mutual praise
She went downstairs and bought a few cans of ice-cold beer, which made her feel a little better when she held them in her arms. She knew her old habit had relapsed; she drank to numb herself when she was upset. But right now, only that slightly tipsy pleasure could make her forget her suffering, and she couldn't care less about anything else. Anyway, beer has a low alcohol content, so it wouldn't make her drunk, just make her dizzy. Once she was dizzy, she could have a good sleep and forget all her troubles.
While waiting for the elevator, she unexpectedly ran into Chen Shanshan. She looked at the beer in Xu Luoluo's arms with some surprise and chuckled: "I didn't expect you to be such a drinker, drinking in broad daylight."
"Haha, the negotiation was a success, I'll celebrate myself." Xu Luoluo was a little impressed with herself for her quick thinking; she could lie without even thinking.
"Your approach is truly unique," Chen Shanshan joked. "Looks like our department will have someone who can compete with clients in drinking next time."
Xu Luoluo tried to wave her hand, but she couldn't get her hand away from the beer in her arms, so she could only shake her head vigorously and say with a bitter face, "Please don't, I can only handle one glass. Besides, when drinking with clients, aren't there colleagues from the sales department?"
Chen Shanshan chuckled and said, "Don't be nervous, I was just kidding."
As they were talking, the elevator doors opened, and Xu Luoluo walked out looking relieved, not forgetting to turn back and wink: "That's good. If the boss wants to drink, come to my room."
"I'll pass," Chen Shanshan said with a smile, waving her hand. "Go back quickly, these bottles look quite heavy."
Back in her room, Xu Luoluo was already feeling the chill from the pile of beers in her arms. She quickly piled the beer on the table, tidied it up, and lined it up in a row next to the computer. Only then did she sit down in a chair and unsleep the computer.
She had originally planned to watch a comedy with a beer and forget all her worries, but her hands wouldn't listen to her and silently opened a document, starting her typing and beer-drinking mode.
"In the dark cave, Ye Ran stood with her back to Qin Mo."
Ye Ran: Do you like me?
Qin Mo did not answer; the air was so quiet that only their breathing could be heard.
Ye Ran (softly): Why aren't you saying anything?
Qin Mo (respectfully): What does the princess want me to say?
Ye Ran (annoyed): Say whatever you want. We can't get out of here. I'm not a princess here, and you're not a guard.
Qin Mo (chuckles): Princess, don't worry, we'll get out eventually.
Ye Ran (turns around): I only need one question: Do you even have me in your heart?
Qin Mo (respectfully): I don't understand what the princess is talking about. This is not something we should be thinking about. You should rest and conserve your energy.
Ye Ran (angrily): You!
She turned away sadly, her back to Qin Mo.
Ye Ran (murmured): Why are you always so good to me, yet you push me away from me whenever I try to get close? Am I just imagining things?
Qin Mo gripped the stone wall tightly in the darkness until his fingertips turned white, then slowly released it in the silence.
After finishing the last sip of beer, Xu Luoluo had also finished writing the first episode. She read it through from beginning to end, only to feel even more suffocated by the awkwardness of the male protagonist she had created. Others write tragic stories that torment their readers; she writes an awkward male protagonist that torments herself.
Although the beer wasn't very strong, after drinking so many bottles, she felt her cheeks burning and was a little dizzy.
Since she had already finished writing one episode, she simply closed her laptop and lay down on the bed. Holding her phone, she unconsciously opened WeChat, scrolled down for a long time, and finally tapped on the chat window she had been hesitant to open.
"how have you been"
Deleting is too broad a question.
"My parents said they gave you the key, when can I go pick it up?"
The purpose of deleting it is too obvious.
"My parents have caused you trouble. If they said anything they shouldn't have, please don't take it to heart."
She spent half an hour organizing her thoughts before finally losing patience and sending the message with her eyes closed.
After sending the message, she stared blankly at the chat box, wondering when the message "The other party is typing..." would appear. When she got tired of waiting, she switched hands to hold the phone and rested her aching arm on her forehead to cool herself down.
She didn't know how much time had passed, but she drifted off to sleep and closed her eyes without realizing it. Her arm went limp, and her phone slammed into her face.
A sharp pain in her nose woke her up completely.
She endured the pain, picked up her phone, and strained to squint at the WeChat messages.
No new messages.
She deflated, closed her eyes, and threw her phone away.
Drinking is a joyful thing. Soon after putting down her phone, she entered a light, dizzy state, forgetting even who she was, and soon fell asleep.
The phone screen lit up, but because it was on silent mode during the meeting, there was no vibration or ringtone notification.
Xu Luolu muttered "annoying," her long eyelashes trembled, and her breathing became deeper, but it turned out to be just a dream.
The phone screen remained lit for an unknown period of time before slowly dimming and everything fell silent.
She opened her eyes to complete darkness; blackout curtains were truly a lifesaver for sleep. Thinking this, Xu Luoluo rubbed her sleepy eyes and reached for her phone.
"Su Ze," the name was prominently displayed on the missed call notification on the phone.
