You are a surprise in my heart

Chapter 2 Rainy Night

His hair was stained with water, and it slid down against his cheeks. The dark gray suit with the cold outdoors and the warm room was a bit out of place, and he stood there straight with a black drawing tube behind his back.

In Shanghai in the early spring, there is always continuous rain.After finishing the matter at hand, Lu Licheng checked his watch. It was just after six o'clock. After saying goodbye to his colleagues, he was going to drive alone to the house of his old classmate Ian to catch up.

It was getting dark and the street lights were on. The sound of 'cracking' rain came one after another.Lu Licheng looked helplessly at the long car queue ahead.

"Ian, I might be late due to the traffic jam." Lu Licheng picked up his cell phone and called Ian who was also on his way home.

"It's okay, be careful when it's raining, I'm also in a traffic jam." Ian quickly took out his personal phone and sent a text message to his wife telling her that he and Lu Licheng would be late.

Reminiscing about the past is a luxury for Lu Licheng.Since joining MG company, he has been busy with work all the year round, and he can't remember how many years he hasn't attended class reunions. When Ian was in college, he was a classmate who lived next door to the dormitory, and he was naturally close to each other in the same department. In addition, Ian’s personality is very close to friends. Every year, the text messages sent to him by old classmates are less and less blessings. Only Ian doesn’t care. No matter how he neglected this friend, he didn't alienate him because of it.In Lu Licheng's heart, he really cared about his friend Ian, but he couldn't care about anything else when he was busy with work.

Ian lives in an ordinary high-rise apartment in Puxi. When Lu Licheng parked the car in the garage, Ian just arrived.The two got out of the car at the same time and smiled at each other.

"Xiao Lu, you haven't changed at all and you are still so handsome." Ian walked up to Lu Licheng and teased him.

"You're getting fat." Lu Licheng glanced at Ian, then frowned and raised the corners of his mouth.

"I'm fat-minded. If I have a wife and a son, do I still need to show off? But you, you still need to maintain your figure to chase after your wife." Ian laughed and gave Lu Licheng a warm hug.

"This is for your son." He took out the baby gift bag from the trunk and stuffed it to Ian.

Although they haven't seen each other for more than a year, they feel that they have never been separated, and their friendship is the same as before.

"Thank you for my son." Ian took the gift and smiled.

Ian's wife is Zhuang Yingxiao. In Lu Licheng's impression, she is a small girl, and she is six years younger than Ian.On the day of Ian's wedding, everyone said with envy that he had found a beautiful little wife, who matched Ian's personality well and was a straightforward person.

"Handsome Lu, welcome." Just after ringing the doorbell, Zhuang Yingxiao opened the doorway with a smile.

"Xiaozhuang." Lu Licheng smiled and took off his shoes. After entering the door, he found that their home was not as big as he imagined.

Ian originally studied the same major with him, but suddenly changed the department in his sophomore year.In Lu Licheng's eyes, Ian was just an ordinary classmate at first, but the change of department made Lu Licheng look at him differently.Because it requires a lot of determination, and Ian himself has not studied orthodox design majors.But Ian insisted on switching because he said he liked it.And his wife, Zhuang Yingxiao, is the daughter of a client after Ian opened the firm. Without the knowledge of their old classmates, she was inexplicably notified of the good news of her marriage. Now thinking about it, it seems like it happened yesterday.Lu Licheng looked at the young and shy Xiaozhuang who liked to laugh now turned into a charming young woman, Mrs. Zhang, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"There is nothing to entertain, so I made some home-cooked dishes. Don't be disgusted with Handsome Lu." Xiao Zhuang greeted Lu Licheng.

The dining table in the living room was already full of dishes.Xiao Zhuang was busy going into the kitchen to get the soup that was stewed on the stove. Seeing this, Ian hurried into the kitchen to help.

"Xiao Zhuang, you are too polite, you have cooked so many dishes." Lu Licheng was a little embarrassed to have so many dishes on the table.

At the wedding of Ian and Xiao Zhuang, Xiao Zhuang wore a snow-white wedding dress, and Xiao Zhuang was already petite and exquisite, but she looked even more cute in the wedding dress, which made a large group of unmarried men who attended Ian's wedding very envious.And when Xiao Zhuang met Lu Licheng for the first time, he opened his almond-shaped eyes and told Ian that if he knew Lu Licheng first, he would definitely not fall in love with him, and then he yelled at handsome Lu in a sweet voice, which made Ian feel a little bit like it .

