Uncle Jiang was very chatty and ended his visit late at night. Charles sent Guan Xi downstairs.
He looked up at the peeling pillars on the surface of the old arcade and asked uncertainly: "You? Live here?" He tortured his soul, "Didn't you say that this area is full of dangerous buildings? Can people still live here?"
Guan Xi said calmly: "30% of the buildings are dangerous, this one is fine."
Charles sighed sincerely: "You elites in big companies are really willing to go out of your way to get promoted."
Guan Xi shook his head: "With the current situation, there are many people who don't want to be promoted."
Charles suddenly said: "Among those who don't want to be promoted, does that include your boss Shi Yuan?"
Guan Xi said nothing.
After a while, she said: "Don't ask around."
Guan Xi did not deny it. Charles smiled casually and looked up at the old house.
From where they stood, they could just see the ears of the "Wok Ear Wall" opposite.
Guan Xi followed his gaze and said, "Uncle Jiang always called the wok'er 'guo'er' because from the front, the shape of the 'wok'er wall' looks like the two handles on a pot. And I - I The room faces the side of the wok ear wall, and I think its shape is like an 'Ω'."
Charles' eyes fell on the mottled water-polished blue bricks of the wok's ear wall. The two bricks protruding out, together with the rain-shielding eaves on the small window below, reminded him of the emoji "口_口".
Everyone's view of an old city is different.
"I just feel like a penguin's face." He pointed to Guan Xi. The loose black T-shirt slipped off with the movement of his hand, revealing a series of black tattoos on his arm.
He is completely different from this old house.
So does she.
His eyes fell on Guan Xi's high heels. Thin heels. He looked at his deliberately distressed sneakers again.
Charles couldn't help but said: "Wouldn't you feel out of place living here?"
"No." Guan Xi said.
She pointed to the blackened European patterns on the old pillars: "I think the greatest feature of Xiguan culture is tolerance. You, me, him, her. Each of us will be accepted here."
…
Chen Jiaxian had nowhere to go, so she wandered on the street for a long time and had no choice but to go home.
From a distance, I saw a man and a woman standing under the arcade.
The woman has a similar temperament to Pan Qiaomu, with a sense of alienated respectability brought about by good upbringing. She wore a very smart sleeveless gray dress, spoke quickly and spoke clearly. The man has a different style, with short platinum hair with strong personal color, wearing a loose trendy T-shirt and baggy overalls, with a string of old silver pendants hanging on his chest.
They stood under the arcade, incompatible with the desolation and decay of this area.
Chen Jiaxian recognized the two people who helped her in the afternoon. She and they seemed to have never been in the same world.
Only suffering briefly connected her to them.
Chen Jiaxian planned to pass behind them silently, but happened to hear her say:
"I think the biggest feature of Xiguan culture is tolerance. You, me, him, her. Each of us will be accepted here."
…
Tolerant?
Chen Jiaxian put her hand into her pocket and held Guan Xi's work ID card.
"Um." She said, "...can I treat you to dinner?"
…
Guan Xi and Charles looked over.
"Who are you?" Guan Xi asked.
She had no impression of her.
…
Chen Jiaxian is used to being ignored.
She talked about what happened in the evening and introduced herself in a few words, and then made her request: "I was so scared in the evening that my mind was spinning. Can I treat you to dinner now? To express my gratitude."
Guan Xi refused: "No, thank you. It's just a little effort."
Charles subconsciously glanced at the candy shop next to him. He has been based in Shenzhen for many years, which is a food desert.
Chen Jiaxian noticed the look in Charles's eyes just now and tried to say: "Or go and have a bowl of sugar water. Chenji Sugar Water is opened by my family and is a time-honored brand in Xiguan. I can make it for you whatever you want to eat."
Charles whistled: "Okay."
Chenji Tang Shui is a place where the old Xiguan neighbors often gather. Guan Xi didn't mind going there often to brush his face, so he agreed.
She remembered Chen Jiaxian's name.
Chen Jiaxian's surname is also Chen, and there is only one character difference between her and Chen Jiahao's name.
"Sorry, I didn't recognize you. I've never heard your family mention you before." Guan Xi said, "I thought Chen Jiahao was an only child."
Chen Jiaxian said "Oh": "That's what they are like."
She was used to being ignored.
Chen Jiaxian looked at the man with short platinum hair: "What should I call you?"
