She retains her capriciousness

  Xin Chen feared such a sudden quiet, the air seemed to be floating with memories, these memories gradually became clear in front of her eyes, as if they had shape and substance, within reach. She almost felt the scorching sun shining through the dense shade of the French parasol tree, casting dappled shadows, faintly heard her own crisp laughter from her youth, smelled the light fragrance of honeysuckle flowers, and in memory, that handsome young man gazed at her, at this moment merged with the deep eyes in front of her, also full of concern and tenderness, as if there was no long distance between them.

  She bit her lip tightly and pulled herself back to reality. For a long time, she had learned to store memories neatly in a corner of her heart, not easily stirring them up.

  Xin Chen successfully flashed a careless smile, and casually put down the phone that had been tightly held in his hand. "You're right, there's a demolition notice posted downstairs. Looks like we'll be moving out soon."

  Lu Fei didn't mind her changing the subject, "What are your plans?"

  "Let's see about that."

  Lu Fei was no longer willing to let her get away with it, "Didn't you see the announcement date?"

  "I didn't notice."

  "Demolition and compensation negotiations are about to begin, this time the developer is Haotian Group, they have always been known for pursuing efficiency, and have already completed the preliminary planning, entrusting the demolition to a professional demolition company. From what I know, domestic demolition companies have a bad reputation, but their speed is notorious."

  "It doesn't matter, I wasn't planning on being a nail house holder anyway. If most people can accept the demolition conditions, then I definitely can too."

  "Where would you like to live in the future, do you prefer to see a river or a lake? Maybe a house with a yard in the suburbs is better for planting flowers. One day I'll drive and take you to have a look."

  Xin Chen shook his head, "No, I'm not interested in buying a house. With the demolition compensation, I can go travel somewhere else."

  "Where are you going?"

  "Haven't thought it through yet, maybe I'll go to a place with a mild climate and flowers blooming in all seasons for a while, anyway my work can be completed anywhere."

  "Are you going to leave again after I come back?"

  Xin Chen looked at him with a hint of surprise, "How did you come up with this speculation? There's no causal relationship here. You've been to many places and know what it's like to live elsewhere. I've stayed in this city since childhood, except for traveling, I've never left. Isn't it normal to want to change environments?"

  "I couldn't help but think of this connection. Last time I came back, you went to Qinling; this time you said you're going somewhere else, so I didn't even ask where."

  "We haven't been in touch for almost seven years, each living our own lives. I really don't know what you're thinking, why do you have to link two unrelated things together?"

  "You and I are both clear about this, that there's not really no relationship in between, right?" He gazed at her calmly, asking back. Xincheng could only shift his gaze away, "Xiao Chen, don't deny it. You didn't want to see me again, so you almost got yourself killed in an unprepared hike to avoid me, and now you've decided to leave the place where you grew up."

  "You think too much, Lu Fei. My life is not your responsibility." Xincheng almost blurted out without thinking, and the two of them were stunned at the same time.

  After a long time, Xin Chen smiled tiredly, "Right, you told me this when I was 17: Xin Chen, your life is ultimately your own business, not my responsibility. Look, I remember every single word. Since then, I've never let myself become anyone else's responsibility. So, continue to let me arrange my own life, and you go live yours, okay?"

  This rejection was so clear and direct, Lu Mo Ran's heart tightened as he looked at the still young and beautiful face in front of him with a desolate and cold expression. "I hate myself," he thought. Although self-reflection had no meaning now, he indeed was an out-and-out fool. "Xiao Chen, I actually hurt you with such an indifferent sentence."

  "I forgot, you're still so fond of introspection. No, Lu Fei, I didn't mean to settle accounts or blame you, nor was I being sulky with you. In fact, your words are like gold and jade to me, absolutely not hurtful, it's a truth I'll eventually have to understand, learning to take responsibility for myself." She tilted her head, that carefree smile reappearing on her face, "I'm grateful you taught me this lesson, it's much gentler than life teaching me directly."

  Her tone was calm and gentle, and Lu Fei was unexpectedly left speechless for a moment.

