be late

The streetscape in winter is particularly desolate.

Nan Xue leaned against the window, clutching the card on the rose, her fingertips were cold.

The man looked at Nan Xue, turned the swivel chair, tapped his fingertips, and looked curiously: "Are you in a relationship? Is she in a relationship, you should know better than me, aren't you her friend?"

Nan Xue lowered her eyes, buried her white and thin chin into her turtleneck sweater, and let out a slight breath.

The air was still cold, and her expression was blurred in the white mist.

The man in front of him looked very outstanding.

She wore a long white velvet cardigan that covered her ankles, a pure white sweater underneath, light blue jeans, and her legs were incredibly long.The white and thin eyelids drooped indifferently, standing there expressionless, looking a little cold.

It's beautiful, but the sense of alienation is too heavy.

No smoke.

Still a little uncertain.

Nan Xue didn't answer, but asked softly: "Have you met the person who gave the flowers?"

The man bowed his head and thought for a while, but couldn't think of anything.Shu Yubai has never been ambiguous with the opposite sex on weekdays, and the good relationship is only with girls.Who sent the flowers?

She said: "I haven't seen it before, but recently there was a very beautiful woman who got close to her."

"..."

"Looks like a star."

"..."

"I saw her waiting at the door as soon as I got off work. She should be a very good friend."

Nan Xue curled up her fingertips slightly.

A snowflake fell on the window and quickly melted.

Nan Xue sat in Shu Yubai's position, slightly relaxing her tense back.

The auction house has been around for some years, and the office is old.

There are water dispensers and coffee machines, which seem to have been bought for many years and have not been replaced.Although Shu Yubai's auction house is old, it is very famous. If you change to a non-painting major, it is still a pretty good job, but the painting major is different.

For them, being a painter is better than being a businessman.

There is no ceiling in the art circle, and there are people who can fetch hundreds of millions of dollars for a painting, but there are also those who can't even eat enough.

As for Shu Yubai, he is considered average.

But according to her previous experience, she originally wanted to be inspired to be the top group of people.

Good luck tricks people.

Shu Yubai's table is neat and tidy, and there is jasmine tea in the mug, and the water is still warm.

It was cold and easy to get cold, Nan Xue pinched one of the white porcelain lids to cover her.

I don't know how long it will take for her to come out, so Nan Xue waited quietly.

Shu Yubai loves to be clean, and there are small potted plants, cactus, and small aloe vera on the table.The stack of books on the left is neatly stacked, all of which are the publications of the 20 and 21 spring and autumn auctions. The black cover is printed with antiques and artworks, and it is slightly reflective.

Look to the side again.

Beside the heavy stack of books, there is a small white velvet box.

Inside is a pair of bracelets.

Nan Xue's eyes fell on it.

A pair of silver bracelets, both for women, are silver-white, slender and delicate.

Who is she going to send.

"Isn't Sotheby's the best? We're ranked third."

The meeting room is next door, and the space divided by frosted glass is not considered soundproof. If the voice of the people inside is loud, it can be heard outside.

Then came the applause.

The top auction houses in the world are Sotheby's and Christie's first and second, and laymen don't know what the third is.This company is called Germany Nagao, known as the third.Nagao's business is mainly in Europe, and there is only one branch in Beijing.

End of the meeting.

Contemporary Art Department, General Manager's Office.

"Xiao Shu wants to resign?"

"Ah."

Shu Yubai handed over the resignation letter, a little uneasy.

The man on the opposite side looked at the resignation letter for a while, and said: "Excellent graduates of Central American University, um, they are more ambitious."

While watching, he turned on the computer, and pulled out Shu Yubai's resume from his pocket: he majored in Chinese painting at Gome as an undergraduate, switched to oil painting as a graduate student, and studied at CAFA.

