Half an hour later, the car arrived at the north gate of Beicheng University.

Approaching ten o'clock, the north gate was quiet, occasionally three or two people entered and exited, and the figure briefly passed by, and then disappeared.

Liang Zhaoyue unbuckled her seat belt and said to Zhou Yunchuan: "Thank you, Mr. Zhou, I'll go back first." ”

Zhou Yunchuan nodded, and when she opened the car door, he said lightly: "Xu Mingheng will contact you about the reward." ”

Her back seemed to stiffen, and the next second she loosened up, and turned back to him, "Okay, thank you." ”

After getting out of the car, she stood on the side of the road with her tote bag in both hands, feeling like she would not leave until his car drove away.

Zhou Yunchuan thought for two seconds, but he didn't lower the co-pilot's window, turned the steering wheel, and drove away.

After driving a while, he looked up at the rearview mirror in the car, and in the mirror, it was Liang Zhaoyue who stood in place and stopped in his direction for a while, before slowly turning around and walking towards the school gate.

The night was dark, the street lights on both sides of the road were faint, and her figure was a little lonely.

Zhou Yunchuan didn't look any further, retracted his gaze, and looked ahead.

Back at the residence, the house was brightly lit, and there was no need to think about it, it was Xu Mingheng who came uninvited.

He changed his shoes at the entrance, and as soon as he passed through the living room aisle, he saw Xu Mingheng get up from the sofa, lie on the back of the sofa, and say, "You're finally back, tell me how to convince the old man?" What else is it called to ask myself? ”

He asked, "How much did you spend on that painting?" ”

"Two hundred thousand."

He took off his blazer, thought for a while, and said, "Miss Liang's salary tonight is 200,000 yuan for her, and then you can buy another painting in her hand at the same price." ”

Xu Mingheng was stunned, and then reacted: "You mean she brought the painting over?" Does the painting still work? ”

He nodded, cuffing his cuffs as he walked towards the bathroom.

Xu Mingheng caught up: "No, how did she know what the old man liked, and there happened to be a painting?" ”

Zhou Yunchuan said tonight's events in a few words.

After hearing this, Xu Mingheng was immediately happy: "I didn't expect Lu Ping to be okay, I thought he recommended someone to me to climb the relationship, but I didn't expect that people really have two brushes." ”

More than a month ago, Huatong Technology, a leading domestic industrial-grade 3D printing equipment company, approached him and Zhou Yunchuan to discuss the acquisition of LIM, a German 3D printing equipment manufacturer. （*1）

With the rapid development of high technology, the manufacturing industry has shifted from the traditional model to high-quality development. As one of the ten key areas of new materials, Huatong Technology responds to the call of national policies, and at the same time, in order to expand the international market to provide its own competitive advantages and technological innovation, it has turned its attention to the long-term cooperation company LIM. （*2）

After several conversations, LIM never let go of the acquisition. This time, taking advantage of the fact that the CEO of LIM Philip and his wife went on a business trip to China, Zhou Yunchuan and the chairman of Huatong Hi-Tech visited twice with sincerity, but the results were not satisfactory.

Xu Mingheng worked hard to find a painting that Philip liked, but the other party still refused to let go.

Tonight's visit was to fight again before the Philips returned home, but the two had no hope at all, they didn't want to, but they were bright.

Xu Mingheng said: "I think the old man has long been moved, but he wants to fight for more interests, and he has been hanging his appetite, and Liang Zhaoyue's painting tonight just gave him a step down." ”

Zhou Yunchuan was noncommittal.

Xu Mingheng said again: "I will give the 5,000 yuan that I have negotiated, as for what you said about buying paintings...... I'll talk to her another day. ”

Hearing this, Zhou Yunchuan paused to put the towel aside and looked at him.

That gaze was somewhat indifferent.

Xu Mingheng spread his hands: "No way, I naturally pity capable beauties." ”

Zhou Yunchuan passed in front of him expressionlessly.

He followed behind, his mouth like a train: "No, you don't have to worry about your own pure heart, brother, I am energetic and very nostalgic for Hongchen." ”

Zhou Yunchuan poured a glass of water and drank it, keeping silent about it.

"You really haven't had a heart on anyone?" Xu Mingheng was really incredible, "Your family has given you a lot of people over the years, right?" Who haven't you ever taken a fancy to? Even for a second? ”

Zhou Yunchuan looked at him coldly and ordered the expulsion: "I'm going to rest." ”

"Don't, you're not too young, personal matters have to be resolved, I'll tell you......"

What interrupted Xu Mingheng's eloquent conversation was a ringtone.

Zhou Yunchuan's mobile phone rang on the island.

Xu Mingheng looked at it, and immediately became happy, threw the phone to Zhou Yunchuan, and said gloatingly: "Look, what are you talking about, probably your grandmother is going to care about your personal affairs again, you talk slowly, I still have an appointment, go first." ”

With that, he left immediately.

