19. A little misunderstanding, a little bit of goodwill
Yu Chuanbei realized he'd been rash and wanted to apologize, but felt an apology, one clearly unforgivable, would be redundant. So, he remained silent, hoping to be more attentive next time and regain some favor. Leading her upstairs, Yu Chuanbei introduced the house, "This is our boss's house. When he first returned to China, I oversaw its renovations, so I'm very familiar with its construction." "So, is it okay for you to leave now?" Ling Ling felt their friendship wasn't close enough to interfere with his work. "Oh, it's okay. I was just stopping by to help out." He'd naturally noticed the wrist slipping from his grasp, and he wouldn't tell him about a high-profile client hanging out in the hall. Arriving at the fourth-floor terrace, the clear night sky was dotted with sparse stars. Ink-colored clouds slowly moved, obscuring half of the bright moon before releasing it. "It's so beautiful here!" Ling Ling couldn't help but admire the elegant layout and furnishings of the terrace. Yu Chuanbei patiently introduced to her: "Everything here was polished bit by bit by me and the design company. That year I graduated and joined Ever, following Deng Dalun. I had just been assigned a workstation and hadn't even applied for office supplies when I was sent by President Deng to decorate his newly purchased villa after returning to China. I was quite indignant at the time. I felt that as a top student graduating from a prestigious university, I had originally dreamed of showing my talents in the investment analysis track. Why should I come to a construction site to be a laborer! But thinking that I had finally been able to join Ever, I was just a rookie, so I had to endure it. So I used the preliminary ideas that President Deng told me, and worked with the designer to make decoration plans, discuss quotations, and inspect materials on site." "It seems that you are always serious about what you do. Even with anger, you must stick to the quality of your work results." Ling Ling commented on him with appreciation. Yu Chuanbei smiled wryly and said, "Perhaps, but at the time, I was more eager to make a quick decision, to leave this bitter cold place and return to my glamorous industry." Unexpectedly, a month later, with the renovation design and cost documents complete, Mr. Deng still hadn't transferred me back, and instead insisted I complete the entire renovation project. I was devastated, feeling he was misusing public resources for personal gain. Young and impulsive at the time, I even argued with him on the spot. He explained that the villa was allocated to him by the company. Although he and his family usually lived there, it wasn't his personal residence, but rather a private space reserved for clients and our company. To strengthen our connection with our clients, we would have different groups of people visiting here every month...
Yu Chuanbei realized that he had just been rash and wanted to apologize, but he felt that an apology that would obviously not be forgiven would be too redundant, so he had to remain silent. He could only hope to be more careful next time and win her favor again.
Yu Chuanbei led her upstairs and introduced her, "This is our boss's house. When he first returned to China, I helped him supervise the renovations, so I'm very familiar with the structure of the house."
"Then, is it okay for you to leave now?" Ling Ling always felt that the friendship between them was not enough to affect his work.
"Oh, it's okay. I just came here to help take care of it." He would naturally notice the wrist that was pulled out of his palm, and he would naturally not tell him that there was an important client waiting in the hall.
When we reached the fourth-floor terrace, the clear night sky was dotted with sparse stars, and ink-colored clouds were moving slowly, covering half of the bright moon, and then releasing it.
"It's so beautiful here!" Ling Ling couldn't help but admire the stylish layout and furnishings of the terrace.
Yu Chuanbei patiently explained to her, "Everything here was polished piece by piece by me and the design company. That year I graduated and joined Ever, working with Deng Dalun. I had just been assigned a workstation and hadn't even applied for office supplies when Mr. Deng sent me to decorate this villa he'd just bought after returning to China. I was quite indignant at the time. I felt like a top graduate from a prestigious university, someone who'd dreamed of a successful career in investment analysis, so why was I forced to toil on a construction site? But thinking I'd finally landed at Ever, and I was just a rookie, I had to endure it. So, using the initial ideas Mr. Deng had given me, I worked with the designer to come up with a renovation plan, discuss quotes, and inspect materials on site."
"It seems that you are always serious about what you do. Even when you are angry, you still stick to the quality of your work." Ling Ling commented on him with appreciation.
Yu Chuanbei smiled wryly and said, "Perhaps, but at the time I wanted a quick resolution, to leave this bitter cold place and return to my glamorous career. I didn't expect that a month later, with the renovation design and cost book complete, Mr. Deng still wouldn't transfer me back. He even insisted I complete the entire renovation project. I was devastated, feeling he was misusing public resources for personal gain. Being young and hot-headed, I even argued with him on the spot."
But he told me that this villa was allocated to him by the company. Although he and his family usually live there, it's not his personal residence. Instead, it's a private space reserved for clients and our company. To strengthen connections with our clients, we host monthly gatherings of varying sizes, styles, and themes. He asked me to incorporate these considerations into the decorating concept—everything is geared towards business development.
"Every unique consideration of the leaders always has profound knowledge." Ling Ling smiled with him with understanding.
