Small Times 3.0 Golden Age

Chapter 6 CHAPTER 05
Shanghai has finally entered the most difficult day of the year - the rainy season.

This season is not as obvious as the coming of winter.The arrival of winter in Shanghai must be accompanied by a large number of fallen leaves that crashed like a disaster. The bright red sycamore leaves and dark green camphor will cover all the quiet asphalt roads like moths, and the rain will wet them on the road. , decomposes into a sober herbaceous woody aroma with the high temperature.There are also bundles of withered needles like incense ash, densely packed on the ground to form a thick layer, which is the Canadian pinus pine densely planted in the gardens of Shanghai's high-end districts or downtown.

The endless white mist in winter covers the city all day and all night. People's breath, white smoke from cars, and exhaust gas from rumbling air conditioners all merge with the white mist between heaven and earth.Shanghai in winter is cold, indifferent, sharp, and quiet, and at the same time has a carnival atmosphere of doing everything possible before the end of the world.People said "Merry Christmas" to each other, and then wrapped up their black coats after the party, and hailed a yellow taxi to go home alone in the cold rain.

The rainy season is much milder, it is slow, wet, sticky, and hardly noticeable.

It's like chemistry class in the second quarter of the afternoon in high school.The empty campus has a hazy furry outline in the boundless water vapor, and the heat that makes people think is beating on the eyelids. The sun turns into water and rains on the earth.

The arrival of all this only needs a few warm and heavy rains, a few monsoons that disperse the fragments of red clouds in the sky into cinnabar in the evening, and a few long tidal waves from the distant sea. The first season of joy is over.

What followed - when sleeping, you can no longer expect the coolness after nightfall to come as expected. In the sweltering darkness, you can only turn on the air conditioner, but you have to gently give yourself in the stiff cold wind before dawn. Throw on a fine wool blanket, or hug the arm of the person next to you.As for the freshly washed hair, you can no longer expect it to be naturally fluffy and dry in the bright early summer sun after changing clothes and socks. It is still wet on your neck, and you have to open the drawer to find it. Get out the hair dryer.

On such a day, the whole of Shanghai is soaked in rainwater. The sound of raindrops hitting the glass exterior walls of skyscrapers sounds like piano music in old movies in the middle of the night.And everyone's heartbeats became chaotic in the rain, as if they were gradually dissolving in huge bubbles.The huge dark clouds that rolled over in the sky were blown by the monsoon, like running black satin.

Looking at the black sky outside the floor-to-ceiling glass, I felt my scalp continue to tingle, as if countless invisible scissors were hanging above my head at this moment.

The meeting room was dead silent.

Only the air vents of the central air conditioner above the head kept whistling.

Everyone seemed to have tied their windpipes into a knot—no one wanted to make the first sound of "breaking the silence".

Gong Ming sat on the second seat of the conference table, his eyes lowered and naturally fell on the table, his eyelashes were as soft as if they could be blown by the wind.There was neither anger nor loss on his expression; no frustration nor joy—no emotion of any kind could be seen on his face.He just sat there quietly, like a model reading a novel while doing nothing backstage at a fashion show.

I carefully raised my eyes, just facing Ye Chuanping's face.She was sitting at the chairman of the conference table, with a metal leopard lurking in her eyes.I finished watching her, and then looked at Gu Yuan who was sitting across from me. As expected of my own mother and son, there was a peaceful ferocity sleeping in the eyes of both of them. There is an essential difference between being loud and raining, and being bitter and mean.If I were to make a metaphor, it would be that Gu Li could at most waltz around his opponent's face in a pair of dagger-like GUCCI short boots, but Ye Chuanping was able to learn from her only foie gras after dinner. Put it in a snakeskin dinner bag the size of a mobile phone, pull out a gun and calmly pull the trigger to your temple.

"I investigated all the financial expenditures and income of "ME" in the past three years, and also studied the placement of advertisers on the pages of the magazine each year, as well as the expenses for holding various activities and public relations in the past three years. As a result, I can only say that I am very disappointed." Ye Chuanping calmly looked at all the people in the conference room while flipping through a black folder handed over by the assistant.

