Chapter 57
"Xiao Tong, are you going to look for Dao Yan?"
The interview was not over yet and would continue in the afternoon. After Chen Huaili finished the morning interview, he asked Tong Yufei if he wanted to go and have dinner with Mo Daoyan. He was supposed to accompany him, but due to poor health, he could only eat the blood pressure-lowering meal prepared by his wife at noon. The meal with little oil and salt was really tasteless, and he felt embarrassed to let Tong Yufei suffer with him.
Chen Huaili admired Tong Yufei but also felt a little apologetic.
He apologized because, firstly, his eldest daughter Chen Ruchao indirectly affected her marriage to Mo Daoyan. No matter what happened between Mo Daoyan and Chen Ruchao, Tong Yufei was the innocent one implicated. Secondly, when he issued the divorce certificate to Mo Daoyan, he did not dissuade her. He felt that there was a huge gap in their education and separation might be good for both of them. Given Mo Daoyan's conditions, he probably would not be willing to spend his whole life with her. Not only did he not dissuade her, he also advised Mo Daoyan to find a suitable partner as soon as possible to settle down so that he could devote himself to work. He did not consider her situation at all.
Speaking of appreciation, it was because after getting to know each other for a while, Chen Huaili found that Tong Yufei was a man of extraordinary conversation and was not just a superficial vase. In addition, Mo Daoyan never mentioned divorce again, so he thought that the two had reconciled. Considering that Mo Daoyan was busy with work and often had no time to take care of family affairs, he deliberately let Tong Yufei out twenty minutes early, wanting to give them more time to spend together.
Unexpectedly, Tong Yufei said, "I'm here to represent the newspaper, and official business comes first."
It was just a meal, and Chen Huaili felt that Tong Yufei was overreacting, but every industry has its own rules, and he respected them, so he called his assistant Zhang Hui and asked him to treat her distinguished guest well.
Zhang Hui originally wanted to take Tong Yufei to a high-end restaurant, but she insisted on having a simple meal, so the two went to the newly established cafeteria.
At noon, the cafeteria was bustling with people.
Tong Yufei and Zhang Hui sat face to face, two rows of dining tables apart. Mo Daoyan and his colleagues from the laboratory sat opposite her. She saw them as soon as she entered the door. She wanted to go and say hello to Da Ding and the others. She and Mo Daoyan were both too talkative to say a word, but she couldn't involve others. But just when she was about to go over, she saw Mo Daoyan with a sullen face. She could smell the tension from a distance, so she gave up. It was uncomfortable to just play along with him.
Zhang Hui had just started working there. Although this master's degree holder in management from the Communication University knew technical backbones such as Mo Daoyan, he knew very little about his colleagues' families. In his eyes, Miss Tong, who was sharp-tongued but measured, was just a strange female reporter. However, although she was young, her words were always to the point, and she displayed professionalism beyond her age, which made him feel good about her.
"Miss Tong, don't just drink water. Try this fish-flavored egg, it's our cafeteria's signature dish." He introduced each dish to Tong Yufei, bustling around serving noodles and soup. "Sit back a bit, be careful not to burn yourself." He went to the kitchen and brought back two bowls, tossing the noodles back and forth like a chef. Noticing Tong Yufei staring at him in amazement, he smiled and explained, "Since my great-grandfather, my ancestors have been chefs in various restaurants. This is considered an ancestral skill."
Tong Yufei wasn't used to being taken care of like this, so he reached out to take the bowl: "You can eat it after it cools down."
"Don't you believe in my craftsmanship?"
"no."
"Then I'll do it," he then handed her the noodles. "You eat first, and I'll get some more rice."
Tong Yufei took out the interview manuscript and revised it while eating. After more than ten minutes, he didn't see Zhang Hui come back, and when he looked up again, he was gone.
Just as she was wondering, someone patted her shoulder gently.
Zhang Hui, holding two porcelain bottles of aged yogurt, came around from behind her and smiled at her with a childlike innocence: "Let's savor the taste of our childhood together."
She saw sweat on his temples, obviously he had run back home: "Where did you buy it?"
"The supply and marketing cooperative is right next to the company."
