Chapter 29 A road trip with you would be beautiful
Xu Weisheng's words left Jian Zhen with a lingering worry. The first thing she did upon returning from the tour was to inquire about the work status of the other members of the "Mystery Valley" team.
According to Bubble, although things at Mystery Valley itself have decreased, everyone's workload has generally increased. This is because other departments are in chaos, with some even coming to a standstill. However, the project cannot be delayed, so the person in charge has to beg and plead everywhere, treating their own colleagues as outsourced workers.
Bubble grabbed a skewer, took a big bite, chewed it, and said, "This is an era where one person can do everything."
Jian Zhen looked at her for an answer.
Bubble sighed and said solemnly, "There's a big pie in front, and a big stick behind."
Jian Zhen sighed, "Didn't anyone refuse?"
"How do you refuse?" Bubble spread her hands and asked in return, "The day before yesterday, Teacher Le stood up for Feifei and Director Zhang from the third floor came straight over and questioned—don't you have any idea why you're getting on a satellite TV show?"
Jian Zhen was speechless, her face turning pale.
Bubble, being thick-skinned, not only failed to notice the change in her expression but also muttered, "It's really funny. I don't know what they're so arrogant about. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. 'Mystery Valley' just had a bit of good luck, right? They act like our whole group owes them something. People like this who can't even eat themselves and then come to steal other people's food, I call them spontaneous rabies."
Jian Zhen remained silent—she wanted to agree but couldn't find a position to do so. Her family background had been an open secret since she joined the company, and after more than half a year, anyone who wanted to find out more or less knew about it.
Upon closer reflection, given the current situation and her questionable background, it's no wonder that *Mystery Valley* has faced criticism from her colleagues. Moreover, at this point, whether she truly abused her privileges is no longer important; the emotions of the masses are impulsive and blind, and there's no need to examine the completeness of the chain of evidence.
But while those who doubted her didn't care about the word "facts," Jian Zhen herself cared a lot about it.
When she got home that evening, she called her aunt while unpacking her moving luggage.
The call connected quickly, but Jian Zhen hadn't figured out how to start. She could only beat around the bush and wish her aunt a belated Happy New Year, which puzzled the other woman, who asked her with a smile, "Didn't you already wish her a Happy New Year on the first day? Why do you need to wish her another one? Are you short of money? Do you want to buy a car or a house?"
Jian Zhen sat on the ground, burying her head in an empty cardboard box that was taller than her shoulders, and said sadly, "No, Auntie..."
"What's wrong?" There was an airport announcement coming from her aunt's end. She was always very busy, and Jian Zhen thought she shouldn't waste her time by stammering.
"I want to eat dumplings with zucchini and egg filling." Jian Zhen tilted her head, rubbed her nose against the inside of the cardboard box, and suddenly looked aggrieved.
"Oh, this is nothing. Wait, your aunt will make it for you when she has time."
The airport announcement started calling her aunt's name, so Jian Zhen had to say goodbye. Before hanging up, the other person sensed her vulnerability and said gently, "You can tell me if anything's bothering you at work!"
So Jianzhen spent half an hour editing a message for her, asking if she had been involved in replacing "Three Carpenters" with "Mystery Valley". When the message was sent, her aunt was on a plane and it took more than an hour to get a reply.
Jian Zhen nervously picked up her phone and saw two words sent back: No.
Her heart quickly calmed down.
Bubble is right. Those who try to take away other people's livelihoods just because they can't afford to eat are truly unreasonable.
Lao Le is truly pitiful. During this extraordinary period, she is undoubtedly living in the most dire straits. Her suggestion to Jian Zhen to take a leave of absence may well be an attempt to keep her out of the limelight and reduce her public appearances at the company.
Having figured this out, Jian Zhen simply and readily took a long leave of absence.
Lao Le felt sorry for her and turned away to whisper that going through the work-from-home process was fine. Jian Zhen laughed and asked her, "Wouldn't that put both of us in the spotlight? Forget it, Director, gossip is a fearsome thing."
Laur sighed and didn't press the matter further.
Jian Zhen comforted her, "I've been busy moving recently, and my aunt is coming to Guangzhou to visit me, so I really need a break. Don't feel bad about it."
That's true. Although the house she lived in wasn't big, it was filled with her personal belongings over the past six months. She packed three large boxes just of novels and picture books, not to mention clothes, jewelry, skincare products, and cosmetics. After packing them all, she almost missed the moving date she had set for Xu Weisheng.
Early that morning, Xu Weisheng arrived at the door carrying two croissants and two cups of coffee. Jian Zhen opened the door as soon as he knocked.
"Good morning—" Before Xu Weisheng could finish speaking, Jian Zhen breathed a sigh of relief, waved her hand, turned around, and said thankfully, "I thought the moving company had arrived early. They gave me a fright."
Xu Weisheng didn't mind being ignored. He glanced around the room and thought it was safe to enter with shoes on, so he stepped in on his own. Then he turned his head and saw the cardboard boxes piled up against the wall, neatly stacked, almost touching the ceiling.
"Wow!" Xu Weisheng couldn't help but lean back slightly. "Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"
"Stop talking nonsense and come help me." Jian Zhen turned around and called to him.