"Then have you studied the changes of "ME" magazine in the past three years? From the very beginning, the magazine could only invite second-tier domestic stars for interviews, and last month we invited Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron who just endorsed Dior perfume I did a full 12P interview, from photos to interview texts, all came from within the team, Ms. Ye, what are you disappointed about?" Gu Li's lips moved, and under the fluorescent light, her lip gloss looked like spring There is a dangerous showiness like the flowers in the garden.Her back is straight, and the Emporio Armani professional suit fits her graceful figure very well, like a black sexy battle armor. She is confident and restrained, coquettish and sharp.

But I know very well that Ye Chuanping has always been her nightmare. It is the used-up yellow paper tube that she touches after going to the toilet, the piece of chewing gum that is always stuck to the sole of her shoe, and her infallible "Did you dial?" We are on a call, please try again later."Gu Li is just a paper tiger at the moment, an inflatable doll. Her anger and inferiority swell in her body, propping her up to look round and round. Puncture a few air holes hard, so that her bluffing virtue can quickly turn into a pile of crumpled corners in the sound of creaking air leaks.

"I think you didn't understand what I just said. I care about the company's financial revenue and expenditure, I care about the advertising situation, and I also care about the company's image promotion. However, I really don't care, and I shouldn't care about every issue. What content was printed in the magazine? Fan Bingbing was secretly photographed with a gossip photo, or Jobs launched some kind of thing that made people lose their minds and queue up all night as if they had taken hallucinogens. Which content could make advertisers If you are willing to spend money to buy a layout, which one will you do? Have I made it clear enough?" Ye Chuanping put her elbows on the table and leaned forward gently, shortening the distance between herself and Gu Li ——What a wonderful negotiation case, break the safe distance with the opponent, let him feel insecure after losing the safe distance, and continue to attack when the opponent has not adjusted to adapt to the distance——“I want to be the director of the advertising department For you, Director Gu, you should be the same as me, you only need to care about things within the scope of your authority. Are you clear?"

Gu Li didn't answer.Although her back is still straight and there is no wrinkle on the suit, I know very well that she has begun to leak air, and the invisible needle holes must be mocking her somewhere in her body.Her face is still calm, she looks at Gu Yuan across the desk, as if his face does not exist, she looks straight through him, looking at a certain place in the air, at first glance she is still A sculpture of cold metal—but her trembling eyelashes betrayed her.

"Director Gu, are you clear?" Ye Chuanping looked at the silent Gu Li and smiled. She gently shifted her weight back into the seat, with a subtle expression on her face, which said silently - "You are too tender."

The air in the office froze, Ye Chuanping looked at Gu Li firmly, this kind of confrontation was meaningless from the very beginning, even a person like me could see that this was a book where winning and losing had already been written on the first page. It's only a matter of time before I read the full verdict, oh no, it's more like a formal process.The longer the silence, the greater the shame.Gu Li looked at Gu Yuan opposite, his eyes were like two fountains exuding sadness, there was a kind of haste in his eyes, but his expression remained motionless.

"It's clear." Gu Li lowered her head and covered her eyes lightly, her voice could not hear any emotion - I knew that this was her last dignity.

"Today's meeting is just the beginning of my taking over this company. Next, I will make appropriate personnel transfers as needed. If you have any suggestions today, you can also tell me." Ye Chuanping's eyes are like a poisoned feather Peacock feathers swept across our faces one by one.I know, my chance has come.

I cleared my throat and looked at Ye Chuanping's face with respect.I knew that I didn't dare to look at Gu Li or Gong Ming, and the moment I met their eyes, I would lose the ruthlessness that I have now, so I said, "If there is any suggestion, I actually think it's right. As far as a company is concerned, the relationship between the advertising department and the finance department is very sensitive. I think you all know that Gu Yuan and Gu Li are a couple. In most companies, office romances are avoided as much as possible, let alone this Two departments that directly correspond to each other and receive accounts. I think, should they reconsider their positions?"