  The phone rang, and Xincheng picked it up to answer. It was David Fan calling. He told Xincheng that the client had just reviewed the logo she designed and was more satisfied with the second set of plans, but suggested adjusting the color tone. Xincheng agreed one by one, "Okay, okay, although I think this client may be a bit color-blind, whoever pays is the boss, I'll adjust it according to what he says."

  She turned around and looked at Lu Fei, smiling: "It's really busy now, let's talk another day."

  She politely asked him to leave again, Lu Fei let out a long sigh, "This Saturday, I'll invite Uncle Xin and his family for dinner, I'll come pick you up then, okay?"

  Xin Chen thought that Auntie Li Xiang might not welcome herself, but didn't say anything. "I'll contact Uncle first and then we'll see."

  The door closed behind her, and Xincheng stood there in a daze for a while before walking into the bedroom. Her bedroom was decorated as simply as the study outside, with only a bed covered with a white sheet, a large wardrobe, and no other decorations.

  She opened the wardrobe, and the clothes inside were neatly arranged without a single wrinkle. She took out a dark red Oxford cloth bag from the corner, sat cross-legged on the floor, opened the bag, took out the standard tournament rubber and international chessboard, flattened it in front of her, and then placed each piece carefully.

  "King opposite king, queen opposite queen; white king on black square, black king on white square. White queen on white square, black queen on black square."

  "The Queen is the most powerful piece in international chess, able to move horizontally, vertically or diagonally any number of squares, but unable to jump over other pieces."

  "That's right, this is transposition."

  "No, no way, this doesn't follow the rules."

  "Are you going to be lazy again?"

  This international chess set was brought to her by Lu Fei when she was 15 years old. That year, Xin Kaiyu was still doing business everywhere and rarely stayed at home. Lu Fei often came over to tutor her homework and play chess with her to pass the time. His low and pleasant voice seemed to still resonate in the room.

  Although she made the greatest changes to the structure of this house during decoration, replacing all old furniture, including those two old-fashioned rattan chairs where they had chatted many times on the balcony, although basically intact, she also let the decorator take them away.

  But she finally left this international chess set behind.

  She clearly remembered all the rules, but never played with anyone again. Only on some quiet nights, she would take it out, quietly set it up, listening to the voice's guidance, moving the pieces, as if that boy was still sitting across from her, patiently guiding herself.

  "You live in your own world and sometimes completely disregard other people's feelings." This is how Feng Yi'an, Xin Chen's ex-boyfriend, once accused her.

  "After all, she wasn't that kind of girl who would storm off at the slightest disagreement. She just smiled and said, 'Hey, let's be fair, I didn't ask you to give up your world, nor did I ask you to take my feelings too seriously.'"

  "Is this considered dating?"

  "Taking a walk, having meals, watching movies, hugging, and kissing, what else is romance? You wouldn't do these things with stranger A, would you?"

  "I wouldn't just do this with anyone, but whoever it is you're doing all of this with, you don't seem to care."

  "It sounds like I don't have any requirements for men at all." She protested, her voice not very convincing.

  "Your request is not about me as a person, you just want someone who is somewhat interesting and pleasant to accompany you when you're not working, hiking, traveling or daydreaming. As for the future, it seems like it's my own business, you don't care at all."

  She had no choice but to admit defeat, "Sorry, I thought I was almost a reasonable good person, didn't expect that in your eyes I would be such a moral character."

  Feng Yi'an turned around and left with an anger she didn't understand, a few days later he came to find her, she was not proud or pretentious, the two made up, but ultimately left a shadow, such disputes became more frequent, each time ending with Feng Yi'an's departure, until they finally broke up, she admitted that although it was unpleasant, she did feel relieved.

  Feng Yi'an's father was an old colleague of Xin Kai Ming, holding a leadership position in another department, and the two were close. Xin Kai Ming was baffled by their breakup, "Xiao Chen, you really need to change this habit of being willful."

  Xin Chen knew he had a bad record and could only defend himself: "This breakup was initiated by Feng Yi'an."

  "No matter who brings it up, you should sit down and have a good talk, don't be perfunctory. Last time I saw Old Feng, he said his son was very satisfied with you."

  "Uncle, there's no need to talk about it anymore. Feng Yi'an has already found a new girlfriend. We ran into them on the street a few days ago," Xin Chen told her uncle with a sense of helplessness, not wanting to get into the details of what had happened before and after. At that time, Feng Yi'an had greeted her warmly and introduced the beautiful girl by his side, being extremely polite and courteous, as if nothing was wrong, but it was already too late.

