Cinderella Innocent and Boss Charming - Chapter 209
Chapter 209 Feeling Worse When Seeing Her
Little Ding looked at the time and found that it was half an hour later than he had expected. He turned around and asked, “Young Master, do we still wait?”
“Wait!” Gu Nianbin sat back in his seat, with his eyes staring straight at the intersection.
Little Ding sighed quietly. Since Young Master required to wait, he had to keep waiting. But he felt that Du Xiaoxian might not come. Young Master stopped doing all the things that he was handling, hurriedly came here an hour in advance, and waited. In the end, it was half an hour later than the appointed time, but Du Xiaoxian didn’t appear yet. Little Ding was under the impression that Du Xiaoxian was not the person who would be late. If she did not show up, it could only mean that she would not come.
But in the blink of an eye, Du Xiaoxian appeared. Little Ding rubbed his eyes and even suspected that it was his illusion.
Du Xiaoxian wore a cotton-padded coat with a bear pattern on it, which made her legs look slimmer. Carrying a small bag sideways, she came over from the intersection and hurried towards the gallery. Little Ding and Gu Nianbin were a little far away from her and were on the side, so they could not see her face clearly but only saw her short hair fluttering in the wind.
Little Ding secretly glanced at Gu Nianbin from the rearview mirror. Seeing that he was gazing straight at her, Little Ding couldn’t help but sigh again inwardly. When he couldn’t see her, Gu Nianbin felt unhappy. Now he did see her, but he seemed to feel worse.
Gu Nianbin was looking at her desperately. In just a few days, she had lost weight. Although he did not see her clearly, he felt that Du Xiaoxian had lost weight. After leaving him, she must be very sad and grieved, and she must have cried as well. The thought of her tears made Gu Nianbin painful, as if someone had pinched him hard, and then suddenly let go, again and again. The pain was so unbearable.
He really wanted to run over and hug her tightly in his arms to comfort the pain of lovesickness he had suffered during the past few days. Without her, every minute and every second was torturous to him. His heart ached so much that he couldn’t breathe. It turned out that love was a pain that was running deep in his bones and blood. He was unable to get rid of it, and he could only bear this torment.
At this moment, he finally realized that he only habitually liked Xia Xiaowan. Therefore, when Xia Xiaowan left, he did not go to look for her. However, he could not do the same thing to Du Xiaoxian. No matter what she did to him and how sad he was, he would still find her in the end. As he said earlier to Xia Xiaowan, “Without Du Xiaoxian, I would die.” He really would die!
Du Xiaoxian saw He Sen as soon as she entered the gallery. She said apologetically, “Sorry, Teacher He. I’m late.”
He Sen was talking to someone else. When he saw her, he immediately smiled and waved, “Come on. Let me introduce him to you. This is Mr. Zhou, the owner of the gallery.”
Du Xiaoxian was terrified when she saw strangers, especially wealthy ones. She bowed and greeted softly, “Good to see you, Mr. Zhou.”
Zhou Xuan was shocked and glanced at He Sen in disbelief. Zhou Xuan just knew that the painter was a young girl, but he didn’t expect her to be like such. He had originally thought that the girl must be very aspirant and confident since she was able to hold an exhibition at such a young age. However, she turned out to be extremely weak with a timid expression. This was completely different from what he had imagined.
However, her small face was delicate and pretty. What was even rarer was that she had a pair of large, clear, and spirited eyes. With the sharp insight that had been acquired in appreciating paintings for many years, Zhou Xuan believed that if someone painted a few portraits of Du Xiaoxian and managed to capture her spiritedness and present her charm, these portraits could be sold at a good price.
“Since you greeted me in such a solemn way, what should I do to re-greet you?” Zhou Xuan bantered with her and made a bow with his hands folded in front. “Then I can only greet you like this. Miss Du, I’m flattered!”
Du Xiaoxian didn’t know how to respond to his banter in this first meeting. Faced with such an embarrassment, she looked at He Sen as if she was asking for help.
He Sen smiled and said, “Boss Zhou is joking with you. Forget it. We hung up all the pictures today. I selected a few as the theme works, but I don’t know whether you are satisfied with my choice, so I asked you to come over and take a look.”
Du Xiaoxian hurriedly waved her hand. “I have no idea. Teacher He, you can pick them by yourself.”