After I finished saying what I had been practicing repeatedly in my mind, I realized that it required far more energy than I expected.When I finished uttering the last word from my mouth as if lack of oxygen, I could clearly feel the unbelievable expressions on the faces of Gong Ming and Gu Li - without looking at them, I could also feel the A cold twist.My hands were on my knees under the table, and I knew they were shaking.In my opinion, saying this is actually not much different from sticking a pair of scissors down your throat, and the latter is actually easier.

"It's very interesting." Ye Chuanping supported her temples with her hands, looking at me with an extremely complicated light in her eyes, "I will consider your suggestion."

I laughed.I looked at Gu Li, I wanted to see her collapse, I wanted to see her face made of fine steel filled with frustration, loss, humiliation...all the emotions on Nan Xiang's face just now.But, she didn't.Her expression is still calm, the same as before, her eyes are still downcast, looking at the table top of the conference table, I can't see anything else from her face, only a kind of pity and regret.What surprised me even more was that Gong Ming's face was also filled with such aloof pity.I felt like a juggler on a tightrope in mid-air, the deafening applause I was hoping for didn't come, and I stomped in the ensuing silence.

"But who are you?" Ye Chuanping looked at me.

"Lin... Lin Xiao. I'm Mr. Gong Ming's assistant." I pulled my eyes away from Gu Li's face, a little panicked.

"Oh, then you don't have to attend meetings of this level in the future. The same goes for other assistants. In any meeting I hold in the future, the participants will be at the director and supervisor level." Ye Chuanping looked away from my face, as if The smile is not a smile, that kind of expression is like the mask of a good public relations expert, it can't go wrong anywhere, and it can be interpreted in a hundred ways.I froze on the spot in embarrassment, my cheeks burned rapidly, and the triumphant pleasure brought about by revenge just now was wet and sticking to my face, moist and hot, as if I was smart enough to sprinkle it on my face. Take a pee.

""ME" magazine is about to face adjustments and revisions in various aspects. As we all know, the current paper magazines are already facing a huge impact from electronic publishing. The group has been pushed into this newly opened incinerator with a grand welcome. Mr. Constanly has already acquired an organization that publishes literary books and a film and television production company. In the future, "ME" will play the role of the source of the industry, not only Only magazines are published, novels are also published, and novels are turned into scripts, and then made into movies and TV series. In the future, the development of peripheral products will be further expanded. Next, I will reorganize the current team according to these changes in business formats. preparation." Ye Chuanping sat back on the back of the chair again, "For the next half an hour, I hope you will listen attentively. And, most importantly, if it is not necessary, please don't interrupt my speech."

I don't know how long time passed, the meeting ended in my confused thoughts.I didn't hear the rest of the meeting at all, and my head was filled with all sorts of sneers and sighs.The dark clouds billowing outside the window seemed to have been blown away by the wind, and the rain had stopped.The sunlight outside the window shines into the meeting room through the ice-blue Low-E hollow glass curtain wall. The red sun that should have been blazing has become cold and desolate. The sunset after being infiltrated by blue is like a girl crying. eye makeup.

My hearing is lost in such an icy blue sunset that I feel like I'm sinking into a deep sea of ​​silence.Everyone's mouths are opening and closing, they are waving gestures to emphasize their tone to strengthen their point of view, they are turning over documents like the wind blowing leaves all over the ground, but all these have lost their voices in front of me.

I looked at the faces of Gong Ming, Gu Li, and Gu Yuan, and only then did I realize that their expressions were all the same—exactly the same as Ye Chuanping's.They all maintained a half-smile, restrained and calm composure. They lowered their heads and gently recorded various memos in their notebooks. This expression made them look as if they were signing A will is also like writing a vicious spell, and it’s like writing a gentle love letter to the person you love the most-I envy them that they can make such an expression, I am really jealous.

Until now, I didn't understand that when a person can make such an expression on his face that can interpret emotions infinitely, he really enters the camp of the cloud.I thought I had finally taken revenge on Gu Li, I thought I had pierced her inflated skin with a needle, but in fact, they were all on the top of a mountain far away from me, dancing and dancing towards me, who was hysterical, showing that I was at the height of God. expression of pity.

I can't understand their world.But this is not the saddest thing.

The saddest thing is, I didn't know this before, but they knew it all too well.