  When she heard that he had already found a new girlfriend after the breakup, Xin Kaimei was even more furious and almost called his father to confront him. Xin Chen hurriedly stopped her, laughing and saying: "Don't ask anything else, breaking up is very common, uncle, we just don't match in personality."

  Li Xiang on the other side seemed to be thinking deeply, "Since Xiao Chen has said so, don't interfere too much in young people's affairs."

  Xin Kaiming had no choice but to give up.

  Xin Chen let out a sigh of relief. For more than a year, the two had gotten along well, but Feng Yi'an hadn't wronged her - she really wasn't devoted to him. When everyone thought she was no longer willful, she still retained some of that willfulness, which was to stubbornly keep a part of her life in that world where only she remained.

  Feng Yi'an required focus she couldn't give, with this premise in place, the result of breaking up didn't hurt anyone.

  Xin Chen swept his hand across the chessboard in front of him, messing it up. He hugged his knees and leaned back against the wardrobe, looking out through the bedroom window to see a flock of pigeons flying low overhead.

  She chose a rational life, planting flowers, hiking, working diligently, and interacting with equally rational and reliable men, although lacking in passion, but warm and tolerant without fault.

  She just can't give up the warm memories she's had since she was 14, even though he later resolutely walked out of her world and had no connection with her anymore.

  Xin Di hummed and ah-ed into her phone, this was her standard tone when answering her mom's calls since she grew up.

  She put down her phone and let out a sigh. Until the year she went to university, her mother Li Xiang was the absolute ruler of her life, deciding everything from when she would be born to what brand of milk powder she would drink, which kindergarten and interest class she would attend, what instrument she would learn, which teacher she would study with, which school she would go to, which class she would be in, what clothes she would wear, what kind of friends she would make, which movies and extracurricular books she would read... everything was decided, nothing was left out.

  Being managed like this, growing up in a conventional and rigid way, yet still being able to maintain imagination and passion for art, Xindi felt that she could proudly say: You are truly a rare flower.

  She still remembered that when Xin Chen first had her period at the age of 13 during summer vacation, the little girl calmly asked to borrow sanitary napkins from her, then changed her underwear, washed and dried it. She was amazed by this, in stark contrast to her own panicked rush back home from school when she first got her period. Ashamed, she asked: "Xin Chen, aren't you afraid?"

  Xin Chen retorted: "What's there to be afraid of? My dad showed me books on physiology and hygiene early on, telling me that I would definitely go through this development process."

  Xin Di knew that her father's love for her was of course stronger than her uncle's affection for Xin Chen, but she couldn't imagine having this conversation with her father. Even her mother only mentioned it vaguely and indirectly after the fact, adding some advice on personal hygiene and feminine virtues to be more careful and self-loving in the future.

  After entering university, Xin De moved into the notoriously simple dormitory of the Academy of Fine Arts. For the first time, she shared a room with five others. Some classmates were homesick and secretly cried, while others were not used to collective life and complained endlessly. Only she felt like laughing out loud, thinking that freedom was so sweet and intoxicating.

  She loved her mother, of course, but she didn't love the life her mother had arranged for her, and even less did she love those dull, ill-fitting clothes that had been with her since childhood. If anyone told her that clothes were just external things, she would laugh coldly at once. No, in terms of physical intuition, the impact of clothes on a person's body and soul was not exaggerated at all; she always agreed with this sentence: You have a much better life if you wear impressive clothes.

  She returns home only once a week, arranges her own clothes, and Xin Di adapts to university life in the shortest time. By the time Li Xiang realizes that her daughter has irreversibly left her control, it's already too late.

  Xin Di gradually learned to use a cheerful face to fool her mother, including on the issue of urging her to date and get married. From initially being serious to later using gentle tactics, she could handle everything with ease.

  For example, Mom said: "Xiao Di, it's time to consider personal issues."

  Xin Di will answer with utmost sincerity: "I have been thinking about it very seriously, and the conclusion I drew is that it's better to be lacking than to be excessive."