"Xiao Lu, do you want to see my son?" Ian said as he turned around and carried the baby out of the house, "Isn't he cute? He's with me." The baby was clearly still asleep, and was placed on the table like a treasure by his father. In front of Lu Licheng, Ian was full of pride.

"Cuter than you." In fact, Lu Licheng doesn't like children, but seeing Ian acting like a silly father makes him amused.

"That's right, my son will definitely be better than me in the future. Isn't it?" Ian lowered his head and rubbed the baby's face, and his father made a fuss, and the baby woke up and rolled his eyes.

"You hugged your son again." Xiao Zhuang came out with the soup pot in his hand, and sighed helplessly when he saw Ian holding the baby in a silly manner.

Lu Licheng looked at their happy family of three, and was not particularly envious.Maybe, he thought, it wasn't what he wanted in life.Everyone naturally pursues different things. Humans are social animals and they all hope to have a home.

But Lu Licheng felt that he was a special case.Among his values, work and career achievement are his greatest comfort.Life is short for decades, and I hope to use my limited time to reflect the greatest value and achievement.Family is not necessary to him.

Just like the previous relationship, he let go freely.I thought I loved deeply, but now that I think about this relationship, letting go so easily may not mean that I really fell in love, but that I just wanted to taste the taste of love at that time.The achievements and satisfactions he gets at work far outweigh his desires for love and family life.

The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier, and the faint sound of rain could be heard inside the house.Xiaozhuang's cooking skills are good. Lu Licheng drank red wine and chatted with the husband and wife without saying a word, and the baby was quite energetic in Xiaozhuang's arms.

Suddenly, there was a doorbell. Ian got up and went to open the door.

"Haotian?" Ian opened the door and saw Zhong Haotian standing at the door, half of his body was wet by the rain, "Why are you here?"

Hearing what Ian said, Zhong Haotian raised his eyebrows in doubt, took out a note and wrote: "Mr. Liu's artwork. '

"Look at my memory." Ian frowned and patted his forehead, "Come in quickly, just leave the umbrella at the door."

Lu Licheng in the living room vaguely listened to Ian's greeting at the door, wondering if there were any new guests.Turning his head to look at the entrance, he saw the corner of the suit of the person at the door.It wasn't until Ian brought the person in that Lu Licheng saw the appearance of the visitor clearly.

"Haotian, why are you here?" Xiao Zhuang smiled when he saw Zhong Haotian standing up with the baby in his arms.

"I was confused, and I forgot about making an appointment with Haotian to look at the artwork." Ian glanced at Lu Licheng who was sitting at the dinner table and was ignored by them, clapped his hands and called out, "It just so happens, come to Haotian, this is The client you are going to meet tomorrow is Mr. Lu. Xiao Lu, this is the designer Zhong Haotian I recommended to you yesterday." Ian pulled Zhong Haotian to Lu Licheng and introduced him.

"Hi Mr. Zhong, Lu Licheng, you can call me Elliott." Lu Licheng stood up and stretched out his hand gracefully.

Zhong Haotian looked at Lu Licheng nodded and smiled, and also extended his hand to shake Lu Licheng's politely.

Lu Licheng didn't expect that the designer Ian introduced to him was so young, but he felt a little unhappy and embarrassed because of his silence.He was curious, the silent designer in front of him didn't look arrogant, but rather restrained. His hair was stained with water, which slid down his cheeks against his cheeks, and he wore a dark gray suit with outdoor clothes. The cold air and the warm room are a bit out of place, and he stands there straight with a black drawing tube behind his back.

Seeing Lu Licheng's displeasure, Ian immediately explained: "Xiao Lu, Haotian's vocal cords were surgically removed last year, so he can't speak."

"Sorry, I thought Mr. Zhong didn't like to talk." Lu Licheng was surprised for a moment after hearing this, and then apologized in embarrassment.

Zhong Haotian shook his head, looking at Lu Licheng with peaceful eyes, as if everything was in his expectation and didn't care about Lu Licheng's unhappy expression before.