“How can I pick them by myself,” said He Sen. “The paintings are your work. Of course, your opinions matter most.”
Du Xiaoxian still wanted to refuse. Zhou Xuan said, “There’s no point talking like this. Miss Du, why don’t we look at the selected paintings first?”
He Sen immediately echoed, so Du Xiaoxian had no choice but to remain silent and follow them.
The exhibition was held upstairs. It was a very large exhibition hall, which had an area of about 200 square meters. Du Xiaoxian saw that her paintings were mounted beautifully and hung on the wall. In some places, there were three or four small paintings that seemed to be related to each other, such as some insects or flowers she painted. She didn’t mean to present the same theme when she was painting them. However, these pictures seemed interesting and connected when He Sen put them together.
In some other places, a large painting was hung on the wall, and there was a spotlight on it. Under the strong light, the painting was even more dazzling, and the oil paint was thick and solid, making it very stereoscopic. Du Xiaoxian originally felt that her paintings were too childish to be displayed. But seeing them framed and hung on the wall, she inwardly felt that they were pretty good, but was embarrassed to say it out.
He Sen led her watching the paintings slowly. At the same time, he explained why some pictures were hung together, why the other one was hung alone, which one was hung in front, and which one was placed behind. All these were delicately designed. Du Xiaoxian listened carefully and nodded from time to time. She was actually a little surprised that there was so much knowledge in just hanging pictures. It seemed that she still had a lot to learn.
After walking around the exhibition, it was already noon. Zhou Xuan said, “It’s rare for Miss Du to come. I’ll stand treat this noon. Miss Du, would you do me the honor of having lunch with me?”
Such genteel words and bantering tone made Du Xiaoxian feel embarrassed. “Mr. Zhou, well, you just helped me hold an exhibition, so it should be me to treat you.” As soon as she said that, she remembered that she only had about twenty yuan, and then she stopped talking.
Zhou Xuan said, “Miss Du, why are you being so polite to me? The exhibition I held for you can also earn me money. It’s not too late to treat me to a meal after your paintings are sold for a good price.”
He Sen smiled and said, “Look at you. You own an art gallery anyway. Every time you open your mouth, you must talk about earning money. Why not talk a little bit about art?”
Zhou Xuan said to Du Xiaoxian, “Miss Du, do you know anything about art?”
Of course, Du Xiaoxian shook her head. Zhou Xuan laughed loudly, “Only hypocritical people will talk about art. We are all pragmatic, so we talk about money. Miss Du, I believe in you. Your paintings will definitely sell well.”
“Thank you for your good words, then,” said He Sen. “Xiaoxian, since Boss Zhou wants to treat us, let’s pick an expensive restaurant and have a good meal. Boss Zhou has plenty of money anyway.”
Du Xiaoxian blushed and said, “Well, we don’t have to eat expensive food. I think a food stall is also a good choice.”
Zhou Xuan laughed loudly and winked and made signs to He Sen, “A person should be as kind as Miss Du!”
Because of Zhou Xuan’s banter, the blush on Du Xiaoxian’s face never faded away.
They chatted and laughed as they walked out of the door. Then they got on Zhou Xuan’s SUV, and drove towards the road on their left.
It wasn’t until he couldn’t see the car that Little Ding asked, “Young Master, are we going back?”
Gu Nianbin’s eyes were still dull. When Du Xiaoxian got in the car, he saw her red cheeks. She was smiling, yet her smile looked timid. He hadn’t seen her smile like this for a long time. He felt sour inside, as if he had eaten a green orange. She acted as she used to do. She was afraid of strangers, didn’t dare to laugh loudly, and was cautious and careful.
After a while, he finally rolled up the car window and said with a tired voice, “Let’s go.”
Shao Boqing was so busy when the phone rang. He picked up the phone in a bad mood. “Mary, didn’t I tell you not to put the phone call through right now?”
Through his voice, Mary realized the boss was angry, so she hurriedly explained, “It’s from Mrs. Shao.”
Only then did Shao Boqing say, “Well, put it through.”
As soon as the call was connected, Shao Boqing adjusted his mood and said with a happy voice, “Mrs. Shao, since you called me personally, is there anything I can do for you?”
Nina spat on the other end of the phone, “Stop joking. Just answer me why you turned off your phone.”
