MTL - Not Spare the Years-Chapter 12
After learning about the car accident that year, Mu Xueyi hesitated for a few days, and after hesitating between guilt and anxiety, he decided to take the initiative to talk to Zhou Zhenyue.
But when she asked about Xiao Ai, she learned that Zhou Zhenyue had gone to inspect branches in other provinces and only returned a month later.
Zhou Fengnian heard that Mu Xueyi's condition was not very good these days, worried that she was thinking alone, so he ordered Xiao Ai to take her to the old house for a meal.
This afternoon, Xiao Ai took Mu Xueyi to the old house.
When they walked to the backyard of Zhou's house, the two happened to see Zhou Fengnian sitting on the grass repairing the water pipe. The old man was wearing a dirty and old blue tooling, and the act of **** the screws looked quite powerful.
When Zhou Fengnian saw her coming, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and waved with a smile: "Girl, I made tea on the table under the porch, you go and sit down, I'll be fine right away."
Mu Xueyi didn't go to sit, but walked into the grass to help the old man hold the pipe, a little surprised: "I didn't expect you to repair this kind of thing?"
Zhou Fengnian tapped the pipe with a wrench: "What is a water pipe? I even repaired a tank when I was young." He asked again, "Have you ever seen a tank, girl?"
Mu Xueyi shook his head: "No."
Zhou Fengnian laughed: "In this day and age, it's a good thing that I haven't seen it before!"
As he spoke, he tightened the last screw, took off his dirty work clothes and handed it to the housekeeper beside him, rinsed his hands with a water pipe, took Mu Xueyi, and walked down the corridor.
Zhou Fengnian poured some tea for her, and said slowly, "Crescent Moon has gone on a business trip. In fact... if you are bored alone, you can stay by my side."
Mu Xueyi hurriedly shook his head: "No need, thank you."
Zhou Fengnian asked again: "Really?"
Mu Xueyi was firm: "It's really not necessary."
Zhou Zhenyue must have put very important documents in this house, how dare she promise the old man to live in privately?
After all... she was the one who stole from her.
Zhou Fengnian saw the strangeness in her eyes, was silent for a moment, and then asked: "Did you feel a little sorry for telling you about her car accident that day?"
Mu Xueyi didn't answer, just stared at the green tea leaves in the teacup in front of him.
Zhou Fengnian took a sip of tea, coughed away the chaos in his throat, and said slowly: "Girl, I don't know what you were making trouble with, but... I can't blame you for that accident. There must be some accidents in one's life, and sometimes it happens. On the ordinary way to work, sometimes you just hit the juncture of breaking up, it's just a coincidence, you really don't need to blame yourself."
The old man's tolerance did not make Mu Xueyi feel better, but made her feel even more breathless.
Zhou Fengnian looked at Mu Xueyi and still didn't speak. He pondered for a while, and asked briskly, "Hey, you haven't seen her for a few days, have you video chatted with her?"
Mu Xueyi lowered her eyes: "...No."
Zhou Fengnian sighed: "You two are still having trouble, right? In fact, I saw it when I was in the hospital last time. The atmosphere between you is weird." He smiled gently and patted Mu graciously. With the back of Xueyi's hand, she asked again, "Then she has been gone for so many days, do you miss her?"
Mu Xueyi nodded with red eyes, her voice was a little choked: "Think."
Zhou Fengnian asked the housekeeper to bring a laptop, put the camera facing him, and sent a video request to Zhou Zhenyue.
Mu Xueyi said anxiously, "Grandpa, I can't let her know that I'm here at the old house..."
Zhou Fengnian smiled: "it's okay, don't make a sound while you're on the side, I won't let her know you're here. Don't be nervous, I just want you to see her."
Mu Xueyi was relieved when he saw that only Zhou Fengnian was in the video interface.
Zhou Zhenyue connected to the video. In the picture, she is sitting at the table in the hotel, looking a little tired between her eyebrows.
Mu Xueyi couldn't help holding her breath when she saw her face, her heartbeat suddenly accelerated, blood rushed to her brain instantly, her earlobes were hot, but her hands and feet were cold.
She suddenly realized that she thought of her that way.
Zhou Zhenyue nodded slightly to Zhou Fengnian: "Grandpa, good afternoon."
The old man nodded: "Are you busy?"
Zhou Zhenyue: "I just finished my work. Last night I held an all-night meeting to finalize the latest quotation list. I will go to see Mr. Zhao in the evening to talk about the cooperation for the next quarter."