When the meeting was coming to an end, Ye Chuanping took out the last issue of "ME" magazine. She stood the magazine on the table, resting her hand gently on the top of the magazine, with the cover facing everyone: "The last issue of the magazine, It's seven days later than expected, I don't know why..."

"That's because..." Gong Ming was about to speak.

"I don't care." Ye Chuanping tapped her fingers on the cover, interrupting Gong Ming, "I only know that this will make the advertisers very angry. The product launch cycle is closely related. Therefore, I hope that in the next issue, you will write an apology letter in the "Editor's Notes", and at the same time, copy this apology letter to the mailboxes of all advertisers."

"However, although the magazine is seven days late, it has aroused the hunger and thirst of all readers. For this reason, the last issue of the magazine was sold out as soon as it went on the market, which aroused a lot of expectations and attention. For the magazine , Isn't it good to have such a topic once in a while?" Gong Ming's gaze was like a mirror, calm and unfathomable.

"Write an apology letter." Ye Chuanping smiled slightly at Gong Ming, "Don't forget to copy it."

Gong Ming took a deep breath, lowered his head and wrote on the notebook, noncommittal.

"I don't think it's necessary, because we haven't received any complaints from advertisers yet, and we took the initiative to write an apology letter. Instead, we are reminding them that our mistakes spread to a wider range of attention, which is not worth the candle." Gu Li Looking at Gong Ming who bowed his head silently, he couldn't help but say.

"I was just about to talk about you, Gu Li," Ye Chuanping stood up softly, "As the director of the advertising department, all advertisers are your gods, and you should be on the first day of the magazine's nightly release. Within hours, call everyone to apologize. Even if the editor-in-chief is not aware of this problem, you should be aware of this problem. Gong Ming sent a copy to all advertisers' emails, and you jointly sign below."

Gu Li was silent, and finally nodded.

Ye Chuanping stood up and announced the end of the meeting: "Finally, let me correct one point, I am only the chairman and general manager of this company, and Gong Ming is still the editor-in-chief of "ME" magazine. I also said that I don't care about paper. What is printed on it, I only care about what it can bring to the company. Also, since Gong Ming continues to be the editor-in-chief, his office does not need to be moved, anyway, the style of that room is not mine. I like the style. The person in charge of administrative logistics in the company will clear this room after this meeting, and this will be my office from now on."

Ye Chuanping's eyes flickered in the cold sunlight after being filtered by the glass, and the half-smile expression remained on her face.

People in the conference room left one after another, and everyone seemed preoccupied.

When the people were almost gone, Gong Ming stood up, walked to Ye Chuanping who was checking the itinerary with her mobile phone, and said, "If I continue to be the editor-in-chief, then I hope that if there are problems at work in the future, you can contact me in private." Li told me to try to avoid public accusations in front of everyone. This will affect my prestige, and it will not be convenient for team management and construction.”

Ye Chuanping locked the phone screen, raised her head, and said with a smile, "Do you know how to prevent this from happening again?"

Gong Ming raised his eyebrows: "How to avoid it?"

"Don't let this happen again." Ye Chuanping put the phone back in her bag, and when she left, she turned to look at Gong Ming, "What are your plans for tomorrow?" But she didn't wait for Gong Ming to answer, because she Not asking, but telling, "No matter what arrangement you have, cancel it, I made an appointment with two film and television agencies at noon and at night to discuss strategic cooperation, and you will come with me."

When she walked past Kitty, she dropped another sentence: "Remember to prepare two different suits for Mr. Gong. Remember to wear cuff buttons for the shirt."

It was not yet six o'clock, but the air seemed to be splashed with ink, and black shadows spread out.Nanxiang looked out through the window of the bus, and the car was driving through the bustling West Huaihai Road. The huge and brand-new Cartier LED glass curtain wall radiated blue light at the intersection. Every passerby passed by here. Their faces were irresistibly smeared with this mesmerizing blue - and they looked exactly like that.

On the opposite side, a whole piece of former French Concession foreign-style houses has been surrounded by a circle of white walls at this moment. On the wall are casual and freehand carriage patterns, matched with endless ribbons printed with the words HERMES—one year After that, it will become the largest Hermès home in Asia.

