It fell from his fingertips

Tang Luoqing leisurely strolled through the cultural and creative park, and by the time she got home, it was already evening.

Zhou Yanchen called again to say he had to work overtime and wouldn't be home for dinner. Tang Luoqing wasn't surprised, so she made some frozen dumplings.

While she was boiling dumplings, she fed Little Milk Candy cat food and watered the flowers on the balcony.

I had just finished eating and washing the dishes when my phone rang in my pocket.

Tang Luoqing looked at the unfamiliar number on the screen and answered it with a puzzled expression: "Feed?"

"Excuse me, are you Miss Tang Luoqing?"

A clear male voice came from the receiver: "Hello, this is Lu Yu from Lu's Cultural and Creative."

Tang Luoqing was taken aback.

Lu's Cultural and Creative Products?

Is it the operator of the cultural and creative park she visited today?

Why would I call her?

Tang Luoqing gripped her phone tightly, vaguely sensing something, and replied nervously and expectantly, "Yes, it is. May I ask... what can I do for you?"

"Well, we came across your illustrations by chance and felt they perfectly matched the theme of our 'City Images' series for the second half of the year."

Lu Yu's voice was gentle yet direct: "We'd like to invite you to our company tomorrow to discuss the details of our collaboration. Do you have the time, Ms. Tang?"

Before the other party could finish speaking, a huge surprise suddenly hit Tang Luoqing's ears with a "thud".

She sat on the sofa, holding Little Milk Candy in her arms, her mind momentarily blank. Her voice held a restrained excitement and a hint of disbelief: "Really? I have time. What time tomorrow?"

"How about tomorrow morning at 10:00? I'll have my assistant add you on WeChat and send you the address to your phone."

"Okay, thank you, Mr. Lu."

After hanging up the phone, Tang Luoqing was still a little dazed, but she couldn't help feeling excited.

Within two minutes, a friend request appeared on WeChat. After Tang Luoqing accepted it, the other party exchanged a few pleasantries and sent her their address.

Tang Luoqing looked down at the chat history, still finding it hard to believe. She hesitated for a moment, then reached out and pinched her arm hard.

She hissed in pain before she could believe this wasn't a dream.

Lu's Cultural and Creative is the most reputable cultural and creative company in the industry. For a freelance illustrator like her with little fame, getting a collaboration with them is like a windfall.

Tang Luoqing excitedly jumped up from the sofa and bounced on the spot, then quickly covered her mouth to avoid laughing out loud.

Then she squatted down, hugged the kitten that was jumping around in her joy, rubbed against its soft belly, and her happy eyes lit up with stars.

The next morning, Tang Luoqing wore a white shirt and jeans, carrying a canvas bag containing her portfolio, and arrived at Lu's Cultural and Creative early.

Lu Yu sounded even more approachable than he did on the phone. He waited for her in the conference room in person. When he saw Tang Luoqing come in, he stood up with a smile, extended his hand, and was very friendly, without any airs of a boss.

He explained the project proposal for the "City Image" series in detail, from the theme positioning to the peripheral categories and style requirements, making everything very clear.

Tang Luoqing listened attentively, nodding from time to time. When she encountered something she didn't understand, she would ask questions quietly and write down dense notes in her notebook.

"We plan to create 15 main illustrations for this series, plus some extensions of smaller elements, with a production cycle of about three months."

Lu Yu pushed the contract in front of Tang Luoqing and said with a smile, "Don't worry about the royalties, they're definitely top-tier in the industry. I've read your work, it's very inspired, I'm confident entrusting this project to you."

Tang Luoqing stared at the numbers on the contract, her eyes widening in surprise.

The payment for this article was more than all the previous articles she had received combined.

She blinked hard to suppress her silly surprise, carefully read through the contract, and after confirming that there were no problems, she picked up a pen and neatly signed her name.

Tang Luoqing's handwriting, like her personality, looks soft yet possesses a strong sense of power; each stroke is written with great care.