“I’m busy and afraid of being disturbed, so I turned it off.”
Nina snorted, “Is it being disturbed or being harassed that you are really afraid of?”
“My dear wife, look at you. You talk about this again.” Shao Boqing pulled a wry face. “With you here, who would dare to harass me now?”
Nina snorted again, “You have too poor consciousness, so I have to remind you from time to time.”
“Darling, don’t worry. I’m warning myself every day. Treat my life well and stay away from all coquettes.”
Nina was puzzled, “What do coquettes have to do with your life?”
Shao Boqing explained humorlessly, “If I don’t stay away from coquettes, you will leave me. If you leave me, can I still live?”
Nina chuckled, “You are loquacious. Stop it. I have something serious to say.”
“Madam, please say.”
“I know where Du Xiaoxian is.”
“Really?” Shao Boqing said seriously. “Where is she?”
“She’s in the neighborhood where I rented a room before. I don’t know which apartment block she’s living in, but I think I know the approximate location.”
Shao Boqing wondered, “You’re pregnant and never go out. How do you know that?”
“Sister Liu, who lived upstairs, has met Xiaoxian several times in that neighborhood. She told me this.”
Shao Boqing asked, “Sister Liu? Why don’t I know her?”
“Did you forget her? I once had a blind date with her cousin.”
Shao Boqing frowned immediately. “Why are you still in touch with her? Are you still thinking about that? I’m telling you, you don’t even think about it! I…”
“What’s your problem!” Nina hung up the phone in a snap.
Shao Boqing looked at the phone in his hand and said, “Huh, she even dares to hang up on me! She must need a spanking! Wait and see tonight!” After saying those tough words, a smile lifted the corner of his mouth. He stretched himself happily and then went to Gu Nianbin’s office to tell him this good news.
Before entering the room, he stopped at Zhou Ting’s place first and whispered, “How is your boss today?”
“Still the same as usual,” said Zhou Ting.
Shao Boqing ostentatiously patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’m coming to give your boss a fillip. In a second, he will be on cloud nine.”
Zhou Ting covered her mouth, laughing, “President Shao, this is an awesome phrase!”
“Wait and see.” Shao Boqing patted his chest confidently and entered Gu Nianbin’s office.
Gu Nianbin was reading the documents. He looked up at Shao Boqing and said, “You shouldn’t have time to come here today. Is everything settled?”
“In the ballpark.” Shao Boqing sat down in the chair opposite him and crossed his legs. “Don’t worry about my work.”
“What’s the deal?”
“A big deal!”
Gu Nianbin stopped writing. “What’s that?”
Shao Boqing leaned forward and lowered his voice as if he was afraid of being heard. “I know where Du Xiaoxian lives.”
Gu Nianbin said, “Is that a big deal?” He immersed himself in the documents again.
Staying there without getting any more response, Shao Boqing was completely stunned. He looked at Gu Nianbin in disbelief and said, “Did you hear me? I’m talking about Du Xiaoxian. It’s Du Xiaoxian!”
“Yes,” said Gu Nianbin coldly. “Don’t bother with my business. Hurry up and work out the plan. Yinglun Corporation sent us another email to give us a prod this morning.”
“But, you.” Shao Boqing was speechless. What’s the matter? Gu Nianbin was so haggard because of Du Xiaoxian. How could he be so indifferent when he heard the news? Was he too grieved? Is there something wrong with his brain?
“Alright. You can go.” Looking at his dumbfounded expression, Gu Nianbin found him a little hilarious. “I’ll handle my own business.”
“Don’t you want to know where she is?”
“I know where she is.”
“Then why don’t you bring her back since you know her address?” Shao Boqing really couldn’t understand.
“I want to give her more time.”
“Fine,” Shao Boqing sighed. “Handle it yourself. I’ll leave you alone.”
He walked out of the office dejectedly. When Zhou Ting saw his appearance, she covered her mouth and laughed again. “President Shao, before you entered, you were still on cloud nine. Why do you come out with this look?”
Shao Boqing raised his hand and said, “You need a spanking!”
Zhou Ting dodged, while Shao Boqing laughed and left. He should have realized that since Gu Nianbin was able to work calmly in the company these days, he must have a plan. It was just Shao Boqing who fussed about it.
