Our Love, A Public Service - Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Her fourth encounter with the vixen.
Chi Jia finally understood the meaning of "enemies are bound to meet on a narrow road."
If she hadn't looked up, Jing Rui wouldn't have known that Miss Chi could speak so softly.
Chi Jia's smile froze on her face, then vanished.
She looked at the single sofa chair opposite Jing Rui, momentarily unsure whether to sit down.
After a moment of hesitation, Chi Jia remained standing.
It was one thing to have a pie fall from the sky, but for it to be delivered by Miss Jing? Chi Jia couldn't comprehend the situation. She looked at Jing Rui incredulously. "What do you mean by this?"
Jing Rui continued to look up. "Is this how you usually talk to clients?"
Chi Jia pulled out the sofa chair and sat down.
She had the highest closing rate among AS designers, usually eloquent when talking to clients. But now, facing Jing Rui, Chi Jia was speechless.
"Why did Miss Jing choose me?" Chi Jia finally spoke, forcing a professional smile.
She had been ecstatic when she heard a client specifically requested her, but seeing the client's face was like a bucket of cold water poured over her head.
Jing Rui smiled. "I'm relatively familiar with you, does that count as a reason?"
Every time she saw Jing Rui smile like this, Chi Jia felt uneasy.
What kind of relationship did they have? Why was surnamed Jing doing her such a favor?
Chi Jia was stubborn. It was difficult for her to change her first impression of someone, especially for Miss Jing.
"I chose you because..." Jing Rui leaned closer to Chi Jia, her eyes studying Chi Jia's face, and softly said, "You're more to my liking."
Jing Rui's choice of Chi Jia was indeed due to her design approach; it was creative.
Chi Jia felt a sudden discomfort under Jing Rui's gaze.
Was it necessary to be so flirtatious when talking to a woman?! The vixen truly lived up to her name. If a male designer were sitting in her place, he would probably be weak in the knees from the vixen's seductive smile.
But she was undeniably beautiful. Sitting here in the company, she was truly eye-catching.
"Miss Chi, the design fee is not an issue." Jing Rui straightened up, turning the paper cup in her hand. "If you're not interested, then forget it. I have other things to attend to."
With that, Jing Rui picked up her handbag, preparing to leave.
Design fee.
When it came to money, Chi Jia couldn't stay calm.
"Wait!!!" Chi Jia suddenly grabbed Jing Rui's hand with surprising speed.
"Hmm?" Jing Rui looked down at her hand holding hers.
Chi Jia, the woman who claimed to be money-grubbing, quickly calculated in her mind during those split seconds: if she secured this project with Jing Rui, she would get a 4% commission. A woman who casually drove a million-yuan sports car would definitely be generous, and a 4% commission would be considerable.
Plus, the design fee itself.
Chi Jia disliked Jing Rui, but she couldn't ignore the money.
Moreover, she had emptied her savings because of Jing Rui. She would rise where she fell. This time, she had to recoup her losses from surnamed Jing.
Chi Jia gritted her teeth, forcing a sweet smile. "I… I'm interested."
"Miss Chi, I have very high standards for design. Be prepared."
"Don't worry, we're professionals."
In the near future, Chi Jia finally fully understood the meaning of Jing Rui's words.
Just like that, the woman Chi Jia disliked the most became the "client" she had to pamper.
This was destined to be the beginning of all suffering.
Jing Rui's request was to renovate and remodel the coffee shop, giving Chi Jia considerable creative freedom in design. Plus, since Chi Jia had never done such a project before, this was a great opportunity for her.
Coincidentally, the coffee shop Jing Rui wanted to renovate was LEFT, the one Jian Yi had taken Chi Jia to before.
Speaking of which, Jian Yi also knew Jing Rui. It was because Chi Jia had given her business card to Yun Xin, who then passed it on to Jing Rui, that Jing Rui learned she worked at AS.
