A heartbeat, a lifetime

Chapter 21 Drawing Hearts (2)
This simple life went on and on for more than ten years until I went to college.

The other party still offered to sponsor my tuition and living expenses, but I refused.I always feel that when I become an adult, I should be responsible for my own life. As for the kind people who sponsored me, I have offered to thank them several times, but since then, I have never heard from them.

Naturally, I want to apply for a student loan. Before I left, I asked what materials I needed. The dean stamped me, touched my hair, and smiled, "It's good to go out. Don't come back after you go out." gone."

I suddenly felt itchy on my forehead, as if the scene was still in front of me...

"Huh?" Suddenly woke up from that scene, I remembered - that small detail that made me feel puzzled.

At that time, the copy of the orphanage certificate was still in my drawer. I only knew that I should go back and have a look at it immediately, so that I could feel at ease.

The train was about to enter the station, and commotion had already begun in the carriage.Mai Zhendong answered the phone, and after saying "Hello", he turned sideways on purpose.It's not that I intend to pry into his privacy, it's just that the voice on the other side of the phone is too loud, so I can only look down and brush my phone, pretending to be busy.

Mai Zhendong suddenly bumped his elbow into me, mouthing: "Mr. Shen is looking for you."

I waved my hand hastily, but he had already stuffed the phone into my hand, watching me take it at a loss, smiling slyly.

"Hey, Grandpa." I bravely picked it up and gave him a hard look.

Grandpa Shen, who hadn't been in touch for a long time, complained to me severely on the phone, so I could only sincerely apologize again and again, and said that I would go back to see him immediately.

"You don't need to come to see me specifically, you can see me at night on NO.16." Grandpa pondered over there, "Will you come?"

What day is NO.16?I'm at a loss.

"Okay, okay." I agreed first before I said it, I thought so, and heard my grandpa smile heartily, "I'll let them arrange your seat next to me."

After hanging up the phone, I asked, "What date is NO.16? Isn't it a group celebration?"

"No.16?" He looked at me indifferently, "Shen Qinjun and Qin Mou's engagement banquet."

The train paused slightly and came to a complete standstill.

I leaned forward and turned my head to look out the window. There were black shadows in the vast expanse of white, so I couldn't tell whether those shadows were human figures or tree shadows.

"Are you okay?" He reached out and patted my head, "If you really don't want to go, let it go."

"Damn it." I looked back at him calmly, and said, "I have to pay a portion of the money again for no reason."

Mai Zhendong looked at me for a while, the cold and hard lines softened, and he couldn't help laughing.

I didn't let Mai Zhendong see me off, I took a taxi home by myself, and started rummaging through boxes and boxes in a hurry.

Finally found the clear plastic bag in a box full of notes from my college days.

I pulled them out one by one, and finally the certificate of the orphanage that was pressed was a photocopy, because some of the handwriting was illegible due to the age.I settled down and finally found the little doubt that made me uneasy.

——A line of inconspicuous small words written in the corner of the paper: sponsored.

As far as I can remember, the uncles and aunts in the orphanage have told me that I am an abandoned baby who was placed at the gate of the orphanage.

In those days, would I be lucky enough to find a benefactor as soon as I entered the orphanage?
I sat blankly at the desk for a long time, and the phone rang countless times before I picked it up and said "Hello".

The other party didn't even say a word of greeting, and asked directly: "How are you feeling?"

I jolted back to reality, and reflexively said "Congratulations".

The other party was silent for a moment, "Thank you."

It seems that there is nothing to say.

I was still pressing the photocopy certificate with my fingertips, absent-mindedly, "You've been busy recently, so I'll hang up."

"Bai Xi—" he stopped me, and he was a little cautious, "Where have you been these two days?"

If he asked me this way before, I would have been angry again, but this time I was very calm, and said with a haha: "I did something meaningful. Well, I hung up, and I will meet you next time." Let's talk."

The moment I took the phone from my ear, I was finally... moved by the strength in my heart at this moment.

I was finally able to go to work the next day, which made me happy after almost two weeks of doing nothing.

Probably because of the excitement, I got up early in the morning and went to South Street to eat my favorite crab roe dumplings. It was only a quarter past eight when I arrived at the company.Just as he put his hand on the doorknob, he suddenly heard a voice from inside.

"I'm so sleepy... I came to work overtime early in the morning. Among so many people, Qin Mou's manager is the most troublesome mother."

"Last night until twelve o'clock, the editor-in-chief has finalized the draft, and she has to come back to review it herself." Another voice complained, "This time the photos have been post-processed by Mr. Mai, I don't believe it and I'm not satisfied..."

"Oh, by the way, do you remember the girlfriend who was a big star a while ago? We broke up again a while ago."

"Isn't it? It hasn't been three months yet."

"It is said, ahem, it is said that the big guy and Bai Xi have a good relationship. Who did you see him help with photo post-production?"

I clearly heard that person lower his voice inexplicably and ambiguously, and the other person exclaimed out of excitement: "You said that, I remembered now. Baixi had an accident in Yedong, and Lao Mai went to pick him up in person. She came back..."

