Rebirth in 2011: Starting as an Advertising Genius

Hongcun in the rain is even more charming than on a sunny day.

The bluestone pavement gleamed from the rain, and water flowed gently in the drainage ditches on both sides.

The whole village was as quiet as a living ink painting, with only the sound of rain and the occasional bark of a dog.

Chen Jianghe held up an umbrella, and Huang Xiaoqian walked to his right.

The umbrella wasn't big, and the two people's shoulders kept bumping together.

"Come a little closer, you're getting wet over there." Chen Jianghe tilted the umbrella towards her.

"It's okay, a little rain won't hurt me."

"Who will teach the students if someone has a cold?"

Huang Xiaoqian didn't refuse anymore and leaned closer to him.

Their arms were pressed together, and through the thin fabric of their clothes, she could feel the warmth of his arm.

Her heart beat a little faster, but she pretended to be nonchalant and looked down at the stone path under her feet.

"Where is that shop you mentioned?" she asked.

"It's just ahead, by the Moon Pond, around the corner."

The two walked in silence for a while.

The sound of rain filled all the silence, making the silence less awkward.

"Chen Jianghe".

"Um?"

"How's your studio doing now?"

"It's alright. We've secured a partnership with Bilibili, with a signing fee of over 300,000 yuan per month. The Taobao store is also doing well; last month's turnover was nearly 200,000 yuan."

And just now, Luo Xing sent him a message.

They said they had completed the proposal for the Zhenniu brand today and successfully secured the project.

The monthly fee for this project is 10 yuan, which means that Chen Jianghe received 20 yuan in consulting fees for the first two months.

Although it was to be divided among four people, Chen Jianghe would definitely take the lion's share.

Huang Xiaoqian opened her mouth, as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

More than 300,000 a month.

As a counselor, her monthly salary plus subsidies is less than 5,000 yuan. Her students, freshmen, earn in one month what she earns in six years.

"What's wrong?" Chen Jianghe turned to look at her.

"It's nothing." Huang Xiaoqian smiled, a hint of melancholy in her smile. "I just think you're really amazing. When I was your age, I couldn't even make a PowerPoint presentation."

"You don't need to know how to make PowerPoint presentations right now," Chen Jianghe said. "What you're doing is much more important than making PowerPoint presentations."

"What is it?"

"I'm in charge of over a hundred people, making sure they don't go astray."

Huang Xiaoqian paused for a moment, then burst out laughing: "You talk as if I'm a kindergarten teacher."

"You're not an auntie," Chen Jianghe said, looking at her earnestly. "You're young."

Huang Xiaoqian felt uncomfortable under his gaze, so she turned her face away, but the tips of her ears slowly turned red.

The sweet rice ball shop by the Moon Pond is an old shop that has been open for decades.

The shop was small, with a few wooden tables and benches, and the walls were covered with notes and messages from tourists. The owner was a woman in her sixties who spoke with a thick Huizhou accent and greeted them with a smile, inviting them to sit down.

"Two bowls of sweet fermented rice balls, with extra osmanthus flowers," Chen Jianghe said.

The glutinous rice balls were served in a white porcelain bowl filled with steaming sweet soup. The glutinous rice balls floated on the surface and were sprinkled with golden osmanthus flowers. The aroma of fermented rice wine mixed with the sweetness of osmanthus flowers wafted into my nose.

Huang Xiaoqian scooped up a spoonful, blew on it, put it in her mouth, and squinted her eyes: "Delicious."

"I didn't lie to you, did I?" Chen Jianghe also scooped up a spoonful and ate it slowly.

There were no other customers in the shop, only the sound of rain and people eating dumplings.

Huang Xiaoqian ate very slowly, chewing each dumpling for a long time, as if she was deliberately prolonging the time.

"Guide."

"Um?"

Why did you choose to become a counselor?

Huang Xiaoqian put down her spoon and thought for a moment: "Because... I like school. I like the quiet feeling. The outside world is too noisy, it's better at school."

"Do you like your current job?"

"I like it," she said, but there was a hint of uncertainty in her voice. "It's just that sometimes I feel like... my life has come to a standstill. I do pretty much the same things every day, meet pretty much the same people, and live pretty much the same life. Unlike you, who are always moving forward."

Chen Jianghe looked at her.

Sunlight streamed in through the doorway, falling on her profile.

Her eyelashes were long, hanging down like two small fans. Her lips were a natural pink, without any lipstick, and looked soft.

"If you want to run, I'll take you," he said.

Huang Xiaoqian looked up and met his eyes.

There was no joking, no perfunctory attitude in those eyes, only a seriousness she couldn't understand.

"You...you'll take me on?" Her voice was a little tense. "You're my student, how can you take me on?"

"Can't students bring teachers?" Chen Jianghe laughed. "Teacher Luo even asked me to help her with her proposal."

"That's different..."

"What's the difference?" Chen Jianghe finished the last bite of the glutinous rice ball, put down the bowl, and said, "Director, you're five years older than me, but I've seen more of things than you. If you want to live a different life, I can help you."

Huang Xiaoqian fell silent.

She lowered her head and stirred the remaining sweet soup in the bowl with a spoon, round and round, as if she were stirring up the tangled mess in her heart.

"What do you mean by 'help'?" she asked softly.

"Whatever you want to do, I'll help you do it," Chen Jianghe said. "Want to be a star? I'll support you. Want to open a studio? I'll invest in you. Want to continue being a counselor? I'll be right here watching over you."

Huang Xiaoqian's fingers paused.

This doesn't sound like something a student would say to a teacher.

It doesn't sound like something a 19-year-old boy would say to a 24-year-old girl.

Like a man saying to a woman.

"Chen Jianghe." She looked up, her eyes a little red, "Why...why are you so good to me?"

Chen Jianghe did not answer immediately.

He looked at her for two seconds, then said something that made Huang Xiaoqian's heart stop:

"Because you deserve it."

Huang Xiaoqian opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Her face turned red from her ears to her neck, and her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest.

She wanted to say, "Don't joke like that," she wanted to say, "I'm your teacher," she wanted to say so many things, but when those things reached her lips, they all turned into silence.

Because she didn't want to say.

Because she was afraid that if she said it, he would take back what he had just said.

"Let's go, the rain has lessened." Chen Jianghe stood up, went to the counter to pay, and then turned to look at her. "Director, you take the umbrella, I'll run back."

"No, you'll get wet."

"I'm healthy, I'm not afraid." He shoved the umbrella into her hand and then rushed into the rain.

Huang Xiaoqian chased after him to the door and saw him run a few steps away before turning back. Rain had soaked his hair and shoulders, but he was smiling beautifully.

"Guide, there are people releasing river lanterns by the Moon Pond tonight, do you want to come?"

Huang Xiaoqian gripped the umbrella handle and bit her lip: "...What time?"

"7:30. I'll be waiting for you."

He turned and ran, disappearing into the rain.

Huang Xiaoqian stood at the shop entrance, looking in the direction he disappeared, her chest heaving, her heart pounding and she couldn't calm down.

Rain dripped from the eaves onto her shoes, but she didn't try to avoid it.

She was still clutching the umbrella he had given her.

The warmth of his palm still lingered on the umbrella handle.