In January 2021, Z Provincial Art Museum, the work "Courtyard" won the Silver Award of the 01th Flower and Bird Painting Exhibition; in July 2021, the Contemporary Art Museum "Ink and Wash New Life-Six Artists Exhibition"; in August 07, the Art Museum of the National Academy of Painting, "The Way of Everyone - Invitational Exhibition of the Most Influential Contemporary Painters"; September 2022, S City Art Museum, "Contemporary Chinese Painting Youth Elite Nomination Exhibition"...

All awards are stuck in 2022 and have stopped.

2022 was the year she joined the auction house.

why?

He raised his head, frowned, and seemed puzzled: "You are also strange. Isn't it good to go to a Ph. D. and stay in college to study art? Why did you come to the auction house?"

"..."

Shu Yubai lowered his head slightly.

The winter light fell on her hands.

Those are a pair of very beautiful hands, with slender fingertips, slender and boneless, white and slightly powdery, and a little light blue blood vessel on the back of the hand is like a little blue buried in the snow. The sun falls on it, and it is transparent and fragile.

She tried to grasp it, very slowly.

Still weak and stiff.

"I can't draw now, it's very difficult."

"Ok?"

The man looked up: "Why?"

Shu Yubai explained softly:

"Something happened. I can't hold the pen steadily with my right hand."

There was a brief silence.

"According to regulations, resignation must be made one month in advance."

Shu Yubai smiled and shook his head: "One month is one month."

A few flakes of flying snow fell outside, Xiaoxue, silent.

Shu Yubai saw the person seated, with jet-black hair twirling, white and slender swan neck, bowing his head obediently.

"Nan Xue?"

Shu Yubai put down the document in his hand: "Why are you here?"

The other party was sitting in her seat, flipping through an auction brochure, with a very calm expression, but it was too calm, a little alienated.When she saw Shu Yubai coming, she first glanced at the bouquet of roses and the small card underneath, then turned her clear eyes to her, her extremely black pupils were a little cold.

"You're in love."

Nan Xue asked.

"Ah."

Shu Yubai lowered his eyes: "But it's just the beginning, I want to try with others..."

"Did she send the flowers?"

Shu Yubai was standing opposite her, Nan Xue's voice was very soft, but her eyes were fixed on Shu Yubai, she was quiet, but inexplicably resisted.

She didn't chase after people like this before.

Shu Yubai looked at her, his heart skipped a beat, and suddenly he didn't know how to speak.

"Yes."

"I've gotten along with her, I feel a little bit, I want to try with her."

Nan Xue was quiet for a moment, Shu Yubai observed her expression, and tentatively said: "I'll introduce you when I have time. She is very nice."

"Ah."

Nan Xue lowered her eyes, and for a while, the two had nothing to say.

After a while, she asked, "You resigned?"

"En." Shu Yubai spread out the resignation report in his hand and showed it to her: "The formalities are completed."

She sat in Shu Yubai's position, looked at the words under the bouquet of flowers, and after a while, she pulled the card off and threw it into the trash can beside her without saying a word.

Then he got up and left.

The figure disappeared down the long aisle, and disappeared after a while.

During rush hour, there are many people waiting for the elevator in the office building. With a ding, the elevator door opens and they file in.

Shu Yubai rushed in with the crowd, turned around, but caught a glimpse of Nanxue.

Long legs, thin waist, straight back.

The collar of the sweater was pulled up by her, slightly covering her lips.The white chin was lowered, as if wanting to look at Shu Yubai, but his eyes flinched a little, and finally glanced to the side, alienated and indifferent.

"Sorry, wait!"

The elevator door was about to close, and another person squeezed in.

Nan Xue was so hit that she couldn't help but take a step forward.

She and Shu Yubai were already one step away, so the collision almost touched her body.

The two were very close in an instant, only an inch away, and their breaths were entangled.

The person who came in stretched out his hand to press the elevator, but he was too far away to reach it, so he said, "The third floor, please press it for me, thank you."

Nan Xue raised her hand.

