A heartbeat, a lifetime

Chapter 5 Devil's Contract (1)
Going to work the next day, I walked into the department and vaguely heard someone talking about the camera.I looked up sensitively, and sure enough, not far away, my boss and a few colleagues were waving at me.

I run over.

The boss patted me on the shoulder, "Bai Xi, thanks to you, our finance department made a big splash at the annual meeting last night!" After speaking, he laughed.

"Boss, aren't you laughing too low?" I avoided his palm.

"There is a small poll on the company's intranet, and everyone is giving you nicknames: Camera Girl and Footstep Girl." He said cheerfully, "I voted for Camera Girl."

My face became darker and darker, but I heard my colleague say: "I voted for Stepping Girl, you didn't see Mr. Shen's shoes, it was too horrible. Fortunately, it is Mr. Shen, if the old chairman dances with you, He might have been sent to the hospital for examination on the spot.”

"Do you want to be so mean?" I turned around and ignored these boring people, I had a lot of reports to do, and I didn't have the heart to chat.

In the middle of work, Lulu leaned over and said, "Bai Xi, why do you want a camera? Wouldn't it be nice to have a free trip to Europe during your vacation?"

I explained seriously: "That group of Leica lenses is very rare, and they are all handmade. The key is that even if you have money, you may not be able to buy them."

"Do you like photography?" She looked at me with admiring eyes.

I suddenly couldn't help but want to show off, I took out "V", before the introduction, she snatched it up, "Wow, Qin Mou!"

She quickly turned to Qin Mou's special page, looked at it carefully, and sighed: "There are so many celebrities, and she is not the most beautiful one, but why do I like her so much?"

My heart was inexplicably sour, but I followed her words and said, "Yes, why?"

"The entertainment industry is so complicated!" Lulu said, "But only Qin Mou, I believe she is really clean."

"I do too," I said.In this world, if anyone wants to get their hands on her, he should weigh Shen Qinjun's weight, right?

I suddenly didn't want to talk to her about Qin Mou, so I turned to the last few pages of the magazine and pointed to the photos for Lulu to see.

She carefully identified it for a long time, and was at a loss: "Who are these people?"

I was frustrated, "Look! Here!"

I pointed to the small line of words—Photography: Bai Xi.

"Wow!" Lulu sighed, "I can't tell, you have entered the fashion circle."

I finally got a little proud, "Hobby."

After chatting for a few words, each of them immersed themselves in their work, when the phone beeped, and a text message popped up.

Shen Qinjun: Have dinner together, wait for me to get off work.

I thought about it and felt that I should have professional ethics, so I replied: OK.

The day passed quickly.

The Spring Festival is approaching, and all work is finishing. Even after the annual meeting, our department is still very busy.When the group meeting was over, I took out my silent phone and saw that there were more than a dozen missed calls.

I dialed back in horror.

The other party's voice was gloomy, "Why didn't you answer the phone?"

"I'm working overtime." I replied softly, "The phone is on silent."

He was silent for a moment, "Come down."

I copied all the unfinished forms into a USB flash drive, intending to go home and do it again. I hurriedly sorted out my things before rushing downstairs.

Shen Qinjun parked his car in an alley next to the Roewe Building, and it took me a lot of effort to find it.

Open the car door and sit in, it's so warm that it makes you sneeze.

He stretched out his hand, pointed to his watch and asked me, "What time is it?"

I looked at the pointer pointing to ten o'clock, and stammered: "Boss, I'm trying to work for you...and, and..."

He raised his eyebrows, not angry, "What else?"

"And I thought you'd always be busier than us, and you'd have an international time zone meeting or something." I swallowed, how did I know I'd bother him to wait for me for so long?
He looked at me fixedly, and smiled, "International meetings are also a time for others to accommodate me. Do you know how long I have been waiting for you here?"

"I'm really working for the group seriously," I argued, "and I'm willing to be squeezed out of surplus value."