"Hey, he seems to have changed his taste..."

This kind of conversation made my forehead hurt again and again.

Mai Zhendong dumped that obedient girlfriend from before again?

When did this happen?
That's right... I haven't heard him mention it in the past two days... In my heart, although his image is quite stalwart, he is still a playful man.

I was thinking wildly, uh, should I go in and interrupt the gossip of the two colleagues inside now?

I thought about it, and deliberately slowed down when swiping my fingerprint, exclaiming: "Oh? The fingerprint machine is broken?"

Sure enough, there was no movement inside, and then someone ran out, perhaps with a guilty conscience, when he saw me, his cheeks were slightly flushed, "Bai Xi, are you back? Are you all right?"

I exchanged some pleasantries, then quickly slipped to my desk and sat down.I buried my head in sorting out the sideshow photos and checked the time. It was already noon.A few colleagues asked me if I would go to the restaurant, and when I made an appointment, I shook my head and said, "No."

After saving the photo, I grabbed my coat and went downstairs. Xu Zhuo was waiting for me downstairs.

As soon as I entered the tea restaurant on the street, I couldn't wait to ask: "How is it?"

"I asked someone to ask. The person in charge of that orphanage has changed several times. Now, according to the certificate you gave me, this person is long gone."

I was a little disappointed, I lowered my head and stirred the jelly milk tea without saying a word.

"However, there is indeed something quite strange." Xu Zhuo patted my head lightly, "Didn't you say that you have been in an orphanage since you were a child? But it's not right, the predecessor of this orphanage is a nursing home for the elderly , it was not until 20 years ago that the government and enterprises jointly funded it and transformed it into a children's welfare home. In this way, you have to be at least five years old before you can live in it."

"Five?" I repeated in a murmur, "Where was I before I was five?"

"Yes, where were you before the age of five?" Xu Zhuo asked curiously.

"I... I don't remember." I frowned, "It seems to be there too."

"You don't really lose your memory, do you?" Xu Zhuo's eyes sparkled, and his expression was obviously trying to suppress the gossip, "Could you be the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy family?"

"Can you rely on the spectrum?" My chopsticks almost smashed the rice rolls in front of me, "Can you find anything else?"

"Well, I don't know, my friend is still asking over there." Xu Zhuo stretched out his hand and smoothed my messy hair, "I haven't seen you for several days when I live in the same room. Get up early all day In the dark, look at the dark circles under the eyes."

I kept silent, and there have been more and more weird dreams in recent nights.I often wake up in the middle of the night, look at the alarm clock next to the bed, and lie straight until the next morning.

I sighed, "Hurry up and eat, I have to hold a topic selection meeting after eating."

The two hurriedly ate lunch, sent her to the car, and I turned back to the company.

There were two tall girls standing at the door, wearing short skirts and knee-high boots. When they passed by, they smelled a faint fragrance.The working environment determines that I can see many beauties and handsome men every day, and I don't want to take a second look and pass by.

Unexpectedly, a girl moved her steps and stood in front of me impartially.

I raised my head and looked at the small face with exquisite makeup, only feeling a little familiar.

"Bai Xi?"

I felt something was wrong, so I forced myself to smile, "You are?"

"Forgot me so soon?" The little girl sneered, "I'm Mai Zhendong's girlfriend."

She deliberately emphasized the three words "girlfriend", but I was even more at a loss. I recognized the person. On my birthday, I was waiting for Shen Qinjun outside the club, and finally met Lao Mai and her for dinner.She was very quiet during that meal, and she didn't say a few words, so naturally she couldn't talk about friendship with me.

"Mai Zhendong doesn't work here." I said kindly, "Are you waiting for him here?"

"We'll wait for you—shameless slut who steals someone's boyfriend." The girl next to her spoke in a high-pitched voice, which startled me.

I have indeed lived shamelessly and cheaply once in my life, but it was to Shen Qinjun.

But even when I loved him to death, I knew he had a girlfriend, and I didn't dare to show it, so I could only abuse myself in my heart.

Immediately, the gossip of colleagues in the morning came to mind. As expected, good things never go out, and bad things spread far and wide.I breathed out, helplessly, "I dare not be that."

"Yo, you're quite stubborn!"

The woman grabbed my face as soon as she stretched out her hand. I was naturally prepared, so I took a step back to avoid it, "Hey, don't touch me."

Because of this change, people around have already stood still and looked around curiously.I just felt ashamed, but I had to say the words that made my teeth sore: "Mai Zhendong and I are aboveboard, it's nothing."

"Nothing? Lonely men and widows, why did you go there a few days ago?"

It was okay to say clearly, but when the words came to my lips, I suddenly remembered that Lao Mai told me not to say that he was filming the documentary column, so I swallowed the words again and said, "Hey, listen to me Suggestion, go to Mai Zhendong if you have something to do. It's really ugly to make trouble with me like this."

Thinking about it afterwards, I was really wrong in saying this sentence.

In the final analysis, probably Lao Mai really dumped him and disappeared as usual; he just offended someone who really liked him, so he had to find out.So I became a scapegoat.He came here angrily to find trouble, but I still put on a high profile, as if I'm too lazy to argue with you, am I just stepping on Ni Lin?