The silence in the house returned to the past, Zhou Yunchuan took his mobile phone and watched it, put down the water glass, and walked to the terrace to answer the phone.

-

When he received Xu Mingheng's call, Liang Zhaoyue was coming out of the library.

Seeing the caller ID "Mr. Xu", she was still in a trance.

She hadn't been in contact with them since the last time she was paid as a temporary part-time translator. Although she knows that she is not from the same class as them, she probably won't have any intersection in her life in the future. But when she really waited for the moment she was facing, Liang Zhaoyue still had an indescribable sense of loss.

Later, with the end of the internship and the start of the second year of graduate school, she was so busy between her studies and part-time job that she didn't have any extra time to think about anything else.

After a long time, this emotion will slowly fade.

She didn't expect that after more than half a month, Xu Mingheng would contact her.

He asked, "Do you have time to eat?" ”

I couldn't guess why he suddenly looked for him, but considering that he had a close relationship with Zhou Yunchuan, she hesitated for a moment, rubbed her fingers on the phone case, and said, "I have time, but it's only an hour, and I have to go to a part-time job later." ”

Xu Mingheng said: "You are quite a work-study," and said, "Just have a meal, it won't take long, and I guarantee that you won't be late." ”

The two made an appointment to meet at the café at the East Gate.

As soon as he saw someone, Xu Mingheng said familiarly: "No, I want to invite you to dinner, what do you mean by ordering a café?" ”

Liang Zhaoyue said: "It's more convenient to talk about things. ”

One word broke his intention.

Xu Mingheng pointed his finger at her, very helpless: "What you said made me have no idea about you, and I couldn't do anything." ”

When she heard this, she just smiled: "Master said that you only have a cold with the royal sister." ”

It was too coincidental to translate that matter, and Liang Zhaoyue actually had doubts about Lu Ping.

After all, it is not uncommon to use interns to get projects.

On the day she finished her internship, she went to Lu Ping to sign and seal the internship certificate. At that time, she happened to answer her mother's call, she simply went up from the fire escape, and suddenly heard him criticizing the analysts under him: "Don't think about relying on beauty all day long, I let Liang Zhaoyue go, one is that people can speak German, and the other is that people can drink, it just so happens that Mr. Xu wants such a person, I will give you this opportunity, can you grasp it?" ”

Then I heard him say again: "Do your due diligence counseling well, Mr. Xu only loves Sister Yu, next time I let people complain, I won't give you a cover." ”

At that moment, Liang Zhaoyue was ashamed of her narrow-mindedness.

Xu Mingheng sighed: "You are sincere, no wonder Lu Ping has repeatedly emphasized and recommended you to me, firstly because you are capable, and secondly because of your duty." ”

Hearing Lu Ping comment on himself like this for a while, Liang Zhaoyue felt sorry for his villain heart again.

Xu Mingheng didn't talk nonsense anymore, and went straight to the point: "Last time, thanks to your painting, things could go so smoothly." Zhou Yunchuan told me that night, the painting is yours, you can't give it away for nothing, he means to buy your painting with 200,000 yuan, just yesterday he came from Germany good news, the acquisition is finally negotiated, I will hurry to find you. ”

The message in the words is too big.

Liang Zhaoyue digested it for a while, stirred the coffee with a spoon, and said, "It's okay, that painting is useful." ”

But he was more serious, and said: "I'll transfer your card to 200,000 later." ”

She didn't want to refuse directly: "No," she felt that her reaction was a little big, and added, "Grandpa's paintings were sold in the market before, and one piece was only about fifty yuan." I didn't do anything that night, and you paid me five thousand, which I think was enough. ”

Xu Mingheng smiled and asked, "Really?" ”

She nodded vigorously: "Not really." ”

Xu Mingheng probably encountered such a thing for the first time, and said bluntly: "Lu Ping told me that the more important reason why I recommend you is that you seem to be very financially tight, and he once bumped into you delivering food on weekends." ”

Liang Zhaoyue was really surprised, and at the same time, her guilt for Lu Ping deepened.

She took a sip of coffee and said truthfully: "I'm a little short of money, but I also know that the painting is not worth 200,000 yuan." Of course, my grandfather's paintings are priceless in my heart. ”

Xu Mingheng looked at her with a complicated look in his eyes, and said, "Zhou Yunchuan said that you still have the same painting in your hand?" ”

After just a few minutes of talking, this was the second time she had heard Zhou Yunchuan's name in his mouth.

The information is more and more every time, in addition to letting her know Zhou Yunchuan's recent situation, she can also be sure that Zhou Yunchuan is interested in the other morning glory in her hand.

She squeezed the handle of the coffee, breathed softly, and replied, "Yes, there is another pair." ”

He leaned back in the chair and crossed Erlang's legs: "What should I do, Zhou Yunchuan gave me the task of transferring 400,000 yuan to you, half to pay for the painting that night, and half to buy the other one in your hand." ”

Later, recalling this day's conversation, Liang Zhaoyue always felt that if she had any wrong thoughts about Zhou Yunchuan, or had any plans, it probably started from this moment.