Why? Judging from his demeanor that day, he didn't seem like he would let it go so easily. Or did he call to say something? The more she thought about it, the more likely the latter was. But it was during working hours, and she had an interview at Yaoxing later. Time was too tight, so she decided to talk about it later that evening.
Thinking about it this way, she breathed a sigh of relief. She felt bad when he was angry and ignoring her, but now that he was suddenly willing to talk to her for no apparent reason, she felt a little flustered. It was truly remarkable how she acted.
I put on some simple makeup, tossed my phone into my bag, pulled out my interview card, and headed for the interview.
Producer Xu was indeed reliable; the assistants she recommended all had decent writing skills, and most importantly, one of their works perfectly complemented her style. She excelled at soft fantasy and romance, while this piece required some hard fantasy elements, which would perfectly fill the gaps in her writing skills when she was constantly struggling. But when she saw the author's name, she couldn't help but laugh. Was this her junior from junior high school? It seemed that people in the Chinese department at F University were either involved in planning or screenwriting. Of course, there were also those like her, forced into both.
The junior's name is Wang Haoran, but his personality is nothing like his name. On the contrary, he is very good at socializing and is a friend to women. Otherwise, he would not have been able to stand out among a group of girls in the literature club and become the president of the next year after Xu Luoluo.
"It really is you, Junior Haoran."
"As expected of you, Senior Luo Luo."
The two exchanged pleasantries upon meeting, and then happily finalized the contract. Having confirmed that this Wang Haoran was indeed the junior she knew from junior school, she considered him the best candidate in terms of both ability and chemistry, so there was no need for hesitation.
With the contract signed, most of the tasks for this trip were essentially completed, except for... the cocktail party and Su Ze. Xu Luoluo felt a headache coming on; neither of these two men were easy to deal with.
"We're planning to have a get-together in S City soon," Wang Haoran suddenly mentioned as he was leaving. "Senior, why don't you come too?"
"It's been so long since we graduated, don't call me 'senior' anymore." Xu Luoluo smiled. "Just call me by my name. Is it a gathering? Who's coming?"
"You're the leader, so we'll listen to you." Wang Haoran didn't beat around the bush at all. "They're all from the literary society and a few other clubs we used to hang out with. Oh, and Su Ze too." He even winked mischievously as he finished speaking.
Xu Luoluo not only sighed, but also was surprised to hear Su Ze's name here again. She was also surprised that Wang Haoran's memory for gossip was still so strong after all these years.
But seeing Wang Haoran's confident expression that she would definitely go, she couldn't help but chuckle and joked as she walked out, "I'll check my schedule when I get back and see if I'm busy. After all, even leaders aren't that free."
"Yes, yes, you'll definitely do me the honor." Wang Haoran readily played along with her performance, casually waving his phone. "Then I'll send you the address when I get back."
After the two parted, chatting and laughing, Xu Luoluo slowly stopped smiling. Memories of the past flashed before her eyes like a revolving lantern. She couldn't tell if she felt a pang of sadness or numbness. In a daze, she got into a taxi and returned to her hotel room.
By the time she came to her senses, it was completely dark. After clearing her mind, she knew very well that Su Ze would go, and certain others would probably go too. Things were becoming increasingly interesting, and were moving closer to the scenario she had envisioned. For some reason, she didn't feel the excitement she had expected.
Regardless, this forced her to confront Su Ze as soon as possible. She tapped the missed call notification on her phone, stared at the name "Su Ze," biting her lip for a long time until her forehead was slightly sweaty, before finally tapping the screen and dialing his number.
"Beep..." The phone beeped for a long time but was not answered.
But just as her grip tightened and she was about to run out of courage, a familiar yet cold voice came from the other end of the phone: "Hello?"
There was no further conversation on the other end. After a moment of silence, Xu Luoluo gave up the argument and said, "It's me."
"Hmm?" The other end remained tight-lipped.
Xu Luoluo sensed something was wrong: "You're on the bullet train, are you coming here too?"
"Um."
Just one word left Xu Luoluo completely bewildered. Why was he here too? Shouldn't he be at the company with the project? Could it be for her? Thinking this, Xu Luoluo quickly shook her head. What was she thinking? Had she gone mad from writing the script? Did she really think she was living in an idol drama?
"It's not convenient to talk in the car, let's talk when we meet." While she was lost in thought, Su Ze made a decisive decision: "8 pm at the coffee shop downstairs from the hotel."
"Oh, okay."
Hearing Xu Luoluo agree without hesitation, the other party's tone softened: "See you in a bit."
"Um."
After hanging up the phone, Xu Luoluo was still a little stunned, wondering what his purpose was in coming here. She had thought that most of the projects from this business trip were settled, but Su Ze's arrival gave her a feeling that one problem after another was brewing. Moreover, she had to attend a cocktail party with Tang Yizhuo tomorrow, and the thought of having to explain their inexplicable relationship to Su Ze made her want to play the ostrich and hide away.
Cocktail party!
Could it be that Su Ze is also coming to the party? Xu Luoluo suddenly remembered that he did have some "connections" with G Company.
Things are getting more and more complicated.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