  By the time she was 28, her mother couldn't wait any longer for her to slowly consider it. "Xiao Di, whenever I think about your father and me leaving, and you being left all alone in this world, I feel so sad."

  Normally, girls would find it hard to resist such a warm declaration from their mothers. When Xindi told her good friend Ye Zhiqiu, who was also 28 and unmarried, about this, Ye Zhiqiu's eyes immediately welled up with tears.

  But Xindi just smiled and held her mother's hand, saying with deep feeling: "Mom, you and Dad are both in your prime, still working for the country and haven't retired yet, how can you say that? Besides, if I were to encounter misfortune, it would be more pitiful than living alone, right?"

  Her mother was speechless.

  But this time, what her mother said on the phone was not something she could easily brush off.

  She knew her mother had always liked Lu Fei, of course, who wouldn't like such an excellent man.

  She has been protecting her playmates since kindergarten, and one of her best friends from childhood to adulthood is also Xinde. When she was young, she once said "I'll marry Lu Fei when I grow up", which made the adults laugh so hard that they couldn't close their mouths, and jokingly arranged a child marriage for them.

  She clearly knew that the affection between them had never carried any romantic color, let alone that she now knew that Lu Fei had feelings for Xin Chen that went beyond friendship.

  Xin Di didn't dare to tell her mother, who had always been very clear that Xin Chen had at least ruined the possible development between her and two boys, one of whom was Lu Fei, and the other was Yan Xuhui, a college classmate who studied photography.

  While Xincheng's ex-boyfriend, Feng Yian, Li Xiang had also planned to arrange for Xindai, "This kid is not bad at all. His father and your father were colleagues for many years, he is of the same age as you, graduated from a famous school, has a smooth career development, suitable family conditions, no bad habits, and good character."

  Xin Di was amused by this standard blind date and firmly refused to meet, only then did Li Xiang give up.

  After Xin Chen and Feng Yi'an broke up, Li Xiang showed an "I expected it" expression, which made Xin Di even more puzzled.

  Xin Di felt that the charges Li Xiang had assigned to Xin Chen were all very inexplicable, and before she had tried her best to explain to her mother: "I and Lu Fei are just siblings, and as we develop further, it's nothing more than sister and brother. Besides, Chenzi was only 16 or 17 years old at that time, you're being too exaggerated."

  Li Xiang could only helplessly look at her, "You're too naive, Xiao Di. Xin Chen is a lot more complicated than you think."

  I originally wanted to say "My simplicity is also thanks to you", but after all, I didn't dare to provoke my mother with rheumatic heart disease, so I swallowed it back.

  When mentioning Yan Xuhui, Xin Di was even more surprised.

  In the past, people said that being poor in literature and rich in martial arts was a good thing. In modern times, going to art school is equivalent to learning martial arts, which costs more than attending an ordinary university. Photography majors have even higher expenses. When they were in school, digital cameras had not yet become popular, so photography equipment was expensive, and film development was also a significant expense. Not to mention that they often went on trips to take photos or hired models for photo shoots. Yan Xuhui's family was wealthy, and he often traveled all over the place, taking pictures with reckless abandon, which impressed many people, including his teachers.

  He was enthusiastic about shooting beautiful women, and then landscapes. He exchanged fashion photography with Xindi, and they had a lot to talk about. The two had similar tastes and insights, both with some arrogance and a bit of unruliness, and he could also understand Xindi's design expression very well, and the effect of his shooting could satisfy her. So the two often got together, in and out of campus, looking for model beauties, Xindi came up with design concepts, thinking of themes that were out of this world, and he took some so-called creative shots, which unexpectedly won a lot of praise, some of which were adopted by magazines, and some even won unimportant awards.

  Li Xiang was still worried about Xin Di, so she often asked about her whereabouts. Xin Di told Li Xiang that Yan Xu Hui was a completely harmless middle-aged man to reassure her. Unexpectedly, the tall and thin, seemingly honest and eloquent Yan Xu Hui hid his sharp edges well in front of elders and unexpectedly gained Li Xiang's favor.

  In the second year of college, Xindi wanted to go to Beijing to see a fashion exhibition. Her mother asked as usual who would be going with her and when she heard Yan Xuhui's name, she was surprised at first, "He's not even studying fashion, what's he doing looking at a fashion exhibition?" Then she nodded, "Xindi, with him taking care of you, I can rest assured."