He said: "My name is Huo Ye. In the workplace, you can call me Charles."
Chen Jiaxian didn't understand why Huo Ye's team called each other by English names. Likewise, she couldn't understand the culture of flower names. But Chen Jiaxian grew up in Lao Xiguan and grew up in such a cultural hodgepodge, and she has a strong ability to accept it.
She smiled and said, "Thank you today, Charles."
Three people walked into the candy store.
Mother Chen's eyes lit up when she saw Chen Jiaxian, and then her eyes fell precisely on Charles, starting from his short platinum hair, scanning his big T-shirt and dirty sneakers, skipping his silver accessories, and finally the tattoo on his arm. Spinning around.
Mother Chen's face became darker and darker, and she frowned.
Chen Jiaxian ignored it.
She quickly brought out the coconut milk black rice soup and kelp mung bean paste.
Charles was chatting with Guan Xi: "You are so busy at work, why do you still remember to paint your nails?"
Guan Xi said: "This is my hobby. Because you can't look at your phone while applying nail polish."
Can passively and completely detach from work.
Charles looked sympathetic: "Have you not gone crazy after the 24-hour on-call torture?"
Guan Xi said flatly: "If I don't work, I don't know what to do. I've never had entertainment, so I can't."
Charles clicked his tongue and said, "Do you suffer from rest shame? From a top student to an elite, if you take a gap, you will go to jail, right?"
Charles was too straightforward. Chen Jiaxian frowned and pushed the kelp and mung bean paste in front of him.
He shifted his attention: "Jiujiu, kelp and mung bean paste are actually put together to make sweet porridge. Now I don't think it is against the law to take on the Changlefang project - I am the kelp in the mung bean paste. Hahaha."
Chen Jiaxian sat opposite Guan Xi.
"What kind of value is the value that is needed?" she asked.
Guan Xi did not answer her question. She asked, "Who said that?"
Chen Jiaxian knew that Guan Xi could not remember a project secretary, so she said: "My boss."
Guan Xi replied to Chen Jiaxian: "First of all, you must learn to distinguish between truth and lies. In the workplace, most of them are lies. If you want me to say, the only reason for not being needed is that the choice is not in your hands."
She stretched out a hand and made a weak gesture of grabbing.
Charles grabbed a handful of short platinum hair and complained: "Divide 'people' by value? How can human beings be defined by value?"
Three views were placed in front of Chen Jiaxian.
Chen Jiaxian was stunned and opened her mouth slightly.
Who is right?
"There is no right or wrong, only choice." Guan Xi said, "If your desire points to interests, choose interests. If it points to power, choose power. Human desires are fluid. At different stages, people have different desires, and they should act accordingly. Different options.”
“On what basis should I make my choice?”
"Yourself. Know yourself, know yourself. This is the eternal proposition of mankind."
"Know yourself? Who am I?"
"Well. Who is 'I'?" Guan Xi finally said.
"Who am I?" Chen Jiaxian repeated.
…
After returning home, Guan Xi received a call from Jun Ziyi.
"I have helped you negotiate a quota for the urban renewal forum you want to participate in. If you participate in the name of the Changlefang project, the group will provide a public relations fee as support. The public relations fee for the project will be paid by Yu Ben first. Your expenses will be paid next quarter. Then apply to Mr. Shi."
Yu Ben has no money.
Guan Xi asked Jun Ziyi: "How much does the group support?"
Jun Ziyi reported the number.
Guan Xi said: "Sister Ziyi, thank you."
Jun Ziyi hung up the phone.
Guan Xi asked Jun Ziyi to participate in the forum a day ago and asked for her help. Jun Ziyi gave Guan Xi a clear reply the next night.
Yu Ben had no money, so Jun Ziyi helped Guan Xi get some money from the group, which was 5% more than Guan Xi expected.
Guan Xi doesn't care how sincere or controlling Jun Ziyi is. Only friends care about sincerity, not the workplace. In the workplace, she does not need the care and tenderness of her boss. She only cares about the value of her boss: helping her solve problems, providing her with support, and helping her connect with resources.
Jun Ziyi is a boss who meets Guan Xi's standards.
Lying on the bed, Guan Xi thought of Chen Jiaxian's problem. She discovered that as long as she was in a good workplace environment, she would inevitably measure a person by his or her value.
The phone flashed and Charles’ WeChat message came in.
Charles: "The sister I'm having dinner with tonight is quite ambitious."
