When the last begonia withered, the Acanthopanax Soothing Project was officially launched.
At the project launch ceremony, Fan Xiao was handed the microphone.
Today, Fan Xiao wore a silver plaid suit, a moon-white shirt, a silver-gray twill tie, and a dark red wool coat. The colors were much brighter than his usual monotonous black, white and gray. His perfectly tailored trousers wrapped around his narrow hips and long legs, making him look tall and straight, easily attracting everyone's attention.
He took the microphone and walked slowly forward, his warm smile particularly dazzling in the September sunshine.
"I don't speak Chinese well, so please forgive me if I say anything wrong." His unhurried voice unfolded the story, from project planning to market prospects, to future expectations. Fan Xiao clearly constructed the development path of the oral liquid project, as well as his confidence and expectations for the project.
When he was about to finish, he turned his gaze to You Shulang in the audience. The moment their eyes met, the smile on the stage deepened a little.
"Finally, I hope that the cooperation between Pinfeng Venture Capital and Bohai Pharmaceuticals can be as strong and long-lasting as the friendship between me and Director You!"
Tsk, amidst the warm applause, You Shulang maintained a steady smile, but a strange feeling flashed through his mind.
That feeling of being entangled appeared again. You Shulang didn't want to be sentimental, but Fan Xiao's emotions wrapped in "inexpressible feelings" always made him feel weird, but he had no way to investigate it. The next moment, this sticky emotion would be crushed by the brotherhood between men, often making You Shulang examine himself whether he was too sensitive and overthinking.
After the ceremony, You Shulang took Fan Xiao to visit the office that Bo Hai prepared for him.
"Venture capital companies need to participate in the management and decision-making of projects and help formulate strategies and plans for projects. Director Liu asked me to prepare an office for you so that you can follow up on the projects in the future."
He pushed open the door of the office and stepped aside to welcome Fan Xiao in: "Boss Fan, please see if there is anything else you need. I'll have someone prepare it right away."
Fan Xiao entered the office and closed the door. Without even glancing at the furnishings in the room, he pulled out a bottle of moisturizing cream from the pocket of his cashmere coat.
The scent of perfume wafted out when I unscrewed the lid: "The weather is too dry. My skin can't stand it."
After scooping out a large amount, Fan Xiao smeared it on his face and rubbed it vigorously.
"Do you want to apply it?" He handed the moisturizing cream to You Shulang, as if he was offering a treasure.
You Shulang chuckled and pushed the cream away: "I don't need it." Wearing only a suit, he looked at Fan Xiao's wool coat and asked, "Are you still not used to the climate here?"
"It's cold and dry." Fan Xiao stuffed the moisturizer into his pocket, sat on the sofa next to the boss's desk and fanned the air in front of him, "Am I too fragrant?"
You Shulang raised his eyebrows, pursed his lips, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
"What's wrong?" Fan Xiao asked.
"Your face." You Shulang pointed, "The cream is not applied evenly."
"Really?" Fan Xiao wiped it with his hands again, raised his head and asked him, "What about now?"
"Here." You Shulang moved closer, "And here too."
Fan Xiao was slowly enveloped by You Shulang's aura. He looked over and, in the bright sunlight, met his eyes and brows, which were so clear that he could even count his eyelashes.
He held his breath involuntarily, as if the air around him had stopped and the floating dust in the light came alive. Fan Xiao suddenly felt that this office was very nice and could accommodate the sound of his own heartbeat.
"Here?" Fan Xiao's fingers moving on his face suddenly became very inflexible, "Is it applied evenly?"
You Shulang sighed slightly, leaned in a little closer, his fingertips almost touching the light brown skin: "It's here."
"How about, could you please visit Director You?"
Hearing this, You Shulang was slightly startled, and suddenly found that he and Fan Xiao were already so close! He looked at Fan Xiao, and found that the man's eyes had been glued to him at some point, and his dark eyebrows and eyes gathered the scattered sunlight, making the two flat words of bright and gentle become extremely vivid.
Subconsciously, You Shulang tried to move away, but the man sitting on the sofa grabbed his wrist.
"Shu Lang," Fan Xiao called him almost in a whisper, his voice warm and tender after being bathed in sunlight, "Help me, ok?"
The strange feeling came again. You Shulang analyzed again, was this the recklessness between men, or... a deliberate teasing?
After a long and quiet silence, his fingertips touched the smooth skin, quickly spreading the moisturizer evenly on the few spots that were not evenly applied.
"Thank you." Fan Xiao thanked you with a smile before You Shulang withdrew.
He returned to normal and jokingly praised the office for being well decorated and very satisfactory.
Rubbing their fingertips together, the sticky touch was still obvious, and the rich scent of essence slowly coiled up like a snake, making You Shulang feel quite uncomfortable.
Am I overthinking it again?
Fan Xiao is a good friend, and You Shulang doesn't want to impose his uncertain intuition on him.
So he once again suppressed the strangeness in his heart and called his subordinates, asking them to prepare a high-power humidifier for Fan Xiao's office.
"Director You still loves me." Fan Xiao smiled carelessly. He took out a cigarette and offered it to him, "Have one."
"Shut up." You Shulang took the cigarette and lit it with the flame from Fan Xiao. "Don't use 'inability to express your feelings' as an excuse in the future. You are..."