As I walked out of the Lu's Cultural and Creative Building, the sun was shining brightly, its warmth comforting me.

Tang Luoqing carefully placed the contract into her canvas bag, pressing it down with her hand as if it were some precious treasure.

She couldn't suppress the smile on her lips; she walked and laughed all the way, her steps light and airy.

Eager to share the good news with Zhou Yanchen, Tang Luoqing took out her phone to send him a message, but after typing and deleting, she finally put her phone back in her pocket.

Forget it, let's wait until he gets home tonight and talk to him face to face. It'll be more fun to share the joy then.

Thinking this, Tang Luoqing quickened her pace and stopped at a large supermarket along the way to buy many of Zhou Yanchen's favorite dishes. After returning home, she plunged into the kitchen and busied herself with cooking all afternoon, preparing a table full of dishes.

There are sweet and sour pork ribs, cola chicken wings, garlic broccoli, stir-fried beef with green peppers, and a rather complicated mutton and white radish soup.

Tang Luoqing placed the dishes on the table one by one, arranging them neatly, then sat on the sofa to wait, calling Zhou Yanchen to ask him where he was.

The phone was answered just as it was about to ring out.

"When will you be home? Dinner's ready."

Tang Luoqing's voice was filled with barely suppressed joy: "I have another piece of good news to share..."

"I'm busy right now, let's talk later when I get home, okay? Okay?"

Zhou Yanchen said this on the other end of the phone, and then hung up as if he was really busy.

Tang Luoqing glanced at her phone with some surprise, then thought about it. Zhou Yanchen had indeed been very busy preparing for the new project recently, so she checked the time on her phone from time to time, trying to calm herself down and wait at home.

Time passed by, minute by minute, seven o'clock, eight o'clock, nine o'clock.

The food was cooled and then reheated, then cooled again, and Zhou Yanchen still hadn't returned.

Tang Luoqing couldn't help but send a message to Zhou Yanchen, who only replied with "Busy, will reply later" and then there was no further communication.

Tang Luoqing sat on the sofa, hugging her knees, looking at the cold dishes on the table. The excitement in her heart gradually faded.

It wasn't until almost 11 o'clock that the sound of the door opening came from the entrance hall.

Zhou Yanchen pushed open the door and came in, reeking of alcohol. His tie was loosely hanging around his neck, and two buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing a bit of his collarbone.

Seeing Tang Luoqing standing by the sofa waiting for him, he opened his arms and walked over, pulling her into his embrace. He nuzzled his chin against the top of her head, his voice slightly hoarse from the alcohol: "Baby, have you been waiting long? Did you miss me?"

Tang Luoqing was a little breathless from Zhou Yanchen's embrace, and the tips of her ears turned red instantly. She pushed against his chest and said, "Let me go first, I have some good news to tell you."

"What good news?"

Zhou Yanchen didn't let go, just held Tang Luoqing like that, lowered his head and rubbed his cheek against hers, his tone lazy: "Let me hold you for a while, I haven't seen my baby all day, I missed you so much."

Tang Luoqing blushed at Zhou Yanchen's words, feeling a sweet warmth in her heart, and instantly forgot all the slight disappointment she had felt while waiting all night.

"I have received a collaboration offer from Lu's Cultural and Creative."

Tang Luoqing tilted her head back, her soft, big eyes sparkling: "It's that very famous cultural and creative company. They asked me to draw a whole series of illustrations, and the fee is exceptionally high."

"Lu's Cultural and Creative Products?"

Zhou Yanchen raised an eyebrow, and after a brief moment of surprise, he reached out and pinched Tang Luoqing's cheek: "I knew my baby was the best. She draws so well, she was bound to be discovered sooner or later."

What Zhou Yanchen didn't say was that Lu's Cultural and Creative was also a regular illustration company cooperating with their resort series.

Tang Luoqing felt a warmth in her heart upon hearing Zhou Yanchen's slightly proud praise.

Just as she was about to go on with the details, Zhou Yanchen's phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.