Day after day, this city gathers all the wealth together, and more and more desires and materials spin and condense in the sky above every inch of gold in the city center, and finally weigh down heavily from the top of people's heads.No one can escape it.

The radio on the bus has been predicting the warning that Typhoon "Compass" is about to land.The whole city was shrouded in a doomsday-like atmosphere. The gloomy female voice on the radio unscrupulously spread the news that made the citizens collapse: "There is a nine-meter-high wave in the East China Sea!" Suspend classes and evacuate!" All kinds of alarmist warnings pierced into the eardrums sharply from the bus horn.A car of people drove forward in the lifeless dusk, and the bustling street lights outside the car windows were reflected on people's faces, and every face was written with burnout.

Nan Xiang leaned his head against the car window and closed his eyes.The dark eyelashes stick to the lower eyelids, like a few wet black feathers.

Just after opening the door of the house, before Nan Xiang entered the living room, she heard Tang Wanru's artificial voice—yes, it was the voice that she would instinctively activate every time she saw a handsome guy.Gu Li described this very precisely: "Spread Lin Chiling's whole body with curry sauce, then put it in the microwave oven for 3 minutes, and the scream coming out of it is similar to the voice you speak now."

Nan Xiang changed into her slippers and put her bag on the cabinet in the entrance. When she walked into the living room, she saw Gu Zhun wearing neat black trousers and a white shirt.He should be a bum, but he dresses more like a business elite than anyone else.At this moment, he was standing opposite Tang Wanru. Tang Wanru held a photo in each hand and held it up in front of him, while Gu Zhun folded his hands, thinking.Nan Xiang looked at his round and firm buttocks wrapped in the thin fabric of suit pants, and sighed, she understood Tang Wanru's excitement at the moment, just this back view was enough to make her cheeks burn and her hormone secretion accelerated , not to mention that Tang Wan is facing his delicate face directly at this moment.Nan Xiang raised his eyes to look at Tang Wanru, his stomach ached.

At this moment, Ruru, while holding up the two photos, has been trying to attract Gu Zhun's gaze from the screen to herself, so she puffed out her chest, flicked her hair from time to time, and from her left shoulder, slapped and swung He crossed his right shoulder, slapped himself hard on the face, and then swung it back a few seconds later. He looked even more tragic than those heroic female martyrs in the slow motion of revolutionary movies.With strands of black hair sticking to her lips, she must be feeling very sexy right now.

Hearing someone coming in, Gu Zhun turned his head, saw Nan Xiang, raised his hand gently, the corners of his mouth were slanted, half an inch of neat white teeth were like a row of small shells: "Yo, I'm back." His neckline was unbuttoned by two buttons, revealing a small piece of firm wheat-colored chest.Nan Xiang sighed. Like his sister Gu Li, he is God's favorite.Who says God is fair?Putting people like Gu Li Gongming and Gu Yuan out in line will silence everyone (and then throw tomatoes at them).

"What are you doing here?" Nan Xiang took out a cup from the cabinet, bent down to pour a glass of water in front of the water dispenser, sat on the sofa, looked at Tang Wanru who was disheveled and flushed, and then looked at his face Gu Zhun, who was watching the fun, asked.

"I'm researching, which of these two paintings is better." When Gu Zhun said this, he remembered something, turned his head and looked at Nan Xiang, his eyes reflected the light of the crystal lamp on the ceiling, which was extremely bright, "Hey, I forgot that you are an art major, help me choose."

"Why did you choose?" Nan Xiang stood up, walked to Gu Zhun, and his eyes fell on the two pieces of printing paper. Gu Zhun beside him exuded the healthy smell of a young boy, not a sissy perfume. It's the most primitive breath on the skin.

"The gallery on No. 3 on the Bund is exhibiting this artist's paintings, and some of them are for public sale. These two are the two I like, but I haven't decided which one to buy." Gu Zhun's voice heard It sounds like a cold metal feeling, but also reveals a quiet enthusiasm.

