his office, motioning Zhao Jinghuan over. The two of them entered Hu Mingyuan's office, one in front of the other. Inside, every corner was filled with a variety of limited-edition collectible toys. Zhao Jinghuan even felt that the most important outcome of her hard work in learning about trendy toys was her ability to clearly understand the value of these toys behind Hu Mingyuan, highlighting his success. Hu Mingyuan sat down at his desk and pretended to apologize: "We have a joint event with Wanda Plaza in September. We need to prepare some design cases in the early stage, so I'm quite busy. I kept you waiting." "Yes, I heard from Mr. Chen that it happens to be on the same day as the HEC exhibition." Zhao Jinghuan said with a smile, "Mingyuan, you know the reason for my visit, so I won't beat around the bush. This HEC exhibition is very important to our studio. For the sake of our old classmates..." Hu Mingyuan laughed dryly: "Old classmates?" Zhao Jinghuan nodded: "Yes, old classmates." "If we are just old classmates, there is nothing to talk about...
Hu Mingyuan invited Zhao Jinghuan to meet him at his studio. Unlike the somewhat casual office conditions at Waikiki Studio, Hu Mingyuan partnered with several other designers to rent a few hundred square meters of office space. Not only was the interior of the studio stylishly decorated, but the card-swipe access control system at the entrance made it look far more upscale than Waikiki.
After Zhao Jinghuan arrived at the door, she called Hu Mingyuan. Soon an employee came out to pick her up, but instead of taking her directly to Hu Mingyuan's office, she was asked to wait on the sofa in the corner of the hall.
"Teacher Hu is on the phone, please wait a moment."
Zhao Jinghuan nodded, but she didn't expect to have to wait for more than an hour. It was almost ten o'clock when Hu Mingyuan finally came out of his office.
Seeing Hu Mingyuan approaching, Zhao Jinghuan quickly stood up. Across two aisles, Hu Mingyuan nodded at her, then suddenly turned and walked into a conference room off to the side. Zhao Jinghuan didn't understand what he meant for a moment, and just as she was about to follow him, Hu Mingyuan emerged from the conference room again, knocked on the glass wall, and said to the employees at their workstations, "Come on, everyone from the marketing team, come in, let's have a meeting."
Six or seven employees stood up from their workstations, gathered their things, and followed Hu Mingyuan into the conference room. The meeting dragged on for over an hour, and Zhao Jinghuan sat on the sofa, bored. She suspected Hu Mingyuan was deliberately trying to trick her, but there was nothing she could do.
The meeting didn't end until after twelve o'clock. Hu Mingyuan came out of the meeting room and finally pointed to his office, motioning Zhao Jinghuan to come over.
The two of them entered Hu Mingyuan's office one after the other. Inside the room, various limited edition collectible trendy toys filled every corner. Zhao Jinghuan even had a feeling that the most important result of her hard work in learning about trendy toys during this period was that she could clearly understand the value of these trendy toys behind Hu Mingyuan, thereby highlighting his success.
Hu Mingyuan sat down at his desk and offered a mock apology. "We have a joint event with Wanda Plaza in September, and we've been busy preparing some design proposals. Sorry to have kept you waiting."
"Yes, I heard from Mr. Chen that it happens to be on the same day as the HEC exhibition." Zhao Jinghuan said with a smile, "Mingyuan, you know why I'm here this time, so I won't beat around the bush. This HEC exhibition is very important to our studio. For the sake of our old classmates..."
Hu Mingyuan laughed dryly: "Old classmate?"
Zhao Jinghuan nodded: "Yes, old classmate."
"If we're just old classmates, there's nothing much to talk about."
Zhao Jinghuan looked embarrassed, unsure what to say. Hu Mingyuan picked up his mouse and clicked away, looking at Zhao Jinghuan with disdain. "HEC is so important to you, and you actually missed the registration deadline? That's incredibly unprofessional."
Zhao Jinghuan said: "Some things happened in the middle, but..."
Hu Mingyuan interrupted him: "First it was takeout, and now it's this unprofessional small company. Your career planning is really a mess."
Zhao Jinghuan smiled awkwardly: "It's hard to find a job, I'm lucky enough to have someone who wants me."
"You're still like this."
"Wh-what?"
Hu Mingyuan shook his head: "Let's not talk about this. Do your colleagues know about your relationship with me?"
Zhao Jinghuan shook her head and said she hadn't told them: "They didn't even know I came to see you. I came here on my own."
Hu Mingyuan asked, "Why? Does it feel good to ask for help?"
These words were really harsh, and Zhao Jinghuan couldn't help but frown.
Hu Mingyuan didn't care about Zhao Jinghuan's reaction at all. She sat back, intentionally or unintentionally widening the distance between them: "If I were you, I wouldn't come."
Zhao Jinghuan suppressed the urge to curse: "There's nothing wrong with old classmates visiting each other. Mingyuan, this HEC exhibition is really important to our studio..."