Yu Chuanbei nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, but it really benefited me at the time. I felt like I had been enlightened. I began to fully understand the companies closely related to the business unit we were in charge of at the time, studying their executives' habits, business prospects, and cooperation aspirations. I even went so far as to schedule future gatherings and compile guest lists. President Deng praised me highly, and my career got off to a great start."
Yu Chuanbei patiently introduced all this to Ling Ling, actually because he wanted her to understand him a little better and tell her that his success was not in vain, and he definitely did not just sit back and enjoy the success by being a playboy.
Ling Ling nodded in agreement and said, "Boss Deng's intentions are indeed good. Only when superiors and subordinates in the workplace have personal contact can they be considered 'family'. You helped him renovate his house right after you started. Psychologically speaking, both of you will consider yourself part of the house, meaning family." "Yes, he has indeed taken good care of me since then."
"And you didn't disappoint him." Ling Ling didn't want him to mistakenly think that she thought he got to his position through connections.
Yu Chuanbei smiled at her gratefully, and then suddenly said mischievously: "But at that time I never thought that one day I would bring the girl I like to this terrace. Otherwise, I would definitely put a comfortable sofa here instead of a high chair. - You must be tired after wearing high heels all night?" He stretched out his hand to her, wanting to take her up and sit on the chair to rest.
Ling Ling thought he was joking and shook his broad hand generously.
Yu Chuanbei lifted Ling Ling's skirt and helped her onto a white high chair.
"I never thought that after several days of smog, I could see such a beautiful night sky in Beijing." Ling Ling sighed as she looked at the starry sky.
"Yeah, I never thought that after being without you for several days, we would be here, sitting together like this." Yu Chuanbei said, staring at her seriously.
Ling Ling did not respond, but just lowered her eyes silently.
He looked at her thin profile and asked distressedly, "Is your job very tiring now? I heard from Luo Hao that the people leading you are particularly mean - it must be very hard!"
"It's okay. Who doesn't have a hard time? But aren't we all working hard to live? When a garbage collector walks towards the trash can, he always goes with hope. He does one thing after another very carefully, and really has no time to think about how miserable I am day after day." Ling Ling looked up at the ever-changing starry sky with an indifferent expression.
"Indeed. But the last time your friend Hao Shengnan saw me, she seemed to imagine me as a man who, if I were with you, would be thinking about cheating all day long. She naturally categorized me as the kind of man who only wants to sleep with strange women to relieve stress, as if the frequency of women replacement can't keep up with my speed of getting tired of the old and liking the new. She has such a deep misunderstanding of our industry that no matter how much I argue, it's useless. I want to tell her how loyal I am, just like telling her how busy I am will make her unbelievable." Yu Chuanbei smiled bitterly.
Ling Ling giggled.
"Oh, you're still laughing at me! You don't even know how I've been getting by these days." Yu Chuanbei looked at Ling Ling helplessly and said seriously, "In this technological age, almost everyone is agitated on the Internet, flaunting their loneliness on social media, and partying on a topic they have no inside knowledge of. But you and I, there's no social platform connecting us. I don't know anything about you, and yet you're the person I care about the most. I want to know what time you get up and go to bed, whether you get insomniac at night and scroll through your phone, whether any colleagues at work give you homemade snacks, whether you have any new progress at work to share, whether you run into idiots or perverts on your way to and from get off work, what if you encounter difficulties that you can't solve alone, and whether your friends will spare no effort to help you... I really want to know everything about your daily life."
He rubbed his face wistfully and said in a low voice, "That's how I like you."
They were silent for a long time, and then he continued, "What about you? How do you feel about me? If you say you like me but don't want to be with me, I won't pester you. If you say you don't like me but don't mind being with me, I won't complain either. Can you tell me exactly how you feel about me? I'm afraid my devotion to you will turn into a stalker."
Yu Chuanbei stared at the sparkling light in her eyes, like the only twinkling star in the dark night sky, lonely yet clear.
Ling Ling took a deep breath and exhaled cautiously. She stammered, her words a bit incoherent. "I'm sorry, I don't know if it's my problem or our relationship's. I just can't give you a definitive answer right now. Intellectually, I've always told myself to stay away from you. Our living and working environments are very different. If we're destined to clash in the future because we care about different things, why should we be together now?"
I'm even unsure of every detail and gesture I make with you. I don't know if it's because I don't like you enough, or if I care too much about you. Perhaps it's because I cherish you too much, so I'm anxious about losing you? Or maybe my feelings for you aren't strong enough, so I'm so hot and cold? I don't know... Maybe you say you like me, but you just enjoy the surprises every chance encounter brings you since we met. But then I wonder—what if this is all an illusion?
If we were together, and everything became routine and concrete, with events unfolding as predictably as the 24 solar terms, would we still enjoy spending time with each other? Perhaps you'd say, "Don't overthink it, just enjoy the present moment," and that's the most honest answer. But I really wonder—will we be together for the long term? Will we get married and have children? When I'm old and frail, and you're by my side, will I be grateful for your pursuit of me?
After saying all this, Ling Ling fell into a long pause. She frowned tightly and then uttered a weak sigh: "So... I'm sorry, I feel too tired when I think about all this, so... I would rather give up on you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