  Xin De was too lazy to explain that he was going to the fashion show as a model, and unexpectedly Li Xiang misunderstood.

  By the time they were in their third year, Xīn Dí persuaded Xīn Chén to wear his masterpiece and asked Yán Xùhuī to take pictures. He was immediately smitten with Xīn Chén, and the photos turned out to be very successful.

  Xin Kai Ming saw Xin Chen's sudden lack of interest in studying and her grades plummeting in the second semester of high school, so he arranged for her to learn art in order to take the art major exam. Yan Xuhui also volunteered to guide her. His little thoughts were seen through by Xin Di, who bluntly warned him to behave himself: "My sister is still a minor and will be taking her third year of high school soon, if you dare to harass her, watch out for me turning against you."

  Yan Xuhui nodded repeatedly, but still couldn't hold back. During the holidays, she even went to find Xin Chen and later persuaded her to take a set of advertisement photos, causing a not-so-small commotion. Li Xiang was angry and naturally inferred a story of unrequited love, which made Xin Di feel extremely frustrated whenever it was mentioned.

  "What's wrong with you, mom? Yan Xuhui and I are just schoolmates, a purely platonic relationship. I don't have any feelings for him at all. Don't drag me into this with him."

  "Who and who started with a pure friendship, are there any fewer classmates from dating to marriage?"

  Xin Di understood that it was just as unlikely for her to convince her mother, and she found that as long as she didn't have a boyfriend, her mother would insist on her own point of view, finding the most convenient explanation for why her talented and cheerful daughter was still single. She could only go along with her mother, anyway, her mother's complaints were only made at home, and her father was just as skeptical as she was.

  Xin Di couldn't satisfy her mother's requirements, so she had several relationships in a row, but she never managed to focus and commit. She thought she wasn't a picky person, but she loved criticizing other people's clothes, and not many people could pass her taste test; she thought she wasn't a quiet person, but she didn't resonate with national affairs or people's livelihoods at all, and if she had to find topics to talk about with a dull white-collar elite, it would be the death of her. Those bland interactions made her feel like spending time alone at home watching fashion show DVDs was more interesting.

  She curiously asked Xin Chen: "What's the fun of being in love?"

  At that time, Xin Chen was a sophomore in college. There was a handsome boy who followed her everywhere, and she just smiled, "Can you keep me company?"

  Lonely? Xindi felt that this word was really far away from herself. She had never felt lonely, she got along well with people in school, having close friends like Ye Zhiqiu and many teachers and classmates who admired her talent; after starting work, she was even busier, only regretting that there wasn't enough time to be alone, not enough time to settle down and organize her thoughts to further improve.

  If love was just going to occupy a small part of her limited free time, she shrugged and decided to forget it.

  Of course, there are also men who can talk, Ah Feng, Xindi's friend, is a good example. The two met at an art exhibition by chance, and Ah Feng, wearing a plaid shirt, looked like a literary youth with a bit of cleanliness and a carefree personality, his clothes were casual but meticulous, and his conversation was witty.

  Talking about his main job, Ah Feng and his friends co-founded a car repair and modification company. He has nothing to do with literature, but invested in a bar that doesn't make much money, occasionally working as a resident singer. He likes adventure and is shifting his interest from self-driving to more exciting mountaineering.

  Xin Di and he exchanged contact information, and later they also had a date. They liked the same art style, appreciated almost the same bands, movies, directors and writers. Such a high degree of matching in interests and tastes made Xin Di wonder if she really met the right person?

  But as they spent more time together, although their conversations were pleasant and enjoyable, they couldn't find any excitement or thrill. As the days went by, they could share secrets and pat each other on the back, but there was no way to have a warm hug, let alone a kiss. Could this be considered a romantic feeling?

  Others' answers to Xindi were not like this.

  Xin Chen smiled and said: "If you can't have physical intimacy with him, then even if you talk well, it's just a platonic relationship."

  Yeh Chih-chiu, a good friend of Hsin Ti who is currently in love, said: "When I'm with him, sometimes we don't need to say anything, each doing our own thing. But occasionally when I turn my head, he's also turning his head to look at me at the same time."