"That's not why you came to me."
"Hmm?" Zhao Jinghuan didn't understand what he meant.
Hu Mingyuan said: "You came to me because you just like being frustrated and you just like the feeling of failure.
"You came to me today to beg me, to go with you to deliver food, and to go work with you in a small, shabby company. It's all for the same reason: you like the feeling of failure. You like the feeling that the whole world is against you, that the whole world is unfair to you, and that the harder you work, the more heartbroken you feel.
"You always want to immerse yourself in your tragic heroine's aura, so you're completely unwilling to face the reality." Hu Mingyuan paused. "You broke up with me for the same reason."
Zhao Jinghuan was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that he had been preparing for so long just to talk about this matter.
Hu Mingyuan said, "I have a good family and a promising future. No matter how you look at it, being with me is a blessing for you. I can take care of your life, so you don't have to pretend to be a delivery driver. If you want, I can even help you a lot with your career. Yes... Zhao Jinghuan, have you ever thought about it? It's such a shame for me that my ex-girlfriend is a delivery driver. Do you know what they say about me behind my back?"
Zhao Jinghuan was speechless for a moment: "Oh, I humiliated you by delivering food..."
"Isn't it? You had a chance to be happy." Hu Mingyuan became more and more excited as he spoke. "But you just want to find a reason to convince yourself to break up with me. Because deep down in your heart, you always believe that you don't deserve happiness. You even hope that you won't be happy. You like the troubled and sad self. You must throw away the happiness you have, so that you can be happy.
"Zhao Jinghuan, it's not that you don't love me, it's that you don't love yourself."
"Ah... so that's it..." Zhao Jinghuan looked at Hu Mingyuan in front of her for a while. After confirming that he was not joking, Zhao Jinghuan said, "Then... I know I was wrong? I apologize. Look, about the HEC quota..."
Hu Mingyuan slammed the table: "I'm talking to you about our business!"
Zhao Jinghuan was startled, but she quickly calmed down. For some reason, she was not angry at Hu Mingyuan's glaring. Instead, she thought the way he slammed the table just now was a little funny.
She asked Hu Mingyuan, "So when did you know I was the newcomer in Waikiki?"
Hu Mingyuan said, "It was a bit strange from the beginning. The day Lu Kai asked you to add me on WeChat, your phone number was listed as a food delivery number on the app. So when your company came to talk to me about HEC, I asked for your name."
Zhao Jinghuan said, "That's why you didn't agree to Lu Kai yesterday."
Hu Mingyuan remained silent. Zhao Jinghuan suddenly smiled. "You've already said what you think. Do you want to hear my version?"
Without waiting for Hu Mingyuan to answer, she spoke on her own, "Hu Mingyuan, you have a nice family, parents who are involved in the arts and can support you in your career, and you may have a little talent. So your life is full of friends who brag about you, who flatter you and look up to you cautiously, and you think I'm one of them. That's why you're so angry when I broke up with you without saying a word. Because you just can't understand why Cinderella would rather deliver food than have you when it's clearly a prince and Cinderella drama."
Zhao Jinghuan said, "So what do you want now? I tell you I regret it, I beg you to get back together, and then you reject me once, and I cry my heart out. Is that enough? As long as you nod, I can show you right now. As long as you are willing to give up your HEC spot."
Hu Mingyuan said, "Is Waikiki so important to you? You're willing to go to such lengths."
Zhao Jinghuan smiled and shook her head: "I am willing to do this, not because Waikiki is so important to me."
She paused, and said the second half of her sentence clearly:
"Because you are not important to me at all."
Hu Mingyuan's masseter muscles on both sides suddenly tensed up. Zhao Jinghuan couldn't help but feel nervous when she saw it. However, besides being afraid, she suddenly had a somewhat absurd idea: If he hits me and I call the police, will he have to give up his HEC place in order to reconcile?
However, after waiting for a long time, Hu Mingyuan still didn't make a move. Zhao Jinghuan felt relieved to have survived the ordeal, but also inexplicably disappointed.
Hu Mingyuan said, "So that's it. After so many years, we met again, but it ended on bad terms."
"The choice is yours. If you give up your spot in HEC, we can all be happy." Zhao Jinghuan suddenly turned back to her shameless self. "For the sake of our old classmates, please be more generous. You can think of other ways to get back at me. You don't have to... What's the opposite of loving someone and loving their dog? Anyway, you feel embarrassed by breaking up with you, but the people in Waikiki don't know about this. How about you make a list for me, and tell them one by one that you were the one who dumped me? "
"You underestimate me," Hu Mingyuan said. "What if I want more than just an apology?"
Zhao Jinghuan asked him what he wanted.
Hu Mingyuan looked up at Zhao Jinghuan. He didn't speak for a long time, as if he was silently weighing the pros and cons. Until Zhao Jinghuan couldn't help but ask him again, he said calmly:
"I can give up my place, but I have one condition."
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