"The author is Huang Chengyuan, right? We saw his oil painting exhibition when we were studying. It has gradually become popular in the past two years." Nan Xiang looked at the two paintings while drinking water and said, "As far as the public is concerned. As far as the left is concerned, the one on the left is definitely the most representative, because most of Huang Chengyuan's paintings are such still lifes on the waterfront. However, if there are too many such paintings, there will be no scarcity, and there is little room for appreciation. On the other hand, This one doesn't look like his style at first glance, there are very few such backlit figures in his paintings, but, because of this, there are more possibilities."

"Cool!" Gu Zhun raised his thick eyebrows and whistled at Nanxiang. Nanxiang was a little surprised, usually like a young god of death who was ready to take away people's souls at any time, but now he brought a A sense of teenage mischievous sarcasm.His smile looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before.

"Then can you accompany me to that art exhibition? I happen to be alone, and I don't have a girlfriend yet. I'll leave later." Gu Zhun put his hands in his pockets, standing in a casual but good-looking posture.

"No. 3 on the Bund? I won't go. It's hard for me to find a small skirt that can walk into that building without being stopped by the security. I can do it at No. 3 Qipu Road." Nan Xiang collapsed on the sofa After coming down, running around all day made her look particularly lazy. She curled her legs up on the sofa and untied the bun tied behind her head. A large black and thick long hair was fluffy and curled like algae. down.Her skin as fair as fresh snow, set off by her black hair, showed a strong black and white contrast.

"Gu Li's closet is open, all you need to do is go in and grab a small dress with the tag already cut off. She just puts on those newly bought clothes that she hasn't had time to wear, and the summer is over. Believe me." Gu Zhun walked to the front of the sofa and bent down, his handsome face was only a circle of high and low contours in the backlight, "Do me a favor."

"No problem!" Tang Wanru jumped up from the sofa.

Gu Zhun gasped, before he could speak, Tang Wanru was swept into Gu Li's cloakroom like a whirlwind.Gu Zhun's small face was pale, and his charming narrow eyes, which were radiant before, are now round and wet, like a frightened elk. He pointed to Nan Xiang and said, "If you let Tang Wanru accompany you alone If I go, I will hang myself from the crystal chandelier in this room with my tie."

Nan Xiang sighed, sat up from the sofa, tied up his loose hair, and said: "I can go, but I don't want to put on makeup, I'm too tired, don't dislike me and be ashamed."

"You're beautiful without makeup." Gu Zhun stood up straight, the light instantly illuminated his facial features, and his smile was like a charming cloud.

Gu Zhun was sitting in the living room flipping through magazines while listening to the tinkling and clinking in the bathroom. If he judged only by the sound, it was either that the interior was being renovated, or there were seven old ladies dancing Yangko in it.But in fact, Gu Zhun knew that it was just Tang Wanru putting on makeup.Once Gu Zhun pushed open the bathroom door and saw Tang Wanru standing on top of the washing machine in an almost triangular upside-down posture. ——

"Oh, I'm putting on foundation."

"Climb to the washing machine and paint?"

"Yes, the light is good. This angle is more three-dimensional."

"..."

The light on the pages of the magazine was half blocked, Gu Zhun raised his head and saw Nan Xiang standing in front of him.She simply picked a black gauze tube top dress, her hair was loosely tied in a lazy bun at the back of her neck, her face was free of makeup and powder, and there was a freshness after the heavy rain, as if she had just The blooming magnolia petals, the short skirt, and her slender white thighs are enough to make many men's sights swell—maybe it's not just the sight that swells.Around her neck was a thin silver chain with a pink crystal dangling just where her cleavage was barely visible.

Gu Zhun looked straight at Nan Xiang without saying a word.

"You are too disrespectful!" Nan Xiang rolled his eyes at Gu Zhun who had been staring at his chest, and stretched out his finger to point to his face, "My eyes are here."

"The pendant of your necklace is there, isn't it just to guide people to look at it? It's like a signboard, just three words are engraved on the gemstone, 'Look here'." Gu Zhun raised his hands and embraced it. With the back of his head, he shrugged his shoulders lightly (he made this action very charmingly), "Besides, I am sitting, and my eyes are exactly at this height. You have to stand in front of me and block my gaze with your chest, just like Huang Jiguang blocking the bunker I am the bunker, what can the bunker say, but it can only be blocked silently."