She said it was next to it, but it was about a kilometer or two away. She apologized and said, "I'm sorry to bother you."
"Of course not. It's my honor to help entertain you." Zhang Hui helped her twist the bottle cap and said with a smile, "Even if you weren't Mr. Chen's honored guest, it would be a blessing to have lunch with such a beautiful lady." He handed the yogurt over. "By the way, when you were interviewing Mr. Chen, I read your review of 'Zhaojun Goes to the Frontier.' Your insights into history are both profound and unique, which is truly rare. Reporter Tong, may I ask, how old are you?"
It turned out that Zhang Hui was a loyal fan of "Zhaojun Goes to the Frontier". He took the initiative and talked to her about everything from the musical to the history of the Han Dynasty, from Zhang Qian to Sima Qian, and then to the eternal controversy of Li Ling. Relying on the fact that he was two months older than her, he changed his address to her from "Reporter Tong" to "Little Tong", and finally directly called her "Yufei", as if he regretted meeting her too late, and they had a very enjoyable meal.
"This kid doesn't consider himself an outsider at all." Da Ding looked at the two people chatting happily, feeling unfair for Mo Daoyan. He poked Mo Daoyan's arm and said, "Adding a bottle of yogurt can extend the conversation for a quarter of an hour. This kid is quite capable. It's necessary to be cautious. Why not declare your sovereignty?"
Mo Daoyan kept his head down to eat, not knowing whether it was because the food was too delicious and the noise around him drowned out his reminders, or because he was too confident in his wife's feelings, with an attitude of sitting back and watching the wind and waves rise, as if he was sitting on the Diaoyutai. Da Ding thought it was the latter, but he noticed that his expression was a little strange. It was understandable that a couple was busy with their careers and neglected to communicate, but it was really abnormal that they were so close to each other but acted like strangers. Especially when Tong Yufei came to deliver food in the past, everyone could see the affection in his eyes, but today he seemed to have lost all emotions and never cast a glance at Mo Daoyan.
However, these are ultimately private matters between husband and wife, and outsiders should not interfere. How many couples have quarreled so much that they would hug and kiss each other in bed at night? I just don't know how a man with such a cold personality like Mo Daoyan usually coaxes his wife. Would he be as servile as him?
Da Ding drank the soup silently. Wow, this is quite hard to imagine.
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Tong Yufei gently pushed the yogurt back to Zhang Hui, explaining that drinking it would cause burping and affect the interview.
After becoming a reporter, she did talk more, but she only spoke to the interviewees. Sometimes she even had to "sacrifice" some of her own personal affairs in order to gain the other party's trust and get the information she wanted. Once she left work, she returned to the taciturn and indifferent state she had during her proofreading period. In response to Zhang Hui's enthusiasm, she just smiled and occasionally nodded.
During lunch break, Zhang Hui invited her to the lounge to play checkers. She clearly said she didn't know how to play, but he insisted on teaching her, repeatedly emphasizing the fun of checkers. He invited her three times in a row. Just when she was making excuses until her throat was hoarse, Ji Xilin came over with Tong Zhaoyang. After Tong Zhaoyang joined the company, the siblings always ate together, enjoying a rare moment of pure conversation. Ji Xilin saw her during dinner and wanted to go over and sit with her, but for some reason, her brother was too lazy to move.
Ji Xilin pulled her away from Zhang Hui at the right moment: "The Lao Lu family has a new daughter, and they are giving out festive eggs. Let's go get some."
Tong Zhaoyang did not take the initiative to talk, but just kept a proper distance and gave her a faint smile. She was about to respond with a knowing smile, but the smile froze on her face. Mo Daoyan and his group had already walked up to them. The two sides exchanged a few simple greetings, but Mo Daoyan's face was still gloomy. He could maintain a gentlemanly demeanor with everyone, but when facing Tong Zhaoyang, it was as if the other party owed him a huge debt. Even the superficial harmony was difficult for him to maintain, and he ignored him.
Ji Xilin asked his brother, "Do you have any deep hatred with Mo Daoyan?"
In order to prevent his sister from looking elsewhere, Tong Zhaoyang frankly admitted: "He doesn't approve of me following the trend of smashing the refrigerator."