  She reluctantly admitted that this was not romance, and she didn't know which link went wrong. She turned a potential boyfriend into a buddy.

  A Feng and she shared the same feeling, they unanimously agreed that it would be more suitable to go back to being good friends. Half-jokingly, they made a pact that if they still couldn't find a suitable partner and their families were pressuring them to get married, they wouldn't mind living together after 35 years old.

  Lu returned to work in Hanjiang City without warning, and said that he had already broken up with his girlfriend and was single again. Li Xiang's imagination was sparked once more, and she had been steering the conversation towards him on the phone just now, causing Xin Di's head to swell instantly.

  She stared at the design draft in front of her, one hand quickly rotating a pencil, a habitual action. The slender pencil spun between her fingers with intricate patterns, and people who saw it for the first time couldn't help but be amazed. However, the people in Somi's design department were already used to it and knew that it was best not to disturb her at this moment.

  However, not everyone was aware of the situation. The front desk called to say that Mr. Dai from the advertising company had brought over a revised version of the advertisement for Director Xin's review.

  Xin Di regretted taking on this matter, she found that since becoming the design director, although it sounded powerful, she had to deal with more and more administrative tasks, most of which were annoying her. It was just a nuisance, but couldn't be pushed away, so she put down her pencil and went to the reception room.

  Another design director, Ah Ken, was sitting on that side, chatting with David Fan. She couldn't help but feel surprised, as Ah Ken usually didn't like to bother with people, yet he was chatting happily with David Fan. Was it possible that this person's beauty had an effect on both men and women? Seeing her come in, Ah Ken said: "I've signed everything, I'll head back to work first."

  The revised sample seems to be fine, Xīn Dī muttered: "Can't A-Ken just sign it himself?" However, after carefully reviewing and signing off, he stood up to leave. Dài Wéi Fán hastily asked: "Xīn Dī, do you like Jacky Cheung's songs?"

  "It's okay."

  "Are you free next Saturday night? Let's go watch his concert together."

  Xin Di's hand rested on the living room table, slightly surprised. "David Fan, are you asking me out?"

  David Fan nodded, he had been thinking for the past few days and felt that playing hard to get with Xin Di was probably a waste of effort, so he decided to take a straightforward approach. He guessed that Xin Di wasn't very interested in Jacky Cheung, but there weren't many local performances like this, and the options were limited, so he could only give it a try.

  Xin Di looked at him thoughtfully, and a smile suddenly appeared on the corner of her mouth, which made David feel a bit sly. He was somewhat nervous, not knowing what idea was turning in her mind.

  "It's okay to watch the concert, but you have to promise me one thing: accompany me for dinner on Friday night first."

  David Fan was overjoyed and couldn't believe his good luck, "Of course, of course."

  "The location is decided by me."

  David Van was unopposed.

  Xin Di returned to the design room, Ah Ken was standing in front of her design draft, intently looking at it. He was around 40 years old, a thin and gaunt Hong Kong man, as if all his nutrients had concentrated on his head, with an unusually luxuriant and dense head of hair, dressed in simple yet refined attire, like a city yuppie.

  "Ah Ken, from now on if you're going to be here, don't push all those trivial matters onto me. One day I'll collapse under the pressure."

  "Ah Ken said in a bland tone: "I'm giving you the opportunity, Sandy. Xiao Dai is really handsome and obviously has his eyes on you.""

  Sandy is the English name he gave himself, and in Hong Kong, he's a relatively well-known designer. He was poached by the boss of Some, Zeng Cheng, with a high salary a year ago. When he first arrived, he didn't smile or speak much, and the entire design studio was intimidated by his reputation and serious face. But Xindi's nerves were thicker, and she wasn't shaken by other people's attitudes at all.

  Ah Ken asked the design department to give all girls English names, claiming it's easier to call them. Locally, unlike in Beijing and Shanghai where foreign companies are concentrated, it's not common for everyone to have an English name, but everyone responded enthusiastically, even the girls from the finance and marketing departments started calling each other Susan, Mary, etc. Only Xin Di didn't respond, he called her Sandy, she bluntly refused to answer, and not afraid of being awkward, directly addressed him as "Mr. Wang Yaolun", making him very annoyed, thinking that this girl who is in charge of designing the main brand of Su Mei is difficult to deal with, probably trying to create a legendary personnel struggle within the company.