The old man was a little distressed: "I'm very tired, you have to rest carefully."
Zhou Zhenyue replied lightly, "It's okay."
A gust of wind suddenly blew past, making Mu Xueyi's curly hair flutter, and a few strands accidentally swept into the camera.
Mu Xueyi hurriedly pressed down her hair. She nervously looked at Zhou Zhenyue on the screen, for fear that she would notice something strange.
Zhou Zhenyue's eyes seemed to freeze for a while, and it seemed that she didn't notice anything, everything was business as usual.
The old man didn't notice this little episode, he just said, "Go to sleep quickly, I won't disturb you anymore."
Zhou Zhenyue was silent for a moment, raised her bloodshot eyes, and said, "I'm not sleepy, let's talk for a while."
Zhou Fengnian sighed and promised her to talk again.
They talked about the situation of the branch, the new policies of the employees, the snacks Zhou Zhenyue had eaten in other places, and the water pipes in the yard of the old house that were bitten by dogs. Before they knew it, an hour passed.
The old man looked at his watch and urged again, "Go to sleep now."
Zhou Zhenyue didn't answer.
After a while, she whispered, "Talk a little longer."
Zhou Fengnian smiled helplessly: "But everything we can talk about has been finished. I have never seen you chatting so much before. You are so tired today, why are you talking more?"
Zhou Zhenyue just hummed.
The old man said, "Go to sleep."
Zhou Zhenyue slowly raised her eyes, as if her eyes were about to pass through the screen.
She paused and said to the screen:
"…goodbye."
She said these two words very solemnly, as if it was not just an ordinary goodbye, but really looking forward to seeing the person on the video side again.
The old man: "Goodbye, let's talk later."
The video was hung up, and the interface was stuck for two seconds when Zhou Zhenyue lowered her head to hold the mouse. In the stagnant picture, Zhou Zhenyue's eyes could no longer hide the tiredness.
Zhou Fengnian closed the computer, turned his head, and saw Mu Xueyi in a trance.
He coughed dryly, took out a plane ticket from his pocket, and said, "I bought a plane ticket for three days later. I wanted to visit her, but I haven't been in good health these days, so I don't dare to run around. I'll give it to you. "
Mu Xueyi didn't answer, just shook his head: "She doesn't want to see me."
The old man smiled and said, "It doesn't matter, I'll give you the ticket. It's up to you to decide whether to go or not."
It was already evening when he came out of Zhou's house.
Mu Xueyi walked with her head lowered, her hands in her pockets tightly holding the ticket, and the corner of the ticket was already soaked with sweat.
She really wanted to see Zhou Zhenyue, even if she didn't talk to herself and could stay close to her in a room. But with their current contract, what position does she have to find her?
the most important is…
Does she wish to find her on her own?
Xiao Ai touched her and reminded: "Second Miss, your phone is ringing."
Mu Xueyi reacted, and before she could see the name of the caller, she answered the call: "Hello?"
On the other end of the phone, Shen Huaixing's voice sounded: "Xueyi."
Mu Xueyi froze for a moment: "...Teacher?"
Shen Huaixing: "I just took care of the house and packed up the clothes and toiletries you left with me before. It happens that there is no class tomorrow. I'll send it to you. Where do you live now?"
Mu Xueyi didn't want to reveal his address, so he said, "I'll go to your house to get it."
Shen Huaixing smiled softly: "It's fine." She asked again, "Someone gave me two tickets for the art exhibition. Would you like to stop by tomorrow to see the art exhibition?"
Mu Xueyi hesitated: "This..."
Shen Huaixing: "I have something to talk to you about."
Mu Xueyi: "What's the matter?"
Shen Huaixing: "We will meet tomorrow and talk slowly, okay?"
Mu Xueyi was silent for a long time, and said softly: "Teacher, I think you should understand that there is no possibility between me and you."
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a while.
Shen Huaixing seemed to smile: "I know. I just want to take advantage of the holiday to visit the art exhibition. If I don't go, the ticket will be wasted. Besides, what I want to tell you is not what you think, and it has nothing to do with emotional issues."
Shen Huaixing's words made Mu Xueyi feel that she was thinking too much, and she couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
Under such a dialogue, it is not easy for her to refuse.
Shen Huaixing's call did not dispel Mu Xueyi's troubles. The first big thing that weighed on her mind was still the flight ticket that she couldn't handle properly.
She was still entangled when she fell asleep at night, and this tangled state of mind continued until she met Shen Huaixing the next day.