In any case, by taking on Jing Rui's project, Chi Jia felt she had nothing to lose.
She had met all kinds of eccentric clients, and she didn't believe Miss Jing could be any more peculiar than those people.
It turned out, she could.
The first draft of the design proposal was due a week later.
After work, Chi Jia squeezed out of the crowded subway station and arrived at Number Nine with the first draft of her proposal.
Number Nine was closed today.
Chi Jia had always wondered how Jing Rui made her fortune. Even her restaurant operated sporadically, clearly not for profit.
Could it be…
Thinking of Jing Rui's vixen-like smile, a bold thought suddenly crossed Chi Jia's mind.
Knock, knock, knock—
The sound of heels clicking against the floor drew closer.
Chi Jia looked up abruptly, snapping out of her thoughts.
"Come in." Jing Rui stood at the door, gesturing to Chi Jia with her eyes.
Jing Rui wasn't a woman of many words, but when she spoke, she exuded an air of indifference, even when she smiled, which was how Chi Jia perceived her. Perhaps because the other woman seemed so aloof and elegant, making Chi Jia feel particularly down-to-earth, she disliked Jing Rui even more.
But would such an aloof person use her charm to cater to others?
Chi Jia felt she had overthought it. She met different clients every day and was a decent judge of character. She could sense Jing Rui's dominance.
"Miss Chi, have you seen enough?"
"Huh?"
"I said, have you had enough of looking at me?" Jing Rui flashed her signature smile. "If you're done, let's talk business."
Chi Jia: "..."
What was with that narcissistic tone? But Chi Jia felt guilty; she had indeed been staring at the vixen's face.
Except for a few waiters, the restaurant was empty.
Jing Rui led Chi Jia to the third-floor office.
Chi Jia opened her laptop and began to explain the proposal in detail to Jing Rui.
Jing Rui listened attentively, a faint smile on her face throughout.
Chi Jia secretly rejoiced. This vixen's money was too easy to earn, a pure profit.
"Miss Jing, so you have no objections to this proposal?"
Jing Rui picked up a few documents from the table, casually flipped through them, and gave Chi Jia her two-word feedback with a smile: "Redo it."
"What?" Chi Jia thought she had misheard, but no designer's first draft ever got approved without revisions. She could handle the criticism. "May I ask what you're dissatisfied with? I can modify it."
"Didn't you hear what I said?" Jing Rui looked up at Chi Jia. "I said, redo the entire thing."
"I..." Chi Jia faced the biggest setback in her career. While she wouldn't claim her design was masterful, it wasn't completely worthless, right? She had poured her heart and soul into this first draft for several days.
Jing Rui looked at the renderings, her tone casual. "I'm not satisfied with any of it."
"Jing Rui, are you doing this on purpose?!" To be precise, from the moment Jing Rui chose her for this project, Chi Jia had been puzzled. Was surnamed Jing trying to find an opportunity to seduce her?
"Doesn't a client have the right to give feedback to the designer?"
Chi Jia was internally screaming, unable to retort. Jing Rui was like a grain of sand in her eye. Her dislike for this woman intensified, but she couldn't show it too obviously.
If she had to redo it, she had to redo it. The client was the one paying, and moreover, Jing Rui was a VIP client of the company.
"Then..." Chi Jia could barely force a smile. "Do you have any more specific feedback or suggestions?"
"Is this what you call professional? Miss Chi, I hope you understand that I'm paying you to solve problems, not to throw them back at me."
"Understood, understood..."
Chi Jia's heart was erupting like a volcano.
That damned Jing Rui...
Endure, for the money, she had to endure.
The design proposal was revised seven or eight times, all rejected.
"This isn't the feeling I want."
"Something's still missing. Keep revising."
"Miss Chi, do you understand what I'm trying to say?"
"No, none of these are right."
"You're presenting this kind of proposal to a client?"
"At this rate, I might have to change designers."