  But after a few rounds of fighting, he found that Xindi actually had no interest in playing office politics, she was not interested in power at all, and was just a straightforward girl. After looking through Xindi's design draft, he sighed and shook his head, saying: "Sandy, there's nothing to say, you're very talented."

  Xin Di also acknowledges that the Hong Kong people who are outspoken and arrogant are also talented, their design and market combination is very good, and they are highly sensitive to popular business elements, and the use of fabric materials is very skilled, worth her learning.

  The two of them began to call each other by their English names, which was a sign of reconciliation. Both held the title of Design Director, but according to Zeng Cheng's arrangement, they had clear divisions of labor and checked and balanced each other, and actually cooperated quite well.

  Xin Di looked at him suspiciously, "Ah Ken, you're only here for a few days every year, yet you know his name and that he's pursuing me. You're like a paparazzo."

  "Ah, Ken burst out laughing, "This is intuition. If you don't have good intuition in this design industry, you're out of the game. I took a look at your latest design draft, Sandy. It seems like there's a mischievous kid living inside you, refusing to grow up. You're basically the female version of Peter Pan."

  This remark made Xinde stunned. Of course, she remembered that many years ago, Lu Fei had described Xin Chen with similar words, which left a deep impression on her. Ah Ken looked at her design with an obviously professional eye, very careful and focused. At that time, 18-year-old Lu Fei was always serious in character, cautious in speech and action, without showing any interest in any girl, if not carefully observing Xin Chen, how could he have come to this conclusion.

  She could only admit that her mother was much more sensitive than she was in this regard.

  Ah Ken spread out her design drafts, enthusiastically pointing and saying: "There's one thing I find strange, Sandy. When others draw sketches, the model's face is always omitted, but you never get tired of drawing it very clearly, and it seems like you're always drawing the same girl."

  Xin De smiled and said, "Men are too meticulous, it's against the will of heaven. Ah Ken, sooner or later I won't have any secrets to hide from you. This girl is my cousin, I've liked drawing her since I was young, when I'm sketching, her face would involuntarily appear in my mind."

  It's not just when she draws sketches that she thinks of Xin Chen, in fact every time a piece comes out and she sees the company's fitting model wearing it, she can't help but imagine what 16 or 17 year old Xin Chen would look like wearing it. This kind of association sometimes has a very ironic effect, because the positioning of the main brand she is responsible for designing, Su Mei, has become more and more mature in recent years, whereas the second-line brand she is only responsible for reviewing takes a youthful route.

  "This girl is really beautiful and lively, when will you introduce her to me?"

  "You saw her, last time we went out for dinner together, I pointed her out to you, the couple at the next table was my cousin and her boyfriend."

  Two months ago, Xindi took Aken to eat local specialties and happened to run into Xincheng and Feng Yian eating together. They nodded at each other as a greeting. Aken, who was used to seeing beautiful women, didn't have any surprise or admiration for Xincheng, but instead said that Xindi let her cousin wear such simple clothes out in public, which was an insult to her own designer reputation.

  Halfway through the meal, two people at the next table seemed to be arguing about something. Xindi took a glance and saw that Feng Yi'an, who was usually gentle and refined, looked very agitated, with his forehead veins bulging, although he tried to keep his voice down, but his anger was still visible. Xin Chen remained calm, speaking softly throughout. In the end, it was Feng Yi'an who stormed out in a huff, while Xin Chen just smiled wryly, looking thoughtful as she watched him leave the restaurant, then lowered her head and continued drinking soup. Compared to before, when she would immediately turn around and walk away if things didn't go well with boys, she was now a completely different person.

  Xin Di sat down, intending to comfort Xin Chen, but Xin Chen smiled and said with a nonchalant expression: "It's nothing, just a quarrel. Di Zi, go keep your friend company." She beckoned the waiter to pay the bill and shrugged her shoulders, saying "Men without dignity are truly frightening."

  Her demeanor was sufficient, but it made Xin Di feel very unfamiliar. When she returned to her own desk, Ah Ken smiled and said: "Sandy, your cousin looks more mature than you." She could only nod in agreement.