Nan Xiang: "..."

Three minutes later, Tang Wanru recovered too.She opened the bathroom door with a bang, and Nan Xiang clearly felt an oncoming cyclone, as if a subway was coming towards her.

Tang Wanru stood in front of Gu Zhun, and vigorously swung her loose hair from left shoulder to right shoulder, creating a messy beauty in the wind.

Gu Zhun's pupils trembled slightly, and he said seriously: "It's beautiful!"

"You are too disrespectful!" Tang Wanru scowled at Gu Zhun who had been staring at her face, pointed at her chest, "I've been squeezing for a long time!"

Nan Xiang: "..."

Gu Zhun sighed, "...I'll go find a tie."

Nan Xiang: "Are you going to hang yourself on the crystal lamp?"

Gu Zhun: "..."

Gu Zhun took out a pair of Gu Yuan's royal blue DOLCE&GABBANA suede tie, and tied it on the collar of his shirt. "I won't wear cuff buttons." While speaking, he casually rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, revealing his muscular forearms.The whole person looks very fashionable, but there is no sense of restraint brought about by being too formal.

Just as the three of them were about to go out, the doorbell rang.

Nan Xiang walked over and opened the door, holding a courier envelope in front of her with one hand.

Nan Xiang tore open the envelope and found that it was a stack of typed documents. After reading a few lines, she gasped.

Even Harry from Hogwarts?Potter's quilled letter was not as scary as this one.Nan Xiang looked at the letterhead dedicated to "ME" magazine in his hand and the content on it, feeling a little dizzy.She read it twice and confirmed that it was really the employment notice about herself from the design department.She looked at the handwritten content at the bottom of the letter paper: "Hello, Nanxiang, please call me when you receive this letter. I am Ye Qian from the design department of "ME"."

Nan Xiang took out his mobile phone and called the phone number left on it.The phone connected after two beeps.

"Hi, I'm Nan Xiang, I just received your letter, but I don't understand it very well..."

"Oh, Nanxiang, hello, hello. It's like this. Director Gu, your good friend Gu Li, entrusted me to help you find a job in the design department. She sent a copy of your profile last week. Give it to me, very detailed. We all appreciate your professionalism and ability. She originally wanted to arrange you in her department, or in the recruitment project she was in charge of. But later she felt that it would cause criticism from others, and it is not good for you. Okay, so, she asked me to arrange it, because my department has nothing to do with her, so that others will not think that you came in through the back door. Gu Li and I are classmates in college, and you should be us too From a school, hehe, she asked me three times for this matter..."

Gu Zhun looked at Nan Xiang who was silently holding the mobile phone in front of him. He didn't know what happened, so he couldn't help but pat her on the shoulder: "What's wrong with you?"

After the crowd dispersed, the meeting room seemed even bigger.I looked around the empty room and couldn't imagine that this would be an office for one person.It looks too big, big enough to launch the Shenzhou V here.

Gu Yuan, Gu Li, Gong Ming, Kitty, and I, there are only five of us left, still sitting here in silence, not talking to each other, the sound of long and short breathing can be heard clearly in the air.

The setting sun outside the window has fallen into the interlaced skyline of buildings, and the tide-like darkness flows in from the glass window. The few of us are as silent as sleepers sitting in the sea of ​​night. After an unknown amount of time, Kitty stands up, Turn on the lights in the meeting room.Pale lights flickered a few times, then tore through the darkness and silence.

My eyes swept over their faces one by one, and then swept to the empty room.I can't help but imagine again that from today onwards, this place will become Ye Chuanping's office.Her writing desk, her sofa for meeting guests, her refrigerator, her clothes rack...Three years ago, when we were still in college, Gu Li and I used to talk about Snow White's stepmother, and we shared the same hatred Talking about her, at that time, we were still young girls who were fearless, although our reasons for being fearless were different, I was purely because of ignorance, and she was purely because she was a rich second generation .And in a blink of an eye, we sat silently with each other in the cold conference room. The former Snow White's stepmother has now become Snow White.And me and her, what became?I can't find an answer.