He took out his phone, glanced at the screen, and then casually put it back in his pocket. He continued, "But baby, I drank almost a pound of baijiu with clients today, and I'm dizzy. If I hadn't been thinking of coming back to see you, I would have just slept in the hotel."

Upon hearing this, Tang Luoqing's heart softened, and she quickly said, "Then you should go take a shower and go to bed."

"it is good."

Zhou Yanchen hugged Tang Luoqing again, lowered his head and lightly pecked her lips before turning around and walking into the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Tang Luoqing was left alone in the living room, along with a table full of cold dishes.

Tang Luoqing sighed, returned to the dining table, and put all the dishes into the microwave one by one to heat them up.

After heating it up, she sat at the table, glanced at the closed door, and began to eat, bite by bite.

It seems the flavor is a bit bland.

Unbeknownst to them, Zhou Yanchen, upon returning to his bedroom, didn't immediately take a shower. Instead, he took out his phone and checked the message: "[Arrived home? We haven't had enough to drink this time, let's drink again next time.]"

Zhou Yanchen smiled and replied, "Okay, let's make another appointment later."

·

Meanwhile, in the top-floor president's office of the Zhou Group, the lights were still on.

Assistant Shen stood in front of the desk. As soon as his phone screen went dark, he put it away and respectfully reported, "President Zhou, Miss Tang has reached a preliminary cooperation agreement with Lu's Cultural and Creative."

Assistant Shen just received a message from Lu Yu saying that he signed a contract with Tang Luoqing and was very grateful to him as the middleman, and even sent him an 888 yuan red envelope.

Assistant Shen immediately reported to the boss.

Zhou Jinbai was looking down at the document, his fingers holding the pen, the nib resting on the paper.

Upon hearing this, he didn't even lift his eyelids, only giving a faint "Mm" in response.

The pen continued to write on the document, and it seemed that the rhythm was not disrupted at all.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Jinbai closed the last document, got up, grabbed his coat from the back of his chair, and walked out of the office.

Before long, the black sedan sped along the road in the dead of night, the shadows of streetlights flashing past the car window.

When the car reached the Yujingwan residential area, the driver habitually eased off the accelerator, and the speed gradually decreased as the car slowly pulled over to a parking spot on the side of the road.

At this moment, Zhou Jinbai, sitting in the back seat, kept his eyes on the documents in front of him, without looking up, and simply ordered, "Drive."

His voice was very flat, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Assistant Shen, sitting in the passenger seat, paused slightly and subconsciously glanced back.

Zhou Jinbai's expression remained unchanged. He quickly raised his hand and patted the driver lightly, signaling him to continue driving.

The driver in the front seat suppressed his surprise, stepped on the gas again, and the car continued to move forward.

The car was silent. No one spoke up. Not long after Zhou Yanchen moved into Yujing Bay with Tang Luoqing a year ago, Zhou Jinbai moved out of the apartment in the complex. Even though the two brothers' apartments were not in the same building and were separated by the entire central garden, he still moved.

Later, Zhou Jinbai moved into Yunhu International, which was further away from the company.

The route from Zhou's Group back to Yunhu International does not pass through Yujing Bay at all.

Even so, every time Mr. Zhou returned home late at night, as long as he wasn't on a business trip, the car would take a detour and stop for a few minutes under the shade of trees outside the Yujingwan residential area.

But when I returned from this business trip, there was nothing there.

Was it because of that conversation with General Manager Liao? The boss doesn't want to get too deeply involved?

Assistant Shen didn't know.

The car quickly drove away from the area of ​​Yujingwan residential community.

Throughout the entire journey, Zhou Jinbai, sitting in the back seat, kept his head down, his gaze fixed on the open documents in front of him, never once glancing out the window at the residential area, as if there was nothing special about that area.

However, upon closer inspection, one can notice that the man's fingers, which were gripping the document, had unconsciously tightened slightly, and his knuckles had turned slightly white from the force.

The document spread out in front of him hadn't been turned for ten minutes.