There was a hot blow on the cheek, the strength was not too great, but the voice was extremely crisp.

My eyes widened, and my brain was still a little bit overwhelmed. I didn't realize until I met the surprised eyes from around me——I was beaten!Still being beaten as a mistress!
Originally, I was not very clever, but at this time, I was even more speechless, just standing there blankly, falling into the eyes of others, probably more like a guilty conscience.

"Bai Xi? What are you doing here?" A female voice emerged from the noisy and flashy surroundings, with a little surprise, and finally successfully pulled me out of the space of another dimension.

But as soon as I turned my head, I saw that person and two other familiar faces hidden behind the crowd, and my heart fell straight down, like a heavy shot put, and hit the ground with a bang, connecting The ground shook slightly.

How to do?
All kinds of possibilities immediately flashed in the brain that was still a little blank just now.For example, immediately push away the crowd and run away, or calmly say to her: "What a coincidence?"

But before I could make up my mind, Li Xin squeezed into the crowd, supported my shoulder affectionately, turned to the girl who gave me a slap, and said flatly, "What a coincidence?"

The girl's expression changed, and she came up with a different smile, "Sister Xin, what a coincidence." Then she dragged Lao Mai's girlfriend away.

I didn't dare to turn my head until Li Xin easily solved my little trouble, and said with a condescending expression: "How did you provoke these people?" The tone was clearly contemptuous and sarcastic.I didn't answer, because I saw Shen Qinjun standing behind me with his hands behind his back, looking at the scene expressionlessly, there might be some strange emotions in his deep eyes.I think it's something like disappointment.

When the mood is at its lowest, my habitual approach is to ignore it.

I turned my eyes away, laughed twice, and simply said to Shen Qinjun and Qin Mou, "Why are you here?"

The crowd had dispersed, Qin Mou came up and took my arm, never mentioning what happened just now, and said with an intimate look: "I came to ask you for a favor, but I have already greeted your editor-in-chief, and she said it's okay."

"What's the matter?" I was a little puzzled.

"We have an engagement banquet the day after tomorrow. Everyone is busy during this time, but we forgot the most important thing—it's hard to find a photo of the two of us now." Qin Mou pursed his lips and smiled, and looked at Shen Qinjun with some reproach With a glance, "Can you please help us take a set of photos?"

I glanced at him subconsciously. Until now, he still had a straight face, his eyes slightly dropped to the ground, as if he didn't hear us talking.

"Why don't you look for Mai Zhendong?" I chuckled, "Master is much better at taking pictures than me."

"Why, now that you have a backer, are you really famous?" Shen Qinjun finally raised his eyes, and his tone made it hard to tell whether he was joking or really mocking.

My eyes dimmed for a moment, and I didn't answer.

"I like the set of pictures you took for me in Yedong." Qin Mou glanced at Shen Qinjun lightly, with a slightly coquettish tone, "I'm going to find Bai Xi."

His cold face was melted by such a bright smile, and his tone became gentle, "It's up to you."

"Bai Xi?"

"I'll take a call." I intentionally avoided them and answered, "Hello, boss."

The boss personally called and said that the work for the past two days was to take engagement photos for Qin Mou, and he also told me to take good photos. From what I heard, it seemed that if he could persuade the other party to authorize the engagement photos to "Young" magazine, it would be a big deal. exclusive.

"Bai Xi, I heard that you have a good relationship with Qin Mou and her fiancé, it's up to you." Su Wen finally warned.

I really wanted to cry, but I was forced to do this, so I had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue doing it.

Shen Qinjun is so meticulous in his work, and it is a major engagement event, the venue and costumes have been determined early, what is really missing is a photographer.I took their schedule, and the items on it were clear. The nanny car was already waiting at the door, and I could pick it up to the location immediately.

The car drove to the suburbs, and along the way I heard Qin Mou talking to Shen Qinjun in a lowered voice.She wore a crisp khaki windbreaker today, revealing her slender calves, her ponytail was tied up, but the ends of her hair still looked fluffy, bright and playful, enough to please the eye.

She probably caught my gaze, turned her head and smiled and said, "Bai Xi, have you really been to the world of two with Mr. Mai?"

The tone sounded like kind curiosity, I slowly glanced at her, shook my head, "No."

"Then why did those two little girls come here in such a rage and beat you?"

I remembered that it was Li Xin who easily persuaded the two girls to leave and helped me out, so I was embarrassed not to answer, so I had to say: "I misunderstood. By the way, does your manager know them?"

"The girl who did it seems to have been on the set with me before." Qin Mou said lightly.

"Oh." I stretched out my hand and touched my cheek sullenly. The slap just now really didn't hurt, but it was very loud... Perhaps as an actor, this is also one of the basic skills.

"Then are you and Mr. Mai really together?" She said this half-jokingly, with bright eyes.

"Of course not." I squeezed my forehead with a headache, "Mai Zhendong has seen so many beauties, how could he like me?"

(End of this chapter)