She said, "I'm sorry, but I don't sell another painting." ”

-

Zhou Yunchuan knew that this was a month later.

Huatong Technology's acquisition of LIM is a certainty, due diligence is in full swing, after many negotiations, the general acquisition framework and the integration of the company after the acquisition have been negotiated, the rest is only a matter of details, he left the M&A investment director and his team, and then flew back to China.

The reason why I asked Xu Mingheng about the painting was that he went back to the old house to visit his grandmother Liu Yitang on the weekend, and the old man complained that he didn't talk much, and he obviously said that he would give her a painting of morning glory, but he couldn't wait for a shadow.

Immediately afterwards, he used the topic to play, sighing and talking about his personal events.

In the eyes of the elderly, not marrying and having children is a great unfilial piety.

After Zhou Yunchuan comforted her, he immediately dialed Xu Mingheng's phone and asked about the painting.

Xu Mingheng complained bitterly on the phone: "It's that she doesn't sell, not only does she not sell, the painting she sent out before said that it would be better than 200,000 yuan for her, and she didn't want it, saying that it wasn't worth the money, the original 5,000 yuan was enough." ”

Zhou Yunchuan said lightly: "Don't you always like to buy and sell?" ”

"Please don't look at me with colored glasses like that, I'm a very pure person."

Seeing that he didn't respond, Xu Mingheng ran the train again: "You don't know, I thought she was very interesting at first, and I wanted to chase after her, after all, I haven't chased such a girl, but I asked her for dinner that day, and they made an appointment with a café!" It's good to talk about things, and I know that I like Sister Yu, interrupting all ambiguous possibilities. Gee! I'm calling it a teacher who dies before he gets started. For the first time in my life! ”

Zhou Yunchuan only commented on this: "Talk about the point." ”

"Isn't that the point, you're so cold? No wonder you're single so far," after a pause, he pretended to be serious and said, "I also want to buy and sell, but people said, don't transfer the money to her, otherwise she will have to pay a fee when she turns back, and she is already poor, so don't make it worse." ”

Zhou Yunchuan was silent.

He let out a long sigh and pretended to complain: "I thought she was sophisticated and deliberately hung me." As a result, half a month passed, and I didn't see her looking for me. It seems that I took the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain. ”

He was answered by the sound of a beep.

Xu Mingheng looked at the phone that was hung up, confused, and opened WeChat to send a string of question marks.

Zhou Yunchuan cut off the phone, saw the WeChat sent by Xu Mingheng, didn't click on it, he went straight back to the front yard.

Grandma Liu Yitang beckoned to him: "Let's take a look at these photos, see if there is anything you like, and I will intercede with the girl for you." ”

Zhou Yunchuan took the photo and put it on the table, just as he wanted to perfunctory as usual, when suddenly, he caught a glimpse of the photo on the album on the side, and his eyes paused slightly.

The album is spread out on the table, and there is only a group photo on it, and the protagonists are Liu Yitang and Liang Zhaoyue.

Liu Yitang is such a shrewd person, this detail is naturally seen by her.

She picked up the album, pointed to the person in the photo, smiled and asked, "Do you like this?" ”

Zhou Yunchuan didn't say yes, nor did he say no, but just asked, "Do you know her?" ”

It was rare for him to ask about the opposite sex for the first time, Liu Yitang said: "I don't know either, this is your grandma's tutor at Grandma Zhao's family, isn't her granddaughter learning calligraphy?" The child was so angry that he left an unknown number of teachers, and this teacher stayed. said that he had a good temper, and he didn't say anything when he was beaten and scolded. The few times I went, this kid greeted me with a smile, and asked you, Grandma Zhao, I heard that she was in graduate school, and she was alone here in Beicheng. ”

After speaking, I saw that he was silent, as if he was thinking about something.

This has never been done before.

Liu Yitang made persistent efforts and continued: "I see that the child looks very gentle between his eyebrows and eyes, and it looks very eye-catching, it just so happened that your grandmother Zhao's house invited a photographer to take pictures that day, so I took a picture with the child." ”

Hearing this, Zhou Yunchuan glanced at the photo again.

With only three previous contacts, Liang Zhaoyue's impression on him can be said to be panicked and uneasy.

She seemed to be terrified of him.

Except for the brief glimpse of the car window that night, and the two subsequent exchanges, she was somewhat cautiously panicked about him, and there was obvious anxiety between her eyebrows and eyes.

As for the gentleness of Liu Yitang's evaluation, there is none.

Seeing that he didn't speak, but stared at the photo, Liu Yitang asked tentatively, "Do you like it?" I asked about the age of this child, and he is 8 years behind you. You're older, but you can still fight for it. ”

Zhou Yunchuan stretched out his hand, closed the photo album, and asked, "Do you like her?" ”

"Of course I like it, but what's the use of liking, you have to like it to be useful."

Zhou Yunchuan pointed at the corner of the album with his fingertips, but smiled silently.