He looked away, started the car, and there seemed to be a slight smile on the corner of his lips, "Have you paid overtime wages yet?"

"Send it." I said quickly, "Besides, if you can't wait for me, you should go first, and just send me a text message later."

He glanced at me casually, "I didn't expect you to be busier than me."

The car was driving on the street, and he asked me, "Have you had dinner yet?"

"Slices of bread."

"Then what do you want to eat?"

"Can I be honest?" I asked expectantly.

"talk."

"I just want to eat seafood fried rice noodles near my home." I thought of the tough and chewy rice noodles and the big river prawns, mixed with some vinegar, and my saliva couldn't help dripping, "However, the environment is not good .”

He didn't object, but just turned around, "It's okay."

However, when the car stopped, I saw his face not so well through the street lights.

"The environment is not very good, but the rice noodles are delicious." I comforted him, walking quickly to the small shop, for fear that he would regret it.

One serving of seafood rice noodles came, and I skillfully sprinkled rice vinegar on it, mixed it, and ate it.

After a while, most of the pots were wiped out. I raised my head and saw that his portion had hardly moved.

"It's not to your liking, is it?" I whispered.

He smiled, "It's too oily."

"So...have you had dinner?" I asked tentatively.

He shook his head, "I wanted to take you to a Japanese restaurant."

"I never eat Japanese food, I am afraid of sashimi." I blurted out.

He looked at me fixedly, his eyes were full of surprise, and then gradually settled down, and smiled slightly, "Sorry, I don't know."

I lowered my head, took a big mouthful of rice noodles, and said vaguely, "It's okay. Let's go next time."

I finished my dinner and let out a long sigh of relief, "Then I'm going back. There's still a lot of work to do."

"Still working overtime?" He was a little surprised, and naturally took out the handkerchief in his pocket, and wiped the chili sauce from the corner of his mouth for me.

My face turned red suddenly, and before I could react, my ears caught the sound of the shutter being clicked.

I turned my head quickly, and sure enough, I saw a figure flashing away in the corner.

But he was calm and composed, with a determined and doting smile on the corner of his lips.My heart was suddenly poured with a basin of cold water, and I suddenly woke up.

How could he be willing to wait for three hours for me?
How could you stay with me in such a greasy food stall?
It's just acting. For another woman, a big show is carefully arranged.

Sure enough, after a while, he stood up, as if he didn't want to waste any more time, "Let's go, I'll take you back."

I stood up silently, walked to the gate of the community, and was about to say goodbye, but he suddenly took my hand, took me into his arms, then lowered his head, and kissed my cheek lightly, tenderly.

This embrace is warm and wide, and can block all the cold wind from the outside world - but it is fake.

My body was stiff, and I suddenly thought of the fairy tale I read when I was a child.

The monkey who picked chestnuts out of the fire, was just greedy for that small, sweet and delicious chestnut, and would rather be burnt with scars all over his body.

I am that monkey now.

Knowing that there will be no return, there is still no turning back.

From the second day onwards, some project settlements were summarized one after another, and the work pressure was greatly reduced, so there was no need to ask someone to bring a sandwich for lunch every time.

Lulu and I went to the restaurant. On the way, we met many colleagues who greeted me one after another. The "camera girl" one after another made me dumbfounded, while Lulu kept laughing wildly.

When I arrived at the restaurant, I ordered chicken rice and sat down among my colleagues. Suddenly there was a commotion at the other end of the restaurant.

"What's the matter?" Lulu got up and looked around.

"It's probably some magazine that came to interview our star restaurant." The boss was not surprised.

Roewe's restaurant occupies the entire two floors of the wing building. Chefs are invited from all over the world. For example, on my left, an Indian brother is skillfully shaking flying pancakes.All Roewe employees consume with their work permits, and a nominal fee is charged.

"It's not a magazine star! It's Mr. Xiao Shen!"

