"Aunt Bai, thank you for inviting me to participate in this auction exhibition."
After a while, Bai Wenyu took the young girl to the beverage rest area of the exhibition hall, while Bai Tingting wisely stayed in the jewelry area and continued to visit the exhibition. Faced with the thanks from the little girl behind her, the mature woman did not respond immediately, but looked at the long Desserts and drinks were neatly placed on the table. She took a bottle of champagne from the ice bucket, checked the information label at the bottom, and handed it to the receptionist on the side. Then she looked back and said with a smile:
"You don't have to be so informal, Xiao Cao. Do you want wine, black tea or mineral water?"
Cao Aiqing said respectfully: "Like you, let's have champagne."
The receptionist who had just taken the bottle opened the champagne, poured it into two flutes with slender rims, placed them on a silver plate and brought them to the two women.
They each picked up a glass, and the wine glasses naturally touched slightly in mid-air, making a crisp sound.
"I thought you would bring Tianran with you. Originally, I wanted to give him a surprise."
Bai Wenyu took a sip of champagne, then placed the wine glass on the long table aside and said.
"Aunt Bai, I have broken up with Tianran."
Cao Aiqing did not act coy and responded generously.
Bai Wenyu was a little surprised, but it was not because of the breakup.
"Well, I know, it's just that I was thinking that it's normal for you kids to have a fight. You know that I gave you that invitation, right?"
Cao Aiqing nodded.
"Naturally, you told me about your profession, so the moment I received the invitation for the autumn auction, I almost confirmed that it was your invitation."
Cao Aiqing lied here. In fact, He Tianran rarely talked to her about family matters during their relationship, and she knew Bai Wenyu, whom she also met at the future Nanzhi Island development project.
The mature woman asked deliberately: "So you didn't consider telling Tianran about this?"
Cao Aiqing, who has been working with Bai Wenyu for a long time and knows his temper well, shook his head and said bluntly:
"Aunt Bai, since you know the situation between me and Tianran, I would venture to guess that you want to use this to test whether the relationship between me and Tianran is still improving, but I'm afraid this will disappoint you, I'm sorry."
The girl's outspokenness and calmness made Bai Wenyu tilt his head slightly, keeping a smile on his face.
To test, when Bai Wenyu learned from Wang Ma that He Tianran and Cao Aiqing had broken up, her first reaction was nothing more than the above. It's normal for children to have a fight today and make up in two days.
An invitation letter is quite a step for the two to reconcile. Regardless of whether the two can reconcile, whether Cao Aiqing comes or not represents the girl's attitude towards feelings.
In fact, thinking about it this way, it was not the most important thing whether to ask He Tianran to come with him or not. The main thing was that Bai Wenyu wanted to see in person what kind of person this girl that his shy son fell in love with was like.
She picked up the wine glass on the table again and said:
"Xiao Cao, you don't need to apologize to me. It's because I, as a mother, didn't think well and took things for granted. There is only your name on the invitation. It doesn't matter whether you want to bring friends or Tianran, that's all. Your freedom, Enjoy!”
"Thank you again for the invitation, Aunt Bai."
The two women raised their glasses again and each took a sip.
"Stop calling me auntie, call me Sister Bai. Being called aunty one by one by you young people makes me feel a lot older."
"Okay, Sister Bai." Cao Aiqing agreed with a smile.
This is also what she will call Bai Wenyu in the future. Now that she sees her old friend again, she is naturally very cordial.
In fact, some of Bai Wenyu's behavior had a great influence on Cao Aiqing at that time. Although the girl was born in a happy family, her parents were soft-tempered, so it was difficult to see strength in Cao Aiqing, a good girl. side.
This cannot be said to be good or bad, but it is just that when she first entered the workplace, the jungle was strong and she was engaged in a highly sophisticated and highly competitive industry such as architectural design, so it was inevitable that she would appear cramped and immature at the beginning, and suffer some hidden disadvantages.
Bai Wenyu never taught Cao Aiqing how to do things. After all, they were engaged in two industries. But since the two women met, the girl was attracted by the other's independent and decisive tenacity. After some cooperation, she couldn't help but I want to imitate and learn from its advantages.
This is more like nature. After girls enter social competition, they will gradually build a layer of protection for themselves. Some rely on appearance, some rely on character, some rely on talent, some rely on qualifications, some rely on the opposite sex, and girls transform into women. In the process, you will always find one or two things to protect yourself. Although the difficulty varies, it is the same.
"Ai Qing, I heard that you are currently studying in the Department of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong. You must have good art skills, right?"
"Well...Sister Bai, you are making things difficult for me. I really can't say that my skills are good in front of you. I just have some basics. I attended art classes for several years when I was in elementary school and junior high school. Now I am a freshman. I am like Drawing, sketching, and watercolor are all required courses in architectural design.”
