Xu Qingzhu shook her head and scrolled down the page. "This is an autumn series, with a total of twenty-four images, but this is the basic version. The rest are all modified versions of this one."
Liang Shi nodded, "Scroll down."
Xu Qingzhu was lost in thought and didn't hear, "What?"
A thought flashed through Liang Shi's mind, but she hadn't quite grasped it yet. In her haste, she grabbed the mouse directly.
The mouse cursor depicts Xu Qingzhu's hand.
Liang Shi's hand was slightly larger than Xu Qingzhu's, and it was just right to hold it when placed on top of her.
Her eyes were fixed on the screen, and she naturally clicked the mouse to scroll down.
She would look at each picture for no more than three seconds, and after browsing through all the pictures, she would return to the first one and suddenly say with certainty, "I know where the problem is."
Xu Qingzhu's gaze had been fixed on her hands, but upon hearing this, she immediately asked, "Where?"
“Look at this one. Its color is sky blue, a deep blue, which doesn’t suit most people’s wearing habits. And the design of the inner ring, although it’s covered with stars, there are too many, making it look complicated, like this one.” Liang Shi flipped to the twenty-third one. “This one is just right, just the right amount.”
"Besides, aren't you guys focusing on a high-concept autumn theme? This design looks more like spring. The colors you're using are too green. Why not change it to a yellowish-brown, like a light orange?"
"..."
Liang Shi spoke eloquently at the table, pouring out all her views. Xu Qingzhu listened attentively, following her train of thought to analyze the situation, and finally understood.
She smiled. "That's how it is."
“We’ve been reading so many manuscripts lately that we can’t even spot the problems,” Xu Qingzhu said. “Sometimes the problems are actually quite obvious.”
"I just happened to stumble upon this by sheer luck," Liang Shi said modestly. "Hurry up and finish writing this before you go to sleep. You'll definitely be sleepy at work tomorrow."
"We have coffee," Xu Qingzhu said. "Who doesn't stay up late when they're working?"
“But I’ve never seen anyone work this hard as you,” Liang Shi said. “I’ll drive you to work tomorrow, so you can get some sleep in the car.”
Xu Qingzhu paused, intending to refuse, but the words that came out were: "Okay, thank you."
"Then hurry up and write," Liang Shi said. "I won't bother you any longer."
"Hmm," Xu Qingzhu responded softly, but didn't start writing. Liang Shi asked, "Why aren't you writing?"
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
Xu Qingzhu's gaze moved from Liang Shi's chin to her right hand, where she saw that Liang Shi's hand was covering Xu Qingzhu's hand.
Liang Shi was startled and immediately withdrew his hand, stammering, "I...I...I didn't mean to."
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
Seeing her like this, Xu Qingzhu couldn't help but chuckle, "It's nothing."
Liang Shi's ears turned bright red. "I'm going out now."
"Go on, go to sleep early," Xu Qingzhu said.
But before Liang Shi could leave, Xu Qingzhu suddenly asked, "Liang Shi, are you free this Friday night?"
"Yes," Liang Shi said. "What's wrong?"
“A friend of mine is coming back from abroad and wants to see you. She didn’t know we got married, so she wants me to ask you to come and apologize to her.” Xu Qingzhu’s gaze was unfocused as she said this, unsure whether Liang Shi would agree.
The main reason Sally returned to China to help was on the condition that she meet his wife.
Sally had just returned when she was dragged to the company to help out. Before she even adjusted to the time difference, she immediately started working on design drafts for her.
Lin Luoxi also didn't sleep for several nights.
They were all quite concerned about her married life, so they strongly urged her to bring her wife out for a meal or to come to their home.
Xu Qingzhu felt it was better to go outside. If they came to her house, she would have to go back to the same room with Liang Shi again.
Fearing that Liang Shi might agree without knowing anything, Xu Qingzhu added, "She has an exceptionally high alcohol tolerance."
“I can hold my liquor pretty well too,” Liang Shi said immediately. “No problem, I’ll book a private room for you. Your company must be very busy lately.”
"I'll order it," Xu Qingzhu said. "I know what they like to eat, so you can just come over."
"good."
//
The next morning, Liang Shi drove Xu Qingzhu to work. She also made a simple sandwich for Xu Qingzhu so that she could eat it in the car and rest.
Incidentally, because she got up early, she made two lunch boxes.
He kept one for himself and gave the other to Xu Qingzhu.
She dropped Xu Qingzhu off at her company building before returning to her own company.
Sally happened to see this and walked over with an iced Americano. "Blanche, we're working overtime here until we're crying our eyes out, and you're all lovey-dovey with your wife. We're so miserable."
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
“I just saw your wife,” Sally said. “She’s quite pretty. So, did you talk about dinner? Does she have time? If not, we can come to your place. I haven’t found a place yet and I’m staying in a hotel. If it weren’t for the fact that you’re newlyweds, I would have moved in already.”