The smoke he exhaled was hazy, and Fan Xiao asked him from behind the hazy smoke: "What is it?"
The man's slightly cold expression made You Shulang pause: "...You are evil to begin with."
"Bad?" Fan Xiao chewed the word between his teeth, then laughed out loud. He put his elbows on his knees, lowered his body, and his shoulders shook.
He smiled and said, "Director You really has a sharp eye. Sometimes I also feel that I am bad."
"For example... I plan to use Director You's only day off in half a month and ask him to go out with me."
In order to get the oral liquid project approved and put into production as soon as possible, the project team members have been working overtime for more than half a month. Now that the project has been launched as scheduled, it can be regarded as a phased result. Therefore, the project team members who still have heavy follow-up work have a day off.
"Feel sorry…"
You Shulang just started to speak when Fan Xiao interrupted him: "It seems like someone still owes me a thank you."
You Shulang sighed, feeling troubled. Lu Zhen treated him strangely recently. If he didn't look for him, he wouldn't come looking for him. In relationships, You Shulang didn't like to be clingy. It was always Lu Zhen who stuck to him, calling and texting him constantly, and even sharing a cup of coffee with him.
But he has been busy with work recently, and it is often several days in a row before he realizes that Lu Zhen hasn't even sent him a message. When he calls her, she is either working or catching up on sleep. The two of them haven't had a single serious conversation in more than half a month.
You Shulang felt that he had neglected Lu Zhen due to work and made him unhappy, so he had made an appointment with him in advance to take him to Disneyland in Lincheng on his day off.
Even so, Lu Zhen didn't seem very happy. He hesitated for a long time on the phone before reluctantly agreeing.
You Shulang was already having a hard time dealing with Lu Zhen, and now there was another person named Fan Xiao.
"I know I owe you." You Shulang sat next to Fan Xiao and said kindly, "But I really have an appointment tomorrow."
The man next to him smiled and asked, "With your girlfriend?"
You Shulang bit the cigarette and exhaled it before saying, "With a partner."
Fan Xiao nodded, understandingly: "Then I can't disturb you. I can only wish Director You a happy holiday in advance."
You Shulang tilted his head to look at Fan Xiao. When the man smiled, every muscle on his face would stretch slightly. His smile was soft and sincere, like a piece of warm jade, warming people's hearts.
He shook his head and chuckled, at the expense of his past self-conceit and sensitivity. Director You always returned the favor, whispering: "Where did you get that face cream? You only know how to take care of your skin, but don't care about the life and death of your nose?"
He slowly stood up, lowered his eyes and asked Fan Xiao: "Do you have anything else to do later? If not, I'll go with you to buy a bottle of face cream."
Fan Xiao looked delighted. He stood up and put his arm on You Shulang's shoulder, saying in a nonchalant voice, "Don't disbelieve me. Director You just loves me."
You Shulang curled his fingers slightly, and after a little bit of patience, he did not open the arm from his shoulder...
Inside the mall, Fan Xiao leaned in a corner and made a phone call.
Not far away, You Shulang was suppressing his impatience and headache about cosmetics as a man, and listened to the salesgirl introducing the products in a gentle and polite manner.
Fan Xiao looked at him, with a smile on his face but his eyes were cold.
The call was quickly connected, and Lu Zhen's slightly surprised voice came over: "Mr. Fan? Why are you calling me?"
"Why? Only WeChat but not phone calls?" Fan Xiao's voice seemed to be filled with laughter.
"Yes, of course. I mean Mr. Fan is so busy..."
"No matter how busy you are, you can't forget about our Zhenzhen." Fan Xiao looked at You Shulang and raised his eyebrows with a smile, "Are you free tomorrow, Zhenzhen?"
"Uh... Mr. Fan wants to talk to me about something?"
"I've been in this city for a long time, but I haven't been able to explore it properly. I happen to have some time tomorrow, so I'd like you to take me on a tour."
"Oh, I see..."
"If you don't have time, you can refuse me. It's okay."
"No, I have time. I have time. So when will we meet tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, urban wetlands."
After hanging up the phone, You Shulang also selected a facial cream for Fan Xiao.
When the two people left the mall, they attracted a lot of attention along the way because of their looks and height.
As soon as he got in the car and fastened his seat belt, You Shulang's phone rang.
The carriage was closed and the distance was very close, so the voice on the phone leaked out slightly: "Shu Lang, I just received a notice. Tomorrow... the economic company has arranged a job for me."
You Shulang never smoked in the car, but now he was addicted. He played with the unburned cigarette with his fingers and said calmly, "Okay, I got it. I'll refund the tickets and hotel. Let's make an appointment later."
It took less than thirty seconds from the time the call was connected to the time it was hung up. You Shulang looked out the window, cigarette in his mouth.
Fan Xiao started the car and slowly glided out.
"Was stood up?" His tone was filled with pity for his friend.
"He's in trouble."
"Then... can I..."
You Shulang turned around and smiled at the rather nervous Fan Xiao: "Sure, I'll accompany you wherever you want to go tomorrow."
"Urban Wetland, meet at 9:30."
One corner of his lips curled up, and a mocking smile was reflected in the rearview mirror.