After a few chats, the two people's names for each other changed. Bai Wenyu studied oil painting when he was young. In order to make the girl relax, he deliberately talked about some common topics. Unexpectedly, the other party's words actually revealed that he knew this. thing.
"Skills have specializations, and architecture is a cross-specialty. Ai Qing, you are too arrogant to belittle yourself. How about we go to the calligraphy and painting area? There is a large-scale splash-color painting there. It is the highlight of this autumn auction. It is rare to see normally. "
Facing the thundering names and masterpieces by famous writers, Cao Aiqing's eyes lit up and he replied: "Okay!"
…
…
He Tianran had a full day of classes, so Wen Liang started packing her things in the afternoon. In fact, she had a bad feeling today, but she couldn't explain exactly why. She could only attribute the reason to the fact that she hadn't filmed for too long. Causing some tension.
Buzz~
In the dormitory, Wen Liang used the computer to check the electronic script and schedule sent by Director Chen. The phone at hand suddenly vibrated. It was a message from He Tianran.
"when are we leaving?"
"In a while."
"Isn't the flight at seven o'clock in the evening? It's only four o'clock now. You wait for me to finish class, and I will accompany you to the airport."
Looking at the message that received a response instantly, Wen Liang smiled knowingly, thought for a while and replied:
"It's seven o'clock, yes, but the director wants us to have a meal together and chat with everyone before leaving. After all, it's already nine o'clock after a two-and-a-half-hour flight to the capital, and then we have to drive to where the crew is. hotel, it’s probably close to eleven o’clock before I can go to bed. I have to start shooting non-stop tomorrow, so now I can only finish my meal here~”
On the screen of the mobile phone, the line "Inputting..." appeared and disappeared. Wen Liang could think of the other end of the phone. The boy struggled over and over again after seeing the reply.
After a few minutes, He Tianran finally replied:
"Can you not go? Or can you take me with you for dinner? I'll come right after class. You guys haven't finished eating yet."
"Who are you, you dare to come here to eat?"
"I am a family member!"
Wen Liang was laughing so hard in the dormitory alone. She squatted on a chair, her exposed white and tender feet raised happily, and continued to make trouble:
"That's not okay. The director talked about the filming content during the meal. Big projects like the Winter Olympics must be kept confidential. At noon, I even signed an agreement for confidentiality and portrait rights."
"Does that mean...from today to the next three days, I won't be able to see you?"
"I can't see you~"
"Really?"
"real!"
"Yeah~!"
"He Tianran, are you looking for death????"
On the other end of the phone, He Tianran looked at the continuous question marks and the continuous flow of follow-up messages. He quickly put the phone into his pocket. Fortunately, he had muted it before chatting. Wen Liang probably also knew that he was in class. , so I didn’t call him angrily to accuse him.
He Tianran had a smile on his face, feeling very happy with this smile on his face.
Focusing on the class again, time passed and it was time for get out of class to end.
At 5:15, He Tianran followed several classmates from the directing department and walked out of the lobby, talking and laughing. He looked up and saw a bored look next to him, sitting alone on the suitcase, with his feet on the ground, slowly pushing the roller. The warmth and coolness of the circle.
Several friends showed ambiguous smiles and left. He Tianran coughed lightly and walked closer with a smile, and received a vicious look from his girlfriend.
"Aren't you afraid that your suitcase will be damaged if you sit like this?"
"I think you will be beaten to pieces by me before I sit on it!"
He Tianran stretched out his hand, touched Wen Liang, who had a fierce look on his face and bared his teeth, and said, "Spare my life first. It's already 5:15, and it will take us half an hour to get to the airport."
Wen Liang opened his hand on top of her head, stood up and said angrily: "You also know, He Tianran! Tell us what we are going to eat!"
"You still want to eat? Come on, let's go out and buy something. I'll accompany you to the airport and we'll eat in the car."
He Tianran held Wen Liang's hand, and Wen Liang dragged his luggage. The girl just deliberately stomped her feet and let her boyfriend pull her, making a willful protracted sound:
"Uh-huh - He Tianran, if you say you are reluctant to leave me, will you die?!"
The boy held back his smile and pretended to be reluctant to let go: "Oh, I can't let it go. I can't let it go. I love you to death. If I don't see my warmth for a day, I feel like ants are crawling all over my body..."
"There is no sincerity at all! You will make me angry!"
"Oh, keep going, otherwise it will be too late."
He Tianran apologized and surrendered, and finally coaxed his girlfriend to walk outside the school.
Ten minutes later, Wen Liang, who was sitting in the taxi, was holding a set of pancakes and munching on small bites with a look of despair on his face.