After dinner in the afternoon, Shen Huaixing carried Mu Xueyi to the painting exhibition hall at the appointed place. She spoke to Mu Xueyi in a soft voice, but Mu Xueyi didn't listen to a few words, and the hand hidden in her pocket was still clutching the crumpled note.
Shen Huaixing held the steering wheel: "...So, Xueyi, what do you think?"
Mu Xueyi came back to his senses and was a little dazed: "What?"
Shen Huaixing patiently said: "I just asked you about it, do you think it's okay?"
Mu Xueyi: "Sorry, I just... didn't hear clearly."
Shen Huaixing glanced at her during the drive and said gently, "You can chat with me if you have any concerns. I remember that when you were at school, you would go to the office to chat with me when you were wronged at home. Sometimes after class, I'll also take you to McDonald's and buy you a kid's meal with toys..."
Mu Xueyi interrupted her: "Teacher, that's all in the past."
Shen Huaixing paused and asked again, "After watching the exhibition in a while, do you want to go to McDonald's?"
Mu Xueyi was silent for a while, then replied, "No need."
Shen Huaixing didn't ask any more questions.
It's just that the glasses slipped to the tip of her nose after a long time, and she didn't remember to help.
When they arrived at the painting exhibition hall, the two of them walked silently along the corridor without saying a word.
When he stopped for a short time, Mu Xueyi took the initiative to break the cold atmosphere: "Teacher, you said yesterday that you wanted to tell me something, what is it?"
Shen Huaixing thought of the problem that he had just been interrupted in the car, pondered for a while, and asked again:
"Xueyi, will you... consider studying for graduate school?"
Mu Xueyi was in a trance for a moment, smashing the word in his mind and understanding it carefully.
Reading is too far out of reach for her.
Shen Huaixing saw her thoughts and said, "I know, you have graduated for six years, but it is never too late to improve your education. You want to develop well with Zhou Zhenyue, she has a master's degree in management from Yale University. You don't want to be a woman who eats her soft food, right? You study finance, and you want to work hard with her, don't you? The more you learn, the more handy you will be in the business field."
Shen Huaixing: "Follow me to study, I will be your mentor."
Mu Xueyi was slightly ecstatic.
After she graduated, she hid beside Zhou Zhenyue. In those years, the only thing she learned was how to make girls happy. She almost forgot that she was also a serious undergraduate student with a degree certificate.
If those abandoned things can be picked up, it is better than doing nothing all day now.
After all, she can stay by Zhou Zhenyue's side now because Zhou Zhenyue still needs to act with her for the old man to see. What about after the contract expires? What value does she have to stay?
But... if you choose to study with Shen Huaixing for graduate school, it will take another three years to return to Zhou Zhenyue's side.
Three years...
During the conversation, a guide came here with a group of people. The guide wore a headset, and the voice was loud and clear, making it impossible to ignore.
"The painting that everyone sees now is a handwritten painting that Zhou Zhenyue, the current president of Zhou Group, donated to the exhibition hall a year ago. Zhou has been the richest man in the city for three consecutive years, and Zhou Zhenyue himself She is also well-known on Weibo and major forums. Her grandfather was a retired army commander, and her grandmother was the vice chairman of the National Painting and Calligraphy Association before her death. Under the influence of the second elder, her appreciation and painting skills are not inferior to those of professional painters. People who are far away can come closer and take a closer look at the composition and brushwork.”
The interpreter turned his body slightly, blocked the metal nameplate under the picture frame, and said, "When you are looking at the painting, let's guess, what is the name of this painting?"
Mu Xueyi was attracted by the lecturer's words. She knew that Zhou Zhenyue would paint when she was studying, but she had never seen her paint before, and she never expected to meet her works in recent years by such a coincidence.
The painting behind the interpreter is not large. In the painting is a clear creek. The water surface reflects the crescent moon in the sky. A woman with a hazy back is sleeping on the side of the creek. Because she was lying on the water, it looked like she was lying on the moon at first glance.
She must have slept for a long time, and the skin of her arms was covered with a layer of moss and vines, as old as a specimen hollowed out by time.
Mu Xueyi looked lost.
A voice in the crowd said, "According to the content of this painting, the name of the painting should be the same as that of the president. It's called "Pillow Moon", right?"
The guide smiled and said, "You're not the first person to guess like this."
The man asked, "Isn't it?"
The docent said, "No."
He stared at the painting and said:
"This painting is called "Waiting for Snow"."