This news in the restaurant was even more sensational than everyone hearing "Tony Leung is coming" and "Takeshi Kaneshiro is coming".

Sure enough, Shen Qinjun and several high-level executives also ordered food at the dining table and sat down at an empty table, which happened to be right next to us.

According to the usual practice, he came over for a tour to show the so-called "closeness to the people".

Perhaps because he came down for lunch, he was dressed very casually, with no jacket on, the collar of his white shirt was loosely opened, and the sleeves were rolled up to the elbows.

Everyone at the table stood up, and he cast his eyes on me and smiled, "Camera girl? You stepped on me several times the day before yesterday."

Laugh out loud.

My face was darkened, and I couldn't say anything, I could only giggle twice.

When he left, Lulu tugged on my sleeve and said excitedly: "Look, Mr. Xiao Shen remembers you!"

I gritted my teeth, "It's not a good thing."

He lowered his head and took a bite of his meal, and suddenly the boss said, "Bai Xi, I heard you can perform for a minute and eat a sandwich?"

"It's 45 seconds." Lulu corrected, "It's really amazing."

I held the spoon and argued: "It was really too late that time, and it wasn't because of you, boss, who pinched the stopwatch to ask for a report, and I was so hungry..."

I was really busy at work that time, and the higher authorities strictly ordered the report to be sent out before 1:[-], and I checked it when the countdown was [-] minute.Lulu brought me lunch again. I was so hungry that I could finish it in two or three bites.

I still remember Lulu's expression of surprise when she turned around and saw the empty sandwich bag, while I was still clicking the mouse with bread crumbs in my mouth.From then on, everyone in the department knew that the new Bai Xi could finish a sandwich in one minute.

"Yeah, the camera girl is super cute, and she performed for everyone last time." Lulu said, "We cut the watch, 43 seconds."

I saw everyone looking at me expectantly, and quickly said, "Not today, I ordered chicken rice."

Maybe it was because the laughter at our table was too high-profile, I saw Shen Qinjun turning around thoughtfully, and those seductive eyes rolled around me, feeling a little cold.

I felt a little guilty, quickly looked away, lowered my head to eat, "I will perform for everyone next time."

After that encounter in the restaurant, Shen Qinjun didn't contact me for several days.I'm not surprised, it's acting anyway, so he will come to me when he has something to do.

I didn't work overtime this weekend, so I slept in and went to the supermarket to make big purchases.There are too many things in the recycle bag, and I don't wear gloves, so my palms hurt a lot.

When I walked downstairs, I saw a familiar car. From my perspective, I couldn't see anyone, only a slender figure slanted out. In the thin winter sun, it made people feel a bit bleak.

My heart was pounding, I walked over a few steps, and asked tentatively, "Mr. Shen?"

He was leaning against the car door, with his hands in the pockets of his black coat, wondering what he was thinking. He raised his head when he heard my voice, and asked leisurely, "Are you back?"

This raising of the eyes was really a contradictory feeling of long eyebrows slanted into the temples, both fierce and lazy.I just think that I should take a photo with a camera to live up to the gaze.

Before answering his question, the environmental protection bag in his hand fell apart, and the things rolled to the ground.

I said "oops" and quickly squatted down to pick it up.A canned bone rolled all the way to Shen Qinjuan's feet. He picked it up and frowned, "Are they all instant food?"

I said "hmm" without looking up, "Why are you here?"

He didn't help, just looked at me picking up things in a panic, and said coldly: "Eat these things, and eat so fast, you live alone, what should you do if you have a stomach problem?"

"I shared the rent with my friend." I was stunned for a moment before realizing, "How do you know that I eat fast?"

He looked at me condescendingly, and there seemed to be something in his eyes that I didn't understand. It seemed to be mocking: "Eat the sandwich in 45 seconds, when will you show me a show?"

I stared at him blankly. It turned out that he had listened to what I said to my colleagues that day... I saw his eyes, which seemed to contain pity and disbelief...Suddenly, I felt embarrassed and inferior.