"Coming, coming." Xu Weisheng quickly walked up to her, put down the croissant and coffee, and helped her stuff the head of a shark plush toy into the box. Working together, the two finally managed to seal the box after two minutes, preventing the shark inside from jumping out again.
"Phew—" Jian Zhen wiped the sweat from her forehead, sat down with her back against the cardboard box, and sighed as if she had survived a disaster: "It's done. This is the last one."
"Here, breakfast." Xu Weisheng handed her a croissant and coffee.
"Thank you, are both of them mine?" Jian Zhen looked up at the fragrant, crispy croissants in the paper bag and asked.
“…Yes, eat!” She seemed genuinely hungry. Xu Weisheng took out his cup of coffee, strolled around the room a couple of times, and praised, “How big is this place? 50 square meters? I really admire your organization skills.”
"Ha." Jian Zhen was exhausted. She leaned against the cardboard box, picked up her coffee and gulped down two mouthfuls. Then, after catching her breath, she smiled and said, "That's why I asked Lao Le for leave, otherwise I wouldn't have had time to pack."
"Oh, I thought you took leave to stay home and work on a script for Pingping." Xu Weisheng's prompt was a bit too deliberate. Jian Zhen rolled her eyes at him, suddenly feeling like a slave to a capitalist.
Jian Zhen: "No, don't worry."
"What do you mean, 'don't worry'?" Xu Weisheng exclaimed in surprise, "It's already finished?"
"Not a single word has been touched," Jian Zhen scoffed. "Where would you find the time?"
She is good at multitasking. While packing her luggage, she was also constantly building the framework of the plot in her mind. However, as it was her first time writing, she felt that no matter how she put pen to paper, it was not perfect and she could not write what she wanted. Therefore, no matter how she built the framework, it was still a mess and the progress was back to zero.
"I've already signed the contract." Xu Weisheng turned around, pulled up his trouser leg, and sat down next to her, coercing and cajoling, "Teacher Jian won't go back on her word, will she?"
"No." Jian Zhen glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, her face held high with a hint of pride: "A gentleman's word is as good as his bond."
Xu Weisheng chuckled, looking at the damp stray hairs on her forehead. Suddenly, he reached out his coffee cup, touched the one in her hand, and joked, "Director Jian, let me toast you."
"It's nothing." In response, Jian Zhen tilted the cup in her hand and touched it with his again. The two of them gently rubbed their fingers together on the cup. This moment was perhaps very long, because when the electric-like tingling sensation in Jian Zhen's arm subsided, the two of them turned their heads away and remained quiet for a while.
With the balcony window open, they heard the noise of a large truck coming from downstairs and exclaimed in unison, "Is the truck here?"
"I'll go take a look." Jian Zhen pushed herself up from the floor, slid to her feet, and ran to the balcony window in her slippers, peering down.
Xu Weisheng seized the opportunity and secretly took a picture of her back with his phone.
“Really.” When Jian Zhen turned around, Xu Weisheng had already put away his phone.
"Pretty fast." He patted his butt, stood up, picked up the trash the two had left after breakfast, and said casually, "You'll ride in my car later, and we'll lead the way for the truck."
“Okay.” Jian Zhen was now very familiar with his car and had great confidence in his driving skills. As soon as she got in the car, she reclined the seat and told Xu Weisheng to connect to her Bluetooth to listen to music.
“Okay, Director Jian,” Xu Weisheng said with a dry wit.
Jian Zhen was enjoying herself and didn't care whether he had a hidden meaning in his words. She sighed and said, "You should take me with you more often when you have time, so as not to waste the 400,000 yuan sound system."
"If you come to work on the parade, I can pick you up and drop you off when I have time."
Jian Zhen choked up, closed her eyes and thought for a long time, wondering if this man even knew how intimate his words were, more ambiguous than a confession.
Unable to come up with a solution, Jian Zhen gave up, thinking that this was just a tactic to poach talent, and that Xu Weisheng was truly determined to destroy his former employer.
“No.” Jian Zhen refused. She said the words of refusal first, then remembered the reason for her refusal. She didn’t know when it started, but the pillars that supported her to stay in Qili disappeared one by one. Until now, only one was left—the promise she made to Paopao: “I will not leave until I find Lin Sheng.”
Even more belatedly, Jian Zhen realized that she had almost forgotten about Lin Sheng recently, perhaps because too many things and people in her life had taken her attention away from her.
She lay back in her seat, her eyes half-open, peeking at Xu Weisheng through the dim light. A melodious American folk song released last year was playing in the car. Without turning her head, Xu Weisheng suddenly asked, "A song from Family of the Year? Hero."
Jian Zhen turned to look out the window and couldn't help but smile.
"What are you laughing at?" Xu Weisheng caught her very soft laughter.
"Let's tidy up the new house today, have dinner with my aunt tomorrow, and visit you in the hospital the day after tomorrow..." Jian Zhen rambled on for a long time before finally revealing her true intentions: "Shall we drive to Quzhou? I want to visit Pingping's birthplace for inspiration."
When new people and new things arrive, old people and old things are naturally replaced.
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