In an instant, the little finger lightly brushed the back of Shu Yubai's hand.

The fingertips were gentle to the touch, slightly warmer than her body temperature, and the touch without warning caused a tingling sensation, which went straight up.

Shu Yubai's heart skipped a beat, and he looked away calmly.

The air seemed more stuffy.

Shu Yubai wore an apricot-colored sweater with a collarbone that showed off his collarbone.Loose sweater, lazy style, good-looking is good-looking, but it is easy to leak light.

She has a light diet, and her skin is delicate and fair, as smooth as an egg that has been peeled off its shell.Nan Xue is taller than her, looking down from the top, the thin and deep gullies are set off by a pair of delicate and affectionate eyebrows, the gentleness reveals a natural, ignorant temptation.

The numbers of the elevator jumped layer by layer.

When he reached a certain floor, he didn't know who it was, pushed away the crowd, rushed forward recklessly, and bumped into Shu Yubai.

She suddenly fell forward and fell into the arms of the man in front of her.

For a moment, the two were very close, and Nan Xue seemed to be touching her body through a thin coat.

Nan Xue's expression was blank for a moment.

At the neck, her breath fell gently, warm and moving.

In the evening, Nan Xue was forced to attend a dinner.

I don't know which uncle's birthday, the banquet was messy, and anyone with a relationship was invited.

"Is this the daughter of Mr. Nan's family?"

A person patted her on the shoulder: "Very good, your father didn't come, so he sent you to cheer."

"The old man's [-]th birthday, everyone is really giving face."

"All the daughters of Lao Nan's family are here."

"It's called Nanxue, right? The little girl is really pretty."

……

Wandering among a bunch of relatives she didn't know, although Nan Xue was polite, she politely and quietly refused to let them go thousands of miles away.

It didn't take long to exchange pleasantries, and people knew that she was lonely, withdrawn, and cold, so they stopped talking to her.

Then move on to the target.

"Xiao Yi?"

"What a coincidence, you're here too."

The one named Xiao Yi is the woman who is the most comfortable chatting with people.

The man looked very beautiful, with long curly hair, red lips, deep and mysterious eyes, sharp eyebrows, gentle and polite between glances, occasionally showing a little bit of strength.

Someone said: "Sister Xiao is here, so I won't be afraid of being left out."

Then they began to exchange pleasantries, and the tone was full of compliments to that person.

"Young and promising", "talented", "well-known artist" ... and so on.

Nan Xue was sitting on the side, and upon hearing this, she glanced lightly at her.

Then not interested.

Although Xiao Yi chatted, he glanced at the screen from time to time.

"Sister Xiao has a problem."

Ridiculous voice.

"I'm waiting for a friend." She just shook her head and explained patiently.

"friend?"

"Is it a girlfriend?"

"I read the news so often."

"When did you date? Xiao Xiao has been single for several years."

"Here comes the person, please introduce to us."

"That's right, what kind of big beauty can catch your eyes."

The woman was not annoyed either, with a calm smile on her lips:

"No, she's shy."

The door opened.

Gently pushed away from the outside, a very young woman stood outside the door with an apology on her face: "I'm late, sorry."

She wore a beige sweater with a V-neck, and her white collarbone was very brightly illuminated by the light.Long skirt, thin waist, round hips.The light and familiar style of dress has always been suitable for her.

"There is some traffic jam on the road."

She lifted one side of her long hair, revealing her white and straight nose.She speaks slowly and softly, her voice makes her temperament more outstanding, her portrait is like a willow branch by the lake.

Gentle and delicate.

Nan Xue didn't expect it to be Shu Yubai, her cheeks were hot, and her back was covered with thin sweat.

"Yu Bai?"

The woman called her softly, stood up first, and wrapped her arms around her waist intimately and naturally as if seeing a lover.

"Sit here."

She hugged Shu Yubai's waist and walked slowly.

Skimming the southern snow.