Originally, people are different. I can't live as elegantly as Qin Mou, so what's wrong? !
I tried to calm down, stood up and said, "Yeah, I eat fast, what's the problem? When I was working, I only had 5 minutes to eat the bento. There are a lot of things to do. If I can't finish eating , I will be hungry until the early hours of the morning. If it were you, would you eat or not?"

He probably didn't expect me to speak like this, he stood there for a while, and after a long time, he said softly: "I'm sorry."

I shook my head, "Nothing."

There is no need to complain to him about these words. I don't know why, but I suddenly became sensitive just now.

The two of them went upstairs in silence, and when we got to the door, I didn't open the door, but just said, "Is there anything else you want?"

He raised his eyebrows, "Why, don't you let me in?"

"The shared house is full of girls, so it's not convenient."

"It's far away from work, have you thought about moving?" He looked at me fixedly.

"No, I live fine."

I rented this house with my friend Xu Zhuo. The price is very good. Although it is an old house, it is clean and tidy. I am not dissatisfied.Before the words fell, there was a crackling sound behind him. Xu Zhuo opened the door and came out. When he saw Shen Qinjun and me standing at the door, he couldn't help being stunned, "Huh? Bai Xi?"

I was a little embarrassed, "My colleague, come get a document."

Shen Qinjun smiled and stretched out his hand, "Hello."

She shook hands with him, looked at me meaningfully, but said wittily: "I'm leaving, you guys chat slowly."

I had to invite him into the house.

He was sitting dryly on the sofa, and I poured him a glass of warm water, "What do you want?"

"Move here and live with me." He said in a calm tone.

I was taken aback, he couldn't be serious, could he?But as a matter of principle, I insisted, "No!"

"why not?"

"I don't want to live in a mansion. I will move out in the future. What if I don't get used to it?" I said sarcastically.

There was an undercurrent in his black eyes, but he said lightly: "A monthly salary of one hundred thousand, do you think it's so easy to get?"

I gaped.

He continued: "With a monthly salary of [-], we can work together for at least three months—if she is more stubborn, maybe half a year. It's enough for you to pay the down payment for a small apartment here."

I couldn't talk to him, so I had to change the subject, "No! I don't have a registered permanent residence! I can't buy a house by myself."

The corner of his lips twitched slightly, "These are small problems."

I suddenly felt that this was absurd, and I regretted it—why did I agree to him because of my obsession that night?Now that I am so uncomfortable, everything has to be adapted to each other.

"Didn't you ask me to move there just to show Qin Mou?" I thought for a while, why don't we both take a step back, "Well, I can live there for two days from time to time, so it's convenient for you to act."

He leaned on the sofa and took a sip of water, thought for a while, and said, "That's fine too. Don't pack your things, they're all over there."

"But not today." I shook my head, "I have something to do in the afternoon."

"Working overtime again?"

"No, I'm going to do my homework later." I took out my camera. Although I don't do photography anymore, I still don't want to lose this hobby. Going to the commercial street to capture pedestrians every weekend is a must-do homework.

He looked at me with interest, "The shots that were drawn that day came in handy so soon?"

I am a little embarrassed, I am still reluctant to use the lens I got in the lottery.

"It hasn't worked," I said. "It's a good horse with a saddle. I need to save up for a better camera."

He smiled and looked at me, but I felt like he was looking at a child.

I picked up my bag uncomfortably, "I'm going out."

"Okay, I'll go back to the company and take you there along the way."

On the way to the city center, Shen Qinjun's cell phone rang.

He was driving, so he pressed the speakerphone.

"Mr. Shen, Miss Qin just left school."

Did you mean Qin Mou?I turned my head curiously and glanced at Shen Qinjun.

He sat up slightly, obviously very concerned, said "um", and asked, "How are you doing these days?"

(End of this chapter)