"Gu Li, let's go, let's go to eat, I want to talk to you." Gu Yuan's face showed a fragile texture under the shining white fluorescent tube.

"Okay, you can make an appointment with Lan Jue first." Gu Li sat opposite him, with the expression on his face from the meeting just now, the expression that can be interpreted in a thousand ways.

Gu Yuan didn't speak, he pulled out his chair silently, stood up, turned around and walked out.From my angle and light, his back looks like a gray wall. I believe that many things have been isolated on the other side of the wall since then.

There was one less person.

I looked at Gong Ming, he happened to be sitting in a shadow, I couldn't see his expression clearly.The darkness made his body look thin and cold.The strong cold wind above his head almost blew him into a piece of ice.

"Lin Xiao, what did you mean just now?" Gu Li raised her head and looked at me, her eyes turned red under the light.But I know, this is just my illusion, how could she be sentimental?How could she be excited?How could she have red eyes?These are human emotions, how could she have them?The dark matter surging in my heart violently impacted my brain, bringing a hysterical pleasure, just like the feeling of tearing a wound, a mixture of pain and happiness, the so-called pleasure.

"I don't mean anything. I just finally understood that we all live on the hills, and you live in the clouds." I said calmly and indifferently.I knew in my heart that I had lost my mind a long time ago, because my boss is sitting here, and I am still sitting in the company conference room. No matter how I interpret it, the current scene is an absolutely serious workplace, but I regard it as The conflict between Gu Li and me happened in my living room.

Gu Li stood up slowly, her posture and movements were very slow, as if she lost consciousness in her legs after sitting for a long time, and she left the meeting table as if enduring some kind of pain.But her expression is still calm, but her wet eyes are too disproportionate to her cold elite appearance, and she looks too shameful.

She was looking at me, exactly, just looking down at where I was, she wasn't looking into my eyes, she was aiming for somewhere on my knees or ankles, probably somewhere around there anyway.Her voice seemed to be stuffed with soft cotton: "I used to think you knew what it meant to live in the clouds." After she finished speaking, she turned and left.Obviously, she too failed.She also completely forgot the current working atmosphere, and she exposed her sensibility naked to the cold summer air, like a tree tearing its roots out of the ground.She came over and stood in front of me, obviously she was a little excited, I even vaguely felt that she would lose control - I realized how ridiculous it was for me to think so, she is Gu Li, she How could it be out of control?How could someone who could calmly read the will at his father's funeral lose control?

At this moment, my mobile phone was quietly flashing the incoming call light on the desktop of the conference room, and Nan Xiang's name flashed on the phone screen, but I turned off the mute, so I didn't notice it.

Gu Li looked at me and said to me: "People who live on small hills, if they stumble and roll down, they will only be scratched by trees, or their ankles will be swollen, but they will survive, get better, and climb up without fear of death. Go up the hill. But those who live in the clouds, fall down and die. No one will give them a chance to do it all over again."

Two round tears rolled out of my eye sockets, without warmth, they were instantly chilled by the cold air.There was boiling water in my chest, and countless words rushed into my throat out of order, and the last thing that rushed out of my mouth was only three soft words: "You deserve it."

I think I must be crazy.

After I finished these three words, Gu Li didn't say a word, turned around and opened the door without hesitation, and left alone from the aisle.The ceiling light in the corridor was not on, only the dark red safety light in the corner was shining, and scarlet was flooding on the marble, like blood on the floor.Her high heels left bloody footprints all over the floor and disappeared behind the elevator door.

I looked at Gong Ming opposite, he stood up expressionlessly, looked at me, and finally chose not to say anything, and left.The previous look appeared on his face again, and I think I will never forget that kind of pity, that kind of sympathy, as if looking at an isolated mental patient through a glass window.

Kitty also turned and left. Before she left, she turned her head and said to me: "You are sick."

——After many years, I was thinking, if I had answered Nanxiang's phone, would we still be in the present situation?If at that time, I followed Gu Li out and saw her tired back sitting on the stairs of the fire escape, would I have walked over to her, sat down quietly and hugged her, just like when we were young? , the same as when hugging each other countless times.

——But God never gives us an "if" chance.

(End of this chapter)