"..."
Chi Jia smiled on the surface, but internally cursed Jing Rui countless times every day.
Ever since taking on Jing Rui's project, Chi Jia had been on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Every time her phone rang, she feared it was Jing Rui. Later, she set a special ringtone for Jing Rui, so every time Jing Rui called, an uplifting song would play: "How can you see a rainbow without experiencing wind and rain, no one can succeed easily..."
Constantly motivating herself.
Another busy day at work ended.
11 PM, L City's bar street was bustling with activity.
Chi Jia, in a short skirt, walked into a bar, her figure particularly eye-catching. From time to time, people cast flirtatious glances at her, but she simply ignored them.
She had been so busy with Jing Rui's design proposal that she hadn't had time for a drink, feeling extremely stressed.
Drinking when happy, drinking when unhappy.
Going to a bar alone for a drink was a common occurrence for Chi Jia.
"Xiao Jia, how many songs tonight?"
Chi Jia picked up a guitar backstage. "Three."
During her sophomore year, Chi Jia started frequenting nightclubs and bars, which was when she learned to drink. She had a pleasant voice, and although not a professional, she had a good sense of rhythm and started trying out as a bar singer.
Now, she occasionally did this part-time job when she had time.
Just a few songs, nothing more, earning enough for a drink.
Chi Jia liked lively environments, as if the noise brought her peace of mind.
Some people were inherently afraid of silence and loneliness.
Because of loneliness, Chi Jia had settled for a few relationships, but now she had come to realize that it was meaningless. Constant breakups and makeups, with nothing to show for it in the end. It was better to be alone.
Chi Jia didn't frequent N Bar, only two or three times a week, but she was surprisingly popular.
As soon as she stepped onto the stage, cheers erupted.
Tonight, she chose three lyrical songs. As she started singing, her clear and gentle voice captured the attention of most of the audience.
Jing Rui looked up, her gaze fixed on the stage.
"You didn't recognize her, did you? That's Chi Jia." Ning Qian raised her glass and clinked it against Jing Rui's. She frequented N Bar and had discovered Chi Jia singing here by chance.
Jing Rui's eyes were fixed on the girl in the spotlight, listening intently.
The girl with the guitar was indeed Chi Jia.
It was hard to imagine that the often-irascible Miss Chi had such a gentle side.
Ning Qian also studied Chi Jia carefully, murmuring, "She's beautiful and sings well too."
"Do you like her?" Jing Rui blurted out.
"Jing Rui," Ning Qian suddenly looked at Jing Rui with a knowing gaze, asking with a smile, "Why are you so nervous? Do you have a crush on her and worry that I'll compete with you?"
Jing Rui took a sip of her drink, replying casually, "I'm not interested in her."
"Don't speak too soon, what if you get proven wrong later?" Ning Qian's tone was still skeptical. When Jing Rui specifically requested Chi Jia for her project, Ning Qian had thought Jing Rui was interested in pursuing Chi Jia.
Jing Rui took another sip of her drink, adding with a smile, "If you want to pursue her, go ahead."
"Am I the kind of person who changes their mind so easily?! I already have someone in my heart. My sweetie even treated me to dinner the other day, just the two of us."
The "sweetie" Ning Qian referred to was Wen Jin. Director Ning only dared to speak so boldly in private. In front of Wen Jin, she couldn't even form a coherent sentence.
Just as she finished speaking, Ning Qian received a call. It was Wen Jin.
Come to think of it, this was the first time Wen Jin had actively called her.
Ning Qian immediately stood up and found a quiet corner to answer.
"Ning Qian..."
"Yes, it's me..." Ning Qian was inexplicably nervous.
The other party was silent for a moment, then whispered, "Can you come over and keep me company?"
It was almost midnight, and Wen Jin was asking her to go over and accompany her? Ning Qian's imagination ran wild, all the way to their wedding...
Hmm, these names man… lol
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