  After having dinner with Ah Ken, Xin Di still felt a bit uneasy and went to Xin Chen's house. Xin Chen was sitting in front of the computer as usual, editing photos, looking like nothing was wrong.

  Xin Di asked Xin Chen: "Why did he quarrel with you?"

  Xin Chen frowned in confusion, unable to grasp the point. "He's been like this lately, always nitpicking and turning things around. When I try to reason with him, he becomes eloquent; when I ignore him, he accuses me of being aloof."

  Xin Di found herself asking the wrong question, what she really wanted to know was why Xin Chen tolerated him so much. In her opinion, Feng Yi An didn't have any charm worth tolerating, and Xin Chen had never been a girl who liked to tolerate others, "It's not normal for this to happen often, are you just letting him do as he pleases?"

  "In two days he came to apologize, bringing flowers and self-criticism, so I let it go."

  "Hey, you're not thinking of this as a romantic affair, are you? This guy is really immature. How old is he this year, still playing these tricks?"

  "I'm fed up with him already, if I wasn't afraid of what his uncle would say, I'd have broken up with him directly."

  Xin Di was about to vomit blood. "I didn't think you were so afraid of my dad, and my dad wouldn't force you to fall in love with a childish man like that."

  "He's not that immature, but...” Xincheng thought for a moment and gave up, "Forget it, heaven knows what men's emotional cycles are like?"

  After a few days, Xin Chen and Feng Yi'an broke up. Although it was Feng Yi'an who proposed the breakup, Xin Di felt relieved for her. She really felt that their interactions had an inexplicable weirdness to them.

  "Ah, Ken looked down at the design draft again and then concluded: 'They just look similar in appearance. The girl I saw that day, your cousin, was so calm that it was scary, she's the kind of person who can make a man collapse, I feel sorry for her boyfriend.'"

  "She's grown up now, but I always paint her as she was at 15."

  "Then I wasn't wrong, your heart is helping her resist growing up."

  "Can it be resisted? Time sweeps away everything." Xindi thought, these days are really strange, as if everyone has been discussing this issue.

  "Some people are born with advantages, like Vivian Wu, who at 60 years old can still do a sideways flip and make a stunning appearance, don't tell me you don't like her."

  Xin Di nodded, she indeed liked that punk godmother, although her own designs didn't have much of a punk style. "To be like her, you need to have an unshakeable conviction, uncompromising for decades, I couldn't do it, now more than ever I realize how I've been compromising and changing unconsciously."

  "Too fast to live, too young to die", the early name of Vivien Wood. Life is short, and the days are bitter. Change doesn't always disappoint, just like your cousin, even if she's grown into a cold urban girl now, at least in your heart, she still has the qualities of both a maiden and a tomboy, forever inspiring your creativity, how wonderful.

  "Ah Ken, when the design director wastes your talent, you should go part-time to do spiritual analysis and be a soul coach." Xindi didn't mind others analyzing her little hobby, and admitted that he wasn't unreasonable.

  "You ruthlessly shot down my design, but if I were to shoot down your uniquely designed work, I would feel guilty, however..."

  "Cut the crap, don't give me your reasons, I'm more familiar with them than you are: we have to consider our audience, we have to cater to the market, we have to maintain a unified style, right? These designs are my personal inspiration, not something for you to shoot down or discuss in draft form, that part will be much more conservative."

  "Smart girl." Ah Ken praised with a smile, "Really wish Zeng could give you more room to play."

  Xin Di tilted his head to look at the design diagram, "He won't, do I need to repeat his famous words to you? Fashion is just a conspiracy between professionals who tacitly deceive consumers, I guess no design can move him."

  "He is right, and only with such a mindset can one not be swayed by the dazzling trends and lose sight of established business strategies. But I still feel it's a pity that such beautiful designs can only remain on paper."

  Xin De but smiled and did not speak, she had many ideas about her own future and design, and did not intend to discuss this issue with colleagues.

  "Ah Ken picked up his bag and prepared to leave work. 'Go find love, Sandy! Design isn't everything in life, Xiao Dai is quite the eye candy.'"

  Xin Di smiled straight, "Summer hasn't ended yet, you're already having spring thoughts, don't drag me into it."