"Oh, he made the product, so naturally he has feelings for it. But that gust of wind was the best publicity vehicle, and it worked very well. That's how cooperation works, just like a couple living together, they need to get used to each other."
"You're still single, don't act like you're bored of being in a siege."
"You only understand after you get married? There are so many examples around us."
Tong Zhaoyang knew that his sister was thinking about his parents again, so he didn't continue the topic.
Lao Lu is an old tester in Mo Daoyan's laboratory. He just had a baby girl three days ago and was distributing red eggs to everyone one by one. His colleagues had prepared red envelopes in advance. Tong Yufei didn't prepare any at the moment, so he borrowed a piece of pink letter paper from Ji Xilin, folded it into a red envelope, drew a girl holding flowers on the cover with a pen, stuffed thirty yuan into the red envelope and handed it to Lao Lu.
"No, Mr. Mo has already given it to me." Lao Lu waved his hands repeatedly, "A family can only accept one gift. You can't have the best of both worlds."
Tong Yufei insisted: "How can you eat the same egg twice? I'm here as a reporter today."
Lao Lu was still trying to refuse, but Mo Daoyan took the red envelope and stuffed it into Lao Lu's bag: "Is the red envelope from a big reporter too hot to handle?"
"Oh, this is really..." Old Lu Han smiled, "Miss Tong, this red envelope is so unique. I must keep it well and give it to my daughter as a souvenir when she grows up." Then he asked enthusiastically, "When are you two going to have a child? You are both handsome and pretty. I wonder how good-looking your child will be."
Tong Yufei pretended not to hear and turned to discuss hand-painting techniques with Ji Xilin.
Mo Daoyan replied calmly, "You can't have a child just because you want to. Just let fate take its course."
Immersed in the joy of having a daughter, Lao Lu didn't notice the awkward expressions on their faces. "Hurry up and have one. You'll know once the child is born. It's like honey. No matter how hard or tired you are, just one look at her will melt your heart and fill you with fighting spirit. For the sake of the child, no matter how hard you try, you won't feel any hardship."
Mo Daoyan had his doubts about this. Lao Lu's daughter-in-law gave birth to a child in a maternity hospital not far from the company. That day, Da Ding had a sudden idea and wanted to arrange a marriage for his three-year-old son. He dragged everyone to see the "future daughter-in-law". Lao Lu's daughter was just two hours old. Her body was covered with a layer of white vernix caseosa and thick lanugo. Her skin was yellow and black like Lao Lu's. It was unknown how girls would change when they grew up. At least at that moment, the child looked like a little monkey who had reverted to its ancestral form and had nothing to do with "honey".
This visit to the newborn further weakened his already weak desire to have children. The nurse's popular science made him even more discouraged. She said that genetics is like drawing lots. Some children inherit their parents' strengths, while others inherit their weaknesses. This is the result of the survival of the fittest. Some embryos only care about winning in the battle of genes and are determined to defeat other competitors, so they choose not-so-good genes.
Before Ye Yimo showed up, their marriage, though unsteady like a candle in the wind, still trudged forward. Occasionally, he'd imagine what their child would look like. He considered his appearance acceptable, and Tong Yufei's was no exception. According to the growth patterns of the Mo family's children, a boy would be at least 1.8 meters tall and might inherit his mother Hua Mingxueyan's complexion, though boys didn't need to be so pale. A girl, with a straight nose like his, wouldn't be bad either. Even if the luck was bad and she inherited the worst aspects of both men, no combination of their features would produce an ugly child.
One night, he discovered his nightstand was completely empty of birth control supplies. Half-jokingly, he suggested the child be in a hurry to be reborn, half-seriously recounting the benefits of parenthood. Just as he was about to act, she paled and reiterated her age-old fears that having a child would divert his love. When he stopped, she embraced him, saying he'd postponed his plans because he truly cared about her, and that marrying him was the best decision she'd ever made.
"Daoyan, we will have a baby in the future, and you will definitely be the father."
The tears in her eyes when she spoke made him feel that this woman loved him madly.
Now that she thought about it, those passionate promises were just to coax him. She never really thought about giving birth to a life with him.
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