"Hao Tian, ​​I'll go to the study room to have a look at the drawing first. It just so happens that you and Xiao Lu can make an appointment tomorrow to communicate with each other's thoughts. I don't have to take you to Xiao Lu's house tomorrow." Ian Holding the blueprints, he turned around and entered the study room, while Xiao Zhuang walked into the bedroom for fear of affecting them holding the sleeping baby.

For a moment, only Lu Licheng and Zhong Haotian were left in the living room, and the sound of the clock hanging on the wall was very clear.

'Elliott, Ian told me you were in a hurry to move into your new house.What time are you free tomorrow?Any requests and ideas for a new house? Zhong Haotian quickly finished writing on the sticky note with a pen and handed it to Lu Licheng.

Sitting on the sofa, separated only by a small coffee table, Zhong Haotian looked up at Lu Licheng who was carefully reading the note paper.Because the indoor temperature was slightly high, Lu Licheng was only wearing a white shirt with the neckline open casually and leaned on the gray sofa. His short, clean hair made him look very capable.When introducing himself just now, Zhong Haotian noticed a flash of displeasure in Lu Licheng, although he concealed it well.This is what he expected, no one likes someone who is silent and rude to him after introducing himself.

"My request for the house is not to be too luxurious. Because I am single, I like simplicity and nature. Therefore, I hope that comfort is the main priority." Lu Licheng looked at Zhong Haotian after reading the note and said, "I'm sorry to borrow the note, I will give my address Here you go. I'll be there tomorrow night at 08:30."

Zhong Haotian took the address that Lu Licheng gave him, nodded, and a trace of embarrassment flashed in his eyes. At 08:30, he didn't expect Lu Licheng to make an appointment so late.It seems that An An is going to be sent to Teacher Song's house again, but it seems that Teacher Song will go to the theater with her daughter tomorrow.

"Is there a problem?" Lu Licheng asked Zhong Haotian with a hesitant expression.

Zhong Haotian immediately shook his head and said that 08:30 is no problem, and carefully put the note of address into his suit pocket.Then, he took out his business card and wrote on the back of the card: "For matters related to decoration, you can contact me by text message or fax." '

Lu Licheng took the business card and handed his own to Zhong Haotian.This kind of etiquette in the professional field has long been common to Lu Licheng.However, it is rare for Zhong Haotian to take such an overly serious and somewhat apprehensive attitude.Although, he is the designer he hired, but there is no need to show this attitude.In fact, he should be the one who should be surprised and unnatural. He never expected that Ian would introduce such a special designer to himself.

"There is no problem with Haotian's drawing. I will fax a copy of the drawing to Mr. Liu tomorrow." At this time, Ian came out of the room with the drawing.

Zhong Haotian stood up and nodded to Ian, and looked up to find that the clock was already pointing to nine o'clock.

Ian saw his thoughts and said: "I know that An An is waiting for you at home so I won't keep you for dinner, have you made an appointment with Xiao Lu?"

"It's an appointment, we communicated very well." Lu Licheng replied for Zhong Haotian.

Hearing that Lu Licheng answered for him, Zhong Haotian smiled at him.Immediately, he was much more relaxed than before, and he became more alive, not as tense as before and actively reached out to him.

"See you tomorrow, Mr. Zhong." Lu Licheng held Zhong Haotian's hand and said goodbye to him with a smile.

"Haotian, wait a minute." Xiao Zhuang ran out from the bedroom, and stuffed several large bags of snacks into the hands of Zhong Haotian who was about to open the door and leave.

Looking at the snack in his hand, Zhong Haotian shook his head and wanted to stuff it back, but Xiaozhuang stopped him.

"I'm for An'an, the baby can't eat these yet. I'm losing weight again." After hearing this, Zhong Haotian looked at Ian next to him, "He's so fat, why does he still eat?" Xiaozhuang stared at Ian and said.

Zhong Haotian couldn't help Xiaozhuang, so he could only accept the big bags of snacks and bow his head to thank him.

