After ending the call with CC, I sat on the sofa, lost in thought for quite a while, before I suddenly remembered that I was supposed to take Li Xiaoyun to buy an engagement accessory this afternoon. I hurriedly picked up my phone again and dialed Xiaoyun’s number. After we agreed on a meeting spot, I quickly left home, driving Bander’s car toward our destination.
Twenty minutes later, Xiaoyun and I met at the south entrance of Times Department Store. Xiaoyun was holding a cup of hot milk tea, seemingly having waited for quite some time already.
Coming up to her, I apologized slightly and asked, “Xiaoyun, have you been waiting long?”
“Not for long… Want a sip of my milk tea? It’s just bought and still hot!” Xiaoyun offered her tea to me.
I took a sip, smiled, and complimented, “What flavor is this? It’s pretty good.”
“It’s taro. Should I get you a cup then?”
“No need. Let’s get the main task done first. We can grab something to drink later after buying the jewelry.”
Xiaoyun obediently nodded and then linked her arm with mine, walking into Times Department Store.
We visited several jewelry brands, and finally, at Xiaoyun’s request, we only picked out one diamond ring at the I Do counter, without selecting traditional gold items like earrings or necklaces. Ultimately, the 30,000 yuan Mom had prepared for me wasn’t entirely spent.
I gave the diamond ring to Xiaoyun, who happily examined it for a while before putting it into her bag, expressing her anticipation for the moment on our wedding day when I would place the ring on her finger with my own hands.
As we were about to leave, we unexpectedly met Manager Lin from the planning department of Times Department Store. He nodded at me from afar and enthusiastically invited Xiaoyun and me to have tea.
Unable to decline his warm invitation, the three of us went to a small private room in a teahouse across from the department store.
After some casual greetings, Manager Lin looked at me seriously and said, “Zhaoyang, recently the advertisements your company Aosen created for our Times Department Store have been very effective. Our senior management is very satisfied. I never expected to see such high-level advertising planning in a city like Xuzhou.”
Before I could respond, Xiaoyun beside me took over the conversation with a smile, saying, “Manager Lin, regarding the advertising plan for your Times Department Store, Zhaoyang really put in a lot of effort. Everyone in our company has seen it.”
Manager Lin nodded in agreement with Xiaoyun’s words.
I smiled and replied, “Striving to create value for our clients is our duty, so it’s only natural.”
Manager Lin also smiled and said, “It’s rare for someone your age to maintain such calmness amidst success and failure. Our Times Department Store also looks forward to our future cooperation… By the way, for the upcoming Christmas promotion plan, including advertising and execution, I’m planning to entrust everything to Osen Advertising. I wonder if you have the confidence to do it well. If so, we can proceed with this model for deeper cooperation moving forward.”
Xiaoyun looked at me with anticipation. After a brief consideration, I replied, “No problem. We can have a meeting to discuss the details of the cooperation.”
As I was speaking, my phone suddenly rang. I checked the caller ID and saw it was CC. A strange sense of tension arose in my heart. I quickly said “excuse me” to Manager Lin and immediately answered the call, stepping outside the private room.
Before CC could speak, I anxiously asked, “How is it going, CC? Is she home?”
CC replied with regret in her voice, “I pressed the doorbell for quite a while but got no response. Then I waited downstairs for almost an hour but didn’t see anyone. She probably isn’t home.”
My sense of anxiety intensified. I quickly asked again, “Did you see her car at all?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Go check the empty lot across the street. Maybe she parked there.”
CC said “Okay” and after a short while told me, “No, there’s no sign of her car either.”
A heavy feeling settled in my heart, and I suddenly fell silent…
CC comforted me, saying, “Zhaoyang, don’t panic yet. I’ll come by again tonight. I’m sure nothing serious has happened.”
I replied dejectedly, “Then I’ll trouble you.”
“Don’t say that. I’m also very worried about her. I’ll let you know immediately if I hear anything.”
“Okay.”
…
After hanging up, as I was about to return to the private room, Xiaoyun and Manager Lin had already walked out together. We exchanged a few more pleasantries before Manager Lin left first.
I was somewhat dazed, but Xiaoyun didn’t notice. Cheerfully, she said to me, “Zhaoyang, I never expected that Times Department Store would entrust our company with their entire marketing campaign. You’ve done a great service for the company. Compared to over a month ago, you’ve given me a big surprise.”
I smiled and said, “This proves that Auntie Zhang, who introduced us, is quite reliable.” As I spoke, I instinctively took my phone out of my pocket to check for any missed messages.
Xiaoyun finally noticed something was off and asked, “Zhaoyang, why do you seem so distracted?”
“Really?” I brushed it off lightly and then said, “Let’s go get something to eat.”
“But we just had some dim sum at the teahouse.”
I looked at Xiaoyun, not knowing how to respond. She smiled and said, “Maybe you’ve been under too much work pressure lately. Why don’t you go home and rest early today? Don’t overwork yourself!”
I looked at Xiaoyun with a sense of guilt. She continued with a caring tone, “Go on, drive safely on your way back. Tomorrow I’ll make you some carrot and bone soup, which can help refresh your mind.”
“Okay, thank you, Xiaoyun.”
“You don’t need to thank me… Alright, go back now. If there’s anything, we can talk on the phone.”
With a complicated feeling, I bid Xiaoyun goodbye and drove back home.
Sitting on the sofa watching TV, I still felt restless and anxious. Driven by worry, I even thought about driving to Suzhou overnight to check things out.
…
It was already ten o’clock at night, and CC still hadn’t called. I could no longer contain my anxiety. I picked up my car key from the table, quickly packed a few pieces of clothing, and prepared to head to Suzhou immediately, not even thinking about what I could actually do even if I went there…
I rushed downstairs, lost in silence, when my phone finally rang. Instinctively, I took it out of my pocket and was immediately overwhelmed with joy. It was a call from CC; she must have found some news about Mi Cai.
I answered the call almost ecstatically, “CC, did you find Mi Cai?”
CC took a deep breath before saying with relief, “Yeah… She’s back. She’s having dinner at my restaurant right now.”
“Where did she go?”
“She’s right beside me. I’ll give her the phone. You can ask her yourself.”
“Okay, hurry up and give it to her,” I urged anxiously.
Unexpectedly, CC’s voice carried a half-smile as she said, “Since she’s back already, why are you still so tense?”
I froze for a moment and didn’t respond to CC. Because I realized, perhaps I really had been overly anxious!
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