“The hot dog, bacon and eggs are doubled for you. It’s definitely a luxury set meal, VIP level enjoyment. I just bought one. I couldn’t even bear to add so many ingredients~”
He Tianran picked up his portion of pancake fruit, which was much smaller in comparison, and took a sip, and a third of it was gone in an instant.
Wen Liang said aggrievedly: "Don't come here! I heard you on the phone when we were at the stall just now! You made an appointment with your roommate to eat hotpot mutton in the evening, you are saving your stomach! You didn't even take me with you !”
"Oh, they are all single. Isn't it like killing a dog if I take you there? Are you worried that you won't be able to eat a meal of mutton-boiled meat when you go to the capital? When you come back, I will ask them to have another meal when you come back. , you also call your single young lady from the acting department, let’s have a party, look at this plan, how great it is~!”
Wen Liang laughed in anger, stared at her boyfriend's hateful face, and took a bite of the food hatefully. Her pretty little face was bulging out, which was really cute.
This rare expression made He Tianran's heart beat. He couldn't help but put the pancake fruit in his hand into his mouth, took out his left hand, walked around Wen Liang's back, put his index finger and middle finger together, and touched the other person's shoulder, Then he pushed harder and harder, but the girl didn't resist and leaned against her boyfriend's shoulder.
"Hmph~!"
"Hehe~"
Wen Liang raised his head and glared at him with a swaying eyebrow. He Tianran retracted his left hand, took out the food in his mouth, and giggled twice. The former picked out the hot dog that he had not eaten yet, stuffed it into his mouth, and then... He ate his portion with great taste.
Immediately afterwards, there was a crisp sound of "crack-crack-crack" in the car, which sounded very appetizing.
He Tianran looked out the car window and saw a silver Mercedes-Benz S500L passing smoothly from the other end of the lane. He seemed to feel something and followed it subconsciously for a few seconds.
"My left eyelid keeps twitching today." Wen Liang didn't notice anything strange about He Tianran and muttered vaguely.
"Okay, money pops out of your left eye, not to mention that it's really smart. Hey, aren't you getting the job now?" He Tianran turned his head and said exaggeratedly.
"But my right eyelid also jumped..." The girl looked a little uneasy.
"Oh, we are all college students, why do we still believe in these feudal superstitions?" The boy was dismissive for a moment.
The driver and master who were driving in the front row all laughed, and Wen Liang was helpless. She squeezed into He Tianran's arms again, looked at the pancake fruit in her hand, and said softly:
"Naturally, I actually think that when we are together, it doesn't matter what Chinese, Western, meat or vegetarian food we eat, whether it's on the roadside or in a restaurant..."
"You're really easy to support, so what's important?" He Tianran's eyes were filled with tenderness.
"Of course it's important to eat together!" Wen Liang said firmly.
"That's a must!"
…
…
In the Mercedes-Benz, Cao Aiqing, who was sitting in the back seat, looked out the window. Bai Wenyu, who was driving, glanced at the girl's expression in the rearview mirror and continued to focus on driving.
The autumn auction preview ended at 4 p.m. Bai Wenyu said she wanted to come to the university town to see her son, so she took Cao Aiqing and Bai Tingting with her along the way, and the latter had already got off the car twenty minutes ago.
I turned on the car stereo, and a song called "Autumn Whispers" by Richard Clayderman slowly played.
Listening to music in a car of this level is a great auditory enjoyment. A piano music jumps out lightly through the 31 Berlin Sound speakers at the front and rear of the car, making people instantly immersed in the music. , as if you were there.
"Speaking of which, of course I also learned piano when I was a child."
Bai Wenyu laughed softly and chatted about old things.
"Piano? I know he can play guitar and his skills are very good, but this is the first time I've heard of piano."
Cao Aiqing said curiously.
"He was four or five years old..." Bai Wenyu paused here and seemed to be recalling: "I learned piano when I was six or seven years old, but I didn't learn it for long. The song I played at that time was "Autumn Whispers". There are three quick arpeggio inversions in the second half of this piece that he could not learn, and finally gave up because he found it difficult. He was taught many things when he was a child, but he just liked to give up halfway. The only good thing was that his guitar was passed down by his old man. Dad was forced out, but he didn’t tell you?”
Cao Aiqing shook his head and hesitated: "No...he...he rarely talks about his family affairs to the outside world."
"Really? I heard from my family that his personality has become a lot more cheerful after he was with you."
"That's not my fault."
"Um?"
Perhaps influenced by the melodious piano music, Cao Aiqing's thoughts were lengthened invisibly, and she said slowly:
"It was another girl who changed him. I also liked him like this. It's just that I'm more willing to be my unconventional self than to have a lover with whom I belong."
Silence fell in the car. The car passed through the buildings and bridges all the way, and the music echoed in the ears. Bai Wenyu's calm eyes seemed to be thinking about something, and he slowly asked:
"So, Tianran is with that girl now?"