At night, the rain became heavier and heavier.Because he drank some wine, Lu Licheng asked the company's driver to drive him back to his hotel in Pudong.Looking at the window was blurred by the rain, I couldn't see the scenery outside the window clearly.Suddenly recalling Zhong Haotian whom he met for the first time today, he felt a headache.Although, Ian has repeatedly stated that there is absolutely no problem with his ability.But a mute is very troublesome to communicate.His work already has a lot of cumbersome things, and he still needs to use text messages and faxes to communicate with the designer about the house.Originally, he wanted to give Ian full responsibility for the decoration to save his worry.It's good now, I've found myself in trouble.I knew it would be better to find another firm to take over, but now Ian refuses because of the bad face of Ian's old classmate.Take out the business card that Zhong Haotian left for him, the words on the back are delicate and serious, just like him.Seeing the phone number, he sighed helplessly when he thought that he would need a text message to contact him in the future. When was the last time he sent a text message?Ever since he came to Shanghai, he has always stumbled over big and small things. Whether this city is not compatible with him, Lu Licheng closed his eyes tiredly, and this idea came to his mind.

When I got home, it was already eleven o'clock in the middle of the night.When An An was picked up from Mr. Song's house next door, An An was already in a deep sleep, lying in Hao Tian's arms with her little clothes on.Zhong Haotian gave Mr. Song a large bag of snacks that Xiaozhuang gave him.

"Mr. Zhong, how embarrassing this is." Teacher Song half-pushed and returned the snacks to Zhong Haotian.

Zhong Haotian pointed to the room, which was the bedroom where Teacher Song's granddaughter Lulu slept, and then stuffed snacks to Teacher Song again, thanking her for taking care of An An until so late.

Teacher Song had no choice but to take the snacks, knowing that Zhong Haotian would feel uneasy if he didn't take them.

He breathed a sigh of relief after putting the child on the bed.Just now I wanted to ask Teacher Song if he was free to take care of An An tomorrow, but he still didn't say it.

In Shanghai, where land is very expensive, they don't have much money to rent a good house.For the convenience of work, I rented a room half an hour's drive away from the office in the downtown area of ​​Puxi, a one-bedroom, one-living room with its own independent bathroom.The monthly rent is less than [-]. Although it is not big, it is clean and well lit. There are green belts below and the air is good, which is very helpful for An An's health.There are convenience stores and subways outside the complex, and there are hospitals and parks not far away.For them, the conditions here are quite good.

An An suffers from congenital thalassemia, so she can't be too tired and has poor immunity.I have always wanted to send him to kindergarten, but there is no place that dares to accept a child like him.Therefore, he always chooses to draw and work at home. Fortunately, Ian is a nice person. He tries to let him take some cases that are not in a hurry and finish them at home. He is also allowed to use the fax machine at home most of the time instead of going to the office every day. Just contact by email.

Lu Licheng's reaction when I saw Ian introducing himself today, I realized that the other party didn't know about his special situation. If it wasn't for the face of Ian, an old classmate, the other party would have rejected him long ago.Zhong Haotian has encountered this situation many times. The other party was very satisfied with his design works at first, but after knowing his situation, he politely declined.Decoration design requires cooperation and communication, because they cannot make phone calls and can only send text messages and faxes, so more people prefer to choose other designers.Since joining Ian's office, whenever he encountered such a situation, he felt very sorry for Ian.People hired him to work for themselves, and he caused a lot of trouble for them.However, he couldn't quit his job and change careers because of this. Rent and living expenses have made him and An An's life a little tight. The child needs a stable life. He has lost the happiness that ordinary children should have, and he can no longer lack him materially.

The child is still young, and there is only one bedroom in the house, so he always sleeps in the same bed as An An.After Zhong Haotian washed and washed, he put on his pajamas and lay down carefully, holding An An in his arms.

"Father." An An woke up in a daze, and squeezed into Zhong Haotian's arms.Because there is no mother, and they are often placed in the teacher Song's house next door, the child is extremely dependent on his father.

Zhong Haotian bowed his head and kissed An An's forehead, and patted his back lightly to lull him to sleep.Without An An, Zhong Haotian knew that he would not make it through, and he didn't know how life would continue. Now the child is his only spiritual support.But thinking of tomorrow, Zhong Haotian sighed and tightly hugged the child's hand in distress.

The moonlight shone thinly on the cheeks of Zhong Haotian who was sleeping with the child in his arms, drawing a faint halo, and the night fell.