Even staying up all night to draw didn't stop Sally from being a chatterbox; she was just like a little sparrow chirping in her ear.
Xu Qingzhu immediately said, "I already said, this Friday night is my treat."
"Why you? OMG!" Sally made an exaggerated expression of surprise. "If you were going to treat, why invite her? As your friend, shouldn't she treat you? Haven't you ever treated her friends before?"
Xu Qingzhu: "...No, not really."
However, Xu Qingzhu didn't argue with her about this issue and directly changed the subject to work, "I found a problem with Cherry's design draft last night. Let's have breakfast quickly and then have a meeting."
Then it dawned on me, "Where's Cherry?"
“She went home and took a shower,” Sally said. “She’s such a clean freak, she’d die if she didn’t shower twice a day.”
Xu Qingzhu: "...No wonder you two can't live together."
Sally: "..."
Sally is someone who can go two days without showering, but Lin Luoxi, a severe germaphobe, takes two showers every day.
"So you know how much pain I was in during the time we were together?" Sally sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I can't even bear to think about it."
Lin Luoxi's cool voice rang out from the doorway, "That must be a real injustice to you."
Sally: "..."
//
On Friday night, Xu Qingzhu chose a Chinese restaurant as her dining venue.
Because Sally really loves Chinese food, once when she was in college, she played Truth or Dare and, after Sally got drunk, Lin Luoxi asked her, "If one day you had to leave China, what would you miss the most?"
Without thinking, Sally blurted out, "Soup dumplings."
Lin Luoxi was so angry that she almost bit her to death.
Sally and Lin Luoxi then earnestly explained, "I really feel sorry for every foreign compatriot who has never eaten Chinese food. They have really missed out on so many good things."
During her years studying in China, Sally has tried almost every local delicacy, and she can recount them all with great familiarity whenever she talks about them.
The three of them came together after get off work. When they arrived, Liang Shi was already sitting in his seat waiting. When he saw Xu Qingzhu, he stood up, looked at her with a smile, and his eyes were full of affection.
"Wow!" Sally exclaimed. "Blanche, your wife is so beautiful."
“Our bamboo is just as good, okay?” Lin Luoxi immediately said, “Stop with that infatuated look on your face.”
“Yes, I think my wife is prettier,” Liang Shi said.
"Let me introduce you," Xu Qingzhu interrupted them and introduced Sally to both sides. Sally was talkative and, despite it being their first meeting, she wasn't shy at all.
I had met Lin Luoxi and Liang Shi at their wedding before, but I didn't have a good impression of them at the time.
After they were all seated, Liang Shi poured tea for everyone, his movements unhurried and elegant.
She could participate in any topic Sally brought up.
In order to talk to Liang Shi, Sally kept speaking her broken Chinese until she couldn't say a word and blurted out an English sentence in her haste, to which Liang Shi immediately replied in English.
Sally was overjoyed, "Your English pronunciation is so nice, are you really not a singer? I think you must be a great singer."
Liang Shi replied with a smile, "Can a self-taught singer who hasn't released an album be considered a singer?"
"Then we can go to karaoke later," Sally invited.
Liang Shi did not refuse.
Lin Luoxi, who was watching from the sidelines, looked at all of this in confusion, and then whispered to Xu Qingzhu, "Is this your wife-taming technique? Why is she completely different from the person she was four months ago?"
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
What does this have to do with her?
She wanted to know more!
"What's different?" Xu Qingzhu wanted to get some answers from others.
“Her eyes.” Lin Luoxi had seen countless people, and her mother was an outstanding diplomat, so she was very good at judging people. “Four months ago, her eyes had no light at all, and she seemed very hypocritical. My God, at the time I was wondering why you would fall for someone like that? She was just a pretty face with no substance.”
Xu Qingzhu: "...And now?"
Lin Luoxi took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Just like tea, the more you taste it, the more flavorful it becomes, and it gives you a very comfortable feeling."
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
That evening, Sally insisted on drinking with Liang Shi, who said that she could hold her liquor well, and Xu Qingzhu believed him.
But to his surprise, Liang Shi's face turned red after just three glasses of wine.
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
Why did she believe Liang Shi back then?
However, she still drank with Sally, and after they finished drinking, they went to a karaoke bar. She really does sing very well.
She not only has a very standard English pronunciation, but also a very standard Cantonese pronunciation.
As the party was ending, Lin Luoxi helped Sally, who was so drunk she could barely stand, while Xu Qingzhu helped Liang Shi, who was also drunk but quiet and well-behaved.
On the way back, Liang Shi remained quiet, unlike the person who would usually cause trouble for Xu Qingzhu when drunk.
It wasn't until they got home that Liang Shi opened her eyes, but they were still blurry. She smiled at Xu Qingzhu and said gently, "You're so beautiful."
Xu Qingzhu felt a burning sensation in her ears, then helped her into the room, put her on the bed, and poured her a glass of water.