"Um……"
"Heh, it seems that he has indeed grown up and become as virtuous as his father."
The housekeeper Wang Ma only told Bai Wenyu about He Tianran's breakup. As for his son's love life now, only He Panshan in the family probably knew about it.
I was on the phone with He Panshan a few days ago. The man said that he specially invited a little girl to come with him for this family dinner. She and his son had been together in high school and were very sensible, so he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. Let's try to see if we can repair the family relationship with our son.
Although the specific identity of the little girl He Panshan is unclear, but it is rare that the former couple thought of going together. However, due to the delay in news, Bai Wenyu always thought that the little girl was Cao Aiqing, so he invited her to this autumn auction exhibition. Meeting in advance can help his son to ease the relationship and avoid any embarrassment during dinner.
But now...
No wonder He Panshan didn’t speak clearly on the phone. He Tianran followed his father’s old path. This is the reason why the couple divorced. If the ins and outs were explained clearly, the two people would definitely have a big problem on the phone. Have a fight.
But at this moment, Bai Wenyu was very calm. After getting to know and interact with her all afternoon, she suddenly became curious. This quiet girl sitting in the back seat of the car, this young girl whose relationship trajectory was very similar to hers, when she learned about this, What will be done.
"Little Ai Qing, do you still like nature now?"
Bai Wenyu asked abruptly.
Cao Aiqing was stunned. She remembered that time on Nanzhi Island, on the edge of the deserted island, the two of them faced the vast sea, and the young man proposed the concept of "rebirth" for the unfinished art museum.
At that time, she seemed to feel something, but she was also confused.
Now, she is also experiencing a new life, but the direction of this transformation is still influenced by the overwhelming resentment and unspeakable emotions.
She didn't want this, but it was a knot in her heart that she couldn't escape.
"I haven't figured it out yet..."
She gave the same answer as when she was on Nanzhi Island.
"There's nothing he can't figure out. When I was a child, I always told him that the more you are afraid of something, the more you should face it, because this is when a person can best embody his value, and all confusions can be faced again and again. Find the answer, thus ushering in the opportunity of appreciation or depreciation.
Xiao Aiqing, there is something, I have no other intention, I just want to hear your thoughts. Tomorrow, I plan to have a meal with my ex-husband and Ziran. The girl who is with Ziran should also come. If I invite you now, will you come? "
Following Bai Wenyu's question, the Mercedes-Benz slowly drove into the campus of the University of Hong Kong. The woman in the front row looked for a parking space with a calm expression. The girl in the back row was startled at first, with a bit of panic flashing on her face, but soon, she He lowered his head and meditated.
Her eyelashes drooped almost covering her eyes, and her straight nose seemed to contain some secrets. When she thought of clarity, her eyelids suddenly raised like they were opening, and her crystal-clear black pupils shone as usual.
Cao Aiqing said calmly: "Sister Bai, I'm very happy to meet you today, but I'm sorry, I don't think I will go."
The vehicle stopped smoothly. Bai Wenyu pushed the sunglasses on his eyes to the top of his hair, turned around and asked with a smile:
"What's the reason?"
"Being sour and jealous is a very cheap behavior, not to mention that man doesn't love you yet. You are right. Of course you have to face confusion, but a meaningless face will only increase worries. If I promise you, then I will I will see the scene of love between your son and the person she likes together. I think I will be useless except for embarrassment. Do you think my appearance on such an occasion will increase his value in his heart?"
Cao Aiqing answered in an orderly manner. After she finished speaking, she smiled politely, opened the door and got out of the car.
Bai Wenyu pressed down the car window and leaned on the window sill with one hand. Cao Aiqing passed by and was about to say goodbye politely when he heard this mature woman say again:
"Then if I change my approach, Xiao Aiqing, if you are free tomorrow, as my friend, I sincerely invite you to my home. What do you think?"
Cao Aiqing looked confused:
"Sister Bai, why are you..."
Bai Wenyu interrupted: "First of all, you are very similar to me. Although we just met for the first time today, Ai Qing, you make me feel as if we have known each other for a long time. This makes me very comfortable. This is the most important thing. Secondly, I can hear that you need a formal invitation from me."
The young girl was silent for a few seconds.
Bai Wenyu turned off the car, walked out, locked the door, and said again casually:
"When I met my ex-husband, no matter how bad-tempered his current husband was, he did not dare to appear in front of me. Xiao Aiqing, although our experiences are different, you were expressing the same meaning to me both inside and outside your words just now. ."
Bai Wenyu turned around and faced Cao Aiqing. As if an adult had read through the child's mind, she nodded slightly jokingly, changed the topic and said:
"Let's go and visit the University of Hong Kong with my sister? I haven't been here for several years."
This time, Cao Aiqing did not hesitate. She smiled brightly and replied:
"OK!"
(End of chapter)
